rpm.espn.com: Changes aplenty for 32nd Gatornationals

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Saturday, April 21
Changes aplenty for 32nd Gatornationals
By Bill Stephens
ESPN.com

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The 32nd Mac Tools Gatornationals will be completed on Saturday but any similarity to the qualifying sessions we saw in March when the event was suspended by rain and the "test and tune" sessions held on Friday are purely coincidental.

The Gainesville Raceway concrete/asphalt playing field was a veritable nightmare for the nitro crew chiefs who were searching for a raceday combination that would get them a prestigious Gatornationals win. The hot sunshine that raised the track temperatures to over 100 degrees was almost non-existent in March when qualifying was completed before the steady rains came.

The puzzling track conditions had many a tuner coming away disappointed, bewildered, and in the majority of cases, totally stumped.

For instance, Kenny Bernstein, who manhandled everyone in Las Vegas two weeks ago with a fusillade of 4.50 passes on his way to much-needed victory could not make a clean run in either test session Friday. In fact, of the 21 test passes made by the teams who chose to take a shot at the track, only four runs total resulted in a sub-5-second time slip.

Darrell Russell was the quickest and fastest driver in the Joe Amato-owned Top Fuel dragster that ran 4.62/316 in the early session and 4.69/317 in the matinee. Mike Dunn, the Houston winner, struggled to put up a pair of 4.80 passes together, a 4.80/284 and a 4.83/285. Last year's Gators runner-up, Tony Schumacher, managed a 4.79/301 on his second pass which was anything but inspiring. And last year's event winner, Doug Kalitta, earned a 4.78/300 on his second test run after a 5.15/181 on his first attempt.

Gary Scelzi, the No. 1 qualifier back in March, smoked the tires in both of his runs as did Larry Dixon, Andrew Cowin, Doug Herbert, and David Grubnic. Russell was the only driver to actually card an improved time over his qualifying best in March: a 4.66 that spotted him seventh in the field.

There will be a number of different faces running in place of several qualified Top Fuel drivers due to the NHRA's recent ruling to allow car owners to fill their place on the eliminations ladder with a replacement driver. This was decided due to the scheduling conflict with the IHRA's race in Virginia this weekend and a number of Top Fuel teams hoping to field cars at both events.

Clay Millican will be represented by Bobby Lagana Jr., who will race his own car on Saturday from the No. 8 spot. Jim Cavalieri will fill the vacancy left by Bruce Litton, who qualified in Gainesville No. 13. And Paul Romine's No. 14 position will be filled by Mike Smith, brother of John Smith, who tunes the Top Fuel dragster driven by his wife, Rhonda Hartman-Smith. Also, Bobby Baldwin, who qualified No. 15 in his own car last month, has opted to drive the second car owned by the Smith's rather than his dragster which is allowed under the new rules.

In Funny Car, the big surprise was the impressive runs of Bruce Sarver, who has already appeared in two final rounds this year, winning one, but who struggled mightily in Gators qualifying in March, coming in 15th.

His 4.89/ 308 in the first session was backed up by his 4.99/295 in the afternoon pass and quickly served notice that the Richard Hogan/Alan Johnson hot weather tune-up is firmly in place. Three other drivers made noteworthy passes on Friday as Whit Bazemore rang up a 4.94/294 for second quickest, Tommy Johnson Jr., the Las Vegas winner, was third quickest with his 4.96/301, and Del Worsham's 4.98/284 was the fourth quickest pass overall.

No. 1 qualifier John Force, had his share of troubles getting his Castrol Mustang hooked up in both of his trips down the Gainesville quarter-mile with a 5.09/237 and a 5.07/293 reflecting his difficulties.

Chuck Etchells, whose racing fortunes have taken a drastic turn of late with intense discussions underway with his sponsors concerning his immediate and long-term racing plans, decided to sit out both test sessions. An announcement is expected soon regarding the future of his two-car operation.

The three Pro Stock classes all had their share of surprises as Warren Johnson and son, Kurt, were able to double-team the rest of the field with identical 6.87's at over 200 MPH to avenge their disappointing qualifying performances in March. At that time, Kurt captured the 6 hole in the sport's first all-200 MPH Pro Stock field and WJ barely made the show in the 15 slot.

Meanwhile, Jeg Coughlin's fortunes seem to be on the rise as his Chevy Cavalier, which rode him to his first victory of the year in Las Vegas, slightly trailed the times of the Johnsons with his 6.88/200, while No.1 qualifier Mark Pawuk appeared to be ready to pick up where he left off in March with a best of 6.87/200.

The Pro Stock Bike picture took a slight twist as No. 1 qualifier Antron Brown finished the day with a best of 7.23/185, just 3/100ths of a second off his pole-winning 7.20. Angelle Savoie, the Houston champ and now running a new six-speed transmission for the first time in competition, recorded a 7.26/183 best on Friday, but it was Matt Hines, the Houston runner-up, who made the most noise on test day with a best of 7.20/184 to wrap up low e.t. of the class.

Bob Panella's win in Las Vegas has apparently re-energized his Pro Stock Truck team as his 7.41/182 was the time to beat on Friday. In March qualifying, Panella could only manage a 7.44/181 to qualify third behind arch-rivals Randy Daniels, the pole-sitter with his 7.43/180, and Greg Stanfield, whose 7.44/181 sneaked him into the two slot.

On Friday, Daniels was surprisingly off pace with a best of 7.48/179, while Stanfield's 7.44/182 gave him the second-quickest numbers of the day. Racing will get under way at 11 a.m. ET on Saturday, and with weather forecasters expecting to again see sunny skies and temperatures in the mid-80s, this year's Gatornationals could be full of surprises.