NHRA: Mopar Notes, Las Vegas
Posted By Terry CallahanMotorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
April 8, 2001
Face Off
LAS VEGAS (April 7, 2001) - It will be an all Nickens Racing first round in tomorrow's second annual SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals at The Strip at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Mopar Parts Dodge R/T driver Darrell Alderman collected the second-qualifying position with a 6.950-second lap at 196.93 mph during today's fourth and final session. The three-time Winston Pro Stock World Champion looks forward to the match up.
"It's always fun to race Mark," said Alderman, who will be going for his 28th national event victory. "The car has been real good. We moved around a little in the groove and the runs looked pretty bad on the computer. We were fast though."
The aforementioned Hemi-powered Dodge R/T of Mark Osborne squeaked into the field with a 7.015-second elapsed time at 196.19 mph.
"I'm just happy to be in the show," said Osborne. "We changed an engine prior to the third round. It was a struggle all weekend. We suffered tire spin after the rain, and missed the setup on Friday."
Skuza Grabs Tenth
Dean Skuza placed the Mopar Parts Dodge R/T solidly into tomorrow's SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals Nitro Funny Car field at The Strip at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Skuza moved into the tenth position with a 4.878-second pass at 308.43 mph in Friday's third-qualifying session. The Brecksville, Ohio resident will face off against Tony Pedregon in round one of eliminations.
"We're going to try some things for tomorrow's race," Skuza noted. "We smoked the tires in the third session because we put a bigger pump on the car - it was just a little too good for the conditions."
Just Made It
Larry Morgan, driver of the Hemi-powered Dodge Motorsports R/T entry, barely made the 16-car Pro Stock field for tomorrow's SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals at The Strip at the Las
Morgan ran a 7.029-second lap at 197.10 mph during Friday's second session, which was solid enough to keep the Newark, Ohio resident in the show. Morgan talked about his weekend so far.
"We didn't have the runs we wanted today," Morgan commented. "Some debris flew into the hood scoop and ruined one of our plugs. We have a tough match up tomorrow."
Morgan will face off against No. 1 qualifier Jim Yates in round one.
Patterson Still Sorting Out New Truck
Todd Patterson and his next generation Dodge Motorsports Dakota R/T missed the show after the final day of qualifying for Sunday's SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals at The Strip at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Patterson, who was 17th heading into the fourth session with a 7.665-second lap at 176.26 mph, veered towards the wall and was forced to shut off.
"We were just trying to get used to the new truck this weekend," said the Augusta, Kan. resident. "We really struggled with the clutch setup. The new truck needs different looks and we learned a lot from the weekend.
"The good news is that we were second in 60-foot times during the third session," Patterson continued. "And we've never been that quick."
Eaton's Miss Show
Both Craig and Dale Eaton failed to qualify for tomorrow's SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals at The Strip at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Craig Eaton, driver of the Dodge Motorsports Dakota R/T, ran a weekend best 7.687-second elapsed time at 174.91 mph. It was frustrating weekend for the Phoenix, Ariz. resident.
"The truck never stuck to the track this weekend," Eaton commented. "We moved all over the track and spun the tires in the back half. We know we have the power. It's just a matter of getting the power to the track."
The Mopar Parts Dodge Dakota R/T of Dale Eaton suffered through ignition problems and only ran a 7.717/173.96 combination.
"We were just slow this weekend," said a disappointed D. Eaton. "We probably won't have a lot of time to do some testing, but we'll figure out what's wrong when we get it home."
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