Home >  Sports >  Auto Racing

Monday, June 16, 2003

By Chris Dolack, Special to the Post-Gazette

HEBRON, Ohio -- An odd year for NHRA Funny Car star John Force turned even stranger yesterday.

Force, who has 106 career victories and has won 12 championships, had not been to the winner's circle this season entering the Pontiac Excitement Nationals at National Trail Raceway. And although he crossed the finish line first after teammate Tony Pedregon smoked his tires at the green light, Force still has not won this season. Halfway down the right lane, Force's Mustang wiggled left and right and crossed the centerline. Force recovered but it was too late. He was disqualified for entering Pedregon's lane.

For Pedregon, who coasted to the finish, it was his sixth win of the season.

"I don't know that I've absorbed everything that's happened," said Pedregon, who leads the Funny Car point standings in a car owned by Force. "I was a little confused to tell you the truth. We get used to winning a certain way. I'm not in denial because I've got the trophy. From what I hear, we won."

Pedregon was caught off guard when he lost traction at the start, sending a plume of smoke out the back of his Mustang as Force shot down the strip.

"It really kind of surprised me that our car smoked the tires," he said. "That's very uncharacteristic of the way that our car runs. When it knocks the tires loose that early there's not a whole lot you can do because you spend so much time letting the tire recover. But the wheel speed was slow enough that it was going to hook up. At that point, I saw John's car and I knew he was in trouble already."

In Top Fuel, Larry Dixon continues to dominate. Winner of the past two championships, Dixon became the first driver to win three consecutive times at National Trail Raceway. He was unchallenged by Darrell Russell with a pass in 4.65 seconds at 313.58 mph. Dixon's crew chief, Dick LaHaie has never lost -- as a driver or crew chief -- in final rounds at the Hebron, Ohio, dragstrip.

In Pro Stock, points leader Greg Anderson overcame a wild day of early-round crashes to pad his lead with a victory against Scott Geoffrion in a 6.88-second pass at 199.88 mph.

In Pro Stock Motorcycle, top qualifier Fred Collis rolled through eliminations to defeat Karen Stoffer with a run of 7.23 seconds at 183.62 mph and earn his first victory.

Top Alcohol Dragster driver Mike Kosky, a five-time division champion from Cutty, Pa., lost a close race in the first round. Kosky defeated Tony Bartone off the start and led at the halfway mark before Bartone pulled ahead and won by 0.02 seconds, or about 11 inches.