2nd Mac Tools Thunder Valley Nationals
(Apr. 26-28th, 2002) Bristol, TN
Notes |
Results | Photos
NATIONALS NOTEBOOK:
For the fourth time this season Larry Dixon clobbers the Top Fuel program driving Don Prudhomme’s Miller Lite Dragster. Dixon and crew chief Dick LaHaie are once again the class of the field, qualifying low (4.583 secs) and setting low ET (4.582 secs). Dixon makes the most of surprising second round exit of defending NHRA World Champion Kenny Bernstein to stretch out his points lead margin to 126 over Bernstein. Bernstein’s last ever driving appearance at Bristol includes top speed of the meet at 323.27 mph.
Top Fuel class racing includes another strong performance by Cory McClenathan who goes to the “final four” driving the Henkelman & Baca Centennial Batteries car. Cory qualifies fourth and takes out Scott Weis and Rhonda Hartman-Smith in earlier rounds but succumbs to Dixon’s semi final round low ET of the meet shot (4.582 secs).
Friday night’s Top Fuel qualifying session includes a thrilling moment as racers David Grubnic and Tony Schumacher come as close as possible to each other without colliding. Schumacher’s U.S. Army car drifts into Grubnic’s lane just past the finish line and misses the Australian driver by the narrowest of possible margins. Schumacher shows great skill by not pulling his parachute, which would have surely tangled with Grubnic’s and resulted in a far more serious incident.
Funny Car racing sees Whit Bazemore and Lee Beard rediscover their winning combination much to the fear of their class competitors. The team fires a big warning shot over the class by delivering consistent runs particularly during Sunday’s final eliminations to win easily. Bazemore defeats John Force’s third team car driven by Gary Densham in the final round to creep into sixth in 2002 points. Force is a shocking round one loser when his clutch malfunctions and he blows his tires off right off the starting line against Tommy Johnson Jr. Force’s teamate Tony Pedregon qualifies low (4.844 secs) but he is taken out by teamate and number 16 qualifier Densham also in the opening frame (4.990 secs to 5.046 secs).
FC class racers Todd Paton and Tim Wilkerson both have impressive efforts at Bristol -- each making the semi final round. Paton gets there driving the flashy “Nitro Fish” Camaro and in the more then tricky left lane. He stuns favorites Ron Capps and Dean Skuza with some expert driving in rounds one and two to earn his third career fuel FC semi final round. Paton then stays within striking distance of Gary Densham in third round but ultimately loses a 4.932 secs to 5.112 secs decision. Wilkerson is without question the most consistent runner overall in the FC class at the event. His L.R.S. Pontiac has a barrage of fast laps including a 4.895 secs #2 qualifier. Wilkerson bombs Johnny Gray and Del Worsham in the early rounds before losing an extremely close (4.908 secs to 4.921 secs) decision to eventual winner Bazemore.
Pro Stock racing sees Warren Johnson win for the first time since Route 66 Chicago last September. “WJ” scores from the seventh qualified position and takes out recent Las Vegas winner Ron Krisher in the final round. Pro Stock racing is paced by the Jegs Mail Order Chevy driven by Troy Coughlin who runs 6.853 secs (low ET of the meet). The 16-car Pro Stock program was a very tight affair with a scant .063 of second separating the number one and sixteen qualified cars.
Pro Stock qualifying sees Rickie Smith at the wheel of a third David Nickens Team Mopar Dodge Neon. Smith is testing a Jerry Bickel built car for the team but misses the program with a 6.928 secs best. Nickens’s other two cars driven by Darrell Alderman and Gene Wilson do qualify however. For Wilson, the defending IHRA World Pro Stock Champion, it is his first qualifying effort since switching to NHRA Pro Stock competition.
AMS Pro Modified racing at Bristol is the strongest affair yet in NHRA as an impressive 23 cars show to battle for 8 qualified slots. Texan Thomas Patterson leads the field with his supercharged ‘63 Corvette running 6.247 secs to just edge out Canada’s Al Billes (6.261 secs) for the pole. The Pro Mod program was however not completed as scheduled after violent rain storms delayed that final round. Patterson will face Rickie Smith for the event championship to be run off during next weekend’s Summit Southern Nationals event at Atlanta.
NHRA makes a well educated and fan friendly call Sunday mid-afternoon when the local weather office warns of impending serious storms. Race officials stop the race and evacuate the stands to get their huge crowd to safety before big time rain and hail strikes the event. Ultimately Sunday’s thunderstorm interruptions result in two other final round pairings being deferred to Atlanta next weekend. In Sportsman action, David Rampy will race Michael Hardee in the Competition eliminator climax and John Jones will face Mickey Whaley in the Super Comp (8.90) finale.
The 2002 version of the Mac Tools Thunder Nationals is a huge success by comparison to the previous events held there after NHRA assumed Bristol Dragway three seasons ago. Despite no TAD or TAFC class racing at the event, the overall car count is up considerably. In particular Super Stock and Stock eliminator programs are both dynamite affairs with 83 and 91 entries respectively.
