Schumacher goes back to back in Bristol; Worsham, Edwards also score

by Candida Benson, NHRA.com
Tony Schumacher successfully defended his NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals title, defeating Doug Kalitta to score a second straight Top Fuel victory at Bristol Dragway. Joining “the Sarge” in the winner’s circle were Funny Car’s Del Worsham, who won his second straight, and Pro Stock’s Mike Edwards, who won his second of ’09.

Though 10 races still remain in the Countdown to 10 portion of this year’s championship chase, the manner in which Schumacher, Worsham, and Edwards won in Bristol certainly lifted them into the role of a championship favorite. All three had arguably the best cars in their classes on Sunday, running low e.t. of the round multiple times during the course of the day. Worsham and Edwards clocked the quickest times of the weekend in their categories with respective runs of 4.075 and 6.633 in their final-round bouts.

One race after giving up the points lead to Antron Brown, Schumacher took it back when he wheeled his U.S. Army dragster to his third win of 2009 and 59th of his career. It was also Schumacher’s third win at Bristol Dragway, which ties him with final-round foe Kalitta for the most wins by a Full Throttle Series driver at Thunder Valley. Appearing in his 91st career final, Schumacher got the jump at the Tree, .068 to .074, and never looked back, winning on a 3.857 to 3.879 count.

“It was just a great run,” said Schumacher. “First round, we blew it up pretty good, and I was a bit nervous going into the second round. You know, ‘Are we off? Is the engine program off?’ And then we went out and ran real good and Morgan [Lucas] red-lighted. Running Bernstein, that was such a big round. If he would have beaten us, he could have taken over the points lead. To get through that was huge. Kalitta in the final, I cannot stress enough how great it is to race him. We have so much history of battling amongst ourselves. He’s a true champion.

“All of the runs today were big, and to get through that, you’ve got to be confident. You’ve gotta have faith in the guys that work on the car and know that they’re giving you an outstanding race car and you have a chance to win. That’s all you can ask. The team is working well and they’re loving life. I’m not sure there’s a guy on that team that would rather be anywhere else. That’s what it’s about. They get up in the morning and they look forward to racing with the Army car. And we’re having a blast.”

After a slight hiccup in the opening round when his engine blew as he crossed the finish line ahead of Terry Haddock, Schumacher’s Mike Green-led team was nearly flawless the rest of the day. Schumacher powered to a 3.876, the second quickest time of round two, to defeat a red-lighting Morgan Lucas, then clocked the second quickest time of the weekend, a 3.836, to get past Brandon Bernstein in the semi’s.

Though he came up short in the final, this was a much needed get-well weekend for Kalitta, who had a DNQ and just two round-wins since his win at the season-opener in Pomona. Kalitta opened eliminations with a thrilling 3.889 to 3.889 win over Doug Herbert and followed it with defeats of No. 1 qualifier Cory McClenathan and Shawn Langdon to advance to the 57th final of his career, four of which have been at Bristol Dragway.

It took Worsham’s Alan Johnson Al-Anabi Racing team seven events to break into the winner’s circle for the first time and just one more to repeat the feat as he tallied his second straight Funny Car victory when he bettered Tony Pedregon, 4.075 to 4.152, in final-round match that was a race for the second spot in points. The win is Worsham’s second at Bristol Dragway and the 24th of his career.

“Aaron Brooks and Alan Johnson, that was their win,” said Worsham of his crew chief and team owner. “In the semifinals [the engine] blew up on us, it kicked the rods out, and we kind of coasted across with a 4.12. But we went back and put a new engine in it, and when we came to the final Aaron and A.J. told me the run was going to be at least a 4.08. A 4.07 was pretty close.

“I saw both sides of a team come together today, the Top Fuel and the Funny Car guys, to put this car back together and basically change every part on it for the final round. That shows you what kind of team this is; they all work together. Aaron Brooks leading this team, it’s basically his first full season working as a crew chief and he’s really stepped it up. This whole team has, and I just can’t say enough about all of them.”

Like many other Funny Car teams, Worsham struggled in the opening round, posting an off-pace 4.378 en route to victory over Jeff Arend, but crew chief Aaron Brooks got a good handle on things after that. Worsham matched Ashley Force Hood’s pole-winning 4.105 in the second round to trailer Cruz Pedregon, and he clocked a stout 4.121 to defeat Tim Wilkerson in the semi’s.

Though he has yet to visit the winner’s circle this season, Tony Pedregon is off to a solid start to the 2009 season, a point he punctuated by advancing to his second final of the year. The runner-up finish comes on the heels of semifinal showings at the previous two events, in Madison and Bristol, and kept the two-time world champion in the top three in points. Pedregon was second quickest of the opening two rounds as he got past Matt Hagan and points leader Ron Capps, and he posted the best time of the semifinals, a 4.119, to defeat No. 1 qualifier Force Hood.

Edwards absolutely dominated Pro Stock with his Young Life/Penhall GXP, qualifying No. 1 and running low e.t. of every round of eliminations, including his 6.633 in the final that gave him the win over Greg Anderson’s 6.658. Edwards, who also won in Atlanta, now has 17 Pro Stock wins to his credit.

“We just ran so good,” said Edwards. “Every run it just seemed like we got a little bit better, and I can’t believe we ran this good every run. Eight runs, and we were the fastest car every run down the track. I don’t know if people really know how hard it is in this class to win one of these races. I respect Greg Anderson and Jason Line, Warren and Kurt Johnson, and everybody. They’re the guys you want to try to beat because they’ve been up there so long. To beat those guys, I just never dreamed I could be this competitive in this class, and to run like this is just an awesome feeling.

“I have a wonderful team. These guys, they work so hard. We have just tested and tested and tested, and it’s paying off for us. My guys just work endless hours. Boy it feels good to do this. I’ve always wanted to win this race. There is a lot of tradition around here with that big old circle track. You get chills just being around here, so this feels good.”

Edwards began the day with a quick 6.647 to oust David Beckley and just got better from there. In round two, Edwards was the picture of perfection with a .000 light and 6.639 that ended Kurt Johnson’s day. Edwards followed it up with a 6.643 to defeat a red-lighting Jason Line and earn a spot in his 32nd final.

After three straight frustrating semifinal finishes, Anderson finally put his Summit-backed Pontiac into a final round, his first of 2009, and he did so in convincing fashion. Anderson was the second quickest in every round, bettered only by winner Edwards. He used runs of 6.65, 6.64, and 6.66 in respective wins over Justin Humphreys, Allen Johnson, and Jeg Coughlin to earn a spot in his 83rd final.

In Lucas Oil Sportsman action, Norm Hall (Super Stock), Edmond Richardson (Stock), Mike Robilotto (Super Comp), and Tom Stalba (Super Gas) were victorious. Burton Auxier came on top in the Get Screened America Pro Mod Challenge presented by ProCare Rx exhibition.