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Chalk up Clay Millican's surprising first-round loss at Sunday's IHRA eMax Series Suzuki Motor City Nationals at Milan Dragway to "just one of those things."</br>
That description was provided by Mike Kloeber, crew chief of Kenny Koretsky's Werner Enterprises Top Fuel team, after Millican's blue dragster lost traction twice on his quarter-mile run against Bobby Lagana.</br>
"The car shook the tires at 200 feet and Clay pedaled it," recalled Kloeber. "The car hooked up but lost traction again and Clay pedaled it again and smoked the tires all the way to the finish line."</br>
However, the valiant effort took 5.221 seconds at 251.58 mph and Lagana had already got the win light at 4.942 seconds, 285.23 mph. It also hurt engine parts that, in turn, put oil on the track, costing the team 15 points in Knoll-Gas Torco Racing Fuels Top Fuel standings.</br>
"That was frustrating," added Millican, "especially after all the good runs we made in qualifying, and then have Bobby sneak by us at about 1000 feet. I'm not happy with my driving. I tried something different when it was smoking the tires and it didn't work. It was just one of those 'would of, could of, should of' days for us."</br>
The driver from Drummonds, Tenn., did have a stout .065-second reaction time to Lagana's .118 that kept him in the early lead.</br>
"I don't really know why the tires got loose that early in the run," said Kloeber. "The car had been nice and smooth in qualifying and we left it alone for eliminations. We thought it would run in the 4.72-to-4.75-second range. All I wanted to do was make sure it got down the racetrack."</br>
Millican put together qualifying runs of 4.743, 4.720 and a best of 4.641seconds that put him No. 3 in the eight-car lineup. </br>
"We won't be hurt in the point race as bad as we could have been," Millican pointed out. "Rick Foley (currently second) lost in the semifinals, had two oil-down penalties and lost 30 points to our 15."</br>
IHRA rules deduct 15 series points for each Top Fuel oil down. </br>
Kloeber has 10 days to prepare for the Canadian Nationals at Toronto Motorsports Park in Cayuga, Ontario, July 21-23.</br>
KPK Motorsports appreciates all its sponsors. We couldn't do this without them. Our thanks to Werner Enterprises, Nitro Fish, OCC, Motel 6, Goodyear, Royal Purple, Champion, Speed Pro, Fel Pro, FRAM, Prestone, Autolite, ISC Racers Tape, Cyclo, Boninfante Clutches, American Racing Wheels, Jerry Bickel Race Cars and VHT.
Clay Millican Upset in Opening Round in Motor City Nationals
</br>Chalk up Clay Millican's surprising first-round loss at Sunday's IHRA eMax Series Suzuki Motor City Nationals at Milan Dragway to "just one of those things."</br>
That description was provided by Mike Kloeber, crew chief of Kenny Koretsky's Werner Enterprises Top Fuel team, after Millican's blue dragster lost traction twice on his quarter-mile run against Bobby Lagana.</br>
"The car shook the tires at 200 feet and Clay pedaled it," recalled Kloeber. "The car hooked up but lost traction again and Clay pedaled it again and smoked the tires all the way to the finish line."</br>
However, the valiant effort took 5.221 seconds at 251.58 mph and Lagana had already got the win light at 4.942 seconds, 285.23 mph. It also hurt engine parts that, in turn, put oil on the track, costing the team 15 points in Knoll-Gas Torco Racing Fuels Top Fuel standings.</br>
"That was frustrating," added Millican, "especially after all the good runs we made in qualifying, and then have Bobby sneak by us at about 1000 feet. I'm not happy with my driving. I tried something different when it was smoking the tires and it didn't work. It was just one of those 'would of, could of, should of' days for us."</br>
The driver from Drummonds, Tenn., did have a stout .065-second reaction time to Lagana's .118 that kept him in the early lead.</br>
"I don't really know why the tires got loose that early in the run," said Kloeber. "The car had been nice and smooth in qualifying and we left it alone for eliminations. We thought it would run in the 4.72-to-4.75-second range. All I wanted to do was make sure it got down the racetrack."</br>
Millican put together qualifying runs of 4.743, 4.720 and a best of 4.641seconds that put him No. 3 in the eight-car lineup. </br>
"We won't be hurt in the point race as bad as we could have been," Millican pointed out. "Rick Foley (currently second) lost in the semifinals, had two oil-down penalties and lost 30 points to our 15."</br>
IHRA rules deduct 15 series points for each Top Fuel oil down. </br>
Kloeber has 10 days to prepare for the Canadian Nationals at Toronto Motorsports Park in Cayuga, Ontario, July 21-23.</br>
KPK Motorsports appreciates all its sponsors. We couldn't do this without them. Our thanks to Werner Enterprises, Nitro Fish, OCC, Motel 6, Goodyear, Royal Purple, Champion, Speed Pro, Fel Pro, FRAM, Prestone, Autolite, ISC Racers Tape, Cyclo, Boninfante Clutches, American Racing Wheels, Jerry Bickel Race Cars and VHT.
