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POMONA, Calif. (Nov. 3, 2007) – One week after debuting the Matco Tools dragster in the No. 5 qualifying position at Las Vegas, David Baca bettered that mark Saturday by finishing third in the qualifying order at the 43rd annual Auto Club Finals. The veteran racer clocked a qualifying-best run of 4.523 seconds on Thursday afternoon at the 2007 NHRA season-finale.
Entering the final day of qualifying at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona , Baca used Lee Beard horsepower to clock two more consistent 4.5-second passes. On Saturday’s first attempt, Baca raced the Matco rail to a pass of 4.557 seconds at 327.43 mph. He then traversed the historic Southern California drag strip in 4.545 at 326.23 to earn the No. 3 qualifying position. Baca’s quickest pass in qualifying came on Thursday afternoon when he drove the Beard-tuned rail to a blistering run of 4.523 at 329.18 mph.
“Qualifying is awesome, but we’ve got a lot of work to do tomorrow,” Baca said. “The bad side of the deal is that Rod (Fuller) and I are on the same side of the ladder. We’ll see what happens. Hopefully, we’ll both get by first round and go from there. We both have tough cookies in (Doug) Herbert and (Bob) Vandergriff. We’ll come out tomorrow, give ‘em hell and see what happens. The good or bad thing for me is that my license is current for another year. I can be the “DD” when in need.”
Baca will face off against No. 14 qualifier Doug Herbert when final eliminations begin at 11 a.m. (PT) on Sunday. ESPN2 will televise final eliminations coverage from the Auto Club Finals from 7-10:30 p.m. (ET) on Nov. 4.
Q1 4.523 ET, 329.18 MPH No. 2
Q2 4.568 ET, 329.50 MPH No. 2
Q3 4.557 ET, 327.43 MPH No. 2
Q4 4.545 ET, 326.24 MPH No. 3
BACA QUALIFIES MATCO TOOLS RAIL IN NO. 3 SPOT AT POMONA
POMONA, Calif. (Nov. 3, 2007) – One week after debuting the Matco Tools dragster in the No. 5 qualifying position at Las Vegas, David Baca bettered that mark Saturday by finishing third in the qualifying order at the 43rd annual Auto Club Finals. The veteran racer clocked a qualifying-best run of 4.523 seconds on Thursday afternoon at the 2007 NHRA season-finale.
Entering the final day of qualifying at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona , Baca used Lee Beard horsepower to clock two more consistent 4.5-second passes. On Saturday’s first attempt, Baca raced the Matco rail to a pass of 4.557 seconds at 327.43 mph. He then traversed the historic Southern California drag strip in 4.545 at 326.23 to earn the No. 3 qualifying position. Baca’s quickest pass in qualifying came on Thursday afternoon when he drove the Beard-tuned rail to a blistering run of 4.523 at 329.18 mph.
“Qualifying is awesome, but we’ve got a lot of work to do tomorrow,” Baca said. “The bad side of the deal is that Rod (Fuller) and I are on the same side of the ladder. We’ll see what happens. Hopefully, we’ll both get by first round and go from there. We both have tough cookies in (Doug) Herbert and (Bob) Vandergriff. We’ll come out tomorrow, give ‘em hell and see what happens. The good or bad thing for me is that my license is current for another year. I can be the “DD” when in need.”
Baca will face off against No. 14 qualifier Doug Herbert when final eliminations begin at 11 a.m. (PT) on Sunday. ESPN2 will televise final eliminations coverage from the Auto Club Finals from 7-10:30 p.m. (ET) on Nov. 4.
Q1 4.523 ET, 329.18 MPH No. 2
Q2 4.568 ET, 329.50 MPH No. 2
Q3 4.557 ET, 327.43 MPH No. 2
Q4 4.545 ET, 326.24 MPH No. 3
