5/19/08

Instead of Zippy, Mike’s new nickname should be “Mr. Almost”.

From six straight first round losses to two straight final rounds is quite a turnaround. He lost to Tim Wilkerson in the St. Louis final before losing to Melanie Troxel on Sunday. Suddenly, Mike—or should I say Mr. Almost—is the star at JFR. John’s struggles have been unshakable since the season began, Robert has come close to getting his car figured out after winning in Pomona, and Ashley has had two lukewarm races since winning in Atlanta.

But now Mike has had the most consistent car on the team for the past two races and the fact that he was the No. 1 qualifier in Bristol is getting a little overlooked because of the excitement stirred up by Melanie’s win. Mike has come close to getting that Funny Car pole a couple of times this year and to be able to now say he’s been the No. 1 qualifier, has won his first round of eliminations (six altogether at this point), and advanced to two final rounds leaves just one more stat that needs addressing: winning his first national event.

Another stat that’s been getting brushed aside is the phenomenal final round record that the team has run up this year. Simply stated, there has been a JFR car in every final this year except one. And ironically, that one race was Gainesville and the two drivers in that final are both JFR alumni: Tony Pedregon and Gary Densham!

Of course, in Atlanta there were two JFR teammates in the final: John and Ashley.

The upshot of all this final round prosperity is that three out of the top five positions in the POWERade points belong to JFR. Ashley is No. 2, Robert is No. 4, John is No. 5, and Mike’s two straight finals have catapulted him up to No. 7. And while pre-season prognostications predicted that Don Schumacher’s four-car squad would be giving JFR all it could handle, at least so far in 2008, the highest ranking driver over there is Ron Capps, who is winless and stuck in the No. 8 spot.

Let’s not forget, however, that the Countdown to the Championship isn’t about who is leading he points or even in the top five. Ten drivers will advance to the final stage of the Countdown after the U. S. Nationals and that’s still about four months away. Nothing is in the bag just yet.

This is the time of year when teams have had a chance to get their tune-ups and setups figured out and start evaluating where they are compared to the competition. It’s also the time that you see changes in team personnel. Already in 2008, there have been some hiring’s and firings in the pro classes, but it’s always noteworthy that those kinds of personnel changes never take place at JFR. There’s a real lesson in that and I’ve pointed it out before. John didn’t win 14 championships by shopping around for new tuners or crew members every time his team fell off the pace.

He has always been very, very patient with his team and there have been times when he’s had to bite the bullet and stay the course in the midst of puzzling losing streaks. I can’t think of many other team owners out there who have stuck with their top people when the breaks have been going against them. I won’t mention any names, but based on where several teams find themselves after eight national events this year; I wouldn’t be shocked to see some team rosters undergoing some wholesale changes in the next few weeks. Team Castrol, however, will not be among them.

Two weeks until Topeka and a race track—Heartland Park—where John has dominated many times over the years. Here’s hoping he really gets after it at HPT this trip.

I’ll have more from “In the Groove” after the Summer Nationals so rock on by after the race. Until then, please buckle up, drive in that left lane only when passing slower traffic to reduce road rage, and drive safely.