Jeff Arend: “Big names DNQ every week, just ask John Force and Tommy Johnson”
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Memphis
Sep 11, 2007
Team CSK
Arend Brings New Goals, Old Aspirations, To Memphis
Jeff Arend, driver of the blue Checker, Schuck’s, Kragen Impala Funny Car, has won only once on the NHRA POWERade tour since earning his license in 1995. For him to enter any race with the goal of rekindling the indescribable feelings of elation that washed over him when he took home the Wally at the 1996 Reading race is not only nothing new, it can be fully expected. This year, however, as he heads into the final five races on the schedule, he has a second target in his sights, and it is still well within his reach. Jeff Arend, who currently sits 12th on the points list, wants to finish the season in the POWERade Top 10.
As he readies for this weekend’s O’Reilly Mid-South Nationals in Memphis, Arend can look at the points sheet and see the horizon. Kenny Bernstein, who currently holds on to the 10th spot on the list, is only 15 points ahead of Arend and his CSK Chevy. Tommy Johnson, who is between the two and in 11th place, is only seven points ahead of Arend. With competition as tough as Bernstein and Johnson ahead of him, while the likes of Ashley Force, Cruz Pedregon, and Tim Wilkerson are nipping at his heels from below, Arend could feel a bit hemmed in. Instead, he is only looking forward.
“We are looking forward, absolutely, and our plan is to keep qualifying well and win some rounds, plain and simple, “ Arend said. “If we do that, and hold up our end of the bargain, the points thing will sort itself out, and maybe we’ll get around these two tough teams ahead of us. As for the teams behind us, well they’re all very tough too, so we just need to keep the pressure on them by winning rounds.
“I’ve never finished better than 16th in my career, so you better believe I want to finish as high as I can this year. Even though we didn’t make the 8-car Countdown, there’s still a lot of pride attached to being part of the Top 10, and all of us want to finish strong in order to do that. One way to really get a leg up on the 10th spot would be to win a race before the year is over. It’s been a long time since I won the Reading race, almost exactly 11 years actually, but I have no problem remembering every minute of it. After what happened in Indy, it would be the ultimate to come right back in Memphis to win it all. “
What “happened” to Arend in Indy was a classic “good news/bad news” tale. On the good side, he earned his first career No. 1 qualifying spot, at the biggest race of the year. It was a thrill of a special magnitude, and an experience Arend will also never forget. On the bad side, he was simply outrun by No. 16 qualifier Jon Capps in round one, and his Indy weekend ended with a thud, rather than with the “pop” of a champagne cork.
“Qualifying at the top of this incredible Funny Car class, at the biggest race of the season, was a huge deal for all of us, but it didn’t earn us any automatic round wins or anything, “ Arend said. “We knew (tuner) Paul Smith would give Capps a good car in round one, so we were prepared for a tight race, but they got there first and we lost. We ran well, and we could have really had a huge day there, but every car in every race can win, and they beat us.
“In Memphis, I don’t really care where we qualify, as long as we make the show. Big names DNQ every week, just ask John Force and Tommy Johnson about Indy, so our number one priority is to be in the top 16. After that, any car can win, so why not us? Winning Memphis would be gigantic for me, as a driver, and for our whole team, as we try to earn that 10th spot on the list. It would all be huge. “
Such a win would refresh memories Arend has been carrying for 11 years, while it would also vault his team toward their current goal. It would be a marriage of a sort, joining two distinct but intertwined ambitions into one major event. Something old, something new, and for Arend, it could all be done in something blue, as in that beautiful blue CSK Chevy.
