Gainesville Chevy S10 PST 2nd Round Notes

CHEVROLET NOTES AND QUOTES MAC TOOLS GATORNATIONALS GAINESVILLE RACEWAY NHRA WINSTON DRAG RACING SERIES SATURDAY, MARCH 20, 1999

PRO STOCK TRUCK -- CHEVY S-10

Following two rounds of final round eliminations today, three Chevy S-10 drivers have advanced: No. 1 qualifier Mark Osborne, No. 5 qualifier Brad Jeter, and No. 2 qualifier Larry Kopp.

TIM FREEMAN, BLUEGRASS TRANSPORTATION CHEVY S-10, No 1 qualifier in the season-opener, was eliminated by JERRY HAAS, TEXAS HARLEY-DAVIDSON CHEVY S-10, in the first round.

FREEMAN: "It's very disappointing. I have just had a really bad weekend. We got kind of behind the 8-ball yesterday morning when I missed a good qualifying run. I ran really good on Thursday, then I just struggled yesterday. In both runs I kind of got lost a little bit. Then I didn't make a good run the first round. I just missed it in the middle of the race track and I didn't drive really well, and that's what bit me." WHY DIDN'T YOU DRIVE WELL? "It's just a combination of things, the race track is a difficult enough in the middle without the truck spinning the tires, and I was high shifting all weekend. That's the difference between being on the pole here and qualified seventh." ON THE FIRST ROUND: "Jerry (Haas) did a good job against me. We raced each other three-four times. It was his turn to win; I guess he owed me one. There's always next week; that's what's good about racing. Our Chevy S-10 will definitely be back."

HAAS was eliminated in the second round by LARRY KOPP, SPEEDCO TRUCK LUBE CHEVY S-10.

HAAS: "We tested here a couple of weeks ago and ran real good. Somewhere we're off. We are not running the numbers we ran before. In the first pass we were No. 1 at 60 ft., so we thought it was OK. We just have to work on our combination and get it perfect and get it accelerating in gear changes. Right now we're not accelerating at all."

NOTE: All three Chevy S-10s that have advanced to the semifinals were built at Jerry Haas Race Cars in Fenton, Mo.

BOB PANELLA, JR., PANELLA MOTORSPORTS CHEVY S-10, the master of reaction times, was defeated by Brad Jeter in the second round.

PANELLA: "I'm still doing my job there (in reaction times). We need to find a little more power. We're making as good runs as we can with what we've got. I'm also getting kind of tired of losing to him (Jeter). I've lost twice to him this year." ON THE REPLACEMENT MOTOR HE'S RUNNING: "This is our spare that we never ran. It's good, but my other one is a little better, but it got hurt. I will fix it, it will be all right. Plus, I have some other stuff in the works."

JOHN LINGENFELTER, SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT CHEVY S-10, lost to Todd Patterson in the second round:

LINGENFELTER: "We're out. I had it in the wrong gear. I had it in third. I can't blame anyone; it's always my fault, the way I see it. I have never done that the whole time I have been racing, not in practice, not in qualifying, not in the race. It's not so bad to get beat, but to screw it up is what really hurts. The dumb mistakes are the ones that strangle you. It just happens." ON THE NEW RICK JONES-BUILT TRUCK: "We're gaining. We're slowly picking up every round. We should have been in good shape for that run. The two S-10s are real close (Haas chassis vs. Jones chassis). But there are a lot of different characteristics." ON THE SPLAYED-VALVE LINGENFELTER-BUILT ENGINE: "It's working out well. We have top speed in the event so far (178.00 mph)."

RANDY DANIELS, winner of the season opener in Pomona, was eliminated in the first round by Todd Patterson.