Nevertheless, it almost was a lost weekend for the Canadian
who, after Friday’s qualifying session was rained
out, missed the first session on Saturday.
The upshot was that he went into the last qualifying session
Saturday not in the 16-car starting lineup.
“We were soft, very soft,” Billes said of
the setup in the Corvette which is programmed to give way
to a new 2005 Dodge Stratus in the near future. “We
hoped to run a 6.30 and actually ran a 6.31 [in qualifying]. We
just wanted to get the car down the racetrack.
“We’ve had good fortune at this racetrack,” Billes
continued. “Quain was so consistent and ran
so well, but we just kind of stepped up [in the final].”
Thomas made the most of the opportunity he was presented
when two-time reigning points champion Rob Atchison, winner
of he season-opener at San Antonio, Texas, was beaten in
the first round for the second straight year.
“The car’s fast,” Thomas said, “[and]
it’s not hurting anything. It was a good weekend
for us.”
Despite Atchison’s problems, Thomas said the points
race is far from over. In fact, the five-time former
series champion (1990, 1991, 1992, 1994 and 2001) predicted
that the new eight-car lineup will make the championship
chase a lot more interesting.
“Once you get qualified, the eight-car field is
great,” he said, “as long as you’re one
of the eight guys. The only real adjustment you have
to make is not chewing your fingers to the bone during
qualifying.
“Once race day is here, you’ve got really
tough races every round. I really like it. I
think it’s neat. Any one of those eight cars
can win the whole thing [and] that will make a really interesting
year.
“I’ll predict that sometime over the course
of the year one of the op cars, whether it’s me or
Rob, will not qualify for a race. Maybe all of us. We’ve
got a lot of good competition [and] I think it’s
making excellent racing.”
Also booted to the sideline early-on, along with Atchison,
was No. 1 Pro Stock qualifier and new track record holder
Frank Gugliotta of Mt. Airy, Md., whose Ford Mustang slowed
by a tenth of a second in a round one win over Larry O’Brien’s
Dodge Stratus before losing to the Chevrolet of chassis
builder Jerry Haas in the quarterfinals.
