Two Wins at Manzanita Crown Wise USAC Sprint Champion

Team Mopar's Josh Wise and Levi Jones not only wrapped up the 2006 USAC National Sprint Car Series Championship chase over the weekend, they owned it. Wise captured the USAC National Sprint Car championship, with Jones a close second, following the three-day season finale at Manzanita Speedway on November 9-11. Wise earned two victories and a Top-10 finish, with Jones posting three Top-five finishes.

Wise entered the weekend with an 87-point advantage over Jones, and after a seventh-place finish in Thursday night's preliminary event, Wise and the No. 20 team flexed its muscles en route to the championship. Wise took the lead on lap six of Friday night's feature to score his first of two weekend victories. On Saturday, Wise jumped to an early lead and put distance between himself and the rest of the pack. When the dust settled, Wise had led from green to checkered, earning win No. 2 on the weekend and a trip to the podium, where he was also crowned as the 2006 champion.

Jones and the No. 21 crew also had reason to celebrate. The team kicked off the weekend with a solid second-place finish in Thursday's prelim. On Friday, the No. 21 team set quick time for the night en route to a fourth-place finish. In Saturday's finale, Jones wrapped up the weekend with a strong fifth-place run, clinching championship runner-up honors.

Hoffman Auto Racing's Jerry Coons Jr., set quick time on Thursday and finished third in the prelim. On Friday the No. 69 team took sixth, then battled to a fourth-place finish on Saturday. Keith Kunz Motorsports Darren Hagen finished the season on a high note, taking eighth on Thursday, second on Friday and ninth on Saturday, to earn fourth in the championship standings. Tracy Hines also competed in the event, finishing 12th on Thursday, 17th on Friday, and 16th on Saturday. Brady Bacon competed for Keith Kunz Motorsports, driving the No. 67k to a 25th-place finish on Thursday. Bacon took 11th on Friday and posted another 25th-place effort on Saturday.

Although he didn't compete at the event, Ganassi Racing Development driver Bryan Clauson scored a Top-10 finish in the points championship. The injured driver notched a seventh-place championship finish, after running with much success throughout the first part of the season. He will make his return to racing in early 2007.

While the USAC National Sprint Car Series season is complete, Jones and the No. 21 Tony Stewart Racing Enterprises team will return to action on November 18 at the Perris Auto Speedway. For more information regarding USAC Racing, log on to usacracing.com.

Beckman Makes Final,
Sets Record at Pomona;
Capps Third in Final Points

"Fast" Jack Beckman lived up to his nickname over weekend. The Team Mopar Funny Car driver steered his Matco Tools Iron Eagle Dodge Charger R/T to No. 1 in qualifying and to a national record in his final round battle against John Force at the NHRA Finals in Pomona, Calif.

Beckman, winner of the previous event at Las Vegas, was unable to make it two in a row as Force took the final with a holeshot win. Beckman's record-setting pass of 4.662 at 329.99 bettered Force's 4.697 at 319.75, but Force's better reaction time proved to be the margin of victory. Beckman disposed of Scott Kalitta, Tony Pedregon and Phil Burkart Jr., to set up the fight with Force.

"As a five-race Funny Car driver, to have the fastest and quickest runs in Funny Car history, and a win, it's something I'm glad I signed up for," said Beckman, who took the helm of an NHRA POWERade Funny Car for the first time this year.

Fellow Mopar and Don Schumacher Racing driver Ron Capps came up short in his bid to take the NHRA Funny Car title, as the driver of the Brut Revolution Dodge Charger R/T took a loss at the hands of Force in the quarterfinals. Capps finished third in the final Funny Car points standings, amassing five wins and three runner-up finishes in another strong season.

The 2005 NHRA Funny Car champ, Gary Scelzi, had another hard-luck outing, suffering a first-round loss in his Mopar/Oakley Dodge Charger R/T to Tommy Johnson Jr. Scelzi finished seventh in the final NHRA Funny Car points standings. Mike Ashley and his Skull Gear Racing Dodge Charger R/T team also exited in the first round, losing to Tony Pedregon.

Overall, Team Mopar and Don Schumacher Racing NHRA Funny Car drivers proved once again to be one of the elite teams of the series. Mopar and DSR drivers combined for eight wins and eight runner-up finishes in 2006, with Ron Capps leading the points race for most of the year. Pomona also saw Tony Schumacher use Mopar Hemi-power to repeat as Top Fuel champion. The DSR driver won in dramatic fashion, beating teammate Melanie Troxel and posting a world-record run in the final, which he needed to recapture the title.

The Team Mopar and DSR hotshoes will return to the strip next year, when the 2007 season kicks off with the NHRA Winternationals, scheduled for February 8-11. For more information on the NHRA, log on to nhra.com.

AJ, V. Gaines
Advance to Semis
at Pomona Season Finale

Team Mopar Pro Stockers finished the season with more strong runs, as both Allen Johnson and V. Gaines advanced to the semifinals at the NHRA Finals in Pomona, Calif.

Johnson qualified his Mopar J&J Racing Dodge Stratus R/T third, then defeated Erica Enders in her Revive Dodge Stratus R/T in the first round. Johnson then knocked off Mike Edwards before losing to event winner Greg Anderson in the semis. Johnson finished sixth in the NHRA Pro Stock standings, with one win, two poles and eight semifinals appearances on the year. Gaines defeated Tommy Lee and the Nitro Fish Dodge Stratus R/T of Dave Northrup to advance to the semis, where 2006 NHRA Pro Stock champ Jason Line took the win. Gaines took 10th in the final points standings.

Richie Stevens Jr., who just missed qualifying his Don Schumacher Racing/J & J Racing Mopar/Valspar Dodge Stratus R/T for the NHRA Finals, finished ninth in the points standings. Stevens Jr., and DSR teamed up with J & J Racing's Allen and Roy Johnson in the latter part of the season, with J & J Racing tuning the team's car. The result was two visits to victory lane for Richie, at Dallas and at Vegas, which the team will look to use as a springboard to success in 2007.

The Team Mopar Pro Stockers will look to build on their powerful performances in the second half of 2006 when the 2007 season kicks off with the NHRA Winternationals, scheduled for February 8-11. For more information on the NHRA, log on to nhra.com.