FUNNY CAR
Like Millican, Thomas began his march to
victory from the top of the qualifying order,
going 5.831 secs at 236.96 in the final session
to steal away the number-one spot from local
hero and defending class champion Rob Atchison.
Only the top five qualifiers were in the .80s
(and only Thomas managed it once on raceday),
including John Evanchuck, a fellow Canadian
who entered in Atchison’s back-up car,
marking the first time the Atchison team fielded
two cars at one event. Six Canucks broke into
the 16-car F/C field, easily making it the
most well-represented pro class for the Canadian
faithful.
John Evanchuck (L),
from Edmonton, AB, wheeled a second entry
for Rob Atchison’s London, ON-based team
at the Grand Bend Motorplex. (Photo courtesy
of Atchison Racing)
In round one, Thomas overcame a holeshot
by Mike Etter to advance to a second round
date with Ronnie Midyette. After a relatively
easy win over Midyette, the former five-time
series champ faced off against Terry Munroe
in the semis with similar results. On the
other side of the ladder, Atchison trailered
Paul Zgoda, Scott Wildgust, and Jeff Burnett
to reach his third final this year.
Thomas
was there for the taking in the final round,
with a .105 reaction time, his worst of the
day -- but Atchison suffered an uncharacteristic
redlight start, leaving .016 too soon and
watching Thomas streak to the win in 5.917
seconds at 238.79 mph.
In obvious reference to Atchison’s claim
after losing in Virginia that Thomas is guessing
on the tree, Thomas later said, “My lights
have been good all year, and today was no
different.” He then added, “I like
Rob and know how big of a race this is for
him. But we came here to qualify number one
and win the race -- we did both.”
Thomas appears well on his way to a sixth
IHRA Funny Car championship with 477 points,
with Atchison trailing at 338 and Midyette
third with 270 markers after four events.
Z-MAN BACK IN ACTION
Funny Car veteran Paul “Z-Man”
Zgoda, from Cheektowaga, N.Y., made his return
to the driver’s seat at Grand Bend, nearly
two years after experiencing a major transmission
explosion during qualifying in August 2002
at the IHRA national event at Cayuga, ON.
The accident left him with his left ankle
broken in several places, a severed artery,
compound fractures of his toes, and required
skin grafts on his foot.
Zgoda’s son Chris, who serves as lead
mechanic for the team, said he was anxious
to see his dad behind the wheel once again.
“The time off was hard on him,”
he said. “I’ll be really happy when
we’re coming back up the return road
after the first pass.”
At Grand Bend, Zgoda put his 1994 Olds Achieva-bodied
flopper into the field in 15th place with
a 6.205-secs pass at 229.88 mph, but fell
to Rob Atchison in round one of eliminations.
“Thanks to my wife and kids for putting
up with me while I was laid up,” Zgoda
said prior to his comeback. “I would
also like to thank all of the people who sent
their well wishes during that time.”
