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INDIANAPOLIS (August 28, 2007) -- Jeff Arend entered the 2007 season as the newest driver of the blue Checker, Schuck's, Kragen Funny Car, and his goals were of the basic sort. He began the season knowing it was his responsibility to leave the line quickly, protect the car from damage, and give his team every chance to win rounds and, hopefully, win races. A spot in the Countdown playoff field would be great, and a POWERade Championship would be the ultimate, but for Arend and his blue-squad teammates, the goals were kept narrowed to each day, and each lap.
As he enters this weekend's Mac Tools U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis, the first race after the cut to eight Countdown teams, Arend knows a coveted spot in the playoffs is no longer an issue, but the same focus on each part of each lap remains, and his drive to win rounds and races remains at its peak. With six events remaining on the 2007 schedule, and the POWERade Championship no longer available, Arend and his crew are now moving on to the rest of the story, as they hope to muddy the playoff waters with big-time performance.
"From this point forward, the strategy gets a lot simpler, and I think we can just flat-out be more aggressive," Arend said. "There's no reason to count points and no reason to look ahead and figure we need X number of rounds in the next X number of races. We'll just enter every race with the first goal of securing a spot in the field, and once we do that we'll focus on round one. While the Countdown teams are worrying about every little thing, we can pretty much let it all hang out and go for it. We can test new tune-ups, try new things, and just set the car on 'Kill' if we want to. We're here to mess things up for everybody else, and I have a feeling we can be pretty good at that.
"We are absolutely capable of winning races, including the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals. We're proud to be a Mac Tools team, and my teammate, Del Worsham, has won this race for them. I haven't won a race since 1996, so do you think it would mean the world to me and the guys on this team if we were to go out there this weekend and win the big one?
You better believe it. It would be a dream come true."
Having fought hard to keep his career alive since he first hit the tour in 1995, Arend is well versed in the art of publicity and public relations. He knows how to create a good story and give a good interview, even though those encounters often happen just seconds after he has exited a 320 mph race car. He also knows the Countdown format will shift much of the focus to the teams involved in the playoff scenario, but that doesn't mean the Checker, Schuck's, Kragen team will be missing in action during the ESPN2 telecasts.
"Making the top eight was a big deal for all the teams that managed to do it, and we all knew from the beginning that those guys are going to get the biggest share of the TV time from here on out," Arend said. "If we were one of the eight, you know we'd be expecting to see our exposure and publicity ramp up, so that's fair enough, and when it comes to feature stories and pit interviews, those drivers will probably be on most of the time. But, once we get on the track, it's only about performance. Win rounds, and you'll be on TV more and more.
"We know if we win rounds, we'll get noticed. And if we can win races, the Countdown teams will all just have to look at us and wonder where all their TV time went. That would be a great accomplishment for a group like ours, if we could keep those guys from earning the points they all need, while we also grab their TV exposure by winning the race. I wouldn't feel bad about that at all."
It is the basic beauty of the sport of drag racing. It's one-on-one, winner take all. Great story lines are wonderful, and behind-the-scenes features are great, but even in High Definition color, there's something completely "black & white" about being able to spoil the party with a fast race car. Jeff Arend plans on being a major pest for the rest of the season, as he gets ready to start the rest of the story.
"THE REST OF THE STORY" BEGINS THIS WEEKEND FOR AREND
INDIANAPOLIS (August 28, 2007) -- Jeff Arend entered the 2007 season as the newest driver of the blue Checker, Schuck's, Kragen Funny Car, and his goals were of the basic sort. He began the season knowing it was his responsibility to leave the line quickly, protect the car from damage, and give his team every chance to win rounds and, hopefully, win races. A spot in the Countdown playoff field would be great, and a POWERade Championship would be the ultimate, but for Arend and his blue-squad teammates, the goals were kept narrowed to each day, and each lap.
As he enters this weekend's Mac Tools U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis, the first race after the cut to eight Countdown teams, Arend knows a coveted spot in the playoffs is no longer an issue, but the same focus on each part of each lap remains, and his drive to win rounds and races remains at its peak. With six events remaining on the 2007 schedule, and the POWERade Championship no longer available, Arend and his crew are now moving on to the rest of the story, as they hope to muddy the playoff waters with big-time performance.
"From this point forward, the strategy gets a lot simpler, and I think we can just flat-out be more aggressive," Arend said. "There's no reason to count points and no reason to look ahead and figure we need X number of rounds in the next X number of races. We'll just enter every race with the first goal of securing a spot in the field, and once we do that we'll focus on round one. While the Countdown teams are worrying about every little thing, we can pretty much let it all hang out and go for it. We can test new tune-ups, try new things, and just set the car on 'Kill' if we want to. We're here to mess things up for everybody else, and I have a feeling we can be pretty good at that.
"We are absolutely capable of winning races, including the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals. We're proud to be a Mac Tools team, and my teammate, Del Worsham, has won this race for them. I haven't won a race since 1996, so do you think it would mean the world to me and the guys on this team if we were to go out there this weekend and win the big one?
You better believe it. It would be a dream come true."
Having fought hard to keep his career alive since he first hit the tour in 1995, Arend is well versed in the art of publicity and public relations. He knows how to create a good story and give a good interview, even though those encounters often happen just seconds after he has exited a 320 mph race car. He also knows the Countdown format will shift much of the focus to the teams involved in the playoff scenario, but that doesn't mean the Checker, Schuck's, Kragen team will be missing in action during the ESPN2 telecasts.
"Making the top eight was a big deal for all the teams that managed to do it, and we all knew from the beginning that those guys are going to get the biggest share of the TV time from here on out," Arend said. "If we were one of the eight, you know we'd be expecting to see our exposure and publicity ramp up, so that's fair enough, and when it comes to feature stories and pit interviews, those drivers will probably be on most of the time. But, once we get on the track, it's only about performance. Win rounds, and you'll be on TV more and more.
"We know if we win rounds, we'll get noticed. And if we can win races, the Countdown teams will all just have to look at us and wonder where all their TV time went. That would be a great accomplishment for a group like ours, if we could keep those guys from earning the points they all need, while we also grab their TV exposure by winning the race. I wouldn't feel bad about that at all."
It is the basic beauty of the sport of drag racing. It's one-on-one, winner take all. Great story lines are wonderful, and behind-the-scenes features are great, but even in High Definition color, there's something completely "black & white" about being able to spoil the party with a fast race car. Jeff Arend plans on being a major pest for the rest of the season, as he gets ready to start the rest of the story.
