Wednesday, 9 a.m.
“Whoa, boy, look at that! All the way up on the bumper for Gary Emmons, an incredible wheelstand. Emmons had to pedal that thing; the car was vertical….. ”
From the tower at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, the patented enthusiasm of announcer Brian Lohnes projected what we were all feeling as we watched the first of the Emmons Motorsports entries take to the track at the 71st annual Cornwell Quality Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals. This team knows Indy well, from heartbreaking losses to unimaginable and exceedingly joyful victories. They personally recognize the possibility promised by these hallowed grounds, and everything within the team’s preparation for this esteemed event came with that thought in mind.
Watching the back bumper of her fiancé’s FS/A Mustang rub the racing surface as her beloved caught an extended glimpse of sky sent Alyson’s head shaking, even as she held the camera steady to capture every second of the team’s first pass of the week. It was an impressive sight, but it was not the intended performance.
For as high as that wheelstand was, the eagerness of the veteran team to extract the most out of Indy was even higher. Finding the balance between simply getting down the racetrack and being aggressive enough to battle for coveted class trophies and the Indy win proved enormous.
In Super Stock, this time in his SS/DA ’69 Camaro, Gary pulled yet another startling wheels-up on the launch. Back in the well-kempt Emmons Motorsports Racing pit where vibrant Lucas Oil branding reigns supreme, Gary mirrored Alyson’s response, shaking his head from side-to-side.
“I’m not sure yet what happened, but I’m going to be very upset if it happens again,” he said as he began the work of first diagnosing the problem and then preparing the cars for the second round of qualifying.
The first two sessions were critical as they would allow the team to gather information for class eliminations, one of the key targets for racers in Stock or Super Stock at the U.S. Nationals. At the conclusion of the day, Landon Emmons — son of Harvey “Speedy” Emmons and the youngest member of the team — was leading the A/SA class at -1.002 under the index, while Jerry (-1.044 under) and Speedy’s oldest son Will (-.0964) were respectively second and seventh in B/SA qualifying out of 12 entries.
Gary, still trying to tame the beast, had not yet gotten the best out of his FS/A Mustang, but he knew well of its potential. The same held true for the seasoned racer in Super Stock; Gary’s SS/DA Camaro was No. 3 out of three, while Jerry was No. 2 of three in GT/EA class qualifying driving his ’05 Cavalier.
Thursday, 7:45 a.m.
Beneath the blue awning, California Car Covers are peeled off of the six muscle cars beneath the bold red Lucas Oil lettering on the side of the Emmons Motorsports race trailer. The air is crisp — it’s 57° Fahrenheit with patches of blue sky peering from behind a whisp of gray and white clouds — but the ice is already in the cooler, waiting to chill the engines ahead of class eliminations.
The energy throughout the pits is a barely controlled frenzy, the hush of early morning at the racetrack increasingly displaced by the roar of Stockers revving up for round one of the most highly anticipated races all season. The unmistakable tension isn’t just in the Emmons Motorsports pit, it swells from every corner of the grounds. The first trophies are up for grabs at The Big Go.
The Emmons men and their crew are deftly maneuvering amongst one another as they complete last minute preparations, finally soaking up and extracting the last remnants of ice and dry ice before heading just around the corner to the staging lanes, where Stockers have been stacked to the gills since the bell rang.
With a bye run as the quickest in his class, Landon holds the least concern, and he’s first to the line for the team. His solid 9.958 is -1.042 under the index, but it is not the quickest of the class. He knows he’ll have his work cut out for him in the second round, no matter who is in the other lane.
A couple pairs later, Will slows from his qualifying best and Jim Boudreau gets the nod. Soon after, Gary’s 8.801 is a much-welcomed best of the weekend and comes in handy to defeat Melanie Cox. Gary will race Corey Hopkins in the semifinals of FS/A; Hopkins had a bye this round and did not record a time. True to form, Jerry lingers at the back taking note of the scene and is the caboose of the Emmons Motorsports train. The position is amplified as he has to wait through an extended rain delay for his match with Paul Stalba, and when weather clears, the first-year Stock racer is red by -.031. Jerry is also a touch too quick and is -.009 red behind him, but claims the ticket to race Bobby Brannon (who went 10.486 in his match) in the next round. Landon is set to square off with multi-time champ Jimmy DeFrank in A/SA, whose 9.898 was a bit quicker than his own 9.958.
Super Stock did not produce a win light for the team, but they utilized the round to gather important information that will be applied in the main event.
Thursday, 6:00 p.m.
The day has stretched long, and round two of class eliminations for Stock are finally on deck. Excitement ramps up all over again, but it’s immediate heartbreak for Gary as a bit of fluid on the starting line below his Mustang means he’s pushed back and not allowed to make the run. Hopkins advances in FS/A, and the mean little gremlin sitting on Gary’s shoulder continues to inexplicably bare its teeth in a wicked grin.
Landon and Jerry line up on the right side of the track to meet their respective opponents, with the youngest of the brood just one pair ahead of his uncle. Eager and with a fast opponent in the other lane, Landon moves -.002 too soon, and the foul start sends DeFrank ahead. Luck shifts in the next pair as Jerry’s opponent, Bobby Brannon is -.003 red. The team returns to the pit to prepare for the semifinals as the sun begins to set over Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.
Two hours later, we’re headed back up to the lanes for the most compelling round yet. Friend and fellow competitor Doug Lambeck found himself in need ahead of the U.S. Nationals, and the engine beneath the hood of his bright orange B/SA ’69 Camaro is actually Jerry’s back-up motor. The fact that the two are now running each other with a class final on the line isn’t lost on anyone in either camp. While they both want the significant title dearly, they’ve agreed that they’ll go head-to-head honestly, and whomever wins will have the support of the other for the final.
Lambeck leaves first and has the upper hand as they spar all the way down the track, and the win light flashes in his lane. An Emmons Motorsports car will not leave with the class trophy today, but the exemplary spirit of Forrest Lucas was shining as a great race played out, and Harvey II — Pops to the Emmons brothers — was surely smiling down as he saw his boys follow through with true sportsmanship when it mattered most.
At 9:47 p.m., Lambeck rolls to the starting line to race for the B/SA class trophy next to Jim Boudreau, with the whole of Emmons Motorsports behind him in support. There is more on the line than a trophy; a storybook ending is waiting to be written as Lambeck’s father, doorslammer legend Bob Lambeck, passed earlier this year. Respected racer Boudreau gets the happier ending this time, though, and the Emmons Motorsports Racing team trucks back to camp to roll the car covers back into place.
Saturday, 8:00 a.m.
Friday is an off day for the Stock and Super Stock crowd, but eliminations for the main event dawn bright and early. The sound of Stockers warming up pierce through the quiet of dawn of another beautiful U.S. Nationals day, and before too very long, designated pairs are called to the lanes to kick off round one.
It’s a tick in the win column for Emmons Motorsports as Gary is off the starting line clean next to a red-lighting Jim Schaechter. Landon is a very nice .013 when he hits the tree a few pairs later, but Melanie Cox gets a little revenge from her first-round loss to Gary in class as she’s a perfect .000 to win this round. Thomas Mace goes red next to Will, who is a strong .013 on the launch, and then Jerry closes out qualifying in the second-to-last pair with a cool .019 reaction and 10.278 on his 10.26 to Rusty Hall’s .041 and 10.078 on a 10.07. The margin of victory in favor of Emmons is only .012-second, but a fraction of a second is all that is needed to make or break in the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series.
Gary continues the positive upswing and drives his SS/DA Lucas Oil Camaro off the line with a .011 reaction in the first round of Super Stock, closing the deal with a 9.573 on his 9.52 to Don O’Malley’s .109 and 9.752 on a 9.68. Jerry is also in good form in his GT/EA Cavalier, and he’s closer to the tree than Eric Reed to get the nod. Reed is red by -.066, and Jerry is a near-perfect -.005 for the win. In the next round of Super Stock, fortune turns mean for the Emmons, but their Stock Eliminator story is still going strong.
It’s 9:30 p.m. before the second round of Stock begins, and after a full day of wait, Gary is somehow still sharp in his FS/A Mustang. His .026 at the tree is a big hit to Rylie Trumble’s .096, but in the dark of the finish line stripe and with the sound of a series of whomps carrying through the crisp night air, Trumble claims the win by a slim .005-second.
Will’s opponent, Michael Wood, is .008 at the tree, and that is a blow that cannot be overcome. Wood advances. Later, Caleb McFarland’s red light in his A/S Firebird sends Jerry ahead to the third round uncontested and with a Lucas Oil Camaro that is positively itching to win.
Sunday, 8:30 a.m.
To have a pair of win lights behind him in the Stock Eliminator category is motivating, and 2021 world champion Jerry has proven in the past that he knows how to win Indy. In fact, the U.S. Nationals has hosted several special wins for the team in the past. In 1994, Jerry earned the team’s first Indy win with a final-round victory over Gary Bowers. In 2020, the Emmons pulled off an incredible double at the U.S. Nationals, with Terry winning Super Stock and Jerry claiming a second Stock Eliminator title. Additional final rounds on drag racing’s most historic stage include final rounds for Gary (2021) and two more for Jerry (1999 and 2018).
Things seem to be falling their way, but early on Sunday, on another unusually cool Indy morning, Jerry goes wheels way, way up and comes down straddling the centerline next to Chris Hall. Averting his opponent, Jerry pulls back into his own lane – but the final word has been written. A centerline infraction assures his opponent the win, and the last chapter for the 2025 U.S. Nationals is in the books for the team that poured heart and soul and horsepower into the Indy dream.
It’s an odd feeling, to be so filled with emotion and intention for so many days, only to have it all come crashing down, quite literally, in the span of a few seconds. No driver comes to Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park looking to leave before the final pair has been run, but in the end, there are only ever two in one category racing for glory on Monday afternoon at this revered race, and only one will be handed the hardware at the end of the track. Tears threaten to flow in either instance. It’s The Big Go.
Every Indy experience is a story, some memorable for all the right reasons, others for reasons that aren’t quite so shiny. For the Emmons Motorsports Racing team, this season’s event was one marked by brilliant bursts of excitement, valued companionship and camaraderie, times of challenge, periods of great gratitude, and moments misfortune. Whether good or bad, the Indy experience leaves a mark. But this race is just one chapter — albeit a big one — in any season.
The next chapter is soon to be written, and then the next, and the next.
That, as they say, is racing.
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