SUNDAY - WJ Has Own Agenda; Connolly Likes
What He Sees In Repaired Car; Wind Doesn't Get Kalitta Off Course; Cowboy's
GTO Lookin' Fine
(2-5-2006)
- Early incrementals the focus -- Pro Stock fixture Warren Johnson,
runner-up to Dodge driver Larry Morgan in Saturday's inaugural Pontiac
Pro Stock Showdown, spent Sunday trying to make the most of the first
330 feet of his passes in the GM Performance Parts GTO.
The six-time NHRA champion had the top speed in all four rounds of the
Showdown. He also had the class' four fastest speeds of the weekend at
203.80, 203.55, 203.95 mph, and 203.80 mph -- until son Kurt had a 203.89
Sunday in his Chevy Cobalt.
But Warren Johnson wasn't concerned with who was fastest at The Strip
at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. He had his own agenda.
"We have some stuff we have to address," he said of Sunday's
to-do-list. "But if we get the 60-foot situation fixed, the GM Performance
Parts Pontiac will really be fast," he said. "It outruns everybody
on the back half by two-hundredths. It's about a hundredth slow at 60
(feet), and that hurts the 330, but by the time you get to 330, it's already
starting to make it up. We have to get that starting line to 60, and then
60 to 330, straightened out. It's just something we have to fix."
He'll
have one more day to get everything in order before pulling up stakes
and heading for Pomona and the CARQUEST Winternationals that begin Thursday.
"We've been working on the engine tune-up for the last couple of
days. The speed stayed where it needed to be. We just have to work on
our starting line E.T., and then we'll be in good shape. We have a couple
of motors we're probably going to run, and we may even be out here on
Monday. We're not leaving until Tuesday. We have a lot of things we have
to address."
a
d v e r t i s e m e n t
Click to visit our sponsor's
website
Everyone knows it's windy -- Scott Kalitta had to wait
until Saturday to complete his refresher requirements for his switch from
the Top Fuel class to the Funny Car category. And Sunday he had to wait
a few hours to log some extra time in the Kalitta Air entry.
"We were planning on making two or three runs today. But we're coasting
here a little bit," Kalitta said Sunday morning, citing winds with
gust ups to 30 or 40 mph. "It's a headwind, but it's just difficult
to work in these conditions."
He said "got a chuckle" from a newspaper article about 200,000
Seattle residents who lost power Saturday in an especially furious windstorm:
"The article said all that people were worried about is that they
might miss the Super Bowl."
Northwest football fans had waited a long time, too -- to see their team
go to the Super Bowl or even win an NFL playoff game. The Seattle Seahawks
had not won a postseason game since December 1984 -- Kalitta's third year
as a professional and two years before he embarked on his first Funny
Car stint (1986-1990).
The Seahawks didn't fare well Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers (as
Gary Scelzi's spin in a "Pittsburgh"-painted Funny Car for a
Full Throttle promotion might have predicted).
Kalitta did all right, though. He got in his two runs in his Chevy Monte
Carlo -- a 5.364-second E.T. at 196.70 and a 4.970/248.89. His best time
of the weekend was a 4.891 at 318.39.
a
d v e r t i s e m e n t
Click to visit our sponsor's
website
New
car suits Connolly -- Dave Connolly, a Showdown semifinalist
who was overeager at the Christmas tree and red-lit himself out of a final-round
berth Saturday, said he sees positive changes in his Skull Gear Chevy
Cobalt.
The car became race-ready a week ago Sunday, as crew chief Terry Adams
worked around the clock to repair damages from a Jan. 10 testing accident
at South Georgia Motorsports Park in Valdosta. Crew members John Utt and
Richard Hicks joined Adams at Jerry Bickel’s shop in Moscow Mills,
Missouri, near St. Louis.
“It turned out we practically had to rebuild the car,” Adams
said.
And Connolly did well, considering he didn't have the advantage of a day
or two of testing beforehand. He eliminated Max Naylor in the opening
round of Saturday's Showdown and Jim Yates in Round 2. That verified Adams'
hunch that they would need just a few passes to get the car set up right.
"There
were a lot of little things during the offseason that we sorted out on
the race car," Connolly said. "They were small problems that
appear to have been fixed, because our Chevy Cobalt seems to have responded.
"The car is running good down low and good speed at the top end,"
he said. "Horsepower is definitely a key ingredient in this class
and our program with Victor Cagnazzi has certainly helped us."
Connolly said, “I want to thank Evan Knoll, our team owner, and
Latrell Preston for having the confidence in me and for their dedication
to the team, making sure whatever needed to be done was." He said
he wouldn’t have made it to the Last Chance Test Session "without
the dedication and hard work of Jerry Bickel and his staff, Victor Cagnazzi
and his staff who provided a great deal of much-needed assistance, and
Fred Simmonds and Dan Ingle of General Motors, who also provided a great
deal of help.”
a
d v e r t i s e m e n t
Click
to visit our sponsor's website
Pawuk encouraged -- Pro Stocker Mark Pawuk was bit too
quick to start his 22nd professional season, it appeared. He qualified
12th for Saturday's Pro Stock Showdown but jumped the gun and handed the
first-round victory to No. 5 Greg Stanfield.
Still, the Ohioan nicknamed "The Cowboy" said he's encouraged
by how his Pontiac GTO has performed in preseason testing.
His best showing at Las Vegas this weekend -- a 6.812-second elapsed time
at 201.88 mph -- put him 14th among the 23 drivers taking advantage of
the Week-Before-The -Winternationals tune-up. His top speed in the GTO
was 202.18 mph.
"The guys spent a lot of time this winter looking at data from the
runs we made since Indy, and we've made a few minor changes to the race
car," Pawuk said. "We do have a deal this year with Ron Krisher,
and we put the racing motor we have from Ron in the car after about a
day-and-a-half of testing, and ran respectable. We still have a ways to
go but we were happy with the results. Our best lap was a 6.67 at 206.54
mph, which was the quickest and fastest I've ever gone - that was encouraging."
He tested the car in early January at Valdosta, Georgia. He said that
there at South Georgia Motorsports Park, he had decent success using a
couple of the engines he had left from last season. Craig Hainkinson made
some of the 15 total passes there -- including a 6.68-second performance
at 206.30 mph.
"Our focus in the offseason has been on the car, and considering
we haven't done any R&D work over the winter with our engines, we
were pretty pleased," Pawuk said.
SATURDAY - Carlson Gets
the Nod; Red Lights Over Vegas; Anderson Falls Behind; Ugly Machines on
Parade
(2-4-2006)
- Seeing red -- By staying on the plus side of the Christmas
tree all day long, No. 4 qualifier Larry Morgan took out a string of hopefuls,
including perennial class tough guy Warren Johnson in the final, to claim
victory after four rounds of a red light-plagued Pontiac Pro Stock Showdown.
Morgan outlasted a quicker-reacting Erica Enders in the first round,
running 6.783, 202.94 in the process. Enders got off the starting line
first with an .001 light, but she clicked off the engine of her Slammers
Chevy Cobalt after detecting a mechanical problem. It was the only one
of the first six races not decided by the foul light.
In the second round, Morgan paced his zMax-sponsored Mopar to the win,
running a 6.765 to dispatch Mark Pawak. He then advanced to the final
round when his opponent, top qualifier Richie Stevens, also went red.
Morgan ran it out the back door, posting numbers of 6.767, 203.34. In
the finale, he lined up beside Johnson, who qualified No. 2 and made it
to the last stanza when semifinal opponent Dave Connolly also fouled.
Ironically, “WJ” went red in the final, allowing Morgan to
coast through for the win with a pass of 6.89, 203.80.
Morgan, who drives “the best car I have ever owned,” a 2005
Dodge Stratus built by Don Ness, was understandably pleased with the outcome
of the event. “This is just phenomenal. I was hoping to be able
to take some more of Pontiac’s money before the end of my career,”
said Morgan, who last drove a Pontiac Pro Stock machine in 1997. “Pontiac
has been good to me and they do a great job for the sport.”
Morgan wanted to give credit to crew members Gary Pearman, Paul Yates,
Ben Gundrum and Dave Elk, as well as the “guys in the shop,”
Greg Hidge, Jon Roberts, and Trent Townsend. “And of course I have
to thank my wife Diane, along with Summit and zMax,” he said.
Morgan put off plans to fly home early Sunday so that he can stay and
test the team’s new motor, which was just delivered by Dodge. He
has done all his testing so far with an engine they put together over
the winter, but he wants to get some laps on the new piece before Pomona.
Greg Anderson, Allen Johnson, Jim Yates, Mark Pawuk, and Dave Connolly
advanced to the quarterfinals at the expense, respectively, of Kurt Johnson,
Rickie Smith, Ron Krisher, Greg Stanfield and Max Naylor. Alternates jump in --
Mike Thomas made the Pontiac Pro Stock Showdown field Saturday because
of rear-end problems in No. 18 Mike Edwards' GTO broke, and Max Naylor
got a shot at the $5,000 winner's share because the transmission in No.
17 Bob Panella's Cobalt broke after qualifying.
That gave Dodge two more entries in the GM-heavy field. The original
lineup included 12 GM models, including GTOS and Cobalts.
Naylor of New Buffalo,
Pennyslvania, and operator of Numidia Raceway, wasted the chance to take
his Jagermeister Stratus beyond the first round. He red-lighted against
No. 3 Dave Connolly. Naylor missed qualifying, as his 6.854-second elapsed
time at 200.98 mph was one-thousandth of a second off No. 16 V Gaines'
bump time of 6.853 at a slower 200.65 speed.
Thomas and the Kenny Koretsky-owned NitroFish Wear Stratus were first-round
victims of No. 2 qualifier Warren Johnson, who recorded the first of two
straight .001 reaction times in the GM Performance Parts GTO.
Unprepared
-- Three-time Pro Stock champion Greg Anderson said three words
that drag racing fans seldom hear from him: "We weren't ready."
Anderson faced No. 1 qualifier Richie Stevens in the second round of
the Pontiac Pro Stock Showdown. He experienced clutch problems at about
half-track, and he shut down the engine of his Summit Racing Equipment
GTO, assuring Stevens a spot in the semifinals.
"Obviously, we should have been here yesterday," Anderson,
who tested at home in North Carolina and arrived at Las Vegas Saturday.
"We needed the track time. We didn’t come here in race mode.
We came here to test. We know we're going to stay four more days to test.
"We weren't ready for racing. We made some mistakes and the car wasn't
ready for this race track," he said. "The car hasn't been happy
all day today. We need to make it happy and then it will be fine."
Even better -- Hillary Will led the Top Fuel field at
the Nitro Blast-Off two week ago with a 4.483-second/324.83 mph effort.
And she improved on that pass Saturday with a 4.482-second E.T. at 327.19
mph.
'All-ugly
machine' -- Announcer Bob Frey noticed that the Funny Car bodies
of drivers Gary Densham and Scott Kalitta -- who made passes back-to-back
Saturday afternoon-- bore no paint or decals. He commented about their
Toyota Celica and Chevy Monte Carlo-bodied floppers, "There's Gary
Densham in his all-black machine and Scott Kalitta in his . . . all-ugly
machine. I'm sorry -- I tried to put a nice spin on it -- like my prom
date. You know, nice personality." Then, recalling the way Kalitta's
car misbehaved and sent him into first the Las Vegas wall and the next
week the Firebird International Raceway wall even harder, Frey said, "Well,
we can't even say it has a nice personality."
Carlson’s
the one - Following weeks of evaluation of a number of candidates
and two days of testing two drivers at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway,
Don Schumacher has selected 31-year-old Sport Compact ace Shaun Carlson
to drive the Team Mopar/SRT Dodge Stratus in the Pro Stock class of the
2006 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series.
"Shaun brings a whole new perspective and image to our Pro Stock
team," said Schumacher. "He's young, hip and energetic and has
demonstrated a strong ability behind the wheel of not only a Sport Compact
car but a Pro Stock car
as well. I'm delighted to have him join our team."
Carlson, of Alta Loma, Calif., drove a 2003 Dodge SRT-4 in the NHRA Xplod
Sport Compact Series, is a two-time winner in that class and has finished
in the top five in each season from 2003 to 2005.
Carlson
joins Richie Stevens Jr. as teammate on DSR's two-car Pro Stock team,
each of which is tuned by the legendary Bob Glidden, and will continue
making test runs in the Dodge Stratus this weekend in Las Vegas.
"I am really excited about driving for Don Schumacher Racing this
season," said Carlson. "I am also looking forward to working
with Richie Stevens and Bob Glidden. This is definitely a great opportunity
for me to advance in my
career, and I hope to bring Bob Glidden and Don Schumacher great results."
a
d v e r t i s e m e n t
Click to visit our sponsor's
website
Grubnic quickest again -- David
Grubnic proved he could be No. 1 in anybody's Top Fuel Dragster.
Early Saturday afternoon he borrowed teammate Doug
Kalitta's Mac Tools machine just before the first round of the Pontiac
Pro Stock Showdown and recorded a stunning 4.490-second elapsed time at
326.08 mph.
Right after that he got back in his own Strivectin
SD entry and posted a 5.781 E.T. at 149.20 mph, not quite as glamerous,
but it was all good for Grubnic, who has an affinity for this facility.
He won his first NHRA contest at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
with the $100,000 Budweiser Shootout in October 2004,
'Little Old Us' -- Funny Car driver Tim Wilkerson bypassed
the Last Chance Test Session at Las Vegas, satisfied with the 4.794-second
pass at 305.77 that was third-quickest last Sunday at Phoenix and his
handful of half-track runs that showed satisfactory 60-foot times.
While he's not predicting anything, the Springfield, Illinois, driver
of the Levi Ray & Shoup Chevy Monte Carlo is taking aim on the top
10.
"My first goal for this year is to get back into the Top 10,"
Wilkerson said. "I'd like to get in early, stay in through the year,
and be there when the season is over. It would be a big deal if little
old us do it, with so many multi-car teams out there. Just look at the
competition. There's the Top 10 teams, then there's us and the other strong
teams like Phil Burkart, Tony Bartone, Bob Gilbertson, Mike Ashley and
Scotty Kalitta. It's going to be tough to qualify, let alone stay in the
Top 10. So, we have our work cut out for us.
"My second goal," he said, "is to get at least two wins.
I don't have any idea if we can do it, but I'd expect to see a couple
of wins. Now, I expected to see a couple last year and look what happened.
So who knows? It should be interesting."
Wilkerson said he changed a lot on the car during the offseason. "The
combination seems to be good. It has a lot of power and we hardly hurt
any parts," he said. "It would be even better if we can get
this new tire thing straightened out. The new tires they're saying we're
going to have to run are bad. On one run, I peddled and bent all the body
struts. When I put last year's 1430s on, the car boogied right down the
track. On the 4.79 pass, I shut off early, so it should have been a 4.74
or .75. So I'd say things look promising for this year."
Because he has to be extra-careful in balancing his bulldog attitude
with his budget as a smaller, independent single-car owner, Wilkerson
said he'll take a bit of a conservative approach at the season-opening
Carquest Auto Parts Winternationals. "We're going to start easy for
the first pass or two in Pomona, and then we'll go from there and see
where things take us.
"Plus, I have a talented team working along with me," he said.
"And no matter what happens this year, in November when we are loading
everything into the trailer for the last time, I want everyone to be able
to say we did our best and had fun."
Approaching
milestones -- In this upcoming 15th full season, Top Fuel's Cory
McClenathan is expecting to see his 30th event victory, his 300th race,
and his 400th round-win.
The Carrier Boyz/FRAM Boost Dragster driver will begin the 2006 season
with 28 victories in 47 finals, 284 races and a 372-251 elimination-round
win-loss mark (59.7 percent). He has competed in 623 elimination rounds
and never has finished outside the top 10. He has been runner-up four
times (1992, 1995, 1997 and 1999), third twice (1994, 1996), fifth twice
(2002, 2003), sixth once (1993), seventh twice (2000, 2004), ninth twice
(1999, 2005), and 10th once (1991).
He said his newly assembled mix of crewmen are making progress in learning
to mesh as a team. The same goes for his new Brad Hadman-built dragster.
McClenathan said that at Phoenix, "We had some mechanical problems
on our first few runs, but we got down the track Monday (in 4.51 seconds
at 329.51 mph). Phoenix is traditionally one of the trickiest tracks to
get down. The guys worked well together. It makes you feel better when
you do get down a track like Phoenix this early in testing."
Andy Carrier
said he was pleased with the Phoenix showing, "considering where
we started two weeks ago. Now I’m encouraged about the changes parts-wise
and crew-wise. I'm optimistic. We tried a lot of new things, and a lot
of our early runs were designed to shut off early. We've made progress,
but we're not yet where we want to be."
Carrier said crew chief Wes Cerny, assistant Tony Shortall, and the crew
"aren't happy running 4.5s. They expect to be in the 4.4s."
McClenathan's best time Friday was a strong 4.674-second elapsed time
at 326.48 mph that was second for the day to Larry Dixon's 4.540/315.71.
(He made just two passes. His first ended as soon as he hit the throttle,
resulting in a 2.521/75.79 clocking.)
Neither Carrier nor McClenathan will predict a championship season, but
McCleanhan said, "We'd like to be a top-five car. Realistically,
I think we are going to have the most competitive Top Fuel field that
we've had in years. There will be the usual heavy hitters, plus newcomer
Hillary Will, who turned in some great times during testing, and Rod Fuller,
who is going to be running a full schedule this year. It's going to be
interesting."
a
d v e r t i s e m e n t
Click to visit our sponsor's
website
Mind the tiger! - Gary Scelzi said one thing to remember
at the zoo is not to poke the tiger. But he did it anyway and got by with
it last year. But he knows the tiger is just going to be angry still.
That's the analogy he used to describe the dynamics between himself and
13-time Funny Car champion John Force as the tightest Funny Car chase
in class history unfolded last season. Scelzi earned the crown by eight
points over Schumacher Racing teammate Ron Capps. Force was third.
Scelzi said this zoo of a Funny Car class is going to be even wilder in
2006. And he knows Force will be on the prowl, if his string of 4.6-second
performances in preseason testing at Las Vegas and Phoenix are any omen.
"I think it's obvious that those guys haven't been in hibernation
over the winter," Scelzi said. "They've been working really
hard. Force was the quickest car at both events, and you don't get to
be a 13-time champion by accident. And all three of his cars will be major
players. That's what we're planning on, and I don't see any change there.
"Force was a player last year and went out 10 times in the first
round. He's upset, he's angry and you don't want to stick a sharp stick
in a tiger's cage, and I think that's what we've done. If we can pull
it off again and be back-to-back champions, I think that's going to be
speak volumes."
What about Bob? -- Bob Vandergriff hasn't announced anything
about his 2006 deal yet, but he is at the track, awaiting the arrival
of his car. The plan calls for the car to be serviced and then taken out
to the track for some test passes. He was wearing a brown shirt, as in
UPS brown, by the way.
We were hoping to see what brown could do for the veteran Top Fuel driver
from Atlanta, but by the end of the day Saturday chances of that were
getting slim. Vandergriff's rig had still not arrived, and according to
him he had yet to fire up the motor in the car, so the dragster wasn't
ready yet anyway.
Takin' it downtown -- Top Fuel drivers David Grubnic,
Cory McClenathan, and Hillary Will -- along with Pro Stock standouts Greg
Anderson, Mike Edwards, Dave Connolly, Jim Yates, Mark Pawuk, Warren Johnson,
Kurt Johnson, and Erica Enders -- participated in an autograph session/mixer
Friday night at the Del Mar Lounge in the South Coast Hotel & Casino.
So did Valvoline-sponsored sportsman racer Tony Fuller and Las Vegas firefighter/motorcycle
drag racer Andy Lewis.
FRIDAY - Stevens, Gasparelli Red Hot In Different
Ways; Final DSR Duel Hard On All Parties; Arenacross Beats Funny Car Testing;
Flashy Frankie Has Glam Pals
(2-3-2006)
- Unofficial record -- Richie Stevens, who posted low elapsed
time Thursday, did so again Friday with a pair of 6.7-second runs that
were quicker than Jason Line's 6.775 Pro Stock class track record at The
Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. And one of his passes produced a speed
that topped Greg Anderson's 203.09-mph track mark.
But Line's and Anderson's 2004 records will remain intact.
Stevens, in the Mopar Dodge Stratus that NHRA and class legend Bob Glidden
tunes, clocked a 6.759-second elapsed time at 203.28 mph and a 6.760/203.00
Friday.
He had led Thursday's performances at 6.804/202.85.
One hot hot rod -- Top Alcohol Funny Car driver Steve
Gasparelli, who finished third in the standings last year, amazingly was
unhurt after a spectacular fire near the end of his Friday evening pass.
The West Covina, California, resident said he heard a bang, as the car
quickly became engulfed in flames at about the 1,000-foot mark. He exited
the car on his own and remained at the track.
The
Donald's Apprentice -- While the Shawn Carlson/Mike Corvo riddle
in Schumacher Racing's Pro Stock pits appeared more like a hyped finale
of NBC-TV's "The Apprentice" show with Donald Trump than a process
to choose the successor to departed driver Jeg Coughlin, Corvo has taken
the stressful situation with grace.
Team owner Don Schumacher had said last week at Phoenix that he might
announce his choice by Wednesday of this week, but he decided he wanted
to see the two promising young drivers make two more passes. Corvo said
he has been informed of the process on "a need-to-know basis"
and said that was fine with him.
"Whatever they choose, they'll get the right driver," he said,
adding that "Shawn and I are buddies. He's an awesome driver, and
he works on his cars."
Rumors painted Carlson, who reportedly had Mopar's backing to work this
past week with Roy Hill in preparation for this final phase of the selection
process, as the sponsor's choice. "To say he's the favorite probably
isn't a lie," Corvo said. But he said he's comfortable with being
the underdog, if that's indeed what he is.
Corvo, who drove from suburban Chicago to Glidden's shop in Indianapolis
a week ago Thursday, conceded that the process "seems like three
years."
He empathized with the Bob Glidden-led crew, who has had to prepare the
car for alternate runs here for two drivers who have different weights,
body builds, and styles.
"It's probably hard on Bob," Corvo said. "His plate's
already full. It's overflowing. He and [son] Rusty are working hard to
make horsepower. There's smoke coming off his shoes all day long."
"And there's pressure on the driver, whichever one of us gets picked,"
he said, because the "big thing is not to let this team down. My
whole focus is on pleasing this crew."
Corvo, a home builder and flooring specialist from Park Ridge, Illinois,
was driving the car that Glidden acquired from then-boss Allen Johnson
as he helped start Schumacher Racing's Pro Stock program. The Mopar-comfortable
Corvo sent Don Schumacher his resume in hopes of driving his old car again,
but Richie Stevens got the job. So Corvo has found himself bidding for
a job once again with Schumacher.
Corvo said he would love to work with Glidden. "I look forward to
any knowledge he could bless me with," Corvo said.
Kalitta does it -- The defending Winternationals Top
Fuel champion will be back at Pomona -- competing in the Funny Car class.
Scott Kalitta finished his job of refreshing his Funny Car license Friday
with a pass at 300.40. It came just five days after he smashed into the
wall at nearly the same speed at Phoenix.
Family
mission -- Bob Gilbertson said he plans to make only one more
run in the Prestone-Autolite Chevy Monte Carlo Funny Car before heading
Saturday afternoon to Memphis to watch 11-year-old son Jake compete in
an AMA Arenacross event. He turned in his best run of the weekend late
Friday with his 4.89-second pass at 245.63 mph. Although he shut off the
engine at about 900 feet, his 330-foot time was his best by three-hundredths
of a second, and his eighth-mile speed was tops by 2.8 mph. He said that
before he can make Saturday's run, he needs to find a fresh tire. The
new Goodyears he used Friday showed considerable wear and tear in the
centers.
What
could go wrong? -- His father went by the nickname of "Flaming
Frank" Pedregon. Maybe the eldest of the three racing brothers from
Southern California should be dubbed "Flashy Frankie" Pedregon.
With his Dodge Funny Car sponsored by Von Dutch, the high-end fashion
line that he said "likes to pride itself on being the apparel company
to the stars," Pedregon is parlaying the association into a chance
to bring some glamour to drag racing. He said he's planning to have some
pretty glitzy company in his pits this season, starting with former National
Basketball Association rebel Dennis Rodman at the Winternationals in Pomona,
California. Pedregon said Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, and Paris
Hilton are among the celebrities he has invited to NHRA events this year.
He joked that they likely will be so overwhelmed by the sensory-overload
experience that one day might be the limit.
I told you so -- Pro Stock driver Jim Cunningham gave
everyone a scare two weeks ago at the Nitro Blast-Off test session, hitting
the wall and rolling his Ford Escort. But as he promised, the veteran
from Maryland was back this weekend in a back-up car, getting ready for
Saturday's Pro Stock Showdown. Fortunately for him, his second car was
at Jerry Haas' shop near St. Louis, undergoing a facelift. That saved
his crew from transporting it a few hundred extra miles back to Las Vegas.
So with a new windshield, rear spoiler, and -- appropriately -- seat belts,
Cunningham was back on track, keeping the car right-side up. He said the
damaged car was cannibalized for its wheels and assorted parts.