PRO Warm-ups

By Phil R. Elliott

There are certain animals in the world like snakes and lizards and turtles that are called “cold-blooded”. Their internal temperature approximates that of their surroundings. Humans are “warm-blooded” which means having a relatively high and constant body temperature relative to surroundings.

In the winter months, Tucson, Arizona is a place for snakes and lizards and Saguaro cactus, not for humans trying to tune highly volatile racecars. Temperatures, like other desert climes, can easily vary by 60- or 70-degrees from early morning to early afternoon. Such was exactly the case for day one of the third and final professional pre-season test-n-tune session of 2004.

With the POWERade NHRA season opener just one week away, pressure for teams increases by square. There are those that have yet to make a competitive run, others that haven’t come to grips with new engine combinations that refuse to take proper directions. To consider that these teams are out to make runs for no reason or show off for fans is far from the truth.

One of the bad things is that whether a nitro team is running for a championship with all the accolades that implies, or testing at a track that doesn’t even host a national event, the cost is phenomenal. Professional teams, at least the sponsored ones, have a dozen or more salaried employees that depend on their jobs to support families and just life. No longer are the bills for nitromethane or tires the biggest concern to an owner or team manager. Those paychecks and benefits are a substantial part of the expense of a racecar, whether it is sitting, testing or racing at the U.S. Nationals.

FRIDAY

It was agreed that all present would make no attempts down the state-of-the-art Southwestern International Raceway surface until noon. The first three that tried met with little adhesion, so the “start” was put off until 2pm when the ambient temp had climbed to 50-degrees.

At that point, John Force thumped to an .878-sixty and at least another 1000-feet. He shut off to a 4.856 at a mere 263mph. The track was there, so his teammates lined up next. Eric Medlen had a much less aggressive .909-sixty and eased to early shut-off 5.177, while Gary Densham found pleasure in a 4.862/310. Jimmy Prock gave him the most aggressive sixty-footer of the early season, a stunning .817!

But not everyone was as successful as Force Racing.

At 4:30pm, those that wished to tried again. Force, Brady Kalivoda and John Smith had mediocre results, then Clay Millican applied heavy steering corrections on a 4.869/245 shutoff. Medlen and Kalivoda both returned for subpar attempts, and Rhonda Hartman-Smith went up in smoke immediately.

SATURDAY

The noon session was far more crowded on Saturday than it had been Friday. And, a track temp of 74 of an ambient temp of 54 was to the liking of Gary Densham’s combo. After a good .870-sixty move, even considering a very wiggly run, the car responded to a 4.806/314. Moments later, John Force was slower to launch with an .892-sixty to record a 4.867/319. The team theme continued with Eric Medlen’s .897/4.848/312 numbers. Others tried with far less success.

Rhonda Hartman-Smith finished off the first session, and her husband John started the second. Neither made it too far. Neither did Clay Millican.

Team Force, in the name of giving rookie Medlen race experience, placed him side-by-side with Densham. The youngster made it further downtrack and his 4.966/306 earned him bragging rights. The boss was next with another decent 4.846/318.

Brandon Bernstein’s run was more typical of the day, a mediocre launch, hazing tires and dropped cylinders.

With the loss of Dave Grubnic to the Kalitta Kamp, and the hiring of Brady Kalivoda along with the debut of an all-new, super trick Don Long chassis, plus the addition of possibly the largest volume fuel pump in the pits, it is obvious that Bill Miller intends to push his team to its best season ever.

Well-spoken Kalivoda was first to try what was available in session two, and his effort was less than sterling.

Next up, it was Pro Stock time as both Mark Pawuk (7.037) and Warren Johnson (7.008) made decent runs considering the elevation factor. With son Kurt still recovering from surgery, WJ has been pulling double testing duty Johnson Racing.

Clay Millican moved hard on the bottom but a cylinder went out and pushed him to the wall. Still, an .846-sixty and a 4.781 gave the team something positive to plug into their computer.

Rhonda Hartman-Smith finished the session with a decent .852 launch and an early shut-off.

One car that made several attempts was Australian Troy Critchley. The AMS-backed Pro Mod Willys with the fabulous appearance spent much of its time shaking its monstrous rear tires and living up to its Jack Hammer name.

SUNDAY

With conditions nearly duplicating the previous day, Team Force started things again, with Gary Densham grabbing a 4.829/318 and John Force pulling his boot out early for a 4.934/251.
Brandon Bernstein’s 4.569/325 came next and the Budweiser team headed for the highway. Mark Pawuk’s 7.029/193 was his last for the weekend as well.

Rhonda Hartman-Smith spun her Goodyears early, as did Eric Medlen on his attempt. Brady Kalivoda lost an engine and an otherwise great timeslip. Still, the BME car earned a 4.902/240.

Warren Johnson fishtailed early bur reeled in his Pontiac to a 6.955/197. John Smith lit his tires early and coasted. Troy Critchley did the opposite, with the nose aimed at the sky until the rear tires unhooked. Clay Millican was last of the session and unfortunately had the engine let go in a ball of fire that burned far into the shut-off area.

With the pits thinning as transpoirters headed west, the last preseason test session began at about 1pm.

Force was interviewed before the session and he boasted that he was going for a track record. His hopes went up in smoke. In inimitable Force style, he pedaled it once, then gave up the fight. Behind him, his teammates had similar results, but for the record, Medlen went undefeated for the weekend.

Rhonda made it to halftrack before haze set in, and WJ’s 6.943/197 finished the session.

For the final try of the weekend, Critchley started things. The Willys seemed more settled and made it to 1000-feet before it went silent. The Australian coasted to a 6.674/168. Kalivoda made it to a simlar spot before his Goodyears began to spin and he recorded a 5.151/196.

The Smith family ran nose to tail with first John’s tires coming loose at the end of the pad after a decent .851-sixty, and Rhonda earning a pretty 4.740/306. The team hot lapped John’s car and he ended up making the last pass of the day, a tire-spinning 4.752/267 that was his best in pre-season.