NHRA Pre-Race: Hammonds & Crew work long hours in short week before Topeka
HAMMONDS & CREW PUT IN LONG HOURS IN THE SHORT WEEK BEFORE TOPEKA Winnebago GM Vehicle Care Cavalier team works overtime to prepare for O'Reilly SummerNationals Crestview, Fla., May 21, 2002 - The NHRA POWERade Drag Racing season is a nine-month, 23-race odyssey with stops in every corner of the United States. Although approximately one-half of the schedule includes a weekend between events, the remaining races are run in consecutive blocks of two or three. As the middle stop of the traditional three-race "Spring Swing", this weekend's O'Reilly Summer Nationals presents competitors with a series of challenges, not the least of which is traversing the nearly 1300 miles between Englishtown, N.J., site of last week's race, and Heartland Park Topeka. However, the task is even more difficult for Tom Hammonds and the Winnebago/GM Vehicle Care Racing team, for they must also find time in this brief three-day span to find and correct the mysterious problems that have plagued their Pro Stock Cavalier of late. The level of competition among the "factory hot rods" is at an all-time high, and Hammonds knows that to succeed in Kansas, driver, car, and crew must be in perfect working order. "The competition in Pro Stock has never been tougher," stated Hammonds. "Last week's race in Englishtown is a perfect example. There were four or five racers who posted career-best elapsed times and still were not able to qualify for Sunday's eliminations. If you're not bringing your 'A' game from the start, you might as well keep it on the trailer. "The most frustrating part of the last few weeks is that we know the performance is there. This is the same Winnebago/GM Vehicle Care Cavalier with which we did so well in the first five races. We know this car is a rocket ship. Unfortunately, it's developed a couple gremlins that have made it a real handful to drive, and we have a few short days before Topeka to get rid of them once and for all." The Winnebago/GM Vehicle Care crew decided to enlist some help with their trouble-shooting efforts. Once their race activities in New Jersey were complete, they quickly packed up and headed west to Moscow Hills, Mo., home of Jerry Bickel Race Cars, manufacturer of their sleek Cavalier chassis. Once there, the crew worked in conjunction with Bickel's staff to go over every component on their race car, checking for abnormalities. After staying in Englishtown to tend to sponsor commitments, team owner Hammonds joined the team on Tuesday to participate in the inspection. Finally, a test session was tentatively scheduled for Wednesday at Gateway International Speedway in Madison, Ill., with the Hammonds entry arriving in Topeka on Thursday. "We have gone over our Winnebago/GM Vehicle Care Cavalier from nose to tail and top to bottom looking for something that would cause it to act as it has," explained Hammonds. "We had corrected a few things and made certain adjustments, but none that really fixed the problem. Therefore, we decided to stop at Bickel's shop on our way to Topeka, so we could go over the car with the people who built it. It was a lot to do in a short week, but we hope the combination of Bickel's input along with other changes we have planned will get us back on track. "One of our strengths at the start of the season was our ability to consistently get the car down the track, making A to B runs every time. That's what we're shooting for right now. We need to start making laps and get our confidence back. Once we do that, we'll look to go rounds, and put ourselves in a position to win. It's a simple game plan, and we know all of the pieces of the puzzle are there. It's up to this Winnebago/GM Vehicle Care crew to put them all together." Hammonds Highlights: This will be Tom Hammonds' 4th appearance at Heartland Park Topeka… Tom is looking to climb from his current 12th place in the NHRA POWERade Points standings. Fast Facts WHAT: 14th annual O'Reilly NHRA SuperNationals presented by Castrol GTX, the ninth race on the 23-race 2002 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series Schedule. WHEN: May 23 - 26, 2002 WHERE: Heartland Park Topeka, Topeka, Kansas SCHEDULE: Professional qualifying begins with two sessions on Friday, May 24 at 4:30 and 7:30 p.m., and concludes with two more sessions on Saturday, May 25 at 12:00 noon and 3:00 p.m. Final eliminations will start at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday, May 26. TV: ESPN2 will televise two hours of qualifying highlights from 5:30-7:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 25. ESPN will then follow with an additional two hours of final eliminations coverage on Sunday, May 26 from 3:00 - 6:00 p.m. The NHRA's weekly magazine show, NHRA2Day will on Sunday, May 26 from 11:00-11:30 a.m. (Times given are Eastern. As always, please check your local listings.)