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NHRA
NHRA: Countdown Predictions
The Countdown to the Championship is on and go2geiger.com's Craig Wack peers into his crystal ball to make his annual Countdown predictions.
Craig Wack  | http://www.go2Geiger.com  |  Posted September 01, 2010  
John Force is poised to win yet another Funny Car title, according to Craig Wack. (Go2Geiger.com)
The NHRA ranks have seen some intense competition during the regular season, and the Countdown should be no different. Here are go2geiger.com senior editor Craig Wack's predictions for the postseason in all major categories.

TOP FUEL

The Favorite

Larry Dixon has been driving like a man on a mission during the regular season, and there's no indication he's going to slack off in the home stretch.

"You've just got to wait to see how it comes out," Dixon said. "The Al‑Anabi Team as a whole, since it got formed at the beginning of last year, has made improvements. Throughout last season it kept getting better, and the start of this year, even from where we were at the beginning of this year, we've improved. The car has been more consistent as everything has gone on. It's just gotten better.

"If we can keep it up, hopefully we can end up with a better season than what I've had in a championship year."

The entire Al-Anabi Racing program was stung by losing last year's championship to Tony Schumacher by a whisker. This season, Dixon and his crew won nine of the first 17 races and driver, tuneup, and machine are one.

All signs point to Dixon leaving Pomona with the championship trophy.

Can't Count Out

Tony Schumacher has won the Top Fuel championship in just about every way imaginable. He's clinched early and he's clinched on the last pass in the last race of the season. Schumacher and the U.S. Army team know how to win championships.

Schumacher and Dixon have crossed paths often this year, and if those meetings come down in the Countdown, they will go a long way in determining if Schumacher makes it a lucky seven in a row or if Dixon snatches the crown back.

The Army team may also get some stiff competition from within its own camp. Cory McClenathan and Antron Brown both have fast cars and have shown they can get on a hot streak. Cory Mac has been especially strong and will likely be the sentimental favorite to win the title as he's made no secret of his desire to retire in the next few years.

Dark Horse

The 2010 Top Fuel winner's club has only one other member this year, Doug Kalitta. The soft-spoken charter pilot has been resurgent this season after a couple of off years. His unflappable demeanor hides a killer instinct.

He hasn't been on the kind of hot streak that it's going to take to win the Top Fuel title, but Kalitta is fully capable of getting it done.

It'd Be A Shock

The Top Fuel class has some solid cars, but 2010, solid probably isn't going to do the job. Brandon Bernstein, Shawn Langdon, and Morgan Lucas have shown that – at times – they can run as well as anybody.

However, to win the championship one of those cars are likely going to have to beat at least two of the top four cars every race to advance deep enough in races to rack up big points. That's a tall order.

Steve Torrence and Dave Grubnic fought hard to qualify for the Countdown, but face near impossible odds in the playoffs.

FUNNY CAR

The Favorite

This year it's been John Force's world and everyone else has just been along for the ride. He's got a brand new energy and fresh blood turning the wrenches.

"I’m on top of the world," Force said. "I’m excited we came back. In the last three years since my crash in ’07, my car was not a hitter; it was not in the game. With the help of Robert Hight and my daughter and the team around me and living in the gym, I’m back in the game. Now, we’re going to see if we win a championship in the Countdown."

Force is a four-time winner on tour this year and has his spark back. He's the NHRA's most illustrious champion and it looks like he's poised to add another chapter to his legend in 2010.

Can't Count Out

Robert Hight won last year's championship storming his way to the top from 10th place. This time the four-time 2010 winner only has to leapfrog one driver -- his father-in-law and boss Force.

Hight and crew chief Jimmy Prock are normally in perfect harmony on the racetrack, and Hight said the team has set aside some the Auto Club Mustang's best parts for the end of the season. Hight will be a tough out.

The Don Schumacher Racing drivers – Matt Hagan, Ron Capps and Jack Beckman – have all won at least once and will scoop up their fair share of qualifying bonus points. Their Dodges might not quite be at the same level as the JFR Fords, but the DSR bunch will make some noise before it's all over.

Dark Horse

He might not have all the creature comforts of many other Funny Car teams, but Tim Wilkerson knows how to get his Levi, Ray and Shoup Ford Mustang down the track.

The fan favorite Wilkerson has won three times this season. Wilkerson has the technical know-how to run among the giants of the class, he just needs all the parts and pieces to work together.

If Wilkerson gets hot like he did a few years back, he could be this year's surprise story.

It'd Be A Shock

It's hard to think how quiet Ashley Force Hood has been this year. She's got some No. 1 qualifiers, but hasn't broken through on race day. It seems like that whole Castrol GTX Mustang team has been a half-step behind her other two teammates. Force Hood needs to find some Sunday magic in the last six races if she plans on contending.

Bob Tasca III and Del Worsham have been good, but good isn't going to win this championship. And Tony Pedregon has made his dollars stretch, but that team seems like it's one bad break from really unraveling.

Rating the contenders and the pretenders in the Pro Stock and Bike ranks

PRO STOCK

The Favorite

Mike Edwards isn't exactly going into the Countdown like a house afire, but it's hard to doubt the defending champion and his Penhall Pontiac GXP.

Edwards was nearly untouchable during the first half of the regular season, scooping up qualifying bonus points and wins like they were handfuls of candy. He's not been himself since finishing off four wins in a row at Bristol earlier this summer, but at that point of the season Edwards had the top Countdown berth pretty well in hand. It's quite logical to assume Edwards went into either a parts conservation or experimental mode after Bristol.

Don't be surprised if the eight-time winner flips the "awesome" switch back on and steamrolls the rest of the field.

Can't Count Out

The driver on the hottest streak headed into Indy has got to be Jeg Coughlin Jr. and the JEGS.com Chevy Cobalt. He's got two wins and a final-round appearance in his last three races and four wins overall this year.

"For us to capitalize in Pro Stock we've got to get out and not make any mistakes in the pit area," Coughlin said. "Then we need to not make any mistakes on the racetrack, and really prepare ourselves as aggressively as we can. That's one big question that we've made in the last couple of races is the approach to the race being more aggressive in the pit area and being a little more aggressive behind the wheel and driving aggressively.

"I think we're going to try to continue to build on our momentum, without question. We've got some strong teams in the Top 10 right now. They're going to all challenge for this championship."

Coughlin is as good as it gets when the money is on the line. With car and driver both peaking simultaneously, he might be hard to beat.

The Mopar Dodge Avenger driven by Allen Johnson has been producing some of the best power of any Pro Stocker this season. The key to Johnson's championship hopes will be his ability to find ways to win outside of the greater Denver area. If he can go deep into races during the Countdown, then he'll give Edwards and Coughlin all they can handle.

Dark Horse

The Summit Racing Pontiacs, particularly the one driven by Greg Anderson, have shown flashes of brilliance at times this season. Anderson and Jason Line have been through the championship grinder before so there won't be any mental breakdowns from either of those two drivers.

Anderson has been the stronger of the two cars this season and seems best equipped to catch fire in the NHRA's postseason.

It'd Be A Shock

There's a pretty wide performance gap between the top five in the Pro Stock points and the bottom five. Shane and Johnny Gray have shown some spark in individual races this season, but not the kind of consistency over a six-race span that it will take to snatch the title away from one of the top five. Ron Krisher, Rodger Brogdon and Greg Stanfield all have horsepower and talent, but just haven't been able to put it all together this season.

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE

The Favorite

Pro Stock Motorcycle might be the toughest class to predict this season. The Harleys have come on strong the last three races before the Countdown cutoff, so Andrew Hines gets the slight edge over defending champion Hector Arana.

Hines made a statement by waltzing his way through the Brainerd field. The Screamin' Eagle bike has been tough to beat, and Hines seems to have his mind focused on winning another world championship trophy.

Can't Count Out

This is where the motorcycle class gets crowded. Although Arana hasn't won this season, the Lucas Oil Buell has been one of the quickest bikes all season. This championship might come down to who earns the most qualifying points and Arana has been an ace at that this season.

Matt Smith is a past champion himself and his Al-Anabi Racing Buell has been solid this season as well. Eddie Krawiec is another past champ who is riding one of those resurgent Vance & Hines Harleys.

Then there's the pack of Suzukis. The combination of Michael Phillips' horsepower and Craig Treble's clutch package has turned Phillips into a hands-down contender. Even Steve Johnson has tapped the potential of the Suzuki's new power band and has risen in the ranks of the contenders.

"This Full Throttle Championship for me is way more important than anybody that's going to be racing," Johnson said. "It's just everything to me, and these last six races is my shot to take our team and my company to the final promised land."

Dark Horse

Karen Stoffer's GEICO Powersports Suzuki holds the national record for the class, so the speed is there. Stoffer reached the finals in Denver so she has the ability to work her way through the stacked Pro Stock Motorcycle field. If Stoffer can get her bike off the line cleanly and straight down the track, then there's no reason why she can't mix it up with the rest of the back.

It'd Be A Shock

David Hope, LE Tonglet, and Treble all have solid bikes, but not spectacular ones. There's a mighty big mountain to climb before reaching the championship summit, and those riders haven't put the full package together.

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Craig Wack

Go2Geiger.com

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