Wilson Drives to First-Career NHRA Final Round
Mopar Motorsports NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series O¹Reilly NHRA Mid South Nationals Notes & Quotes Sept. 22, 2002 TELEVISION TIMES: (ALL TIMES EASTERN) ELIMINATIONS: Sun., Sept. 22; 4:00-7:00 p.m.; ESPN2 REPEAT: Fri., Sept. 27; 2:30-4:30 p.m.; ESPN2 Wilson Drives to First NHRA Final MILLINGTON, Tenn. Gene Wilson made valiant effort to capture his first NHRA victory. But it wasn¹t to be as Jeg Coughlin¹s 6.847-second elapsed time at 200.80 mph outlasted Wilson¹s 6.877-second lap at 200.20 mph. ³This is unbelievable,² Wilson said. ³This was my first final in the NHRA; and it feels like I¹ve never been in a final before. And I hadn¹t in the NHRA. My guys have given me such an awesome car this weekend. They sure are tough out here. It feels good to step up and run with everyone. And out run them on an occasion. I just don¹t know what to say. ³I¹m happy for Team Mopar,² Wilson continued. ³They¹ve stood behind me. When I came into the gate this morning; I felt better than I¹ve felt all year. It¹s just a matter of getting into the groove. I¹ve just been trying to become one with the car. It¹s very tough to do. It¹s very tough.² Gene Wilson moved into the semifinals with victories over Robert Patrick in round one and Jim Yates in round two and Mike Edwards in the semifinals. In the second round, the NHRA rookie landed a 6.875-second elapsed time at 200.26 mph; outgunning Yates¹ run of 6.893 seconds and 199.52 mph. Wilson dumped Edwards in the semifinal with a 6.858-second pass at 200.29 mph, which beat out Edwards¹ 6.892/199.70, combination. Wilson drove to round two with the third quick elapsed time of the first round at 6.827 seconds and 200.50 mph. DEAN SKUZA, driver of the Mopar Parts Dodge Stratus R/T Dean Skuza advanced to the second round of elimination before falling to Tony Pedregon. Skuza, driver of the Mopar Parts Dodge Stratus R/T, ran a 4.962-second elapsed time at 305.34 mph. It wasn¹t enough to overcome Tony Pedregon¹s 4.923-second pass at 313.95. Skuza made to the second round with a solid victory over Bob Bode in round one; clicking off a 4.968-second elapsed time at 300.06 mph. ³We have come together as a team,² Skuza said. ³We hurt the body in the first round and just thrashed in the pits to get ready. In fact, we were so late that I jumped into the car while in the pits in order to get to the starting line one time.² GREG STANFIELD, driver of the DBP Motorsports Dodge Neon R/T Greg Stanfield and his DBP Motorsports Dodge Neon R/T fell in the first round of eliminations to Bruce Allen. Despite running a quicker elapsed time of 6.833-seconds at 200.95 mph; Allen¹s starting-line advantage and 6.844-second elapsed time at 199.91 mph was enough to hold off Stanfield. ³We had a real good weekend,² said Stanfield, who qualified third. ³The car is running real consistent right now. We just have to get on that tree. That¹s the bottom line. This game here you have to cut a light. We were a little short. ³We make notes when we back up and when we go forward,² Stanfield continued. ³We¹re going to try our new engine in Chicago.²