Alderman Stays in Top Half
Mopar Motorsports NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series National Trail Raceway Notes & Quotes June 15, 2002 TELEVISION TIMES: (ALL TIMES EASTERN) QUALIFYING: Sat., June 15; 8-10 p.m.; ESPN2 REPEAT: Sun., June 16; 4:30-5:00 a.m.; ESPN2 FINAL ROUND: Sun., June 16; 8:3011:00 p.m.; ESPN2 REPEAT: Wed., June 19; 2:30-4:30 p.m.; ESPN2 HEBRON, Ohio -- Mopar Motorsports NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series teams completed the final day of qualifying for this weekend¹s national event at National Trail Raceway, just outside Columbus. DEAN SKUZA, driver of the Mopar Parts Dodge Stratus R/T Dean Skuza and the Mopar Parts Dodge Stratus R/T failed to improve upon his 4.937-second lap at 308.28 mph from yesterday¹s second session. The Brecksville, Ohio resident grabbed the 12th-qualified slot and will face off against Gary Densham in round one. ³We we¹re on a mid 4.80-second pass,² Skuza said. ³Then the blower stud broke and blew the belt off of it. We have a real handle on this car, and we think we have a great shot tomorrow.² GENE WILSON, driver of the Mopar Parts Dodge Neon R/T Gene Wilson headed into the last session in the 15th slot. While other competitors improved, bumping his Mopar Parts Dodge Neon R/T out of the show, Wilson¹s mechanical woes in round four ended his weekend early. Wilson¹s best elapsed time if the weekend was a 6.906 with a top speed of 199.91 mph. ³We had a mechanical failure,² Wilson said. ³It was time for it to happen. It¹s going to get you every once in a while. It just happened to be in the fourth round here in Columbus. I need to run to get in the show again and the car left real strong. We were definitely going into the show in a good position. Something failed and that was that.² LARRY MORGAN, driver of the Mopar Parts Dodge Neon R/T Larry Morgan was a fortunate driver this afternoon. Morgan, from nearby Newark, grabbed the 16th and final-qualifying slot for tomorrow¹s race. Morgan clocked a 6.904-second elapsed time at 198.26 mph to set up a round one match up with No. 1 qualifier Jim Yates. ³We¹re real lucky,² Morgan said. ³We didn¹t make a real good run on that last one out there. I¹ve got (crew chief) Terry Adams¹ daddy in round one. We¹re going to have to work with him tomorrow. Adams had been Yates crew chief. DARRELL ALDERMAN, driver of the Mopar Parts Dodge Neon R/T The Mopar Parts Dodge Neon R/T of Darrell Alderman completed his best weekend of qualifying. The three-time POWERade Pro Stock World Champion captured the seventh-qualified position with a 6.891-second lap at 199.79 mph. It marks the first time this season that Alderman has quailed in the top half of the Pro Stock field. The Morehead, Ky., resident will take on George Marnell in round one. ³We made a bar change for the last session,² Alderman said. ³We moved the clutch around to see how the car would react. It was a little bit violent on the drop and it chopped the tires. We got in there.² Alderman has two holeshot victories on Marnell this season. -Mopar.com- David Harris, Cox Marketing Group Mopar Motorsports NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series davidh@coxmarketinggroup.com (704) 799-2114 office (704) 756-9301 - mobile