Las Vegas NHRA Nationals: Massey, Hight and Morgan Win in Las Vegas

Las Vegas NHRA Nationals Motor Sports, Larry Dixon wanted to gain enough ground on Top Fuel point’s leader Tony Schumacher to give his team a legitimate chance to win the championship.

Dixon failed to win at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday, but he closed to within one point of Schumacher with the season finale in Pomona, Calif., left on the schedule.

Sunday's NHRA Nationals Motor Sports Winners were Spencer Massey in Top Fuel, Robert Hight in Funny Car and Larry Morgan in Pro Stock.

Dixon erased most of the 47-point deficit he had at the start of the weekend after Schumacher lost in the second round to teammate Cory McClenathan.

"Man, that was a tough way to go out," Schumacher said. "You have to tip your hat to Cory and his team. They did what they had to do.

"I'm actually pretty upset with myself. I probably did too much thinking out there. That's not how you should perform when you're going for a championship."

Dixon reached the final but smoked the tires of his Al-Anabi Racing dragster off the starting line against Massey's U.S. Smokeless dragster. Massey posted a 3.827-second pass at 314.53 mph to Dixon's 5.503 seconds at 174.87 mph.

"To make up 46 points in one weekend is big, especially against that team," Dixon said. "It's all going to come down to Pomona and it might even come down to those qualifying points. If not for them we might be a round or two back. It's going to be interesting to see how it all turns out."

It was Massey's second victory of the season and will go a long way toward wrapping up the NHRA's Rookie of the Year award.

"If it happens, it happens," Massey said. "We've got a couple of wins now, and if it underlines or puts a check next to my name then that's good. I can't wait to get to Pomona to see if it came out that way."

Funny Car driver Hight's Auto Club Ford Mustang opened up a commanding championship lead thanks to his final-round win over Jack Beckman and the Valvoline/MTS Dodge Charger. Hight ran 4.125 seconds at 304.46 mph to Beckman's 4.154 seconds at 303.16 mph.

"In the past, we've come into Vegas and left a lot on the table," Hight said. "We ran well, qualified good, then lost first round. But [crew chief] Jimmy Prock has done such a great job down the stretch this year. We've got three wins in the five [playoff] races. That is stout, and it's all been on performance. We've not gotten lucky; I've not had to pedal the car. We've just out-muscled these guys."

Hight beat second-place Ashley Force Hood in the first round and now leads his sister-in-law and teammate by 105 points with a maximum of four rounds of racing remaining.

"I believe that if she would have beat me today she would [have won the event]," Hight said. "They are the reason we are in this [championship playoff]. They fixed us when we were lost.

"That was the toughest round we had this year for sure."

Pro Stock's Mike Edwards was denied in his first chance to clinch the class championship. Second-place Greg Anderson and his Summit Racing Equipment Pontiac GXP lost to Greg Stanfield's Pontiac on a holeshot in the second round. All Edwards had to do was win in the same session and the championship was his.

However, a few minutes after Anderson lost, Edwards' Young Life Pontiac GXP lost to Larry Morgan's Lucas Oil Dodge, also on a holeshot. Now Edwards needs only to show up at Pomona and make one qualifying run to take the title.

Morgan took back the borrowed engine that final-round opponent Rickie Jones used in his Quarter Max Dodge before the final round as part of a pre-arranged agreement.

Jones borrowed an engine from Morgan when the weekend began, because Jones was not sure he could qualify much less reach the final with the engine he had. Morgan reclaimed the engine before the final round, forcing Jones to go to a backup. Morgan then ran 6.720 seconds at 205.69 mph to Jones' 6.794 seconds at 203.16 mph.

"They were kind of crippled coming into this race, but they wanted to come here and the World Finals," Morgan said. "They burnt up a pushrod in the engine I had sold them previously so I let him have my spare because I knew he could qualify with it.

"The guys that work for me get a percentage of my car's [winnings]. They thought I shouldn't give the guy an engine to beat me up with. We agreed that if we [both] reached the final, he'd have to run his own engine. I feel real good about our decision."

This win was Morgan's first in seven years.

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JARNO TRULLI says, I can't wait for practice to begin

Panasonic Toyota Racing reaches the end of a successful season with a trip to the United Arab Emirates for the first-ever Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, held on the new Yas Marina Circuit. Not only is this weekend's race held at a new venue, it is also held in unique conditions with the race starting in daylight at 5pm local time but finishing in darkness and under floodlights 55 laps later.

The track, which will become the 67th to hold a Formula 1 World Championship race, winds its way around Yas Marina through a series of 90° turns but also includes two long back straights where the cars are expected to reach over 300km/h.

Toyota is looking to add to the 54.5 points it has scored already this season, having been unfortunate to miss out in the Brazilian Grand Prix when Jarno Trulli was involved in an accident while challenging for another podium finish. However, the Italian racer is eager to end the season on a high.

"It's been an up-and-down season for us with such a strong start followed by some disappointing races in Europe then a really competitive end to the year,” he said. “As Abu Dhabi is a new track it's impossible to predict how we will perform but after the speed we showed in the last three races I am confident of finishing the year on a high. I was extremely frustrated to be eliminated by an accident in Brazil because we had looked very quick all weekend and I genuinely believe we had a fantastic chance of finishing on the podium. So I am confident for this weekend and I am really motivated to get another great result before the season ends. Abu Dhabi looks like another fantastic new venue and I am really interested to see what the track is like to drive so I can't wait for practice to begin on Friday."

Ben Collins Race In V8 Enduros, Stig coming to drive at Bathurst?

On popular motor sports betting show Top Gear, some say he is the anonymous driver called "The Stig". All we know is he's competing in this year's V8 Super car endurance races.

On Wednesday, Jack Daniel's Racing announced English endurance racing specialist Ben Collins will pair up with veteran Nathan Pretty in the team's No.15 Holden for the annual endurance races at Bathurst and Phillip Island.

Collins, a professional stunt driver, has long been rumoured to be the Stig, with English newspaper The Telegraph claiming he had mistakenly outed himself in January.

The show fiercely guards the identity of the Stig and it's believed Collins could be sacked if he did admit he was the popular character.

The first Stig, stunt driver Perry McCarthy, lost the job after outing himself in his book Flat Out, Flat Broke, published in 2002.

Regardless of his secret identity, Collins will definitely be behind the wheel at this year's Bathurst 1000 and Phillip Island 500 events.

"I'm very excited about the opportunity to race in V8 Supercars with Jack Daniel's Racing," Collins said.

"Phillip Island and Bathurst are two circuits that every driver would love to get the chance to race on, especially Bathurst, which is such a famous race.

"I drove a Holden V8 Supercar earlier this year and these cars are sensational. They're very demanding and the level of talent and professionalism in this category is very high."

Collins, who worked as stunt driver on the latest James Bond movie Quantum of Solace, comes to Australia with extensive racing experience.

Among the 34-year-old's achievements are testing sessions with Formula One team Ascari and the American Red Bull NASCAR team.

Todd Kelly, who will partner brother Rick in the team's other car, said he was delighted to have such an experienced crew in their second vehicle.

"Endurance races like Phillip Island and Bathurst require a combination of pace and consistency, especially when it comes to 161 laps at Mount Panorama," Kelly said.

"Ben has achieved a lot in endurance style racing and he will be a real asset to our team as we tackle our first endurance events.
"It's fitting that he's paired with Nathan because the two of them are both noted endurance specialists.

"It's great to have two guys with such pedigree in our No.15 Jack Daniel's Commodore." The Kelly brothers finished second at both Bathurst and Phillip Island the last time they teamed up in 2006 and two-time Bathurst winner Rick Kelly said the pair are confident of a good result.

"The endurance races have been a major focus for our team and Todd and I can't wait to team up again," he said. "When we ran together in 2006 we finished second at both enduros, so we've definitely got some unfinished business this year."

This year's endurance races begin with the Phillip Island 500 from September 11-13 before the Bathurst 1000 is held from October 8-11.

Keep a watching brief on Brawn GP, Australian Grand Prix

Jenson Button insists there is more to come from him and his team after leading home a Brawn GP one-two at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix. Button led from start to finish, despite two safety car periods, with Rubens Barrichello second in Melbourne.

The result was a remarkable one for Brawn GP, who become the first debut team to finish one-two since 1954, when Juan Manuel Fangio led home Karl Kling for Mercedes in the French Grand Prix.

Australian Grand Prix

From a betting perspective it is too early to tell whether Brawn GP are the Real Deal. It is worth waiting to see whether they can maintain this performance in Malaysia next weekend before having a bet on them to win the Constructors Championship, or Button the Drivers Championship.

The likes of McLaren Mercedes and Ferrari aren’t just going to disappear into thin air and will do everything they can to get back in the game.

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