Racing
John Oreovicz, Autos, Open-Wheel 10y

Dreams on the line at U.S. Nationals

AutoRacing

INDIANAPOLIS -- It's tough being the new kid in town behind the Indianapolis 500.

But set to run for the 60th time, the Chevrolet Performance NHRA U.S. Nationals has done just fine for itself as one of the most iconic and enduring events in all of motorsports.

In the suburb of Clermont, about 6 miles away as the crow flies, Lucas Oil Raceway is hardly in the shadow of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Yet to drag racing cognoscenti, "Indianapolis" is as mythical a place as it is to open-wheel circuit racing drivers and fans.

Old-timers still prefer to call LOR "IRP," recognizing its given name of Indianapolis Raceway Park. Whatever you call the venue, the U.S. Nationals has called Greater Indianapolis its home since 1961. More importantly, it is the undisputed premier event of the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series.

It's also the 18th and final event that will count toward setting the 10-driver fields for the NHRA's Countdown to the Championship, which unfolds over the course of six events from September to November.

"To win the U.S. Nationals one time will make a drag racer's career; a lot of drivers will tell you winning in Indy is bigger than a championship," three-time Indianapolis Funny Car champion Robert Hight said. "Coming back this season as the defending champion is pretty special. We've had a good season so far, but winning Indy again could make it a great season."

Hight and his teammates at John Force Racing have dominated the Funny Car action at the U.S. Nationals, winning every year since 2008. But a potentially better storyline involving JFR and the Force family could be set to unfold in the Top Fuel category, where Brittany Force is seeking her first event win in her second full season of racing nitro-powered rail dragsters.

Brittany has been the No. 1 qualifier three times this year and has advanced to three final rounds. She's bidding to score JFR's first-ever win outside of Funny Car, and she's seeking to be the first female Top Fuel winner at Indianapolis since Shirley Muldowney in 1982.

A win for Brittany in the finals Monday (11 a.m. ET on ESPN3) would also be the first Top Fuel victory for a Ford-branded engine since 1970. She would follow in the footsteps of her older sister Ashley Force Hood, a two-time U.S. Nationals winner in Funny Car.

Brittany was voted into the Traxxas Shootout (an all-star race during Indianapolis weekend that pays the winner $100,000), and scoring her first career Top Fuel win at Indianapolis would make for a perfect storyline.

"I hope so," she said Wednesday. "I'm so excited about Indy. There's so much history, and I remember watching my dad race there and him telling me and my sisters what a big deal it was. Now, to be going back for the second time with my Castrol EDGE team is pretty awesome. The car's running great, and my guys are pumped."

JFR has dominated the Funny Car ranks in 2014, with John Force and Hight 1-2 in the standings, separated by just 18 points. Courtney Force ranks sixth.

The Top Fuel field is even more spread out, with Antron Brown trailing Doug Kalitta by 92 points despite posting a series-high five wins and advancing to seven final rounds this year for Don Schumacher Racing.

Kalitta is one of several big names seeking a first U.S. Nationals victory. Others include Matt Hagan, Ron Capps and Jack Beckman in Funny Car, Allen Johnson in Pro Stock and Eddie Krawiec in Pro Stock Motorcycle.

Like many drag racers, Brown lives in suburban Indianapolis, and he looks forward to his home events every year.

"It's one of those deals where winning at Indy always sticks out," Brown said. "You know when it happened, how it happened, who you beat and what it took to get there. You know you can't make a mistake because everyone is bringing their best. At Indy, everybody brings their A-game and brings all their best parts. That's what Indy brings out, and that's what makes it special."

Tony Schumacher is the most successful driver in the history of the U.S. Nationals, and he will be seeking a record-extending 10th Top Fuel win this weekend in his U.S Army-sponsored dragster out of the DSR stable.

"There's no doubt that we know coming into this race that we have a chance to do something that no one has ever done," Schumacher said. "I think it adds to the pressure, and I like that. I enjoy the pressure.

"A lot of people have been able to live some great moments here," he added. "Fortunately for me, we're one of the teams that have been blessed with some of the best moments."

This year's best championship battle exists in Pro Stock, where Erica Enders-Stevens trails Jason Line by nine points after leading the standings for most of the season. Defending category champion Allen Johnson is just 16 points off the lead, while perennial front-runner Jeg Coughlin Jr. is still in the hunt 76 points back.

"It's been a dream season up to this point, and we're hopeful to carry that momentum and that confidence through the end of the year," Enders-Stevens said. "I'm very optimistic about what's to come and very hopeful to go out there and just have a really great weekend and get our No. 1 spot back from Jason Line to go into that No. 1 seed into the Countdown into Charlotte. I don't believe any woman in a professional category has ever gone in in the No. 1 position so far.

"It's certainly at the top of our list of goals, but it's not detrimental if it doesn't happen, by any means."

With more than 1,000 entries spread over 12 classes, the U.S. Nationals is by far the NHRA's biggest event of the season. But fans visiting Lucas Oil Raceway on the weekend will get even more value than usual out of their ticket price, because races rained out two weeks ago at Brainerd, Minnesota, will be completed in Indianapolis.

On Saturday, John Force and Ron Capps will face off for the Funny Car title, while Pro Stock action will wrap up Sunday, with the winner to be determined after a final set up by races featuring Coughlin versus Vincent Nobile, and Line matched up with Dave River.

ESPN2 will broadcast 12 hours of action from the U.S. Nationals, including same-day coverage of the finals starting at noon ET on Monday.

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