Sunday, April 13, 2008 | 5:09 p.m.
Notes, quotes and anecdotes from the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway:
NASCAR star Kevin Harvick is in attendance Sunday morning – the first NHRA national event he said he has attended. Harvick said he is exploring the possibility of putting together a second team with Top Fuel owner/driver Bob Vandergriff. …
Harvick, on the NHRA’s qualifying format (which does not guarantee any driver a spot in Sunday’s final eliminations and which sent 14-time Funny Car champion John Force home Saturday afternoon): “It’s obviously not very forgiving if you have a bad day,” he said. “That’s what makes it exciting – you never know who’s going to miss it and who’s going to make it. It’s interesting to not have John Force a part of the finals here. That’s interesting.” …
Las Vegas resident Rod Fuller, who won the fall event here in Top Fuel last year, suffered a first-round loss to Troy Buff on Sunday. Other first-round winners: Tony Schumacher, Brandon Bernstein, Morgan Lucas, Cory McClenathan, Doug Kalitta, Hillary Will and Antron Brown. ...
Warren Johnson, who qualified sixth for today’s eliminations in Pro Stock, never has won a national event in Las Vegas. The Strip is just one of two venues on the 2008 NHRA schedule where Johnson has yet to win. The other is Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio. ...
Ron Capps, driving the NAPA Funny Car for Don Schumacher Racing, scored his first round win of the season Sunday when he defeated Del Worsham in their first-round matchup. Other first-round winners: Robert Hight, Bob Bode, Ashley Force, Gary Densham, Tim Wilkerson, Tony Pedregon and Bob Tasca III. …
First-round winners in Pro Stock: Kenny Koretsky, Greg Stanfield, Jim Yates, Allen Johnson, Jason Line, Jeg Coughlin Jr., Kurt Johnson and Warren Johnson. …
Second-round Top Fuel winners were Brandon Bernstein, Cory McClenathan, Doug Kalitta and Antron Brown. ...
In Funny Car, Tim Wilkerson, Ron Capps, Ashley Force and Bob Bode advance to the semifinals. …
Greg Stanfield, Jason Line, Jim Yates and Kurt Johnson advance to the semis in Pro Stock. …
NHRA has fined Schumacher Racing $100,000 for an unspecified fuel violation committed prior to Sunday’s eliminations. Schumacher Racing was fined for possessing nitromethane fuel in its professional pit, in violation of the NHRA’s fuel regulations. “NHRA has a strict policy regarding possession of nitromethane at events,” the sanctioning body said in a prepared statement. “We will not tolerate inappropriate possession of this fuel and will take swift and significant action with teams that don’t comply with the rules.” Team owner Don Schumacher said he would apppeal the fine. …
The Top Fuel final is set. It’ll be Antron Brown vs. Cory McClenathan for the title. Brown is the most recent Top Fuel winner, having earned the title two weeks ago in Baytown, Texas. It will be Cory Mac’s second appearance in a final this season; he lost to Tony Schumacher in the season-opener at Pomona. …
Ashley Force defeated Bob Bode in one Funny Car semifinal and Tim Wilkerson beat Ron Capps in the other. Force, looking for her first Funny Car title, advances to her second consecutive final. Wilkerson reaches the final for the first time this season. …
Greg Stanfield and Jason Line will meet in the Pro Stock final. …
Sunday’s winners: Cory McClenathan in Top Fuel, Tim Wilkerson in Funny Car and Jason Line in Pro Stock.
Join the Discussion:
Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.
Full comments policy