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Running his new "special edition" Havoline Monte Carlo here in Dallas, Phil Burkart wanted nothing more than to experience a calm and steady qualifying effort, and then power past his opponents on race day. In his mind, the drama and the excitement would be best suited if delivered via thrilling round wins and celebrations. Instead, he and his blue Checker, Schuck's, Kragen team spent two days dealing with far too much qualifying drama, and then had to live through a first round battle that was best watched on television, as most of it took place behind a smoke screen.
Starting with Friday's first qualifying effort, Burkart simply imitated everyone else in the Funny Car class by failing to make a full lap. His opening shot, a tire smoking 5.480, was actually good enough for the No. 6 spot, but everyone on-site knew those times from the first session were irrelevant. Burkart's frustration began to mount when he smoked the tires again, during a Friday night session which featured a number of stout runs. He entered Saturday's proceedings from the No. 15 spot.
During Saturday's first run, which came after a brief but heavy downpour, Burkart made his first full pull of the event, clocking in with a steady 5.014. The run gave his team a solid baselineto tune from, but the lackluster number only held for the bump spot heading into Saturday's final session. To make matters worse, Burkart's teammate, Del Worsham, was still behind him on the sheet, making Burkart's tenuous hold on a ladder spot even more dodgy.
"It's not a good feeling to be the second pair in the final session, knowing your teammate and boss needs to bump you out," Burkart said. "When it's someone else behind you, it's hard not to hope they don't make it, but when it's Del doing the bumping, you have to hope he does it. Then, we'd just have to come right back and bump our way back in. It was a pretty simple concept, and we did it."
They did indeed, as Worsham's 4.93 was enough to bump Burkart out, but seconds later the Havoline Chevy posted a strong 4.891, and Burkart was back in. The drama then shifted to watching Worsham's position fall, slot by slot, until he was back in the 16th spot, in danger of being bumped right back out of the field he'd just joined. His time held, in the end, and both teammates were part of the party on Sunday.
Burkart's last run landed him in the No. 13 spot, meaning he'd have to face a much quicker car in round one. That car would be piloted by Tony Pedregon, who had qualified 4th with a 4.812, also posted in the final session. On Sunday morning, all of those numbers went out the window. It was time to drag, and the quicker car on this lap would move on.
At the hit of the throttle, Burkart's star-spangled Havoline machine lurched forward and then almost immediately went up in tire smoke, obscuring the view of his crew back behind the line, providing them with the "white wall" which hides the race car, but which also usually means a loss is in the cards. Just when all seemed hopeless, the crew could hear the pedaling begin, although they were not able to tell exactly what was going on.
"We saw tire smoke, figured we were dead ducks, and began to walk away," said co-crew chief Marc Denner. "I heard pedaling going on, but just figured it was Phil giving chase even though Tony was pulling away. Finally, I looked over at the Motel 6-Vision screen, and I saw both cars in tire smoke. Tony was way out on us, but it looked like he was dead in the water out there. Phil just kept slapping it, trying to get it to hook up, and he was closing in fast, but we ran out of room."
Burkart's take on the situation, seen through the clearer view of his Monte Carlo's windshield, mirrored Denner's comments.
"I hit the throttle, and 'zing' it went up in smoke," Burkart said. "On Sunday, you're going to hit it a couple more times, just because, but I truly thought it was over right there. Just as I hit it again, I saw Tony's tire smoke, and although we were way behind, I know how much ground these cars can make up if the tires hook back up again. You can come from 500-feet back if you get some traction and the other guy is coasting. I hit the throttle, and they spun again, so I hit it again, and again, and again. I think I pedaled the car six times, but it would just never hook up, and all I could do was blaze it down there.
"I was watching my lane, believe me, because you're always on the edge of hitting a timing block or the wall when you're burning the tires off it and fishtailing your way down the track, but in my peripheral vision I knew I was catching him. We just ran out of track."
A gallant effort, a thrilling finish, and a tough loss for Burkart and his team. And all the while, the guys in the blue CSK shirts could only see it happen on the big screen, with that "wall of white" of in front of them.
SMOKY "PEDAL-FEST" IN ROUND ONE LEAVES BURKART JUST SHORT
Running his new "special edition" Havoline Monte Carlo here in Dallas, Phil Burkart wanted nothing more than to experience a calm and steady qualifying effort, and then power past his opponents on race day. In his mind, the drama and the excitement would be best suited if delivered via thrilling round wins and celebrations. Instead, he and his blue Checker, Schuck's, Kragen team spent two days dealing with far too much qualifying drama, and then had to live through a first round battle that was best watched on television, as most of it took place behind a smoke screen.
Starting with Friday's first qualifying effort, Burkart simply imitated everyone else in the Funny Car class by failing to make a full lap. His opening shot, a tire smoking 5.480, was actually good enough for the No. 6 spot, but everyone on-site knew those times from the first session were irrelevant. Burkart's frustration began to mount when he smoked the tires again, during a Friday night session which featured a number of stout runs. He entered Saturday's proceedings from the No. 15 spot.
During Saturday's first run, which came after a brief but heavy downpour, Burkart made his first full pull of the event, clocking in with a steady 5.014. The run gave his team a solid baselineto tune from, but the lackluster number only held for the bump spot heading into Saturday's final session. To make matters worse, Burkart's teammate, Del Worsham, was still behind him on the sheet, making Burkart's tenuous hold on a ladder spot even more dodgy.
"It's not a good feeling to be the second pair in the final session, knowing your teammate and boss needs to bump you out," Burkart said. "When it's someone else behind you, it's hard not to hope they don't make it, but when it's Del doing the bumping, you have to hope he does it. Then, we'd just have to come right back and bump our way back in. It was a pretty simple concept, and we did it."
They did indeed, as Worsham's 4.93 was enough to bump Burkart out, but seconds later the Havoline Chevy posted a strong 4.891, and Burkart was back in. The drama then shifted to watching Worsham's position fall, slot by slot, until he was back in the 16th spot, in danger of being bumped right back out of the field he'd just joined. His time held, in the end, and both teammates were part of the party on Sunday.
Burkart's last run landed him in the No. 13 spot, meaning he'd have to face a much quicker car in round one. That car would be piloted by Tony Pedregon, who had qualified 4th with a 4.812, also posted in the final session. On Sunday morning, all of those numbers went out the window. It was time to drag, and the quicker car on this lap would move on.
At the hit of the throttle, Burkart's star-spangled Havoline machine lurched forward and then almost immediately went up in tire smoke, obscuring the view of his crew back behind the line, providing them with the "white wall" which hides the race car, but which also usually means a loss is in the cards. Just when all seemed hopeless, the crew could hear the pedaling begin, although they were not able to tell exactly what was going on.
"We saw tire smoke, figured we were dead ducks, and began to walk away," said co-crew chief Marc Denner. "I heard pedaling going on, but just figured it was Phil giving chase even though Tony was pulling away. Finally, I looked over at the Motel 6-Vision screen, and I saw both cars in tire smoke. Tony was way out on us, but it looked like he was dead in the water out there. Phil just kept slapping it, trying to get it to hook up, and he was closing in fast, but we ran out of room."
Burkart's take on the situation, seen through the clearer view of his Monte Carlo's windshield, mirrored Denner's comments.
"I hit the throttle, and 'zing' it went up in smoke," Burkart said. "On Sunday, you're going to hit it a couple more times, just because, but I truly thought it was over right there. Just as I hit it again, I saw Tony's tire smoke, and although we were way behind, I know how much ground these cars can make up if the tires hook back up again. You can come from 500-feet back if you get some traction and the other guy is coasting. I hit the throttle, and they spun again, so I hit it again, and again, and again. I think I pedaled the car six times, but it would just never hook up, and all I could do was blaze it down there.
"I was watching my lane, believe me, because you're always on the edge of hitting a timing block or the wall when you're burning the tires off it and fishtailing your way down the track, but in my peripheral vision I knew I was catching him. We just ran out of track."
A gallant effort, a thrilling finish, and a tough loss for Burkart and his team. And all the while, the guys in the blue CSK shirts could only see it happen on the big screen, with that "wall of white" of in front of them.
