Top Fuel To The Lanes

With the 20th Annual California Hot Rod Reunion race upon us it is always fun to offer a railbird’s guide of who to watch at the season-ending event. Although the 2011 season has felt the crunch of the nation’s economy, the AA/Fuel Dragsters (or Nostalgia Top Fuel as they are known at NHRA Heritage Series races) still managed to offer some exciting racing, outstanding performances, and painful missed opportunities. Join us now as we present a thumbnail view of a few of the drivers who, based on their season-to-date, are sure to make headlines at the CHRR.

Bakersfield is not only the capital of nostalgia racing, it is also the venue where the NHRA Hot Rod Racing Series starts and ends its season. The fabled March Meet kicked off the season and offered a strong field of top fuel dragsters all intent on etching their name in the 2011 record book. Eight months later they are returning to the Auto Club Raceway Famoso with some having made their mark, some still trying, and all still intent on being the last man standing on Sunday evening.

If points are the measure of success then Brett Harris leads the pack. Harris, like his father Jack before him, pilots the big red Nitro Thunder front engine top fuel dragster out of Utah. Both men have claimed season championships before, and both have won numerous races in Bakersfield. Harris holds a slim lead over his competitors coming into the final event, and history makes him an odds-on favorite, but he has a hungry pack of competitors ready to pounce on any vulnerability he shows. The point’s chase by itself offers a show within a show at this event. To win the championship Harris needs to do what he does well, and that is keep himself in contention into the late rounds. If he should win the CHRR he closes the door on any run at the championship his opponents might mount.

Northern Californian Jim Murphy is another racer who knows how to win rounds. He too is a former season champion and a Bakersfield winner. He is tied with Big Daddy Don Garlits for the most March Meet wins. Murphy comes into this race with momentum on his side. He dominated the last series event in Sacramento. He’ll need to continue that momentum to win this race. That win would put pressure on Harris to match his performance and save his championship hopes. Murphy’s WW2 team has a wealth of experience and they are sure to call on all of it at the CHRR. Murphy is a nose-to-the-grindstone racer.

While the Nitro Thunder car is known as Big Red, the Neal & White team out of San Diego is sometime referred to as Big Blue. Driver Rick White’s credentials are almost identical to that of Jim Murphy. He too is a former Bakersfield winner and series champion, and his points coming into this event are just a single digit behind Murphy. Neal & White run a Spartan operation, but don’t take that to mean that they are short on equipment. Crew chief Chuck Neal always brings his ‘A’ game to the starting line and part of that game plan includes a great database on the Bakersfield track. White has been known to brutalize his opponents into submission on the Famoso track and that will no doubt be his plan for this event. If White is on at the tree, and Neal returns to his proven tune-up, then everyone else will have a large blue obstacle to drive around to get to the winner’s circle.

A surprise last-man-standing entry coming into this event is Sacramento’s Terry Cox. When it comes to experience behind the wheel Cox now has a half dozen years in a top fuel car, but that still leaves him in rookie status compared to the drivers mentioned above. In those six years Cox has never challenged for the championship until this year. Cox’s Cheetah car suffered through a couple of years of poor performance while the team developed their late model Chrysler engine, but this year they came out swinging with new reliability and some big speed numbers. If the other cars want to rid themselves of the Cheetah challenge they had better not lift until the last mile per hour light.

Last year fans were introduced to a new car that quickly caught their attention. The Crop Duster out of Morrison, Illinois not only showed its 5.70s capabilities, but also recorded the best speed seen in some time, a blistering 264 MPH. Frank Ousley’s car, then piloted by Troy Green, is now in the capable hands of Jimmy Young. The Ousley & Young duo don’t get out to the West Coast as much as they would like, but this summer they were on track to win the National Hot Rod Reunion in Bowling Green, Kentucky until a reverser problem sidelined them in the final round. The Crop Duster crew will be keen to prove to the left coast guys that strong performance isn’t in the sole possession of cars that reside west of the Rockies.

Another car making the long tow to the West Coast is the Bartone Brothers out of New York. They too have something to prove. Driver Tony Bartone was still in contention at the March Meet when the rains came, but they were unable to return a week later for the rescheduled event. This team also campaigns a Top Alcohol Funny Car on the NHRA Full Throttle circuit and that sometimes causes a scheduling conflict. In August they ventured to the Heritage race in Boise and recorded the third quickest NTF run in history, an outstanding 5.57. That run was all the more impressive considering it was made at a high altitude track and the ambient temperature was very hot. Adding to their now known performance potential, Bartone’s near weekly schedule behind the wheel keeps him sharp on the starting line. That is a benefit not shared by his NTF competitors. The New Yorker will be one to watch at the CHRR.

The only car making a longer tow than Bartone is the Massachusetts-based Mr. Boston entry driven by California ex-patriot Howard Haight. After a strong showing at the March Meet, Howie planned to challenge the entire Heritage series, but the economy and some other problems derailed those plans in mid-season. Now the New England team has regrouped and wants to finish the season as they started. Aiding their effort will be West Coast tuners Pete Jensen, whose card reads ‘Have Tune-Up, Will Travel’ and Gary Walters who has a long history with some high profile big show cars. The Boys from Boston will have their race face on.

Lurking quietly just out of sight is Denver Schutz from nearby Fresno. Schutz has years of history on the Famoso track and is a win looking for a place to happen. Driving for Texan Jim Cullen the likable Schutz has shown consistent late round finishes at the few races he runs each year, but he just hasn’t closed the deal. Some rare breakage hampered their charge at the March Meet so the Raisin Express crew is anxious to redeem themselves. Schutz is a solid bet to go some rounds.

If points were credited to the car, rather than to the driver, then Mendy Fry would be in the thick of the points chase rather than languishing back in 9th place as she is. Due to other commitments Fry had to hand off the driving duties of Mike Fuller’s Forever Young car on occasion to former driver Mike McLennan throughout the season. This has hurt her season point’s accumulation. Even McLennan in his substitute role has amassed more points than the distaff driver. But their combined total shows that Fuller’s car is a player. If Fuller and his crew can overcome the niggling little problems that seem to plague this car then they too are a late round threat.

Two cars that go about their business quietly but efficiently are the Overtime Special of Tedford & McGee, and the Circuit Breaker of Richardson & Dunlap. Driver Rick McGee, and Father-in-Law Darrell Tedford, are from right up the road in Exeter, and they have used their knowledge of the Bakersfield track to win big events here in the past. Bill Dunlap is a journeyman driver who has also tasted victory here. He was the first Nostalgia Top Fuel series champion and he is anxious to return to contention in Bob Richardson’s car. Both of these cars have shown their ability to play with the big boys. If they suffer from anything it is rust. Running a sporadic schedule makes it hard for both driver and crew to stay sharp. If they can shed their rust early they’ll surely be in the mix of things.

Brendan Murry is an owner-driver-crew chief who will keep you guessing. The lone Chevy-powered entrant in the field has a history of surprising. He might be struggling for a few races, as he has this season, but then he will jump up and send some of the Chrysler cars home early. Murry returned to a former engine combination late in the last series race and it showed some promise. It will be interesting to see what Brendan brings to the table at the CHRR. Whatever he does in Bakersfield he will still be the darling of his legion of Chevy fans.

Mike Irwin is a new name in Nostalgia Top Fuel racing, but his car isn’t. While in the process of building his own car Irwin has signed on to pilot the Sacramento-based Nitro Fever car of Dave Smith. The Nitro Fever car has been dormant most of this year but no one has forgotten it is a car that has seen speeds in excess of 260 miles per hour in the past. Irwin is quickly adapting to his new assignment and could make himself well known by Sunday evening.

As there always is, there will be someone that isn’t on this short list that will muscle their way in at the CHRR and make you wonder why they weren’t included here. Let us cover that possibility by pointing out that whatever the history of a team might be, all bets are off when the cars roll into the staging beams. No one can be taken lightly, and everyone has a genuine chance of winning. That is the beauty of Nostalgia Top Fuel racing.

Action starts on Friday, October 21st at Auto Club Raceway Famoso in Bakersfield and continues throughout the weekend.