NHRA Winston Drag Racing Testing Notes and Quotes from IRP
21 August 1997
Notes & Quotes from NHRA Winston Drag Racing Testing Indianapolis Raceway Park, Aug. 19-20, 1997 About 15 NHRA Winston Drag Racing Series professional teams tested at Indianapolis Raceway Park Tuesday, Aug. 19 and Wednesday, Aug. 20, in preparation for next week's NHRA U.S. Nationals at IRP. IRP maintenance crews and private contractors recently completed work on a new concrete starting pad on the drag strip, so the test provided the teams with their first opportunity to try out the new surface. Here are some highlights and comments from the test: Top Fuel: The Royal Purple Synthetic Lubricants team, with driver Cristen Powell, was the only Top Fuel team to participate in the test. On her final run Wednesday, Powell recorded an .835 second sixty foot time -- the second best of her career -- and was at half track in only 3.11 seconds at 259.14 mph. Unfortunately the blower belt broke at the 900-foot mark and she coasted across the finish line, but still recorded an impressive 4.778 second quarter-mile run. Funny Car: Whit Bazemore recorded the top elapsed time for the Funny Cars, posting a 5.013-second E.T. on a 304.15 mph run in the Team Winston Ford Mustang. Dean Skuza had top speed, with a 306.53 mph, 5.040 second run. Cruz Pedregon and the McDonald's Pontiac Firebird team also participated in the test. His best run was a 5.069 sec., 303.03 mph run. Some comments from McDonald's Funny Car Crew Chief Dave Settles: "So far the new (dragstrip) surface is very good. We'll see how well it holds up when the volume of cars goes up, but so far I like what I see. If it doesn't get too hot during the Nationals you'll see some pretty good speeds." (On the testing) "I would say we've had a successful test. We tried some new cylinder heads here, and that's probably why we didn't go faster -- everything on the tuneup was new. We're going to get more aggressive on the tune-up next week. It's the U.S. Nationals, so everybody will really be going for it." Pro Stock: Mike Bell had the best pass during Pro Stock testing, with a 7.016 sec. E.T. and a speed of 195.99 mph just after noon Wednesday. Darrell Alderman and Scott Geoffrion, who drive the Team Mopar Dodge Avengers, each recorded 7.02 second runs on Tuesday. Comments from Dale Eicke, owner of the Team Moper Dodge Avengers: "The testing went very well. IRP did a good job of polishing the new concrete surface. It worked very well for us; the cars had a lot of traction and we were able to run some really good numbers. We were right there with the fastest cars like Steve Schmidt and Mike Bell, so we're both pleased and optimistic." (On Darrell Alderman and Scott Geoffrion's return to Indy) "Indy is the race to win, and I honestly feel that with every race this season we consistently have the best chance to win because of the quality of the drivers we have with Darrell and Scott, as long as we provide them with the right equipment and tune-up to do the job." The NHRA U.S. Nationals, the crown jewel of the NHRA Winston Drag Racing Series, takes place at IRP from Wednesday, August 27 through Monday, September 1. Federal-Mogul Drag Racing Series qualifications get underway Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. The Winston Professional classes, which includes Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock and Pro Stock Bike, appear for the first time Friday night, August 29, for first round qualifying at 7 p.m. Thank you for your continued coverage of IRP and the NHRA Winston Drag Racing Series! Contact: Eric Powell IRP Public Relations (317) 387-7342
