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IHRA
President's Cup Nationals - Budds Creek, Md.
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The
latest results from the eleventh stop on the IHRA Hooters Drag Drag
Racing Series |
by Bobby Bennett, Jr. Photos by Roger Richards, Bryan Epps |
SUNDAY - Millican gives Goodyear an accidental endorsement en route to winning eighth national event in 2003
(9-27-2003) – Clay Millican had to look no further than his engine and see the indestructible Goodyear blower belt still intact after a pedal-fest to know that it had saved his butt again. Millican, of Drummonds, Tenn., pedaled and smoked the tires on Peter Lehman’s Werner Enterprises-sponsored dragster to the Top Fuel crown during the IHRA President’s Cup Nationals at Maryland International Raceway in Budds Creek, Md. He was also joined in the winner’s circle by Carl Spiering (Pro Modified), Rob Atchison (Funny Car) and Carl Baker (Sunoco Pro Stock). Millican’s opponent Bruce Litton shredded the supercharger belt on his Lucas Oil-sponsored driver. “I had no idea what was going on,” explained Millican. “I was on the throttle and off. It was a wild and crazy deal. Those are some of the neatest races to watch for fans, but not for us in the car. I hope I don’t have to do that again this year because the crew guys are going to kill me. Top Fuel engines don’t like that kind of treatment. “But, they sure are fun to watch.” Millican entered eliminations as the quickest qualifier with a track record 4.680, 312.13.
Millican didn’t have to labor hard as he gained two single rounds to the finals with victories over Roger Dean and Josh Starcher. Litton’s weekend was an interesting one from the time his first qualifying attempt was disallowed because a spider broke the beams. He entered eliminations as the second quickest and stopped Grant Flowers in the first round and soloed into the finals when Danny Dunn couldn’t make the call. This was the sixth meeting this season for the two. Millican has won four times. Spiering was the very first “first-time” winner in Pro Modified in 2003. The Jordan Station, Ont.-based driver pushed his Eaton/Cutler-Hammer-sponsored ’57 Chevy to the victory over another first-time finalist Roy Wasko. Wasko fouled by .001. “It has been many, many years for me and my team,” explained Spiering. “We spent a lot of nights in that shop wondering when we were going to get our break. Without Eaton Cutler Hammer, none of this would have ever happened. The guys that run my business and my family made all the difference today.
“I told them all one of the days we were going to win. Right before I left the boss told me to go out and get a win and it happened.” Spiering never admitted to underdog status, but became aware very early that it wasn’t a day that the favorites were going to enjoy. “We have struggled and struggled, but we never got any luck,” Wasko explained. “I never would have envisioned this day in a million years.” Wasko’s memory-filled day began from the 13th spot and opened with a victory over Shannon Jenkins. Wasko also took out Pat Moore and Glen Kerunsky. Atchison scored his sixth Funny Car victory defeating Mark Thomas for the third time out of four final rounds. “This is unbelievable,” Atchison explained. “The crew works together like one big well-oiled machine. Words can’t express my happiness. It’s so good to win. I wanted this as bad as Mark. I wanted it worse. I could feel it in my bones.” Atchison left no doubt that he was the man to beat by qualifying on top with a 5.757, 242.67. Atchison left no stone unturned as he qualified on top with a 5.757, 242.67 and obliterated the efforts of Melinda Green-King, Joe Comella and Neal Parker.
In the final round, Atchison left on multi-time World Champion Mark Thomas and scored the victory with a 5.802, 241.93. Thomas absorbed the runner-up with a 5.866, 238.64. For his part, Thomas was a threat from the third qualifying spot. He earned his final round berth with victories over Mark Poyser, Tony Bogolo and Larry Dobbs. Baker moved one step closer to capturing his first-ever Sunoco Pro Stock World Championship by stopping Jeff Dobbins in the final round. “It’s unbelievable,” explained Baker. “The car didn’t go 60-foot in the first three qualifying attempts. We made wholesale changes to the four-link. The car went down the track. On raceday, it didn’t matter what we did, our win light kept coming on. “Twenty-four hours ago, I didn’t think I would be racing here.” Baker didn’t qualify until the final session Sunoco Pro Stock, earning their way into the final eliminations from the 13th spot with a 6.612, 212.26. The Summit-sponsored Baker was on a mission all day with solid victories over Chuck DeMory, Jerry Haas and Elijah Morton. In the final round, Baker outran Jeff Dobbins on both ends of the track. Dobbins qualified better at second and waded to the finals by stopping
Charlie Peppers, Brian Gahm and Pete Berner. Sportsman Results
Final round-by-round results from the 12th annual President's
Cup Nationals at Maryland International Raceway, the 11th of 12
events in the 2003 Hooters IHRA Drag Racing TOP FUEL: ROUND ONE -- Josh Starcher, 4.844, 306.19 def. Bobby Lagana Jr, 4.903, 282.07; Bruce Litton, 4.846, 299.26 def. Grant Flowers, 7.772, 101.48; Danny Dunn, 5.368, 223.32 def. Todd Paton, 10.028, 79.03; Clay Millican, 4.740, 288.64 def. Roger Dean, broke; SEMIFINALS -- Litton, 13.135, 74.24 def. Dunn, broke;
Millican, 7.847, 93.44 def. Starcher, FINAL -- Millican, 7.385, 212.09 def. Litton, 11.107, 72.79. PRO MODIFIED: ROUND ONE -- Glen Kerunsky, Chevy Bel Air, 6.318, 227.77
def. Quain Stott, Chevy Corvette, QUARTERFINALS -- Spiering, 6.583, 219.26 def. Castellana, 6.885, 215.34; Wasko, 6.320, 222.80 def. Moore, 6.770, 181.11; Kerunsky, 6.320, 225.82 def. Janis, 6.862, 157.12; Ferrell, 6.574, 219.54 def. Engel, 13.607, 55.29; SEMIFINALS -- Wasko, 6.333, 221.92 def. Kerunsky, 6.579, 210.67; Spiering, 6.323, 224.62 def. Ferrell, 6.729, 217.11; FINAL -- Spiering, 6.362, 223.32 def. Wasko, foul. FUNNY CAR: ROUND ONE -- Rob Atchison, Pontiac Firebird, 5.808, 242.36 def. Melinda Green-King, Dodge Avenger, 6.018, 233.52; John Vouros, Firebird, 5.797, 243.15 def. Terry McMillen, Avenger, 5.973, 235.47; Mark Thomas, Avenger, 5.816, 241.37 def. Mark Poyser, Ford Mustang, broke; Neal Parker, Chevy Camaro, 6.242, 209.75 def. Von Smith, Avenger, 9.250, 93.93; Fred Tigges, Camaro, 5.963, 200.59 def. Dave Ray, Mustang, broke; Tony Bogolo, Oldsmobile Achieva, 5.865, 241.41 def. Ronnie Midyette, Camaro, 5.881, 238.38; Larry Dobbs, Chevy Corvette, 5.876, 241.93 def. Chris Foster, Avenger, 6.148, 184.88; Joe Comella, Firebird, 5.895, 229.24 def. Bunny Burkett, Avenger, 8.265, 101.97; QUARTERFINALS -- Dobbs, 14.186, 80.75 def. Vouros, foul; Atchison, 5.831, 241.84 def. Comella, foul; Thomas, 6.072, 227.08 def. Bogolo, foul; Parker, 5.997, 232.67 def. Tigges, 8.503, 106.19; SEMIFINALS -- Atchison, 5.830, 241.50 def. Parker, foul;
Thomas, 5.842, 239.78 def. Dobbs, FINAL -- Atchison, 5.802, 241.93 def. Thomas, 5.866, 238.64. PRO STOCK: ROUND ONE -- Elijah Morton, Mercury Cougar, 6.564, 212.46
def. Floyd Cheek, Ford Mustang, QUARTERFINALS -- Baker, 6.620, 212.66 def. Haas, 6.611, 211.69; Morton, 6.601, 211.30 def. Williford, 6.789, 208.42; Dobbins, 6.626, 212.16 def. Gahm, 6.643, 211.43; Berner, 6.571, 213.84 def. O'Brien, 6.606, 210.93; SEMIFINALS -- Baker, 6.642, 212.26 def. Morton, 6.720,
175.84; Dobbins, 6.733, 211.33 def. FINAL -- Baker, 6.579, 213.16 def. Dobbins, 6.608, 212.86.
SATURDAY - Clay Millican No. 1 qualifier at IHRA President's Cup Nationals; Janis sets Pro Modified speed World Record
(9-27-2003) - Clay Millican took the No. 1 Top Fuel qualifying position Saturday during the 12th Annual President's Cup Nationals at Maryland International Raceway in Budds Creek, Md. The Drummonds, Tenn.-native held the top spot with his 4.680 E.T. at 312.13 mph. Pro Modified competitor Mike Janis set the IHRA world speed record at 231.40 mph. Other number one qualifiers include Janis, Lancaster, N.Y., (Pro
Modified); Rob Atchison, Millican can claim his 100th Top Fuel round win if he wins this
event, which is the only race he lost in 2002. Bruce Litton took
the No. 2 spot and Danny Dunn and Josh Starcher third and Janis held the No. 1 Pro Modified spot with his E.T. from Friday
night, 6.201. His 231.40 mph
Atchison, the current Funny Car points leader, came in today already qualified No. 1 and decided not to make any more qualifying passes. The move paid off, as none of the other competitors were able to catch his 5.757 E.T, 242.67 mph. John Vouros and Mark Thomas held onto second and third and Von Smith took the fourth spot. The top four qualifiers in Sunoco Pro Stock remained the same as
those qualified Friday: Maryland-native Joe Aluise Jr. won the GM Performance Top Stock race. Aluise, of Westminster, Md., is the Top Stock points leader and this win should clinch the championship for him, which will be decided at the World Finals in October. He drove his '63 Belvedere to a final round 9.924 E.T., 132.28 mph. Eliminations begin Sunday at 11 a.m. with the finals at 5 p.m. The President's Cup Nationals is the eleventh stop on the twelve-race Hooters IHRA Drag Racing Series. First-round pairings for professional eliminations Sunday for the 12th annual President's Cup Nationals at Maryland International Raceway, the 11th of 12 events in the 2003 Hooters IHRA Drag Racing Series. Pairings based on results in qualifying, which ended Saturday. Top Fuel -- 1. Clay Millican, 4.680 seconds, 312.13
mph vs. 8. Roger Dean, 5.493, Pro Modified -- 1. Mike Janis, Chevy Corvette,
6.201, 231.40 vs. 16. Patrick Doherty, Funny Car -- 1. Rob Atchison, Pontiac Firebird,
5.757, 242.67 vs. 16. Melinda Pro Stock -- 1. John Montecalvo, Chevy Cavalier,
6.556, 212.79 vs. 16. Steve Williford,
SATURDAY NOTES – Bruce Litton’s arachnophobia, New Nitrous Game in town and SpongeBob SquarePants meet the Berner boys
No Little Miss Muffet – Bruce Litton might just develop a case of arachnophobia (fear of spiders) after losing his first qualifying attempt on Friday. The Lucas Oil-sponsored driver stopped the clocks with a 3.51 elapsed time. IHRA officials discredited the run and allowed the second ranked driver a chance to make his run up at 10 AM on Saturday morning. Litton eventually slipped into the third spot with a 4.859, 300.80. The reason that IHRA officials gave for the malfunction? It was a spider that reportedly stopped the beams. Memories – Four years ago, Alcohol Funny Car racer Neal Parker earned his way into the history book. The Millville, NJ.-based driver competed in the Pro Outlaw category with a supercharged Fiat altered. Parker won the race to the five-second zone when he laid down a 5.97 at Maryland International Raceway.
New Nitrous Kid on the block – Shannon Jenkins has always taken pride in the fact that he’s done his own thing over the years. At the Performance Racing Industry trade show, Jenkins and team owner Mike Castellana ran across the folks at Wilson Manifolds, a company known mostly for their prowess in the Mustang racing community. Wilson has embarked on a line of nitrous oxide called Pro-Flow Nitrous. At Epping, one of Wilson’s ace technicians Brandon Switzer began working with the Awesome Motorsports team. The end result was Jenkins’ first victory of the season. Jenkins and Castellana are currently the only team in the pits using the new company. As Jenkins put it, “Sometimes you have to gamble and go out on your own. In this case, we hit the jackpot with Brandon and the guys at Pro-Flow.” WMD Found - “We had no problem finding weapons of mass destruction on Charlie Gambino at Epping. He was driving one.” – IHRA announcer Aaron Polburn referring to Gambino’s explosion at New England Dragway. Shortly after that comment, Gambino oiled down the left lane on the burnout. Sammy’s on tour – Walking through the pits, we couldn’t help but notice the resemblance between Billy Harper’s crewchief Evan Rives and rock and roller Sammy Hagar. The only thing he’s missing is the goatee. Rives’ assessment of the resemblance elicited a chuckle and he added, “It wasn’t on purpose. I just got tired of fixing by hair and I said the heck with it. For what it’s worth, the concert is in Baltimore tomorrow night.” New Record holder – Mike Janis was back in the same form that earned the Lancaster, NY-based driver the 2001 Pro Modified World Championship. On Friday’s evening session, Janis blasted out a 231.40 which exceeded the 231.20 established by Fred Hahn. During Saturday’s first session, Janis backed up the mark with a 230.02.
Spongebob Sadomasochism – Racer have their lucky gadgets, but when it comes to Sunoco Pro Stock racer Pete Berner, one of his team’s dolls serves as a frustration neutralizer. Crewchief Bob Gillig, who is nicknamed “SpongeBob” because of his spiked hair (now highlighted blonde), was given a “SpongeBob” doll. The team quickly tied the doll onto the frame, but when it brought a bit of bad luck…they turned into vigilantes. The first step was to put tape over his mouth and tie his hands behind its back. When that didn’t prevent the gremlins, a clamp was put on the crotch. Future punishments include teasing with a Barbie doll. Kid breaks streak – Most of this season,
the Sunoco Pro Stock division has been plagued with a streak of
bad fortunes to those that win the previous national event. They
usually fail to qualify for the next event. This time a 9-year old
kid from Virginia Beach, Va., helped points leader Carl Baker to
overcome the jinx. All it took was a lucky penny from P.J. Knight
to earn a spot in the final session. Baker had not made a full pass
all weekend.
That's one ugly crash
(9-27-2003) - Fidelio Montrond, a Top Sportsman racer from Acushnet, Ma., found out the hard way why left turns don't work well in drag racing during Saturday qualifying. (Dave DeAngelis photos).
FRIDAY - Millican leads incomplete Top Fuel show, Janis, Atchison and Montecalvo pace other professional divisions
(9-26-2003) - Clay Millican has to wait until 10 AM tomorrow to officially celebrate his status as first day Top Fuel low qualifier at the IHRA President's Cup Nationals in Budds Creek, Md. Other professional low qualifiers include Mike Janis (Pro Modified), Rob Atchison (Funny Car) and John Montecalvo (Sunoco Pro Stock). The defending World Champion Millican from Drummonds, Tenn., posted the quickest run of the day with a 4.680, 312.13. Bruce Litton, who was in the opposite lane of Millican, had his timers malfunction reportedly because a spider walked through the beams stopping the clocks with a 3.51 elapsed time. He will be granted a make-up run at 10 AM on Saturday. Josh Starcher was the unofficial second quickest Top Fueler with a 4.798, 299.40. Janis, of Lancaster, NY., was on his game in the final session of Pro Modified qualifying with a 6.201, 231.40. He entered the event ranked third in the Hooters IHRA Drag Racing Series points standings.
Mike Castellana was the second quickest with a 6.258, 224.14, and also served as the leading nitrous car on the grounds. Past Budds Creek finalist Chip King was third with a 6.259, 226.70. Mike Stawicki sits on the bubble with a 6.379, 222.36. Canadian Funny Car racer Atchison from London, Ontario, continued his bid for the 2003 championship by landing on the top of the field after the first day. He earned the spot with a 5.757, 242.67. Atchison was nearly a full tenth ahead of John Vouros (5.836) and Mark Thomas produced a 5.886, 240.17 to land in the third spot. Ronnie Midyette was on the bump spot with a 6.176, 235.51. The Chevrolet Sunoco Pro Stock fans had something to be proud of at the end of Friday qualifying. Montecalvo carried the banner proudly in his Citgo-sponsored Cavalier with a 6.556, 212.79. The closest qualifier was the Ford-powered entry of Jeff Dobbins with a 6.581, 212.79. Pete Berner was third with a 6.586, 212.66. Former points leader Jason Collins was 16th with a 6.641, 211.63. Qualifying continues tomorrow with sessions scheduled for 2 PM and 7 PM.
Top Fuel -- 1. Clay Millican, 4.680 seconds, 312.13
mph; 2. Josh Starcher, 4.798, Pro Modified -- 1. Mike Janis, Chevy Corvette,
6.201, 231.40; 2. Mike Castellana, Chevy Funny Car -- 1. Rob Atchison, Pontiac Firebird,
5.757, 242.67; 2. John Vouros, Firebird, Pro Stock -- 1. John Montecalvo, Chevy Cavalier,
6.556, 212.79; 2. Jeff Dobbins, Ford FRIDAY NOTES - Nothing like the ice cream, Stott's MIR jinx and racers will race for cookies
(9-26-2003) - Daddy's got a sweet tooth - Maryland International Raceway is the kind of track that has supercharged Pro Modified racers salivating at the combination of good traction and atmospheric conditions that make racing a fast proposition. Not only that, track promoter Royce Miller has transformed the legendary facility into one of the nicest racing complexes in the country. While all those attributes are bound to attract a plethora of drag racers, they don't have the least bit of influence on Houston, Texas-based Pro Modified racer Thomas Patterson. You can call it his "sweet-tooth" excuse that inspires Patterson and his father Richard to drive all night Thursday from Texas to Maryland to participate in the IHRA President's Cup Nationals in Budds Creek, Md. "I love the track, but it's the ice cream that makes us head that way," Patterson explained. "They were there the first year we came and it was sold out of a truck. Last year, they sold it out of a trailer. Last year they were three trailers down so it made it easy to get plenty of it." Standing at a little over 6-feet tall with a lanky build, the ice cream does not push him anywhere close to obesity. For the record, he prefers Vanilla. "Drag racing is about having a good time," Patterson added. Will race for cookies - Apparently a tradition has taken hold in IHRA Hooters Drag Racing competition. Nothing charms a drag racer better than a good Oreo cookie. With that in mind, after each winning round the IHRA tech department rewards the driver with an Oreo cookie. The Top Fuel winner gets the remaining Oreos leftover at the end of the day.
Good Gugly Goop - Home is where you hang your hat. For Sunoco Pro Stock racer Frank Gugliotta, Maryland International Raceway is the place he calls home. With the IHRA President's Cup Nationals headed into his favorite racing facility, the Mt. Airy, Md.-based driver can't believe his good fortunes headed into the event ranked second in the IHRA Hooters Drag Racing Series points standings. Why is Gugliotta so keen on the facility that is nearly two hours from his hometown? It's simple. This is the track where he won his first-ever Ironman in Top Sportsman and in fact, team owner Steve Thodos enjoyed the same fate in 2001 with veteran journeyman James Justice behind the wheel. "I've probably raced at MIR more than I have in any track in my life," confided Gugliotta. "I guess I earned my stripes to run in the Sunoco Pro Stock class by running Quick Eights and Brackets here. This is an incredibly nice track and it yields some incredible atmospheric conditions. "It's pretty close to sea level and it always has a good barometer. We've put in more than our share of runs here." Gugliotta and Thodos are so fond of MIR that they have made the incredible facility as their official test track. There can't wait for the race to begin. Gugliotta added, "I was just there last Sunday and it is anxious for some fast racecars to go down it." "I learned how to win here," explained Gugliotta. "If a man is allowed to dream then mine would be to win here and go to the top of the points. At home, that would be such a gratifying win. Let me paraphrase that…it would go beyond gratifying. If I did win it all, they'd have to scrape me up off of the pavement. I'd just melt right there at the finish line." Gugliotta knows that the fight for the championship is going to be tough. "These last two races are gonna be hell."
No luck at all - A drag racer never likes to admit that he's been jinxed at a particular racetrack, but when it comes to Maryland International Raceway, LeeBoy-sponsored driver Quain Stott cannot ignore the obvious. In fact, the highly-successful driver from Inman, SC., has only qualified in two of the events contested since the early-Nineties and has never won a round. One of those DNQ efforts cost him the 2000 World Championship. The purpose of Stott's admission of unluckiness is not to create a mood of depression headed into this weekend. It is designed to provide motivation for the Inman, SC-based driver, who is looking to rebound from a mishap three weeks ago in Epping, NH. Stott suffered extensive cosmetic damage to his supercharged '63 Corvette. "I guess about every eight years you have to hit the wall to find the point of no return," explained Stott. "It ain't changed any since I did it back in 1995. The difference between then and now is that I have the money to fix it, although I didn't have a whole lot left over." Stott's car required a great deal of fiberglass repair as well as the replacement of key internal elements. As Stott puts it, "With fiberglass, it was a lot worse inside than it looked." The repair took nearly three weeks of round the clock work at Stott's shop. The finishing painting touches were applied by Jack Nodine in time for Stott to get in some time runs at Farmington Dragway in Winston-Salem, NC. "We had a good test and I feel pretty good," Stott explained. "We've been to Hell and back, but that's okay…you have to do that every once in a while." On an equal level with Millican - Bruce Litton may not be equal to Clay Millican in terms of national event victories or in the IHRA/Hooters Drag Racing Series points standings, but the Lucas Oil-sponsored driver is dead even with his rival headed into Budds Creek. Neither of the top two combatants in the IHRA Top Fuel division has won a professional round of competition at Maryland International Raceway. It's not all negative for Litton, who is an enclosed trailer dealership owner from Indianapolis, because he does holds a Top Dragster Quick Eight victory to his credit dating back to 1995. "I guess that means we are on an even plain," explained Litton. "The real problem is that neither one of us established a good baseline run in the heat of the day last year. The good thing about MIR is that you can make a lot of horsepower, but the bad part about it is that it isn't always easy to put that power to the ground. It is easy to overpower the track." Mustang Mentality - Pete Berner admitted that his team was a bit frustrated when they didn't get to test before heading to the last stop on the IHRA Hooters Drag Racing tour in Epping, NH. In the last two weeks, the Crete, Ill.-based Sunoco Pro Stock driver more than made up for it with a lengthy test session at Route 66 Dragway in Joliet, Ill. The only reason that testing was not available before Epping was an IRL race had the entire facility closed to outside testing. The much-awaited test session yielded the kind of results the team was looking for from a track not set on kill. Berner turned 213.75, spinning the tires. He ran 171 to the 660. He ran some low 6.50s with a 2954 barometer. That kind of performance has Berner more than ready to get down to business. "We've nearly tested the wheels off of this car," explained Berner. "I think we have found a good weather tune-up that we have been missing. We did well at Epping, but we were very disappointed that we were unable to capitalize on tremendous conditions. I think we were close to the 6.40s and I'm confident that we will see some 6.40s at MIR. I think we will do well." One of the things Berner will keep his eye on is how the new car reacts to Maryland International Raceway and its incredible racing surface, not to mention atmospheric conditions. "This car is more finicky than the one we had last year," explained Berner. "It isn't a total opposite of the car we ran last year, but it has its own way of doing thing. This car is more aggressive in the middle and top end, and after we tested, it has started turning very good 60-foot times." Sick to his stomach - Doug Kirk knows the game plan headed into this weekend's event. The two-time World Champion from Lenore, West Va., needs a win in a bad way headed into the eleventh stop on the twelve-race IHRA Hooters Drag Racing Series tour. With one career (1995) win and a runner-up (1996) at MIR, he knows that he let a golden opportunity slip by in Epping, NH, the previous event on the tour. Kirk contracted a stomach virus in Epping and made it tough for him to race. The veteran driver held his own despite being nauseated and running a slight fever. As he put it, "I wasn't feeling bad enough to quit, nor was I feeling good enough to jump around and do cartwheels." How Shannon found his groove - Shannon Jenkins knew the day was coming this season when he and teammate/team owner Mike Castellana would find their "groove". Sometimes it's better late than never. Just three weeks ago in Epping, NH., Jenkins avenged a few DNQ outings to claim his first victory of the season. Castellana, who has qualified sparingly in the last few seasons, also claimed his first IHRA Hooters Drag Racing Series national event victory in Cayuga, Ont. Jenkins is glad that the team finally has good results to show for their tireless efforts. That makes headed into this weekend something that the Awesome Motorsports team can't wait to participate in. "It feels good to be up here where we belong," explained Jenkins. "We are constantly working on these engines trying to find power. We are also trying to establish a good measure of consistency. I think we are finally tapping into the best of both worlds. Running good is always a plus." "I think we have finally dismissed the new car blues." During the struggles of a few races, Jenkins heard all of the rumors of sandbagging and lack of effort. That kind of talk just chaps the four-time World Champion's hide. "People think we don't work and that's bull," Jenkins said. "They need to walk in my shoes one time and they would see. For a two-car nitrous team to run on the edge takes a lot of work and dedication. We have to stay on top of the game and if you look at my phone bill there is at least one call to Gene Fulton every week." Hoover still learning - Ed Hoover is getting on the job training when it comes to Pro Modified racing in 2003. The veteran Pro Modified driver for Paul Trussell is still learning the ropes when it comes to campaigning a supercharged doorslammer. His latest lesson will come during this weekend. The original national event winner established a solid reputation behind the wheel of a nitrous combination, even winning at Maryland International Raceway back in 1999. But, with the blower car, he's back at square one. "We still have a long way to go, but we are learning," explained Hoover. "That's the most important thing. We are making ground. Right now, we have nothing to lose and a great deal to gain. If we have a good showing at Maryland, it will set us up for a good Rockingham. "The order of the day will be lots of testing and trying to find a baseline to work off of. We had reached a point of being comfortable and then the rules change came in. We had to start all over again." Running like Bell - Tim Bell isn't cocky and to be honest, he isn't sure what state of mind he needs to be in. The one thing that Charleston, West Va.-based drag strip operator who runs in the Sunoco Pro Stock division is sure of is that his West Virginia Department of Tourism-sponsored Mustang is up and ready for the challenge of a quick and fast race. "I feel pretty good headed into Maryland," Bell said. We got our motor freshened up that we won martin with. The thought of the cool air and good track gives us confidence that our chances are as good as anyone out there." Bell adds that the trip to MIR could serve as a learning experience for his team. "It gets us more experience," explained Bell. "We aren't overly confident. We just don't have a lot of experience here." The last time that Bell ran at this facility was four years ago.
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