Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: George Marnell now hungry for another win

Thursday, Sept. 27, 2001 | 9:46 a.m.

Brian Hilderbrand covers motor sports for the Las Vegas Sun. Reach him at bh@lasvegassun.com or 259-4089.

Now that he has won his first NHRA national event, Las Vegas' George Marnell is hopeful the second win will not be far behind.

Marnell never had advanced to a Pro Stock final round in nine seasons until he met Mark Pawuk in Sunday's final at the Memphis Motorsports Park.

"Now that we find the way to the winner's circle, maybe it's going to be easier next time, I don't know," Marnell said.

Marnell proved to be somewhat clairvoyant when he said, back in June, that "we're a win waiting to happen," after posting the top qualifying speed for the Pontiac Excitement Nationals in Kirkersville, Ohio.

After Sunday's race, Marnell is more convinced than ever that his Marnell and Black Pontiac Grand Am is capable of challenging for wins week in and week out.

"Everybody did a great job -- the whole team -- and that's what it takes to make something like this work," Marnell said. "I was confident that we had the right components -- we just had to get it put together right and we did that.

"The Pro Stock class is so competitive and it's so close that you just have to have the right combo to make this thing happen -- and we found the right combination (last weekend)."

The keys to Marnell's turnaround, he said, came last year when he decided to step up his racing program.

"At the end of last year I decided that we either have to get out of it or really make a big move," he said. "We hired Greg (Anderson) as a crew chief, which was a big plus, and we got Reher-Morrison as an engine program.

"Instead of backing off of it, we went full blast ahead and it paid off."

Marnell will be back in action this weekend at the inaugural NHRA Nationals at Route 66 Raceway in Joliet, Ill.

The two-time NHRA Pro Stock champion will go directly to Joliet, Ill., the site of this weekend's NHRA national event at Route 66 Raceway. A decision on whether he will compete in the event will be made later in the week.

Yates, 48, was hospitalized last Saturday after complaining of chest pains following his No. 1-qualifying run at the AutoZone Nationals.

"I feel awesome and am looking forward to being in Joliet this weekend," Yates said Wednesday in a prepared statement. "Regarding my driving status, we'll just take it day by day.

"I had a wake-up call and am very thankful for the excellent medical care I received from the hospital staff, especially chief cardiologist Dr. Kevin Newman. I also want to thank the NHRA Safety Safari and Dr. Jerry Torstveit for the medical assistance I received at the track."

Yates is second in the Pro Stock points standings, trailing Warren Johnson by 76 points with five races remaining.

Baldwin, 47, died Sunday after reportedly suffering an aneurysm.

Baldwin had competed in 11 NHRA events this season and was 13th in the Top Fuel points standings. His best outing of the year came at the season-opening AutoZone Winternationals at Pomona Raceway in February, where he lost in the semifinals to eventual winner Darrell Russell.

Funny Car winner Gary Densham donated his $40,000 winner's check to the American Red Cross and Pro Stock winner Marnell also donated his $30,000 first prize to the ARC.

The Board of Directors of the Pro Stock Truck Association and its members voted to donate the entire Pro Stock Truck purse for the NHRA AutoZone Nationals -- totaling $27,500 -- to disaster relief charities.