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POMONA, Calif. - Dave Northrop scored an upset victory over Kurt Johnson in the opening round of Sunday's NHRA season-ending Auto Club Finals at Pomona Raceway and came close to claiming a berth in the semifinals, bringing smiles to Kenny Koretsky' s Nitro Fish/ISC Racers Tape Pro Stock team.
While crew chief Eddie Guarnaccia continued dialing in the Nitro Fish Dodge Stratus, Northrop added a .010-second reaction time against Johnson and got to the finish line in 6.711 seconds at 206.76 mph to a losing 6.692 at 207.43 mph.
Northrop couldn't chase down V Gaines in the quarterfinals (6.701 at 206.99 to 6.704 at 207.30), but Koretsky and Guarnaccia were pleased with the Perkasie, Pa. driver's accomplishments in his ninth Pro Stock race.
"Dave did an excellent job driving this weekend," said the veteran Guarnaccia. "We made four good runs in qualifying and two more in eliminations. I thought the team did an excellent job too. Pro Stock racing is so close. We made a nice run against V. We just needed to go a little quicker.
"Dave's run against V was the fourth-quickest in the right (non-preferred) lane."
Northrop, meanwhile, was pleased. "I've been making more race-day runs in the car and am beginning to feel more comfortable with it," he said. "It takes runs in competition before you can get comfortable. It's different than qualifying. And we have car that can win rounds. That makes a big difference, too.
"The crew helped me a lot and we all worked well together. It was a good time."
Northrop Surprises K. Johnson En Route to Quarterfinal Finish at Finals
POMONA, Calif. - Dave Northrop scored an upset victory over Kurt Johnson in the opening round of Sunday's NHRA season-ending Auto Club Finals at Pomona Raceway and came close to claiming a berth in the semifinals, bringing smiles to Kenny Koretsky' s Nitro Fish/ISC Racers Tape Pro Stock team.
While crew chief Eddie Guarnaccia continued dialing in the Nitro Fish Dodge Stratus, Northrop added a .010-second reaction time against Johnson and got to the finish line in 6.711 seconds at 206.76 mph to a losing 6.692 at 207.43 mph.
Northrop couldn't chase down V Gaines in the quarterfinals (6.701 at 206.99 to 6.704 at 207.30), but Koretsky and Guarnaccia were pleased with the Perkasie, Pa. driver's accomplishments in his ninth Pro Stock race.
"Dave did an excellent job driving this weekend," said the veteran Guarnaccia. "We made four good runs in qualifying and two more in eliminations. I thought the team did an excellent job too. Pro Stock racing is so close. We made a nice run against V. We just needed to go a little quicker.
"Dave's run against V was the fourth-quickest in the right (non-preferred) lane."
Northrop, meanwhile, was pleased. "I've been making more race-day runs in the car and am beginning to feel more comfortable with it," he said. "It takes runs in competition before you can get comfortable. It's different than qualifying. And we have car that can win rounds. That makes a big difference, too.
"The crew helped me a lot and we all worked well together. It was a good time."
