NHRA: Latecomer Lampus lights up Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS (Oct. 27) -- Top Fuel driver Don Lampus immediately made his
presence felt at the inaugural ACDelco NHRA Las Vegas Nationals by
blasting to a top-half qualifying berth in his first trip down the Strip
at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The 37-year-old from Dallas had to miss
yesterday’s two qualifying sessions due to prior commitments but
immediately made up for the shortfall with a competitive 4.643-second
pass at 316.75 mph, which placed him seventh on the elimination ladder.

“This team we’ve assembled is amazing,” Lampus said. “My crew chiefs,
Wayne Dupuy and Chris Cunningham, and the rest of the guys had this
track totally figured out before I ever got here. They put a fantastic
tune-up in there and it carried me straight down the track. That’s
pretty awesome for this group. I’m very proud of everyone.

“It actually felt a little soft. It’s been awhile since I’ve run at
altitude I guess and I just wasn’t used to it. I thought it was about a
4.80 or so but when I made the turn off my guys were screaming 4.64.
We’re very pleased.”

Lampus will forego the final session to continue celebrating his
friend’s wedding, which was the cause of him missing yesterday’s two
rounds. The move will also save the team some money as they continue to
be self-funded pending the announcement of a new deal that will carry
them through the next three seasons.

“The funding we’re hoping for won’t kick in until 2002 so these last few
races we’re running on our own quarter,” Lampus said. “I say quarter
because a dime doesn’t cover it anymore. I feel confident that the 4.64
we just ran will keep us in the field and we’ll see where we wind up for
tomorrow. By not running Round 4 we’re trying to keep our expenses down.
We’re running on our own quarter but I’m trying to make it a dime.”

The Lampus Racing operation has Dupuy’s undivided attention this weekend
as the other car he tunes is without a driver. Toys for Tots Funny Car
pro Johnny Gray had to leave the track yesterday when his father
encountered medical problems. He will not return to this race.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with Johnny, his father, and the entire
Gray family,” Lampus said. “It almost seems like we’re teammates with
Johnny because we’ve been pitting next door to him since we’ve been back
to make it easy on Wayne. I have to thank his crew as well because they
all came over and helped with our car after Johnny left. I wish he was
here but more than that I hope his dad is okay. We all do.”

Tune into ESPN 2 for coverage of this event. Qualifying round highlights
run from 1:30-2:30 a.m. (ET) with a repeat from 5-6 a.m. (ET).
Elimination coverage begins at 2-3 p.m. (ET) with a full show from 7-10
p.m. (ET). A repeat of the show airs from 3:30-6 a.m. (ET) Tuesday.