BILL STEPHENS ITG 5/19/11

What happened???

Atlanta was looking like the scene of John’s first win of 2011 after he picked up yet another No. 1 qualifying spot. Atlanta has also been a place where JFR has enjoyed some victorious race weekends, not the least of which was the 2008 visit that saw Ashley pick up her first career Funny Car national event title.

This year’s adventure in Atlanta was, well…a bust.

Oh-for-three. John, Robert, and Mike were shut out and Don Schumacher Racing, much to their credit, earned a double-dip in the winner’s circle with Antron brown the Top Fuel champ and Jack Beckman nailing down the Funny Car victory. When will John finally break into the win column? It may be as soon as this weekend in Topeka since he is the winningest driver in the history of Heartland Park Topeka.

Every year when the NHRA tour heads for HPT, I’m reminded of the 1993 event when two of the categories most coveted performance milestones were achieved on the same weekend. Chuck Etchells broke the 4-second barrier and Jim Epler was the first to record a 300-mile-per-hour Funny Car pass. It’s also rather remarkable to me that both drivers are no longer in the sport while John motors on, having just celebrated his 62nd birthday on May 4th.

In fact, since 1993, there have been a long list of Funny Car drivers, who for one reason or another, are no longer competing in the NHRA, having raced full-time or nearly full-time. Frank Pedregon, Dean Skuza, Jerry Toliver, Phil Burkart, and Tommy Johnson Jr. are just a handful of quality drivers who have moved on to other pursuits—some in drag racing and some elsewhere. I’m not ready to declare their NHRA careers are completely over and I think I speak for all NHRA fans when I say I hope to see them all back in the sport before long.

But the economy has truly had a measurable impact on professional drag racing, especially when it comes to securing sponsorship. Not that it was ever really easy to sign a multi-million dollar deal with a corporate partner but any team owner will tell you it’s never been tougher than it has been in the last few years. And as impressive as it is that John has been out there winning races and championships for almost 30 years, his long and mutually beneficial association with his primary sponsor, Castrol is also worthy of note. In an era when sponsors can come and sponsors can go, the relationships between JFR and all his corporate partners are exceptional.

Of course, when John has accumulated the sensational record of race wins, championships, and now No. 1 qualifying positions—tying Warren Johnson’s record of 138 poles—it makes him a very valuable commodity. And as Robert and Mike continue to give JFR two other potential race winners every time they roll into an NHRA event, it makes for a very formidable 1-2-3 punch that sponsors love.

We’re getting right back after it this weekend in Topeka. Mike still leads the points despite the lack of a win in Atlanta, Robert is third and John has climbed to seventh and it appears there will be a wild scramble in the category all season long with just about anyone in the field capable of winning on Sunday. Expect to see some more shuffling in the points following eliminations at HPT.

And remember to catch the latest Nitro Rewind at NHRA YouTube as we put a quick warp on the race in Atlanta and preview the upcoming event in Topeka. Hope you’ll log on and give it a look.

More after the Summer Nationals.