Cannon out in first round at Topeka

DON SCHUMACHER RACING
NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series
Round 9 of 23
O'REILLY SUMMER NATIONALS
HEARTLAND PARK TOPEKA (Kans.)
Race Date: May 23-25
TOPEKA, Kan. (May 25, 2003) - Scotty Cannon and his Oakley Funny Car team
were stoked after qualifying in No. 4 position with a stout 4.814-second
elapsed time at 312.21 mph for the O'Reilly Summer Nationals at Heartland
Park Topeka.

Cannon and crew chief Phil Shuler were ready to put their struggles behind
them as they came up to the line to face Frank Pedregon in the first round
of final eliminations.

Cannon took off with a .106 reaction time to Pedregon's .086, which looked
like it could have been a close match. But when a supercharger belt blew off
Cannon's car he lost traction, allowing Pedregon to cruise to the win with a
less-than-stellar 5.242-second run at 276.80 mph.

"We just dropped a hole right at the step and never could recover. The belt
came off of it," said a disappointed Cannon.

Trying to find the bright side, the 1999 NHRA Rookie of the year quipped:
"The weather's nice, it's a good day for a drag race."

The team will test here at Heartland Park Topeka on Monday before heading to
Joliet, Ill., for the 10th round of the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series.