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NHRA: Chevrolet Friday Notes, Pomona, CA

13 November 1999

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel

RON CAPPS, COPENHAGEN CAMARO Z28, established an event record tonight and posted his career best elapsed time with his 4.853-second pass at 307.72 mph, for No. 1 qualifier spot. With a 4.868-second pass at 309.34 mph in Thursdays session, Ron can boast two outstanding laps since Ed "The Ace" McCulloch came on board this weekend as crew chief.

CAPPS: DID THIS GIVE YOU AN OPPORTUNITY TO TRY THINGS IN THE REMAINING TWO SESSIONS AFTER TWO EXCELLENT PASSES? "Yes. Its such a big help and thats really what (John) Force has done and other guys who have successes. You get a good run in the first round, and then you can really try some things. Ace told me if we go back up and run a low .90 or .90 flat, thats all were trying to do in preparation for Sunday. You learn nothing from the run when you smoke the tires, he said. Lets just go down the track even if it isnt a great run. We may not be No. 1, but we need to get it down the track. He lied to me. He said it would run a .91 or .92. I knew it was good. It felt like last night. It rattled the tires again in the same spot, I got ready to pedal it again and it cleared right up. When it runs that good its a fun ride. The Camaro made a little move about half track; it wanted to go to the right a little bit."

WHAT DOES THIS DO FOR YOUR CONFIDENCE? "It sure makes Snake look like a genius. Its amazing. He knows how to shake things up. Sometimes you sit back and you wonder why a person makes a certain decision about something. When somebody makes the decision (to make a major change) you think to yourself why did he make that decision. It speaks for itself. Hes been around here for a long time. Sometimes its karma, sometimes its the way things happen. Ace and I get along great. I have been through every single emotion in the dictionary this season. Its going to be nice to end this year on a high note, no matter what happens this Sunday. Its going to be a very nice Thanksgiving, a nice Christmas, to end on a good note. New cars are being built for 2000. Ace is trying some things now that he wants to do next year. Its nice to run on a national track and try things. It takes so much of a load off. He told me to hold it to a 4.90 this morning. I told him you can lie to me like that anytime. Id hate it if he told me to hold it to a 4.80 run, it would probably do a 4.70."

WHIT BAZEMORE, KENDALL OIL/SUPERWINCH CAMARO Z28, is No. 5 qualifier, 5.032/304.25. He rebounded from a disappointing first session to make a solid run on Friday. His effort was enough to place him in the No. 5 spot with two time trials remaining on Saturday.

BAZEMORE: "Its nerve-wracking anytime youre not in the field, even if it is only after the first session. With that in mind, todays run was a good, conservative one. I know Tim I(crew chief Richards) was concerned about a few things on the car that were acting up, so Im sure that pass gave him plenty of information to work with. Its good to be qualified because now we can concentrate on making the Kendall Camaro run quicker, instead of simply trying to get it in the show. That different attitude is significant, and I think its one of the reasons weve been so successful this year, because normally weve qualified on the first lap. Now that weve got that behind us, we can be more aggressive for the rest of the weekend."

PRO STOCK CAMARO Z28

KURT JOHNSON, ACDELCO CAMARO Z28, is No. 9 qualifier, 6.951/199.49. Kurts 6.962-second pass in the first session was bettered in the second session, but Kurt was unable to improve his position in the field.

KURT: "As crooked as that run was, I think the driver should get the credit for the quick time. We adjusted the suspension preload and raised the wheelie bars. The harder the car hooks, the more it wants to turn left. Thats a problem Ive had with this car before. I can aggressively attack that problem now and keep the car going straight. We ran 6.96 yesterday and 6.95 today with the tires out of the groove, so were making progress. The runs have been smooth as silk, with no sign of tire shake. We just need to go with a little more aggressive transmission gear ratio; we went halfway on this run. I was off a little on the fuel curve, too, so I can correct that tomorrow. Both sessions will be good tomorrow, and that should be good for me because Ill have the left lane in the second session."

MIKE EDWARDS, DEWCO PERFORMANCE CAMARO Z28, is No. 15 qualifier, 6.975/198.41.

EDWARDS: "Yesterday we made a really bad run, we were 12th. Today the Camaro just stumbled really bad right off the starting line and just never recovered. We are second pair out in the morning. I hope that doesnt hurt us and we can get the stumble out of it tomorrow. I think we will be all right." ARE YOU READY FOR THE SEASON TO WRAP UP? "Im tired and ready for it to be over. Were still looking for some help (read sponsorship) next year. Right now theres nothing on the horizon."

LISA EDWARDS: ON THE ABSENCE OF CREW CHIEF MIKE ELLIOTT THIS WEEKEND: "Mikes dad has been diagnosed with terminal cancer. Hes very bad. Hes been sent home for his last days. Drag racing is important, but, you know, it is not the most important thing in life. Its hard this weekend because we miss him. This is the first time since Mike has been racing Pro Stock and he came on board that we have been without him. Mikes doing the clutch work. When youre one guy short its really strange. When its this guy, who is very important to the combination of the team, the mixture doesnt seem like its there."

PRO STOCK TRUCK CHEVY S-10 FINAL QUALIFYING

BOB PANELLA JR., PANELLA MOTORSPORTS CHEVY S-10, is No. 1 qualifier for the fifth time this season, recording a national elapsed time record for the Pro Stock Truck category with his 7.491-second pass at 178.92 mph, smashing Jerry Haas previous 7.505-second elapsed time record set in May this year in Richmond, Va. Panellas top speed also established a track record. Unofficially, Panella, if he holds onto the national record, needs only to win the first round tomorrow to claim his first professional drivers championship.

PANELLA: "We just wanted to make a good run. I knew it was a definite possibility (to break the record) if we could make the run we made this afternoon tonight. When I let the clutch out I didnt know it was any better than it was before. Obviously, it fooled me. I started to lean back and look at the board. I thought I saw a .50, and the guys at the other end of the track said it was a .49. It takes a lot of pressure off. But I dont just want to win the first round and give up, I want to win the race and finish it off. Forget I even set the record, I want to win the race and go out with a bang. We worked our butts off since Dallas, and we want to come back here and win the race and the championship." ARE YOU GLAD ITS GOING TO BE OVER SOON? "Every time I go up there, I say its one run closer to being over and I cant wait until Sunday and four more rounds before its over."

BRAD JETER, JETER RACING CHEVY S-10, ended up No. 7 after four arduous attempts to qualify. In the first round he dropped a valve in his No. 1 engine. He qualified in the second round with his 7.588/177.46 effort with his No. 2 engine. He rolled the lights in the third round after equipping his Chevy S-10 with a Vinny Barone-owned Chevy V8 motor shipped in overnight, and his final attempt resulted in a 7.728/174.03 pass. Jeter is vying with Panella for the championship this weekend while trying to battle a case of the flu.

JETER: "We just had a terrible weekend. We dropped a valve the first run and we put our other engine in. Its a good engine, but it doesnt have as much power as our No. 1 engine, but it still put us No. 4 in the second session, and then we dropped to No. 7. We borrowed an engine from Vinny Barone. I cant thank Vinny enough for sending us this engine. We know its a better engine than our No. 2 engine. I still dont know how good it is, but were in the field, thats the main thing. With Bob (Panella) running the .51 yesterday, he had the potential to run a .49. He was in a good position at the end of the line. It will be hard to top that national record. He made a good run. All in all, we still get to race tomorrow. We came here to win the race and have the points fall where they will fall." HOW DO YOU FEEL? "Im a great deal under the weather. I dont know if Ive got the flu or what Ive got. Im definitely sick. I dont think it affected my driving, however. Today in the first qualifying session the starting line chip was put in the wrong place, on the burnout side instead of the starting line side of the 2-step, so it pulled out through the lights and I missed a time there."

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