DSR Winternationals Team Qualifying Reports
Johnson, Make-A-Wish team lead DSR with No. 2 seed in Funny Car while Massey’s Red Fuel/Sandvik qualify third in Top Fuel
POMONA, CA – A persistent drizzle and falling temperatures late Saturday afternoon forced NHRA to cancel the last 
of four qualifying sessions in the NHRA Circle K Winternationals at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona, Calif.
It put a damper on the weekend for Don Schumacher Racing’s 2012 NHRA Funny Car world champion Jack Beckman whose newly sponsored Infinite Hero 2015 Dodge Charger R/T was unable to advance to Sunday’s 16-car eliminations.
It marks the first time Jack has not qualified for Sunday racing in 65 events dating back to the sixth race of 2012 at Houston. It is only the seventh time in his career that spans 205 events when he did not qualify.
But there was plenty of good news for DSR led by a record-run by Spencer Massey and the Red Fuel Powered by Schumacher/Sandvik Coromant Top Fuel dragster that earned the No. 3 seed for Sunday’s championship eliminations that will start 11 a.m. (PST).
Massey’s team, led by crew chiefs Todd Okuhara and Phil Shuler, made its only run Saturday under overcast skies and powered the Red Fuel rocket a 3.745-second lap at a track record 332.18 mph, a speed that ties Spencer’s career best.
“We are really confident because we got bonus points in all three of the Top Fuel sessions and that’s definitely a booster,” Spencer said. “We ran 332 mph and tied my career best speed so that’s a big deal. Coming out of West Palm Beach (Fla.) testing we had a good car and it’s showing signs that it was to run fast and when it runs fast we can win with it.”
“When the sun is out on the track we have a good tune-up,” Spencer said. “We went down the track both runs on Friday when it was warmer and I think that’s what they’re saying race day is supposed to be like. We had solid runs, it was safe but still fast and I think that’s a good race day tune up. We’re going to do what we know and race our lane, one round at a time.”
Spencer’s DSR teammates, Tony Schumacher’s U.S. Army team and Antron Brown’s Matco Tools/U.S. Army team, will meet in the opening round after Tony, the eight-time and reigning world champion, qualified sixth and Antron, the 2012 world champion, qualified 11th.
In Funny Car, Tommy Johnson Jr. and the Make-A-Wish 2015 Dodge Charger R/T qualified No. 2 with a best time of 4.018 (314.46). Teammate Ron Capps and the NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge Charger R/T are seeded sixth while two-time and reigning world champion Matt Hagan is 12th in the Mopar Express Lane/Rocky Boots Dodge.
Beckman, Infinite Hero Dodge come up short at Pomona, do not qualify for eliminations for first time in 65 events
– Jack Beckman knew that despite adding a championship crew chief and nearly all new crew members that success would not come instantly.
But the 2012 NHRA Funny Car champion and driver of Don Schumacher Racing’s Infinite Hero 2015 Dodge Charger R/T didn’t think he would have such a rude awakening to the 2015 NHRA Mello Drag Racing Series by not qualifying for the year’s first event.
It didn’t help that a persistent drizzle and falling temperatures Saturday afternoon prevented Jack from getting his fourth and final chance to qualify for Sunday’s eliminations in the NHRA Circle K Winternationals to open the Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season at the track located about 30 miles from his home in Norco.
It marks the first time Jack has not qualified for Sunday racing in 65 events dating back to the sixth race of 2012 at Houston. It is only the seventh time in his career that spans 205 events when he did not qualify.
He was seeking his first title at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona, Calif., in 16 previous attempts.
“I am disappointed but I think a lot of our sport is about timing,” he said. “If this was November and we didn’t qualify I would be devastated. I think the reason that I’m not feeling that bad right now is that I recognize that there are 23 races left, we are going to do some fantastic stuff this year with the Infinite Hero team and we are going to challenge for the championship.
“I am perplexed at all the things that went wrong, I’m stunned we didn’t qualify. I never would have even thought that we would be close to this situation but I’m going to be philosophical about it. We are going to go test this thing before Phoenix. We will figure out what’s wrong with it and come out ready to win that race.
Prock and assistant crew chiefs John Medlen and Chris Cunningham have been fighting the calendar preparing for the new season. Prock joined Don Schumacher Racing before the penultimate race of 2014 and Medlen joined after the season. Cunningham and cylinder specialist Chris Spall are the only holdovers from Jack’s team last year.
Prock has rebuilt Jack’s cars from front to back, top to bottom and had to reorganize every aspect of the team including both racecar transporters.
Brown eager to get out of the gate quickly at Winternationals to start winning streak at fabled Auto Club Raceway at Pomona
– A former Olympic class sprinter, Antron Brown knows the importance of getting off to a fast start.
But a year ago at the NHRA Circle K Nationals at Pomona, Calif., Antron and the Matco Tools Top Fuel team qualified third before getting upset in the first round. Despite that disappointing start, the team led by crew chiefs Brian Corradi and Mark Oswald rebounded to win five of the next 12 event titles to finished the year with a series-best six NHRA Wally trophies.
Antron, however, doesn’t plan another false start when racing begins 11 a.m. (PST) Sunday at Auto Club Raceway.
“It’s very important to have a good start,” said Antron, who won the 2012 NHRA Top Fuel world championship and owns 47 event titles including 31 in Top Fuel.
“The race season is long but you want to have success at the start of the season because it helps you build momentum and get going early. The thing about Pomona is, it hasn’t been that nice to us at the first race of the season. With that being said, we always qualify well here and we’ve gone to the semifinals and finals but just haven’t been able to get the job done.
“Tomorrow is a whole new day, we’ll see what it holds for us.”
Antron is seeded 11th for the opening round of Sunday’s eliminations with a best time of 3.803 seconds 313.73 mph. He’s won the NHRA Finals but has been shut out at the NHRA Winternationals. The Matco Tools team will have a tough first round opponent in Don Schumacher Racing teammate and reigning Top Fuel champion Tony Schumacher.
“We’ve been trying different things and we haven’t had things happen the way we want them to happen, but that ‘s just how Top Fuel is. The way we beat that resistance is with some persistence. We’re going to keep on pushing.”
Capps qualifies sixth with NAPA Dodge at Pomona’s Winternationals
– Ron Capps has a special appreciation for the season-opening NHRA Circle K Winternationals at Auto Club Raceway near Los Angeles.
Perhaps even more so this weekend at the start of the 24-race Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season.
“For our NAPA AUTO PARTS team and me in particular it is invigorating,” he said of starting the 21st season as a professional racer.
“I was joking with Del Worsham in the staging lanes and he was all excited about going up for his first run of the season,” Ron said of his close friend and fellow Funny Car driver.
“He had this big grin on his face. He was in such a good mood. I said, ‘Dude, remember a couple months ago when we were here and everyone was just completely frazzled after the long season?’
“We see what the season and ending with the Countdown (to the Championship) does to us drivers and especially the crew members who were worn out from just giving it all their blood, sweat and tears.
“On Friday, I looked around the staging lanes at the other Funny Car drivers and they were so excited. I can’t tell you how excited I was. Here we are, let’s do it.”
Ron is seeded sixth for Sunday’s championship eliminations scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. (PST). He jumped four spots with his first run Saturday of 4.037 seconds at 304.39 mph. The fourth and final session was cancelled by a persistent late afternoon drizzle and falling temperatures.
He obviously is focused on starting the year with success for his NAPA AUTO PARTS 2015 Dodge Charger R/T led by crew chief Rahn Tobler.
The Don Schumacher Racing team won two event titles last year to push Ron’s total to 43 including 42 in a Funny Car that is second best on NHRA’s all-time list.
Although the veteran who lives in nearby Carlsbad only owns two Winternationals titles (2009 and 1998), he cherishes the venerable Southern California track.
“Pomona is a hallowed ground. So many of those movies from the 1960s that featured the Southern California car culture were filmed here. This place has a lot of history. It’s fitting that we start the Mello Yello season here and end it here, and it’s a home track for me like Sonoma (Calif.) is.”
It’s also where most of his family and many of his friends from high school gather for a for 300-mph reunion.
What makes it more special this year is that Ron had surgery a few days after November’s NHRA Finals to repair three triceps muscles that tore from the bone his right arm midway through the season. But he was back in his NAPA Dodge for testing last month in Florida and ready when it really counted on Friday’s opening day of the season.
And his nearly healed arm got its first test on Friday.
“On last night’s run the tires came loose way further down the track that a driver expects. It turned sideways on me and was headed toward the wall so I had to make a good move with the steering wheel then only one (of two) chutes came out so I was on the brake pretty hard with that arm.
“I iced it last night but as long as I didn’t tear anything I’m OK. I’m still blown away with how quickly I recovered. The off-season was grueling with all the therapy but it was worth it now.”
Ron was also able to work out Saturday morning to maintain his strenuous training regiment and credits the rapid healing to physical therapy and his surgeon, Dr. Robert Gelb of CORE Orthopaedic Medical Center in Encinitas, Calif.
“It’s amazing that I can strap into a Funny Car and pull 6 Gs. That’s phenomenal when I stop to think about what they did inside my arm.”
Massey has a Red Fuel rocket and plenty of confidence heading into Sunday’s NHRA Winternationals season-opener at Pomona
– Things are off to a good start for Spencer Massey and the Red Fuel Powered by Schumacher/Sandvik Coromant team at the Circle K NHRA Winternationals at Pomona, Calif.
The team led by crew chiefs Todd Okuhara and Phil Shuler entered the first NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series event of 2015 with confidence stemming from a productive test session in January and the confidence continued to grow throughout qualifying for Sunday’s eliminations.
“We are really confident because we got points in all three of the Top Fuel sessions and that’s definitely a booster,” Spencer said. “We ran 332 mph and tied my career best speed so that’s a big deal. Coming out of West Palm Beach (Fla.) testing we had a good car and it’s showing signs that it was to run fast and when it runs fast we can win with it.”
In the third qualifying session on Saturday under overcast skies the Red Fuel rocket powered to a 3.745-second lap at a track record 332.18 mph, a speed that ties Spencer’s career best.
But the Red Fuel team didn’t get an opportunity to grab points in the final qualifying session because a persistent mist forced NHRA officials to cancel the remaining session.
Even without a fourth qualifying session, the team feels prepared for Sunday’s eliminations where they will race Clay Millican in the first round.
“When the sun is out on the track we have a good tune-up,” Spencer said. “We went down the track both runs on Friday when it was warmer and I think that’s what they’re saying race day is supposed to be like. We had solid runs, it was safe but still fast and I think that’s a good race day tune up. We’re going to do what we know and race our lane, one round at a time.”
But there might be a little rust that still needs to be knocked off during Sunday’s eliminations.
“I need to step up as a driver on my reaction times and knock off the rust a little bit. Race day is a different story and I’ll be ready. It would be really cool to come out here on Sunday and get that first win of the year. We have some crew members on the car who haven’t held a Wally and that would just be an incredible start to the season for them to be able to win the first race out. I’ll do my job and I know they’ll do theirs. We are ready.”
New Mello Yello season starts with a fiery explosion for Hagan, Mopar Express Lane/Rocky Boots team at NHRA Winternationals
– Matt Hagan’s 2015 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season started out with an unintentional bang during Friday’s qualifying for the NHRA Circle K Winternationals.
After the 4.09-second lap at more than 310 mph, Matt lifted off of the throttle on his 10,000-horsepower Mopar Express Lane/Rocky Boots Funny Car and the engine erupted into a fireball.
“It was obviously not what we were expecting on the first day of the race season,” Matt said. “The first lap it went out there and put a hole out and we came back and tried to adjust for it and leaned it up and I guess it just had stuff not go the right way. We caught it on fire and unfortunately it was a pretty good fire.”
Unfortunately Matt, the two-time and reigning Funny Car world champion, was the unofficial test dummy for the new 2015 Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car body that took the engineers at Fiat Chrysler Automobile (FCA), SRT and DSR fabrication shop employees a year and a half to design and develop.
“I’m not sure that it really showed it that well in the video but it was a pretty good boomer in there and for this new body to stay in one piece and not get beat up too bad was really good. Plus it kept that firewall down on me and didn’t allow all of the fire to come in around me so that was huge for the safety aspect. These new cars are definitely going to be safer for us, and I’m tickled to death to be running one.”
The fire heavily damaged the body underneath and all of the wiring had to be replaced on the car, a process that takes hours. The Mopar/Rocky team stayed at the track into the early Saturday morning hours before the task was complete. The fire also resulted in the team bringing out their back up body in the new red, black and gray colors of the Rocky Boots brand.
“It says a lot for my team,” Matt said. “There are not too many jobs where you work all day long and then half the night. I come in late and leave early and they come in early and leave late. It makes me have so much more respect for them because they have such a passion for this, it’s not just about a paycheck. They do it because they love it and to me that is special because they do whatever it takes to get the job done. It’s a pretty special group that we have.”
There is no better reward for a hard first weekend back at it than four round wins on Sunday, but Matt’s main focus is getting a consistent race car and any issues behind them.
“The Countdown (to the Championship) proves that you can have a couple of struggles early. We did last year, we have a couple solid races then had a streak of a bunch of first round losses in a row and came back to win the championship. I want to win them all, but realistically if we can get some of these issues and gremlins out of the way early then hopefully we can get back on track and do what we’ve done in the past.”
After a respectable third qualifying session for the Mopar Express Lane/Rocky Boots team NHRA officials were forced to cancel the final qualifying session because of a persistent mist.
The Mopar team led by crew chief Dickie Venables ended qualifying twelfth in the order and will race Tony Pedregon in the opening round of Sunday’s NHRA eliminations.
