10/13/08

It was all over by the end of the second round. And if you ask me, that’s happened a few too many times this year.

I wasn’t in Richmond for the race but I watched the ESPN coverage and I had a nagging feeling as eliminations cranked up that this wasn’t going to be JFR’s day. It didn’t take too long for my instincts to become justified. And wouldn’t you know, the first time in what seems like forever that Tim Wilkerson doesn’t spank the field, John and the rest of the team couldn’t take advantage.

I know there is no quit in the JFR organization but with only two races remaining in the season, the chances of John, Ashley, Robert, or Mike putting together a last minute blitz and leaping to the championship would have to be described as a major miracle. Before the race this weekend, I wrote on ESPN.com that all Tim had to do was leave Richmond with essentially the same points lead he arrived with to pretty much cement his first career title.  Tim didn’t win the race, but he did get to the semi-finals while Jack Beckman went to his seventh final round of the season and was runner-up to Cruz Pedregon. So instead of maintaining his ground, Tim slid back a little.

The upshot is that Tim’s lead over Beckman is now only 51-points—which is less than three rounds of racing with eight rounds of eliminations left in 2008. Will this year’s champion be either one of those two drivers, or will Robert pull off the miracle of the century and overcome the 92-point lead Tim has on him with two events to go? I’m not saying it’s impossible but, man, would that ever be a Hail Mary!

Of course, we all remember how Cruz won his only POWERade championship in 1992, overcoming John’s massive points lead in the final six races of the year and shocking the drag racing world with one of the greatest come-from-behind title stretches in NHRA history.

On second thought, maybe we shouldn’t remember it…..

One bright spot in Richmond—on a weekend when there were very few to mention—was Robert running the quickest pass in the 1000-foot era in his first-round win over John. Robert’s 4.005-second shot nearly made him the first Funny Car driver to post a 3-second run, which would be something to see. Top Fuel cars are now averaging runs in the 3.70-4.00-second bracket and to think a Funny Car is THAT close to running as quickly as the dragsters blows my mind. 

When we were running the quarter-mile, we didn’t see Top Fuel and Funny Car elapsed times matching up, although back in the 1990’s, we did see the NHRA top speed record for F/C’s eclipse Top Fuel’s national speed record for a short time. Don’t be surprised to see Robert get into the 3’s before the end of the year and if the conditions are cooperative, I’m guessing it could come in Pomona at the last race.

In two weeks, it’s time for the second event of the year in Las Vegas, a place that we all look forward to spending time in. It’s a red hot town with a spectacular racing facility and a never-ending assortment of things to do when it’s time to unwind. Plus, as a long-time member of the Shelby-American Automobile Club and an owner of a genuine Shelby-American Cobra 427S/C, I look forward to a trip to Vegas and a visit to the Shelby Automobiles factory located right next door to the Speedway, and sometimes, a chance to speak to John’s old friend, Carroll Shelby himself.

I’ll have more from “In The Groove” after things finish up at The Strip so I hope you’ll find a few minutes to log back on to www.JohnForceRacing.com in a couple of weeks and catch the latest.

Until then, please drive safely!