NHRA: Three-win season ends for Russell

POMONA, Calif. (Nov. 10) -- Experiencing the same fate as most of the 
top drivers on the NHRA circuit, Darrell Russell suffered a first-round 
defeat on a green Pomona Raceway, ending the season for Joe Amato's 
Bilstein Engine Flush Top Fuel team.

Russell, the event's low qualifier after a 4.57-second pass in the lone 
practice session, joined retiring legend Kenny Bernstein, new champion 
Larry Dixon, and former champion Tony Schumacher on the sidelines as 
most of the high-horsepower teams failed to navigate a racetrack that 
has accepted three straight days of relentless rain.

"We all knew it was a crapshoot out there," Russell said. "But the fact 
most of the other top teams lost doesn't make us feel any better. I can 
tell you this; I won't let one fluky round of racing overshadow what has 
been a great year for this entire race team. We overcame a lot of 
obstacles at the start of the season, switched crew chiefs to Wayne 
Dupuy, and hired a new crew from top to bottom and yet we still managed 
to win three races, which is one more than last year, in five 
final-round appearances. I think that's a successful year by anybody's 
standards. I'm proud to be a part of this group.

"The exciting thing for this Bilstein Engine Flush System team is our 
future. We have all the pieces in place to run for the POWERade 
championship right away and I expect us to contend for the 2003 title. 
Wayne is signed long-term, I have a contract, we have a great crew, and 
our main sponsor Marty Yacoobian from Bilstein Engine Flush will be 
back, plus the guys at Keystone Automotive Operations, Valvoline, Matco 
Tools, Fram, and many others, have already signed up for another run. 
We're ready to get after it and I know we all wish the 2003 season 
started tomorrow."

Today's fateful lap started with Russell gaining a huge starting line 
advantage over opponent Andrew Cowin, reacting to the lights in .476 
seconds to Cowin's .517-second launch. But no more than 60-feet later 
Russell's hot rod over-powered the bare track and Russell could only 
watch as Cowin streaked away for a 4.63-second, 319-mph win.

"When I was sitting in the car looking down the track after I did my 
burnout, I knew we were in trouble," Russell said. "It looked absolutely 
bare out there. I'm glad we raced today, don't get me wrong, and my 
hat's off to Andrew, but whenever you race on a track that hasn't see a 
car go down it in three days, it comes down to a guess. I feel bad for 
the guys right now but like I said, this has been such a fantastic 
season for all of us."

Today's sudden-death elimination action will be broadcast this evening 
from 5-7 p.m. (ET) on ESPN, and will continue from 7-8 p.m. (ET) on ESPN2.