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Mon, April 28th 2008
I was sitting in the ESPN production truck as the second round of Top Fuel was beginning on Sunday. There had already been a lengthy delay in getting the Southern Nationals started because of on-and-off rain showers throughout the morning and the gray skies looked as if there might be another rain delay any moment.
But the rain held off long enough for Round 2 to begin and I was anxious to see how J.R. would handle Bob Vandergriff after getting past Brandon Bernstein in the first round on a holeshot—J.R.’s first round win of the year. Morgan had already lost in the first round to Tony Schumacher in a pretty close race. Morgan had a better reaction time but Tony’s 4.55 was more than enough to take care of Morgan’s 4.61. Sure, it was a loss but on any given Sunday, a 4.61 is going to win you a fair amount of rounds. Just not this time.
So there I was, watching the second round of Top Fuel when J.R. rolled up against Vandergriff. How cool would it be for J.R. to advance to the semi-finals for the first time since last year? And trust me when I tell you, with all of the trouble and turmoil the Lucas Oil gang has had to overcome this year, heading to a semi-final would be just what was needed. If you watched the race on ESPN2, you saw what I saw and what everyone else saw when J.R. and Bob V. got after it.
J.R. was out on Bob and his car was truckin’. Just a few hundred more feet and…..%$%^&*(*!!!!!! J.R.’s dragster nosed over and Bob V. took the stripe. By about two feet.
The ESPN2 cameras swung around to catch Morgan’s reaction as he stood at the starting line. His hands instinctively reached up to cradle each side of his head, almost to keep the parts from flying out. His look of utter shock and disbelief was almost painful to watch. A race that appeared to be securely in hand had suddenly been snatched away. On a holeshot, by the same margin of victory, 3/1000 of a second, that J.R. had beaten Brandon. This was really a kick in the butt.
I wish I could explain how luck works. Good luck and bad luck. They are both fickle, exasperating demons which befuddle and bedevil racers on a regular basis and many times they switch off with each other just to keep anyone from getting into a comfort zone. Morgan is beginning to think there’s no such thing as good luck and how can you blame him?
He did get a chance to race in Super Comp for the first time since last year and he advanced several rounds before being taken out, but he told me this year it’s more fun driving an 8.90 dragster than a 4-second Top Fuel car. No mystery there. Losing is never fun and the Lucas Oil T/F team hasn’t exactly been stuffing themselves on round wins. J.R. has had an equally pukey ’08 and we’ve already burned up six races.
I talked to J.R. for a while on Saturday and he admitted that after having a great rookie year in 2006 in which he won three races and was named the NHRA Road to the Future award winner, he got a little spoiled. Hey, how many rookies win three times in their freshman year? And as you’ll remember, J.R. nearly swept the Western Swing in ’06 and gave Tony Schumacher fits along the way. He won twice last year, including the Winternationals in Pomona, after which his tuner, Jimmy Walsh, was hired away by Kenny Bernstein. So when your professional career begins with such a bang and then gradually slides into the morass that J.R. now finds himself, you can understand what a huge reality check Top Fuel racing can dish out.
But I’ll long remember the look on Morgan’s face after watching J.R. lose on Sunday. Shock would be a major understatement.
No time to sulk. Madison, Illinois next weekend.