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POMONA, Calif. (November 13, 2006) - Pro Stock driver Tommy Lee experienced enough highs and lows at this weekend's season-ending Auto Club NHRA Finals to last him a lifetime. The veteran driver, who has steadily been gaining points since taking over the Slammers Ultimate Milk Chevy Cobalt mid-season, wanted to give his team a well deserved victory they could enjoy during the off-season.
Lee's first pass on Thursday just missed the show, putting Lee no. 17 after his 6.753 lap at 206.26 mph. Then on Friday Lee's car shook the tires leaving the line, forcing him to abort the run. Lee found himself in the no. 21 spot after that lap.
"Pomona [the schedule] can mess with you," Lee said. "Normally we make two passes on Friday, so you kinda get in a rhythm to come back from the first run and adjust the car and go back out. Here we only do one on Thursday and one on Friday so it makes for long days when we don't run well."
Entering the last day of qualifying on Saturday, the Slammers team felt confident they would improve, which they did when Lee ran a solid 6.691 for the no. 16 spot.
With only one session left, and sitting on the bump, the pressure was on as Lee came to the line for his last qualifying effort.
"We had to wait for a bunch of cars to go ahead of us," Lee said. "So by the time we got up there I had already been knocked out of the field. We put a pretty good tune-up in the car, but you never know what's gonna happen until you run. When I let the clutch out, that Cobalt took off, and boy was it on a good one."
Lee's final pass moved him from outside the field into the no. 5 spot with a strong 6.691.
"I'd love to say we just did it on purpose to make it exciting for the fans," Lee said. "But truth is we were trying every pass and it just took until our last qualifier to really get the car right."
Unfortunately the excitement from qualifying was short lived when Lee lost in the first round of Sunday's eliminations to V. Gaines when both cars ran identical 6.698s.
"I hated to end the season like that," Lee said. "We worked very hard all year to get Slammers a Wally, but today just wasn't the day for it. I want to thank everyone at Bravo Foods for all their support. I've been living my dream thanks to all of you and I'm proud to represent you and your products at 200 mph."
LEE ENDS SEASON WITH EXCITING FINISH
POMONA, Calif. (November 13, 2006) - Pro Stock driver Tommy Lee experienced enough highs and lows at this weekend's season-ending Auto Club NHRA Finals to last him a lifetime. The veteran driver, who has steadily been gaining points since taking over the Slammers Ultimate Milk Chevy Cobalt mid-season, wanted to give his team a well deserved victory they could enjoy during the off-season.
Lee's first pass on Thursday just missed the show, putting Lee no. 17 after his 6.753 lap at 206.26 mph. Then on Friday Lee's car shook the tires leaving the line, forcing him to abort the run. Lee found himself in the no. 21 spot after that lap.
"Pomona [the schedule] can mess with you," Lee said. "Normally we make two passes on Friday, so you kinda get in a rhythm to come back from the first run and adjust the car and go back out. Here we only do one on Thursday and one on Friday so it makes for long days when we don't run well."
Entering the last day of qualifying on Saturday, the Slammers team felt confident they would improve, which they did when Lee ran a solid 6.691 for the no. 16 spot.
With only one session left, and sitting on the bump, the pressure was on as Lee came to the line for his last qualifying effort.
"We had to wait for a bunch of cars to go ahead of us," Lee said. "So by the time we got up there I had already been knocked out of the field. We put a pretty good tune-up in the car, but you never know what's gonna happen until you run. When I let the clutch out, that Cobalt took off, and boy was it on a good one."
Lee's final pass moved him from outside the field into the no. 5 spot with a strong 6.691.
"I'd love to say we just did it on purpose to make it exciting for the fans," Lee said. "But truth is we were trying every pass and it just took until our last qualifier to really get the car right."
Unfortunately the excitement from qualifying was short lived when Lee lost in the first round of Sunday's eliminations to V. Gaines when both cars ran identical 6.698s.
"I hated to end the season like that," Lee said. "We worked very hard all year to get Slammers a Wally, but today just wasn't the day for it. I want to thank everyone at Bravo Foods for all their support. I've been living my dream thanks to all of you and I'm proud to represent you and your products at 200 mph."
