Points Comparison - Dallas

We are halfway through this crazy odyssey known as the Countdown system, and it has indeed produced some very interesting results. The final Countdown to 1 field has already been set for the Pro Bike riders, who will not compete in next weekend's Richmond race. For the other 3 pro classes, only one race remains to be 1 of the last 4 competitors standing. Some analysis below, but first to the points...

A note for the remainder of the season in this series of blogs; as you'll see with the Pro Bikes, once the second Countdown paring takes place, I will only be tracking the "old school points" for the Top 10 in each class, and the Countdown points for the 4 that make the final cut.

TOP FUEL

Old Points System

Rod Fuller - 1,437
Larry Dixon - 1,317
Tony Schumacher - 1,258
Brandon Bernstein - 1,245
J.R. Todd - 1,099
Bob Vandergriff - 1,056
Melanie Troxel - 992
Whit Bazemore - 954
Doug Herbert - 928
David Grubnic - 906

Countdown System
Larry Dixon - 2,297
Rod Fuller - 2,252
Tony Schumacher - 2,247
Brandon Bernstein - 2,221
Bob Vandergriff - 2,200
Whit Bazemore - 2,147
Doug Herbert - 2,136
J.R. Todd - 2,130

As has been the case since the Countdown system kicked off at Indy, it sucks to be Rod Fuller. Consistent and steady all year, Fuller's sizable points lead would very likely have been enough at this point in the year to begin thinking about his first championship. Instead, he finds himself in a tight battle with Dixon, who now leads, and Schumacher, who isn't far behind. I'm also guessing that Bob Vandergriff likes the new system; under the old system, he's a footnote, but in the Countdown, he's 21 points away from competing for the title.


FUNNY CAR

Old Points System

Robert Hight - 1,222
Ron Capps - 1,211
Tony Pedregon - 1,171
John Force - 1,093
Jack Beckman - 1,074
Gary Scelzi - 1,045
Mike Ashley - 1,040
Del Worsham - 944
Jim Head - 896
Tommy Johnson Jr. - 858

Countdown System

Tony Pedregon - 2,259
Robert Hight -2,243
Jack Beckman - 2,213
John Force - 2,191
Ron Capps - 2,188
Gary Scelzi - 2,186
Mike Ashley - 2,176
Jim Head - 2,093

Interestingly enough, the only driver that remains profoundly affected by the Countdown is Ron Capps, already a perennial runner-up candidate. Capps would be out of first place in either format, but on the olds point system would trail Robert Hight by 11, instead of T Ped by 71. Capps needs to have a great race at Richmond race to get his foothold in the championship fight back. The door for Capps, Scelzi and Mike Ashley is wide open, as John Force will fall out of contention since he is unable race due to injuries he sustained in his crash in Dallas.

PRO STOCK

Old Points System

Greg Anderson - 1,403
Dave Connolly - 1,387
Allen Johnson - 1,116
Jeg Coughlin - 1,090
Jason Line - 1,031
Kurt Johnson - 1,023
Warren Johnson - 961
Larry Morgan - 941
V. Gaines - 840
Richie Stevens - 863

Countdown System

Dave Connolly - 2,408
Greg Anderson - 2,356
Allen Johnson - 2,204
Jeg Coughlin - 2,188
Jason Line -2,170
Kurt Johnson - 2,159
Larry Morgan - 2,138
Warren Johnson - 2,102

Both systems have Greg Anderson and Dave Connolly set up for a battle to the wire for the Pro Stock title, and what a battle it's been. Even though Connolly has the hottest car in all of drag racing, Anderson has been right there with him. The battle to watch is for the last spot in the Countdown between Jeg Coughlin, Jason Line and Kurt Johnson.

PRO STOCK BIKE

Old Points System

Matt Smith - 1,138
Andrew Hines - 1,042
Angelle Sampey - 920
Chip Ellis -827
Peggy Llewellyn - 793
Craig Treble - 767
Karen Stoffer - 744
Eddie Krawiec - 712
Steve Johnson - 683
Chris Rivas - 636

Countdown System

Andrew Hines - 2,320
Matt Smith - 2,275
Chip Ellis - 2,244
Peggy Llewellyn- 2,234

Obviously, the biggest victor of the Countdown spoils in Pro Bike is Peggy Llewellyn, who is now going to battle for a championship. Under the old system, Peggy was already toast by several hundred points. Chip Ellis would have also been more or less eliminated from title hopes talk by now as well, but is instead going to get to challenge the Harley throne of Andrew Hines. Much like Rod Fuller in Top Fuel, Matt Smith gets a raw deal here. The bikes are not back in action until the penultimate race in Las Vegas.

Points Comparison - Memphis

Hey readers - here's a quick look at the points as they are and as they would be. Not much time for my usual color commentary, so here's a VERY BRIEF summary and I promise to write more after I break down the points after this weekend's action in Dallas.

TF - It still sucks to be Rod Fuller, but it must be nice to be Doug Herbert
FC - Just like TF, except Rod Fuller = Ron Capps, and Doug Herbert = Jack Beckman
PS - You think Greg Anderson is tired of Dave Connolly yet?
PSB - It's pretty much Andrew Hines v Matt Smith either way, but I bet Hines likes this system more

TOP FUEL

Old Points System

Rod Fuller - 1,382
Tony Schumacher - 1,227
Larry Dixon - 1,203
Brandon Bernstein - 1,193
J.R. Todd - 1,061
Bob Vandergriff - 964
Melanie Troxel - 955
Doug Herbert - 918
Whit Bazemore - 882
David Grubnic - 874

Countdown System

Tony Schumacher - 2,216
Rod Fuller - 2,197
Larry Dixon - 2,183
Brandon Bernstein - 2,169
Doug Herbert - 2,126
Bob Vandergriff - 2,108
J.R. Todd - 2,092
Whit Bazemore - 2,075

FUNNY CAR

Old Points System

Robert Hight - 1,212
Ron Capps - 1,179
Tony Pedregon - 1,059
Jack Beckman - 1,041
John Force - 1,017
Mike Ashley - 1,013
Gary Scelzi - 1,013
Del Worsham - 889
Jim Head - 865
Tommy Johnson Jr. - 807

Countdown System

Robert Hight -2,233

Jack Beckman - 2,180

Ron Capps - 2,156

Gary Scelzi - 2,154
Tony Pedregon - 2,147
Mike Ashley - 2,144
John Force - 2,115
Jim Head - 2,062

PRO STOCK

Old Points System

Greg Anderson - 1,305
Dave Connolly - 1,270
Jeg Coughlin - 1,058
Allen Johnson - 1,041
Kurt Johnson - 991
Jason Line - 959
Warren Johnson - 930
Larry Morgan - 888
V. Gaines - 807
Richie Stevens - 807

Countdown System

Dave Connolly - 2,291
Greg Anderson - 2,258
Jeg Coughlin - 2,156
Allen Johnson - 2,129
Kurt Johnson - 2,127
Jason Line -2,098
Larry Morgan - 2,085
Warren Johnson - 2,071

PRO STOCK BIKE

Old Points System

Matt Smith - 1,062
Andrew Hines - 945
Angelle Sampey - 867
Chip Ellis -749
Craig Treble - 735
Karen Stoffer - 690
Peggy Llewellyn - 678
Eddie Krawiec - 659
Steve Johnson - 652
Chris Rivas - 626

Countdown System

Andrew Hines - 2,223
Matt Smith - 2,199
Craig Treble - 2,187
Chip Ellis - 2,166
Angelle Sampey - 2,126
Peggy Llewellyn - 2,119
Eddie Krawiec - 2,103
Karen Stoffer - 2,103

A little of Column A, a little of Column B

Sorry for the delay in the actions loyal readers, I actually managed to sneak off to Las Vegas for a vacation and have been playing catch-up since I got back to work.

As the Memphis action is heating up and John Force is vigilantly checking for Elvis around the 1,000 foot mark, I wanted to quickly make good on my promise to track the points as they would have been under the old system and how they are under the new Countdown format.

I have to give a MAJOR AWESOME SHOUT OUT to me good friend and first subscriber, Mikey K, who is a math/economics whiz and put together the most excellent spreadsheet by which I will be tracking this from race to race. You rock, buddy!

This is what the points would have looked like after Indy under both systems.

TOP FUEL

Old Points System

Rod Fuller - 1,329
Tony Schumacher - 1,189
Larry Dixon - 1,167
Brandon Bernstein - 1,116
J.R. Todd - 1,009
Bob Vandergriff - 932
Melanie Troxel - 841
Whit Bazemore - 827
Doug Herbert - 824
David Grubnic - 823

Countdown System

Tony Schumacher - 2,178
Larry Dixon - 2,147
Rod Fuller - 2,144
Brandon Bernstein - 2,092
Bob Vandergriff - 2,076
J.R. Todd - 2,040
Doug Herbert - 2,032
Whit Bazemore - 2,020

FUNNY CAR

Old Points System

Robert Hight - 1,134
Ron Capps - 1,127
Tony Pedregon - 1,025
Mike Ashley - 998
John Force - 962
Jack Beckman - 947
Gary Scelzi - 901
Del Worsham - 838
Jim Head - 834
Tommy Johnson Jr. - 731

Countdown System

Robert Hight -2,155
Mike Ashley - 2,134
Tony Pedregon - 2,113
Ron Capps - 2,104
Jack Beckman - 2,086
John Force - 2,060
Gary Scelzi - 2,042
Jim Head - 2,031

PRO STOCK

Old Points System

Greg Anderson - 1,209
Dave Connolly - 1,155
Allen Johnson - 1,007
Jeg Coughlin - 985
Jason Line - 922
Kurt Johnson - 884
Warren Johnson - 879
Larry Morgan - 836
V. Gaines - 775
Richie Stevens - 753

Countdown System

Dave Connolly - 2,176
Greg Anderson - 2,162
Allen Johnson - 2,095
Kurt Johnson - 2,094
Jeg Coughlin - 2,083
Jason Line -2,061
Larry Morgan - 2,033
Warren Johnson - 2,020


PRO STOCK BIKE

Old Points System

Matt Smith - 1,028
Angelle Sampey - 833
Andrew Hines - 828
Chip Ellis -691
Craig Treble - 662
Karen Stoffer - 659
Eddie Krawiec - 607
Peggy Llewellyn - 602
Chris Rivas - 591
Steve Johnson - 561

Countdown System

Matt Smith - 2,165
Craig Treble - 2,114
Andrew Hines - 2,106
Chip Ellis - 2,108
Angelle Sampey - 2,092
Karen Stoffer - 2,072
Eddie Krawiec - 2,051
Peggy Llewellyn - 2,043

So here's the quick summary: I'm sure Rod Fuller is missing his points lead (and who wouldn't be?) Ron Capps falls out of first place either way, although under the old system, he'd be 7 points out of first place, as opposed to the 54 point deficit he has now. I'm sure everyone that isn't named Greg Anderson loves the the new points system, and Dave Connolly especially. And in Pro Bike, it's awesome to be Craig Treble right now, and notably less awesome to be Matt Smith. More updates to come after Memphis.

Troxel kicks off Indy big announcements

Each year, the MAC Tools U.S. Nationals are the backdrop for drag racing's biggest stage. I mean hey, they don't call it the Superbowl of drag racing for nothing. Since this race gets the most attention, teams often wait to make their big announcements for next season under the bright lights of O'Reilly Raceway Park. 2007 has not disappointed so far, here's a quick run down of who's going to be driving what for whom. Oh, and the NHRA had some pretty big news as well (skip to the bottom if you just can't wait...)

- As has been rumored for about a month now, Melanie Troxel made it official and announced her switch to the Funny Car ranks in 2008. She will remain under the sponsorship banner of Evan Knoll and be paired up with Mike Ashley and his Gotham City Racing team and crew chief Brian Corradi, also sponsored by Knoll's Torco operation. Troxel is not a total stranger to the floppers; she raced an alcohol FC earlier in her career. It's an exciting move for Troxel, but a bit of curious one. The Funny Car class seems to get more crowded and competitive every year, but that has not scared away drivers like Troxel. Look for even more ridiculous DNQ's in that class next year.

- Speaking of abandoning the Top Fuel ranks for a shorter wheel base, J.R. Todd announced his departure from Dexter Tuttle Racing, following the conclusion of the 2007 season. Todd will join his good friend Brandon Bernstein under the Kenny Bernstein Racing banner in 2008, though that team remains unsponsored. It also not yet known if he'll be behind the wheel a TF of FC machine, but current crew chief Kevin Poynter will make the transition with Todd. Here's a scary thought for you, though; next year, either Kenny and crew chief Jimmy Walsh or Brandon and crew chief Tim Richards are going to have twice as much tuning data... yikes.

- Taking Todd's seat at Tuttle Racing will be Alan Bradshaw, who was most recently with Bill Miller's team. As mentioned above, the team is losing their Evan Knoll Torco Sponsorship, so as of now they plan to run a limited 2008 schedule. Could be a great sleeper pick.

- The NHRA definitely made the biggest splash so far, announcing that the already grueling race schedule is set to expand to 24 races in 2008. The new event, scheduled to take place right after Indianapolis, will run September 11-14. The location of this new fall event will be announced in the very near future, likely before the end of the long weekend. To accomodate the new event, the Memphis event has been relocated to September 26-28. This new race will be a Pro Bike event, adding a 17th race to their schedule. For those of you following along at home, that would make this new event the first of the final 6 races of the season. This leads to 2 possible outcomes - either that NHRA intends to expand the Countdown to 4 (or 2) by one race, or they intend to make Indy the cut-off race instead of Reading. I'm more inclined to believe the first theory, as Indy is already such a high profile race, it would seem like a bit much to add even more drama to the historic event. NHRA has already said they will not reveal these details before the conclusion of the 2007 season. Aside from that news, the rest of the 2008 schedule remains largely the same.

Stay tuned for more team and sponsor announcements right here. Oh yeah, I think there's a drag race going on too.

The Countdown to 4 - My picks

Prognostication abound! A quick look at how my original set of predictions went, and if you're still impressed, my picks for the next cut on the road to glory.

TOP FUEL

I picked: Tony Schumacher, Rod Fuller, Doug Kalitta, Whit Bazemore, J.R. Todd, Cory McClenathan, Melanie Troxel & Brandon Bernstein (Wild Card - Hillary Will)

Made the Countdown to 4: Rod Fuller, Tony Schumacher, Larry Dixon, Brandon Bernstein, J.R. Todd, Bob Vandergriff, Whit Bazemore, Doug Herbert

Even though I atoned for it previously, I will admit that thinking Larry Dixon would have subpar seasons back to back was a mistake on my part. Donnie Bender - 1, Me - 0. I don't think anyone can blame me for thinking that Doug Kalitta, after nearly capturing his first world title in 2006, would make the Countdown. I was almost correct about Melanie Troxel as well, but since Morgan Lucas doesn't know how to play nice in the sandbox, Doug Herbert gets the nod instead.

Who Makes the Countdown to 2: Schumacher, Bernstein, Fuller, Dixon

This one was actually a lot easier to pick than I thought. Schumacher is a no brainer, especially given the late season magic that he and Alan Johnson have become known for. Bernstein has a class high 5 wins and looks to figure into the final picture quite easily. The same can be said for Fuller, who hasn't necessarily blown competitors away with the big number, but has been alarmingly consistent. Dixon has been very strong this year, but it's worth pointing out that he could easily be replaced with J.R. Todd. Doug Herbert lucked his way into the Countdown and doesn't factor down the stretch. Bazemore and Vandergriff face longs odds, but, wouldn't it be something is Vandergriff managed to win the Top Fuel championship having never won a race?

FUNNY CAR

I picked: John Force, Gary Scelzi, Robert Hight, Ron Capps, Eric Medlen, Tommy Johnson Jr., Jack Beckman & Ashley Force (Wild Card - Scott Kalitta)

Made the Countdown to 4: Ron Capps, Robert Hight, John Force, Tony Pedregon, Jack Beckman, Mike Ashley, Gary Scelzi, Jim Head

For a while there, it was looking like I might have to eat crow on my John Force pick - well, me and every other drag facing with half a pulse and ESPN2. No worries, as the elder Force is back with a vengance, though his prodigy and daughter, Ashley Force, didn't quite have enough gas in the tank. I really thought TJ was going to have a banner year and build off his success in 2006, but that car was never consistent. And, as I said before, aside from my good friend Mikey K, who saw Jim Head coming?

Who Makes the Countdown to 2: Force, Hight, Ashley, Beckman

I struggled picking 4 cars here because there are 6 really good cars in contention (apologies to Jim Head and Tony Pedregon.) It also seems bold to exclude Ron Capps, who has been leading the points battle for the large majority of the season. Yet, I am a big believer in momentum and no one has more momentum right now than John Force. This paragraph will be completely moot if no one can stop this roll that Force is on right now. Capps on the other hand has limped into the Countdown on the merit of his strong early season performances. Looking better is Jack Beckman, who has been good lately. Ashley can put up the big numbers, and I think he will. Likewise for Hight and crew chief Jimmy Prock. For what it's worth, I hope I'm wrong about Ron "always a bridesmaid, never a bride" Capps, I really do.

PRO STOCK

I picked: Greg Anderson, Jason Line, Kurt Johnson, Dave Connolly, Mike Edwards, Greg Stanfield, Jeg Coughlin, Allen Johnson (Wild Card - Warren Johnson)

Made the Countdown to 4: Greg Anderson, Dave Connolly, Jeg Coughlin, Allen Johnson, Jason Line, Kurt Johnson, Warren Johnson, Larry Morgan

This was by far the easiest class in which to select a field of 8, in my opinion, and I think all the evidence that you need is to see that I only missed 1 driver, Larry Morgan. Morgan, though he almost missed out on the Countdown in Reading, hung in there and has been resurgent of late. I don't think you'll see Larry in the Countdown to 2, but he could give some contenders a problem. Not sure what happened to Mike Edwards this season, but he probably could have skipped a few races and it's unlikely that anyone would have noticed.

Who Makes the Countdown to 2: Anderson, Connolly, Coughlin, A. Johnson

I realize it might seem insane not to pick defending world champ Jason Line to make the next cut and defend his title, but his consistency has been off. Of course, there's no telling how much of that performance was R & D for Team Summit, so I may take this one on the chin. For Morgan, KJ and WJ, it's a victory to be in contention, but they do not have enough performance or holeshot magic to stay afloat against Team Cagnazzi and Greg Anderson. I expect a Jeg v Greg dual to the finish.

Pro Stock Bike

Made the Countdown to 4: Matt Smith, Angelle Sampey, Andrew Hines, Karen Stoffer, Chip Ellis, Eddie Krawiec, Peggy Llewellyn, Craig Treble

There were some definite surprise newcomers that made their way into this field. I definitely left Eddie Krawiec for dead months ago, but with the funding of Harley Davidson and the tuning of Matt Hines, it's a good thing he made the show, as there would be no excuse not to. On the other hand, Peggy Llewellyn runs out of a lesser-funder stable and has no team mate to speak of, but has been impressive this year. It's more surprising that the likes of Antron Brown and Shawn Gann missed out here, Brown serving as PSB's version of Doug Kalitta.

Who Makes the Countdown to 2: Sampey, Hines, Smith, Krawiec

Treble doesn't have the horsepower, and Llewellyn doesn't have the experience, but both are great riders and should be interesting to watch in the final 6 races. Karen Stoffer had a strong start to the year but has been invisible of late, often qualifying in the bottom half of the field. Chip Ellis is a bit of a wild card, but I don't think he has the consistency to keep up. Hines could easily win his 4th consecutive championship this year, but Sampey does have the best bike in the class. If she can fix her problems on the starting line, I like her to win it all.

Only 3 days until the first Indy qualifying session.

Game on

The scoreboard watching is over, it finally stopped raining in Reading and at long last, the Countdown to the Championship is about to get underway at the SuperBowl of drag racing, the MAC Tools U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis over Labor Day weekend. Admittedly, as you may have read right here in this very blog last summer, I was not a fan of the Countdown format. Nope, not even a little bit. However, I'm a big enough man to admit when I'm wrong, and I think this new format might be entertaining after all. Though we've yet to see how it plays out, I don't think I'll ever be a fan of the second Countdown cut (aka the Countdown to 2, which pares the fields down to the top 4 pros with just 2 races left.) I appreciate that the NHRA is trying to level the playing field and increase excitement, but 2 field cuts in 6 races is excessive.

Despite some seriously awful weather, Reading offered a lot of drag racing dramatics as well. At the end of the day, however, only Doug Herbert was able to capitalize on his longshot odds and actually achieve a berth in the Countdown field. V. Gaines, Richie Stevens, Chris Rivas and Del Worsham all failed to go far enough in their ladders to make the big show - spoilers it is, fellas. I do feel for David Grubnic and the Zantrex 3 team. Believe it or not, Grubnic's car has not been out of the top 8 in points all season, until of course, after the final pair at Reading. That is a very, very tough pill to swallow.

Speaking of Team CSK, I would like to offer applause to Jeff Arend and his Blue CSK team for doing the right thing in their Round 1 match-up with the boss, Del Worsham. Arend, now there's a guy that knows how (and when) to take a dive. It seemed a forgone conclusion that Arend would lay it down for Worsham so he could keep his hopes of making the Countdown alive, but forgone conclusions were in short supply in Reading (just ask Melanie Troxel). I also respect that Team CSK didn't attempt to make their dive appear accidental, but rather stood up and showed the world where their priorities were. Smart, and classy - Morgan Lucas, I hope you're taking notes.

Keep your eyes peeled for a onslaught of blogs this weekend, as I have Countdown picks coming your way. And, in a series of blogs I'm sure the NHRA doesn't want you to see, I am going to be tracking the points in both formats for the remainder of the season. I'm extremely interested, as I hope you readers are, to see how the points races might have played out under the traditional format. Keep it here.

Building an ark in Reading

Well, to no one's surprise, least of all mine, it rained today. In any other blog, that might seem insignificant, but if you're reading this blog, you probably know why this turn in climatic fortunes was a shock to nobody. Maple Grove Raceway, tucked away in the scenic hills of farm country, Pennsylvania, is my "home track." I've been attending this race in person since 1993, and I love it. But Maple Grove, it seems, is cursed. Rain finds a way to touch this race almost every single year, be it qualifying, eliminations, or the entire weekend (as was the case in 2006.) This year, NHRA officials moved Reading into August (from its traditional September spot) in hopes of avoiding this soggy fate - ah, but Pennsylvania was not fooled. As we rolled into the track this morning, I took one look at the ominous sky and I knew where this was headed. A mere 11 pairs of fuel machines later, rain persisted for many hours, forcing NHRA officials to postpone the remaining action until Monday morning - the forecast, in case you were wondering, calls for rain. Be shocked.

THERE IS GOOD NEWS! Despite my soggy wet disappointment of not getting my nitro fix, the 11 pairs that did get to run this morning left fans with no shortage of things to discuss, including a few story lines with Countdown implications. Here's the news & notes for those 22 fortunate racers who saw action today.

- Glancing at my eliminations ladder this morning, I felt as though Melanie Troxel was guaranteed an easy 20 points in Round 1, being paired against her teammate, Morgan Lucas. I thought for sure that Lucas, with little more than pride to race for, would take the dive and help his teammate get one step closer to that 8th and final Countdown spot. Instead, I had to pick my bottom jaw up off the bleacher when Lucas took 5 hundreths on the tree and then proceeded to put a spanking on Troxel, eliminating her from the Countdown. Apparently, Morgan Lucas is not only a terribly average Top Fuel driver, he's also a terrible team owner and business person. For pride's sake, Morgan Lucas has a round win, and Morgan Lucas racing has exactly zero cars competing for the championship. Smooth move. Usually, I would expect a racer who declined to take the dive to use the "what would my sponsors say" defense, but when your sponsors are mommy and daddy, what the hell! Poor showing Morgan Lucas, very poor.

- Cory McClenathan, still technically alive for that 8th Countdown spot (just ask Melanie Troxel), put the hurt on Larry Dixon with a 4.526. Should be interesting to see if Cory Mac can find some 11th hour magic - if we ever get this race in.

- Tony Schumacher cuts a .151 light and loses to Doug Foley on a holeshot. Bad for the fantasy team, but amusing to see in person, I assure you.

- Mike Neff, despite having officially parted ways with Don Schumacher Racing, was seen milling about Tony Schumacher's pits in street clothes. Probably just a rainy day conversation, but man did he look like an exile in that crowd.

- Props to Jack Beckman and his MTS team for their Round 1 gamble. Imagine my surprise when the first pair of Funny Cars that rolled to the line was Beckman and John Force. Beckman, as the #2 qualifier, had his pick of where in the order to run in Round 1, save whatever spot #1 qualifier Del Worsham had selected. Why then would Beckman opt to to be the first pair of floppers out, instead of hanging back as the 6th or 7th pair and seeing what the other cars were doing? Because if Beckman makes Force run first, Force and crew chief Austin Coil have no run data from Force stable maters Ashley Force and Robert Hight, hopefully making Force more vulnerable. No doubt, a gamble because Force has seemed unstoppable lately, but in my opinion, a really aggressive move and I like it. Unfortunately for Beckman, his engine let go before half track, so we'll never know if he could have beaten Force's 4.79.

- Force, by virtue of his Round 1 win and Mike Ashley's DNQ, will enter the Countdown in 3rd place. Don't be fooled by the similar Castrol paint job, this is not the same team that rolled into Bristol with a paltry 2 round wins on the year. Note to the other 7 Funny Car drivers in the Countdown... be afraid, be very afraid.

More to come on everyone's favorite wet drag race, whenever that is. I will tell you this, I don't envy NHRA VP of Operations, Graham Light, right now. With more rain on tap for the coming days and the all important Indy test sessions scheduled for mid-week, I would not want to be the guy who has to figure out how and when to make this drag race happen.