Doug Herbert’s 500th career round of eliminations coincided with the first round of the NHRA Torco Route 66 Nationals in Chicago, Ill. The milestone also coincided with a victory lap.

Herbert’s personal triumph came at the expense of J.R. Todd, who he handled easily.

After a lengthy rain delay and a tornado watch issued by the National Weather Service, Herbert drove past Dave Grubnic in the second round. Doug Herbert’s 500th career round of eliminations coincided with the first round of the NHRA Torco Route 66 Nationals in Chicago, Ill. The milestone also coincided with a victory lap.

Herbert’s personal triumph came at the expense of J.R. Todd, who he handled easily.

After a lengthy rain delay and a tornado watch issued by the National Weather Service, Herbert drove past Dave Grubnic in the second round.

While his previous opponents provided a challenge to an extent, the humid conditions in Chicago produced one challenge he couldn’t overcome.

After sitting in the sweltering heat, sweat got into Herbert’s eyes during the burnout against Tony Schumacher. As he staged, Herbert was unable to see the light and heard Schumacher drive away.

“I don’t really know what happened,” said Herbert. “Sweat got in my eyes, and I just didn’t hit it right. I messed up. It doesn’t happen very often, but it happened today.

“We moved up one spot to the No. 9 points position, and are on track to keep moving up and fight for the championship in the Countdown to One.

“The guys have faith in me, and I have faith in them. This team will come out ready to win in Englishtown where we went to the finals last year.”