7/15/08

Just remember, it’s all about the Countdown.

Yeh, I know, we all would love to see John or Ashley or Robert or Mike win them all but in reality, the Countdown to the Championship now rewards consistency—enough consistency to get you into the Countdown to 1 when the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals are over. Sure, it never hurts to win a bunch of races along the way, but there’s a whole new rhythm needed to win the NHRA POWERade Championship than there was under the previous points system.

I guess I’m saying all this because the Mile High Nationals were a big letdown for JFR with Robert advancing the furthest of all four drivers by getting to the semi-finals. And I don’t think the 1000-foot distance had anything to do with the outcome of the race. There was a ton of side-by-side racing in both Top Fuel and Funny Car and races were decided by what happened in the first 100-feet, not because there were 320 fewer feet at the other end.

And what can you say about Tim Wilkerson? Is he a phenomenon this year, or what? I spoke to him on Tuesday and said, “Well, let’s see…a quarter-mile, 1000-feet, it really doesn’t matter. Hey, maybe it’s time to try Bonneville!!” He got a chuckle out of that, but in all honesty, Tim is taking all of his success this year in perfect stride. He’s enjoying the ride and not making any promises he or his racecar can’t keep.

Meanwhile, the JFR winless streak may be a bummer, but all four of the teams are in the top ten and that means, at least for now, we’ll see all four cars in the Countdown to 1. Mike will have to start winning some rounds since he’s in ninth place, only 72 points ahead of Bob Tasca Jr. who has proven this year that even as a rookie, he can come up with some round wins no matter who is in the other lane. And how big a deal would it be for Ford to have all four of JFR’s Mustangs in the Countdown to 1 AND for Bob Tasca Jr. to be in the playoffs, too?

While everyone was in Denver this past weekend, I was actually at Lime Rock Park in Connecticut for the American LeMans sports car race. Lime Rock is a track where I have been both a spectator and participant for over 20 years, having done a fair amount of road racing in some pretty quick production-based cars since 1986. Of course, when I began covering the NHRA for both TV and print in 1994, which was really the end of my racing career since my job suddenly required me to travel on most weekends.

Lime Rock is nestled in the rolling hills of the Berkshires in western Massachusetts and northeastern Connecticut. It’s truly a gem of a facility where there are no grandstands. Fans just sit on the grass-covered hill surrounding the track in their beach chairs or on picnic blankets and watch the action. I will admit there is far less adrenaline amongst the sports car faithful than you’ll find at an NHRA national event, but I guess that’s the difference between 300 and 8000 horsepower!

We’ll be drag racing again in Seattle in a matter of days and taking on the second stop on this year’s Western Swing. Let’s hope for a better outing for the team at Pacific Raceways where John has won 7 times in his career.

Don’t forget to catch me on ESPN2’s coverage of the Russo & Steele Collector Car Auction on Sunday mornings and “Appraise My Car” on Discovery HD Theater late Tuesday nights. I’ll have more, right here, from “In the Groove” when things get wrapped up in Seattle.

Until then, keep right except when passing slower traffic, keep that left lane open, and drive safely!