Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: Marnell wants strong showing at home

Friday, April 5, 2002 | 11:17 a.m.

Brian Hilderbrand covers motor sports for the Las Vegas Sun. His motor sports notebook appears Friday. He can be reached at bh@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4089.

As a Southern California native, NHRA Pro Stock driver George Marnell had a special sense of pride when he won the season-opening Winternationals in Pomona in February.

Equally gratifying, Marnell said, would be to win this weekend's SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

A long-time Las Vegas resident, Marnell said he puts a little added pressure on himself to do well in his hometown race.

"I'm sure there's extra pressure coming in here," said Marnell, who leads the Pro Stock standings after three races. "When we're out there racing all over the country, you almost feel like you're out there by yourself -- even though we have a lot of fans in different parts of the country.

"When you come to your hometown, you want to make sure you do well because you're in show business and you're performing for your friends and fans and people that follow you all year long."

The first two spring races at The Strip were forgettable for the 51-year-old Marnell, who failed to qualify for the Sunday eliminations in 2000 and 2001. At the inaugural fall NHRA event last October, Marnell qualified sixth but was eliminated in the semifinals.

"The last two (spring races) haven't been kind to me but we did real well in the fall," Marnell said. "We did some testing out here before the season started and we've got a real good handle on the racetrack. We're really going to be out there trying to strut our stuff this time."

Marnell said he is hoping the warm weather holds out through the weekend.

"I think the heat is going to be the biggest factor this weekend," Marnell said. "When the track gets hot, it's going to get slick -- which is fine for me. I feel very good on a hot, slick track and I think our setup does pretty well on a hot, slick track.

"If it gets hot and slippery -- bring it on."

"I won my first race with Jim Dunn (in 1998) and I'm excited to be back with Jim Dunn Racing again," Pedregon said. "Jim is all about winning and I'm glad to be back with him."

Pedregon replaces Al Hofmann, who parted ways with Dunn during the Gatornationals last month.

Wilson, who will drive a truck prepared by Rick Ware, will become only the second female driver to compete in the NCTS. Tammy Jo Kirk made 32 starts in the series in 1997 and 1998.

Castroneves, the 2001 Indy 500 winner, ran a lap at 172.824 mph to better Jaques Lazier's lap of 172.328 mph. Sam Hornish Jr. (170.925), Scott Sharp (170.880) and Eddie Cheever (169.986) rounded out the top five. Testing continued today.