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20 Great Things About the Big Go at Indy

Tradition and power blend perfectly at the 63rd Annual Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals

Mello Yello announced a continued sponsorship of NHRA’s drag racing program, as well as a new sponsorship of Antron Brown’s DSR Top Fuel dragster, which went to the quarter-final round on Monday before falling to eventual winner Steve Torrence.

The Nationals. Back when Wally Parks, then an employee of Petersen Publishing, put together the idea of a national racing meet in the center of the nation, the sport was completely organic. Back then, people built cars from spare OEM chassis, used engines, and treasured speed components. It all came together for the first time in Grand Bend, Kansas in 1955. As the years ensured, other ‘Nationals’ became part of the mix, with over 20 now listed on the Mello Yello schedule each year. Times have changed and the money is lot bigger, but for the loyal, Indy remains the highlight on the yearly schedule.

Part of it is that the teams always push harder here. Thanks to a cold weather front courtesy the fading strength of Hurricane Harvey’s devastation, racers knew that they would have no choice but to throw all they could at the track. Prepped by the NHRA Safety Safari, the surface held it, too.

Record fields in Top Fuel and Pro Mod, track records in Funny Car, and big money for winners of two special races backed by Traxxas. Then there was the Mopar HEMI Challenge, the 16-car Factory Stock Showdown, and a Stock Eliminator program that ended up requiring a run better than about .90 below the class index to qualify…for 128 spots!

This was the 63rd running of the race, now known as the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals. The brand had a large manufacturers’ presence, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Camaro. Of course, there were other businesses and personalities on hand as well. Mello Yello chose this event to announce a continued sponsorship of the professional classes, as well as vehicle sponsorship of Antron Brown. Long time attendee Geoff Stunkard got in Tuesday to run the Big Go marathon, took about 8,000 photos, and gave us an overview of what made it BIG in 2017…

1. 50th Anniversary for the Camaro Regardless of your brand loyalty, nobody can deny how important the Camaro is to the history of the musclecar, to American motorsports, and to Chevrolet as the brand. With a huge number of the original pre-1990 models still racing in the sportsman classes, a lot of late models in the Factory Showdown and FS classes, a majority of the Pro Stockers now being Camaros, and John and Courtney Force among those using the body in Funny Car, it is actually the perfect place for the Chevrolet Performance sponsorship. With a new 2018 model seen on the corner, this was at dawn on Monday morning in the Chevrolet Performance manufacturer’s display, when there was finally enough open room without people to get a photo.

2. The Mopar HEMI Challenge The largest sportsman event for Chrysler fans still happens on Fridays at Indy, when the remaining 426 Hemi-powered Dodge Dart and Plymouth Barracuda package cars from 1968 going heads-up for $15,000 and notoriety in the SS/AH class. 21-year-old Jimmy Daniels did the deed for the second consecutive time this year, keeping the faith for the new generation.

3. 7-Second Super Stockers It really wasn’t that long ago that seven second times were pretty hard to come by in any car with doors. The idea that Super Stockers would end up there happened because another Detroit horsepower war began with the word ‘super,’ as in supercharger. The Cobra Jet Mustangs have led the pack in this group, with GT-level modified machines punching down into the seven-second zone with regularity when the conditions allow it. Here is Paul Candies, son of the legendary car owner of Candies & Hughes fame, who went 7.95 in FGT/B for the number 4 spot. Slowest Super Stock in 2017 honors goes to Matt Forbes, whose SS/NA ’66 Bel Air wagon took the stripe in 11.55 seconds. Kevin Helms won Monday’s eliminator title in a 9-second Drag Pak Challenger Monday afternoon.

4. Ben Wenzel In 1967, the hot new Camaro was a big deal, and two were victorious at the ’67 Nationals. One was a 396-ci package in Super Stock owned by some guy from Pennsylvania nicknamed Grumpy, and the other was this 1967 Z28, which Ben Wenzel drove to a solid win that Monday in what was then considered Junior Stock. Still racing (and normally competitive) five decades later, Wenzel just missed the program this year despite being -0.870 under the C/S index. It is at Indy only where NHRA does not penalize performances that far exceed the class indexes, and everybody here was pushing the limit with the great weather. He did get a chance to match-race Erica Enders-Stevens’ new 2017 COPO before the crowded stands on Saturday afternoon, and even has a copy of the original 1967 window sticker pasted in the rear window.

5. Steve Torrence, Bobby Lagana and $100,000 The TRAXXAS Top Fuel Shootout is held on the Saturday of Indy, and matches eight of the best teams in an eliminator that is run adjacent to the day’s qualifying. TRAXXAS uses two special races over this weekend to promote their extreme remote control cars. As seen here, Steve Torrence and his CAPCO Contractors dragster beat Tony Schumacher to grab the money that evening, and his crew chief Bobby Lagana has become one of the most entertaining interviews in NHRA, joking with commentators and even serving as the ‘professor’ at an introductory Nitro School for fans. After that all had happened, Torrence then doubled-down and won the whole eliminator on Monday!

6. Jack Beckman, Robert Hight and $100,000 On Sunday’s TRAXXAS Funny Car Shootout, it was the intense rivalry between the John Force and Don Schumacher camps that ended up in the final, as Jack Beckman faced Robert Hight in a Dodge versus Chevy final. Beckman had beaten an exploding Ron Capps in the semis, while Hight had pushed past his father-in-law and boss John Force in the same round. Beckman won his third Shootout title in the Infinite Warrior Dodge Charger with a 3.95 time when Hight smoked the tires at the start. That’ll be 100 Gs, pal…

7. 3.663 – Millican clips the top spot again Multi-time IHRA World Champion Clay Millican has continued to move forward since his commitment to NHRA’s Mello Yello Series, and Aussie tuner Dave Grubnic found the combination on Saturday evening when the team’s Pro Parts/Great Clips fuel dragster thundered to a track record 3.663, eclipsing a 3.667 time that Leah Pritchett had run the previous evening. It was Millican’s second consecutive #1 spot at the U.S. Nationals, a record which not even Don Garlits attained, but he would lose on a holeshot in round one Monday to eventual runner-up Kebin Kinsley in his Road Rage Fuel Additive dragster. Only 7 times has the Top Fuel pole-winner also been in the winner’s circle on Monday at Indy.

8. 3.799 – Hagan’s highs Matt Hagan also went in to the Lucas Raceway at Indianapolis record books, when the Mopar-sponsored Dodge Charger crossed the 1000-foot stripe in only 3.799 seconds at a blistering 338.77 MPH during Friday evening’s incredible conditions. This run set both ends of the track’s record and gave him the top spot going into the Big Go on Monday.

9. -.001 – Hagan’s lows In the opening round of Sunday’s TRAXXAS Funny Car Showdown against Force, Hagan was a little late off the starting line, not a lot. Reaction times were .034 for Force and .066 for Hagan, respectable for the nitro classes. Right at the finish line, Force’s PEAK Coolant/Motor Oil Camaro SS went silent, crossing the line at 3.949 at just 309 MPH. Hagan streaked to 3.918 at 331.45 in the other lane but was still behind. Margin of victory: 0.0017 seconds, less than two feet. Monday was not much fun, either, when he smoked the tires at the launch to send #16 qualifier Jim Campbell to round two. Hey, that’s Indy. J.R. Todd took the DHL Camry to victory over Capps on Monday to win his first-ever U.S. Nationals funny car crown.

10. 5.846 – Fastest ever Pro Mod field Pro Modified is always brutal, and Indy especially so. This is still considered one of the most interesting classes in the sport, as combinations can be nitrous, supercharged or turbocharged, all on the jagged edge of traction. After four rounds, Mike Castellana was tops in the field at 5.70, and Danny Rowe secured the final spot in the fastest-ever field in history with a 5.846. On Sunday night during the first round, Rowe pulled one the weekend’s biggest upsets when Castellana’s Camaro pushed toward the centerline and he had to lift. Sidnei Frigo captured the Pro Mod title on Monday, his first-ever NHRA final round, beating Troy Coughlin.

11. Deric Kramer Wins Pro Stock…Burnout Contest There is grumbling about what can make Pro Stock a better, more entertaining class. NHRA announced a special incentive just before this event: a set of Goodyear tires in each qualifying round for the best burnout based on fan approval, and a $5,000 prize at the end of the weekend for the driver scoring the most ‘points’ awarded after each session for the effort. After Vincent Nobile won it on Friday, it was Derik Kramer in the American Ethanol Dodge Dart who showed ‘em how it was done, looking like Mount Vesuvius to the cheers of the crowd. On Monday, Drew Skillman won the race title over veteran Greg Anderson, and with four wins, Skillman is the obvious shoe-in for 2017 Rookie of the Year honors.

12. Wheelstand Contestant #1: West Coast – Tibor Kadar, 1964 Ford Thunderbolt For diehard fans of Detroit’s classic iron, Stock Eliminator is now one of the most exciting categories thanks to some of the more modern changes to suspensions and engine RPM. Several of these guys pushed into the atmosphere. Tibor Kadar’s 427 T-Bolt from Phoenix, Arizona was the high-flyer from the west coast with this almost-on-the-bumper pass on Wednesday afternoon, eventually qualifying in the 61st spot with a 9.948 on the A/SA 11.00 index. Remember, this is Stock, not Phil Bonner on ‘cherry mash’ (nitro and gasoline)…

13. Wheelstand Contestent #2: East Coast – Todd Hoven, 1965 Dodge Coronet A990 From back east, Todd Hoven looked like Dick Landy as he pushed Roger Carp’s big Dodge up into the air and past the 100-foot mark the same day. These cars were once the cream of the crop in Super Stock, but time has allowed them to move into Stock and we are all glad. With the way the class structure is run, however, you need to be on hand on Wednesday to enjoy this, as the cars will usually get settled down for eliminations Thursday morning.

14. Doug Thorley Header builder Doug Thorley had won here back in 1967 in an evolutionary Corvair funny car with doors. He replaced it with a new fliptop car in 1968, which was sold soon after, since the ‘hot pipe’ business at Doug’s Headers was taking off. Both cars met unfortunate and destructive ends on the racetrack, but Jet Townsend located a never-mounted Corvair body by Fiberglass Trends in a Texas barn, a real Stage II Logghe chassis in a Minnesota attic, and built a tribute. The car made its debut here and Doug, now 88, flew in from California just for that, wearing a full face mask to cackle its straight weed-burner headers in the pits on 90%. The effort brought a tear to everyone’s eyes, no one more so than Thorley, who had not sat in a nitro car since the 1960s.

15. The Scott Rod Gassers One of the added attractions at Indy was the Scott Rods group of A/GS exhibition cars. There were 12 of them on hand, setup with rear gearing optimized for the 1/8-mile, resulting in high-speed burnouts and wheelstands. These are built with the functionality and ideas of the past – straight front axles, no big roof line chops, and no wings, fins or add-ons. They ran an 8-car eliminator as well, which Brian Spotts won on Monday.

16. AJ Retires Citing the realities of 22 years as a professional racer and changes in sponsorship, Allen Johnson and his family held an emotional press conference on Friday in which the Greenville, Tenn.-based driver announced his retirement at the end of the season. Johnson, who won the championship title in 2012, has been a diehard Dodge driver for all of those years, and his presence will be missed. During the question-and-answer session, he noted wistfully that winning an Indy title would be a great conclusion to his work. On Monday in the second round against Tanner Gray, Johnson lost what may have been the closest run in Nationals history, 2017 or otherwise, by a margin of .0002, less than one inch…

17. Factory Stock Showdown The SAM Tech Factory Stock Showdown featured a 16-car field here. They qualified on Wednesday, ran an FS/XX class eliminator on Thursday, and did not race again until Sunday afternoon. This category requires a normal Stock-class slick to somehow hold back upwards of 800 horsepower on these blueprinted supercharged late-models. David Barton lead the pack in a 2017 COPO with an 8.109 on this pass. The other guys stepped up their game, resulting in a record 8.491 bump held by John Calvert and many best-ever performances. However, after losing to Chris Holbook’s Mustang in 2016, Barton was not to be denied. He won this popular class on both skill and luck, clocking an 8.18 to number two qualifier Steven Bell’s 8.21 in a battle of new COPOs in a picture-book finale at the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals.

18. The Apartment Building of Jim Hale At 77, Jim Hale has been a racer since the Hemi first arrived. He showed up with a 1966 Satellite station wagon packing a 383 wedge. Called out by announcer Brian Lohnes as ‘an apartment building laid on its side,’ Hale was our pick as we tried to figure out which wagon should go into our story, since he was one of several using this body style to fit the rules book. After winning K/SA class, Hale went two rounds. Stock was interesting this year as the final was run heads-up between two E/SA Mopars: Larry Gilley’s 1969 Dart 340 versus Darrell Steiger’s 1970 Chlallenger T/A Six Pack 340, with Gilley winning by 17 inches on a holeshot.

19. The Fires Yes, we know that there are a lot of fans who come for the racing, and others who get their thrills when things are less than perfect, resulting in metal-shattering mayhem. This is Kyle Wurtzel as his engine begins to come apart, and that cloud of wet nitro ignited into a fire ball. 2017 Big Boom honors go to Tony Schumacher, who broke a camshaft on Sunday afternoon in the ARMY dragster with the resultant mushroom-cloud explosion severe enough to blast one of the valvecovers completely off…

20. The Thrash Of course, everybody knows how much maintenance the big show cars require, and Indy is the longest race weekend of the year, not to mention the most stressful for everybody. The way the pits are laid out, if you are into watching wrenches spin, there is no end to the activity. It is 6:45AM Monday morning, and as seen in the Force pits, cars are already out of the trailers and getting ready for the thrill victory or agony of defeat.

…And as a bonus 21. That Demon Simulator Yes, Chevrolet Performance sponsors the event now. They gave away tons of swag, had Linda Vaughn signing autographs, won Factory Stock, and had a great car display, but the line at the Dodge booth to ‘drive’ a new Dodge Demon in a race simulation was always busy except when the fuel cars were running. Complete with hydraulics that allow you to feel the effects of a full wheelstand (which requires a mid-air 1-2 shift) and a video simulation of a 125-plus MPH run at 9.80 or better, everybody gets three shots at it. So we skipped round one of Top Fuel on Monday and made, oh, maybe 20 passes with former HOT ROD staffer Steve Magnate in the ‘other lane.’

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