Englishtown: Mopar final elimination notes

ENGLISHTOWN, N.J. (May 20, 2001) - Larry Morgan had his best weekend of the season - by far. Prior to the Matco Tools SuperNationals at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park Sunday, Morgan had only won one round of eliminations.

Morgan advanced to his first semifinal of the season and was nipped in the lights by Mark Pawuk. Morgan cut a decisive light (.417) in the semifinal, but Pawuk drove around at the top end.

"We had a great weekend," Morgan said. "We figured out the problem. We weren't getting enough fuel to the engine. We were making so much power that we starved it. We figured it out and went some rounds."

Morgan advanced to semifinals after posting a first round victory Kurt Johnson and a second round triumph against Bruce Allen.

Osborne & Alderman Out Early

Mark Osborne, driver of the Hemi-powered Mopar Parts Dodge R/T, fell in the second round of competition to perennial Pro Stock World Champion Warren Johnson. Despite holding a decisive starting line advantage (.429-.476), Osborne slid around in the left lane. Johnson clocked a 6.824-second elapsed time at 202.27 mph as Osborne ran a 6.903/200.23 combination.

"We had a pretty good weekend," Osborne said. "Were making a little more power than early in the season and the team is starting to jell. The car was really loose about half track and that cost us the race because I had a nice light.

Osborne advanced to the second rounds with holeshot (.451-.487) victory over Ron Krisher in round one. The Abingdon, Va., resident drove to a 6.874/200.23 run, as Krisher managed a 6.842/200.95 outing.

It wasn't as productive of a day for Osborne's teammate Darrell Alderman. The Mopar Parts-sponsored driver shut off his Dodge R/T as he pulled second gear, allowing Bruce Allen to take the round.

"It just shook the tires pretty violently," Alderman said. "We missed the clutch set up. The track wasn't what we thought it would be."

Skuza Up in Smoke

Dean Skuza and the Mopar Parts Dodge R/T Funny Car smoked the tires off the starting line and fell in the first round of eliminations to Whit Bazemore. Both drivers went up in smoke, but Bazemore was able to regain traction and topple Skuza through the lights.

"We over revved the engine," Skuza said. "We misjudged the conditions and went up in smoke. The run also might of hurt the engine as well."

Smith Loses in Second Round

Rickie Smith advanced to the second round of eliminations before losing to Richie Stevens. The future semi-factory backed Mopar pilot defeated Jim Yates in the first round.

Stevens ran a 6.855-second lap at 200.44 mph and outdueled Smith's 6.885/200.17 combination.

"We did a lot of different things with the clutch this weekend," Smith said. "I think I tried a little too hard in the second round as well. I shifted the car a little too high. The track allows these Pro Stock cars to run with some legs, so I should have shifted at a lower rpm."

-Mopar

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