|
Event: 9th annual NHRA Las Vegas Nationals
5th race of Countdown to 1
23nd of 24 events in the 2009 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series
Site: The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Las Vegas
Dates: Oct. 30 – Nov. 1, 2009
* * * *
DRIVER/CREW CHIEF MIKE NEFF NOT A LONGSHOT AT LAS VEGAS
Mike Neff on tuning and driving the Ford Drive One Mustang - “It is busy. You start making some runs and seeing results which helps you with the changes. You sort of feel your way though. (You are) nervous before the first run be we want to make sure we have everything covered. You just don’t really know what to expect. This car has been running good for a while.” - said Mike Neff.
* * * *
Team info at www.johnforceracing.com
Follow John Force Racing at www.twitter.com/jfr_racing
Follow John Force RaceStation store at www.twitter.com/JFRaceStation
Follow Courtney Force at www.twitter.com/courtneyforce
****
The Driver
Mike Neff, 42, driver of the Ford Drive One Mustang, is entering the fifth race of the 2009 Countdown to 1 in the 10th spot. He clinched his Countdown to 1 spot when he qualified for the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals. He has reached two final rounds in 2009 (Phoenix and Reading). The 2008 winner of the Auto Club’s Road to the Future award that identifies the Rookie of the Year, he took over the driving duties for the late Eric Medlen, who succumbed to injuries sustained in a testing accident in March of 2007.
* * * *
Mike Neff By the Numbers:
2 – Number of final rounds in 2009, Phoenix and Reading
3 – Number of races Neff was the driver and crew chief this season, Phoenix, Gainesville and Richmond
3 – Number of JFR drivers who have been named Auto Club Road to the Future Award winners, most recently Mike Neff was honored as the professional rookie of the year (Robert Hight, 2005 and Ashley Force Hood, 2007)
5 – Number of finals Mike Neff has reached in his young career, most recently Reading, August 2009
10 – Neff’s position in the Full Throttle point standings
159 – Difference in points between No. 10 Mike Neff and No. 1 Robert Hight in Funny Car Points
150 – Total number of points available at each NHRA Countdown to 1 national event
* * * *
Full Throttle Point Standings after four Countdown to 1 races and 22 NHRA events
FUNNY CAR – 1. Robert Hight, Auto Club Ford Mustang, 2362; 2. Ashley Force Hood, Castrol GTX Ford Mustang, 2349; 3. Tony Pedregon, 2314; 4. Ron Capps, 2299; 5. Tim Wilkerson, 2280; 6. Jack Beckman, 2276; 7. Bob Tasca III, 2259; 8. Del Worsham, 2227; 9. John Force, Castrol GTX High Mileage Ford Mustang, 2216; 10. Mike Neff, Ford Drive One Mustang, 2203.
TOP FUEL – 1. Tony Schumacher, 2427; 2. Larry Dixon, 2380; 3. Cory McClenathan, 2359; 4. Antron Brown, 2346; 5. Brandon Bernstein, 2307; 6. Morgan Lucas, 2269; 7. Shawn Langdon, 2254; 8. Spencer Massey, 2225; 9. Doug Kalitta, 2218; 10. Clay Millican, 2093.
PRO STOCK – 1. Mike Edwards, 2524; 2. Greg Anderson, 2396; 3. Jason Line, 2373; 4. Jeg Coughlin, 2292; 5. Greg Stanfield, 2276; 6. Allen Johnson, 2244; 7. Johnny Gray, 2233; 8. Ron Krisher, 2222; 9. Kurt Johnson, 2184; 10. Rickie Jones, 2020.
PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE – 1. Hector Arana, 2420; 2. Eddie Krawiec, 2392; 3. Michael Phillips, 2255; 4. Matt Smith, 2253; 5. Andrew Hines, 2249; 6. Douglas Horne, 2210; 7. Karen Stoffer, 2159; 8. Shawn Gann, 2157; 9. Craig Treble, 2136; 10. Matt Guidera, 2020.
****
TRACK RECORDS:
Top Fuel - 3.781 seconds by Tony Schumacher, Oct. ’08; 318.92 mph by Schumacher, Oct. ’08
Funny Car - 4.043 seconds by Robert Hight, Oct. ’08; 310.05 mph by Ashley Force Hood, Oct. ’08
Pro Stock - 6.656 seconds by Mike Edwards, April ’09; 206.70 mph by Greg Anderson, April ’09
Pro Stock Motorcycle - 6.979 seconds by Matt Smith, Oct. ’08; 191.08 mph by Matt Hines, Oct. ’02
(Top Fuel and Funny Car race distance is 1,000 feet; Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle race distance is 1,320 feet)
NATIONAL RECORDS:
Top Fuel - 3.771 sec. by Tony Schumacher, Oct. ’08, Richmond, Va.; 319.60 mph by Antron Brown, Oct. ’09, Richmond, Va.
Funny Car - 4.023 sec. by Ron Capps, Feb. ’09, Chandler, Ariz.; 312.13 mph by Ashley Force Hood, April ’09, Atlanta
Pro Stock – 6.509 sec. by Mike Edwards, Oct. ’09, Richmond, Va.; 212.36 mph by Greg Anderson, Oct. ’09, Richmond, Va.
PS Motorcycle- 6.851 sec. by Hector Arana, Sept. ’09, Memphis, Tenn.; 197.45 mph by Andrew Hines, March ’05, Gainesville, Fla.
(Top Fuel and Funny Car race distance is 1,000 feet; Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle race distance is 1,320 feet)
****
Race Schedule:
Friday, Oct. 30
Pro Qualifying: 12:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 31
Pro Qualifying: 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 1
Pre-race ceremonies 10:00 a.m.
Final eliminations 11:00 a.m.
* * * *
TELEVISION:
Saturday, Oct. 31, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise two hours of qualifying highlights at 11 p.m. (ET).
Sunday, Nov 1, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will air NHRA Race Day, at 2:30 p.m. (ET).
Sunday, Nov. 1, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise three hours of final eliminations at 7:30 p.m. (ET).
****
MIKE NEFF
DRIVER/CREW CHIEF MIKE NEFF NOT A LONGSHOT AT LAS VEGAS
LAS VEGAS, NV (October 27, 2009) --- Heading into Las Vegas Mike Neff and the Ford Drive One are still technically in contention for the 2009 NHRA Full Throttle Funny Car championship. Funny Car is the closest category of the four NHRA professional classes with 159 points separating Neff in 10th place from teammate Robert Hight in 1st. A team can pick up 150 points in one event so with two national events left on the schedule a strong Vegas showing by the Ford Drive One team could shuffle the Funny Car deck.
Neff controls his own destiny behind the wheel and under the hood. For the fourth time this season Neff will be spearheading tuning duties on the Ford Drive One Mustang as well as piloting it down The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Earlier this year Neff pulled double duty when crew chief John Medlen missed Phoenix and Gainesville to have heart condition evaluated in Indianapolis. He raced to a runner-up finish in Phoenix and qualified No. 5 in Gainesville.
Three weeks ago Neff was pressed into the dual role again in Richmond when team owner John Force moved Medlen over to his Castrol GTX High Mileage team to work with his brain trust of Austin Coil and Bernie Fedderly. Neff tuned his Mustang to a No. 8 qualifying position and reached the semi-finals.
The added workload keeps Neff hopping during the races but it is a challenge the world championship crew chief and 2008 rookie of the year is up for.
“It is busy. It is stressful especially when you haven’t done it in a while and you are not really familiar with the moves that you are making. You don’t feel real sure of what you are doing sometimes. You start making some runs and seeing the results which helps with changes. You sort of feel your way though,” said Neff in Richmond. “I was nervous before the first run I wanted to make sure we had everything covered. You just don’t really know what to expect. This car has been running god for a while and John Medlen had it set up so this was the easiest deal to step into. Medlen was here all weekend (in Richmond) helping me. It just added more responsibility. I was thinking about the car all the time. When Medlen was making the tuning calls I just bopped around here with no worries until I got strapped in before the run. It just seemed like the wheels were turning non-stop this weekend.”
Racing to the semi-finals was a strong showing for Neff and the Ford Drive One team but they are really drawing a bulls-eye on getting the team’s first win. Neff knows that he can’t afford to make any mistakes if they are going to make it to the winner’s circle.
“The positive thing (in Richmond) is we went down the track every run,
|
