NHRA: Haas Looks Forward to Getting First Win at Home Track
22 June 1998
MADISON, Ill. -- About 25 miles down the road from Gateway International Raceway sits one of drag racing's most noted chassis craftsman's shop. Many years ago, when Fenton, Mo.'s Jerry Haas launched a race car building career, competing in a professional category race in his hometown was little more than passing thought.These days, the driver of the Haas Racing Chevrolet S-10 Pro Stock Truck spends quite a bit more time thinking about performing in front of friends and family.
"When they built the track in St. Louis it was like a dream come true," Haas said. "I never thought I would see a track like that built so close to home in my time. It really pumped me up when they built it. It's been great for the community."
While one dream was answered, one dream still remains: A victory in front of the hometown crowd. Haas will attempt to win his first Pro Stock Truck race at the second annual Sears Craftsman Nationals, June 25-28, at Chris Pook's two-year-old quarter-mile dragstrip that sits just across from the banks of the mighty Mississippi River. The $1.7 million race is the 11th of 22 events in the $30-million NHRA Winston Drag Racing Series.
Haas has made many laps on the track, and says it's already becoming one of his favorites.
"The track is over a year old now so it should be well-seasoned," Haas said. "The track is so smooth, it's like racing on glass. We've tested there this season and there's no problem with it. The owners put in some additional concrete and it seems to be what all of the tracks are eventually going to, 500 feet of concrete. That seems to keep all the cars really hooked up so when you get it in high gear it doesn't seem to move around so much."
Haas and fellow Chevy teammate John Lingenfelter were the dominating twosome during last season's preliminary run of Pro Stock Truck exhibition races. However, another Chevy driver, Larry Kopp, has moved to the front this season by winning the last three races.
Chevrolet S-10 drivers hold three of the top four spots in the battle for the Winston championship. Kopp has the national elapsed time record at 7.635 seconds, and Haas owns the national speed record at 176.70 mph. While Dodge Dakota and Ford Ranger drivers have made some noise in the early part of 12-race season, Chevrolet has been leading the way.
"The Chevy teams have worked hard during the last year to get to this point," Haas said. "During the exhibition season last year, even though we got beat a couple of times we were testing for this season. We knew that this was what we were running for. Unfortunately, we didn't get to test before the season- opener at Houston and got down there and had a lot of little problems that hurt us. We did some testing and came back at Atlanta and ran a lot better. Larry is a little bit ahead of us, but we've had some gremlins to overcome and we're gaining on it every race. The performance gap was tightened at Atlanta, Englishtown and Chicago, and we got the speed record. This deal is getting really competitive and to be involved with it is something I've always dreamed about."
His prediction for the Sears Craftsman Nationals: No question, the Haas Racing Chevy will visit the winner's circle. He feels confident about his team's chances when temperatures rise.
"We should run real well there because we seem to have a better barometer for the hot and humid conditions," Haas said. "I think you'll see us running in the high-7.60s there."
