Cannon Cuts Great Light Against Force, but Loses in Seattle

DON SCHUMACHER RACING
NHRA POWERade DRAG RACING SERIES
CARQUEST AUTO PARTS NHRA NATIONALS
Round 14 of 23
Pacific Raceways
Kent, Wash.
Race Date: July 25-27, 2003

Contact: Judy Stropus 203-438-0501, cell 203-243-2438

CANNON CUTS GREAT LIGHT IN SEATTLE, LOSES CLOSE RACE TO JOHN FORCE

KENT, Wash. (July 27, 2003) - No. 14 qualifier Scotty Cannon did his job at
the Christmas Tree in the less desirable left lane against the 12-time NHRA
Funny Car champion and No. 3 qualifier today in the CARQUEST Auto Parts NHRA
Nationals. He drilled John Force with an .025 reaction time to Force's .077,
but it was Force first at the finish line with a 5.004/302.75 pass versus
Cannon's 5.161/293.35.

Despite the loss, Cannon credits his crew chief Phil Shuler, who will become
Head Mechanic after this race when Cannon takes over crew-chief duties, for
a good setup at a track that is notoriously slick and bumpy.

"He had one of the fastest cars yesterday in the left-hand lane, when it ran
a 5.16," said Cannon. "I think he did a magnificent job on the setup for
today. We weren't trying to go out there and run an .00. The Oakley car
actually went a 5.10, because I was five hundredths deep. And I still had a
decent light. John's and my reaction times would have been almost identical
if I had been shallow-staged like he was. We had one of the best cars out
there today and got beat. What can I say?"

Cannon has qualified for every race so far this season, and stands 14th in
the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series point standings, with 506.

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