NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series in full swing, which means that the passions are not only among the clear leaders, and outsiders desperately fighting for access to the Countdown To One, where after these five stages will be only ten of the best pilots. The past Lucas Oil Route 66 Nationals turned out to be a very busy, exciting and incredibly dramatic. Spectator revenge raging motors, finish with a difference of a few thousandths of a second and the race, which was won by getting any pilots with incredible difficulty, not to say that even a miracle.
Tony Schumacher in the eighties was the first time at the stage of the national championship, the pilot Funny Car (FC) Tommy Johnson Jr. finally opened by his victories, and Allen Johnson climbed for the first time in the season on the podium.
The third trophy this year allowed Tony Schumacher did take first place in the individual competition among pilots by sliding his teammate Antron Brown, who was too imposingly felt on top of the standings for almost the entire season. And if you win in the first round of the defending champion was given relatively easy, in the second it went not so clear. At the start, he and JR Todd tore his dregster to slip, and the outcome of the match depended on which of the riders will be able to cope with the devastating early motor torque. Schumacher steadily accelerated from the first until Todd tried in vain to cling to the covering strip, turning tires into smoke. Reaching the final of the most titled pilot in the class Top Fuel (TF) was given and did with difficulty, because the clear victory over underdog Dave Connolly with a difference of 0.0008 seconds not only as a forced call. In the final, Schumacher met with his longtime rival Larry Dixon, who for the fifth time this season to reach the final. Dixon was unable to avenge the defeat in Epping, Tony came to the finish line first with a score of 3.844 seconds @ 320.20 mph. However, despite a series of setbacks in the finals, Dixon points with interference, but still enough for third place in the championship.
In terms of entertainment in Chicago was a complete order: that alone is worth the fiery extravaganza performed Tee Jay Tsitstso in qualifying before the finish. Also in the first round flared motor Leah Pritchett and Terry McMillan, who a week ago brought the brakes.
Despite the fact that Don Schumacher and John Force publicly shook hands, rivalry in the strip between the pilots of Don Schumacher Racing and John Force Racing, of course, has not stopped. In the first round Courtney and Robert Hite dropped out of the fight, and in the second Force Sr. met the 96th time alongside another veteran — Cruise Pedregonom which conceded, gaping at the start, and that was the reason for the defeat with a difference of 0.006 seconds. After this intriguing races Shootout FC was in the class only, who of riders Don Schumacher Racing, this time will be the first. And they began to Tommy Johnson Jr., who easily finished with the final reigning champion and teammate Matt Haganah. Technique and is not withstand the pressure: Tony Pedregon and Bob Bode parted with hopes of trophies because of a jammed exhaust valve that caused the fire engine.
We should also congratulate Cases Vorshema that in the first round won his five hundredth race of his career. To celebrate the anniversary of the figures, apparently relaxed and lost Tim Wilkerson in the next match.
The winner of the last stage in Norwalk Greg Anderson and the victim in the same defeat in the first round of the Erika Ender Stephens this time were completely identical fashion: two in the semis showed a decent clean the passage of a quarter of a mile, but the response time is poor. As a result: about participation in the finals of the national championship leaders had forgotten. Terrific I spent the entire event Allen Johnson, who, though not always with a convincing margin, but it was always faster than their opponents. The victory over Anderson became the twenty-fifth of his career. Now, from the ninth place in the ranking of the most renowned pilots in the Pro Stock class it takes only one Wally.
This was the legendary Route 66 Nationals, before the meeting in Denver!
