Tasca Qualifies Fourth At Brainerd

DEARBORN, August 15, 2010: Bob Tasca III and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Racing team started the final race of the regular season with a solid qualifying effort for Sunday’s elimination rounds at Brainerd International Raceway.

Rain altered Friday’s schedule and forced the cancellation of one of the qualifying sessions. During Friday’s lone qualifying run, Tasca and the team posted the 10th quickest time with a 4.208 second pass at 293.28 miles per hour.

As he approached the third and final qualifying pass, Tasca was in the 13th position. Determined to qualify in the top half of the field, Tasca drove his Motorcraft/Quick Lane down the track in 4.138 seconds at 302.35 miles per hour. Tasca posted the top speed of the final qualifying session and was second quickest ET. Tasca and the team locked into the fourth qualifying spot after the final qualifying session.

“The last run was the run that we were looking for,” said Tasca. “We lost a run on Friday due to rain and we were just a little bit soft on the tune up. On Saturday morning, we had a little bit too much in it and smoked the tires. Crew Chiefs Chris Cunningham and Marc Denner settled in and found the right combination going into that last session. We made a big run with a great speed and ET. We have some great data going into Sunday’s eliminations.”

As the fourth qualifier, Tasca will face fellow Ford Mustang racer John Force in the first round.

“I don’t like racing against another Ford in the first round, but every win that I’ve gotten in my career, at some point or another, we’ve had to race against John Force,” said Tasca. “It will be a good drag race. Hopefully, we can put our Motorcraft/Quick Lane Shelby Mustang in the winner’s circle on Sunday afternoon.”

Tasca and the team seek to end the regular season with a strong finish. Currently in the seventh position in points, Tasca looks improve his ranking in the Funny Car ladder.

“This is the end of the regular season and for our team it is about moving up,” said Tasca. “We want to end the regular season on a high note and get some momentum going into Indianapolis.”