Motor Racing / Steven Fleischman : Prudhomme Makes Tracks to Join Leaders in Funny Car Standings

After a one-year absence, Don Prudhomme, the winningest funny car driver in National Hot Rod Assn. history, is back in form.

The Granada Hills resident became the first NHRA driver this season to win two events when he defeated Bruce Larson of Dauphin, Pa., last Sunday in the Summernationals at Old English Township Raceway Park in New Jersey. It was his second consecutive win.

Prudhomme, driving a Pontiac Trans Am, had an elapsed time of 5.419 seconds and reached a top speed of 257.95 m.p.h., beating Larson’s time of 5.637 seconds in an Oldsmobile Cutlass. Prudhomme defeated Dale Pulde of Sylmar in the semifinals.

“Things are starting to come together for me,” said the 47-year-old Prudhomme. “The car, the crew, everybody is starting to work well together. We’ve been on this project over a year and a half and it’s been a long struggle back from the layoff in 1986. We’re right back up there again.”

The win was the 37th national win for Prudhomme, who beat Mark Oswald of Cincinnati on July 3 in St. Pie, Canada. Prudhomme is fourth in points with 5,214, trailing Oswald’s 6,106. Pulde is ninth with 2,650.

In 1978, Prudhomme won his fourth consecutive NHRA funny-car world championship, but went winless in 1984 and 1985. After having his corporate sponsorship taken away, Prudhomme sat out the 1986 season, then won one race in 1987.

Now he’s enjoying every win as if it was his first.

“If you’ve been doing it as long as I have, each win is a big deal,” he said. “They get harder and harder to win. . . . It felt like my rookie year.”

Neighbors: When Larry Krieger needs racing tips, he doesn’t have far to look.

Krieger’s next door neighbor, Dave Blankenship, was last year’s points leader in the Hobby Stock division at Saugus Speedway. This year, Blankenship has moved up to the Street Stock division where he is the current leader, a rarity for a driver new to a division.

“Before I met Dave, I didn’t know how to use a wrench,” Krieger said. “He’s helped get me started and he’s been sort of like a big brother since.”

The two met five years ago when Krieger went to work for Blankenship. They became neighbors just over a year ago.

“I basically give him tips on setting up the chassis and things like that to get ready from week to week,” Blankenship said. “Just tips on what to do to make the car run better.”

This season, however, Krieger hasn’t needed much help. Despite having a one-week suspension and a win taken away for illegal tires, Krieger remains the Hobby Stock points leader in three categories: Friday night oval, figure 8 and Saturday night combined.

Krieger has had it so easy in the division he says he will be moving up to at least the Street Stock level next year. Along with Blankenship, he ultimately would like to ascend to the Sportsman division, but may not have the necessary money.

Krieger’s climb to the top of the points standings has been rapid. Last year he finished fourth and was selected Rookie of the Year. He has improved so dramatically that fellow drivers have taken to watching him closely--particularly after his suspension. An inspection of his engine earlier this season yielded no improprieties, however.

“That’s the kind of thing that goes with the territory,” Blankenship said. “When you’re on top, certain people want to use the excuse that you’re there because you’re cheating. The same thing happened to me last year.”

Sportsman: Richard DeLong Jr. would have been better off staying in bed last Saturday.

DeLong, second in points in the Sportsman division, started the day by crashing his car into the first turn at Saugus Speedway during a practice lap when his throttle stuck. The entire front end and suspension had to be replaced.

“I ache in places I didn’t know existed,” said Delong, three days after the accident. “They told me they felt my crash in the blockhouse. They’ve never felt it there before.”

According to DeLong, the problem occured because he loaned his car to Saugus Speedway for the Winston Cup Race of Champions July 9. The track needed to provide 10 cars for the race. DeLong says that when he got the carburetor back, it was not adjusted properly.

DeLong managed to qualify for the main event using his spare car. Carburetor problems, however, forced him out of a heat race and then the main event.

“When it rains it pours,” Delong said. “We destroyed our first car, then we couldn’t get our second car to run.”

After he and his crew worked more than 300 man hours on the car, DeLong pulled into the pits Saturday five minutes before the heat races began and managed to finish the main event. The car he used happened to be the last one Bobby Allison--who suffered serious injuries in a crash June 19 in Pennsylvania--has driven to victory.

Odds and Ends: Erik Kehoe of Granada Hills won the 125cc race of the Bel-Ray National motocross in Delmont, Pa., on July 17. After 9 of the 12 scheduled events, Kehoe is second in the American Motorcyclist Assn. standings with 349 points, behind George Holland’s 384. . . Sepulveda’s Roman Calczynski won the Coors Light 100 All-American Challenge Series stock car event July 23 at Roseville, Calif. He is second in money won ($14,054) in the Motorcraft/Trak Auto 300 Southwest Tour.