Doug Kalitta's 4.452-second blast at 328.22 mph came in a back-up version of the Mac Tools Dragster that replaced the one that was damaged in Saturday's opening session. It was the car he drove for the first third of the season.

"Rahn said if it feels good, just run it through. If it goes out and does anything stupid, shut it off," Kalitta said.


Doug Kalitta's 4.452-second blast at 328.22 mph came in a back-up version of the Mac Tools Dragster that replaced the one that was damaged in Saturday's opening session. It was the car he drove for the first third of the season.

"Rahn said if it feels good, just run it through. If it goes out and does anything stupid, shut it off," Kalitta said.

"I was making sure we had enough weight on the front end. That's the one variable you kind of wonder about. I was real happy with the guys that they put that thing together and it went out and made that run like that. It was pretty impressive to have a group of guys like that. Rahn and my whole team, I just can't say enough about them. They've really got my car running strong. Rahn's a real solid guy. I'm honored to have him as crew chief of my car.

"Fresh out of the box, it ran just like it ran before," he said of the "new" ride. Going into tomorrow we'll have more confidence in what we've got."

However, Kalitta said, "I'm sure it'll be nerve-wracking, especially the first round. I've just been trying to make sure this year is just keep it fun."

Kalitta said of the controversial actions surrounding Schumacher's car in the opposite lane, "I was sitting there wondering what was going on. I was hoping they weren't telling me to go in, that I hadn't been paying attention."

He said he wasn't sure exactly what happened with his own Mac Tools car earlier in the day. "For whatever reason, it decided to kink the frame by the fuel tank," he said.