NHRA POWERade Teleconference

Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock & Pro Stock Motorcycle

At strategic points in the NHRA POWERade 23 race season select racers speed to phones instead of racing to the win line for teleconference calls with sports reporters across the USA. Zoomster.com joins the group and queues up to ask questions to the fastest racers on the planet.

Drag racers often seem to be only a few miles an hour from flight as they line up side-by-side then launch and zoom down ¼ mile tracks for the best elapsed time. The roar of engines, burnt fuel fumes and win-or-go-home reality provides an exciting show for fans at the track. New HD TV coverage from ESPN now brings a lot of race day thrills to viewers, the kind of fire welcome in homes.

We bring you a few great answers from a few brave racers who dare race at 190 to 330 mph again and again.

"The light comes on, go."

Tony Schumacher, US.Army Top Fuel Dragster driver

NHRA SPEED WORDS

FUNNY CAR

Dwight Drum asked Robert Hight:

Robert, John Force mentioned that you handle stress well. Do you believe successful drivers handle stress and pressure better than the average person?

HIGHT: "Well, I guess maybe some people are just born to handle stress. I think it's something you have to learn. That might be where I'm at a disadvantage here because I haven't ever been in positions like this."

"Shooting, like we were talking about earlier, that's an individual sport. Well, this race car deal, it's a team sport. You don't only have, you know, the guys that work on your car and your crew chief, but you have all the sponsors. There is a lot more pressure that you have to deal with because you have to do your job for everybody that gives you the money and works hard.

"It's a different deal, but luckily I've worked around John a lot of years, I worked on his car. I've worked with Austin (Coil) and Bernie (Fedderly). They're great at handling stress. I've learned a lot along the way. "

PRO STOCK

Dwight Drum asked Greg Anderson:

You mentioned learning from Warren Johnson, teaching Jason Line. Do you think drivers in Pro ranks ever stop learning?

ANDERSON: "Absolutely not. If you ever think you know it all, there's no more to learn, you're going to go downhill fast. It's a learning curve every day I'm at this shop that we work at every day. It's a learning curve every day at the racetrack. That's why we test so much at the drag strip we have by our shop here. That's why we work every day on the dyno and in the engine shop. You learn every day. I keeps evolving and revolving, you keep chasing things.

"You'll find one thing on an engine that works today, it may not work tomorrow. One thing that didn't work last month all of a sudden will work now because three other things changed with the engine.

"You just learn every day. You got to look at it that way. You want to learn. You got to look and want to learn every day. If keep your mind open and think there's more possibilities to gain, more possibilities to learn, you probably will."

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE

Dwight asked Antron, Andrew and Angelle:

Do you and your team handle the stress or reality of holding on to a points lead differently than getting to a points lead?

"Right now, I mean, Angelle, she's been a three-time world champion who is on my team who I see all the time. She just handles every round, every race the same. She wants to go out there and dominate every race. Ever since I teamed up with her, she's given me that mental attitude. I think that's what makes you a champion, makes you win. Especially now I think this year the championship race has been tighter than what it's ever been between more drivers. Usually it's within two riders. This year we had it within five riders, now we're down to three at the last two races. You definitely have to be on your Ps and Qs to go out there, stay mentally focused, go after race wins, rounds."

MODERATOR: Andrew, you've seen both ends of that spectrum the last couple years. What are your thoughts on being behind or ahead the last two events?

Andrew Hines: "Well, what I think, our team has looked at it from both sides. Right now we're second in points, looking to get back up to first. Last year we had both bikes luckily finish one and two. We've been at both ends.

"It's tough either way you look at it. You need to go out there and win the rounds no matter what. To go out there and race, you have to look at it just like you do any other race, first race of the year or the last race of the year, if you're 10th in points or first in points. I think that's probably my biggest downfall, I pay attention to points way too much. My team tells me about it. It's just something that is my nature. I've always wanted to be on top of anything I've ever done. Right now I'm in a decent position to go ahead and go for my third championship. That's definitely putting a little bit of pressure because there's only been a few Pro Stock Motorcycle riders and drivers in the history of NHRA who have three-peated. Angelle is one of them, my brother (Matt Hines) is another one. If I could get up there and tie those two, that would be awesome for the Screaming Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson team. That's what we're looking to do to go into these last couple races."

Angelle Sampey: "They both pretty much covered exactly how I feel about it. Andrew is right. It's kind of hard not to count the points. I try to tell myself not to do it from the beginning of the year. I try not to focus on it too much. But you always find yourself looking at the points to see where you are, what you need to do to get back on top. I think it's difficult to get through the season without focusing on that.

"Like Antron said, what I do and I've learned from losing it, I've lost it to Andrew's brother, Matt Hines. I was 14 points in the lead going into the last race of the year and lost it by eight points. The reason I did that was because all I could think about was what I shouldn't do to lose. I kind of buried myself and lost it anyway.

"Now learning from that experience, I go to every race, my main goal is just to have a good time, go one round at a time and hopefully get to the finals of each race. I tell my team all the time let's just focus on winning this race and the championship will come."

TOP FUEL DRAGSTER

Rephrased points lead question asked to Top Fuel drivers:

Is there a difference in the mental approach if you're the points leader or if you are chasing the points leader?

MODERATOR: Doug, you would have the perspective of being the points leader, but you have been behind in the past.

KALITTA: "You know, obviously you're just trying to get hopefully enough points to where you can go to the last race breathing a little easier. I really don't think so. You just got to stick with what we had explained about just going up, doing your normal deal up there, trying not to get too worked up about the points, the championship, just trying to be consistent with what you're doing. "That's the story I'm going to stick with on that."

BERNSTEIN: "I'd much rather be in Doug's position right now, don't get me wrong. But, no, I think as a points chaser, you really have nothing to lose. You know the job at hand and you have to go after it. To win the championship, you're going to have to do the best. It's easier to try and catch somebody, I think, than to hold people back because they're always coming after you trying to knock you off. I think it's just a little bit easier if you're in the background trying to sneak up on people and trying to get something."

SCHUMACHER: "Yeah, you know, the light comes on, go. I wish I could think of it differently. We can think about it right now, I could probably come up with 30 scenarios which would be great next weekend. None of that stuff matters. It makes it crazy thinking about it. We do it all the time. Doug does this first round, we can win. Brandon does this.

"You know, it never lines up that way. You still got to get in the race car. When the light comes on, you do your absolute best. None of it matters.

"The question really isn't about when you are in the car, is it different. It's really about what do you go into the race thinking, what happens when you're out of the car that can make you nuts. Like Brandon said, I'd much rather be in the lead right now, but that's not the way it is. I think it's important to get up in the morning and remember why we're doing it, because we love racing cars. Just let it go. It's going to be a hell of a race. It's going to be fun, it's going to be super fun for one team. Someone at the end of the year is going to have the time of their life, man. The other two just aren't going to get it done. That's kind of unfortunate. That's how racing is.

"Really I'm not in the worst position I've ever been in. Last year going into this race, we had it locked up, we had it done just by staging the car. This isn't too bad. I'm enjoying myself. It's a big money loss if we don't get it done for the Army, everything they put in. But we sure did give a great try to get even in the position we're in. I got to stick with that, too."

Q. Doug, as the points leader, do you get more conservative or into a defensive mode?

KALITTA: "You know, the race before the last race, I don't know, I should just say the last race I said, what the hell, you got to go up there, see the light and go. I think prior to that, I was just trying -- I was thinking about it a little bit. The last race I said, hell with it, I'm going to stick with what I have. I think I got that behind me. You just go up there and just -- the way drag racing is, the round-by-round deal, I think if you start doing stuff like that, you're going to start getting beat on by people taking advantage of your mistakes. I think the best bet is to stick with your normal program."

Dwight asked points leader Doug Kalitta:

The difficulty of winning in the NHRA which seems to get even more difficult every year. Does that affect your team confidence, your performance throughout the year?

KALITTA: "You know it's always nice to get the first win of the year. You feel very fortunate each time each year that you can get a win in. So it's obviously a lot easier once you get the first win of the year. It's a tough series and a lot of great teams. Like I say any time you can get a win out there in my book, it's huge. I have a lot of respect for all the guys that I run with. Any time you can beat them, it's a good day for sure."