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Seattle, prerace: A year ago, Mike Thomas stunned the Pro Stock field by not only capturing the number one starting spot for the NHRA POWERade Series race at Pacific Raceways near Seattle, but he set the track record.
Thomas was subbing for Nitro Fish Wear team owner Kenny Koretsky while he was on the drag racing equivalent of the disabled list when the Dodge Stratus stopped the timer at 6.661 seconds. Thomas advanced to the quarterfinals before bowing out of eliminations.
A week later, Thomas was second while qualifying at Sonoma, Calif.
He’s returning to the Northwest for the Schuck’s Auto Supply Nationals at Pacific Raceways Friday through Sunday. This time, however, he’s been in the driver’s seat since opening day, replacing Koretsky, who was injured in a spectacular accident in the Dallas area in September.
Crew chief Eddie Guarnaccia will be trying something new when qualifying begins Friday.
“We are renting a motor from Mopar Pro Stock driver Allen Johnson,” said Koretsky. “We’re experimenting. We haven’t been running as good as we should be. We hope to find out what our problem area is – horsepower or car. Larry (Morgan, the team’s engine builder) said he thought it was a good idea.”
“We will be ready to race,” said Thomas. “I’m happy we are running a different motor this weekend. We just haven’t been as competitive as we should be and we all hope this will help us solve the problem. Eddie has been working on the car, trying to make it run faster. Our goal is go to Seattle and run good.”
Guarnaccia made quite a few changes to the blue Dodge during the Mile-High Nationals in 103-degree heat Sunday in Denver.
“We did change a lot of things, but you really don’t get a true read in Denver because of the track’s altitude and the tricky track conditions,” Guarnaccia said. “We’ll be much better off when we get back to sea level again in Seattle.” Koretsky, meanwhile, will be overseeing the clearing of trees and debris from his yard in Richboro, Pa. “We were without power and the good news is our house wasn’t damaged during a mini-hurricane that went through Bucks County Wednesday,” he said. “But we had trees blown over in the yard. It was crazy. The winds were as high as 87 miles an hour. We’ve never seen anything like that here.”
Thomas, Guarnaccia looking for improvements in Seattle
Seattle, prerace: A year ago, Mike Thomas stunned the Pro Stock field by not only capturing the number one starting spot for the NHRA POWERade Series race at Pacific Raceways near Seattle, but he set the track record.
Thomas was subbing for Nitro Fish Wear team owner Kenny Koretsky while he was on the drag racing equivalent of the disabled list when the Dodge Stratus stopped the timer at 6.661 seconds. Thomas advanced to the quarterfinals before bowing out of eliminations.
A week later, Thomas was second while qualifying at Sonoma, Calif.
He’s returning to the Northwest for the Schuck’s Auto Supply Nationals at Pacific Raceways Friday through Sunday. This time, however, he’s been in the driver’s seat since opening day, replacing Koretsky, who was injured in a spectacular accident in the Dallas area in September.
Crew chief Eddie Guarnaccia will be trying something new when qualifying begins Friday.
“We are renting a motor from Mopar Pro Stock driver Allen Johnson,” said Koretsky. “We’re experimenting. We haven’t been running as good as we should be. We hope to find out what our problem area is – horsepower or car. Larry (Morgan, the team’s engine builder) said he thought it was a good idea.”
“We will be ready to race,” said Thomas. “I’m happy we are running a different motor this weekend. We just haven’t been as competitive as we should be and we all hope this will help us solve the problem. Eddie has been working on the car, trying to make it run faster. Our goal is go to Seattle and run good.”
Guarnaccia made quite a few changes to the blue Dodge during the Mile-High Nationals in 103-degree heat Sunday in Denver.
“We did change a lot of things, but you really don’t get a true read in Denver because of the track’s altitude and the tricky track conditions,” Guarnaccia said. “We’ll be much better off when we get back to sea level again in Seattle.” Koretsky, meanwhile, will be overseeing the clearing of trees and debris from his yard in Richboro, Pa. “We were without power and the good news is our house wasn’t damaged during a mini-hurricane that went through Bucks County Wednesday,” he said. “But we had trees blown over in the yard. It was crazy. The winds were as high as 87 miles an hour. We’ve never seen anything like that here.”
