6/25/07

It was the kind of weekend which just keeps happening this year. And I don’t think anyone was prepared for how long John’s unprecedented slump would linger.

And let’s be honest, it’s lingering.

John gave every indication that his slide was coming to an end when he qualified No. 2, right behind Tommy Johnson Jr. Ashley was No.3, while Robert never put up a competitive number, qualifying 14th. But the attitude was that once eliminations began, JFR would come out swinging.

They did, but not for long.

As luck would have it, Ashley and Robert met in Round 1 and Robert came out on top, despite having struggled throughout qualifying. John picked up Round win No. 2 in 2007 (Boy, does that sound bizarre…) in his opening frame match up with Gary Scelzi—who waited until the final qualifying session to squeeze into the field at No. 15.

But the second round was a drudge. Robert lost to Tony Pedregon (Ouch!) and John lost to Tony Bartone (!!!). That was it. Day over.

I was in Cleveland over the weekend working on the CBS telecast of the Champ Car World Series at Burke Lakefront Airport. There are a bunch of crew members who belong to several of the top Champ Car teams who are BIG drag racing fans. They have watched me on the ESPN NHRA television coverage since 1994 and we wind up talking drag racing whenever we have a free moment or two.

One of the most frequently asked questions I get is, “What’s going on with John Force”, and of course, I really don’t have an answer for them. One of the suspension and shock specialists for Team Minardi had worked on several nitro teams before moving to Champ Car and we have many mutual friends and acquaintances in the POWERade ranks. This past weekend in Cleveland, he kept asking me if I had any news on E-town and when I told him John and Ashley had qualified well, he said, “Maybe this will be the weekend the tables get turned.”

One of the senior mechanics on the RSports team is another real drag racing junkie and has told me that Hillary Will is his favorite driver. But he also pulls for John and the entire team as he pursues his duties in the Champ Car World Series and can’t imagine how dismal John’s 2007 continues to be. “Why has John and his team been stuck in this rut?” he’s asked me more than once, and all I can do is shrug.

The real concern that hovers over JFR is the ever-increasing likelihood that John could miss the Countdown—a concept that seemed out of the realm of the possible when the season began. There are only seven races to go before the Countdown to Eight ends and the Countdown to Four begins. The new system doesn’t leave much wiggle room if you’re not in the top eight when we get to Indy on Labor Day weekend.  John needs lots of round wins in big bunches and he’ll have to start stacking them up this coming weekend in Norwalk. That’s no bull. Time is quickly becoming his worst enemy.

It was great to see Ashley on “Good Morning, America” on ABC this past week, appearing with Melanie Troxel and Angelle Sampey. That’s the kind of mainstream media exposure that helps to attract new fans to drag racing and publicize the fact that our sport is now truly gender-inclusive and we have capable women competing in every professional class. I would have liked to have seen Erica Enders included on the show representing Pro Stock but overall, Ashley, Melanie, and Angelle looked and sounded terrific.

While John and the teams travel to Norwalk next weekend for the next race, I’ll be trekking up to Mt. Tremblant which is about 80 miles outside Montreal, Canada for the next Champ Car World Series event which will be seen on ESPN. But I’ll be dialed in to what’s happening in Ohio and will be back here right after the Summit Racing Nationals with more from “In the Groove”.

Until then, buckle up and drive safely!