THE BOYS ARE BACK
POMONA,
Calif. (Feb. 4, 2001) - It was a nice opener for the Team Mopar
crew
as Darrell Alderman wielded his Dodge R/T Pro Stock entry to the
finals of
the AutoZone Winternationals at Pomona Raceway. The opening event
for the
2001 NHRA Winston Drag Racing season.
Alderman, a three-time NHRA Winston Pro Stock World Champion, lined
up
against long-time rival Kurt Johnson in the final round and took
a holeshot
advantage (.452-.459) at the start. Johnson drove by Alderman at
the top end
with a 6.912-second elapsed time at 200.44 mph. Alderman clicked
off a
6.936/200.41 combination.
"He knew he was in a race," said the 27-time national event winner.
"I shook
the tires in the right lane. I knew lane choice was critical on
that run. We
beat Warren (Johnson) over there, but didn't have enough in the
end."
Alderman advanced to the finals by outrunning W. Johnson in the
semifinals.
The Kentucky resident opened the 2001 season by beating Mark Pawuk
in round
one and Tom Martino in round two.
The victory puts Alderman a solid second in the NHRA Winston Pro
Stock
points championship chase.
Mark Osborne began his Mopar career by taking the 13th-qualifying
position;
but ended the 2001 NHRA season opener with a loss to the aforementioned
Kurt
Johnson in round one. Johnson ran a 6.887-second lap at 200.65 mph
and
Osborne managed a 6.954/199.70 effort.
"We were pretty slow at the 60-foot mark," Osborne commented. "I
would have
liked to start off the season a little better, but it was a good
weekend.
The new Hemi engine is impressive. David Harris
WINSTON CUP MONEY VS. NHRA MONEY
The Agent saw a published report in a Los Angeles paper that said
the total money that NHRA gets from Winston/RJR is in the area of
2 million dollars. The top five points gatherers in Winston Cup
received more than 13.2 million dollars in purse and points money.
Kind of gives you some idea about the importance and popularity
of NASCAR's Winston Cup racing.
MEDIA WATCH
Brickbat…Both Shav Glick of the Los Angeles Times
and Louis Brewster of the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin wrote
stories concerning the Scelzi fiasco that said that NHRA had promised
the $50 grand if a driver won the "Big Bud" at Pomona. Seems like
Mr. Brewster had an NHRA official on an audiotape from the 2000
World Finals saying that they (NHRA) would pay the bonus if the
racer won the Big Bud Shootout. Even the NHRA television announcer
thought that Scelzi was going to get the bonus. Maybe the NHRA media
department should have let this be known. Do you guys really think
the fans don't pay attention?
