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NHRA: Gillig Geared Up for Gainesville

18 March 1999

Lake Zurich, IL, --Tony Gillig is already fighting a tough battle trying to crack Pro Stock qualifying in NHRA. With the absence of his father and crew chief, Bob Gillig, who under went open heart surgery Monday March 15, Tony is very anxious to qualify for his father who cannot attend the event. At first Tony was going to stay home with his dad, however Bob insisted he to Florida and put the Oldsmobile in the show! With the vote of confidence from the elder Gillig, Tony can't wait to get to the event.

Along with the very capable assistance of Mountain Motor crew chief and brother in law Billy Wagner, the duo have every intention of qualifying for their first NHRA national event to hopefully speed up Bob's recovery.

Gillig stated " I am very happy & thank God my fathers surgery was a complete success, it was very tense around here for a while. I want nothing more than to qualify for my dad, this event means a lot to me. Billy is a great crew chief and I know he can get the job done! I have my concerns about leaving with my dad in the hospital, but he is in great hands and the rest of our family is with him. Right now, all my dad should concentrate on is getting back on his feet; I want to be the least of his worries. He will be my co- pilot all weekend long and I look forward to his return at the race track in Houston, TX."

Gillig is still working the bugs out was unable to test prior to Gainesville as planned after leaving Phoenix. With some help from Steve Schmidt and Pat Norcia Gillig should be in the thick of things at the conclusion of qualifying.