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Antron Brown secures fourth Mission Foods NHRA Top Fuel world championship
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Nitro Spring Training gets under way in Phoenix
Top Fuel champ Antron Brown and former Funny Car champ Robert Hight led the way in the first day of Nitro Spring Training at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park.
Photos by Marc Gewertz, NHRA National Dragster
Reigning NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Top Fuel champ Antron Brown and former Funny Car champ Robert Hight led the way in the first day of Nitro Spring Training at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park.
Brown put down a pair of nice passes, 3.701 and 3.75, just a few ticks ahead of Don Schumacher Racing teammate Tony Schumacher, who posted a 3.705. Brittany Force (3.76) and Steve Torrence (3.82) also made solid runs in Top Fuel.
“The guys didn’t skip a beat, but when you don’t drive one of these monsters for two months and you get back in, I can honestly tell you when I stepped on the gas pedal and I looked away from the Tree, and I looked down the racetrack, usually I can see the 60’ clock cone going by, but by the time I caught up with the race car, I saw the 330-foot cone. So, when you get back in and you’re on a low .70 run, and we shut off and went .75 though the first pass, I mean it definitely caught my attention.“But by the third run, we made a really good run, like a .701. And the track is plenty good. There’s still more out there. But we made a really good, good quality run. I tell you what, it gives you a little confidence boost going into tomorrow. We can still go out there and work on different things, not about how quick we can run, it’s about the things that we’re testing and how they are going to work out. The first day for me is always getting the cobwebs out so I can actually do the job right for my team. For me, it’s just getting back in sync with how fast these things really accelerate. I’m happy with the day for sure, and tomorrow, we’ll just keep on getting better.”
John Force Racing teammates Hight and Courtney Force had the two best Funny Car runs with respective passes of 3.886 and 3.895 but were joined in the three-second zone by Don Schumacher Racing drivers Tommy Johnson Jr. (3.90) and Matt Hagan (3.95).
"We came out of the box swinging," said Hight. "It was nice; Mike Neff decided to leave the car like we finished the year with. This way, we already had an established baseline to begin testing new things with. He also told me to go only to half-track."On that first run of the season, the car is way out ahead of you. It feels like it is marching and hauling the mail. I didn't want to lift. I went down a little further than half-track and shut it off. That's why it only ran 302. I think I shut it off at three-and-a-half seconds. It still ran an .88.
"It was on a good run and was likely going to be in the mid-3.80s. It's so exciting to get that first run under your belt. The next two didn't go so well.
"This track has a lot of bite. It's really good, and you will see some low 3.80s before we are finished."
Teams are scheduled to test for three days with Thursday and Friday closed to the public and Saturday open to those who have already purchased tickets for the NHRA Arizona Nationals, the second stop on the Mello Yello tour, which comes to WHPMP Feb. 24-26.
Almost two dozen Top Fuel and Funny Car teams have set up shop in the pits. Here's a chronological look at the day's action.
Don Schumacher Racing cars were up and at it early with nearly the full fleet making a pass. Former Funny Car world champ Matt Hagan made the first attempt of the day but got real loose right at the hit and had to abort his run. Tony Schumacher (sporting a sharp-looking beard that probably will be gone before we get to Pomona) and Leah Pritchett made 400-foot blasts, with Pritchett’s new Papa John’s car clocking an impressive .826 60-foot time.Reigning Top Fuel champ Antron Brown (right) made the first full pull of the day with a strong 3.75 at just 307.58 mph in the Matco Tools dragster followed by his good pal, Steve Torrence, who ripped a 3.83 on an early-shutoff 263-mph pace in his Capco entry.
"I only took it to about 800 feet because we were trying something," said Brown. "We're going to spend the weekend working on a bunch of different combinations and parts before we get to Pomona."
Clay Millican made a 400-footer in his front-halved Parts Plus/Great Clips dragster as the team begins its stated goal of improving its overall consistency.
Turning to Funny Car, Tommy Johnson Jr. shook the tires on a super-aggressive .866 60-foot launch, as did reigning world champ Ron Capps, who went .864 before rattling the tires.
John Force Racing Funny Cars then took the stage with Hight and Courtney Force, in their new-look cars, running back-to-back 3.88 and 3.89 passes, with Force’s .89 coming at a strong 318-mph clip in the Advance Auto Parts Chevy. The boss, 16-time champ John Force, followed in their tire tracks but spun the tires of his Peak Camaro immediately. Brittany Force fared only slightly better, having to pedal the Monster dragster before giving up on the run, a coasting 8.09.
Doug Kalitta kicked off his team’s testing efforts with a globe-turning .822 60-foot launch but either couldn’t or didn’t carry it any further and coasted the Mac Tools digger to an 8.88. J.R. Todd continued to get acquainted with his new Funny Car ride, chalking up a decent 5.11 on a very early-shutoff pass in the DHL Toyota.
After a brief lull, Alexis DeJoria followed with a strong 4.32 pass but lifted when the front end appeared to lose contact with the track.
Hagan’s second attempt was no better than his first. His was the first team to run the left lane, but he smoked the tires almost at the hit. Schumacher followed him to the right lane but also blazes the tires, as did Torrence. Pritchett and Millican also make short blasts to check out the lane. Pritchett and team have brought two cars to testing to decide which to run in Pomona. Today, they are testing their new car and will run the 2016 car tomorrow.
Jack Beckman makes his first blast of the new year with his new Infinite Hero tuning trio of John Medlen, Dean Antonelli, and Neal Strausbaugh as they work on their new six-disc clutch combo (see Notebook below). The purple Charger makes a solid 4.031 at just 270.43 mph down the right lane, a puff of blue smoke coming from beneath the car before the finish line.
Nitro rookie Troy Coughlin Jr. (right) also saddled up in the right lane with his new ride, the SealMaster Top Fueler, but smokes the tires right away and coasts to a 10-second lap.Members of the NHRA Safety Safari presented by AAA are also on hand, making more laps than anyone with the tire-dragging tractor and traction-compound-spraying four wheelers. Earlier, Antonelli had commented that the track was "dead rubber," meaning it was too cold and not moving with the tires. As the heat of the day and more rubber is put down, it will only get better.
"It feels tight when you walk on it, but when you twist your foot it pops loose, which is what the tires will do," he said. "It should get better as we go on as we build some heat and the rubber gets more lively. The second day is always better here."
As he did earlier in the right lane, Brown shows everyone that there's nothing wrong with the left lane as he rips a 2.12 to 330 feet before lifting on what looked like another planned shutoff run and still coasts to a 4.38. Impressive early showing for the champ and team.
Right behind Brown in the left lane came his fellow champion teammate Capps and the NAPA Dodge, but he rattled the tires hard after an .858 60-foot launch. Courtney Force also shakes the tires in her shot at the left lane.
The Levi, Ray & Shoup flopper pulls to the line, but it's not Tim Wilkerson behind the wheel. It's Outlaw Pro Mod racer Chad Green, who will be working on his license this weekend. I don't have any more info on that right now but will get it. Wilk will drive the car on Saturday.Kalitta takes a shot at the left lane but, like almost everyone else, rolls snake eyes and smokes the tires. Ditto for Hight, who also shakes 'em despite a softened launch (.880 60-foot versus his right-lane .858).
Brittany Force makes a solid 3.79 foray down the left lane, the speed down to just 285 mph as the car drives towards the centerline at the big end. She lifts, but not in time to avoid centerpunching the timing block.
Tommy Johnson Jr. joins the three-second testing club, posting a 3.921 at a whopping 327.03 in the Make-A-Wish Charger. According to crew chief John Collins, the team made no major changes on their second-place combination and are out looking to make strong runs.
Todd tries his hand in the left lane but, like many before him, smokes the tires. Right in his tire tracks, John Force rolls to a strong 4.15, stepping off the gas around 660 feet.
"The Sarge" takes charge as Schumacher resets "low e.t." of today's testing with a strong 3.70, 321.04-mph blast down the right lane. Maybe it's the beard?After going 0-for-2 on his first attempts, Hagan gets his Mopar Express Lane Dodge solidly down the right lane with a 3.95, stepping off the gas early and coasting through the traps at just 281 mph.
Torrence betters his early right-lane 3.83 with a same-lane 3.82 again clicking it well early and crossing the finish line at just 267 mph.
After a lengthy delay while teams reloaded their bullets, Pritchett cracks off a 4.29 at just 180 mph, but the most impressive number came early: an .811 60-foot time.
Capps makes his best run of the day with a 4.01 at just 278 mph, shutting the NAPA Dodge off well before the finish line.
With the air and track cooling as hazy clouds block the sun, the track won't hold Courtney Force's next run, as the Advance Auto Chevy basketballs the tires on the launch.
The champ continues to dazzle as Brown rips off a 3.701 pass at 323.97, the quickest pass so far.
The Kalitta dragsters make back-to-back passes with Coughlin logging a solid-looking 4.080 followed by Kalitta, who has at least one cylinder out on the way to a 4.063.After a super-strong, put-some-rubber-down burnout, Millican gets a bonus burnout on the launch as the Parts Plus digger is up in smoke early.
Tommy Johnson Jr. makes his best run of the day, a 3.904 after driving through a little bit of tire shake. It's the third-quickest run of the day behind the respective 3.88 and 3.89 runs of Hight and Courtney Force.
Brittany Force makes a strong 3.769 pass, keeping it in her lane despite some top-end sashaying. Earlier, she ran a 3.79.
Todd gets his first full pass of the test session but can't keep the yellow Toyota in his lane, taking out the timing block at the finish line. As one trackside witness commented, "Well, he's a real Funny Car driver now."
Hight still can't repeat his earlier 3.88, rumbling to a troubled 5.86-shutoff pass that leaves a little oil in the shutdown area. "We tried a couple of things, but it broke two rods when I stood on the gas," said Hight. "We didn't learn anything on that one. Nothing malfunctioned; we just broke two rods. The second run it was weak and shook. Tomorrow, we are going to start plugging in things and learning so that we can get better. That's why we are here."
After strong earlier runs of 3.82 and 3.83, Torrence doesn't make it 60 feet on his third pass, shaking and smoking at the hit.
Beckman also gets a case of the shakes in the left lane. The teams are being asked to run both lanes, so that's why we're seeing teams varying their efforts.License hopeful Chad Green is up for his second pass in Tim Wilkerson's car. Wilk has proven to be a good teacher over the years, so Green is in good hands, but the challenging left lane bites them, and he spins and then coasts to a 7.76.
Hagan can't repeat his earlier 3.95, losing traction immediately in the left lane.
Elvis fan John Force gets "All Shook Up" and shuts 'er down to a 9.11. Time running out for teams to run. The lanes close in 15 minutes.
Pritchett takes another run at it but the pizza machine spins hard at the green.
Kalitta's final attempt of the day ends like the previous three: early. He spins hard and coasts to a 10.21.
The final Funny Car run of the day belongs to Capps, who makes it off the line but drives into hard tire shake at about 60 feet.
Coughlin will make the last run down the track, and it's a memorable one. A flash of fire (head gasket?) followed by a close call with the wall at the top end as the SealMaster car drifted hard right in the lights.
Notebook
After 22 years with John Force Racing, Dean “Guido” Antonelli is wearing the colors of Don Schumacher Racing after leaving JFR to join John Medlen and Neal Strausbaugh on DSR’s Jack Beckman-driven Infinite Hero Dodge. He brings with him a wealth of knowledge about the six-disc clutch that the Infinite Hero team began to run last year before Jimmy Prock and most of the crew left to join JFR.“They switched over to the six disc in Pomona at the end of the year but only went 3-for-7 in runs, so that’s not a good start. It was wicked quick but only every other run. All of the JFR Funny Cars have run the six-disc clutch, so I’m probably more familiar with it than John or Neal,” said Antonelli. “Coming over to DSR is a big difference. All of the parts are different — I’ve only ever seen what [JFR] built; some of it looks better, some of it might not be as nice as what [JFR] has — and they run the cars differently than what [JFR did].”
Because almost all of Prock’s crew followed him to JFR, the Infinite Hero team restocked with new hires and from within DSR, including some members of Shawn Langdon’s currently-parked dragster.
Antonelli also explained his painful decision to leave JFR after more than two decades was driven by his desire to get back to working on cars. Most recently he had been asked to become more involved on the business side of JFR.
“I’m a nuts and bolts kind of guys; I just felt I was getting further and further removed from the cars. John totally understood. He and I are good. It was all very amicable; he came over and gave me a hug yesterday.”
J.R. Todd continued his Funny Car apprenticeship with a trio of runs Thursday in the DHL Toyota. After an uncomfortable first pass that required some adjustments to the seating arrangement in the car, Todd came back later in the day to run a 4.038 but nipped the timing block at the finish line.“I’m getting there,” he assessed. “I had six runs in [Del Worsham’s] car at Bakersfield, where the track was so cold that it shook a lot, so I’m glad I got that out of the way instead of having to do that here. I just want to make some good runs, a few full runs, to get more comfortable in the car.”
Crew chief Jon Oberhofer is impressed with his new student’s progress. “We’re feeding it to him slowly, trying to go 600-700 feet because we’re also working on fuel-system stuff, but he’s going real good,” said Oberhofer.
Clay Millican and the Stringer Performance Parts Plus/Great Clips team aren’t looking for big numbers this weekend; they know their cars can run them. Last year, they grabbed two No. 1 qualifying spots and a series of career-best runs for the veteran driver but still no wins. Millican, who has more than 50 wins in IHRA Top Fuel competition, is still looking for his first NHRA win after eight final-round appearances.“The whole theme for this weekend — and the year for that matter — is consistency and reliability,” said crew chief David Grubnic “I’ve had enough of flashes of brilliance. We don’t get paid for that. We’ll be working on everything, engine, clutch, the whole package. It’s not just one thing. If the engine’s off the clutch won’t work. We’ve got to do better. I think that would solve a lot of our heartache. I’ve been down that road. I feel his pain. I went to eight finals before I won my first. We’ve got to break him free.”
Although he didn't run Thursday, here's a first look at the livery on Del Worsham's new Toyota Funny Car.
Cruz Pedregon and new crew chief Aaron Brooks plan to take it slow as their new alliance makes its debut. The team worked to midnight to get the car ready for their first run.
“We’re a little behind,” Pedregon admitted, “but we’ve been working hard. The car has been gone through from one end to the other. We’ve changed a lot of things, everything from the wheelie bars to the front weight bar. Literally and figuratively. We’ll take it slow because almost everything is new, reworked, or replumbed. We’ve even changed the way we mounted our bodies.”
Although Brooks has spent the last few years tuning the Morgan Lucas Racing Top Fuel teams and hasn’t crew chiefed a Funny Car for a number of years, he’ll be surrounded by familiar equipment.
“We bought a lot of Lucas’ equipment,” said Pedregon. “Clutches, heads, blocks, and even tires. I was down on inventory and needed to replenish, and Morgan had a lot of equipment, most of it new. Aaron was able to help me hand-pick the best equipment, so from that respect, he’s not in unfamiliar territory.”
Jeff Arend will be wheeling Steve Plueger’s Funny Car during testing and the Circle K NHRA Winternationals. The veteran car owner, a renowned chassis builder who built Gary Densham’s first Funny Car in 1969, has hired the talented and versatile Arend to get the car in running order.Arend’s expertise with the clutch and solid driving skills should give the team a much-needed boost. The team probably won’t make any runs until Friday.