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VENEY VANQUISHED
Todd Veney, the journalistically-inclined son of Top Fuel tuner Ken Veney, fouled away his chances in the Federal Mogul Funny Car final at Bristol, giving the title to Australian Steve Harker. However, the former National Dragster staff writer did have the distinction of beating 1999 IHRA World Champion Von Smith in the first round and current NHRA World Champion Frank Manzo in the semifinals.

(Hey Todd, don't quit your day job just yet to go racing full-time…but if you want to write for the Internet, give us a call.)

GREG ANDERSON GETS FIRST NATIONAL PRO STOCK WIN
The battle for Pro Stock bragging rights at Thunder Valley came down to a contest between old and new, Firebird against Grand Am. But when the dust finally settled it was Greg Anderson who captured his first national-event victory by defeating two-time Winston champion Jim Yates in all-Pontiac final at the inaugural Mac Tools Nationals.

The Jacksonville, N.C. resident, and former crew chief for Warren Johnson defeated Allen Johnson in round one, Brad Jeter in round two and Mark Osborne in round three before facing Yates' Grand Am in the championship match.

"I worked for 12 years with Warren Johnson and we won a lot of races," Anderson said. "I'm not saying that it got to be old hat but I had reached the pinnacle of my career. It was great, he was the best guy to work for and I owe everything to him for what I've learned. I got stagnant, though, and decided it was time to try and drive one of these things.

"My Firebird ran flawlessly all weekend. I've never had a car that performed like this, but I couldn't cut a light worth a hill of beans today. I can't win a race if I can't cut a light because there's Warren, and Jeggie (Coughlin) and Kurt (Johnson) who'll outrun you all the time. For some reason they had a tough weekend, and my Pontiac flew so it didn't matter that I was off today."

Anderson was competing in his fourth career final round and jumped out front immediately at the start with a .459 reaction time. The Marnell & Black Firebird eclipsed the quarter mile in 6.993 seconds at 196.85 mph. Yates' Splitfire Pontiac Grand Am crossed the stripe in 6.985 seconds at 197.51 mph.

"When I got the win light I couldn't believe it," said Anderson. "I was in shock. But I won, it's my first victory and there's nothing like it in the world. When we get our second Grand Am it will be a better deal for our whole team. That old Firebird's not supposed to run with those guys but it did today." (note by Jeff Romack)

PITTMAN QUALIFIES NO. 1, BUT…
Alan Pittman, who qualified first for the second straight NHRA Pro Mod exhibition event this season, with a mark of 6.300/221.92, was anxious to get into head-to-head mode. Unfortunately, the long-anticipated skirmish was short-lived, as Pittman's Westbrook Motorsports '41 Willys, after leaving the line hard in round one, was immediately beset by severe tire shake. All Pittman could do was shut everything down in an attempt to keep parts destruction to a minimum.

A post-race inspection revealed a broken transmission, which may have been the cause of the problem, or may have been caused by the intense vibrations set up when the tires shook so viciously on the launch. (note by Brian Wood)

…PRO MOD WIN GOES TO QUAIN STOTT

In a final round battle of the Corvettes, Quain Stott defeated Kirk Kuhns turning a 6.331/227.65 to 6.342/219.44.

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