FanHouse Lap Around: NHRA

Need a quick tour of the racing world? Strap in today and come back later this week as FH takes a lap around Formula One, NASCAR and the NHRA. IndyCar fans, you'll have to wait until 2009 truly gets moving.

Before you start, yes, I'll acknowledge that 'lap around' doesn't quite fit with drag racing's fire-em-down-the-strip style of racing.

But come on, does a stunning brunette who actually wins in this rough and tumble sport of speed, fire and guts truly fit drag racing's mantra?

You bet not, and that's a big part of the reason why the NHRA is racing that you need to be watching.

Already five weeks into their 2009 schedule, the season is off to its usually quick start. And as is usual, Tony Schumacher is showing that his U.S. Army team is still the class of the Top Fuel field.

A lot of questions surrounded Schumacher's ride in 2009 after legendary crew chief Alan Johnson left to work with a new team in Top Fuel, and most of them assumed 'The Sarge' couldn't continue his current run of five-straight season championships.

Well, Schumacher has so far gotten the better end of that deal after beating Johnson's driver Larry Dixon in the semi-finals at the season's fourth event in Houston, Tex. at the end of March. Schumacher ended up winning that event as well as the following race in Las Vegas, but the sweetest gain had to be knowing that he beat Dixon & Co. in a holeshot win.

[A holeshot, you may be wondering, happens when the winning driver wins the drag race after running a slower elapsed time but beats his opponent out of the starting line. It's essentially the best test of driver v. driver available in drag racing]

Dixon, though, saw victory lane in the previous event as have former pro stock motorcycle racer Antron Brown and Doug Kalitta.

On the Funny Car side of things, not only has Ashley Force Hood -- yep, the daughter of Funny Car legend John Force got hitched over the offseason -- backed up her first career national event win a year ago with a final round title in Houston, but Ron Capps has enjoyed a nice resurgence after a winless season a year ago.

Capps, as NASCAR fans might know best, appears opposite of Sprint Cup driver Michael Waltrip in the latest series of commercials for NAPA Auto Parts after signing a new contract with the sponsor for 2009. The deal has paid dividends with Capps going to victory lane in three of the five events hosted so far.

Surely, that's not too bad for a guy who hadn't won since 2007.

On the pro stock side of things, Jeg Coughlin Jr. leads the point standings by just 12 markers over Jason Line with Mike Edwards and Greg Anderson further back. Both Coughlin and Line have taken home two national event wins this season.

The Pro Stock motorcycles, meanwhile, have only competed twice in 2009 with Hector Arana and Craig Treble heading to victory lane.