Dave Grubnic and the DHL team Upset in Brainerd
<img src="http://www.nitromater.com/gallery/files/5/d_grubnic.jpg" alt="d_grubnic" align="right"borders="0"/>
BRAINERD, Minn. -- Native Australian Dave Grubnic, driver of the bright yellow, 8,000-horsepower DHL Top Fuel dragster, qualified in the top-half of the field for Sunday's final eliminations of the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series national event at Brainerd Int'l Raceway in Brainerd, Minn., but unfortunately made an early exit in the Land of 10,000 Lakes.
Grubnic, the No. 6 qualifier (3.910 seconds, 306.19 mph) for Sunday's 16-car eliminations field, rolled to the starting line to face his opponent and No. 11 qualifier Bob Vandergriff, Jr. (3.988 sec., 290.88 mph) in the opening round. Grubnic was out of the gate first (.082 seconds to .113 seconds) and looked on his way to winning the 150th round win of his career, but the DHL charge began to ever so slightly lose traction near the finish line and that allowed his opponent to go around him for the win, 3.989 sec., 276.86 mph to 3.910 sec., 310.70 mph.
Grubnic is now in 10th place in POWERade championship points. Only the top ten pro drivers in points in their respective classes will be eligible for the 2008 Countdown to the Championship - Countdown to 1 that begins at the 19th event in Concord, N.C. Grubnic is just 13 points ahead of the driver in 11th position.
Beginning with the 13th event in Denver, the NHRA instituted a new racing distance for the nitro-fueled classes of Funny Car and Top Fuel dragster to 1,000 ft., as opposed to the traditional distance of 1,320 ft., or a quarter of a mile, as a temporary safety solution to help the drivers of the world's quickest and fastest racing safely bring their cars to a stop more efficiently. The unprecedented action is in response to the tragic death of Kalitta Motorsports' Scott Kalitta, who died in a high-speed Funny Car qualifying accident in Englishtown, N.J., June 21.
Grubnic, unofficially, recorded the quickest 1,000-ft. elapsed time of the 2008 season, 3.783 sec., in Madison, Ill., in early May.
In early 2004, Grubnic was hired to drive for legendary team owner Connie "the Bounty Hunter" Kalitta and Kalitta Motorsports. In the fall of '04, Grubnic won the lucrative and coveted Budweiser Shootout in Las Vegas, becoming only the fourth driver in the special event's history to win its $100,000 prize in his first attempt. Grubnic picked up an emotional first NHRA national event win in May, 2005 in Topeka, Kans., to become the first non-native North American to win a Top Fuel trophy. He has one other event victory to date, the 2006 running of the famed Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla.
<img src="http://www.nitromater.com/gallery/files/5/d_grubnic.jpg" alt="d_grubnic" align="right"borders="0"/>
BRAINERD, Minn. -- Native Australian Dave Grubnic, driver of the bright yellow, 8,000-horsepower DHL Top Fuel dragster, qualified in the top-half of the field for Sunday's final eliminations of the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series national event at Brainerd Int'l Raceway in Brainerd, Minn., but unfortunately made an early exit in the Land of 10,000 Lakes.
Grubnic, the No. 6 qualifier (3.910 seconds, 306.19 mph) for Sunday's 16-car eliminations field, rolled to the starting line to face his opponent and No. 11 qualifier Bob Vandergriff, Jr. (3.988 sec., 290.88 mph) in the opening round. Grubnic was out of the gate first (.082 seconds to .113 seconds) and looked on his way to winning the 150th round win of his career, but the DHL charge began to ever so slightly lose traction near the finish line and that allowed his opponent to go around him for the win, 3.989 sec., 276.86 mph to 3.910 sec., 310.70 mph.
Grubnic is now in 10th place in POWERade championship points. Only the top ten pro drivers in points in their respective classes will be eligible for the 2008 Countdown to the Championship - Countdown to 1 that begins at the 19th event in Concord, N.C. Grubnic is just 13 points ahead of the driver in 11th position.
Beginning with the 13th event in Denver, the NHRA instituted a new racing distance for the nitro-fueled classes of Funny Car and Top Fuel dragster to 1,000 ft., as opposed to the traditional distance of 1,320 ft., or a quarter of a mile, as a temporary safety solution to help the drivers of the world's quickest and fastest racing safely bring their cars to a stop more efficiently. The unprecedented action is in response to the tragic death of Kalitta Motorsports' Scott Kalitta, who died in a high-speed Funny Car qualifying accident in Englishtown, N.J., June 21.
Grubnic, unofficially, recorded the quickest 1,000-ft. elapsed time of the 2008 season, 3.783 sec., in Madison, Ill., in early May.
In early 2004, Grubnic was hired to drive for legendary team owner Connie "the Bounty Hunter" Kalitta and Kalitta Motorsports. In the fall of '04, Grubnic won the lucrative and coveted Budweiser Shootout in Las Vegas, becoming only the fourth driver in the special event's history to win its $100,000 prize in his first attempt. Grubnic picked up an emotional first NHRA national event win in May, 2005 in Topeka, Kans., to become the first non-native North American to win a Top Fuel trophy. He has one other event victory to date, the 2006 running of the famed Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla.
