Wilson Collects First No. 1 Qualifier; Mopar Sweeps Top Three in Pro Stock
Mopar Motorsports NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series Craftsman 75th Anniversary Nationals Notes & Quotes Sept. 28, 2002 TELEVISION TIMES: (ALL TIMES EASTERN) QUALIFYING: Sat., Sept. 28; 1:00-2:30 a.m.; ESPN2 ELIMINATIONS: Sun., Sept. 29; 8:00-10:30 p.m.; ESPN2 REPEAT: Fri., Oct. 2; 4:00-6:00 a.m.; ESPN2 Wilson Claims First No. 1 Qualifier; Mopar Sweeps Top-Three Another Historical Day for Mopar¹s Pro Stock Program JOLIET, Ill. Pro Stock rookie Gene Wilson led the way as Hemi-powered Pro Stock Neon R/T entries swept the top-three positions today for this weekend¹s 75th Anniversary Craftsman NHRA Nationals at Route 66 Raceway. Wilson, driver of the Mopar Parts Dodge Neon R/T, grabbed his first career No. 1 qualifier with a 6.819-second elapsed time at 201.73 mph. The Georgia resident backed up his round-two effort by also collecting the quickest elapsed time of the fourth round at 6.833 seconds. It¹s the first time in NHRA history a Dodge has occupied the top-three slots in Pro Stock competition. ³The Memphis race was definitely a high point for this team,² said Wilson, talking about the first final-round appearance of his career at Memphis Motorsports Park last weekend. ³To come out here and qualify No. 1 says a lot about my team. (team owner) David Nickens, (crew chief) Tommy Utt and all the guys on this team seem like they work 24/7; just to get qualified. The class is so close and that¹s what it takes to succeed. We¹re measuring qualifying positions by thousandths of a second. There¹s just no room for error out there. ³I also want to thank all the Mopar engineers,² Wilson added. ³They have really been pouring a lot of support and engineering into this program right now. We¹re really starting to turn things around. ³In Pro Stock, there is no margin for error,² Wilson added. ³There¹s always somebody at the back of the line that will capitalize on your mistakes. It sure does put a little pressure on me as a driver. But I think it¹s a good thing. You¹ve go to learn to control the emotions and perfect the concentration level that¹s required. You can¹t let that get out of hand and jump the gun.² Allen Johnson and his Hemi-powered Dodge Neon R/T took home the second-qualifying position at 6.821 seconds and 201.97 mph; while Greg Stanfield nabbed third with a 6.821-second elapsed time at 201.46 mph. It matched Stanfield¹s best run of the season after qualifying third in Memphis (Tenn.) last weekend. ³It¹s coming together for us,² Stanfield said. ³We have the right combination, but it¹s up to the driver now. If we can keep it consistent, and get my left foot to move when it¹s supposed to, we can go some rounds. And I think lane choice is going to be so critical tomorrow. ³ I think we¹re showing how much power we have,² Stanfield added. ³We still have a lot of potential and a lot of stuff to try. We¹re not done. We have a long ways to go. We have to get to the top.² Wilson matches up against Mark Osborne in the first round of eliminations; while Allen Johnson takes on Greg Anderson. Stanfield will run Tom Hammonds in an opening salvo tomorrow. In addition, four Mopar-powered machines were slotted in the top half of the field as John Geyer copped seventh. DEAN SKUZA, driver of the Mopar Parts Dodge Neon R/T Dean Skuza kept up his string of strong performances by placing his Mopar Parts Dodge Stratus R/T in the fifth-qualifying position. The Brecksville, Ohio, resident ripped off his quickest elapsed time of the season at 4.805 seconds at 308.21 mph during last night¹s second session. Skuza will face off against Bob Gilbertson in round one tomorrow. ³Our cannon insert, or the case, was moving around up in the staging lanes,² said Skuza, who smoked the tires during the last session. ³That¹s the only thing I can think of that slowed us. We didn¹t make any changes or put any more power in it than we had last night. We had the exact same clutch on it. We played with it on the back end, to see if we could run a 4.78. It didn¹t move off the line. We wanted to change it, and if knew how long the Top Fuel session was going to be, we would have.² LARRY MORGAN, driver of the Mopar Parts Dodge Neon R/T Larry Morgan completed an abbreviated weekend of qualifying outside the field in his blue Mopar Parts Dodge Neon R/T. The Newark, Ohio, native clocked in with a 6.878-second elapsed time at 200.38 mph. ³We didn¹t make too bad of runs for only running today,² said Morgan, who arrived late on Friday with a new Hemi engine and missed the first day of qualifying. ³We were behind the eight ball weekend. We had some trouble on the dyno late on Thursday. We made a good run this morning, and I think we had enough to get in.² DARRELL ALDERMAN, driver of the Mopar Parts Dodge Neon R/T Darrell Alderman ended a frustrating weekend of qualifying outside the top 16. The Morehead, Ky., resident and driver of the Mopar Parts Dodge Neon R/T ran a 6.868-second elapsed time at 200.50 mph. ³We made better runs today,² Alderman said. ³The car moved to the left a little on the last run, we spun the tires a little, but it seemed to be better. We¹ll take a look at it and get them in Dallas in a couple of weeks.² -Mopar.com-