NHRA: Pennzoil's Ferderer Records Perfect Lap

6 July 1999

SONOMA, Calif. - One week ago sportsman driver extraordinaire Mike Ferderer made Div. 6 history by recording a rare double victory at a points race in Seattle with wins in both his Pennzoil Super Gas Pontiac Grand Prix and his Gumout Super Comp Dragster. This weekend Ferderer celebrated the Fourth of July by recording the first perfect lap of his 17-year drag racing career.

Competing in the Div. 7 Federal Mogul points race at Sears Point Raceway, Sunday's racing action started with Ferderer solidifying his world No. 1 ranking in the Super Gas bracket by reaching the second round of eliminations before breaking-out of the bracket's index of 9.90 seconds by 0.001 seconds. "I remember thinking 'Wow, I just came within one-thousandths of a perfect lap,'" Ferderer said. "It kinda got my heart thumping."

Ferderer didn't have to dwell on what could have been for very long. He had just enough time to return to his pit, switch uniforms and head back to the starting line in his Gumout Dragster for Round 3 of Super Comp eliminations. That's when the Buckley, Wash. resident found yet another way to etch his name in the record books by covering the quarter-mile in exactly 8.900 seconds.

"For us sportsman guys, running a perfect lap is a pretty special occasion," Ferderer said. "When you race on an index you have to try to cut it as close as you can every time out. But you don't want to risk breaking-out like I did in the Super Gas car or you're done for the day. So you usually allow for an extra fraction of a second to give yourself some breathing room.

"Today I was just trying to go for the win. I knew I could really move up in the points in the Super Comp bracket if I did well here so I pushed it as far as I could. The perfect lap just kinda happened."

For his efforts, Ferderer, who went on to finish the event as a semifinalist after six rounds of successful drag racing, was awarded the Federal Mogul TRW Perfect Lap award and received a commemorative belt buckle inscribed with the particulars of the event. Additionally, the points he earned for his semifinal finish moved him into sixth place in the Super Comp championship points standings.

Already this season, Ferderer has recorded Super Comp wins in Seattle, Tucson, Ariz. and Phoenix twice. He also carded Super Gas wins in Seattle and Boise, Idaho.

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