NHRA: Bob Panella clinches his first Winston Championship in Chevy S-10
15 November 1999
Posted By Terry
Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
Following the second round, after Bob Panella defeated Randy Daniels and
Brad Jeter was eliminated by Stevie Johns, Panella collected his first
professional crown in his Panella Motorsports Chevy S-10 Pickup. Panella
disposed of Mark Whisnant in the first round. Jeter ousted John Coughlin,
but was then beaten by Stevie Johns, who had earned lane choice over Jeter
for the championship-deciding match-up.
PANELLA: "I cant even describe it. There were a lot of sleepless nights for the last month or so. All year long everybody back in the shop worked so hard. Im grateful for my parents support, Im glad for Chevrolets support too. I guess it was kind of good for the fans and the media, but I would have liked to see it done a few races ago. Im ecstatic, this is the first championship for the whole family. For all the racing my dad has done for 35 years, theres been no Winston Championship. I feel very proud of myself and I look forward to continuing this momentum for the rest of my career." WHEN WAS THE TURNING POINT THIS YEAR? "Chicago, when we did really well (No. 1qualifier, won the Holley Dominator Duel and the event), when we won the race and the shootout. It proved to me that we could run with the best of them. And St. Louis (winning again from pole position). It felt real good. As a matter of fact, I hated going on the break we had in the middle of the summertime. We came back and won Topeka after that, did really well here and hopefully we can win here tomorrow." DID YOUR COMFORT LEVEL GO UP WHEN YOU SET THE NATIONAL RECORD? "I guess with the points lead I had coming in here you could call it comfortable on the competition, but Brad Jeter has been on a roll the last couple of races. Everybody is starting to figure these things out. The record took a lot of weight off my shoulders. I slept pretty well last night." HOW DID YOU FEEL WHEN YOU SAW JETER LOSE IN FRONT OF YOU? "It was a good feeling. I still wanted to win the race, but it was a lot easier letting the clutch out in that run. I know I ran Randy Daniels, but I dont even know what I ran, I dont know what happened. I think I won. I passed the scales, thats about all I know. It doesnt matter." HAS IT SUNK IN? "I dont think it will sink in until Tuesday night when Im up on the podium and trying to come up with a speech. I have 10 weeks to have fun with it and hopefully we will have a good time back in Stockton (Calif.)."
JETER: "It was a good run. We went a 7.60, Stevie went a .56. I had a .431 light, he had a .466. We were a hundredth (of a second) apart at the finish line. We gave it all we had, but we came up a little short. All in all, we had a great year. I cant say enough good things about the crew. They did all they could do, I did all I could do. I cant complain. I know there were times in the year we all made some mistakes. We had a great year. We will take our Chevy S-10 home over the winter and prepare it for the next season." YOU DIDNT HAVE LANE CHOICE: "I think lane choice was very critical that round. Its going to be critical all the way down the track. It just seems like a left-lane race track. The left lane seems to be three to four hundredths (of a second) faster." ON PANELLAS CHAMPIONSHIP: "I told him last night he did a great job. They did their homework. They did a heck of a good job over the last couple of weeks since Dallas. The worked hard, they sure earned it and they deserve it."
FUNNY CAR CAMARO Z28
PRO STOCK CAMARO Z28 FINAL QUALIFYING
MIKE EDWARDS, DEWCO PERFORMANCE CAMARO Z28, did not qualify. In todays final session, Mike was on a strong run until his Steve Schmidt motor expired before the finish line. He ended up No. 19, 6.975/198.41. Mike and wife Lisa continue to search for sponsorship for the 2000 season.
EDWARDS: "This is our last race. This teams been together for five year, I didnt want it to end like that. I wanted to qualify and get to race tomorrow. I guess it wasnt meant to be. I guess the Good Lord has something else for us. You cant be upset, we tried. I just want to thank everyone who has helped us this year: Dewco, Chevrolet and (team owner) Mary Lou (Kight)." WHAT HAPPENED IN THAT FINAL RUN? "We changed the engine before that run. We ran our normal engine all weekend. I thought there was something wrong with the engine and changed it for the last session. It was a lot better, I dont know why it broke. The other engine was hurt, this engine was going to run really strong. It looks like it broke a rod. It broke before it got to the 330-foot mark. As soon as I stuck it in third gear there was a big boom. It was going to run at least a .92. That would have put us in the top half of the field. It was the right move to make the engine change, but unfortunately Im not sure what was wrong with the other one."
KURT JOHNSON, ACDELCO CAMARO Z28, is No. 7, 6.926/199.49. He improved from 10th place after this mornings session.
KURT: "Were contemplating what to do for tomorrow. Were deciding whether to change engines. Ive got other bullets to stick in there, so its not a big deal. We ripped a hole in the oil pan on the return road when it hit a post that was sticking out of the ground. We fixed the pan with epoxy and its sealed up. We freshened this engine before Dallas, and it ran the quickest run here on the last run, but I think it may be getting tired. We moved weight forward for the last qualifying shot and spun the tires pretty hard. When I shifted to second, she set sail for the finish line. A 6.92 was what I needed there. I knew everyone would step up, so we had to keep up with the pace. Its a matter of taking a car out that hasnt been run in 17 months and figuring out what it wants to get down the race track. Its run 6.96, 6.95, 6.96 and 6.92, and its not shaking!
FUNNY CAR CAMARO Z28 FINAL QUALIFYING
RON CAPPS, COPENHAGEN CAMARO Z28, held on to his pole position despite smoking the tires on take-off in the final qualifying session. Until the final run, Capps was the model of consistency with three runs in the 4.8s: 4.868, 4.853, 4.883.
Editors Note: To view hundreds of hot racing photos
and art, visit
The Racing
Photo Museum and the
Visions
of Speed Art Gallery.