Team Press Releases

<img src="http://gallery.nitromater.com/files/6/5/r_capps06.jpg" alt="r_capps06" align="left"borders="0"/>CAPPS GETS A HIGH-FIVE IN DENVER QUALIFYING MORRISON, Colo. (July 15, 2006) - Funny Car points leader Ron Capps captured the No. 5 qualifying position for Sunday's Mopar Mile-High Nationals by posting a 4.941-second elapsed time at 307.37 mph in Friday night's cooler session. In his three other attempts on Bandimere Speedway's quarter-mile, the driver of the Brut Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car set a 9.512/85.93 in the opening session in extremely hot conditions, another tire-smoking 9.189/88.26 in the third round, followed by a 5.288/217.60 pass in the final session, in which the car lost a cylinder and moved to the left before...

<img src="http://gallery.nitromater.com/files/6/5/r_stevens06.jpg" alt="r_stevens06" align="right"borders="0"/>STEVENS JR. NO. 9 QUALIFIER AT MOPAR MILE-HIGH NATIONALS MORRISON, Colo. (July 15, 2006) - Mopar driver Richie Stevens Jr. steered the Team Mopar/Valspar Dodge Stratus R/T into the No. 9 Pro Stock qualifying position for Sunday's Mopar Mile-High Nationals with a solid and straight 7.105-second elapsed time at 193.07 mph on Friday night. The New Orleans native fought off tough track conditions as ambient temperatures reached the 100-degree mark and track temperatures over 130 degrees at Bandimere Speedway the past two days. His other three qualifying passes resulted in a 7.181/192.47, a 7.154/193.13, and a run of...

<img src="http://gallery.nitromater.com/files/6/5/m_troxel06.jpg" alt="m_troxel06" align="left"borders="0"/>POINTS LEADER TROXEL TAKES NO. 12 IN DENVER QUALIFYING MORRISON, Colo. (July 15, 2006) - Top Fuel points leader and Colorado native Melanie Troxel claimed the No. 12 spot in qualifying for the Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals today, with a 4.785-second elapsed time at 312.42 mph, established in the first round on Friday. The Skull Shine/Knoll Gas-Torco Race Fuels Top Fuel dragster team struggled through the next three sessions in the near 100-degree ambient temperatures and track temperatures in the high 140s, clocking an .361/94.12, a 10.009/85.40 and, finally, a 5.206/221.42. "In that last pass we made it closer to making...

<img src="http://gallery.nitromater.com/files/6/5/p_burkart06.jpg" alt="p_burkart06" align="right"/>BURKART'S ADDS TWO MORE GOOD LAPS, REMAINS 6th Phil Burkart drove his Checker, Schuck's, Kragen Monte Carlo to an additional pair of solid laps on Saturday, giving him a "four-for-four" in terms of full-lap efforts during Denver qualifying, and he held on to his No. 6 spot for race day. "We ended up with a top-half position, so it's not surprising that we were in the top half in both sessions today," Burkart said. "We just have a real solid race car this weekend, and it's doing what we ask it to do. The guys were trying to go for a little more on that last pass, but the 5.01 was another solid pass at a race track where those...

<img src="http://gallery.nitromater.com/files/6/5/d_worsham06.jpg" alt="d_worsham06" align="left"borders="0"/>WORSHAM WILL RACE FROM 9th SPOT ON SUNDAY Checker, Schuck's, Kragen driver Del Worsham was unable to improve on his Friday night time, and watched his placement in the race field edge downward slightly to the No. 9 spot by the end of the day Saturday. Worsham will face Tony Pedregon in round one. "We hazed the tires a little in the right lane on the first pass today, and that really didn't surprise me all that much," Worsham said. "The right lane seems a bit more loose out past half-track, and if you're trying to get after it at that point you're might have some traction problems. In the later session today, we were just...

<img src="http://gallery.nitromater.com/files/6/5/M_Thomas.jpg" alt="m thomas" align="right"borders="0"/>Nitro Fish Wear Dodge Driver Gets in with 7.147-second Run DENVER, July 15, 2006 -- Mike Thomas, who has missed the starting NHRA Pro Stock line-ups by mere thousandths of a second more times than he wants to remember, had sixth-thousandths of a second to spare Saturday when he qualified 16th for Sunday's Mopar Mile- High Nationals at Bandimere Speedway. "We get to make runs on Sunday," said Thomas after waiting out the final Pro Stock runs on Saturday. His 7.147-second run at 192.28 mph put Kenny Koretsky's Nitro Fish Wear Dodge into the field on a very hot day in mile-high atmospheric conditions seen only once a year...

<img src="http://gallery.nitromater.com/files/6/5/g_scelzi06.jpg" alt="g_scelzi06" align="left"borders="0"/>SCELZI CLOCKS QUICKEST ET OF FINAL SESSION, TAKES NO. 2 IN DENVER MORRISON, Colo. (July 15, 2006) - Gary Scelzi almost had it, but he fell just .003 of a second short of grabbing the Funny Car pole at the Mopar Mile-High Nationals today in the final qualifying session, taking No. 2 instead with a solid 4.896-second elapsed time at 310.20 mph. That pass was the quickest of that round, held under slightly cooler conditions later in the afternoon. The reigning NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series Funny Car champion's other passes this weekend included an ugly 7.384/115.20 in the opening session in 90-degree temperatures, a...

<img src="http://gallery.nitromater.com/files/6/5/r_fuller06.jpg" alt="r_fuller06" align="right"borders="0"/>‘Hot Rod’ slowly winning battle against Denver heat Denver (July 15) – The hottest day in Denver history ended with Top Fuel championship contender Rod Fuller in the top half of the field for this weekend’s 27th annual Mopar Mile-High Nationals at Bandimere Speedway. Fuller and crew chief Lee Beard, along with everybody else, fought exceedingly tough track conditions to set the elimination field under Saturday’s record 103-degree heat. “Just getting this Valvoline/David Powers Homes dragster down the track should earn us a trophy,” Fuller said. “It’s miserable as a driver to sit there in a seven-layer firesuit but I...

<img src="http://gallery.nitromater.com/files/6/5/d_herbert06.jpg" alt="d_herbert06" align="left"borders="0"/>Herbert qualifies for the Mile-High Nationals in Denver DENVER, CO, qualifying: Doug Herbert began the three-race NHRA Western Swing on a good note Saturday by qualifying the Snap-on Tools Top Fuel dragster for the Mopar Mile-High Nationals at Bandimere Speedway. Herbert made four full runs during qualifying on Thunder Mountain and will enter Sunday's eliminations from the No. 11 qualifying spot. The temperatures were extremely hot at Bandimere Speedway for the 27th running of the Mile-High Nationals. The crew chiefs had their work cut out for them as they dealt with the heat and the altitude. The first Top Fuel...