TRR: Where The Manufacturers Will Knock Boots In 2002

Now that I have your attention, the drama
of 2002 could happen in the NHRA’s Nitro Funny Car class where the
manufacturers are strapping on a battle with the target being 11-time champion
John Force.

A story on NHRA.com outlined how
"Team Force (is) cautiously circling the wagons" as team after team
tries to knock off the second greatest drag racer in the NHRA’s first fifty
years.

From Rob Geiger on NHRA.com: "Team
Force aerodynamicist and accomplished Top Fuel driver Tim Gibson, who joined the
group a year ago after helping General Motors for several seasons, isn’t just
haunted by his former Firebird creations any more. It’s the visions of new Dodge
Stratus R/Ts and Toyota Celicas dancing through his head that have made this
Christmas break anything but jolly for the studious rocket scientist."

Yes Toyota Celicas! They’ll be joining
Dodge, Ford and General Motors in the Funny Car wars making the NHRA more of a
manufacturer’s playground than, even, NASCAR. Even though Toyota tries to sell
the fact that it’s a domestic because it builds cars in the USA, NASCAR doesn’t
recognize it as a domestic for the purposes of its competition.

Further, the Dodge Stratus R/Ts expected
in the pits this year will be from the formidable shops of Roush Racing.
Oldtimers like me will remember that Jack Roush started his multi-million dollar
racing career as a drag racer. Before Warren Johnson was Warren Johnson and Jeg
Coughlin, Jr. was chasing around the pits behind Senior, Wayne Gapp and Jack
Roush were pounding the ground against Bob Glidden in the birthing days of Pro
Stock. The Gapp & Roush team was so good it was winning with a Ford Pinto
and four-door Maverick!

Because of the Roush commitment to
excellence, expect Dean Skuza’s Stratus R/Ts to kick butt off the trailer at
Pomona.

But here’s the real butt kicker. I’m
told the Toyota deal in Funny Car will fall to Alan Johnson for Gary Scelzi and
Bruce Sarver. It would have been done already but for the interruptions of Don
Prudhomme and Don Schumacher who found out about Toyota’s interest and made
their own pitches, delaying the final decision by Toyota.

I understand Prudhomme was so aggressive
about going after the deal that he somehow got Celica bodies from Toyota but one
of his current sponsors vetoed the import demanding that The Snake stay
American. That left Schumacher still in the running with Johnson and, as of a
week ago, that’s where it stood.

Again quoting Tim Gibson from the NHRA.com
piece by Geiger: "’From a technical standpoint, I’m anxious to see them.
I worked indirectly for Toyota when I worked for Dan Gurney’s multi-championship
winning GTP Toyota team and I know if Toyota is serious about this they will be
tough to beat.’

"It’s been almost 20 years since an
import body first showed up at a national event in the Funny Car class. Current
Force teammate Gary Densham, legend Chuck Etchells, John Collins, and Tim Grose
all campaigned Datsun 280Zs in the early 1980s. Several one-off designs of
Saabs, Acuras, and Mercedes Benzs have also surfaced in the Alcohol Funny Car
ranks, some as recently as this year."

This is a crucial year for Gibson and Team
Force. Not only are his competitors ganging up on him but his sponsor is feeling
the pressure of competition. Ford has very little presence in a sport — drag
racing – that’s resurrecting itself with expanded television and sponsor
presence through ESPN and Powerade.

Check out the TRR
This Week interview with John Force. About halfway through the interview he
talks about Ford telling him, an 11-time Funny Car champion, that Ford doesn’t
want him resting on his laurels. It wants another championship! As Force puts
it, "it’s all about selling Mustangs!"

Indeed! Try to find a Mustang in the
Sunday field of Pro Stock or Super Stock for that matter. Outside of the bracket
guys, there’s very little presence for Ford outside of Force. That’s a big
presence to be sure but drag racing without Ford is like McDonald’s without
Quarter Pounders. The restaurant would still exist but something would be
missing!

Of course, one reason Ford’s presence is
so small outside of Team Force is John’s contract that gives him exclusive
rights to the Mustang profile in the pro ranks. Still, Ford has expectations
when it’s married to John Force!

Again, NHRA.com and Gibson: "The
truth is there’s no big model change for the Ford Mustang. It’s still a hugely
popular car and a big seller. The people at Ford tell us all the time that our
success on the racetrack helps them sell a lot of Mustangs. So we won’t be
changing too much. They love the way we’ve kept so many features of the consumer
version of the Mustang in the race car."

That’s good and bad. A new NHRA rule
forbids mid-season tampering with the Funny Car body design. Once the body and
mold get NHRA approval, that’s it! So, if the Mustang isn’t as slippery as
the Dodge, Chevrolet, Pontiac or Toyota, John may need more than Tony Pedregon
and Gary Densham blocking for him to score another touchdown next fall.