Force, Schumacher teams shine in Las Vegas testing

National Dragster, Feb 4, 2005 by McKenna, Kevin

THE STRIP AT LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY, Las Vegas (Jan. 21-24) - If the first test session of the season is any indication, the battle for the 2005 NHRA POWERade Funny Car title will be a wide-open affair with more than half a dozen premier teams slugging it out for the top spot. That was certainly the case here, where eight drivers combined to make 23 4.7-second runs over the course of the four-day test session. The leader was sophomore driver Eric Medien, who posted the quickest pass, a 4.744, in his Castrol Syntec Mustang. Medlen's Force Racing teammates John Force and newcomer Robert Hight scored respective bests of 4.747 and 4.750. Hight, preparing for his first official start behind the wheel of the Auto Club Ford, became just the fifth Funny Car driver to eclipse 330 mph, albeit unofficially, with a 330.55 run Saturday.

The Force Racing team had plenty of competition, though; Schumacher Racing drivers Whit Bazemore, Gary Scelzi, and Ron Capps also reached the 4.7s on several occasions, as did Skoal driver Tommy Johnson Jr. and last year's second-place finisher Del Worsham.

A handful of Top Fuel drivers joined the test, including Morgan Lucas, who is preparing to embark on his first full Pro season. Lucas made several strong runs in Joe Amato's Wayne Dupuy-tuned dragster, including early shutoff runs of 4.573 and 4.608, which stood as the two quickest elapsed times of the weekend. Other Top Fuel drivers, including Gary Ormsby Jr., David Baca, Brady Kalivoda, and Mike Strasburg, were limited to mostly half-track runs.

Seven Top Alcohol Dragster and five Top Alcohol Funny Car racers joined the test, including A/Fuel Dragster drivers Ashley Force and Duane Shields, both of whom struggled to adapt to NHRA's new 96-percent-nitro rule.

One of the more active drivers was last year's TAFC runner-up Jay Payne, who made at least four runs between 5.657 and 5.689 in his Camaro-bodied entry.

Following is the weekend recap and analysis.

Who looked good: All nine Funny Car drivers who participated in the test had reason to be optimistic. No one struggled for more than one or two runs, and every crew chief appeared to find the information he was seeking. Statistically, John Force was the leader for the second straight year, scoring seven runs between 4.747 and 4.804 with his Castrol Mustang. He appeared to be able to run 4.7s at will, smoking the tires only when crew chief Austin Coil decided to make radical tuning changes.

Force's teammates Medien and Hight also enjoyed a relatively smooth day, recording a combined seven 4.7-second runs. It's probably too early to anoint Hight as the Automobile Club of Southern California Road to the Future Award winner, but he has already shown maturity well beyond his experience. Hight got a hint of real competition Saturday when he squared off against Force in his first side-by-side encounter ever. After leaving first, .101 to .117, Hight held on for a 4.765 to 4.773 win.

After some early shutoff runs Friday, the three Schumacher Racing drivers made a statement Saturday when Bazemore (4.750), Capps (4.759), and Scelzi (4.766) made full runs. Checker Schuck's Kragen teammates Worsham and Phil Burkart Jr. also joined the test Saturday, making eight runs combined. Worsham ran a 4.795 best at more than 323 mph, and Burkart ran a 4.845, 316.97 before packing it in for the weekend.

Top Fuel driver Lucas never made it to the finish line under power, but that hardly means his team was disappointed. According to crew chief Dupuy, Lucas' incremental numbers on his 4.57 run indicated high 4.4-second potential.

Who looked really good: After finishing out of the top 10 last season and leaving Snake Racing, Capps appears to have found a new lease on life as part of the Schumacher Racing team. After one half pass Friday, Capps kept the throttle buried on his second run, and his new Brut Stratus responded with a 4.786. Later in the weekend, Capps recorded the quickest run of his career, a 4.759, 326.23.

"That was very cool," said Capps. "To be able to come in here with a new car and a new team and run like that is awesome. It's also a credit to all of the people at Schumacher Racing. The tune-up is mostly [crew chief Ed McCulloch's], but we also have a lot of input from Dan Olson, Lee Beard, Mike Neff, and Alan Johnson. It's like an open book around here."

Who struggled: In short, anyone with an A/Fuel Dragster did not have an enjoyable weekend. Led by the entries of Ashley Force and Shields, the injected-nitro cars struggled to adapt to NHRA's new rule limiting them to 96 percent nitro. After struggling to run 5.5s, members of the NHRA technical department, who were monitoring the test, agreed to allow teams to experiment with a 98 percent mix.

"We have been monitoring these cars all weekend," explained NHRA Director of Top Fuel and Funny Car Racing Ray Alley. "We allowed a couple of teams to increase the nitro percentage in order to gain some more information. Trying to balance the various combinations in this class has always been a miserable job. What we learn here may or may not lead to a rule revision. We have to be cautious, but we're also trying to be fair."