47th Mac Tools U.S. Nationals
Indianapolis, IN. (Aug. 29-Sep. 3rd)
Notes |
Results | Photos
NATIONALS NOTEBOOK:
U.S. Nationals is about as impressive as an event can get! The 2001 edition is in fact NHRA’s 500th national event race and the celebration is “big time”. Sponsor (Mac Tools), NHRA officials, and NHRA racers pull out all stops during the unreal 5-day presentation. Over 1200 race cars are entered for what was arguably the greatest drag race event of all time.
Event includes the return of “Big Daddy” Don Garlits who races at Indianapolis for the first time in 15 years. Garlits is behind the wheel of the Gary Clapshaw owned Top Fuel entry with Matco Tools sponsorship. Garlits brings the house down during Sunday’s qualifying when he records the quickest and fastest run of his career -- 4.720 secs and 303.37 mph. The speed was also Garlits’s first career 300 mph run. Garlits lines up against another legend Shirley Muldowney later on Saturday night for a classic side by side pairing. Muldowney sports a special edition Mac Tools “Cha Cha” paint scheme for the event. Both drivers qualify for the Quick 16, but the runaway fan favorites both lose in round one. Shirley fouls out to Darrell Russell when her hand brake malfunctions while Garlits smokes his tires while racing Mike Dunn.
Whit Bazemore runs the quickest and fastest times ever in Funny Car racing history with an astounding 4.756 secs and 325.69 mph (!) effort during qualifying. Super fast run comes in a Matco Tools sponsored Pontiac Firebird which is equipped with a revolutionary rear wing configuration. NHRA’s previous all time quickest run had been 4.779 secs by Tony Pedregon and the fastest was 324.04 mph by John Force. Bazemore is unable to back up the marks as official NHRA records but shrugs that off by winning drag racing’s ultimate prize on Monday when he takes out Tony Pedregon in the U.S. Nationals FC final round. The victory is Bazemore‘s second career U.S. Nationals title and comes over NHRA’s second quickest FC field of all time (4.905 secs bump.) The win moves Bazemore into striking distance and second place behind John Force in 2001 NHRA Winston Championship points chase.
Red hot driver Larry Dixon and his crew chief Dick LaHaie mow down the Top Fuel field with a back-breaking consistent effort driving the Don Prudhomme-owned Miller Lite car. The win is Dixon’s 5th of the 2001 season and his second straight circuit win. Dixon beats the NY Yankees car driven by Mike Dunn in the final round running 4.609 secs at 315.93 mph while Dunn succumbs to tire smoke. The win increases Dixon’s overall lead in NHRA Winston Championship points.
Greg Anderson scores a major upset win in Pro Stock driving the Troy Humphrey/George Marnell Motorsports Pontiac Firebird. Anderson, who had only one previous career win to his credit (Bristol 2001) overcomes the Hemi-powered Dodge Neon of Mark Osborne in the final round. Anderson wins with a 6.958 secs at 198.58 mph while Osborne falls off to a losing 7.016 secs at 198.70 mph. Osborne had been the performance star in Pro Stock up to that point recording both low ET (6.879 secs) and top speed 200.74 mph.
U.S. Nationals includes the inaugural Mopar-sponsored Hemi Super Stock Challenge. The special Friday class eliminator run off attracts the cream of SS/AA Hemi cars who vied for both bragging rites and a $10,000 first place cheque. West Virginia’s Bucky Hess emerges the winner defeating 16-other SS/AA entries. Bucky guns down Michigan’s James Keyes in the final round running a winning 9.072 secs at 145.67 mph. Hess’s meticulously prepared ’68 Barracuda is also named the U.S. Nationals “Best Engineered Sportsman Car”.
The Pro Modified class makes it’s first ever appearance at the U.S. Nationals completing NHRA’s 5-event 2001 class experiment. 24 teams are invited to attempt to qualify for the elite 8-car eliminator. Fred Hahn paces the field and then some with Pro Mod’s all time quickest run -- 6.170 secs -- driving Jim Oddy’s supercharged Summit Racing ’01 Corvette. The final round however pits the supercharged ’38 Chevy of California’s Danny Rowe against the nitrous-injected ’63 Corvette owned by the Parsons Brothers and driven by Ronnie Hood. Hood leaves first and doesn’t look back while taking the title 6.349 secs 222.80 mph to 6.399 secs at 218.16 mph. Fred Hahn has top speed in Pro Mod at 228.46 mph. Post race buzz has NHRA liking what it has seen by the Pro Mod cars in 2001. Look for NHRA to offer a full scale Pro Mod eliminator beginning in 2003 after dealing with the political fallout of deleting Pro Stock Trucks in 2002.
Shawn Gann defeated the 8-best Pro Stock Bike riders in the world to win the Holley Pro Stock Dominator Duel during Saturday’s schedule. Gann took a come from behind win over Antron Brown in that final round scoring a 7.258 secs to 7.334 secs decision. Gann’s victory included a crucial semi final round decision over Angelle Savoie. After having trouble getting his Bike to start, Gann won that match on a holeshot 7.23 secs to 7.19 secs.
Popular driver Frank Pedregon wins the 20th Annual Budweiser Shootout on Sunday, driving the C.S.K. Pontiac Firebird past at tire smoking Whit Bazemore in the final round. Pedregon’s win came in his first appearance in the classic and netted the California-based driver a $100,000 first place cheque. Pedregon defeated Bruce Sarver in round one and then his brother Tony in the semi final.
Indy’s Stock eliminator final round produced a rare intra-family affair between the Washington-state based father and son Jim and Eric Waldo. Eric Waldo takes the title with his C/S ’69 Mustang over Jim’s similar B/S model. The Waldo’s Stock eliminator dominance came over a 128-car field.
Competition eliminator features a first career win for Santo Volpe driving Bob Phelps’s crowd favorite AA/A supercharged ‘63 Corvette. Volpe is able to hold off the A/ED of Robert Bailey in the final round. Volpe won the event after qualifying 22nd in the field following a .522 under run of 7.028 secs.
Keith Stark and Frank Manzo take home hard fought Federal Mogul titles. Stark’s win in FMD comes after an all injected-nitro final round and a holeshot over opponent Bill Reichert. Stark had both low ET and top speed in the FMD class at 5.329 secs and 265.90 mph. Manzo’s win in FMFC was his 5th career U.S. Nationals title. “The Ace” qualified on the pole with a 5.680 secs effort and out ran number two qualifier Jay Payne in the final round; 5.724 secs to 5.763 secs.
John Force stable mate Gary Densham runs a special edition NHRA 50th Anniversary paint scheme on his car at Indy. Crew Chief Jimmy Prock tunes him to a career quick 4.797 secs at 322.96 mph which is tops from the Force camp all weekend and second only to Bazemore after qualifying. Densham smokes his tires and falls in round two to team mate Tony Pedegon.
