NHRA: Russell tabs Bristol as =?iso-8859-1?Q?=91crucial?= turning point'

For more information, contact
Rob Geiger at 281-913-3316.

Russell tabs Bristol as ‘crucial turning point’

BRISTOL, Tenn. (April 19) – Bolstered by the addition of two new
full-time crewmen and two more weeks of intense preparation by
recently-hired crew chief Wayne Dupuy, Top Fuel driver Darrell Russell
believes next weekend’s second annual Thunder Valley NHRA Nationals at
Bristol Dragway will represent a crucial turning point for Joe Amato’s
Bilstein Engine Flush System race team.

Since Dupuy joined the team two races ago, the 33-year-old Russell has
jumped up four spots in the POWERade championship points standings to
the No. 9 position; progress made in spite of some seriously abbreviated
prep time leading in to back-to-back national events. Now, with two more
weeks of hard work turned in by the mostly-new crew, the team has begun
to settle in to a championship-caliber work routine.

“It’s a fresh start for all of us,” said Russell, who raced to two wins
in seven final-round appearances last year. “And now that we’ve all had
a couple of races to get into a basic rhythm I feel confident in what we
can accomplish in Bristol. It takes time to set up a sophisticated race
car like this to one person’s specific tune-up and, quite frankly, I
find it remarkable that Wayne and the guys have accomplished what they
have already. But now they’ve had a few extra days to work on this thing
it’ll be even more of a rocketship.

“Joe Amato is a proven winner, a five-time NHRA champion and the
winningest Top Fuel driver of all-time, and he’s said from the beginning
he will stop at nothing to field a car that can win the championship
every season. He’s already made some gutsy calls this year and now it’s
up to all of us on this team to live up to his expectations. I know we
have the ingredients in place right now to challenge for the 2002
POWERade title.”

Russell, a native of Hockley, Texas, could climb as high as fifth place
in the points standings with a strong showing in Bristol. “There’s still
18 races left this season and a lot can happen,” Russell said. “We need
to take a methodical approach to going rounds at every race and working
our way into contention. Wayne has shown us little peeks of what he’s
capable of. Now that he’s had some time and has a few more full-time
crewmen to help out, he’ll be reaching even higher. Bristol could be our
launching pad.”

Continuing a season-long trend, ESPN2 will provide extensive primetime
coverage of the second annual Thunder Valley Nationals. Highlights of
all four qualifying sessions will air from 8-10 p.m. (ET) Saturday,
while coverage of the elimination rounds will be broadcast from
5:30-7:30 p.m. (ET) Sunday. A repeat showing of the elimination rounds
will occur later Sunday evening from 11:30 p.m.-1:30 a.m. (ET).

--30--