Englishtown: Doug Herbert final summary

HERBERT ADVANCES TO SECOND FINAL ROUND OF THE SEASON

Englishtown, N.J. (June 24, 2007) Doug Herbert drove his Snap-on Tools Top Fuel dragster into the final round at the ProCare Rx NHRA SuperNationals at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park, his second final round of the season.

After qualifying in the No. 9 position, Herbert faced Melanie Troxel in first round action. Herbert's quick reaction time (.059 of a second) put him in the lead early. As Troxel's dragster smoked the tires, Herbert took the win light with a 5.03 second pass at 279 mph.

The quarterfinal round brought David Grubnic to the line. Another quick reaction time (.064 of a second) put Herbert in the early lead and he never looked back, taking the win with a 4.69 second pass to Grubnic's 4.77 second pass.

Herbert and J.R. Todd squared off in the semifinal round for the right to advance to the finals. Yet another strong reaction time (.049 of a second) put Herbert out front early. Todd raced hard, but his 4.78 second pass could not surpass the 4.67 pass made by Herbert and the Snap-on Tools dragster.

The final round of eliminations at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park pitted Herbert against Larry Dixon. With the crowd watching anxiously, Herbert and Dixon launched their racing machines. The Snap-on Tools Top dragster passed through the lights with a strong 4.67 second pass at 316 mph, just .05 of a second after Dixon's winning time of 4.62 seconds.

"The team has been working really hard," said Herbert. "I know I've said it before, but it's true. All their hard work is paying off, and we are seeing the results. We wanted the win, but making it to the final round feels great.

"We have seven races left to reach our goal of making the top eight and racing for the Championship. We gained some valuable points today that will help us make that goal. Next week we will be in Norwalk and keep winning rounds and gaining points."

-credit: dhr