Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals
Norwalk, OH
(June 28-July 1)
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by Rob Geiger, NHRA.com
Funny Car racer Mike Ashley figured out the perfect way to get over his unsightly streak of two DNQs in a row by winning the inaugural Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals Sunday at
The final against Fuller was a classic run by crew chief Alan Johnson, who dug deep into his bag of tricks to tune his man to an otherworldly 4.537 at 322.04 mph. For the second race in a row, Fuller had to pedal his unsponsored rail to get down the track, but this time it was far too late as Schumacher pulled away for the win. "Doug Kalitta is a competitor of mine and I need to beat him because that's my job, but I was kind of pulling for the guy today," Schumacher said. "He's part of our family out here and he lost his dad this week, so we're all hurting for him. I wanted to race him in the final so I could be the first one to either congratulate him or give him the trophy because this one belongs to him. I will present it to him as soon as I get the chance. With his runner-up finish, Fuller extended his lead in the POWERade points to 98 markers over Larry Dixon. Schumacher stayed fifth overall but is now just 33 points out of second place. Bernstein and
In Pro Stock, Dave Connolly made the 25-mile drive from his hometown of
Schumacher was an afterthought at the start of the day after qualifying in the No. 14 position, but his U.S. Army machine came to life in the Ohio heat, and he punched his way past Brandon Bernstein, J.R. Todd, Whit Bazemore, and Fuller.
Tony Schumacher
"Alan gave me that little smile before the final, and I knew he was up to something. We knew 'Hot Rod' was going to be up for the race. They've been running great over there. It's a big win. We had to overcome a lot because we've never raced here before and we didn't qualify that great. The car just came around today, and Alan got better and better as the rounds went by. It was fun."
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Ashley's report card from the last four races shows a pair of wins and a pair of DNQs for his Torco Race Fuels Dodge Charger. His victory Sunday denied final-round opponent Kenny Bernstein the chance to claim his first Funny Car win in 18 years.
Bernstein, who drove Top Fuel dragsters from 1990 to 2003 and returned to Funny Car this season with his Monster Energy Drink Dodge, got a big jump on Ashley in the final, leaving with a .059 reaction time to Ashley's .097 start. But the Monster car soon overpowered the racetrack and was lost in a cloud of smoke, which allowed Ashley to streak by for a 4.823, 321.88 victory.
"I told the team this morning to just forget about the last two races and pretend we were coming in here off that
"In Englishtown, we didn't get it done. We fell flat. But that's really just a function of the quality of race teams out here. We've all seen the very best teams in the class have DNQs this year. It's the way it is in this class."
Ashley's win lifted him two slots in the points. He's now just one point behind third-place racer Tony Pedregon. Ashley had the quickest car in three of four rounds Sunday. Bernstein was the quickest in the quarterfinals.
Everyone gained on points leader Ron Capps, who lost in the first round for the second race in a row. He now leads Robert Hight by 98 points.
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The win by local hero Connolly over Morgan was the biggest crowdpleaser as his legion of supporters roared their approval from the capacity grandstands. Morgan left first by a tenth of a second, but Connolly had him reeled in soon thereafter and simply drove away for an easy 6.660, 207.11 win over Morgan's 6.718, 205.54.
"What a picture-perfect weekend for our race team," Connolly said. “The only thing that could have been better was if I could have raced Jeg [Coughlin, teammate] in the final instead of the semifinals. To come back home like this and win the race in front of all my friends and family is great. Even my mom [Elaine] was here today and she doesn't make it to many races because of her work schedule, so that was cool.
"I don't know if Jeg and I can catch Greg [Anderson, points leader] in the points, and the way the Countdown deal works, we don't really need to catch him. We do want to stay in second and third, though, if we can, so having days like this definitely helps."
Anderson, the No. 1 qualifier at this event, was timed out at the starting line against round-one opponent Erica Enders. That allowed Coughlin to make up two rounds and Connolly three rounds on the lead.
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Hines' Screamin' Eagle Harley-Davidson V-Rod Pro Stock Motorcycle got stronger as race day progressed. The 24-year-old racer ran the quickest elapsed times of the final three rounds. In the final, he gave up a large .035-second reaction-time advantage to Smith but quickly zoomed by after Smith aborted his run just a few hundred feet into his pass.
"I finally got to the double-digit mark in wins," said Hines, who racked up his 10th win Sunday. "My crew is the best. The bike went straight down the racetrack every pass, and that's why I was able to post four six-second runs in a row like that. I think we've really figured this bike out.
"I'm already looking forward to
"This was a great weekend for the entire class, and all the different bikes had a chance to shine. Angelle [Sampey] was all over it on her Suzuki, Matt was No. 1 qualifier on a Buell, and we won the race on a Harley. I'd say it's pretty level right now."
It was a hard fought 20-point gain for Hines on Smith's lead in the POWERade points but he now finds himself just 108 points back in third place. Angelle Sampey is in second place, 79 points off the lead.
- Friday: Fuller, Hight, Anderson, Smith early leaders at inaugural Norwalk event (6/29/2007)
- Saturday: Fields for inaugural Summit race set with Friday leaders reigning supreme (6/30/2007)
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