NHRA: Third Annual Sears Craftsman Nationals Gateway International Raceway
26 June 1999
MADISON, Ill. --Qualifying got under way today for the Third annual Sears Craftsman Nationals at Gateway International Raceway. In Pro Stock, Mark Pawuk's Summit Racing Firebird is the highest qualified Pontiac in the No. 5 position with an elapsed time of 6.997 seconds at 197.02 mph. Steve Schmidt is sixth, George Marnell is seventh, Jim Yates is ninth, Warren Johnson is 10th, Richie Stevens is 11th, Bruce Allen is 12th, Tom Martino is 13th and Mike Thomas is 26th. The No. 1 qualifier was Robert Patrick in a Ford Probe with a track record elapsed time of 6.968 seconds at 197.22 mph.In Funny Car, Tim Wilkerson's JCIT Pontiac Firebird charged to the No. 1 position during the evening qualifying session with a track record elapsed time of 4.992 seconds at 303.84 mph (track record). Wilkerson was the No. 1 qualifier at this race in 1998. Tommy Johnson's Interstate Batteries Firebird ended the day in the No. 3 position, Gary Densham is sixth, Del Worsham is 11th, Al Hofmann is 12th and Dale Creasy Jr. is 18th.
In Top Fuel, MBNA/Pontiac driver Cory McClenathan is qualified in the No. 3 spot with a second session run of 4.611 seconds at 297.29 mph. The No. 1 qualifier is Gary Scelzi who covered the Gateway Raceway quarter mile with a track record run of 4.573 seconds.
PRO STOCK
Warren Johnson (GM Goodwrench Service Plus Pontiac Firebird) We just didn't make good runs today in relation to what everyone else did. Kurt (Johnson) made a pretty decent run but we didn't. We just didn't have the right clutch and gear combination for this particular track surface, and some people did a better job than we did, but we still have two more sessions to go. It's not a case that we're so far out that we can't find our way back. It's just that we're a little bit off. During our last run tonight, it came out of third gear for some inexplicable reason for almost two- tenths of a second so that just killed our ET. We would have gone somewhere around a 6.97, but it didn't so we'll have to fix it.
The format that we're using this weekend really makes for a pretty decent qualifying/race scenario from the crew chief and driving standpoint because you're qualifying basically under the same conditions that you'll be racing in. The first round of eliminations will be equivalent to our first session of qualifying, and the last round will be the same as our last qualifying session. It really makes sense, especially here where it's been so dog gone hot during the last two years. I have to commend both the track and the NHRA for taking the spectators best interest to heart. No. 10 qualifier - 7.008ET/197.74MPH
Jim Yates (Splitfire/Peak Pontiac Firebird) We brought a brand new race car to this event that we've tested twice. But trying to find the right combination that works for us on this racetrack is a little difficult for us right now. We're back on the same program where we can't seem to get the engine to run in these air conditions. We felt really confident leaving Columbus. On Sunday we put a different tune up in it, and the Splitfire/Peak Pontiac Firebird ran really fast. We came here, put the same tune up in, and the thing just doesn't seem to want to run. We're looking around trying to figure out what part of the tune up we're missing. The chassis is working extremely well --it's a brand new car that Jerry Bickel built and it's tripping the 60-foot clocks very fast. But from the eighth mile to the finish line it's just not running that well. So it's not a car issue. We have a good baseline to build on and we'll try and make some changes in the morning. The 4 o'clock session will be a warm up for tomorrow evening so we're going to have to come up with a combination that will help us step up during that session. The track itself is excellent - the surface is great, but the car didn't have enough clutch in it. So we left a couple of hundredths in it by just slipping the clutch too much. We have a long time tomorrow before we make our first run so we're going to look this Firebird over and figure out where we need to go with it. I like the fact that we're going to be racing at night. I think it's going to be fun. The only problem I foresee is adapting to the Christmas tree. Usually when we're racing at night and you're looking at the tree really hard, it can cause somewhat of a night blindness. But I'm excited about it. I've always enjoyed night racing in the past. That's when we compete when we're match racing so it ought to be fun, while at the same time giving us some big ET's. No. 9 qualifier - 7.007ET/196.33MPH
Mark Pawuk (Summit Racing Pontiac Firebird) We didn't hit that first run dead on but we were pretty close. We were a little off on the first part of the track but down track we made a really nice run. It was just a collection of looking at all of our notes, watching how the weather effects our tune up and I guess we made a little bit better guess than some of the other teams. There are some cars out there that are definitely faster but this was definitely a great way for the Summit Racing Firebird to start the weekend. This is encouraging. We ran well at Columbus in the heat and to come out here and run that quick in the first session gives us something we can work with. We struggled for a few years with our summer tune up just making one good run a weekend. The success we've experienced so far could change in the very next session so we're not taking anything for granted. But we've been on a couple of pretty tricky racetracks in the past month and have been able to maintain our consistency. After Columbus we decided that since we had been hitting it so hard that the best thing to do was to go home and regroup. We're getting everything ready for the Western swing and that means a lot of thrashing in order to be prepared. We'll test in Denver right after this race to get ready because that whole swing takes its toll on parts and pieces. No. 5 qualifier - 6.997ET/197.02MPH
George Marnell (Dynomax Pontiac Firebird) As soon as I let the clutch out the shift light came on immediately. So that told me that we were spinning the tires pretty good. I just hung on until it was time to put it in second and when I did that the car just took off. I was pretty happy with the rest of the run. We were a little heavy on the clutch for the racetrack and the conditions, but we know where we have to improve. A lot of our performance will depend on what happens with the launch pad. We can make adjustments, but the big question will be if we can keep up with the changing track conditions. If we do then we'll run real well. This DRCE motor shows nothing but promise and potential. We're encouraged by it and if it performs like we expect it to then we should be able to keep this Dynomax Pontiac Firebird in the top half of the field. No. 7 qualifier - 6.999ET/196.73MPH
FUNNY CAR
Tim Wilkerson (JCIT Pontiac Firebird) Terry (Manzer) and John (Stewart) made a real nice call in the clutch department in that first session and the car did pretty much what it was supposed to do. Our game plan now is to improve and see if we can't make it stick a little better on the other end. I didn't have the hand on the brake, I didn't pedal it, I didn't have to do anything but keep the hammer down, so it will definitely go faster if I drive it a little bit better. I was real proud of the guys that time. The JCIT Pontiac Firebird was as smooth as silk. I mean, it didn't do anything wrong. If we can get everything to come together at the same time then we can win this race. We have some momentum going our way after the last two races and we'll be trying to make that work to our advantage.
Second Session: We were able to set the track record in both elapsed time and top speed and that just goes to show that the track isn't too shabby. My crew chief Terry Manzer made a great call. That JCIT Pontiac was just perfect to drive. We had a discussion after Columbus after we got whipped on in the finals, and Terry said he was going to make this car go down the racetrack. If we can get everyone clicking together, Terry and John (Stewart) with the tune up and me with the driving, then it's going to be a great time for all of us.
Did you have to pedal it? It shuttered a little bit at about 100 feet and I quarter-stepped the throttle a little bit, so it would have run a little faster than that. But it was such a perfect run that it's not even worth mentioning.
Is this indicative of what this team can do? Definitely. This team is quite capable of doing this week in and week out. In the past, the so-called spectacular racetracks always seemed to give us a problem. But I think now that we've even learned to run on those. We proved at Englishtown that we can run 4.90s and I think you're going to see us run well for the remainder of the year.
How do you feel about the night racing? I spent a lot of time in an alcohol car so this doesn't bother me. I think if we can keep everyone working together then I think you'll see us win a lot of races.
What is it about you and racing on Illinois racetracks? I think we're going to petition the NHRA to hold events only at Chicago and Madison. Down at the other end of the racetrack there are about four motorhomes with about 100 people cheering us on. In fact, Terry said that if we stayed No. 1 he was going to let me do a burnout all the way down to the other end. You're going to see a heck of a burnout during the first round of qualifying tomorrow.
No. 1 qualifier - 4.992ET(track record)/303.84MPH(track record)
Tommy Johnson Jr. (Interstate Batteries Pontiac Firebird) The first round was great. It actually would have been a whole lot better, but it knocked the blower belt off at about 1100 feet and that's why it only ran 250 mph. It probably would have run in the high 4.90's low 5.00's if it had stayed together. Knowing that the conditions we're going to better tonight, we really went after it. It left the starting line, carried the front end and I couldn't bring it back. I kept cranking it to the left, but nothing happened. When it sat the front end down it kind of shook and shot over, so I shut it off. I'm feeling much more comfortable in the car now. During the first run today, the Interstate Batteries Firebird went perfectly straight and everything went the way it was supposed to. The guys have moved the steering wheel down, I have a chin strap for my helmet to keep it from vibrating, I can see out the windshield better, I can steer it better, the warm ups are smoother - everything's better. The two weeks to think about things have really helped and now it feels like I belong in the racecar. No. 3 qualifier - 5.084ET/255.10MPH
Dale Creasy Jr. (Mad Magazine Pontiac Firebird) Our computer finally worked that time and if we can start listening to what it's telling us then we should be okay. We haven't had a lot of time to spend with it between rounds because we're usually short handed. Today we had some extra time so we hooked up our fuel meter and it showed us that we made a mistake. We don't know for sure yet what we did wrong but it's giving us a good idea of what we need to start looking for. We'll run tonight with our focus being to try and get back on our game. We've gone through everything trying to figure out this Mad Magazine Pontiac Firebird. We'll keep trying until we find it. After the Columbus race, we matched raced in Norwalk (OH). We did all right. We ran a 6.01 and a 6.10. We just wanted to put on a good show for everybody and I feel that we did that. No. 18 qualifier
Del Worsham (Checker Schuck's Kragen Pontiac Firebird) After two years of struggling like crazy here, we decided to slow the whole thing down and just set a baseline. I'm not going to kid you though, I didn't think we'd set a baseline in the 5.33 range. We're still kind of laughing about it, like 'OK, we wanted to ease into this, but that was a bit much.' We softened it all up and drove the CSK Pontiac Firebird through the clutch out there, but it went from A to B with all 8 cylinders lit, so the plan is still intact. We want to just turn the dial up one notch at a time now, and creep up on what we can do here. This track can be tricky, and with the type of weather we get here, and the rain yesterday, it was a very tough call to figure out what that session was going to be like. So, even though a 5.33 isn't the kind of run you dash to the phone to call home about, it feels a lot better than smoking the tires.
Second Session: We're doing exactly what we wanted to do. We just need to be patient and keep doing this one step at a time. We really changed our whole combination before this race which is a whole new approach for us. All year we've had a car that could either lay down a great lap or not get down the racetrack, and we want a car that will go down the track with consistency. We can make this Firebird go faster, we just want to do it in smaller steps so that we can see how it handles more horsepower at each level. We're on to that now. It feels like it's real safe. It's not even rattling or thinking about smoking the tires. We set that 5.33 baseline this afternoon and stepped up to the 5.21 nice and easy. We just need to bring another tenth of a second to the party tomorrow and we'll have a car that can win rounds on race day.. No. 11 qualifier - 5.215ET/293.98MPH
TOP FUEL
Cory McClenathan (MBNA/Pontiac) To come back after not having a run in the first session, go down the track and run 4.62 like we did is pretty impressive. I shut it off early too because it was spinning the tires. We want to save the motor for tomorrow. I'm proud of this team, they're doing a great job. Rick Cassel has the MBNA/Pontiac running very well and that says a lot about him. After Columbus, we just wanted to regroup a little bit because when you have new guys and a new crew chief it takes time for it all to come together. Now that progress is really starting to show. No. 3 qualifier - 4.611ET/297.29MPH
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