The Auto Channel
The Largest Independent Automotive Research Resource
The Largest Independent Automotive Research Resource
Official Website of the New Car Buyer

Mopar Sweeps Provisional Top-Two Slots in Pro Stock; Skuza Grabs Third

Mopar Motorsports
NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series
Craftsman 75th Anniversary Nationals
Notes & Quotes ­ Sept. 27, 2002

TELEVISION TIMES: (ALL TIMES EASTERN)
QUALIFYING:    Sat., Sept. 27; 4:00-5:30 p.m.; ESPN2
ELIMINATIONS:    Sun., Sept. 28; 8:00-10:30 p.m.; ESPN2
REPEAT:    Fri., Oct. 2; 4:00-6:00 a.m.; ESPN2

Wilson Grabs Provisional No. 1 Qualifier
Mopar Sweeps First Two and Three of the Top-Five Slots

JOLIET, Ill. ­ Mopar flexed its Pro Stock muscle during the first day of
qualifying for this weekend¹s Craftsman 75th Anniversary NHRA Nationals at
Route 66 Raceway. Factory backed Mopar Parts Pro Stock rookie Gene Wilson
and the DBP Motorports Dodge Neon R/T of Greg Stanfield swept the
provisional top-two qualifying positions tonight.

Wilson, coming off the inaugural final-round appearance of his career at
Memphis (Tenn.) Motorsports Park last weekend, is now vying for the
first-career No. 1 qualifier of his career.

³It was a good run,² Wilson said. ³We had a good track tonight and the air
was pretty good. (Crew chief) Tommy Utt put a real good tune up underneath
the car. Believe it or not, I think we still had a hundredth left in it. I
short shifted a little in low gear. From the looks of the computer graph,
there¹s a little left in the Hemi engine.

³The track was getting a little chilly by the time I got up to the starting
line,² Wilson added. ³It was about 68 degrees when we ran. It concerned me.
But the car went straight and true. It¹s tough to keep up with everyone out
there, but, man, I sure would like to grab the No. 1 spot.²

Stanfield is also green to a Pro Stock car. The Bossier City, La., resident
and fellow Mopar-powered Pro Stock rookie is hoping to back up a
career-best, third-place effort from last weekend¹s NHRA tilt in Memphis.

³We still have a lot to learn,² said a smiling Stanfield. ³We¹re learning,
but we learn fast. My first pass was bad. I got greedy on the starting line
and made a bad call. We backed off in the second round. It¹s amazing how
different each track is. The set up for Memphis is not anywhere near the set
up for here.²

Adding to Mopar¹s accomplishments, Allen Johnson placed his Hemi-powered
Dodge Neon R/T in the fifth slot; while Mike Corvo, Jr. took 12th and Tom
Lee collected 15th. The efforts give Dodge five cars qualified thus far.

Mopar placed six Dodge Neon R/Ts in the Sonoma (Calif.) field earlier this
season, marking the first time in NHRA history. It was also first time in
more than 30 years that six Mopar powered Pro Stock cars had qualified for
the same field since the days of Dick Landy and Ronnie Sox, of the famous
Sox & Martin duo.

Skuza Continues Mopar Qualifying Success at Route 66
Mopar Parts Nitro Funny Car Grabs Provisional Third

Dean Skuza and the Mopar Parts Dodge Stratus R/T continued to impress by
copping the provisional third slot tonight. The Brecksville, Ohio, resident
ran a 4.805-second elapsed time at 308.21 mph.

Skuza is trying to match a season-best third qualifying effort set here,
earlier in the season during the Chicagoland Dodge Dealers NHRA Nationals.

³On our first run, we put a hole out and there were some real bad things
about the run,² Larson said. ³The track was a lot better than we thought it
would be. We thought about being a little conservative, but (co-crew chief)
John Stewart wanted to try something. We haven¹t really anything all year.
So that¹s what we did.

³We threw a belt off in that run as well,² Larson added. ³It didn¹t run as
good as I would have liked it too in the second part of the pass. We¹re
pleased. 

³It¹s hard to say which lane is better because it was such a different car
on that one,² Larson continued. ³Its something we¹re going to have to look
at and study. It was running good enough this afternoon in the right lane to
probably run ahead of (Ed) McCullough at a 4.84. I think, if you have tour
stuff right, it won¹t make that much of a difference.²

NOTABLE: Larry Morgan, driver of the blue Mopar Parts Dodge Neon R/T, missed
both rounds of Pro Stock qualifying today, waiting to finish and transport a
new Hemi engine fresh from his Newark, Ohio, race shop to Route 66 Raceway.

DARRELL ALDERMAN, driver of the Mopar Parts Dodge Neon R/T

Darrell Alderman and the Mopar Parts Dodge Neon R/T missed the top 16 with a
6.934-second pass at 199.02 mph. The three-time POWERade Pro Stock World
Champion talked about his day.

³It was all over the place on my run tonight,² said Alderman, who ran in the
right lane in the second session. ³We left pretty well, but he car got real
loose. It¹s hard to drive out there.²

-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