Magically the brackets flashed, burning like fire: Five vs. 12! Five vs. 12! The desert shootout – father vs. daughter, John Force vs. Courtney Force – was on.
Before the end of the last qualifying session, the duel of the young year loomed large: 15-time Funny Car champion John Force staging his Castrol Mustang for the first time against his rookie daughter, Courtney, in round one of eliminations. ESPN2 called it "the marquee matchup."
Some fans called it luck in the O.K. Bracket Corral.
That this round developed at all began with the slight improvement Force made in his last qualifying round's elapsed time, with Courtney's Traxxas Mustang in the other lane. He leapt five spots to fourth while her engine faltered, sealing the slot at No. 12.
The possibility they could meet inched slightly closer as qualifying wound down.
In the next pair, teammate Mike Neff's No. 11 qualified Castrol GTX Mustang surged to No. 2, leaping over Force's Mustang, which dropped him one notch to the fifth slot. The Traxxas Mustang remained in the No. 12 position.
ESPN2 must have sent Neff a case of Full Throttle in thanks for causing this to happen as suddenly this race broadcast stepped up to another level, covering this round created in bracket heaven.
The qualifying broadcast opened in Rawhide, Ariz., with lead commentator Paul Page and analyst Mike Dunn looking cowboy-sharp, wandering down the wooden sidewalk in short-sleeved black shirts. Page noted, "Force wins Winternationals, he goes on to win championships." Dunn replied, "He has focus, winning on a holeshot at Winternationals."
Questions remained in the class as Cruz Pedregon's Toyota still remained outside the qualified 16, in danger of sitting out a second race in a row. Page asked the odds of winning the 2012 championship after failing to qualify in the first two races: Dunn responded that only Jeg Coughlin Jr. had accomplished that feat.
Later during eliminations he further added, incredibly, "(Coughlin) is the only pro who has won from every qualifying position."
Pedregon's crew sported the black Snap-On shirts voted best by their Facebook fans, featuring the eye-grabbing line on the back: "Funny Car, Serious Tools"
Eliminations opened with a feature on Spencer Massey's dashed 2011 Top Fuel championship hopes when he failed to make Arizona's field during the Countdown to the Championship, likely costing him the title. Though the race is now scheduled back to the second race of the year vs. near the end, the broadcast wondered how well Massey's team would do. Qualifying a respectable fourth and a strong first-round (one of the quickest in the class history) indicated more.
But it didn't happen. The next round win by eventual race champion Antron Brown's Matco Tools dragster was never in doubt.
Page observed, "Morgan Lucas (piloting his GEICO Top Fuel dragster) came to play in the desert." Once again, Lucas and former teammate Shawn Langdon, now an Al-Anabi Racing, driver met in round two in another of the broadcast's key matchups.
Lucas blasted a major fireball garnering replay after replay. "Lit her up big time," was Dunn's analysis. Later, viewers were treated to a dissection of the destructed parts, including the blown head gasket along with destroyed lifters, the culprits in the big explosion.
Matt Hagan's Aaron's Charger – "Manhandling a Funny Car is definitely an adrenalin drive," he said – entered the doomed "shake zone," as Dunn named it. Hagan expertly pedaled but still lost to Todd Lesenko's Tap It Brewing Impala.
"For two races in a row," Page explained, "the defending champion has failed to advance out of the first round. I can't even begin to imagine his frustration."
While these and other rounds are happening, though, viewers are kept up-to-date with the marquee matchup contenders and their every move. Page says of Force, "The grand champion is back," while Dave Rieff reminded the audience, "He has won eight of these at Firebird."
Laurie Force humorously explained, "Courtney is more like her dad, unfortunately for the both of them." Ashley Force-Hood, while holding baby Jacob, was asked her advice to Courtney: "I told her not to let dad get in your head."
The young rookie seemed a seasoned pro when she said, "If I can kick his butt, I will. It's always going to be tough racing my dad."
ESPN2 then cued the 2007 race where Force-Hood surprisingly won her first pairing with dad.
The 2012 version of father vs. daughter resembled 2007's in that the result was in quickly. Force was late at the line, and, "Oh, he has a cylinder out," Dunn quickly recognized.
"Just like with Ashley, Courtney beats her dad," said the dejected champion.
"I'm mad at our approach, not Courtney ... the oil on the track, the sun came out." No doubt to most viewers he harbored major frustration in losing to his daughter. He had just reminded viewers, "I've got the points lead."
Maybe something more was going on. Note Dunn's remark, "I like what Courtney said. She made him go in first, and he doesn't like to do that," implying a competitiveness that she happily expressed before and after the run.
"That was amazing," Dunn surmised after viewing her taped replay multiple times, "and in bad track conditions." There was no cutting Jacob's grandfather any slack with this new Force in town.
Perhaps the advice Force-Hood offered should have been shared with her father: "Don't let (Courtney) get in your head."
Pedregon and Ron Capp's NAPA entry raced one of the most exhilarating laps of the day, "Back and forth!" noted Page, as Capps edged ahead for the 13-inch victory at 301 mph.
A feature had Dunn breaking down the elements of a holeshot win, choosing Force's Winternationals victory just one week ago over Neff. Using film and graphics, he calculated the mathematics of the win, a .004 second victory or how Neff could run a 4.036 and lose.
A history of Warren Johnson was included in the show, including a 1971 picture of his first year drag racing, 1971: "Having fun 41 years ago; still fun." Dunn added that between Johnson and his son, Kurt, they have 137 wins.
Clay Millican put his MPE Motorsports dragster into the semifinals with a snappy RT, talking on his radio, "I was driving like John Force out there!" Gary Gerould asked him, "What's that mean?" and Millican answered just like Force, "It's gonna be great."
In all three finals, the point was poignantly made that teammates comprised the final pairings, a rare occurrence.
In the Pro Stock category, the Summit Pontiacs raced against one another for the 19th time. As Jason Line tunes Greg Anderson's car, Gary Gerould asked him what number he would be aiming for. Without missing a beat he joked, "Oh, about a 14."
Instead, Anderson ran a 6.57, losing to Line's 6.558.
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