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NHRA Quotes from Chicago
Compiled by Ian
Tocher
10/6/04
Forget the House of Blues,
the NHRA’s best made their second stop
this year at Chicago’s House of Speed
Oct. 1-3, otherwise known as Route 66 Raceway.
Records fell, but upsets ruled the day in deciding
champions at the 4th annual CARQUEST Auto Parts
Nationals. Here, in their own words, are the
racers’ stories as told through NHRA
and team press releases.
TOP FUEL
“The rules are so up in the air, that
what we’ve got this week, might not be
in the rules package next race. So, we’ll
go one race at a time and try to do well at
that given event and then go on to the next
race.” —Larry
Dixon on the uncertainty of this season compared
to previous years
"I'd rather have it this way than having
to go out and beg people to watch us. But,
if you let it, all of that attention can be
distracting as well. We have to keep reminding
ourselves that there's still plenty of work
to do." -- Tony Schumacher, a Chicago
native, on the pressures of popularity as he
continues to lead the points chase
“I love that word ‘cool.’ Whatever
the reason, this hot rod always seems to run
better when it’s cool. Hot sticky tracks
have not been kind to us this season.”—David
Baca on his preferred weather system in Chicago
"We need a spark . . . something to get
us going. We need to go out and run good. We'd
like to finish the season on a good note.”—Doug
Herbert before the race, on his desire to return
to victory lane
“We spent some RaceGirl money on a few
new parts just for Chicago. Our combination
should be pretty stout.” -- Scott
Weis on his high hopes before qualifying began
“We have a fast hot rod and our bad
is as good as everyone else, all we have to
do now is hit the ball. The car is real steady
and it will put up good numbers in just about
any conditions; it can run down a dirt road
if we ask it to. What I am doing now as a Top
Fuel driver and crew member is better than
being that canary in the coal mine, working
in our body shop, repairing cars and breathing
paint fumes. I would much rather be breathing
nitro fumes on a steady basis than paint fumes
any day." —T.J.
Zizzo mixing his metaphors while describing
his love for the sport
"Now, that's pretty amazing." --
Schumacher on not being in the show after the
first day of qualifying, along with the rest
of the top five in points: Doug Kalitta, Brandon
Bernstein, David Grubnic and Scott Kalitta
“When that happens, you just let common
sense take over and lift. I really don’t
know how far the car got off the ground, but
you can tell how far you can keep on the throttle.”—Dixon
on the wheelstand he experienced in round one
of qualifying
"It was great, I was driving the car
down the track like I was hitting a golf shot
into the wind. Just past the grandstands I
kind of expected a gust of wind from my right.
So I steered the car into the wind and sure
enough the wind brought the car back to my
left just as we were headed toward the finish
line. In golf terms I think they call that
a right to left draw?" -- Zizzo
on his first qualifying pass
"I was overly excited down there at the
finish; I didn't even know what to say."—Cory
McClenathan after qualifying number one for
the 29th time in his career
“That was a close one.”—Baca
after losing by 28-thousandths to Bob Vandergriff
in round one on raceday
"The car was in trouble from the get-go.
As soon as I hit the gas it was in trouble.”—Cory
Mac on his tire-smoking loss to Morgan Lucas
in round one
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