NHRA: Camaro wins FC, S-10 wins PST in G'ville
20 March 2000
CHEVROLET NOTES AND QUOTES MATCO TOOLS GATORNATIONALS GAINESVILLE RACEWAY, GAINESVILLE, FLA. NHRA WINSTON DRAG RACING SERIES SUNDAY, MARCH 19, 2000 CAMARO WINS FUNNY CAR; CHEVY S-10 TAKES PRO STOCK TRUCK TITLE JERRY TOLIVER, in the WWF Racing Camaro Z28, won his third Funny Car title in four races. His streak began at the Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Nationals in Pomona, in November, 1999. He won again at the AutoZone Winternationals in February in Pomona and here today. He defeated RON CAPPS, in the U.S. TOBACCO CO. CAMARO Z28, with a 5.071-second pass at 296.50 mph (.506 R/T), while Ron experienced tire shake, crossing the finish line in 6.185 seconds at 155.76 mph (.469 R/T). This win places Toliver in a strong lead over John Force in the Winston Championship: 307 points to Force's 233. Capps moves into third place behind Force, with 217 points. This was only the second all-Camaro final in NHRA history. The first was in Phoenix in 1998, when Chuck Etchells, in the Kendall Oil Camaro, defeated Capps' then Copenhagen Camaro Z28. Ron defeated Al Hofmann, Del Worsham, and Scotty Cannon to reach his 15th final round and second straight. In the quarterfinal win over Worsham he ran his career-best elapsed time, 4.838 seconds. His consistent, quick laps (4.899, 4.838, 4.986) launched him into the final round, where he posted his worst e.t. of the day. Toliver was also the model of consistency today, defeating Dean Skuza with a 4.951-second pass, Tony Pedregon with a 4.888-second lap, and Todd Paton with a 4.915-second pass. Like Capps, his slowest elapsed time was also in the final round. CAPPS: "It's tough to be unhappy about being a runner-up with the way things are going right now, especially when you use last year as a reference. It feels good to be in the final and be runner-up. It's a lot better than what we did last year (one runner-up, ninth place in points). We are in the hunt right now. The Camaro is very consistent the way Ace (crew chief Ed McCulloch) is running it. We broke the blower studs off the manifold in our semifinal win. Ace put on a new blower and manifold and tried to run another low 4.80-second time. But the tires shook and I pedaled the throttle. When I did, the front end came up and all I could see was horizon. I was looking for Toliver out my side window. When he went by, I got out of the throttle and pedaled it to get the front end down." RANDY DANIELS WINS PRO STOCK TRUCK FROM POLE POSITION RANDY DANIELS, in the BAILEY TRUCKING CHEVY S-10, won his fourth (counting the non-points Winston Showdown in 1999) Pro Stock Truck title today, and took home the national record for speed, 179.78 mph. He beat GREG STANFIELD, driving the DBP ENTERPRISES CHEVY S-10, with a 7.517-second pass at 178.21 mph (.487 R/T) to Stanfield's 7.779/148.35 (.422 R/T). Daniels claimed his first No. 1 qualifying spot of his career, 7.494, after not qualifying in the opening event of the year in Pomona. This was his Daniels' fifth final-round appearance, Stanfield's second consecutive (he was runner-up at the season opener in Pomona). It also moves Stanfield into first in Winston points, 15 points ahead of defending Winston Champion BOB PANELLA JR., PANELLA MOTORSPORTS CHEVY S-10, who was ousted in the second round (189-174). Daniels takes over third place with 128 points. DANIELS: "This is a little bit of Novacaine for Pomona. I feel better right now than if the doctor had given me a shot. It was disappointing to not qualify in Pomona when we knew we had the horsepower. Greg put it on me on the tree. That old Daniels horsepower just ran him down. It was like a V6 versus a V8 in high gear. I watched him until the eighth of a mile. We were neck and neck. He had problems. He started falling back pretty dramatically at the finish line. I knew it was over at 1000 feet. I knew if I kept the shiny side up it was mine." STANFIELD: "I don't know if it was something on the track. Everything was going good and all of a sudden it went nuts. It got real loose. I don't think it would have done any good if I stood in it. I hit the wall once before, I don't feel like hitting it again. It's not a fun experience." WHEN DID YOU HIT THE WALL? "Last year testing in an S-10 in Shreveport, La. It blew a head gasket, blew the bottom radiator hose off. The damage wasn't so bad, it was just a quarter panel. Randy is real fast. He's like extremely fast. They work hard, they're good people. We had him a little bit on the tree, it was going to be close." ###