NHRA HOPES PLAYOFF WILL PAY OFF.

Byline: TIM HADDOCK

MOTOR SPORTS

The way the NHRA has set up its six-race playoff called the Countdown, the entire season can come down to one race.

When Top Fuel driver Larry Dixon was asked if he thinks that's a flaw in the system, he said, "Ask Bill Belichick."

Belichick, the coach of the New England Patriots, lost to the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII and ruined a chance to become the first NFL team to complete an undefeated season since the 1972 Miami Dolphins.

"He has the absolute best season ever, better than the '72 Dolphins because they won more games in a row, and they had a bad second half and they're not the champions," said Dixon, a Van Nuys High graduate and driver for Don Prudhomme Racing.

The same thing happened to Dixon last year. He entered the last two races of the year with the lead in the Top Fuel standings and ended up in fourth place.

But he's not complaining.

"We didn't win a championship because we didn't perform," Dixon said. "It was not a deserving performance of a champion."

A few changes await drivers in the NHRA Powerade Drag Racing Series when it begins this weekend at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona.

The Countdown, the playoff system devised last year to determine the champions in the four national NHRA divisions, has been expanded. There will be one, six-race playoff and the field of drivers in each division will be 10 instead of eight.

Last year, the Countdown was a two-tier playoff consisting of a four-race first round and a two-race second round which culminated at Pomona in November.

"They couldn't have done a better job if they had asked me," NHRA Funny Car driver Jack Beckman of North Hills said about the changes. "That's exactly what I wanted them to do: more cars, more races for the Countdown."

Beckman is entering his second full season with Don Schumacher Racing. He qualified for the Countdown last year, but was knocked out before the second round began. He won two races and was fifth in the final NHRA Funny Car standings.

Tony Pedregon won the Funny Car championship last year, hanging on to his lead in the standings on the last day of the season.

The Countdown produced four tight races in the Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle championship standings. Tony Schumacher rallied on the last day of the season moving from fourth to first place to win his fourth straight Top Fuel championship. Jeg Coughlin moved into first place on the last day of the season to win the Pro Stock championship.

Expanding the playoffs to six races could make the chances of a blowout more likely, but Beckman doesn't see it that way. He said the new Countdown will provide a more "equitable" playoff.

The regular season will end Sept. 1 with the U.S. Nationals at Indianapolis and the top 10 drivers in each division will qualify for the Countdown. The first race of the playoffs will be the Carolinas Nationals at the new track in Charlotte, N.C., Sept. 11-14.

"Basically what we're doing is at Indy, we're throwing a caution flag," Beckman said. "Two races isn't enough to let the champion rise to the top."

Beckman was a victim of the Countdown format last year. He entered the races at Richmond, Va., the last race of the first round, as the third seed and left in fifth place. The top four drivers advanced to the second round of the Countdown.

Beckman said he likes having a one-round, six-race playoff.

"Having a six-race shootout means that you can stumble once, maybe even twice, and still be in contention at the end of the year," Beckman said. "I like everything they did."

He also doesn't seem to mind that the first race in the Countdown is at a track at which no one has raced.

"You got six races and it's brand new to everybody," Beckman said. "In Charlotte, nobody's even seen the racetrack. It doesn't exist yet. There is no advantage."

Cup drivers ready to shoot it out

Four NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers will be making their first start in the Budweiser Shootout on Saturday.

J.J. Yeley, the new driver of the No. 96 Toyota for Hall of Fame Racing, which is owned in part by former UCLA and NFL star Troy Aikman, is one of the four drivers who will be making his first start in the Shootout.

The field will consist of a record 23 drivers, made up of pole winners from 2007 and previous Shootout winners.

"I'm excited to be in the Budweiser Shootout," Yeley said. "It's my first time in the event and I know it's a pretty big deal, so I'm looking forward to it."

Martin Truex Jr., Clint Bowyer and Reed Sorenson are the other three drivers who will be in their first Shootout. The starting lineup will be determined by a random draw.

Truex and Bowyer qualified for the Chase, the 10-race playoff to determine the Cup champion, last year. Sorenson drives the No.41 Dodge for Chip Ganassi Racing.

Hall of Fame Racing is one of two teams using Toyota engines for the first time. Joe Gibbs Racing, with drivers Tony Stewart, Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch, is the other.

"It will give us a chance to get some extra track time in real drafting conditions in our DLP Toyota Camry," Yeley said. "It's a big event with a lot of history to it, so we'd like to have a good showing."

David Gilliland, the driver of the No. 38 Ford for Yates Racing who used to race at Irwindale Speedway when he was in the NASCAR West Series, qualified for the Shootout by winning the pole for last year's Daytona 500.

It was a promising start to an otherwise difficult season.

Gilliland's team lost its sponsorship and is in search of funding. Both teams for Yates Racing need sponsorship dollars.

Still Gilliland said he's excited to be part of the Shootout.

"It means a lot as far as getting an opportunity to get more experience with the new car at Daytona," Gilliland said. "I feel that earning a place to compete in the Budweiser Shootout is somewhat of an advantage since the race is a week before the Daytona 500. Not only is it helpful for the drivers, but it allows the teams to try certain things with the cars that they might not have been able to try at the Daytona 500."

CAPTION(S):

2 photos, box

Photo:

(1) Funny Car driver Jack Beckman of North Hills said he's happy with changes in the NHRA's playoff format.

Photo by Ron Lewis

(2) J.J. Yeley

Box:

Etc.