BILL STEPHENS “IN THE GROOVE” 10/20/11

Man, how things can change in a nanosecond!

If you saw the ESPN2 coverage of the Arizona Nationals, you know how the points picture has gone through a major scramble. Suddenly, Jack Beckman is up top, Matt Hagan is second and Mike has dropped to third with two races remaining in the season. The Countdown has not been very accommodating to a number of the prime championship contenders in all the professional classes, but in Funny Car, Mike and (and John) have not had, shall we say, red hot winning streaks.

The fact that Mike and Robert had to race in the first round in Phoenix was one of those dreaded twists of luck that every team runs into sooner or later. When it happens in the Countdown with only a few races to go, it really stinks. Sure, you’re guaranteed to have a team car advancing to the second round, but you’ve also taken one of your cars off the board. The best time to face a teammate (if there IS a best time) is in the final, when you know your team is going to be celebrating in the winner’s circle no matter what and both drivers have accumulated a pretty hefty chunk of points.

Robert’s second-round redlight was really a killer—just the kind of thing that can make a team feel that they can’t catch a break. Just when Robert and Jimmy looked as if they were going to climb right back into the title chase, the trap door opened. I don’t think many people know that Robert had never fouled out in his professional career up until the second round in Phoenix—a remarkable stat—but the timing of it couldn’t have been worse. I’m sure every JFR fan got a ripple of nausea when that red bulb came on in Robert’s lane.

Is there any good news?

Yes. The championship hasn’t been decided yet.

We’ve seen so many Full Throttle titles wrapped up at the fall Las Vegas race in years past, and we could see it happen again this year, although it is quite unlikely in Top Fuel and Funny Car. Look at the standings and you’ll see the first four or five drivers in each class are bunched together in a tight pack. Less than 100 points separate the top five drivers in Top Fuel AND Funny Car, which means that the points leaders would have to pick up several round wins and all the drivers behind them would have to have a nightmarish weekend in Las Vegas to see either of those two classes clinched.

I’m not going to bet on it.

John has really been on a rough ride in the Countdown. Remember last year’s garrison finish to haul past Matt Hagan at the AAA Finals to score his 15th championship? Although he’s still not out of it mathematically, John would need a major miracle to overcome the 194-point deficit he’s now facing with two races left. At this point, the majority of the hopes at JFR are riding on the shoulders of Mike and Robert and I wouldn’t be surprised to see a new points leader at the top of the standings when the Big O Tires Nationals wraps up.

Until then, log onto NHRA YouTube for the latest Nitro Rewind!