NHRA NATIONALS - Morgan Strong in First Day of Qualifying

Mopar Motorsports
NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series
Lucas Oil Products NHRA Nationals ­ Pacific Raceways
Notes & Quotes ­ July 26, 2002

TELEVISION TIMES: (ALL TIMES EASTERN)
QUALIFYING:    Sat., July 27; 8-10 p.m.; ESPN
FINAL ROUND:    Sun., July 28; 5­6 p.m.; ESPN
FINAL ROUND:    Sun., July 28; 8-10 p.m.; ESPN2

MORRISON, Colo. -- Mopar Motorsports NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series teams
completed the first day of qualifying for this weekend¹s Lucas Oil Products
NHRA Nationals at Pacific Raceways.

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

Tricky track conditions played havoc with Dean Skuza and the Mopar Parts
Dodge Stratus R/T Nitro Funny Car. The Brecksville, Ohio, resident took the
provisional 15th slot with a 7.582-second elapsed time, despite not making a
full pass yet this weekend.

³We just had a little bit too much clutch on it on that first run,² said
Lance Larsen, co-crew chief for Skuza Motorsports. ³Apparently we broke the
blower drive on that second run. It was on a very, very good run; and then
it just stopped. We had a brand new supercharger and blower drive on it.
It¹s just disgusting.²

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

Gene Wilson, driver of the Mopar Parts Dodge Neon R/T, missed the top 16
with a 6.916-second elapsed time at 200.35 mph. Wilson talked about his
disappointing start to the weekend.

³I was a little unlucky to run during the rain out there,² said Wilson, who
was the first car to qualify in a rain-plagued second session. ³My car made
a good hit on the second pass. I pulled it out of low gear way to early on
that run. I think we have a good tune up for tomorrow. We didn¹t have any
trouble with the track. There was just a little driver error in that second
run. We knocked a hole in the oil pan in the staging lanes and was unable to
make our first pass.²

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

Larry Morgan is giddy with anticipation. And for good reason, as the veteran
Mopar Parts Dodge Neon R/T Pro Stock driver collected the provisional 12th
slot. Morgan clicked off a 6.866-second elapsed time at 200.83 mph.

³The car is working well out here this weekend.² Morgan said. ³We found some
things in the motor that were obviously hurting us. We feel that we have
brought the car around now. I¹m just real happy with what we run today. I
don¹t know what will happen tomorrow, but just to be in at this point, we
couldn¹t do any better.

³I think I¹m running real fast for our runs,² Morgan continued. ³Down track
it jumps all over the place though. I think we may have found some of our
problems. We¹re within a hundredth of being real, real fast. I guess you
can¹t do any more than that when you¹re dealing with the crazy maniacs were
racing with.²

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

Darrell Alderman and the Mopar Parts Dodge Neon R/T grabbed the provisional
14th slot with a 6.871-second lap at 201.04 mph. The three-time POWERade Pro
Stock World Champion improved over a slow first round elapsed time.

³We¹re finally making some headway here,² said Alderman, who set a national
speed record here last season. ³The track was pretty wet out there. We feel
like that we can run a couple of hundredths quicker. And hopefully we can
pick up more in the morning.

³The track really felt pretty good on the first run,² Alderman added. ³When
it was raining, it didn¹t feel very good. We¹re hoping for no rain tomorrow
morning and see what we can come up with.²

GREG STANFIELD, driver of the DBP Motorsports Dodge Neon R/T

The Hemi-powered DBP Motorsports Dodge Neon R/T sits in the 19th slot after
the first day of qualifying. Driver Greg Stanfield, who surprised everyone
last weekend with a strong semifinal performance at the Mopar Parts
Mile-High Nationals, ran a 6.885-second elapsed time at 198.99 mph during
the first session today.

³That was about the ugliest run that I¹ve ever made,² said Stanfield on his
6.90-second lap in the second session. ³The graph shows that we made a
pretty bad run. We just have to regroup and see if we can¹t get the clutch
and gear ratio right. What we need right now is more sea-level experience.
The cars that ran right after the rain struggled a little bit, but got much
better as the session progressed.²