KENT, Wash. – The difficulty being a part-time NHRA Top Fuel racer, Steve Chrisman will tell you, is the inability to make testing laps that yield vital data needed for tuning adjustments to his Nitro Fish Top Fuel dragster.
“After we make major combination changes – like putting in a new clutch system and a new supercharger before the season,” said Chrisman, “the only way we can test them is during qualifying runs.”
He made good use of the first of three NHRA Western Swing races, gathering information on four qualifying runs and one elimination round at Denver.
However, last weekend at Sonoma, Calif., crew chief Kevin Meredyk made a crucial call and hauled out the old equipment and put it to work again for Saturday’s final two qualifying runs. The car responded to the tune-up and Chrisman drove his way into the 16th starting berth on his last attempt.
When Chrisman answers the call for Friday’s first qualifying run in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Northwest Nationals at Pacific Raceways near Kent, the new parts will once again replace the old stuff.
“We went back to that system because we knew it and we thought it would help us qualify, and it did,” Chrisman said. “We are going back to the new setup to see if we can get the car to run quicker in Seattle. We need to pick up one-10th of a second to be competitive.”
“After we make major combination changes – like putting in a new clutch system and a new supercharger before the season,” said Chrisman, “the only way we can test them is during qualifying runs.”
He made good use of the first of three NHRA Western Swing races, gathering information on four qualifying runs and one elimination round at Denver.
However, last weekend at Sonoma, Calif., crew chief Kevin Meredyk made a crucial call and hauled out the old equipment and put it to work again for Saturday’s final two qualifying runs. The car responded to the tune-up and Chrisman drove his way into the 16th starting berth on his last attempt.
When Chrisman answers the call for Friday’s first qualifying run in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Northwest Nationals at Pacific Raceways near Kent, the new parts will once again replace the old stuff.
“We went back to that system because we knew it and we thought it would help us qualify, and it did,” Chrisman said. “We are going back to the new setup to see if we can get the car to run quicker in Seattle. We need to pick up one-10th of a second to be competitive.”
