7/16/07

Two steps forward, one step back.

I’m sure you’ve heard that old expression and it would seem to be a perfect fit for the JFR gang after Sunday’s race in Denver.

Two steps forward: Robert qualifies No. 1, John qualifies a strong No.6.

One step back: Ashley suffers her second straight DNQ.

Two steps forward: Both John and Robert win their first round matches.

One step back: Robert has a broken oil line end his day against Scott Kalitta.

Two steps forward: John beats both Gary Scelzi and Tony Pedregon—both bitter rivals--to get to the semi-finals

One step back: John fouls out against Jack Beckman.

And that’s how the first race of the Western Swing shook out for the troops.

However, the best news of the weekend was expressed by John after he triggered the red bulb against Beckman: “At least we know we have our hot rod back”.

Also, John is right on Beckman’s tail for that all-important No. 8 spot in the Countdown to the Championship standings. It wasn’t that long ago that John was No. 15, had only a single round win, and appeared to be unable to break out of his incomprehensible slump.  Now, both he and Ashley are outside the Elite Eight with only four races remaining before the Countdown to Four cranks up at Indy.

Although time is running out to pick up a spot in the Countdown, I feel a bit more confident that John will muscle his way in and that\Ashley’s run of DNQ’s has been a fluke.

This may seem a bit of a stretch, but as a native Bostonian, I’ve been a Red Sox fan all my life and it’s one of the toughest rides a sports fan can experience. Even though the Sox currently own a 10 game lead on the Toronto Blue Jays and dreaded New York Yankees, any Red Sox fan will tell you no lead is too safe. I took my family to the Sox-Blue Jays game at Fenway Park in Boston last Thursday night and enjoyed a great game—which the Sox won 7-4.

But you couldn’t help but hear the element of uncertainty expressed by Sox fans when the topic of winning the division came up. We’ve all had our hearts broken too many times in the past to allow overconfidence to kick in with two-and-a-half months remaining in the regular season.

Conversely, I think true John Force fans take the opposite attitude. We’ve all seen John pull of utterly miraculous feats of drag racing heroics over the years to ring up his 14 POWERade championships. Rather than the lingering paranoia that afflicts Red Sox fans, it’s an overwhelming sense of anticipation that fires up John Force followers and convinces us that when all the money is on the table, John will find a way to show a winning hand.

We’ll see what happens in Seattle this weekend where the conditions will be a lot less demanding and the newly refurbished Pacific Raceways will provide all the nitro teams with oxygen-rich air—which adds up to tons of horsepower.

I’ll have more from “In the Groove” right after the race. Remember to buckle up and drive safely!