Cannon loses to Burkart in first round in Joliet

DON SCHUMACHER RACING
NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series
Round 20 of 23
CARQUEST Auto Parts NHRA Nationals
Route 66 Raceway
Joliet, Ill.
Race Dates: Sept. 26-28, 2003

JOLIET, Ill. (Sept. 28. 2003) - Having qualified No. 9, Scotty Cannon was
paired with No. 8 qualifier Phil Burkart Jr. in the first round of Funny Car
final eliminations of the CARQUEST Auto Parts NHRA Nationals today. That's
always a tough draw, as both cars are often evenly matched.

Burkart and Cannon posted identical reaction times, .125, but Cannon was
soon at a disadvantage as his Oakley Funny Car stood on it's hind quarters,
causing Cannon to shut it down early and crawl to a 9.103-second elapsed
time at 85.52 mph to Burkart's winning 4.817/320.05.

"I always have to be on my toes not only when I'm racing Burkart, who's been
running strong this season, but when I'm either the No. 8 or No. 9
qualifier," said Cannon. "I was prepared for him but not for the wheelie my
Oakley car performed. It was shaking and I had to shut it down.

"We're still in test mode, trying to get a handle on this car," added
Cannon, who posted two strong 4.81-second qualifying runs yesterday. "Those
were two good passes for our team," he remarked. "We'll just keep working on