Six-race summertime saga snaking through Ohio
Larry Dixon grabbing headlines is nothing new. But winning back-to-back events after such a lackluster start is making him the talk of Top Fuel as the NHRA braces for Norwalk Raceway Park.
It's the second of six straight.
That just about sums up the situation for the NHRA POWERade series with this weekend's stop for the first time at Norwalk Raceway Park in Norwalk, Ohio, for the inaugural Summit Racing Equipment Nationals.
Last week's event in Englishtown, N.J., was the first of six consecutive national events that will bring the tour through E-town, Norwalk, and Bristol, Tenn., prior to the Western Swing to Denver, Seattle, and, finally, Sonoma, Calif.
Seven races remain on the new Countdown to the Championship points structure for the drivers in the four POWERade pro classes to make the Elite Eight and qualify for the right to contend for their category titles. A new venue, a national event, and another chance to either move into or remain inside the top eight await the drivers in Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle this weekend.
Here's a peek ahead:
Top Fuel
After a lackluster start to the season, Larry Dixon has won two straight races and will arrive in Norwalk with plenty of steam in his competitive boiler. He has moved into second place in the standings during his latest hot streak, and if his tuner Donnie Bender can get a handle on the Norwalk playing field, the Sky-Tel team of Don "The Snake" Prudhomme could be the big story again.
But Dixon will have to be wary of Hot Rod Fuller, whom he trails by 35 points. Fuller remains at the top of the standings despite having gone winless since Phoenix. Two races ago he lost to Dixon in the Joliet final and will be tough should the two square off again.
Meanwhile, Tony Schumacher, Brandon Bernstein and Doug Kalitta almost assuredly will make the Countdown but haven't mounted a consistent attack of late -- especially Bernstein, who had been the hottest property between Las Vegas and Topeka. The fact that few teams have run at Norwalk previously, unless they have appeared there for a non-points-earning match race, throws the door open for both the heavy hitters and the overachievers to have an equal shot at Sunday's big prize.
Funny Car
Tommy Johnson Jr.'s ambush of the season's most notable pacesetters gave new life to the Snake Racing outfit that has battled inconsistency throughout 2007. If any team is thoroughly motivated to go the distance in Norwalk this weekend, the Skoal-sponsored bunch led by tuner Mike Green would be it -- especially since it now holds the eighth and final spot in the Countdown eligibility sweepstakes, only three points ahead of Jeff Arend.
John Force Racing has been back on its heels lately, with a series of shaky qualifying performances, early-round losses, and dramatic mechanical fireworks suffered by the team cars of Force, daughter Ashley, and Robert Hight. Hight has all but clinched a Countdown slot, Ashley is in danger of dropping out of it and John is in jeopardy of missing it unless he regains his round-winning magic.
Points leader Ron Capps is due to get hot again and so is Gary Scelzi. Even Tony Pedregon has been unable to string together a lengthy offensive despite his runner-up finish in Englishtown last week. In short, nobody is running the neighborhood in Funny Car right now and this is a race that is truly there for the taking.
Pro Stock
If Greg Anderson doesn't finish the current Countdown to Eight in the No. 1 slot, it will be a stultifying shock. Last week's march through the Pro Stock field in E-town was the latest evidence that the three-time POWERade champion remains virtually out of anyone's reach.
The real warfare can be found between spots Nos. 6-10 in the PS standings where only 63 points separate No. 6 Kurt Johnson and No. 10 Mike Edwards. None of those drivers can consider themselves locked into a Countdown slot with seven races remaining before the cutoff. While Anderson easily could romp again in Norwalk, don't turn your attention too far away from the battles between those racers in places 6-10 who need every round win they can muster to maintain contention.
Pro Stock Motorcycle
Matt Smith, Angelle Sampey, Karen Stoffer, Andrew Hines, and Craig Treble all have something in common. Each has won a national event this year, and each ranks in the top five in the PSM points and has shown the kind of exceptional performance that undoubtedly will lead them into the Countdown.
Further back in the standings, Chip Ellis, Chris Rivas, Steve Johnson, Antron Brown and Peggy Llewellyn have been winless in '07 and are bunched together in a tight circle around the eighth and final Countdown opening. Only 34 points divide No. 6 Ellis from No. 10 Llewellyn and that means early-round losses for any of the riders in that group could drop them out of the Countdown sweet spot.
With the NHRA's announcement this week that Suzuki, Harley-Davidson, and Buell bikes all will have a common minimum weight -- 620 pounds -- effective immediately, it will be intriguing to see if performance parity is the end result, a goal the NHRA has been doggedly pursuing since the three predominant brands in the class have been exchanging blows.
In the final analysis, PSM, as is the case in every pro class, will be focusing on the crucial importance of pulling together as many points as possible during this early-summer caravan of back-to-back races. That reality will set the scene in Norwalk this weekend.
Bill Stephens covers NHRA for ESPN.com
