BRISTOL, Tenn. – For NHRA Funny Car racer Mike Neff, a state of total exhaustion has proven to be a good thing.
At the end of each NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event, if Neff’s tired-meter is pushing extreme limits he knows it has been a good weekend.
And for the last four races, the throwback racer who has come to define NHRA’s 60th anniversary celebration so far by pulling double-duty as both crew chief and driver like so many NHRA legends in the sport’s early days, has had some really good weekends in his Castrol GTX Ford Mustang.
Neff has raced to four straight final round appearances, posting a victory at the NHRA SuperNationals in Englishtown, N.J. two weeks ago. It was his second victory of the season as the California native who now calls Fishers, Ind. home holds the series lead in the Funny Car category as the regular season heads down the backstretch.
Neff will try to keep his final round streak going and work on increasing his series lead at the Ford NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals presented by Tri-Cities Area Ford Dealers at scenic Bristol Dragway, June 17-19. Tony Schumacher (Top Fuel), John Force (Funny Car) and Mike Edwards (Pro Stock) are the defending winners of the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event which will be televised by ESPN2 HD.
“I am getting in the groove,” Neff said. “Going rounds helps. That is four finals in a row. My team is in the groove of what they have to do. I am getting into the swing of it too. Going to the final takes a lot out of you. We have been training for this lately the last four races.”
Neff, who guided Force to the world championship title last year as crew chief, moved into the dual roles this season when Force’s daughter Ashley moved out of the cockpit of one of the team’s 7,000 horsepower Funny Cars for the season to focus on starting a family.
Driving the car was nothing new for Neff, who raced to one win in six final rounds during two seasons behind the wheel in 2008 and ’09. In ’08 at Bristol Dragway he was the No. 1 qualifier and posted a runner-up finish to Melanie Troxel in a very late night rain-delayed finish.
While he may have been tired as he launched his car in that final round well past midnight back in ‘08, nothing has compared to what he has endured this season while juggling a wrench in one hand and his race helmet in the other.
“Trying to do both (jobs), it just wears you out,” Neff said. “I’m working on trying to get myself to be able to go the distance all year long, both mentally and physically. My goal is to feel as good on the last run on Sunday as I do on the first one.”
Neff has captured two world championship titles as crew chief, as he claimed his first with Gary Scelzi in 2005. If he can win the Full Throttle Countdown to the Championship this year, he will be the first to win a season crown pulling double-duty since Eddie Hill (’93), Dick LaHaie (’87) and “Big Daddy” Don Garlits (’85-’86) accomplished the feat in Top Fuel. Only Shirl Greer (1974) has done it in Funny Car.
“Doing both jobs just puts more pressure on you,” Neff said. “I’m more tired at the end of the day. When I was just the crew chief, I was busy, but I had down time where I could just chill out.
“(Now) I’m running up there looking at the track. I’m trying to figure out the set up, I’m trying to tell everybody what they need to do and then, at the last minute, I’ve got to throw on my crap and get in the car.”
Once he’s strapped in the car, he has to change gears and put on his game face for driving the car and get ready to battle a host of tough challengers, including two-time champ Cruz Pedregon, speedy Matt Hagan, consistent Jack Beckman, veteran Ron Capps, ’09 champ Robert Hight and his boss, the 15-time champ.
“I just want to be a contender and have a chance,” Neff said. “Right now, I’m rooting for my teammates, especially Force, to get rolling because it’s going to take all three of us thumping for one of us to win the championship.”
In Top Fuel, Funny Car racer turned Top Fuel driver Del Worsham continues to lead the pack in his Al-Anabi Racing dragster with three victories this season. He’s followed closely by red-hot Spencer Massey, winner of the last two events in his Prestone/FRAM dragster. Worsham teammate and defending world champ Larry Dixon, Matco Tools dragster driver Antron Brown and four-time Bristol winner Tony Schumacher are also among the pre-race favorites.
Jason Line is one of six winners this season in a parity filled Pro Stock division, however Line holds the edge as the only driver to earn multiple victories. Line, a former engine builder for Joe Gibbs Racing on the NASCAR circuit, has raced to three wins in his Summit Racing Pontiac GXP. Second place Greg Stanfield has yet to win but has been consistent in his Safety Sentry GXP. Defending world champ Greg Anderson is a two-time winner at Bristol as is defending winner Edwards in his Penhall/Interstate Batteries GXP. Hometown favorite Allen Johnson has some momentum after his win in New Jersey two weeks ago and a host of young drivers, including rookie Vincent Nobile, Erica Enders and Shane Gray, are trying to better their positions in the series standings.
* SCHEDULE: Full Throttle Drag Racing Series qualifying sessions are scheduled for 5 and 7:30 p.m. on Friday, June 17 and 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturday, June 18. Final eliminations begin at noon on Sunday, June 19.
* TICKETS: Tickets are available for the Ford NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals presented by Tri-Cities Area Ford Dealers. Call Bristol Dragway at (423) 989-6900 or visit www.bristoldragway.com.
* ON TV: ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise two hours of qualifying highlights at 7 p.m. (ET) on Saturday, June 18. ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise two hours and 30 minutes of eliminations coverage beginning at 4:30 p.m. (ET) on Sunday, June 19.
* LUCAS OIL SERIES: The Ford NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals also will feature competition in four categories in the NHRA Lucas Oil Series, where the future stars of the NHRA Full Throttle Series gain experience. Lucas Oil Series qualifying begins at 10 a.m. on June 17. Lucas Oil Series eliminations begin at 8 a.m. on June 18 and continue through June 19.
* GET SCREENED AMERICA PRO MOD SERIES: NHRA’s popular Pro Mod touring series will make its sixth start of the 10-race 2011 season at the Ford NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals. The series features some of the world’s fastest and most unique doorslammer cars, with an eclectic mix of vintage and late-model body styles, in quarter-mile competition. Two of three scheduled rounds of qualifying will be held on Friday, June 17 at 4:30 and 6:30 p.m. The final round of qualifying is set for 1 p.m. on Saturday, June 18. The first round of eliminations is scheduled for Saturday, June 18 at 3:30 p.m. Eliminations will continue on Sunday, June 19 at approximately 3:30 p.m.
* ON THE WEB: Get live timing, scoring, multimedia and the latest news updates from every NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event on the Internet at www.nhra.com. Visit the official NHRA pages on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.
At the end of each NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event, if Neff’s tired-meter is pushing extreme limits he knows it has been a good weekend.
And for the last four races, the throwback racer who has come to define NHRA’s 60th anniversary celebration so far by pulling double-duty as both crew chief and driver like so many NHRA legends in the sport’s early days, has had some really good weekends in his Castrol GTX Ford Mustang.
Neff has raced to four straight final round appearances, posting a victory at the NHRA SuperNationals in Englishtown, N.J. two weeks ago. It was his second victory of the season as the California native who now calls Fishers, Ind. home holds the series lead in the Funny Car category as the regular season heads down the backstretch.
Neff will try to keep his final round streak going and work on increasing his series lead at the Ford NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals presented by Tri-Cities Area Ford Dealers at scenic Bristol Dragway, June 17-19. Tony Schumacher (Top Fuel), John Force (Funny Car) and Mike Edwards (Pro Stock) are the defending winners of the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event which will be televised by ESPN2 HD.
“I am getting in the groove,” Neff said. “Going rounds helps. That is four finals in a row. My team is in the groove of what they have to do. I am getting into the swing of it too. Going to the final takes a lot out of you. We have been training for this lately the last four races.”
Neff, who guided Force to the world championship title last year as crew chief, moved into the dual roles this season when Force’s daughter Ashley moved out of the cockpit of one of the team’s 7,000 horsepower Funny Cars for the season to focus on starting a family.
Driving the car was nothing new for Neff, who raced to one win in six final rounds during two seasons behind the wheel in 2008 and ’09. In ’08 at Bristol Dragway he was the No. 1 qualifier and posted a runner-up finish to Melanie Troxel in a very late night rain-delayed finish.
While he may have been tired as he launched his car in that final round well past midnight back in ‘08, nothing has compared to what he has endured this season while juggling a wrench in one hand and his race helmet in the other.
“Trying to do both (jobs), it just wears you out,” Neff said. “I’m working on trying to get myself to be able to go the distance all year long, both mentally and physically. My goal is to feel as good on the last run on Sunday as I do on the first one.”
Neff has captured two world championship titles as crew chief, as he claimed his first with Gary Scelzi in 2005. If he can win the Full Throttle Countdown to the Championship this year, he will be the first to win a season crown pulling double-duty since Eddie Hill (’93), Dick LaHaie (’87) and “Big Daddy” Don Garlits (’85-’86) accomplished the feat in Top Fuel. Only Shirl Greer (1974) has done it in Funny Car.
“Doing both jobs just puts more pressure on you,” Neff said. “I’m more tired at the end of the day. When I was just the crew chief, I was busy, but I had down time where I could just chill out.
“(Now) I’m running up there looking at the track. I’m trying to figure out the set up, I’m trying to tell everybody what they need to do and then, at the last minute, I’ve got to throw on my crap and get in the car.”
Once he’s strapped in the car, he has to change gears and put on his game face for driving the car and get ready to battle a host of tough challengers, including two-time champ Cruz Pedregon, speedy Matt Hagan, consistent Jack Beckman, veteran Ron Capps, ’09 champ Robert Hight and his boss, the 15-time champ.
“I just want to be a contender and have a chance,” Neff said. “Right now, I’m rooting for my teammates, especially Force, to get rolling because it’s going to take all three of us thumping for one of us to win the championship.”
In Top Fuel, Funny Car racer turned Top Fuel driver Del Worsham continues to lead the pack in his Al-Anabi Racing dragster with three victories this season. He’s followed closely by red-hot Spencer Massey, winner of the last two events in his Prestone/FRAM dragster. Worsham teammate and defending world champ Larry Dixon, Matco Tools dragster driver Antron Brown and four-time Bristol winner Tony Schumacher are also among the pre-race favorites.
Jason Line is one of six winners this season in a parity filled Pro Stock division, however Line holds the edge as the only driver to earn multiple victories. Line, a former engine builder for Joe Gibbs Racing on the NASCAR circuit, has raced to three wins in his Summit Racing Pontiac GXP. Second place Greg Stanfield has yet to win but has been consistent in his Safety Sentry GXP. Defending world champ Greg Anderson is a two-time winner at Bristol as is defending winner Edwards in his Penhall/Interstate Batteries GXP. Hometown favorite Allen Johnson has some momentum after his win in New Jersey two weeks ago and a host of young drivers, including rookie Vincent Nobile, Erica Enders and Shane Gray, are trying to better their positions in the series standings.
* SCHEDULE: Full Throttle Drag Racing Series qualifying sessions are scheduled for 5 and 7:30 p.m. on Friday, June 17 and 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturday, June 18. Final eliminations begin at noon on Sunday, June 19.
* TICKETS: Tickets are available for the Ford NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals presented by Tri-Cities Area Ford Dealers. Call Bristol Dragway at (423) 989-6900 or visit www.bristoldragway.com.
* ON TV: ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise two hours of qualifying highlights at 7 p.m. (ET) on Saturday, June 18. ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise two hours and 30 minutes of eliminations coverage beginning at 4:30 p.m. (ET) on Sunday, June 19.
* LUCAS OIL SERIES: The Ford NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals also will feature competition in four categories in the NHRA Lucas Oil Series, where the future stars of the NHRA Full Throttle Series gain experience. Lucas Oil Series qualifying begins at 10 a.m. on June 17. Lucas Oil Series eliminations begin at 8 a.m. on June 18 and continue through June 19.
* GET SCREENED AMERICA PRO MOD SERIES: NHRA’s popular Pro Mod touring series will make its sixth start of the 10-race 2011 season at the Ford NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals. The series features some of the world’s fastest and most unique doorslammer cars, with an eclectic mix of vintage and late-model body styles, in quarter-mile competition. Two of three scheduled rounds of qualifying will be held on Friday, June 17 at 4:30 and 6:30 p.m. The final round of qualifying is set for 1 p.m. on Saturday, June 18. The first round of eliminations is scheduled for Saturday, June 18 at 3:30 p.m. Eliminations will continue on Sunday, June 19 at approximately 3:30 p.m.
* ON THE WEB: Get live timing, scoring, multimedia and the latest news updates from every NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event on the Internet at www.nhra.com. Visit the official NHRA pages on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.
