Team DSR Friday Update from Bristol
Crew chiefs Smith, Snyder put world champ Beckman on Bristol pole with first No. 1 qualifying effort of the year
Bristol, TN
– Jack Beckman has been saying for a few weeks that his Valvoline NextGen/MTS Mail for Wounded Warriors Funny Car was on the cusp of returning to the world championship form it showed during the second half of last year.
And the reigning NHRA Funny Car world champion is proving to be prophetic.
Beckman along with crew chief Todd Smith, assistant Terry Snyder and the rest of the Valvoline/MTS Dodge Charger R/T team advanced to their first championship round two weeks ago at Englishtown, N.J.
They followed that up Friday night in the Thunder Valley NHRA Nationals at Bristol Dragway with a run of 4.012 seconds at 317.05 mph to post the team’s best run of the year and earned the No. 2 qualifying position. The speed is a Bristol track record.
“Bottom line is we have our predictable racecar back and it gives Todd and Terry more confidence that lets them be more assertive with the tune-up and make top-of-the-pack qualifying runs,” said Beckman, who is fifth in points and looking for his first title of the year.
“The beauty about running well on Friday and running strong right out of the trailer and getting solidly in the show is that you can try things on Saturday that could help on Sunday and later in the season.
“It gives us a big head start when the points race really heats up. We got to test things on Saturday that we’ll use later in the year.”
Beckman came close to earning the provisional pole but fell short of catching Kalitta Motorsports’ Del Worsham, whose 4.008-second run earned the No. 1 spot with the series’ quickest run of the season and ninth quickest of all time.
Resurgent Capps, NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge continue to improve with No. 5 qualifying spot at Thunder Valley
– Ron Capps was confident about returning to Bristol Dragway where he has won three Thunder Valley NHRA Nationals titles including the one last year.
He was not worried about losing in the first round of the last Mello Yello Drag Racing Series event two weeks ago.
Capps knew his NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge Charger R/T was ready to shake a little slump after it produced a solid run at Englishtown, N.J., despite losing in the opening round.
Ron Capps and the NAPA AUTO PARTS team produced an impressive run of 4.066 seconds at 310.84 mph on Friday night and it held up to earn his team the No. 5 qualifying spot for Sunday’s championship eliminations at Bristol Dragway.
“The Friday night run was the hero run we talk about,” said Capps, who owns 39 NHRA titles. “You have to have your act together and get in (the field) on that one run, and it’s very tough on the crew chiefs because you don’t want to miss the opportunity when you get near perfect conditions like that.”
Capps was equally impressed with how crew chief Rahn Tobler and assistant John Collins tuned his Dodge on Saturday to runs of 4.191 seconds at 293.03 mph and 4.142 at 304.60 under mostly sunny skies and air temperatures about 20 degrees hotter than Friday night.
“Saturday it was hot and humid, and we were trying to get ready for Sunday when the conditions will be very similar.
“It’s confidence building within our NAPA team. It just builds into more confidence. I had confidence when we were testing some things and struggling a bit so imagine the confidence I have after the last five runs we’ve made.
“In the third session it spun the tires a little but still went 4.19 and we were right in the ballpark. We made a great run on the fourth qualifying session to get us ready for race day.
“We accomplished our goal of getting lane choice for the first round and we have to keep it the rest of the day.”
Massey, Battery Extender Top Fuel team secures first pole of season at Bristol Dragway for Sunday’s NHRA eliminations
– Before arriving at Bristol Dragway, Spencer Massey proclaimed that he had never really done too great at the Tennessee facility. But it didn’t take long for that to change for the Battery Extender Powered by Schumacher team.
On Friday night qualifying in Thunder Valley, Massey was tops with a 3.775-second pass at 326.79 mph, both of which were new track records at the Bruton Smith owned facility. Massey held on during two Saturday sessions to score his seventh career pole, his first of the 2013 Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season and first of his career at Bristol.
“I’ve had a lot of success at Bruton’s other tracks in Vegas and Charlotte, but Bristol has just been average for me,” Massey said. “I think we changed that Friday night, under the lights at Bristol, it doesn’t get any cooler than that.”
On Saturday, Massey’s crew chief Phil Shuler had to test the 120-degree track conditions to collect data for Sunday’s championship eliminations.
“I was talking to Phil and he said we were a little soft on Friday night’s run and could have done better,” Massey said.
“We wanted to come in here and have good data and get down the racetrack so we’ll have good data for tomorrow,” he said. “Today was a little tricky because it’s hot. We backed it down enough to where it only went a 3.94, but it went down the track and it’s going to be very similar conditions.”
But after qualifying No. 1, Massey feels the pressure to perform on race day, which begins at noon on Sunday.
“It’s really tough to win from No. 1. There’s a target on your back and everyone is out to get you. But it also makes it that much more special. It’s huge and I would love to get the win here.”
And he would do it in front of a great crowd.
“The fans are awesome here,” Massey said. “We’ve had so many fans come by (the pit). I’ve been lined up at the rope for 45 minutes in my fire suit signing autographs and hanging out with the fans. I hope to celebrate with them in the Winner’s Circle.”
Hagan, Rocky Boots qualify third for hometown race at Bristol Dragway, ready to entertain in winner’s circle
– Day one of qualifying on Friday at Bristol Dragway showed how well Matt Hagan’s Rocky Boots/Mahoney’s/Mopar Funny Car can run in cooler conditions.
And day two on Saturday showcased crew chief Dickie Venables’ tuning talents on a hot, tricky racetrack that is what teams will face during Sunday’s championship eliminations of the Thunder Valley NHRA Nationals.
Hagan was fifth best after the first session on Friday in Thunder Valley and during Friday night’s crucial run, Venables produced a 4.049-second lap at 317 mph, third best of 16 Funny Cars.
“We were pleased with how we ran on Friday night under the lights,” Hagan said. “That can be a big pressure session and Dickie did exactly what we needed to. Friday night is so crucial for teams to get down the track, it just puts a lot of pressure on everyone.
“But Dickie put a great tune-up in it and we were able to get in and take that No. 3 spot and allowed us to really use today (Saturday) to get data for race day.”
After solidly securing their position for Sunday’s NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series eliminations, Venables and Hagan were able to test the Thunder Valley surface on what it can or can’t hold for race day.
“It was hot today, so you can’t really worry too much,” Hagan said. “We were trying a little too hard that first session (on Saturday), trying to go a 4.12 on probably a 4.15-second racetrack. Dickie says he has some good information to work with and with him, I don’t second guess that. I think we’ll go right down the track and we’ll have a tune-up for tomorrow.”
Hagan will have a large cheering section Sunday at Bristol Dragway on Father’s Day, including his wife Rachel and his biggest fans, children Colby and Penny. On Saturday, Hagan’s father David entertained more than 200 employees from Shelor Motor Mile from his nearby hometown of Christiansburg, Va.
“There’s been a lot going on, that’s for sure,” he said. “It’s cool though, a couple times a year they all get to come out and see what this is all about. I’m definitely pulled a hundred different directions here but hopefully that direction we’re headed in tomorrow is the winner’s circle. For everyone at Rocky Boots and all of my family and friends, it would just be phenomenal.”
Matco Tools’ Brown wants to follow in tire tracks of 8-year-old son heading to Sunday’s Bristol eliminations
– The Brown family will enter Sunday’s Thunder Valley NHRA Nationals with one event title already in hand.
And instead of reigning Top Fuel world champion Antron Brown with a trip to a dragstrip’s winner’s circle, it was his 8-year-old son Anson, who won his first event title Friday in his rookie year competing in a half-scale NHRA Jr. Dragsters.
“It was incredible, but the hard part is you wish you could have been there to see it,” said Antron, who was at Bristol Dragway in Tennessee driving his Top Fuel dragster while Anson was with the rest of the Brown family competing at Crossroads Dragway in Terre Haute, Ind.
“I’m just real happy for him. He’s been at the racetrack so many times watching Dad. It’s so cool watching him do something he likes to do. He’s having a blast. He’s doing a great, great job. He’s sharp and he’s fearless. The boy’s just amazing. It’s so much fun watching him do what he likes to do. And Uncle Roy (Falgout) did a great job filling in for me as the wrenchman.”
While Anson’s racing continues over the weekend at Terre Haute, Antron’s focus Sunday will be on the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series at Bristol.
“We have to do what Anson did,” Antron said of his Father’s Day goal.
“We’re not feeling any pressure. We’ll just go out and do what we do.”
What he wants to do most is something he hasn’t done before and that’s leave Bristol with a trophy.
“We really want to get a Bristol win. We’ve run well here but haven’t won it yet. We’re in the show and that’s half the battle.”
The Matco team led by crew chiefs Brian Corradi and Mark Oswald have been trying to get the Don Schumacher Racing dragster back to the form it showed by winning two of the first seven Mello Yello events. But at the last two, the team has lost in the opening rounds.
And it didn’t improve much during Bristol qualifying when the Matco team qualified No. 12 and in the first round will face DSR and U.S. Army teammate Tony Schumacher, who has won five Bristol titles including last year.
“We’re going to relax and enjoy ourselves, and put the pedal to the metal and go after it,” Brown said.
