rpm.espn.com: Action always fierce in Gainesville

Standings

Results

Schedule

Drivers

ESPN Network: ESPN.com \| RPM \| NFL.com \| NBA.com \| NHL.com \| ESPNdeportes \| ABCSports \| EXPN \| FANTASY

Start your engines!
Play RPM.ESPN Stock Car Challenge!

Win a Honda S2000!
Play The CART Challenge powered by Honda!

Wednesday, March 14
Action always fierce in Gainesville
By Bill Stephens
ESPN.com

The points and money available this weekend in Gainesville, Fla., are roughly the same as you will find at most other NHRA national events. But a win at the 32nd Annual Mac Tools Gatornationals carries a bit more swagger than much of the rest of the schedule. It is one of the oldest national events still on the slate and it is a race where history has been made -- more than once.


	Bruce Sarver and his e-moola.com Pontiac Funny Car have been in the finals in each of the first two events.

How much do the five professional category teams want to win here? So much so that since the last national event in Phoenix -- exactly one month ago -- there has been a deluge of test sessions at various tracks around the country. There have been personnel changes and new race machines delivered. Everybody wants a Gators title and this year is no exception.

Here is a synopsis of what has happened in each pro class since the event at Phoenix four weeks ago:

Top Fuel
The biggest story here is the release of Mike Green as crew chief for Kenny Bernstein and the acquisition of veteran tuner, Tim "The General" Richards, and wife, Kim. Johnny West has stayed on with the Bud King team and will now be a part of a tuning troika that has been responsible for six Winston championships collectively.

This past weekend, Bernstein and his new personnel tested at Houston Raceway Park to prepare for the Gatornationals, the race in which Bernstein first broke the 300 mph barrier 10 years ago. The NHRA plans on commemorating that historic run during Sunday's program.

Defending Winston Top Fuel champ Gary Scelzi has yet to advance past the second round at either of this year's first two races. The team has been troubleshooting a problem in the clutch management system and hopes to have it ironed out for the Gators. In his tremendous run of three titles in four years, Scelzi has yet to win in Gainesville.

Darrell Russell, who came within a round of equaling Scelzi's remarkable feat of winning his first two national events as a rookie, will be looking to make history in Gainesville. Russell is out to become the first Top Fuel rookie ever to start his professional career by going to three straight final rounds. Russell won the season-opener at Pomona, Calif., before losing to Doug Kalitta in Phoenix.

Funny Car
There's no mystery here. The big story in this class is the Gainesville debut of John Force's third car, driven by Gary Densham.

The team tested all three cars in Houston last weekend. The tight track, however, prevented full passes, due to the possibility of chunking the rear tires. Team Castrol, along with Densham's Auto Club of Southern California Mustang, made a total of 16 runs and used the three-day session to run in new equipment, try several tuning combinations and help Densham's crew chief, Jimmy Prock, acclimate himself to his new teammates. The closest the new car came to a full pass was an early-shutoff 4.97/260 on Friday that was a potential 4.90 lap.

Jerry Toliver's WWF team is looking for a big weekend in Gainesville. Last year, Toliver's crew won at Gainesville, giving them two national event victories in the season's first three races. They have yet to mount a serious threat in 2001, and there are rumors circulating that Dale Armstrong, Toliver's legendary tuner, may be pondering retirement.

Bruce Sarver has begun the 2001 season with a victory and two straight final round appearances, which have give him the points lead. After a 10th-place finish in the championship chase last year, he now has to be considered a legitimate hopeful in his Alan Johnson-owned emoola.com Pontiac Firebird tuned by Richard Hogan.

Pro Stock
There are new cars everywhere. The Coughlin Brothers -- Jeg and Troy -- will have their long-awaited Chevy Cavaliers primed and ready for this week's fun and games after testing in Gainesville last week and Bradenton, Fla., this week. According to Team Jeg's, the cars will be competitive right out of the box and will help revitalize the duo's title hopes after early exits in Pomona and Phoenix. Troy finished in the runner-up slot at the Gators one year ago.

Meanwhile, fantastic testing numbers were recorded by Mike Edwards in Houston last week in the Chevy Cavalier his boss, Ron Krisher, will be driving in Gainesville. Edwards' own Cavalier, however, has been much slower to come around. In testing at Bradenton this week, improvement was slow in coming. While the high altitude, 51-percent humidity and 80-degree temperatures were not ideal for the carbureted engines, many teams, besides the Coughlins, tested in Bradenton. Mark Pawuk, V. Gaines, Tom Martino, John Nobile, Bob Benza, George Marnell and Brad Jeter were others that showed up to shake down their equipment.

It has been rumored that Greg Anderson, who has moved from crew chief to driver to crew chief over the last three years, may be ready to return to the driver's seat in a second car to be campaigned by team owner, George Marnell.

Warren Johnson and his son, Kurt, have been unbeatable so far this year. As the Pro Stock parade treks to north central Florida, a sobering thought will be haunting the class as it unloads at Gainesville Raceway. Since 1984, Warren has won this race nine times, including the last three in a row.

Pro Stock Truck
Randy Daniels leads the standings heading to Gainesville after his convincing win at Pomona in February. Daniels is the defending Gators champ and will be looking to fend off reigning Winston champion, Bob Panella, who has gotten off to a slow 2001 start. This will be the trucks' second appearance this year, and there have been a few developments since their last run. Mark Whisnant has purchased the Chevy S-10 previously raced by Steve Johns. The paint job is as wild as it gets, having been painted by the same shop that's responsible for the outrageous treatment sported by Scotty Cannon's Oakley Funny Car.

John and Mike Coughlin had their trucks in Bradenton, but only Mike was present as John remained home in Ohio with his wife, Diana, who had given birth to an infant daughter earlier this week. The Jeg's team was encouraged by the performance of their two Chevy S-10s, both driven by Mike, with ETs and speeds ranging from 7.58/176 to 7.67/174 in the marginal conditions.

Pro Stock Motorcycle
The bikes will be making their 2001 maiden voyage in Gainesville and you can expect scintillating performances from the category's most dominant teams: Team Winston, with defending champion Angelle Savoie, and Team Eagle One, with three-time Winston champ Matt Hines.

Matt's dad, Byron, will be extremely busy, not only building engines for his own team, but keeping at least 20 of his customers supplied with Suzuki powerplants, not to mention plans to race other bike brands, including Honda and Kawasaki, this season. The new Harley-Davidson alignment with Screamin' Eagle will also be demanding additional attention from the elder Hines.

George Bryce, head of Star Racing and Savoie's engine builder and tuner, promises to have more power on tap for his champion with new two-valve cylinder heads developed over the off-season. But he'll also have extra duties this season as Star Racing has embarked on an all new engine-leasing program that will see their powerplants sitting in the cycle frames of several competitors. Bryce will also be involved in a Harley Pro Stock Bike start-up in association with S&S that could bring that American-built brand to a national event wearing Star Racing livery before year's end.

But Antron Brown, a constant threat last year, will be a racer to watch this weekend, along with Stephanie Reaves, who has teamed up with Brian Delong and Greg Underdahl, and will return to bike competition after a two year absence. Peggy Llewellyn, now riding for Harry Larteague, could be a factor this year after some impressive test numbers in Gainesville last month. In fact, with Llewellyn, Savoie, Reaves, and former Harley rider, Connie Cohen, moving to a new Suzuki this year, we could see no less than four women racing in this year's Gainesville Pro Bike field.

Finally, special tributes have been planned this year by the NHRA in memory of six-time Winston Pro Stock Bike champion Dave Schultz, who passed away last month. At each national event where Pro Bikes compete, Dave's Sunoco Suzuki will take a parade lap down the quarter-mile ridden by a different bike racer each time as a salute to one of drag racing's most respected champions.

Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories