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Wednesday, May 23  Etchells aims to qualify both cars By Chuck Etchells Special to ESPN.com This week, the NHRA winds its way to Heartland Park Topeka, a track that holds some very special memories for both Jim Epler and myself. Eight years ago our careers became permanently joined when on the same October weekend I ran the first four-second elapsed time in the history of the Funny Car division, while Jim became the first to break the 300 mph barrier. Needless to say, it's a weekend neither of us will ever forget. Probably the neatest thing about it is those records will always be ours. No matter what anyone else accomplishes in our sport, those marks are something Jim and I will always be known for, breaking the last two major barriers of our lifetime. I know it is a particular source of pride for both of us. But those memories are just that, memories, and as we pull into Topeka for this weekend's Advance Auto Parts Nationals, our focus has to be on getting our program back on track. Last weekend in New Jersey was the first time in well over a month the Etchells Racing team ran both cars in all four qualifying sessions, and although we made a little progress, we were far from satisfied with our performance. However, before I sound totally negative about our situation, there are some extenuating circumstances that cannot be overlooked. First, we were confronted with completely transforming our team's look in nine business days, from paint schemes on the cars and trailer to our crew uniforms. Some things were finished as we pushed the car to the line for the first qualifying session. That's one heck of an accomplishment. Next, if you had seen our pit area in Englishtown on Thursday, you would have thought it was Christmas morning with all the new parts that had been delivered. However, not only did we have to find a spot in the trailer for these new pieces, but we also had to quality check each one. In addition swapping out older, used parts for these new ones affected the tune-up, adding an extra variable Terry and Larry had to consider. Finally, we're slowly but surely getting our crew back to full strength, and some of our new guys have very little experience. This, too, can play a major role in how the car is prepared for competition. When you factor in the pressure to perform, as well as this year's competitive fields, you can see why I don't envy Terry Manzer's position -- he certainly has a lot on his plate. Even so, we are facing a very narrow window in which to show Sunoco they made the right decision, and to convince them to come back in 2002, and there is only so much we can do off the track without the corresponding performance. It may not be fair, but that's the hand we were dealt. This weekend promises to be a major challenge. Heartland Park is known to be a track with plenty of "teeth," and the long-range forecast is for cooler temperatures, with highs only in the 70s. That means we could very well see the mark for the quickest Funny Car field fall once again, and if things fall into place, it could take a 4.8-second run just to make Sunday's eliminations. That is playing hardball, folks. Our goal, of course, is to put both my Sunoco/Matco Camaro and Jim's Toys R Us/Matco Camaro in field. Frankly, that's a tall order, and although it won't be easy, the Etchells Racing crew is certainly capable, and we certainly won't go down without a fight. I suggest you stop by next week and see how we made out. Who knows, we might even surprise ourselves. Chuck Etchells, driver and owner the Sunoco/Matco Tools Camaro Z28 Funny Car, provides a diary to ESPN.com throughout the NHRA season.  Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories
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