2/11/08

Man, it is so FREAKING GREAT to be drag racing again—and that’s from a few different perspectives. Not only is the off-season over (although that seemed to fly by), but seeing John recover from his injuries to the point that he can get back into the race car was something we’ve all been looking forward to since last September. Life is good again.

And you can’t really complain too much about the kind of weekend the team had in Pomona. Although Courtney lost in the first round in her maiden voyage in Top Alcohol Dragster, she drove well and impressed everyone. She was beaten in Round 1 by Joey Severance—who wound up finishing runner-up to Duane Shields—so that was a tough customer she had in the other lane.

But the highlight of the weekend for JFR—next to Robert winning the race—was John’s final qualifying run on Saturday. He was not qualified going into the last session and needed a 4.87 or better to crack into the field. So what did he do? Stop me if you’ve heard this before but he rocked the place with a 4.82 shot that moved him into the No. 3 spot and he eventually began raceday in the No. 4 spot. Another classic John Force moment!

Sunday wasn’t too shabby a deal, either. While Mike Neff lost in the first round to Cruz Pedregon, the other three JFR cars all went to the semi-finals. Ashley also lost to Cruz and Robert took out John. But the final round was the real war when Robert squeezed past Cruz by 1/100 of a second. A great start to the year.

And Robert wasn’t exactly an odds-on favorite to win the Winternationals. It wasn’t until the first qualifying session of the day on Saturday that Jimmy gave Robert a tune-up that allowed him to make a full pass for the first time. On Friday, they just couldn’t get the car to hook up and when qualifying had ended, Robert was way down in the No. 9 spot. But if there’s one axiom in drag racing that is as true today as it’s ever been, qualifying performance is not a sure indicator of what will happen in eliminations.

Some people asked me over the weekend why Brittany wasn’t racing her Top Alcohol Dragster in Pomona and the answer is simple: She hasn’t completed her licensing procedures yet. Once that’s been handled, she’ll be out there alongside Courtney racing in her own A/Fuel car.

But as far as I’m concerned, the fact that the new season has begun is reason enough to celebrate. With just over a month to go until the first day of spring, it’s not a bad time of the year if you are a drag racing fan.

Two weeks to regroup and then we’ll be at Firebird International Raceway for the next event. I’ll be there covering the race for ESPN.com and conducting my Vocal Point Media Workshop with a bunch of NHRA pro drivers (including Mike Neff). I’ll also be continuing to host the Russo & Steele Collector Car Auction show on ESPN2 and ESPN Classic before the Champ Car World Series gets underway in April and I’ll be fulfilling my role as Lead Pit Reporter for the ESPN/ABC telecasts. Of course, after every NHRA national event, I’ll have something to say right here, “In the Groove”, so I hope you’ll make it a habit to check back throughout the season.

Thanks!