NHRA: Mopar - Seattle - Final Report
6 August 1998
(Kent, Wa.) - After the final eliminations of the 1998 Prolong Super Lubricants Northwest Nationals, Team Mopar earned its second Pro Stock Truck win of the season enroute to a successful weekend in Seattle.In Pro Stock Truck, the Atsco/Mopar Dodge Dakota of Craig Eaton beat the Chevy S-10 of Jerry Haas, (7.742/173.27) to (7.715/175.02) in the finals. It was Eaton's first NHRA victory as a professional driver. Mopar driver Todd Patterson was eliminated in the second round. David Nickens was upset by Brad Jeter in the first round of eliminations while Bill Henderson did not qualify.
In Top Fuel, driver Mike Dunn and the Darrell Gwynn owned Top Fuel dragster was eliminated in the semifinals for the sixth time this season.
In Pro Stock, Darrell Alderman made the second round of eliminations before being eliminated by Jim Yates. Teammate Scott Geoffrion were eliminated by Warren Johnson in the first round of eliminations. Larry Nance and Allen Johnson failed to qualify.
In Funny Car, the Mopar/Matco Tools Dodge Avenger of Dean Skuza lost to John Force in the second round of eliminations.
Mike Dunn, Mopar Top Fuel, (5.342/227.44) lost to Joe Amato (4.816/291.16)
in the semifinals.
"We're disappointed that we didn't put the Mopar dragster in the
winners circle. We broke a fuel pump while warming up the car in the pits
before our semifinal run. The replacement pump was just a little weaker.
It changed the fuel curve and took away some fuel from the motor. I felt
the tires rattle early, then they went up in smoke around 200-feet out. I
peddled it, but just didn't have enough to catch up. The Mopar dragster
was probably the most consistent car out here all weekend. Ken (Veney) and
the crew did a great job getting us to another semifinal. We picked up
some points on the guys in front of us and continue to win rounds. We'll
just get ready for Brainerd."
Scott Geoffrion, Mopar Pro Stock Avenger, (7.030/196.97) lost to Warren
Johnson (6.952/198.19) in the first round of eliminations.
"We slipped the clutch right out of the box. I had Warren (Johnson) by
four-hundredths at the tree, but as soon as the clutch slipped, we lost
tire speed and that was the end of it. We went up to the line thinking
that the track may go away from us because of the heat. The track was
better than we thought and didn't get slippery like we anticipated.
Overall, it was a very positive weekend for the Mopar Avengers. Both
Darrell (Alderman) and I were able to get in the 6.95's during qualifying
and showed speed in the 198-mph range. We'll keep on working at it until
we get a win."
Darrell Alderman, Mopar Pro Stock Avenger, (7.051/196.97) lost to Jim
Yates (6.978/197.10) in the second round of eliminations.
"A real positive weekend for Mopar and the Dodge Avengers. This was
probably the most consistent race car that we have had all year. Each
round we improved our combination and made positive strides. When the
qualifying bump is a 6.95, your are in a dog-fight all weekend. I'm proud
of how we performed this weekend. We ran into some tire-shake down low on
my last hit against Yates and just couldn't run him down."
Craig Eaton, Atsco/Mopar Pro Stock Dodge Dakota (7.742/173.27) beat Jerry
Haas (7.715/175.02) in the finals.
"What an amazing feeling. I can't even describe what it feels like
right now. To win a NHRA national event is a dream come true. It is a
credit to how our team has worked to get to this point. Our Atsco/Mopar
Dodge Dakota ran great all weekend. From qualifying through eliminations,
everything came together for us and it was just our day.
"I have never gone past the second round of eliminations. When I beat Tim (Freeman) in the second round today, I had a feeling that it may be our day. I owe so much to my day Dale (Eaton) and crew chief Gary Pearman, they made all the right calls and put us in a position to win the race."
Todd Patterson, Mopar Pro Stock Dodge Dakota (7.757/172.41) lost to Jerry
Haas (7.690/175.47) in the second round of eliminations.
"We slipped a clutch disc all the way through our run and that was the
difference. We had Jerry (Haas) by six-hundredths at the light before we
ran into some problems. We ended up getting beat by only two-thousandths
of a second, that's how close it was. The Mopar Dodge Dakota ran great all
weekend. The conditions were ideal to race in and our team had a great
weekend. We fought some weight transfer problems and in conditions like
these, you have to be able to move some weight around. We continue to make
great strides with our engine program and learn more and more about our
combinations every time down the track. We hope to get our new Dakota
before we get to Indy for the U.S. Nationals. We're going to go back and
continue to work hard and get ready for Labor Day."
David Nickens, Mopar Pro Stock Dodge Dakota (8.460/117.98) lost to Brad
Jeter (7.833/172.34) in the first round of eliminations.
"We broke another rear end for some reason. It is the second one we
broke in the last two days. We not quite sure why, all that we know is
that this last one looks to have broke in the water before we even go to
the lights. We knocked a couple of teeth out of it and that was the end of
the story. We're not real happy for obvious reasons. The Mopar Dodge
Dakota is really a super race truck during qualifying. We just need to go
back and look at our raceday combinations and see if we are being a little
too aggressive. We plan to test a bunch between Seattle and Indianapolis.
We have our act together I guarantee it."