Cutlines: Arend.jpg: Jeff Arend celebrates his O’Reilly NHRA Midsouth Nationals Funny Car win with his crew and legendary team owner, Connie Kalitta.
Wilkerson.jpg: Daniel Wilkerson, son of 2008 Memphis Motorsports Park Funny Car winner Tim Wilkerson, was involved in a scary crash in the first round of action Monday. While the car was demolished, the 21-year-old racer walked away unharmed.
UPSETS RULE AS AREND, LUCAS, PHILLIPS WIN AT MMP; LINE EARNS FIFTH WIN OF ‘09
MILLINGTON, Tenn. – On a cool, cloudy Monday at Memphis Motorsports Park, an impressive crowd were onhand for some of the biggest upsets in recent memory for the NHRA Full Throttle Series’ O’Reilly NHRA Midsouth Nationals. Jeff Arend (Funny Car), Morgan Lucas (Top Fuel), and Michael Phillips (Pro Stock Motorcycle) all hoisted Wallys against presumably stronger opponents. Jason Line (Pro Stock) was the one exception, earning his fifth victory of the season after his finals opponent, Ron Krisher, fouled out with a -.018 red light.
For Arend and his Kalitta Racing team, it was an emotional Winner’s Circle with memories of Scott Kalitta, whose name still adorns the car. Kalitta, a two-time NHRA Top Fuel champion and the son of team owner and legendary racer Connie Kalitta, was killed in an accident in Englishtown, N.J., last year.
“Our crew guys…obviously a lot of them were there last year for Scott’s accident and today, there were tears in their eyes,” said Arend, who beat Tony Pedregon in the Funny Car finals. “It was hard for me to come in (to this team), but it’s obviously a lot tougher for the whole team and we’ve turned a big corner here today. We’re going to bring that trophy to Scott, that’s for sure.”
The win was Arend’s first since Maple Grove in 1996, where, coincidentally, he beat Pedregon, and is his second career Wally. He earned Monday’s victory with an ET of 4.091 at a speed of 310.41 mph, which ties the fourth-fastest FC time in the 1,000-foot era. The Canadian-born Arend beat Jack Beckman, John Force, and Ashley Force Hood to get to the final round.
In Top Fuel, Lucas beat six-time and defending class champion Tony Schumacher, who is currently at the top of the standings with five wins in 2009. Both drivers smoked the tires off the starting line and Lucas was able to top “The Sarge” in a dramatic peddle fest down the track.
“I went (to the line) with the intention to do what we’ve done in every other round today and that’s just to go down the track and just try to nail the tree,” he said. “It’s funny sometimes how wins happen. Sometimes you’re on, sometimes the car is on, sometimes you’re both on. Today, I felt like both of us were on.
“The awesome part of thousand-foot racing for me is that you get to see the scoreboard and you get to know if you won. (The run was) really intense and I’m so proud of my guys.”
Lucas took the victory with an ET of 5.133 at a speed of 251.44 mph, beating teammate Shawn Langdon, event top qualifier Larry Dixon, and surprise semi-finalist Steve Torrence to get to the final round. He is now fifth in points, 133 behind Schumacher.
Phillips was the third surprise winner of the O’Reilly NHRA Midsouth Nationals, beating defending PSM champion Eddie Krawiec in a close race. Phillips’ time of 6.935 topped Krawiec’s 6.948 and set a track record in qualifying with a speed of 196.70 mph. It is the first time he has won since Maple Groves in 2003.
“It’s great,” Phillips said, describing his feelings of finally returning to the Winner’s Circle. “I’ve been out here and struggling for the last three years. I lost my whole set up on my bike in ’06 when I ran against Matt Smith in Ohio and I struggled and I struggled and I struggled.
“It’s just one of those deals where I was chasing my tail for a while, I found it, and now the bike’s running good.”
With the win, Phillips jumps to third in the Pro Stock Motorcycle points, 165 markers behind Hector Arana. Phillips was able to get to the finals by facing Arana in the semis after Arana red lit. Arana did leave Memphis with 20 bonus points, thanks to setting the NHRA national PSM ET record of 6.851. Phillips also beat defending event winner Craig Treble and GT Tonglett in the first and second rounds, respectively.
Of the four classes, Line was the only racer who was not a surprise visitor to the Winner’s Circle. The victory was his second at MMP (2004) and the 20th of his career. He moves to second in the Pro Stock standings, 78 points behind the weekend’s top qualifier Mike Edwards.
“I wasn’t thinking a lot about the points,” he said. “Fortunately, NHRA pays someone else to add (the points) up, so really for us, it’s about winning races. We came through today, some way, somehow.
“We’ve struggled the last few weeks and haven’t done a good job and didn’t do a great job behind the wheel today, but it was good enough.”
The event was postponed on Sunday due to heavy rains and was delayed Monday morning due to more weather issues. It was delayed again for 56 minutes after a scary wreck involving Dan Wilkerson, the 21-year-old son of defending race winner, Tim Wilkerson. The younger Wilkerson was racing Ron Capps in the first round of Funny Car eliminations and was ahead of the veteran when his car began to fishtail, causing both rear tires to separate from the chasis and put the Springfield, Ill. native nearly head-on into the wall.
Wilkerson suffered no injuries and immediately got out of the remains of his car and immediately got on the radio to let his mother, who was watching the events unfold from the starting line.
"My neck doesn't hurt, my head doesn't hurt, none of my arms or legs hurt, but my feelings are not just hurt; they're pretty crushed," he said. "That was a great race car, the one my dad drove last year, and now it's total junk. The first two things I thought of once I got out of the car were 'Man, we were ahead of him and were winning' and 'Holy cow, I ruined the race car.' There was just nothing I could do, though. I was along for the ride. Let me tell you, that split-second instant right before you hit the wall is not a fun moment."
The NHRA Full Throttle Series returns to Memphis Motorsports Park in August, 2010. For more information on that race, and the more than 200 events hosted here, visit them on the Web at MemphisMotorsportsPark.com. Fans can also follow MMP at Twitter.com/MMPRacing and its official page on Facebook.
Photos by John Tucker, Memphis Motorsports Park. Release from Brandon W. Mudd
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