CHANDLER, Ariz. (Feb. 24) – On a weekend where the NAPA/Mountain View Performance Dodge Pro Stock car was admittedly not at its best, Vincent Nobile was nonetheless impressed to hang on to his early-season points lead in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series. Coming off a win at the season-opener in Pomona, Noble had high hopes for the Phoenix event but had to settle for a quarterfinal finish after losing a quarterfinal bout against former world champion Mike Edwards.
“It was not the best weekend and it was not the worst,” said Nobile. “The NAPA/Mountain View Performance Dodge ran well, but it should have run much better. We need to work out some clutch and carburetor issues right now. We had the same issues last week in Pomona and we managed to get away with it but this week, we just didn’t have enough to hang with some of the other teams.”
Nobile qualified No. 8 in the quick field with a 6.55 and managed to get past Greg Stanfield in round one after Stanfield fouled. Racing against low qualifier Edwards in round two, Nobile made a respectable 6.58-second run but was victimized by Edwards, who made the quickest pass of eliminations with a 6.50.”
“We could have run better, but I don’t think we had anything that would have beaten a 6.50,” said Nobile. “Mike made a very stout run and we just happened to be in the wrong lane at the wrong time. That’s what happens when you qualify eighth. If we had qualified higher, it’s possible we wouldn’t have had to run Mike until later on.”
Despite the loss, Nobile maintained his lead in the Mello Yellow Pro Stock standings. After two of 24 events, he has 171 points, 16 more than Phoenix winner Erica Enders-Stevens. Nobile is also ranked sixth in the standings for the K&N Horsepower Challenge, a $50,000 specialty race held at the upcoming Las Vegas round in April. Nobile is the defending K&N Challenge champion.
“We came in as the points leader and we left as the points leader and that’s pretty good no matter how you look at it,” Nobile said. “We have a couple of weeks before the next race in Gainesville [Fla.] and that should give us some time to work out a few of our issues. We’ll be better prepared for that race.”
The NAPA/Mountain View Performance team will be back in action on March 15-17 at the Amalie Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla.
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“It was not the best weekend and it was not the worst,” said Nobile. “The NAPA/Mountain View Performance Dodge ran well, but it should have run much better. We need to work out some clutch and carburetor issues right now. We had the same issues last week in Pomona and we managed to get away with it but this week, we just didn’t have enough to hang with some of the other teams.”
Nobile qualified No. 8 in the quick field with a 6.55 and managed to get past Greg Stanfield in round one after Stanfield fouled. Racing against low qualifier Edwards in round two, Nobile made a respectable 6.58-second run but was victimized by Edwards, who made the quickest pass of eliminations with a 6.50.”
“We could have run better, but I don’t think we had anything that would have beaten a 6.50,” said Nobile. “Mike made a very stout run and we just happened to be in the wrong lane at the wrong time. That’s what happens when you qualify eighth. If we had qualified higher, it’s possible we wouldn’t have had to run Mike until later on.”
Despite the loss, Nobile maintained his lead in the Mello Yellow Pro Stock standings. After two of 24 events, he has 171 points, 16 more than Phoenix winner Erica Enders-Stevens. Nobile is also ranked sixth in the standings for the K&N Horsepower Challenge, a $50,000 specialty race held at the upcoming Las Vegas round in April. Nobile is the defending K&N Challenge champion.
“We came in as the points leader and we left as the points leader and that’s pretty good no matter how you look at it,” Nobile said. “We have a couple of weeks before the next race in Gainesville [Fla.] and that should give us some time to work out a few of our issues. We’ll be better prepared for that race.”
The NAPA/Mountain View Performance team will be back in action on March 15-17 at the Amalie Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla.
More...
