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Mopr Nationals Denver Colorado July 12-15, 2007 MORRISON, Colo. --
Pro Stock victor Allen Johnson and Pro Stock Motorcycle points leader Matt Smith joined them in the winner's circle.
"There's something about this win. It's almost like it makes me feel legit," Fuller said of his fifth career victory. "We're still looking for a full-time sponsor and we're down a couple of crew guys and probably don't have all the parts we need in reserve, but we're still one of the quickest cars every round." The POWERade Series standings now show Fuller 144 points ahead of Larry Dixon, who moved into second place earlier in the day. Bazemore moved into the Countdown to the Championship field and is now in a tie for seventh place overall. Neither driver had lane choice in the semifinals but Bazemore got past Tony Schumacher and Fuller outlasted Larry Dixon.
"I think our car and our team should have won three races by now," Beckman said. "I replaced Whit Bazemore over here and the guy, I mean tomorrow he could get back in a Funny Car and be one of the top three drivers in the class. I'm on a steep learning curve and I've definitely been the weakest link so to get our first win of the year is huge." Combined with second-place points earner Robert Hight's unlikely loss to Scott Kalitta in the quarterfinals, Capps was able to pad his Funny Car points lead to 154 with his sixth final-round showing of the year. Beckman padded his seventh-place perch in the Countdown rankings as he now leads eighth-place Cruz Pedregon by 90 markers. Given up for a dead a few races ago, 14-time champion Force is just 16 points behind Pedregon in ninth place.
"Everything you can do, we've done this weekend," Johnson said. "You couldn't ask for more. That one race in Phoenix was a set-back for all of us but Dad's come back better than ever and we've been a win waiting to happen ever since. "We've tested our butts off and the guys have put in some real long hours at the shop. I feel like we've come together as a team. Going into the final we knew Ron would be tough because they'd been running strong all day. We might have got a break because I only went 192 so we probably wounded our motor, but Ron broke a transmission early on so we got the win." The POWERade standings now show Johnson in fourth place. His final round record improved to 5-6, while Krisher fell to 5-8 with a trophy on the line.
This one was over at the starting line when U.S. Army racer Angelle Sampey left early by -.047 seconds to disqualify herself. Smith raced through the scoreboards with a 7.400 at 177.81 mph just to be sure. "I had to get a monkey off my back," Smith said. "We have been getting to the finals but we couldn't finish the deal it seemed like. We've had parts failures that have cost us a couple of wins at least. We broke a piston in Round 1 but luckily Mike Berry had red-lit or we'd have been done right then. You just never know, I guess. It all worked out today." Smith now leads Sampey by 104 points. Sampey leads third-place runner Andrew Hines by 85 points. Smith is 4-6 in finals, while Sampey drops to 41-24. Sunday's final results from the 28th annual Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals at Bandimere Speedway. The race is the 13th of 23 in the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series-- Top Fuel -- Rod Fuller, 4.683 seconds, 312.93 mph def. Whit Bazemore, 4.770 seconds, 308.35 mph. Funny Car -- Jack Beckman, Dodge Charger, 4.932, 312.86 def. Ron Capps, Charger, 5.001, 307.86. Pro Stock -- Allen Johnson, Dodge Stratus, 7.132, 192.47 def. Ron Krisher, Chevy Cobalt, 16.720, 48.95. Pro Stock Motorcycle -- Matt Smith, Buell, 7.400, 177.81 def. Angelle Sampey, Suzuki, foul. Competition Eliminator -- David Rampy, Bantam Roadster, 8.690, 112.59 def. Will Hatcher, Dragster, foul. Super Stock -- David Bogner, Dodge Daytona, 10.535, 128.22 def. Ryan McClanahan, Chevy Cobalt, 9.001, 138.00. Stock Eliminator -- Gary Stinnett, Chevy Camaro, 11.534, 112.93 def. Ryan McClanahan, Pontiac Firebird, 11.005, 120.61. Super Gas -- Kevin Moore, Chevy Roadster, 10.534, 148.62 def. John Steffen, Chevy Corvette, 10.497, 141.39. Super Street -- John Dexter, Chevy Camaro, 11.515, 133.57 def. Troy Grant, Chevy II, 11.533, 123.17. Saturday final qualifying MORRISON, Colo. --
This was Hight's fifth low qualifying effort of the season, which leads the Funny Car class. The driver of the Auto Club of Southern California Ford Mustang has maintained second place in the points despite missing the Houston race following the death of teammate Eric Medlen. "I didn't think that 4.86 would stay in because with that long weather delay we basically ended up with a bonus night session," Hight said. "I saw Beckman run my exact E.T. and I thought for sure someone else would be quicker." "This mountain is the great equalizer, but I feel as though I have a great team behind me, led by Jimmy Prock. We'll be ready to race and I hope to go some rounds tomorrow." Mike Ashley of Team Torco followed Hight and Beckman in third place with a 4.889. Jerry Toliver started the final session on the bottom of the qualifying sheet. By the end of the round he was all the way up to the No. 4 slot with a 4.893 at 319.60 mph. Unfortunately, his Rockstar Toyota Solara ended up on its' side in the top-end sand-trap after Toliver's 'chutes came out late. "We just took delivery of our back-up car today so we'll be ready to race no matter what," said Toliver, who was unhurt in the accident. After a wild final session where drivers were bumping in and out after virtually every pair, Ashley Force, Cruz Pedregon, and Tim Wilkerson all ended up outside the 16-car field. Wilkerson was top qualifier at the last event in Bristol, where Pedregon raced to a runner-up finish.
"There's been some controversy about the No. 1 qualifier not winning on race day but we're looking forward to taking our shot at changing that," Troxel said. "Growing up here, I couldn't think of a better place to turn our season around. We have a win and a runner-up this year, but aside from that we've only won one other round. You've got to be able to get past that first round to be a contender. I feel very fortunate that we've been able to hold on to that No. 8 spot in the Countdown to the Championship." Dave Grubnic cranked his Zantrex-3 dragster up Saturday and almost took the top spot from Troxel when he posted a 4.612 at 314.97 mph in the final session. POWERade points leader "Hot Rod" Fuller slipped to third with a 4.615 at 319.75 mph.
"I was just talking to Dad [engine builder Roy Johnson] and he said this is a dream come true for us and he's right," said Johnson, who ran a 7.049 and a 7.088 Saturday. "For him especially, with his heart problems and all from earlier this year, he's still put in so much work to make us faster. He was dead on the table in Phoenix and three days later he was at the shop working." The top of the ladder is all Mopar blue as Johnson's team driver Richie Stevens has his identical racecar right behind his boss in the No. 2 position after a best of 7.035 at 195.05 mph.
"We've got to start winning more races," Smith said. "We're winning lots of rounds but we're just having weird things happen to us in the final round. Today's a great example. We ran the 7.34 in the first session and then broke a crank trigger in the second session and the bike just quit. That could have easily happened in the first round of eliminations and we would have been done." Top Fuel 1 4 Melanie Troxel, Avon IN, Hadman-TFX 4.610 322.42
322.42 ------------ Not Qualified ------------ 17 723 Rob Passey, Salt Lake City UT, McKinney-TFX 5.391 213.06
222.95 Funny Car 1 2 Robert Hight, Yorba Linda CA, '06 Mustang 4.862
314.02 314.02 ------------ Not Qualified ------------ 17 347 Tim Wilkerson, Springfield IL, '07 Impala 5.024 287.17 287.17
Pro Stock 1 6 Allen Johnson, Greeneville TN, '07 Stratus 7.032@
195.73 195.73 ------------ Not Qualified ------------ 17 10 V. Gaines, Lakewood CO, '07 Stratus 7.133 193.71 193.82 Pro Stock Motorcycle 1 5 Matt Smith, King NC, Buell 7.347 179.92 180.24 ------------ Not Qualified ------------ 17 8 Tom Bradford, Eagle WI, Buell 7.537 174.37 175.52
Friday qualifying MORRISON, Colo. --
The last four cars in Top Fuel had to wait out a 10-minute rain delay and perhaps that gave Troxel and crew chiefs John Stewart and Lance Larsen just enough time to fine-tune their set-up. The waiting was well worth it as Troxel's Vietnam Veterans/POW-MIA dragster managed to nudge into the No. 1 slot by five-thousandths of a second. "I can't think of a better place to do this then my home track and I hope this turns our whole program around," said Troxel, who is racing in just the third event with her new crew chief duo. "You've got to get that chemistry going with the team. We're basically starting over with a new team and a new car. We've done well as far as not DNQing or making any big mistakes but we haven't yet seen the performance we all know is there. "Mom's here running interference for me with all the family members needing tickets and all that. Everyone, with the exception of one uncle, lives right around here so it's a lot of fun to do well at this race. I was born here and lived her for 30-something years before I moved to Indy so this will always be a special place for me." Rod Fuller had the lead until the last pairing with his earlier 4.615 at 319.75 mph in the Wagner CAT dragster. His second run appeared to be even better, at least incrementally, but around half-track he started hiking his front tires in the air and was forced to shut his car off to avoid a blowover.
"The team's on a roll," Hight said. "You know, I like it when we have all these races in a row. I'm still pretty new to this driving deal so when you race every weekend you kind of stay in that race mode. If I have any time off I feel like I get rusty." Mike Ashley was next in his Torco Race Fuels Dodge Charger, clicking off a 4.889 at 311.34 mph. Del Worsham followed with a 4.897 at 318.09 mph in his Checker, Schuck's, Kragen Chevrolet Impala SS. Force was fifth with a best of 4.929, while his daughter Ashley ended up 14th with a 5.187 in her Castrol GTX Ford Mustang. Tony Bartone had a wild ride after completing his 5.058-second, 290.94-mph second-round pass. Despite bending the handles almost completely off, Bartone couldn't get his parachutes to deploy and his Lucas Oil Monte Carlo slid sideways at the top end but still slid into the sandpit. The car rolled over once before coming to rest on its' side. Bartone was uninjured. "I've never had a ride like that," said Bartone. "I had a guy run into me one time in Alcohol Funny Car but this one was the worse. I was sitting in there feeling pretty discombobulated for a minute. We'll exam the chassis and do all we can to continue racing."
"Life couldn't be any better," Johnson said. "Mark [Ingersoll, crew chief] made the perfect call on mine and Richie's cars and they just ran great. We tested here before Chicago and ran well then so this isn't a total surprise."
"This is my first time on the mountain tuning the bike myself," Smith said. "Before, I've always been riding for someone else. It's weird; no one would give me a tune-up. I asked around but no hints. The first run was a roll of the dice and I slipped the clutch quite a bit. I tightened that up for the second round and we made a nice run." Scali and his Performance Machine Suzuki recorded the only other 7.3-second pass of the day, as he was clocked at 7.397 at 181.15 mph in the opening round. Harley teammates Eddie Krawiec and Andrew Hines followed on their Screamin' Eagle V-Rods in third and fourth, Krawiec with a 7.411, Hines with a 7.412. Event fact sheet MORRISON, Colo. -- WHERE: Bandimere Speedway, Morrison, Colo. The track is 10 miles west of Denver just north of the historic town of Morrison. From Denver, take Interstate 70 west to C-470 and travel south to the Morrison Road exit. Take Morrison Road west to Rooney Road and go north to the track. WHEN: Friday through Sunday, July 13-15. PURSE: Cash and contingency awards of more than $1.2 million. SCHEDULE: SATURDAY, July 14 - Sportsman eliminations begin at 9 a.m. SUNDAY, July 15 - Pre-race ceremonies, 11 a.m. TELEVISION: Sunday, July 15, ESPN2 and ESPN 2 HD will televise NHRA Race Day, a 30-minute news magazine show, at 11 a.m. (ET). Sunday, July 15, ESPN2 and ESPN 2 HD will televise three hours of eliminations coverage at 9 p.m. (ET). 2006 EVENT WINNERS: J.R. Todd, Top Fuel; Gary Scelzi, Funny Car; Dave Connolly, Pro Stock; Andrew Hines, Pro Stock Motorcycle TRACK RECORDS:
RESERVED SEATS (includes pit pass) - Friday: Adult, $37-$47; Junior (12 years and under), $15-$20. Saturday: Adult, $37-$47; Junior (12 years and younger), $15-$20. Sunday: Adult, $45-$55; Junior (12 years and under), $20-$25.
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