FUTURE STARS

National Dragster, Feb 18, 2005 by McKenna, Kevin

Reviewing the leading contenders for the Automobile Club of Southern California Road to the Future Award

Last year's battle for the Automobile Club of Southern California Road to the Future Award, which recognizes NHRA's top rookie, was a heated contest between Pro Stock's Jason Line, Funny Car newcomer Eric Medien, and Top Fuel driver Morgan Lucas, who joined the tour at midseason after Darrell Russell's fatal accident.

Line ultimately won the award and the $10,000 bonus that comes with it on the strength of an outstanding season that featured four wins, four runner-ups, and a second-place finish. Medien also performed well, scoring his first national event victory in Brainerd and finishing fifth in the standings. Lucas proved to be a natural by reaching two final rounds and finishing a respectable 16th in the standings despite competing in just eight of 23 events.

This year's freshman class has already shown similar potential. The early front runners are a Pro Stock Motorcycle rider who has already won a national event, a Funny Car driver who holds a 330-mph time slip, and a female Pro Stock racer who has run under the current NHRA national record. Presented on these two pages is a preview that focuses on Chip Ellis, Robert Hight, and Erica Enders, the leading candidates for the 2005 Automobile Club of Southern California Road to the Future Award.

A lot can happen during a nine-month season, but it appears that Ellis is the early favorite for the Road to the Future Award. The most experienced of the rookie contenders, Ellis will never have to answer the question, "When are you going to win your first race?" He has already done that and is a likely challenger for the 2005 NHRA POWERade title.

Given the resources of the Force Racing team, Hight should duplicate Medlen's successful debut of last year by winning at least one event and finishing somewhere between third and seventh in the standings.

Because no female Pro Stock driver has ever won, qualified No. 1, or earned a top 10 finish, Enders has the potential to make much history in 2005. Given the strength of her team, none of those milestones seems out of reach.

Robert Hight

Background: An automotive enthusiast for most of his life, Hight, of Alturas, Calif., got his start in NHRA Drag Racing as a crewmember on Roger Primm's Top Fuel team. Might spent more than a year with Primm's team, working alongside crew chiefs Terry Manzer and Prank Bradley and then-driver Del Worsham. In 1995, he accepted a job with Force Racing as the team's clutch technician.

Hight, who is married to John Force's oldest daughter Adria, was given the opportunity to be the team's test driver in 2004, and he proved to be a quick study, needing only a few runs to earn his license. His longtime dream became a reality this year when he was tapped to drive Force's Jimmy Prock-tuned Automobile Club Of Southern California Ford Mustang Funny Car.

Experience: Though Hight has never competed in an NHRA event as a Sportsman or Professional racer, he will be well prepared when he makes his debut in Pomona. Last year, he began driving Force's cars on Mondays following select NHRA national events. The team tested extensively this winter, making numerous runs in Las Vegas and Phoenix. Heading into his first event, Hight has made more than 40 runs, including a best of 4.750 at more than 330 mph.

Strengths: Though he is an NHRA rookie, Hight believes that his training as a world-class marksman will help accelerate his transition to drag racing. A California trapshooting champion at age 15, Hight worked extensively with experts in hand-eye coordination and concentration, elements that: are essential to success in both disciplines.

Hight figures to have a better than average chance for immediate success because he will step into a car that won two national events last season and the $100,000 Skoal Showdown with Gary Densham as driver. As was teammate Medien, Hight was a crewmember long before he got a chance to drive, so he is not only familiar with the inner workings of a modern-day nitro car, but team chemistry also doesn't figure to be a problem.

Weaknesses: Though he has made many runs during testing and proved that he is capable of handling a fuel-burning Funny Car, Eight's primary and perhaps only weakness remains his lack of actual combat experience. Thus far, his only side-by-side passes have come against teammates Force and Medien, so, like Enders, he is probably going to learn some lessons the hard way.

Intangibles: Hight will enter a Funny Car class that is overflowing with talent. With three Force team cars, three Schumacher Racing entries, the Pedregon brothers, two Team Worsham Checker Schuck's Kragen cars, Tommy Johnson Jr., and Tim Wilkerson on the tour, just making the top 10 will be a challenge. By even the most conservative estimates, five or six teams are capable of winning the POWERade title, so success, even for an established team, will be hard to come by.

Erica Enders

Background: Thanks to NHRA's successful Jr. Drag Racing league, Enders got an early start on her career goal of being a Professional drag racer. The Houston native and her younger sister Courtney became instantly recognizable when their Jr. Drag Racing exploits were chronicled in the popular 2003 Disney movie Right on Track.