MADISON, Ill. - Kenny Bernstein made his final stop in the St. Louis
area one to remember. The defending Top Fuel champion earned his first
ever victory at the home track of his sponsor, winning the Top Fuel title
Sunday at the sixth annual Sears Craftsman NHRA Nationals at Gateway
International Raceway.
Bernstein turned in a 5.056-second pass at 293.22 mph in his Budweiser
King Dragster to beat Andrew Cowin's 5.291 run at 263.87 in the NY Yankee
Dragster.
John Force, Jeg Coughlin, and Angelle Savoie won their respective
categories at the $1.8 million race, the 12th of 23 events in
the $50 million NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series. Bernstein is retiring at
the end of the season and is currently second in the points to Larry
Dixon. After four qualifying runs, Dixon failed to qualify for the
eliminations, allowing Bernstein to close the gap.
"This is a special one," Bernstein said. "It means a lot
to us. We've always worked hard here and it is a real important one to
win. I feel for Larry Dixon and that team because we have all been there.
That team has been dominating and anything short of a win would have been
a bitter loss for us."
Going into the weekend, Dixon's lead over Bernstein was 259 points.
After the weekend, that lead was cut to 157 points.
"I would rather this happen with us in first place than last place
because we had some points to give up," Dixon said. "You can't
afford to do this every week, but it's still okay. At every race, I try to
qualify and then I'll try to look for the win. You can learn real fast not
to take qualifying for granted."
Bernstein said the team was able to conquer the track that got up to
145 degrees because of the team.
"The first three runs of the day the car was smooth as silk,"
Bernstein said. "This team is just so good and Tim Richards is doing
a great job (as crew chief). This is probably the best team I have ever
had.
"I am so excited over this win. I have not been this excited in a
long time. Today it worked out for us."
At most national events, Bernstein has been celebrating his final year of
racing with special events. One such event is riding the Budweiser
Clydesdale horses in front of the fans. Bernstein got a little luck from
at least two of the horses.
"All year long we haven't had much luck this year and we needed a
little," Bernstein said. "I told everyone that we didn't need a
horseshoe from a Shetland pony, we needed a big one from a Clydesdale.
"We had a little luck all weekend long, but we got two horseshoes
so when the luck runs out from the first one, we'll throw it away and
bring out the second one."
Force earned the 101st victory of his career as he scored
the automatic win off a Scotty Cannon red light. Force smoked the tires
and went 8.837 at 87.98 in his Castrol GTX Ford Mustang to beat Cannon's
disqualified 5.053 at 295.85 in his Oakley Pontiac Firebird.
"I saw the red light, but it happened so quick and I wasn't sure
if it was me or him," Force said. "I left and then my clutch
hooked up and we smoked the tires. I was happy the red light was
his."
The last time Force won a race was at the Houston event on April 14.
Force's teammate Gary Densham has held the points lead over Force and his
other teammate, Tony Pedregon has been in third place. The three Force
Racing drivers are still in the top three spots, but Force took over the
lead after Densham lost in the semifinals to Cannon.
"I'm mostly proud of the fact that my teammates and I are still in
the top three spots," Force said. "(Del) Worsham was getting
pretty close to Pedregon, so it was important that we took him out (in the
second round). We've learned a lot from each other's car. When Densham
smoked the tires, all of our guys came running up to my car and made all
the right adjustments."
Force is an 11-time champion - winning nine consecutive Funny Car
titles. Still, he is not overly excited about being back in the points
lead.
"There is a long way before the end of the season," Force
said. "Look at the Top Fuel category. I don't start thinking about
the points until after Indy."
Cannon, the 1999 Rookie of the Year, has yet to win a national event.
This is the second runner-up finish for Cannon this season.
"Scotty had me covered," Force said. "My heap went up in
smoke. He is way overdue to win; we just got the win today."
Cannon took the blame for the loss.
"No excuses, I messed up," Cannon said. "I didn't do
anything to alter my starting line routine, but I was obviously more
pumped and that resulted in my timing being off. I feel bad for (crew
chief) Mike Neff and the Oakley crew. They gave me an excellent hot rod
this weekend.
"The guys were supportive of me afterwards and I can't tell you
how much that meant to me. That is a team that sticks together through
thick and thin."
Coughlin became the 10th different winner this season in the
Pro Stock category. Coughlin went 6.928 at 199.52 to beat Greg Anderson's
6.930 at 199.91 in a battle between Chevy Cavaliers.
"I feel great, no doubt about it," Coughlin said. "We're
12 races into the season and (brother and teammate) Troy (Coughlin) got a
win in Topeka and now we have a win and it feels great. The Pro Stock
category is unbelievably tough this season."
Coughlin said the victory did not come easily.
"That race was so close that neither one of us knew who won,"
Coughlin said. "It was no walk in the park today. I came here last
week to race my sportsman car and it was over 100 degrees (on the track)
every day then too. I think that really helped us this weekend."
Savoie claimed her third win of the season. Shawn Gann fouled at the
starting line and Savoie went on to win with a 7.187 at 184.83 on her CVEC
Suzuki while Gann turned in a red-light run of 7.245 at 188.78 on his Mac
Tools/Gann Speed Suzuki.
"It is so fun racing Shawn in the finals," Savoie said.
"I know that he is due to win and I was just hoping that it was not
going to come against me. This is great. It feels just as good as my first
win. They never get old and I will never take a win for granted."
Savoie said she was surprised just how well the motorcycle ran in the
heat.
"I was very surprised by how much traction we got," Savoie said.
"All of the credit goes to the motorcycle and (crew chief) George
Bryce. The heat was almost unbearable."
The next NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series event is the Mopar Parts
Mile-High Nationals at Bandimere Speedway, July 18-21.
MADISON, Ill. -- Final finish order (1-16) for professional categories
at the Sixth annual Sears Craftsman Nationals at Gateway International
Raceway. The $1.9 million race is the 12th of 23 events in the $50 million
NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series.
TOP FUEL:
1. Kenny Bernstein; 2. Andrew Cowin; 3. Tony Schumacher; 4. Yuichi Oyama;
5. Darrell Russell; 6. Rhonda Hartman-Smith; 7. Melanie Troxel; 8. Doug
Herbert; 9. Chris Karamesines; 10. David Grubnic; 11. Bruce Litton; 12.
Doug Kalitta; 13. Paul Romine; 14. Cory McClenathan; 15. Clay Millican;
16. Mitch King.
FUNNY CAR:
1. John Force, Ford Mustang; 2. Scotty Cannon, Pontiac Firebird; 3. Gary
Densham, Mustang; 4. Ron Capps, Chevy Camaro; 5. Del Worsham, Firebird; 6.
Johnny Gray, Firebird; 7. Dale Creasy Jr., Firebird; 8. John Lawson,
Firebird; 9. Whit Bazemore, Firebird; 10. Bruce Sarver, Toyota Celica; 11.
Bob Gilbertson, Firebird; 12. Cruz Pedregon, Firebird; 13. Tim Wilkerson,
Firebird; 14. Frank Pedregon, Firebird; 15. Todd Paton, Camaro; 16. Tony
Pedregon, Mustang.
PRO STOCK:
1. Jeg Coughlin, Chevy Cavalier; 2. Greg Anderson, Cavalier; 3. Mark
Whisnant, Cavalier; 4. George Marnell, Pontiac Grand Am; 5. Tom Hammonds,
Cavalier; 6. Jim Yates, Grand Am; 7. Darrell Alderman, Dodge Neon R/T; 8.
Tom Lee, Neon R/T; 9. Troy Coughlin, Cavalier; 10. Warren Johnson, Grand
Am; 11. Bruce Allen, Grand Am; 12. Arturo Delgado, Grand Am; 13. Jamie
Yates, Grand Am; 14. Ron Krisher, Cavalier; 15. Mark Osborne, Grand Am;
16. Larry Nance, Cavalier.
PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE:
1. Angelle Savoie, Suzuki; 2. Shawn Gann, Suzuki; 3. Matt Hines, Suzuki;
4. Antron Brown, Suzuki; 5. Craig Treble, Suzuki; 6. Geno Scali, Kawasaki;
7. John Smith, Suzuki; 8. Chris Reuter, Suzuki; 9. Mike Berry, Suzuki; 10.
Steve Johnson, Suzuki; 11. Sam Hurwitz, Suzuki; 12. Fred Camarena, Suzuki;
13. Thomas Miceli, Suzuki; 14. Reggie Showers, Suzuki; 15. Joe DeSantis,
Suzuki; 16. Michael Phillips, Suzuki.
MADISON, Ill. -- Sunday's final results from the Sixth annual Sears
Craftsman Nationals at Gateway International Raceway. The $1.9 million
race is the 12th of 23 in the $50 million NHRA POWERade Drag Racing
Series:
Top Fuel -- Kenny Bernstein, 5.056 seconds, 293.22 mph def. Andrew
Cowin, 5.291 seconds, 263.87 mph.
Funny Car -- John Force, Ford Mustang, 8.837, 87.98 def. Scotty Cannon,
Pontiac Firebird, foul.
Pro Stock -- Jeg Coughlin, Chevy Cavalier, 6.928, 199.52 def. Greg
Anderson, Cavalier, 6.930, 199.91.
Pro Stock Motorcycle -- Angelle Savoie, Suzuki, 7.187, 184.83 def.
Shawn Gann, Suzuki, foul.
Competition Eliminator -- Doug Engels, Dragster, 7.458, 175.05 def.
Mike Farrell, Roadster, 7.521, 176.47.
Super Stock -- Bill Rowe Jr, Chevy Nova, 10.120, 127.78 def. Jeff Dona,
Chevy Camaro, 10.443, 125.11.
Stock Eliminator -- Jimmy Hidalgo, Chevy Camaro, 11.062, 118.82 def.
Greg Johnson, Buick Grand Sport, 11.797, 110.93.
Super Comp -- Brian Folk, Dragster, 8.931, 160.63 def. Lynn Ellison,
Dragster, 8.924, 162.02.
Super Gas -- Scott Wagner, Chevrolet, 9.963, 141.13 def. Mark Hackett,
Pontiac Grand Prix, 9.980, 147.41.
MADISON, Ill. -- Final round-by-round results from the Sixth annual
Sears Craftsman Nationals at Gateway International Raceway, the 12th of 23
events in the $50 million NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series -
TOP FUEL:
ROUND ONE -- Melanie Troxel, 5.729, 249.72 def. Cory McClenathan,
5.998, 234.49; Kenny Bernstein, 4.868, 302.48 def. David Grubnic, 5.031,
265.53; Yuichi Oyama, 4.844, 297.81 def. Paul Romine, 5.347, 234.13;
Rhonda Hartman-Smith, 4.930, 274.78 def. Clay Millican, broke; Andrew
Cowin, 4.764, 307.93 def. Chris Karamesines, 4.944, 293.73; Doug Herbert,
4.834, 300.60 def. Bruce Litton, 5.154, 236.92; Tony Schumacher, 4.983,
291.13 def. Mitch King, DQ (Fuel); Darrell Russell, 4.784, 306.12 def.
Doug Kalitta, 5.317, 268.87;
QUARTERFINALS -- Schumacher, 5.020, 293.86 def. Hartman-Smith, 6.973,
122.18; Bernstein, 4.809, 308.07 def. Herbert, 10.323, 82.61; Cowin,
5.868, 235.15 def. Troxel, 8.952, 103.90; Oyama, 4.840, 299.60 def.
Russell, 5.298, 269.56;
SEMIFINALS -- Cowin, 5.078, 251.91 def. Oyama, broke; Bernstein, 4.826,
308.43 def. Schumacher, 4.913, 305.01;
FINAL -- Bernstein, 5.056, 293.22 def. Cowin, 5.291, 263.87.
FUNNY CAR:
ROUND ONE -- John Lawson, Pontiac Firebird, 5.045, 294.69 def. Whit
Bazemore, Firebird, 5.153, 301.94; Gary Densham, Ford Mustang, 5.747,
242.15 def. Tim Wilkerson, Firebird, 5.974, 224.21; Del Worsham, Firebird,
5.227, 289.69 def. Bruce Sarver, Toyota Celica, 5.245, 274.55; Ron Capps,
Chevy Camaro, 5.036, 294.75 def. Todd Paton, Camaro, 7.768, 111.08; Scotty
Cannon, Firebird, 5.078, 290.38 def. Bob Gilbertson, Firebird, 5.278,
245.23; John Force, Mustang, 5.070, 278.17 def. Tony Pedregon, Mustang,
9.806, 89.51; Johnny Gray, Firebird, 5.089, 308.07 def. Cruz Pedregon,
Firebird, 5.881, 175.39; Dale Creasy Jr., Firebird, 5.307, 257.14 def.
Frank Pedregon, Firebird, 6.010, 176.05;
QUARTERFINALS -- Cannon, 5.060, 293.60 def. Creasy Jr., 5.220, 282.54;
Capps, 5.050, 296.18 def. Gray, 5.132, 293.03; Densham, 5.102, 291.57 def.
Lawson, 9.812, 102.42; Force, 5.062, 296.70 def. Worsham, 5.122, 294.24;
SEMIFINALS -- Cannon, 5.062, 296.89 def. Densham, 10.281, 92.29; Force,
5.046, 290.13 def. Capps, 10.595, 76.46;
FINAL -- Force, 8.837, 87.98 def. Cannon, foul.
PRO STOCK:
ROUND ONE -- Jeg Coughlin, Chevy Cavalier, 6.933, 199.11 def. Bruce
Allen, Pontiac Grand Am, 6.966, 198.79; Greg Anderson, Cavalier, 6.912,
199.76 def. Troy Coughlin, Cavalier, 6.921, 199.40; Darrell Alderman,
Dodge Neon R/T, 6.985, 198.70 def. Arturo Delgado, Grand Am, 6.979,
198.73; Tom Lee, Neon R/T, 7.009, 198.55 def. Warren Johnson, Grand Am,
6.930, 199.58; Mark Whisnant, Cavalier, 6.925, 199.49 def. Larry Nance,
Cavalier, 13.541, 62.93; George Marnell, Grand Am, 6.940, 198.76 def. Mark
Osborne, Grand Am, 10.140, 90.65; Tom Hammonds, Cavalier, 6.948, 199.58
def. Ron Krisher, Cavalier, 7.085, 198.03; Jim Yates, Grand Am, 6.939,
199.20 def. Jamie Yates, Grand Am, 7.032, 198.09;
QUARTERFINALS -- Marnell, 6.949, 198.96 def. Alderman, 6.975, 198.73;
Anderson, 6.931, 200.08 def. Hammonds, 6.952, 199.23; J. Coughlin, 6.932,
199.11 def. Jim Yates, 6.959, 199.40; Whisnant, 6.958, 199.20 def. Lee,
12.747, 69.38;
SEMIFINALS -- J. Coughlin, 6.969, 198.67 def. Whisnant, foul; Anderson,
6.938, 199.46 def. Marnell, 6.989, 198.47;
FINAL -- J. Coughlin, 6.928, 199.52 def. Anderson, 6.930, 199.91.
PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE:
ROUND ONE -- John Smith, Suzuki, 7.338, 182.75 def. Joe DeSantis,
Suzuki, broke; Chris Reuter, Suzuki, 7.363, 180.65 def. Reggie Showers,
Suzuki, 7.474, 178.26; Antron Brown, Suzuki, 7.292, 182.92 def. Thomas
Miceli, Suzuki, 7.455, 182.01; Angelle Savoie, Suzuki, 7.201, 185.56 def.
Sam Hurwitz, Suzuki, 7.414, 182.53; Matt Hines, Suzuki, 7.236, 185.43 def.
Fred Camarena, Suzuki, 7.435, 179.80; Craig Treble, Suzuki, 7.277, 182.77
def. Michael Phillips, Suzuki, broke; Geno Scali, Kawasaki, 7.374, 180.84
def. Mike Berry, Suzuki, 7.356, 181.79; Shawn Gann, Suzuki, 7.212, 185.82
def. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 7.405, 181.89;
QUARTERFINALS -- Brown, 7.281, 182.72 def. Treble, 7.285, 183.79;
Hines, 7.211, 186.59 def. Reuter, 7.362, 184.19; Gann, 7.204, 187.47 def.
Scali, 7.314, 185.00; Savoie, 7.176, 185.92 def. Smith, 7.339, 186.33;
SEMIFINALS -- Gann, 7.275, 184.85 def. Hines, 7.287, 183.94; Savoie,
7.210, 184.85 def. Brown, foul;
FINAL -- Savoie, 7.187, 184.83 def. Gann, foul.
MADISON, Ill. -- Point standings (top 10) for NHRA professional
categories following the Sixth annual Sears Craftsman Nationals at Gateway
International Raceway, the 12th of 23 events in the $50 million NHRA
POWERade Drag Racing Series -
Top Fuel
1. Larry Dixon, 1,152; 2. Kenny Bernstein, 995; 3. Tony Schumacher,
777; 4. Cory McClenathan, 739; 5. Darrell Russell, 619; 6. Doug Kalitta,
615; 7. Doug Herbert, 596; 8. David Grubnic, 533; 9. Rhonda Hartman-Smith,
511; 10. Andrew Cowin, 469.
Funny Car
1. John Force, 877; 2. Gary Densham, 839; 3. Tony Pedregon, 720; 4. Del
Worsham, 710; 5. Whit Bazemore, 678; 6. Scotty Cannon, 650; 7. Ron Capps,
610; 8. Johnny Gray, 566; 9. Tommy Johnson Jr., 536; 10. Tim Wilkerson,
513.
Pro Stock
1. Jim Yates, 822; 2. Greg Anderson, 720; 3. Warren Johnson, 712; 4.
Jeg Coughlin, 651; 5. Darrell Alderman, 619; 6. Ron Krisher, 602; 7.
George Marnell, 593; 8. Bruce Allen, 545; 9. Mike Edwards, 499; 10. Kurt
Johnson, 479.
Pro Stock Motorcycle
1. Angelle Savoie, 703; 2. Craig Treble, 604; 3. Antron Brown, 545; 4.
Shawn Gann, 492; 5. Matt Hines, 476; 6. Geno Scali, 370; 7. Reggie
Showers, 328; 8. Mike Berry, 311; 9. John Smith, 307; 10. Steve Johnson,
261.
NHRA Communications
