Schumacher, Force Hood, AJ, Treble first-day leaders in E-Town

by Candida Benson, NHRA.com
Tony Schumacher (Top Fuel), Ashley Force Hood (Funny Car), Allen Johnson (Pro Stock), and Craig Treble (Pro Stock Motorcycle) paced their respective fields during the opening day of action at the United Association NHRA SuperNationals, the 11th of 24 races on the 2009 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series schedule.

Force Hood is very familiar with the top spot in the flopper class; she enters the Englishtown event with three No. 1 starts — Atlanta, Bristol, and Topeka — in the last five events. Surprisingly, Schumacher has not yet qualified No. 1 this season, but he is well on his way to doing so after he led both of Friday’s sessions. Johnson and Treble are also seeking their first top starts of the 2009 season.

Though he has three wins this season, Schumacher is lacking a No. 1 start, but after a strong Friday showing in Englishtown, it looks likely that will change. After opening the day with a 3.932 that was best of the first Top Fuel session, Schumacher wheeled his U.S. Army dragster to a 3.818 in the night session to take the top spot heading into Saturday.

“The track is outstanding,” said Schumacher. “The track itself is a great surface, and you’ve got to watch the weather. When you know there’s only 15 cars, which is something that very seldom happens at a race, and you know that No. 1 guy gets that bye, you have to go for it. I knew it was there. Morgan [Lucas] ran great, and then watching [Larry] Dixon run in front of me, I knew it was there. Mike [Green, crew chief] went up there and made some changes, and I said, ‘Don’t go chicken on me now. There ain't no reason in the world to go out there and qualify fifth. Smoke the tires, or go No. 1. Give it everything it has.’

“I don’t think people give Mike the credit he’s deserving of. He’s a great guy, and he did a fantastic job. He had some awful big shoes to fill with Alan Johnson leaving, but he’s doing a great job. I’m happy to drive. I’m happy to be part of his team, and we’ve got a great group of guys over there.”

Larry Dixon is second with a 3.836, and Schumacher’s teammate Cory McClenathan sits third with a 3.844. Morgan Lucas, Antron Brown, Brandon Bernstein, Clay Millican, and Shawn Langdon are fourth through eighth, respectively. Joe Hartley holds the 12th and final transfer spot with a 4.062.

Terry Haddock, Steve Chrisman, and Rit Pustari were unable to break into the top 12, meaning they will need to make a run Saturday to qualify for Sunday’s eliminations.

Force Hood is once again the leader of the pack in the Funny Car class, pacing both of the first day’s sessions with runs of 4.259 and the 4.079 from her Castrol GTX Mustang that gave her the No. 1 spot. Her 4.07 was nearly four-hundredths quicker than the rest of the field with teammate Mike Neff’s 4.110 holding down the second spot.

“As much as we were excited about that run, we were probably more excited about our earlier run today [a 4.259] because it was in the heat and we went A to B, and that’s the greatest feeling,” said Force Hood. “On Sunday, it’s probably going to be similar conditions, so hopefully we can make two more like that tomorrow. That’s the only way I’d be smiling more and happier than I am right now: if we can make two more great runs in the heat. That would make us that much more confident for Sunday.

“We are on a great roll, but as soon as you start to think about that or get a little cocky about it, it will go right out the window. We’re trying not to think too far ahead: we know we have a really consistent car, and we go into every weekend just trying to do everything the same way. It really helps to have that sort of consistency, and it shows in the performance of the car.”

Chicago champ Tony Pedregon nabbed the third spot with a 4.142, and Robert Hight carried his performance from a get-well weekend in Chicago over here with a 4.148 that places him fourth. Bob Tasca III, Del Worsham, Tim Wilkerson, and Jim Head round out the top eight. While his other three team cars excelled Friday, John Force struggled a little, mustering a best of 4.445 that put him 12th.

Matt Hagan, Jerry Toliver, Jack Beckman, and Cory Lee, who is making his first start of the year, enter Saturday not qualified.

In Pro Stock, Johnson stole the thunder from Mike Edwards, a six-time low qualifier this season who led after the first session, when he ran a 6.607 with his Mopar-backed Dodge to nab the top spot after two of four qualifying runs this weekend.

“[Edwards] is just basically the person who made us do that run,” said Johnson. “He’s just beating everybody right now, and we just decided to roll the dice and really get aggressive with our set-up on that good track, and it worked.

“We want the No. 1 for points and for the K&N [Horsepower Challenge]. Unfortunately, Mike went around us in the K&N thing last week, and we have to outqualify him by like five positions. I don’t think that’s going to happen, but that was one of the reasons we went for it.”

Edwards displayed a bracket-like consistency during Friday’s two runs, posting 6.610s on both passes to secure the second spot. Ron Krisher’s 6.629 gave him the provisional No. 3, while Warren Johnson sits fourth with a 6.639. Greg Anderson (6.642), Kurt Johnson (6.642), Greg Stanfield (6.650), and Rickie Jones (6.653) round out the quick eight. Larry Morgan’s 6.665 was 12th best on the day, giving him the final spot that will transfer over to Saturday.

Johnny Gray, David Beckley, and V. Gaines are among the 10 racers who enter Saturday not qualified.

Treble, a winner in Houston and runner-up in Madison this year, moved local favorite Eddie Krawiec out of the top spot in Pro Stock Motorcycle when he wheeled his Suzuki to a 7.008 in the final session of the day. Krawiec, who was once a manager at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park, led after the opening qualifying runs, but he could only improve to a 7.019, giving the provisional No. 1 to Treble, who is racing with support from Honda of Kingston, N.Y., this weekend.

“The conditions got a lot better, so I leaned it out and tightened the clutch,” said Treble. “We made a nice clean run, and it ran a good number. We’ve got a good barometer here and that certainly helps the Suzukis. Any time we race at the sea level tracks it’s usually good for us.

“I’ve done nothing to that motorcycle this year. My three first-round losses have been mostly rider error. Not the bike. I’m out here with no budget, and I’ve got a borrowed engine from Michael Phillips and I hug and kiss it every night because I can’t afford to hurt it. This weekend, Honda of Kingston stepped up and helped us, and that makes it a little easier for me. I’m also working without my normal crew guys who couldn’t make it. I’ve got Johnny Thompson and Malcom Phillips, Michael’s nephew, over helping me out.”

Michael Phillips follows Treble and Krawiec on the sheets with a 7.042. Steve Johnson is fifth with a 7.049, followed by Karen Stoffer (7.050), Doug Horne (7.053), Matt Smith (7.065), and Shawn Gann (7.069). Junior Pippin is the final racer whose time will transfer to Saturday after he clocked a 12th-best 7.102.

Mike Berry, Joe DeSantis, Wesley Wells, and Bailey Whitaker did not make the top 12 during Friday’s two sessions and will need to make a run Saturday to make the field.

On Saturday, June 13, ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise one hour of qualifying highlights at 7 p.m. ET. On Sunday, June 14, ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise NHRA Race Day presented by Lucas Oil, the 30-minute pre-race show, at 12 p.m. ET and three hours of eliminations at 10 p.m. ET.