NHRA: O'Reilly NHRA Nationals, Chevy Qualifying Notes
16 April 2000
Posted By Terry CallahanMotorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
CHEVROLET NOTES AND QUOTES
O'REILLY NHRA NATIONALS
NHRA WINSTON DRAG RACING SERIES
HOUSTON RACEWAY PARK
HOUSTON, TEXAS
SATURDAY, APRIL 15, 2000
FUNNY CAR TOLIVER HOLDS ON TO NO. 2; BAZEMORE NO. 3
None of the Funny Car Camaros improved after two more qualifying sessions, leaving JERRY TOLIVER, WWF RACING CAMARO Z28, in No. 2 (4.863/316.75), WHIT BAZEMORE, KENDALL OIL/MATCO TOOLS CAMARO Z28, in third position (4.884/311.27) and RON CAPPS, U.S. TOBACCO CO. CAMARO Z28, in No. 13 (5.069/225.45). Capps smoked the tires in the final round, while Whit posted the quickest elapsed time of the final session, 4.926/311.27 mph.
BAZEMORE: "Were happy with the weekend to this point, because we were able to run a lot more consistently than we have all season. We learned something on every run. For example, in our first pass this morning, we got out of the groove a little bit, which was due in part to the strong crosswind we had here today. For this afternoons session, I was able to compensate for it, and correct the car before it moved. However, the real test is tomorrow. Winning on Sunday is the only thing that really counts here, and weve got to overcome the raceway gremlins that have hounded us of late. Although some have been self-inflicted, others have just been bad luck. After suffering a couple first-round losses in the last few races, weve learned not to take anyone or anything for granted. I know everyone on this Kendall/Matco Camaro team is going to focus on being ready for the first round, and on getting the job done the way we know how."
CAPPS: "Today in both runs we shook the tires, but we did experiment with a couple of things with the engine and it showed us it definitely didnt like it. Were going to veer away from what we were trying to do and get ready for race day tomorrow. Other than that, theres nothing to report."
PRO STOCK TRUCK PANELLA GRABS NO. 1 WITH TRACK RECORD RUN, DANIELS HITS THE 180 MARK
BOB PANELLA JR., PANELLA MOTORSPORTS CHEVY S-10, claimed his second No. 1 qualifying position of the year, and seventh of his career, with a track record-setting pass of 7.494 seconds at 179.21 mph, set in todays first session. RANDY DANIELS, in the BAILEY TRUCKING CHEVY S-10, was clocked at 7.501 seconds at 180.02 mph, also in the first session, which established an all-new national top speed record and marked the first time anyone in Pro Stock Truck has reached the 180-mph mark.
This is the quickest Pro Stock Truck field in NHRA history, from 7.494 for Panella to 7.569 for Lou Ficco. 75 thousandths of a second separate No. 1 from No. 16.
PANELLA: WHICH DO YOU WISH YOU HAD ACCOMPLISHED, NO. 1 OR TOP SPEED? "I want both. The pole is cool. Theyre both psychological things, if they would help to win tomorrow. With the kind of field weve got this weekend 180 (mph) or 7.49 (elapsed time) can be beat. You have to hope for the best." WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO DO TO BEAT RANDY AND EVERYONE ELSE TOMORROW? "Just probably stay in whatever the good lane happens to be. It looks like the right is not as bumpy near the end. I think that will be important. You have to look at driving now. Last week both of us had an advantage over the rest of the field; we dont have it here."
DANIELS: "Were really happy to be the first one to do it. Someone could go out here tomorrow and do 181 (mph), but we will still be the first one. It could be the last milestone for the Pro Stock Truck category." THIS IS BECOMING THE BOB AND RANDY SHOW. "If I hadnt stumbled so bad in Pomona (DNQ) we probably could have made this thing interesting."
PANELLA: "Like Ive said before, its kind of cool, its starting to look like the Jeter/Panella battle of last year. Now its Daniels/Panella."
Local racer RAYMOND MARTIN, driving the CAMINITI/MARTIN CHEVY S-10, partly owned by Ken Caminiti, who plays third base for the Houston Astros, did not qualify. He ended up No. 34 in a 35-truck field with a 7.721/172.43 pass. This is the first pro NHRA event the team has entered since they announced its formation last year.
MARTIN: "We never made a clean pass, something has always happened with the motor. This time we broke two rocker arms. We have been breaking rocker arms all weekend. Were going to go back, tear the motor down and try to fix it. Well dyno it, come out and test until we cant stand it anymore. Thats what we are going to have to do. This deal is tough; everything has to be perfect to get into this deal. Thats the way it should be." ON THE ENGINE PROBLEM: "The engines are built by Faerman Racing engines in Houston. Ive been with them for 20 years. Its not their fault, its just a parts breakage." WILL YOU CONTINUE THE SEASON?: "We probably wont race it anymore until everything is right and we test OK. We raced here because were close. We really havent had any time in the S-10, no test sessions. Besides the Super Bowl deal (a non-points event for Pro Stock cars and trucks in late January at Houston Raceway Park) where we had it teched and made a half a pass, this was the first time we made a pass. The S-10 went straight, it works fine and I made all the shifts. Obviously we are disappointed because of the engine problems. Thats why you test and do what you do to get them right. We were going to start here and do the rest of the season." HAVE YOU TALKED TO KEN? "He called the other night, but I havent talked to him today yet. He was optimistic. Im going to hate to talk to him, but he understands."
PRO STOCK TWO CAMAROS IN FIELD
RICKIE SMITH, in an independently-entered Camaro Z28, is No. 3 qualifier, 6.889/199.67. KURT JOHNSON, in the ACDELCO CAMARO Z28, is No. 7, 6.906/200.17. Kurt has had a string of good passes this weekend.
KURT: "We were the second quickest in the first session, the second quickest in the third session and the third quickest in the last session. If I do my job tomorrow it should get us into the semifinals, were hoping. Its going to be a tough race, its a tight field. Only five hundredths (of a second) separate the field. This Camaro has been going straight. Everything we do seems to be working. We had one bad run, but it still ran a .94 in the second session. We are not worried about that. We came out and ran .90 and .92 today. It wants to chatter the tires a little bit. We are trying to fix it, but we are not going to be overly concerned because we are still running low .90s. We hate to touch it." WHATS THE OUTLOOK FOR TOMORROW? "Four rounds, one mile, in the winners circle, big party."
Text provided by JUDY STROPUS
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