AUTO CLUB NHRA FINALS RACES INTO AUTO CLUB RACEWAY AT POMONA:
The final event for the 2013 Mello Yello Drag Racing Series races into Southern California with the Auto Club NHRA Finals, Nov. 7-10 at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona. World championships are up for grabs in Top Fuel and Pro Stock and all the racers will attempt to add one more win to their season long totals. Brandon Bernstein (Top Fuel), Cruz Pedregon (Funny Car), Allen Johnson (Pro Stock) and Andrew Hines (Pro Stock Motorcycle) are defending event champions.
LANGDON AND COUGHLIN RIDE POINTS LEAD INTO AUTO-CLUB NHRA FINALS:
Shawn Langdon (Top Fuel) and Jeg Coughlin Jr. (Pro Stock) enter the Auto Club NHRA Finals leading the points in their respective categories and aim to be crowned world champions at weekends’ end. Langdon has a 102-point lead over Antron Brown, the defending Top Fuel world champion. For Langdon, winning the championship in his hometown of Pomona would add a special touch to the title. “Well, it would mean everything to me to be able to end the year at Pomona with a championship just for the fact that’s where I grew up, racing junior dragsters, growing up, being a big fan of the sport, watching my idols race there,” said Langdon, who won the season-opening NHRA Winternationals at Pomona in February. “Pomona to me is a special place.” Coughlin Jr. leads the Pro Stock points by 71 over Jason Line and knows there is still work to be done for his fifth world championship. “At this point we’re in a position to bring home a championship,” Coughlin said. “It’s been a big season. We would love nothing more than to cap it off at Pomona with a victory and obviously, if we could do that it would take care of the championship as well.”
JIM DUNN RACING TO SPORT MOONEYES PAINT SCHEME AT POMONA:
Jim Dunn Racing will sport a new paint scheme that will feature the iconic Mooneyes logo. The company, founded in the 1950’s by Dean Moon in Southern California, has been a staple of hot rod enthausists across the country and will adorn the Funny Car driver by Jeff Arend. “It’s great that we can do this at Mooneyes’ home track in Pomona,” said Jon Dunn, business manager for Jim Dunn Racing. “My dad has always maintained that as long as he is racing, his car will have the Mooneyes logo on it.” Those at the Auto Club NHRA Finals will also be able to purchase merchandise with the logo from the Mooneyes merchandise trailer on Nitro Alley.
COMING ATTRACTIONS
NHRA WINTERNATIONALS, Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, Feb. 6-9, 2014: The 2014 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series kicks-off at one of the most historic facilities on the NHRA circuit, Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, Feb. 6-9, 2014. Shawn Langdon (Top Fuel), Courtney Force (Funny Car), and Vincent Nobile (Pro Stock), pictured, will attempt to defend their 2013 wins and start the season off on a positive note. For credentials, contact Anthony Vestal, director of media relations,avestal@nhra.com .
CARQUEST AUTO PARTS NHRA NATIONALS, Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park, Feb. 21-23: For the 30th season the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series races into the Valley of the Sun for the CARQUEST Auto Parts NHRA Nationals, Feb. 21-23. The venerable facility located south of Phoenix has seen historic performances including Tony Schumacher’s 330-mph quarter mile blast in 1999. Tony Schumacher (Top Fuel), Ron Capps (Funny Car), and Erica Enders-Stevens (Pro Stock) recorded wins at the track in 2013 and will once again attempt to get early season victories.
HE SAID, SHE SAID
“I was happy and proud to see my dad get the championship. But racing him in the final, I was fired up to get the win for my Traxxas team. We went for it 100% and at the finish line when I expected my win light to come and it didn’t, I was a little bummed out. The hardest part for me was getting out at the other end and not being able to immediately get over the fact that we didnt win it, while watching my dad celebrate both the win and the championship a few feet away. It was a bittersweet feeling because I was proud of him but really wanted that trophy in my own hands. I think that’s just my competitive and passionate side for winning that I’ve learned from my dad.” — Courtney Force, on losing to her dad John Force in the finals at the NHRA Toyota Nationals. In winning the race John secured his 16th Funny Car world championship. Courtney has two wins and two runner-up finishes in 2013.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
22: Number of races that Don Schumacher Racing Top Fuel dragsters and Funny Cars have won during the 2013 season. This ties the single season win total for DSR and their Top Fuel and Funny Car teams. Antron Brown won the most recent event for his fourth win of the season and is one of two DSR cars in contention for a Top Fuel title. He trails points leader Shawn Lagndon by 102 points heading into the Auto Club NHRA Finals. “We’re still in it. We’ve just got to take it one step at a time,” Brown said. “We’re loving this NHRA series right now. We’re loving it.”
DID YOU KNOW
MAC TOOLS EXTENDS SPONSORSHIP THROUGH 2016 WITH TEAM KALITTA:
Mac Tools and Kalitta Motorsports have announced an extension of their partnership of the Doug Kalitta driven Top Fuel dragster through the 2016 season. The Kalitta team and Mac Tools have a 20-year relationship and this continued partnership will allow to the team to strive for future success. “We are extremely honored to have our friends at Mac Tools racing with us for at least three more years,” Connie Kalitta said. “Our partnership with Mac Tools is one of the best and most successful relationships in the history of NHRA Drag Racing. Brett Shaw [president, Mac Tools] and Tony Merritt [director of motorsports] and the entire team at Mac Tools are like members of our family. We are honored to continue racing the Mac Tools dragster for them and all of the great Mac Tools distributors throughout the world.”