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NO TV FOR IHRA FINALS
Although one of the closest points battles in drag racing history was
on tap, television cameras were conspicuously absent at the IHRA CARQUEST
Autumn Nationals, held Nov. 4-5 at Rockingham (NC) Dragway. The race
initially was scheduled for Sept. 21-23, with TNN scheduled to broadcast
it a week later; but heavy rain forced the event to be postponed and
TNN was unavailable for taping the later date.
MILLICAN WINS, BUT ROMINE RULES
 The
IHRA Summit Top Fuel championship — perhaps the most compelling points
chase in professional motorsports this year — wrapped up Nov. 4-5 at
Rockingham Dragway with Bruce Litton, Paul Romine, and rookie Clay Millican
separated by a mere 32 points at the head of the field going into the
event. Before the race, each driver stated his team was in control of
its own destiny, with any slip up by either of the other two almost
certain to cost them the $200,000 title.
 Romine
came out hitting hard in qualifying with the first 320-mph pass in IHRA
history, going 4.676 at 320.43 mph in his CARQUEST-backed machine to
take the pole.
"The car was absolutely perfect, absolutely flawless," Romine
said. "I didn’t have my hand on the brake, I didn’t have to do
anything. It just marched on down through there and about a thousand
feet down I thought, ‘You know, this sumí bitch is haulin’ ass!’
When it gets blurry down there you know you’re running fast."
Millican wound up second at 4.679/316.08; Litton was third at 4.725/317.72;
and Jim Head rounded out the top half of the eight-car field with a
4.783 at 299.93 mph pass.
Fittingly, all four drivers advanced past the first round, pairing
Millican’s e-auto.com dragster against Litton, and Romine against Head
in the Big Daddy’s BBQ rail.
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