Drag racing statistics are a whole universe unto themselves. Some people have only a passing interest in the basic stats, while others get totally absorbed by the numbers. I guess I fall somewhere in the middle (although my wife, Debby, would venture a different opinion, I’m sure…) but the all-time champ in top-of-mind NHRA stats is my buddy, Bob Frey, who everyone reading this board knows is one of the most popular NHRA announcers of all time.

A stat that Bob shared with me in Houston pretty much summed up the feeling of frustration that Team Castrol felt after watching Ron Capps win for the second time this year coming on the heels of John, Robert and Eric qualifying first, second, and third for the O’Reilly Spring Nationals. It was the SIXTH time John and his drivers ended qualifying 1, 2, and 3 on the eliminations ladder and the SIXTH time they all missed out on winning the race.

That’s as cock-eyed a numerical footnote that you could ever tally when you consider how difficult it is to have three racecars all so equally dominant in qualifying in a single weekend, and how going into race day with that kind of firepower would have to result in at least one victory in six attempts.

No dice.

John had a shot at Ron Capps in the semi-finals but what started out as a close race ended with Capps getting the victory and John having his racecar toss the engine, erupting in a quickly-extinguished fire. To add a rather downbeat punctuation mark to the entire episode, John had to walk from the spot where his car ultimately stopped over to where the ESPN top end interview area is set up, about 100 yards away, while the NHRA’s Safety Safari was cleaning up the track.

John exchanged some good-natured ribbing with Ron after the run and its obvious how much mutual respect there is between these two great drivers. Every indication would point to Ron being one of the biggest obstacles John may face as he tries to regain the Funny Car championship this year—even more so than Gary Scelzi, who didn’t qualify in Houston and has had a real rough go of it so far in 2006. If Ron continues to run like he has, John will have to reverse the trend that has been set in motion since Pomona—basically outstanding qualifying performances but no trophy Sunday afternoon.

Robert’s first trip back to Houston since winning his first career national event there last season was unsatisfactory. He lost to a very surprising Bob Gilbertson in Round 1, only to watch Gilbertson take out Eric in the semi-finals, before Bob smoked his tires in the final against Capps.

The Force girls had mixed results in Houston. Ashley lost to the formidable Steve Torrance—who went on to score a runner-up finish to Bill Reichert in Top Alcohol Dragster—while Courtney had her best race in Super Comp advancing to Round 5. Brittany hit some tough luck in S/C, losing early in eliminations. But win or lose, it’s great to see John racing alongside his daughters and taking pride in every accomplishment—large or small—they achieve. It’s at times like those that he’s no longer a 13-time POWERade champion or the sport’s winningest driver. He’s just a dad. And a pretty good one, at that.

Now, it’s a short hop to Las Vegas for the next race at the magnificent Las Vegas Motor Speedway next weekend and it’s a facility that every racer looks forward to getting a hold of. There’ll be more to share with you next week after the race so I hope you’ll find a little time to check in then. And if you’re near a TV on Sunday mornings, look for me on the next edition of Inside Drag Racing at 11AM EDT on ESPN2.

Until then, drive safely!

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