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Whit Bazemore, Tony Pedregon, Jerry Toliver and Dean Skuza
-- all upper-bracket qualifiers -- exited in the first round.
MARNELL MARVELS
While John Force heads to the Feb. 21-24 Checker Schuck's
Kragen Nationals at Phoenix, seeking his 100th career victory, Pro Stocker
George Marnell would like to experience his third. But who's complaining?
Not Marnell.
Stringing together a series of unlikely events, the 51-year-old
Las Vegas construction expert struck a blow for the underdog by earning
his second career victory in the last six races. (He won at Memphis
last fall.)
Marnell, the No. 16 qualifier, earned his $25,000 by nipping
Jim Yates by 0.0009 of a second, or about three inches. And he did it
on a holeshot, with a .417 reaction time to Yates' .485. He finished
with a 6.880 to Yates' 6.812.
His start was just as eye-popping. Marnell, who said he
was "just happy to be in the show," eliminated first opponent Ron Krisher,
No. 1 on the grid with both the track elapsed-time and speed. Then he
polished off No. 8 Mike Edwards and No. 4 Tom Hammonds.
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