Alderman Grabs Provisional No. 1

TELEVISION TIMES: (ALL TIMES EASTERN)
QUALIFYING:    Sat., May 25; 5:30-7:30 p.m.; ESPN2
FINAL ROUND:   Sun., May 26; 3:00­ 6:00 p.m.; ESPN (Live)
FINAL ROUND:  Sun., May 26; 8:30-10:20 p.m. (Rebroadcast)
REPEAT:        Fri., May 31; 4-6 a.m.; ESPN2

TOPEKA, Kan. -- Mopar Motorsports NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series teams
completed the first day of qualifying for this weekend¹s O¹Reilly Summer
Nationals at Heartland Park Topeka.

NOTABLE: Darrell Alderman is going for his first No. 1 qualifier since the
October race here at Heartland Park Topeka. The three-time POWERade Pro
Stock World Champion is going for his 24th career top qualifier.

For the third-straight NHRA national event, rain cancelled the second-round
of qualifying.

The following are notes and quotes from today¹s qualifying activity.

DEAN SKUZA, driver of the Mopar Parts Dodge Stratus R/T

Dean Skuza smoked the tires and failed to make a complete pass in the first
round of qualifying activity today. The Brecksville, Ohio resident hopes
improved weather conditions will help tomorrow.

³The track had a pretty narrow groove,² Skuza said. ³We¹ll be okay. We have
a real strong team and we¹ve been running a lot better as of late. We found
something in the clutch back in Atlanta and our improvement is starting to
carry over.²

GENE WILSON, driver of the Mopar Parts Dodge Neon R/T

Mopar Parts Dodge Neon R/T driver Gene Wilson squeaked into the field in the
14th position. Wilson, 29, ran a 6.929-second lap at 199.29 mph.

³When you¹re in, you are in,² Wilson said. ³I know its not where we want to
be, but when ever you make a complete run in the first session it¹s a
positive. We can look at the numbers and see how we can improve the
situation.²

LARRY MORGAN, driver of the Mopar Parts Dodge Neon R/T

Larry Morgan logged the 17th-quickest lap of the session with a lap of 6.945
seconds at 198.96 mph. The Newark, Ohio resident spoke of the run.

³We definitely have a lot of power out there,² Morgan said. ³The car was a
little loose and I think it cost us a little, but we should be okay for
tomorrow.²

DARRELL ALDERMAN, driver of the Mopar Parts Dodge Neon R/T

Darrell Alderman powered his Mopar Parts Dodge Neon R/T to the provisional
No. 1 qualifying slot with a 6.882-second elapsed time at 199.61 mph. The
Morehead, Ky., resident talked about his day.

³It felt like a different car out there,² said Alderman, who missed the race
in Englishtown (N.J) due to mechanical woes. ³We had a shock box problem in
Englishtown. The car was actually leaving the starting line in the soft
position of the shocks. It just felt awesome out there then. We made a clean
run that time. 

³There are a lot of fast cars out there that didn¹t make a run,² Alderman
continued. ³We¹ll be satisfied to be qualified when the four sessions are
over. I think everybody is concerned when there aren¹t ideal conditions out
there and the groove is really narrow. My car left good and straight and
there were no problems. The key is to keep it in the groove and leave well
in first and second gear. The car in front of me ­ Jeg (Coughlin) ­ went to
the left and that just messes the whole run up.²