All month long, our racing guru David Scoggan is blogging LIVE from Lucas Oil Raceway! Check back here regularly for a dose of Dave’s wit and whimsy.
First off, best wishes to Andrew Luck and family after his sudden and unexpected retirement from football that sent Indianapolis into a tizzy and established a media frenzy unseen in this town since the Colts moved here in 1984.
Well, I hate to break it to you Indianapolis media folks, but there is a MAJOR motorsports event getting ready to kick off its 65th edition at Lucas Oil Raceway that has been running at the facility continuously since 1961, and nary a peep from any area other than radio and TV commercials. I find it laughable that Star columnist Gregg Doyel or his predecessor Bob Kravitz has NEVER written a piece about the NHRA U.S. Nationals — I guess with nearly 1,000 entries, cars that go from 0 to 330 MPH in less than 4 seconds, and a true diversity of competitors, it just must be too difficult to find something interesting to write about…..
Since no one else in town will bother, I now present you the entries for the four professional categories (as of August 26):
Top Fuel: Steve Torrence, Brittany Force, Antron Brown, Doug Kalitta, Scott Palmer, Terry McMillen, Clay Millican, Richie Crampton, T.J. Zizzo, Austin Prock, Luigi Novelli, Chris Karamesines, Billy Torrence, Cameron Ferre, Leah Pritchett, Lex Joon, Wayne Newby, Mike Salinas, Pat Dakin, Jordan Vandergriff, Shawn Reed
Funny Car: J.R. Todd, Robert Hight, Tommy Johnson Jr., Tim Wilkerson, Jack Beckman, John Force, Ron Capps, Cruz Pedregon, Bob Tasca III, Paul Lee, Terry Haddock, Shawn Langdon, Bob Bode, Jim Campbell, Johnnie Lindberg, Matt Hagan, Justin Schriefer
Pro Stock: Jeg Coughlin Jr., Erica Enders, Jason Line, Greg Anderson, Bo Butner, Shane Tucker, Alex Laughlin, Deric Kramer, Matt Hartford, Baron Stroupe, Fernando Cuadra Sr. and Jr., Cristian Cuadra, Chris McGaha, Robert River, Richard Freeman, Kenny Delco, Alan Prusiensky, Val Smeland, Steve Graham
Pro Stock Motorcycle: Matt Smith, Eddie Krawiec, Hector Arana Sr. and Jr., Jerry Savoie, Andrew Hines, Angelle Sampey, Angie Smith, Scotty Pollacheck, Andie Rawlings, Marc Ingwersen, Michael Ray Jr., Cory Reed, Steve Johnson, Karen Stoffer, Kelly Clontz, Ryan Oehler, Jianna Salinas, Joey Gladstone, Chris Bostick
While the Pros don’t hit the strip until Friday evening, the event starts bright and early at 8 AM on Wednesday, with 160 Stockers, 160 Super Stockers, 134 Super Comps, and 129 Super Gassers receiving two runs each. The football season runs for another five months, but you can only attend the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals THIS WEEK!
