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NEWS and RUMORS from NHRA.COM and Other Sources
| NHRA News |
| The Need For Speed |
| At the conclusion of each race, be sure to visit the Race Results page! |
Tony Bartone, who had collected 28 victories in the alcohol classes before joining the Professional
ranks, scored his first career Pro victory in his 119th start in the Funny Car class, holding on to win a
thrilling final-round battle with Ron Capps to highlight the 21st annual Schuck's Auto Supply NHRA
Nationals, the middle leg of NHRA's three-race, three-weekend Western Swing, at Pacific Raceways
outside of Seattle.
Tony Schumacher kept alive his bid to become the sixth Pro driver to sweep the Western Swing and the
fourth in Top Fuel when he titled with a final-round conquest of Brandon Bernstein and Jason Line
triumphed in Pro Stock over Allen Johnson for his second win of the season and his first in Seattle after
finishing as runner-up here the last two seasons.
Tony Bartone
“This [winning as an NHRA Professional] is what you dream about; this is what you work your whole
career to do. Winning was great in the Alcohol ranks: we did a lot of winning, we won championships,
and we won national events and divisional races. But this is a special moment. It’s a culmination of
what you try to accomplish as a racer.”
Bartone made it to his second career Funny Car final round and first since the Las Vegas spring event
in 2005 by besting Gary Scelzi, Mike Neff, and, in the semifinals, Tony Pedregon, with a 4.25 to earn
final-round lane choice. Because the five drivers in front of him in the standings all lost in round one,
Bartone moved up two positions and pulled to within 129 points of a spot in the top 10 with four events
to go.
Capps reached his first final round of the season and the 51st of his career by wheeling his Ed
McCulloch-tuned NAPA Auto Parts Dodge past event-sponsored Del Worsham's perfect light in round
one with a 4.17, Cruz Pedregon in round two with a 4.23, and Gary Densham in the semifinals, 4.26 to
4.27. Despite the final-round loss that denied him a 25th career Funny Car crown and kept him winless
since the 2007 event in Madison last May, Capps moved around John Force and into sixth place
following the 14-time world champ's surprising DNQ
Tony Schumacher
"We're setting records that nobody thought possible. We're doing amazing things together. It's hard to
believe, but it's great to be part of."
In his milestone 250th career raceday start, Schumacher opened with a 3.87-second solo pass when
opponent Steve Chrisman had to shut off behind the line and followed with blasts of 3.93 and 3.97 to
trailer Dark Grubnic's DHL dragster and the Caterpillar car of friendly rival Rod Fuller. Schumacher's
final-round win was his third straight at the event and fourth win at Pacific Raceways in the last five
years.
Bernstein's Budweiser dragster ran low e.t. of the first round with a 3.85 to beat a surprisingly tough
Troy Buff, whose 3.87 was the second quickest of the round and would have beaten any other
opponent. Bernstein then survived a scare in a second-round battle with Cory McClenathan, who swept
the Western Swing in 2007, is a battle of traction-deficient dragsters, 4.33 to 4.91.Bernstein also
battled top-end traction woes in the semifinals, but held of the similarly afflicted machine of Norwalk
winner Doug Herbert, 4.26 to 4.38, to reach his 27th career Top Fuel final. The final-round loss
prevented him from winning his first Wally since last year's Brainerd event, but did allow him some
breathing room in his quest for a berth in the Countdown to 1.
In one of the many key Countdown matchups, 11th-ranked Morgan Lucas defeated ninth-place Doug
Kalitta in round one to pull to within 10 points on a top 10 berth.
Jason Line
“Allen [Johnson] has been running really well, and I was nervous for that race. But it all worked out,
fortunately, and he was a little bit tardy, and when I looked over in high gear and didn’t see that Dodge
over there, I was smiling."
Line, a winner earlier this year in Las Vegas with his Summit Racing Equipment Pontiac, reached his
fifth final of the season and the 33rd career Pro Stock career by trailering the father-son tandem of
Warren and Kurt Johnson in the first two rounds with passes of 6.65 and 6.63, then defeating Greg
Stanfield in the semifinals with a 6.65.
Johnson, runner-up a week ago in Denver to Line's teammate, Greg Anderson, made it to his second
straight final round and the 14th of his career by driving his Mopar Stratus past Larry Morgan, Dave
Connolly, and V Gaines with a steady string of passes -- 6.64, 6.63, and 6.63 –the latter of which
earned him final-round lane choice, but was denied his sixth career win and first since the 2007
Denver event.
Low qualifier Connolly's bid to enter the top 10 was cut down engine woes in round two, but he did gain
20 more points on 10th place W.J. and, after missing the season's first five races, now finds himself
just 26 markers out of a transfer spot to the Countdown to 1 playoffs.
ranks, scored his first career Pro victory in his 119th start in the Funny Car class, holding on to win a
thrilling final-round battle with Ron Capps to highlight the 21st annual Schuck's Auto Supply NHRA
Nationals, the middle leg of NHRA's three-race, three-weekend Western Swing, at Pacific Raceways
outside of Seattle.
Tony Schumacher kept alive his bid to become the sixth Pro driver to sweep the Western Swing and the
fourth in Top Fuel when he titled with a final-round conquest of Brandon Bernstein and Jason Line
triumphed in Pro Stock over Allen Johnson for his second win of the season and his first in Seattle after
finishing as runner-up here the last two seasons.
Tony Bartone
“This [winning as an NHRA Professional] is what you dream about; this is what you work your whole
career to do. Winning was great in the Alcohol ranks: we did a lot of winning, we won championships,
and we won national events and divisional races. But this is a special moment. It’s a culmination of
what you try to accomplish as a racer.”
Bartone made it to his second career Funny Car final round and first since the Las Vegas spring event
in 2005 by besting Gary Scelzi, Mike Neff, and, in the semifinals, Tony Pedregon, with a 4.25 to earn
final-round lane choice. Because the five drivers in front of him in the standings all lost in round one,
Bartone moved up two positions and pulled to within 129 points of a spot in the top 10 with four events
to go.
Capps reached his first final round of the season and the 51st of his career by wheeling his Ed
McCulloch-tuned NAPA Auto Parts Dodge past event-sponsored Del Worsham's perfect light in round
one with a 4.17, Cruz Pedregon in round two with a 4.23, and Gary Densham in the semifinals, 4.26 to
4.27. Despite the final-round loss that denied him a 25th career Funny Car crown and kept him winless
since the 2007 event in Madison last May, Capps moved around John Force and into sixth place
following the 14-time world champ's surprising DNQ
Tony Schumacher
"We're setting records that nobody thought possible. We're doing amazing things together. It's hard to
believe, but it's great to be part of."
In his milestone 250th career raceday start, Schumacher opened with a 3.87-second solo pass when
opponent Steve Chrisman had to shut off behind the line and followed with blasts of 3.93 and 3.97 to
trailer Dark Grubnic's DHL dragster and the Caterpillar car of friendly rival Rod Fuller. Schumacher's
final-round win was his third straight at the event and fourth win at Pacific Raceways in the last five
years.
Bernstein's Budweiser dragster ran low e.t. of the first round with a 3.85 to beat a surprisingly tough
Troy Buff, whose 3.87 was the second quickest of the round and would have beaten any other
opponent. Bernstein then survived a scare in a second-round battle with Cory McClenathan, who swept
the Western Swing in 2007, is a battle of traction-deficient dragsters, 4.33 to 4.91.Bernstein also
battled top-end traction woes in the semifinals, but held of the similarly afflicted machine of Norwalk
winner Doug Herbert, 4.26 to 4.38, to reach his 27th career Top Fuel final. The final-round loss
prevented him from winning his first Wally since last year's Brainerd event, but did allow him some
breathing room in his quest for a berth in the Countdown to 1.
In one of the many key Countdown matchups, 11th-ranked Morgan Lucas defeated ninth-place Doug
Kalitta in round one to pull to within 10 points on a top 10 berth.
Jason Line
“Allen [Johnson] has been running really well, and I was nervous for that race. But it all worked out,
fortunately, and he was a little bit tardy, and when I looked over in high gear and didn’t see that Dodge
over there, I was smiling."
Line, a winner earlier this year in Las Vegas with his Summit Racing Equipment Pontiac, reached his
fifth final of the season and the 33rd career Pro Stock career by trailering the father-son tandem of
Warren and Kurt Johnson in the first two rounds with passes of 6.65 and 6.63, then defeating Greg
Stanfield in the semifinals with a 6.65.
Johnson, runner-up a week ago in Denver to Line's teammate, Greg Anderson, made it to his second
straight final round and the 14th of his career by driving his Mopar Stratus past Larry Morgan, Dave
Connolly, and V Gaines with a steady string of passes -- 6.64, 6.63, and 6.63 –the latter of which
earned him final-round lane choice, but was denied his sixth career win and first since the 2007
Denver event.
Low qualifier Connolly's bid to enter the top 10 was cut down engine woes in round two, but he did gain
20 more points on 10th place W.J. and, after missing the season's first five races, now finds himself
just 26 markers out of a transfer spot to the Countdown to 1 playoffs.
| Bartone gets first Pro win in Seattle; Schumacher and Line also top fields By Phil Burgess, NHRA.com |
Bartone's rollercoaster season, in which he has crashed twice and DNQ'd six
times, took a positive upturn as he wheeled the Jim Dunn-owned and –tuned
Canidae Pet Foods Monte Carlo to victory, but needed to survive a deteriorating
powerplant that almost allowed Ron Capps to run him down in the lights, but
he held on to win, 4,45 to 4.70. Bartone is the third first-time winner in the
class this season, joining Ashley Force and Melanie Troxel, who scored their
breakthrough wins earlier in the year.
“Looking back at last weekend in Denver, we had an extreme amount of
trouble getting down the track, but we were able to turn our program around
and put together a pretty good racecar to race with today and we went four
rounds and brought home the bacon,” Bartone said. “We were lucky enough to
come up with a good raceday tune-up today [after sitting out Saturday’s
qualifying sessions]; it wasn’t perfect, but it went rounds.
times, took a positive upturn as he wheeled the Jim Dunn-owned and –tuned
Canidae Pet Foods Monte Carlo to victory, but needed to survive a deteriorating
powerplant that almost allowed Ron Capps to run him down in the lights, but
he held on to win, 4,45 to 4.70. Bartone is the third first-time winner in the
class this season, joining Ashley Force and Melanie Troxel, who scored their
breakthrough wins earlier in the year.
“Looking back at last weekend in Denver, we had an extreme amount of
trouble getting down the track, but we were able to turn our program around
and put together a pretty good racecar to race with today and we went four
rounds and brought home the bacon,” Bartone said. “We were lucky enough to
come up with a good raceday tune-up today [after sitting out Saturday’s
qualifying sessions]; it wasn’t perfect, but it went rounds.
The final-round meeting between Schumacher and Bernstein, a rematch of the
2005 final here, certainly was not unexpected considering how the two second-
generation drivers battled for the top spot throughout Top Fuel qualifying
before Schumacher locked down the top spot, the 51st of his career, with a
3.80 that stood as low e.t. of the meet. Schumacher then reversed the outcome
of their 2005 final and tallied his 48th career win and seventh this season by
outrunning Bernstein, 3.90 to 4.05.
"It's a blast," said Schumacher. "We've been a pressure team for years. Under
pressure we step up; we do good. Right now, for whatever reason, we're just
having a great time and the car is running good. When you get on a roll like
this, watch out. You see those football teams, when they start smiling and start
playing together really as a team, like we do, we're hard to beat. It's been
outstanding.
2005 final here, certainly was not unexpected considering how the two second-
generation drivers battled for the top spot throughout Top Fuel qualifying
before Schumacher locked down the top spot, the 51st of his career, with a
3.80 that stood as low e.t. of the meet. Schumacher then reversed the outcome
of their 2005 final and tallied his 48th career win and seventh this season by
outrunning Bernstein, 3.90 to 4.05.
"It's a blast," said Schumacher. "We've been a pressure team for years. Under
pressure we step up; we do good. Right now, for whatever reason, we're just
having a great time and the car is running good. When you get on a roll like
this, watch out. You see those football teams, when they start smiling and start
playing together really as a team, like we do, we're hard to beat. It's been
outstanding.
After two straight runner-ups at this event, Line finally scored in Seattle,
defeating Allen Johnson's Dodge on a close 6.65 to 6.66 count for his 15th
career Pro Stock win. The victory also pulled him to within 10 points of second-
place Kurt Johnson.
“It feels great to win, especially here in Seattle. I’ve never had any success
here whatsoever, even with my Stocker,” Line said. “It feels really good to win
here, but it feels even better to drive good. It was a good day for all of us.
“We didn’t have a great car, that’s for sure. We had a lot of issues. We tested
some parts along the way, which was kind of cool, but you don’t really want to
be testing at national events. But it all worked out, and the guys did a great
job, especially getting it down the left lane, which was a little bit tricky.
defeating Allen Johnson's Dodge on a close 6.65 to 6.66 count for his 15th
career Pro Stock win. The victory also pulled him to within 10 points of second-
place Kurt Johnson.
“It feels great to win, especially here in Seattle. I’ve never had any success
here whatsoever, even with my Stocker,” Line said. “It feels really good to win
here, but it feels even better to drive good. It was a good day for all of us.
“We didn’t have a great car, that’s for sure. We had a lot of issues. We tested
some parts along the way, which was kind of cool, but you don’t really want to
be testing at national events. But it all worked out, and the guys did a great
job, especially getting it down the left lane, which was a little bit tricky.