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Thursday, August 30
Epler defending Indy title
By Chuck Etchells
Special to ESPN.com
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This weekend, the eyes of the drag racing world will be firmly focused on the city of Indianapolis, as the NHRA holds its biggest race of the season. The stock-car boys have Daytona, the open-wheel set has the Indy 500, but for those of us who believe in racing in a straight line, the center of the racing universe is the U.S. Nationals.
Naturally, there's going to be a ton of hype leading up to this weekend, as everyone and anyone will tell you the importance of winning this prestigious event.
Quite frankly, if you listened to it all you'd go nuts.
I try to approach it as just another race, rationalizing that the only difference between the race in Indy and the one in Memphis a month from now is the payout. Other than that, the track is one-quarter-of-a-mile long and you have to beat the guy in the other lane.
However, there is no denying the significance of becoming a U.S. Nationals champion. I would have to guess the impact really doesn't hit you until you actually do it. For example, I know that for many years John Force, despite as his many championships, did not consider his career complete until he won Indy.
Of course, we have the defending Funny Car champ right in our own camp. In an ironic twist of fate, it was our car that Jim Epler beat in the finals to capture the win. As Jim has said during the past week, the U.S. Nationals title is second in importance only to the Winston championship, and nothing would please me more than to be able to help him defend that title this year.
But before we can even think about winning this race, we must first qualify, a task made even tougher by the number of cars that come out each year at Indianapolis. We get a total of five passes in qualifying, and although in the past you might be able to get a spot in eliminations by just sliding it down the track on one of those runs, the quality of the competition and the new, ultra-fast racing surface make every attempt a crucial piece of the puzzle.
Starting Friday afternoon, every team is going to be swinging for the fences. Don't be surprised Sunday night if the bump is not in the high 4.80s.
Etchells Racing is approaching this race with high hopes. Naturally, we'd like to be coming in with a better head of steam, but as I told you last week we think we found a few things in the pre-race test that could help us. Just like you, we will have to wait until the weekend to see how things work out. We could definitely use a good run.
By the way, Jim's car will once again take on a new look for this race, and the name he will be carrying has a special place in all our hearts, as this weekend, the Racing Champions/Matco Tools Camaro will become a 35th Anniversary Camaro. Jim started his career in a 1967 Camaro, and I've had the good fortune to race in several of them over the years, and I currently have a good example of one of the first-generation street cars at home.
We'll also have the support of a very large contingent from the Camaro Club coming out to the race, as well as Scott Settlemire, the brand manager for Camaro. It means a lot to us to carry the name, and we hope to bring it home a winner.
Chuck Etchells, driver and owner the Sunoco/Matco Tools Camaro Z28 Funny Car, provides a diary to ESPN.com throughout the NHRA season. Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories
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