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The Red Bay, AL-based driver was rattled, but still able
to steer the car down track and exit at the first available turn off.
Track workers said he wasn't really sure about what happened, other
than "he knew he hit something." IHRA Pro Mod driver Mitch Stott, who
was doing some commentating from the tower, praised Scott's driving
skill, saying most drivers would've crashed a lot more heavily in the
same situation. "All those trips down two-bit country tracks paid off
right there," he quipped.
AND FINALLY ...
NMCA regular Brian Gould towed his 2000 Camaro SS all
the way from Piscataway, NJ, to enter the Southern Outlaw Nationals,
but when he got to Darlington International Dragway he still had to
put his engine together.
Gould actually missed the first round of Outlaw Pro Street
qualifying as he, IHRA Pro Mod star Mitch Stott and Stott crewmember
Ted "Chavez" Chavarria were putting the finishing touches on "Cleopatra,"
the Gene Fulton-built engine that Stott recently sold to Gould.
"We're just here to help him get a baseline to operate
from," Stott explained. "This is the nitrous motor we ran with all last
year and it's got a lot more power than he's used to."
Despite battling handling troubles and a stubborn cylinder
that wouldn't fire consistently, Gould wound up qualified sixth in the
10-car field with a 4.807-second pass at 138.18 mph. He then ran 4.887
in defeating Randy Oliver in round one and improved to a winning 4.614
against Jeff Davis in round two. A tire-shaking 6.445 bye run in the
semis put Gould in the final, where he met Tony Williams and improved
again to 4.407 at 160.59 mph, although a slower reaction time cost him
the win.
"We're looking for repetitive low to mid-4.30s in the
eighth-mile," Stott said. "That, and he has to be able to work on the
car himself between rounds. From what I've seen he should be able to
do that and win some races."
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