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Wednesday, April 18
Force earned top qualifying spot
By Bill Stephens
Special to ESPN.com
This Friday and Saturday, the NHRA will attempt to finish up some business as the Mac Tools Gatornationals resume after a four-week rain delay. The scenario the Funny Car class is now presented differs greatly from the one encountered the first time around. Consider the following:
Bruce Sarver, who won the season's first two events, and John Force, who entered Gainesville, Fla., fresh from a win at Phoenix, looked as if they were hitting stride in March. Force was spectacular in Gainesville qualifying with his pair of 4.81s earning the top spot. Force appeared to be primed for his seventh career win here.
|  | | John Force, pictured, trails Bruce Sarver by just 17 points in the Funny Car standings. |
Sarver, on the other hand, was in a major tailspin in qualifying and crawled into the 15th spot. Since then, Force has had a single final round appearance, while Sarver has advanced to one semifinal round.
Sarver now leads Force in the standings by only 17 markers. The margin is less than one round of racing.
Force's two other cars, driven by Tony Pedregon and Gary Densham, have made the field at every race they have entered this year, but are not big-time players in the points chase.
Meanwhile, Whit Bazemore, whose first year with Team Schumacher has been an up-and-down affair, may be heading for another up after his runner-up finish at Las Vegas. Keep in mind, however, Whit will return to Gainesville as the No. 13 qualifier and will race Houston winner Del Worsham in the first round.
Perhaps no situation has taken a more extreme twist in the Funny Car category in the last month than the one facing Chuck Etchells. In March, his two-car team was still searching for consistency as neither he nor teammate Jim Epler had much to cheer about. In fact, the only round win either had scored at that point was Etchells' first round victory in Phoenix -- over Epler.
Now, after Etchells' disheartening DNQ in Las Vegas, the implications that he will reduce his operation and campaign but a single car -- Epler's -- until further funding can be arranged seem to be gathering strength. A season that began with so much promise has been a struggle for the popular veteran owner/driver.
In a major example of unflinching irony, Etchells, who barely qualified at No. 16, will face Force in the first round Saturday. Etchells has been outspoken and critical about the 10-time champion's three-car operation in the past. Further irony? Etchells raced Force in the first round in Houston and had him beaten easily until his Kendall Camaro lost power at 1000' and allowed Force to run him down. In a battle between two major oil sponsorships -- Kendall and Castrol -- it was a loss that was particularly discouraging to Etchells.
Discouragement has been a constant companion to the defending Gatornationals champion, Jerry Toliver, since he will be on the sidelines this weekend after suffering his first of two DNQs in Gainesville in March. Toliver's lack of wins at Pomona, Calif., and Phoenix provided extra motivation for him and legendary tuner Dale Armstrong. But they were unable to make a single strong pass; their best was a 5.34, which left them way short of the 4.96 bump that at the time anchored the quickest Funny Car field in history.
On the bright side, Toliver's team driver Tony Bartone will be in the show Saturday after qualifying No. 7. He will race Tim Wilkerson.
With sunny and mild weather expected in Gainesville this weekend, it may be the fates and fortunes of several teams that become unsettled based on how this important race concludes.
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