7/24/06

The Western Swing is proving to be a rough road trip!

The race in Seattle on Sunday went just about as poorly as it could have, in fact, within 20 points of being a total disaster. John was beaten in the first round by Gary Scelzi while Ron Capps scampered to the final round where he was put away by teammate Whit Bazemore (I know, Whit resists calling Capps his teammate). So, Capps picked up 60 points on John as we head to the last stop in Sonoma next weekend. Had Ron won the race, the added advantage would have been 80 points so there was some softening of the potential damage.

Robert was picked off by old friend Tony Pedregon in Round 2 while Eric was shown the exit by Capps in the semi’s. It doesn’t take a genius to recognize that a definite thread can be seen connecting all of Sunday’s key players in eliminations. Scelzi—the driver who ended John’s championship reign last year—takes him out in the opening round. Scelzi is then beaten by his teammate and current points leader, Capps, in the quarter-finals. Tony Pedregon, ex-team member at JFR ends Robert’s day in the second round while it’s Capps who beats John’s No. 2 driver, Eric, in the semi’s.

Then, Capps vs. Bazemore in the final. High drama, indeed.

The math stands at Capps holding an 88 point lead over John with no other drivers in position to complicate the championship picture just yet. As for Bazemore, who must certainly be thrilled with scoring his first win of 2006, remains way back in the pack in 8th place, some 368 points off the pace.

There were no repeat winners from Denver to Seattle and it’s altogether likely that we could go right through the Swing with different winners in all the pro classes. It’s happened before and with the myriad of national event winners we’ve seen so far in ’06, that’s not the kind of thing that should shock anyone.

I’d also like to add, as objectively as I can, that one of the reasons we’re seeing such tightly-bunched title chases this year is that we haven’t been besieged in 2006 with touchy issues like tire performance and durability, fuel controversies, squabbles over any aerodynamic advantages—real or perceived—among the different manufacturers, or other distractions which pull our attention away from the racing. There have been some discussions and disagreements on a few general issues such as discrepancies in the timing equipment (mostly in Pro Stock), but overall, the season has been free from major procedural upheavals.

To be sure, there have been some intriguing personnel changes this year which in some cases have been totally unexpected while Don Schumacher Racing seems to be multiplying on almost a weekly basis. Plus, the recent batch of drag racing reality shows on mainstream media outlets, not the least of which is Driving Force on A&E, all conspire to make this season as eventful as any we’ve seen before—except much of the media swirl around the sport is of a positive nature.

The Swing wraps up at Infineon Raceway next week and we’ll all be curious to see how the standings shape up after the three-race-in-three-weeks enduro closes out. There will be more to be found “In the Groove” right after the race so I invite you and everyone to stop by again next week at the official website of John Force Racing.

Thanks!