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NHRA: Panella Nears Dream of NHRA Winston Pro Stock Truck Championship

21 October 1999

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel

ENNIS, Texas - Bob Panella's life-long dream is starting to come into focus as the 14-race NHRA Pro Stock Truck season winds to a finish. He hopes to make it a reality. Panella, the gritty-tough driver from Stockton, Calif., overtook season-long category points leader Mark Osborne with a convincing victory at the recent NHRA national event at Heartland Park Topeka, solidifying his candidacy for the 1999 NHRA Winston Pro Stock Truck championship.

Panella has earned three victories this season inside the cockpit of his Panella Trucking Chevrolet S-10 entry. Following the event at Topeka, he moved into the front of the standings for the first time in his two-year truck career and holds a 46 point lead over fellow S-10 driver Osborne. Panella hopes to keep the momentum going and increase his series lead at the 14th annual O'Reilly Fall Nationals presented by Castrol Syntec, Oct. 21-24 at the Texas Motorplex, near Dallas. The $1.8 million race is the 20th of 22 events in the $40 million NHRA Winston Drag Racing Series.

"I have never been in this position before with the championship," said Panella, a former NHRA sportsman category competitor. "Everyone in the shop has worked so hard just to gain an advantage. It's a pretty awesome field of trucks out here right now. I'm real happy with the whole operation." With challengers like Osborne, Brad Jeter, Mike Coughlin, and Randy Daniels nipping at his heels, Panella knows the chase for the coveted championship trophy will be a tough one. However, he has full confidence in his teammates, led by crew chief Rick Watters.

"That's how we won at Topeka," said Panella, who has won each event where he's qualified No. 1 . "We had the horsepower, and it paid off. The guys at the shop really worked hard to put us in position to get the win. Maybe we can gain some momentum from that performance that will carry over for the rest of the season. I hope we can continue to qualify No. 1 and win. Running like that leads to good things."

KOPP ON A COMEBACK: Defending NHRA Winston Pro Stock Truck champion Larry Kopp, winner of five events on his way to the 1998 title, has been shutout from the winner's circle so far in 1999. His runner-up effort at Heartland Park Topeka in his Speedco Truck Lube Chevrolet S-10 provides a spark to what has otherwise been a lackluster campaign for the Baltimore-based driver. Kopp realizes a second-consecutive championship is out of the question. Now, he's simply running for pride.

"Hopefully this is the comeback trail," Kopp said. "We've done a lot of engine work lately because we've been down on power. To go to the final at Topeka was pretty awesome considering we showed up at the track late. It shows that we're dedicated to the deal. We are going to do whatever it takes to get this Chevy S-10 a win."

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