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Optimistic could be Clay Millican’s middle name. He lives it every day.
Although he and crew chief Mike Kloeber are currently flummoxed by the unpredictable performances coming from the Knoll Gas Motorsports/Torco Racing Fuels Top Fuel dragster, Millican does see the rainbow on a cloudy day.
“We will get it figured out,” Millican said. “We should be good to go at Houston.”
Houston Raceway Park in nearby Baytown will host the fourth of 17 Countdown to the Championship races, March 30-April 1. The new title format trims the contending field to eight at Reading, Pa. (Aug. 19). Four more will be eliminated after four more races, leaving the final four in the hunt over the last two races.
“I’m beginning to like the new format more and more,” added Millican, who hopes to be included in the playoff series despite the tepid start. He has 76 points and is 13th while Doug Kalitta currently holds eighth place with 138.
The personable driver from Drummonds, Tenn., said he “didn’t know what the heck went wrong at Gainesville (Fla., March 17). It was one of those aggravating things. We were on a run good enough to get in when we had a parts failure and didn’t make it.
“We just had a weird weekend at Gainesville . . . it was crazy.
“However, we have run really well at Houston in the past,” he continued. “ My fastest run in a Top Fuel car – 330.23 mph – came at HRP in 2003.” He added the first of his three NHRA runner-up finishes at Houston in 2004.
Millican and the crew had a tantalizing view of the future at Phoenix last month when he qualified third with an unexpected, career-best gem of 4.479 seconds. But mechanical problems dogged him during eliminations and he exited in the second round.
It’s the 4.479, however, that is the spark Millican and Kloeber want to use to ignite the hot streak they’re seeking. Millican reported good test results following the Gainesville race. “We did well at the Monday nationals,” Millican said, somewhat facetiously. “We made four laps and all of them would have been good enough to qualify.”
It remained for fellow Top Fuel driver Whit Bazemore to succinctly describe the team’s ups and downs thus far.
“Whit came over to our pit area Monday and said our car was running like a light switch,” Millican said. “When it’s off, it’s off and when it’s on, it’ s on.”
Millican hopes someone leaves the light on for the team at Houston.
Millican looking for better performances in Houston
Optimistic could be Clay Millican’s middle name. He lives it every day.
Although he and crew chief Mike Kloeber are currently flummoxed by the unpredictable performances coming from the Knoll Gas Motorsports/Torco Racing Fuels Top Fuel dragster, Millican does see the rainbow on a cloudy day.
“We will get it figured out,” Millican said. “We should be good to go at Houston.”
Houston Raceway Park in nearby Baytown will host the fourth of 17 Countdown to the Championship races, March 30-April 1. The new title format trims the contending field to eight at Reading, Pa. (Aug. 19). Four more will be eliminated after four more races, leaving the final four in the hunt over the last two races.
“I’m beginning to like the new format more and more,” added Millican, who hopes to be included in the playoff series despite the tepid start. He has 76 points and is 13th while Doug Kalitta currently holds eighth place with 138.
The personable driver from Drummonds, Tenn., said he “didn’t know what the heck went wrong at Gainesville (Fla., March 17). It was one of those aggravating things. We were on a run good enough to get in when we had a parts failure and didn’t make it.
“We just had a weird weekend at Gainesville . . . it was crazy.
“However, we have run really well at Houston in the past,” he continued. “ My fastest run in a Top Fuel car – 330.23 mph – came at HRP in 2003.” He added the first of his three NHRA runner-up finishes at Houston in 2004.
Millican and the crew had a tantalizing view of the future at Phoenix last month when he qualified third with an unexpected, career-best gem of 4.479 seconds. But mechanical problems dogged him during eliminations and he exited in the second round.
It’s the 4.479, however, that is the spark Millican and Kloeber want to use to ignite the hot streak they’re seeking. Millican reported good test results following the Gainesville race. “We did well at the Monday nationals,” Millican said, somewhat facetiously. “We made four laps and all of them would have been good enough to qualify.”
It remained for fellow Top Fuel driver Whit Bazemore to succinctly describe the team’s ups and downs thus far.
“Whit came over to our pit area Monday and said our car was running like a light switch,” Millican said. “When it’s off, it’s off and when it’s on, it’ s on.”
Millican hopes someone leaves the light on for the team at Houston.
