National Dragster: Staging Light

At the Las Vegas blackjack tables, holding a hand of 13 or 14 isn't much to crow about, but those were the respective numbers John Force and Greg Anderson had hoped to hold in their hands at the event's completion.

Force locked up his 13th NHRA Funny Car championship merely by qualifying for the field, and Anderson defeated teammate Jason Line to score his 14th Pro Stock event win of the season. Both are NHRA records; in Andersen's case, he stole the mark from Force.

"I feel very, very proud to break John Force's record," said Anderson, who, after winning his 13th title of the season at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals, had been stopped one win short in two final-round appearances since, including once by Line. "We know what he's done for the sport, so to break any of his records is special, but I think that's a pretty serious one right there, especially in this class. It's just an awesome, awesome feeling right now.

"We had an advantage at the beginning of the year, and everybody said this is no fun, this is a one-sided deal. Well, it's not that way anymore. It's doggone hard to win right now, so I feel awfully special finally getting it done, the 14th win. It means a lot to me. I just can't imagine we'll have a chance to do anything like this again. Yes, records are made to be broken, and somebody will come along and break it, but I think it's going to be a while, I really do."

Anderson had locked down his season crown two races earlier in Dallas; the chances of Force not being able to clinch the Funny Car title in Vegas wouldn't have made the tote board at even the most daring casino. After all, drag racing's all-time winningest driver was riding a streak of 344 consecutive events at which he had qualified - the last time he failed to make the field was 17 years earlier, on Halloween night, 1987.

Yet, ever the enigma, Force, whose green racer and habit of gulping a spoonful of peanut butter before each run defy longtime drag racing superstitions banning peanuts and the color green from the pits, steadfastly refused to discuss championship scenarios until it was a done deal.

Between relinquishing his championship to former teammate Tony Pedregon last year and losing his only title of the 1990s to Pedregon's brother, Cruz, in 1992 - which seems as painful to Force as if it happened yesterday - Force wasn't about to count his chips until the last hand had been dealt.

"I always remember that," Force said of his 1992 nightmare, "and I want the team to remember, too. I told them I never think it's over until I get the check [at the season-ending awards ceremony]."

In Las Vegas, Force wasted little time ending the drama for everyone but himself. Although his opening salvo of 4.867 was marginally slower than the all-time record bump of 4.862 established in otherworldly conditions in Chicago two races earlier, those times weren't likely in the desert climes of Vegas. Force erased all doubts with a second-pass 4.78. From then on, it was just a matter of waiting a day until qualifying had ended before the results became official.

"I needed this," Force said. "I'm having fun again. I've been so caught up in the business that I've been forgetting to have fun, but this is fun. People thought that once Tony [Pedregon] won and ended my streak that I was done. Well, I'm right here. I never left. I never said I had to win every year. No one can do that. There's too much competition out here.

"This ain't about proving I can win; this was about letting everyone know I'm still a big player in the game," Force said. "I'm still fighting, and I ain't going away."

Speaking of winners, the chests of the National DRAGSTER staff are puffed out after watching two of our own gain some glory over the last two weeks. Debbie Pierce, who helps design editorial pages each week for ND, overwhelmed the ET-2 field at the recent Nitto Tires NHRA Sport Compact World Finals at Pomona Raceway.

Debbie is a former NHRA Staff Drags champ, daughter of Super Gas veteran Hollis Colleasure, and wife of 2003 K&N Filters Winternationals Super Gas champ Brad Pierce. Winning must run in the family. A tip o' the cap also to contributing editor Evan Smith, who authors our biweekly Racing Technology column. Evan proved that he knows of which he writes as he powered his Stock eliminator '93 Mustang to new E/FI national records of 11.35 and 116.56 at the Division 1 Lucas oil Drag Racing Series event at New Jersey's Atco Raceway.

The size of the jackpot may be different than for Force and Anderson, but they're all winners in our book. - Phil Burgess