When the thrill of victory comes your way, several emotions overcome you. Tears of Joy, happiness, and laughter. It happens in so many types of sports from baseball, to football, to hockey, and even drag racing. The thrill of blasting down 1,000ft, unleashing upwards of 8,000 horsepower at nearly 6 times the force of gravity is an indescribable feeling. But what makes all of the preparation by the team worth while is seeing the win light in your lane come on and as the @NHRA hands you that beautiful "Wally", your left almost speechless.
On May 20, 2012, the @NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing series made its annual stop at Heartland Park Topeka and the Dollar General Summernationals. For Austrailian Top Fuel and @TeamKalitta pilot David Grubnic, it had been six long years since he last captured an national event win. But on this weekend, the Candlewood Suites team set to end the drought on what would be a very hot afternoon.
David's first round opponent was the C&J Energy machine of Bob Vandergriff (who just the year prior ended a 14 year drought of his own with a win in texas). Vandergriff left first at the hit but experienced problems as Grubnic raced to the win running a 3.817 at 322.960 moving to the 2nd round.
The conditions however changed dramatically for the next round. The clouds parted, and the sun would beat down upon the race track sending track temps soaring over 130 degrees in a matter of moments forcing crews to make adjustments to their cars.
David's next round opponent was the most recent winner on the NHRA circuit Steve Torrence and his Capco sponsored dragster. Both Grubnic and Torrence experienced traction issues at the hit but Steve in his dragster would slide sideways crossing the centerline thus handing the win to David and his tire smoking 4.634.
The unrelenting heat and humidity continued in the semi finals as one by one cars had difficulty obtaining traction. Grubnic's semi finals opponent was Brandon Bernstein in his MavTV sponsored dragster. As both drivers performed their customary burnouts, Bernstein would suffer heartbreak as a fuel line broke forcing him to shut off handing the win to David who smoked his tires running only a 4.99.
Luck it seemed was on the side of the Kalitta camp, but their final round opponent would be Spencer Massey and his Fram sponsored dragster. Grubby's team felt confident their cars' set up would give Massey and DSR a run for their money. At the start, Massey left first with a 0.039 reaction time to David's 0.047. At half track they were even, however the top end would tell the tale as Grubnic would power past Spencer's 3.910-309.980 to win with a 3.893-319.070 capturing the "wally"; his first in 6 years.
At the start line, the jubilation over Grubnic's was clearly evident as the "Bounty Hunter" Connie Kalitta and the entire stable let loose a celebration unlike any ever seen before. As the team made their way down the track, the crowd gave them a standing ovation. David, sitting on the front end of his Candlewood Suites dragster happily exhaled and thanked his crew for their hard work and determination in winning at Topeka. The Kalitta family has been a stable in the @NHRAfamily for many years and after what seemed a lifetime, the smiles of everyone on the team in victory circle was a wonderful sight to see.
For the past 2 national events, the NHRA top fuel deck has been shuffled. To see faces both new and old winning has many fans excited for the season to come, and with the victory in Topeka, David Grubnic and @TeamKalitta proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that with a little bit of luck, perseverance does indeed pay off.
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
When the Little Guys beat the Big Guys
In life, the male is dominant in the house, but in my household my grandmother was always the driving force in our family. She introduced our family to so many sports like baseball, basketball, football , hockey, and yes drag racing. Our Family always enjoyed whenever there was an upset in any sport. It made you realize that how hard a team works to defy their critics and show just what their team is made of. Its a basic tenant of life in whatever you do
2 weeks ago, Steve Torrence and his team came into the Summit Racing Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway event with high hopes as he placed his Richard Hogan tuned Capco Top Fueler in the #2 position behind 7 time champ Tony Schumacher in the qualifying order. Torrence ran brilliantly in the heat as he beat JR Todd 3.84 to a 3.85. Track temperature at the time of the 1st round was over 130 degrees. Torrence would continue his astonishing pace in the heat as he defeated Bob Vandergriff 3.848 to a 3.884 to reach the semi finals.
The performance of the team was surprising to many but not to Steves fans which has been building and building. Chris Hobson (@NitroChrisUK) has been a vocal fan of Torrance's for quite awile, as well as John Amorosono (@NitroJohn) as well as myself. Most felt from the out set at Pomona during the Winternationals (where Torrence qualified near the top of the top fuel field) his first event wally wasn't too far away from his grasp.
In the semi finals, Steve would face Brandon Bernstein in his MAVTV Top Fuel dragster. Once again with track temps being over 130 degrees, Torrence continued his bracket car like pace as he defeated Bernstein 3.886 t0 a 3.890. As you can tell from his 3.82 in qualifying thru his semi final 3.886, Richard Hogan really had a great set up for the unrelenting heat.
But Steve Torrence's opponenet in the finals was none other than 7 time Top Fuel Champion Tony Schumacher in the US ARMY Top Fueler who had been mired in a winless drought. Torrence, having lane choice over Schumacher chose the lane nearest to the tv cameras which left Schumacher with the far lane which did not have many good runs in that lane. Although Schumacher left the line first with 0.031 reaction time to Torrence's slightly slower 0.046 rt, Tony smoked the tires near half track which gave the win to Steve Torrence who ran another fantastic 3.893 to win his first national event.
When a small private team can come up and challenge the might of Don Schumacher racing ( a team that I like very much) and win with consistency such as Steve Torrence had in Atlanta, it is amazing and an astonishing joy to watch. Many fans have felt in drag racing, anyone can be beaten on any given sunday during the season. This is something that sport of the @NHRA full throttle drag racing series prides itself on. That one day, just one day the Little Guys can beat The Big Guys.
2 weeks ago, Steve Torrence and his team came into the Summit Racing Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway event with high hopes as he placed his Richard Hogan tuned Capco Top Fueler in the #2 position behind 7 time champ Tony Schumacher in the qualifying order. Torrence ran brilliantly in the heat as he beat JR Todd 3.84 to a 3.85. Track temperature at the time of the 1st round was over 130 degrees. Torrence would continue his astonishing pace in the heat as he defeated Bob Vandergriff 3.848 to a 3.884 to reach the semi finals.
The performance of the team was surprising to many but not to Steves fans which has been building and building. Chris Hobson (@NitroChrisUK) has been a vocal fan of Torrance's for quite awile, as well as John Amorosono (@NitroJohn) as well as myself. Most felt from the out set at Pomona during the Winternationals (where Torrence qualified near the top of the top fuel field) his first event wally wasn't too far away from his grasp.
In the semi finals, Steve would face Brandon Bernstein in his MAVTV Top Fuel dragster. Once again with track temps being over 130 degrees, Torrence continued his bracket car like pace as he defeated Bernstein 3.886 t0 a 3.890. As you can tell from his 3.82 in qualifying thru his semi final 3.886, Richard Hogan really had a great set up for the unrelenting heat.
But Steve Torrence's opponenet in the finals was none other than 7 time Top Fuel Champion Tony Schumacher in the US ARMY Top Fueler who had been mired in a winless drought. Torrence, having lane choice over Schumacher chose the lane nearest to the tv cameras which left Schumacher with the far lane which did not have many good runs in that lane. Although Schumacher left the line first with 0.031 reaction time to Torrence's slightly slower 0.046 rt, Tony smoked the tires near half track which gave the win to Steve Torrence who ran another fantastic 3.893 to win his first national event.
When a small private team can come up and challenge the might of Don Schumacher racing ( a team that I like very much) and win with consistency such as Steve Torrence had in Atlanta, it is amazing and an astonishing joy to watch. Many fans have felt in drag racing, anyone can be beaten on any given sunday during the season. This is something that sport of the @NHRA full throttle drag racing series prides itself on. That one day, just one day the Little Guys can beat The Big Guys.
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
The Best value in Motorsports
As race fans attend their favorite auto racing series, access to their favorite teams and drivers is important. moments where as fan can reach out and get a picture, a hand shake or hug can really make a racing weekend that much more memorable. And as most racing afficianados know, interaction is key in the race to bring in the most fan support for a given series. If you were to stop and look for a series for a place to meet and talk to your racing role models, look no further than the @NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series. Let me state some of the reasons why:
With an admission ticket being a pitpass, the fans have the ability to interact with their favorite drivers, take pictures or get autographs from them, and watch the teams as they work on their racing machines. Drag Racing stars such John Force, Robert Hight, Courtney Force, Ron Capps, Antron Brown, Tony Schumacher, Spencer Massey, Clay Millican, and Terry McMillenare there to interact, mingle and just to have a great time with thousands of fans. A trully relaxing way to have a great time.
At the recent 4 wide nationals event in Charlotte, Top Fuel pilot @DougHerbert and his @PutOnTheBrakes organization which helps promote safe driving held their annual pancake breakfast on the saturday morning before the finals on sunday. Many of the @NHRA stars past and present attended the annual get together and made it such an enjoyable gathering for everyone involved.
Another gathering of drag racing stars was held at Dave and Busters that weekend in Charlotte.It was an event put together by drag racing fan John Amorosano aka @NitroJohn and the nitro twitter group (@N_T_G). NHRA stars Doug Herbert, @AlexisDeJoria, Blake Alexander (@Blake_FC), @HillaryWill, @TerryMcMillen, and 3-Time Top Fuel Champion Larry Dixon (@DixonTopFuel) made the get together and fantastic success. Another shining example of just how much the stars of the NHRA value the fans.
As many fans know, great racing is exciting. Side by side, wheel to wheel, doorhandle to doorhandle makes for interesting conversations around the coffee table, local garage or machine shop. Drag racing over the years have given us so many of these moments. From John Force winning his 15th Champion, Matt Hagan's Jaw Dropping 3.995, and who could ever forget "The Run". So as you can see, NHRA drag racing continues to provide moments that last a lifetime.
I could go on and on about how great drag racing is, but that would be defeating the purpose of the blog, and that is to hear from you the fans as to what you believe that makes drag racing so exciting in your heart and mind. Please feel free to let me know your thoughts and follow me @thejayselig
Thank you for reading and may God Bless you all
With an admission ticket being a pitpass, the fans have the ability to interact with their favorite drivers, take pictures or get autographs from them, and watch the teams as they work on their racing machines. Drag Racing stars such John Force, Robert Hight, Courtney Force, Ron Capps, Antron Brown, Tony Schumacher, Spencer Massey, Clay Millican, and Terry McMillenare there to interact, mingle and just to have a great time with thousands of fans. A trully relaxing way to have a great time.
At the recent 4 wide nationals event in Charlotte, Top Fuel pilot @DougHerbert and his @PutOnTheBrakes organization which helps promote safe driving held their annual pancake breakfast on the saturday morning before the finals on sunday. Many of the @NHRA stars past and present attended the annual get together and made it such an enjoyable gathering for everyone involved.
Another gathering of drag racing stars was held at Dave and Busters that weekend in Charlotte.It was an event put together by drag racing fan John Amorosano aka @NitroJohn and the nitro twitter group (@N_T_G). NHRA stars Doug Herbert, @AlexisDeJoria, Blake Alexander (@Blake_FC), @HillaryWill, @TerryMcMillen, and 3-Time Top Fuel Champion Larry Dixon (@DixonTopFuel) made the get together and fantastic success. Another shining example of just how much the stars of the NHRA value the fans.
As many fans know, great racing is exciting. Side by side, wheel to wheel, doorhandle to doorhandle makes for interesting conversations around the coffee table, local garage or machine shop. Drag racing over the years have given us so many of these moments. From John Force winning his 15th Champion, Matt Hagan's Jaw Dropping 3.995, and who could ever forget "The Run". So as you can see, NHRA drag racing continues to provide moments that last a lifetime.
I could go on and on about how great drag racing is, but that would be defeating the purpose of the blog, and that is to hear from you the fans as to what you believe that makes drag racing so exciting in your heart and mind. Please feel free to let me know your thoughts and follow me @thejayselig
Thank you for reading and may God Bless you all
Friday, March 23, 2012
How drag racing brings fans together
On the weekend of any @NHRA event, fans from not only the United States, but from around the world come together to share their love of the sport of drag racing. And it's not just being at an event itself but the advent of social media via facebook, twitter, internet forums, or the blogosphere gets the word of the @NHRA to more people than The Great Wally Parks could have ever imagined
Take for example Chris Hobson aka @NitroChrisUK from England, a gentleman thru and thru dedicates himself to taking in every event, via nhra.com's audiocast or espn3's broadcast over the internet. His love of the sport gave fruit to the website racing-picks.com, where drag racing fans can choose the winners of each of the classes at an nhra event. An fun and easy way to share one's love for racing.
Sean Bowe, England's "StatGuy" (sorry lewis bloom) is your go to guy for any elapsed time down to the last thousandth of a second and at any point during a run and like Chris follows the sport using the live timing provided by the nhra and motorola. Sean follows every class of the NHRA, so if you wanted to know what Antron Brown ran to lets say 660 ft; sean would be able to tell you.
@WFOradionitro"s Joe Costello brings weekly insights to the sport of the NHRA bringing some of the biggest names in the industry along with the top drivers of drag racing. Even some of the greatest announcers of the sport such as Alan Reinhart (@NHRAreinhart), Indy 500 announcer Paul Page and NHRA's legendary announcer Dave Mclelland have made their way onto Joe"s Weekly show.
CompetitionPlus.com, Dragracinginsider.com, rpm2night.com, LiveOctane.com, DragIllustrated.com, TopAlcoholnews.com are just a few of the many ways that fans can get their information on the going's on with the NHRA. Of course, who can forget the NHRA"s flagship publication National Dragster. A weekly magazine that has some of the best reporting and some of the best writers in the business such as Alex Baca, Kevin Mckenna, and Juan Torres.
So as you can see, social media has clearly brought the NHRA to more and more people not just in the U.S.A. but around the world as well. Who would have thought that so many years ago when Mr. Parks formed the NHRA, that the sport he cared so deeply for could bring so many fans together from around the world.
Take for example Chris Hobson aka @NitroChrisUK from England, a gentleman thru and thru dedicates himself to taking in every event, via nhra.com's audiocast or espn3's broadcast over the internet. His love of the sport gave fruit to the website racing-picks.com, where drag racing fans can choose the winners of each of the classes at an nhra event. An fun and easy way to share one's love for racing.
Sean Bowe, England's "StatGuy" (sorry lewis bloom) is your go to guy for any elapsed time down to the last thousandth of a second and at any point during a run and like Chris follows the sport using the live timing provided by the nhra and motorola. Sean follows every class of the NHRA, so if you wanted to know what Antron Brown ran to lets say 660 ft; sean would be able to tell you.
@WFOradionitro"s Joe Costello brings weekly insights to the sport of the NHRA bringing some of the biggest names in the industry along with the top drivers of drag racing. Even some of the greatest announcers of the sport such as Alan Reinhart (@NHRAreinhart), Indy 500 announcer Paul Page and NHRA's legendary announcer Dave Mclelland have made their way onto Joe"s Weekly show.
CompetitionPlus.com, Dragracinginsider.com, rpm2night.com, LiveOctane.com, DragIllustrated.com, TopAlcoholnews.com are just a few of the many ways that fans can get their information on the going's on with the NHRA. Of course, who can forget the NHRA"s flagship publication National Dragster. A weekly magazine that has some of the best reporting and some of the best writers in the business such as Alex Baca, Kevin Mckenna, and Juan Torres.
So as you can see, social media has clearly brought the NHRA to more and more people not just in the U.S.A. but around the world as well. Who would have thought that so many years ago when Mr. Parks formed the NHRA, that the sport he cared so deeply for could bring so many fans together from around the world.
Monday, March 5, 2012
Gainsville Moments
This week, the NHRA Full Throttle series makes its annual stop to the newly renamed Auto Plus raceway and the Tire Kingdom Gatornationals. Over the years, this racetrack has shown its knack for history making moments. Alot stand out, but i'd like to share the ones that mean alot and that brought me back to being a drag racing fan. The first one was in 1986.
"Big Daddy" Don Garlits' debut of "Swamp rat 30" was amazing.The sleek black/fully enclosed top fueler was a sight to behold to all in attendance, and in the semi finals against Dan Pastorini blasted to the then fastest speed of 272 mph. The first ever run to 270 mph. Quite a smashing debut for "Big Daddy"
And who could ever forget the breaking of the 300 mph barrier in 1992. For many years, top fuel racers flirted with 300 miles per hour; but in qualifying, Kenny Bernstein in the Dale Armstrong/Wes Erney tuned Budweiser Top Fueler shocked the world with the run of 302 mph trully earning the title "King of Speed"
The Pro Stock Motorcycle class makes its annual start to the season at the Gatornationals, and in 2005 no one knew the history that was about to happen. Andrew Hines aboard his Vance&Hines screamin eagle bike pulled up to the line to make his run and the weather could not have been more perfect. As Andrew made his way down the quarter mile, espn's Lewis Bloom (@Lbstatguy) and Former PSM champ Terry Vance's excitement over the public address system was loud and clear as Andrew Hines shot to the first 6 second run of 6.99.
There are many more moments at Gainsville raceway, but these are moments many drag racing fans will not soon forget. Best of luck to all the teams this weekend in Gainsville, and Godspeed
"Big Daddy" Don Garlits' debut of "Swamp rat 30" was amazing.The sleek black/fully enclosed top fueler was a sight to behold to all in attendance, and in the semi finals against Dan Pastorini blasted to the then fastest speed of 272 mph. The first ever run to 270 mph. Quite a smashing debut for "Big Daddy"
And who could ever forget the breaking of the 300 mph barrier in 1992. For many years, top fuel racers flirted with 300 miles per hour; but in qualifying, Kenny Bernstein in the Dale Armstrong/Wes Erney tuned Budweiser Top Fueler shocked the world with the run of 302 mph trully earning the title "King of Speed"
The Pro Stock Motorcycle class makes its annual start to the season at the Gatornationals, and in 2005 no one knew the history that was about to happen. Andrew Hines aboard his Vance&Hines screamin eagle bike pulled up to the line to make his run and the weather could not have been more perfect. As Andrew made his way down the quarter mile, espn's Lewis Bloom (@Lbstatguy) and Former PSM champ Terry Vance's excitement over the public address system was loud and clear as Andrew Hines shot to the first 6 second run of 6.99.
There are many more moments at Gainsville raceway, but these are moments many drag racing fans will not soon forget. Best of luck to all the teams this weekend in Gainsville, and Godspeed
Friday, March 2, 2012
2012 season is underway
On February 12, 2012 the NHRA Full Throttle series began its 61st season at the Fairplex in Pomona, CA, and their were many changes in the off season that greeted the fans around the world. New drivers, new teams and new cars were the order of the day at the Winternationals.
In Top Fuel, Morgan Lucas arrived with new crew chiefs Aaron Brooks and Rod Centorbi and new teammate Brandon Bernstein. Shawn Langdon and Khalid Al Balooshi took over driving duties at the 2 time defending top fuel champion Al Anabi Racing team. Del Worsham, who just the year before finally captured his 1st world title in top fuel became the crew chief for funny car Rookie Alexis DeJoria.
One of the biggest stories of the off season was the announcement that Courtney Force would make her debut in funny car in 2012 piloting a ford mustang out of her father John Force's stable alongside her team mates Mike Neff, Robert Hight, and her father 15x champion John Force. Courtney's 1st 2 events show her prowess behind the wheel as well as the strength of the team as the cars of her father and brother in law hight captured both events to start the season.
In Top Fuel, the heavy favorites continue to be the DSR stable of 7x champ Tony Schumacher, Antron Brown and Spencer Massey. Of the three at the winternationals, Massey looked the strongest. And in the semi finals, Massey blistered the 1000ft track in 3.74 seconds at over 328 mph; the quickest and fastest runs to 1000 feet in history. He would win the event over his team mate brown. However Antron would return to the winners circle a week later in winning at Firebird raceway in arizona.
In pro stock, 4 time NHRA champion Jeg Coughlin made his return to drag racing in the jegs.com dodge avenger a memorable one making it all the way to the finals of the winternationals to face the all conquering summit racing Pontiac GXP of Greg Anderson.In the finals Jeg in his dodge left first but the KB racing horsepower took over at 330ft as Anderson won. A very good debut for a returning champion who is a favorite among the fans.
So, the 2012 NHRA full throttle season is 2 events in and next weekend will continue with the Gatornationals; one of the favorite stops among the teams of the series. The Pro Stock Motorcycle class marks its season debut with this event. Lost of history has occurred at the Gatornationals and with what the fans have seen so far in just 2 events, The Gators just might bring us another unforgettable event.
Sit down, buckle up and hang on. The 2012 nhra full throttle season looks to be an exciting one
In Top Fuel, Morgan Lucas arrived with new crew chiefs Aaron Brooks and Rod Centorbi and new teammate Brandon Bernstein. Shawn Langdon and Khalid Al Balooshi took over driving duties at the 2 time defending top fuel champion Al Anabi Racing team. Del Worsham, who just the year before finally captured his 1st world title in top fuel became the crew chief for funny car Rookie Alexis DeJoria.
One of the biggest stories of the off season was the announcement that Courtney Force would make her debut in funny car in 2012 piloting a ford mustang out of her father John Force's stable alongside her team mates Mike Neff, Robert Hight, and her father 15x champion John Force. Courtney's 1st 2 events show her prowess behind the wheel as well as the strength of the team as the cars of her father and brother in law hight captured both events to start the season.
In Top Fuel, the heavy favorites continue to be the DSR stable of 7x champ Tony Schumacher, Antron Brown and Spencer Massey. Of the three at the winternationals, Massey looked the strongest. And in the semi finals, Massey blistered the 1000ft track in 3.74 seconds at over 328 mph; the quickest and fastest runs to 1000 feet in history. He would win the event over his team mate brown. However Antron would return to the winners circle a week later in winning at Firebird raceway in arizona.
In pro stock, 4 time NHRA champion Jeg Coughlin made his return to drag racing in the jegs.com dodge avenger a memorable one making it all the way to the finals of the winternationals to face the all conquering summit racing Pontiac GXP of Greg Anderson.In the finals Jeg in his dodge left first but the KB racing horsepower took over at 330ft as Anderson won. A very good debut for a returning champion who is a favorite among the fans.
So, the 2012 NHRA full throttle season is 2 events in and next weekend will continue with the Gatornationals; one of the favorite stops among the teams of the series. The Pro Stock Motorcycle class marks its season debut with this event. Lost of history has occurred at the Gatornationals and with what the fans have seen so far in just 2 events, The Gators just might bring us another unforgettable event.
Sit down, buckle up and hang on. The 2012 nhra full throttle season looks to be an exciting one
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
2011 John Force Road Show at Pomona Photo Blog
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