Photo by Jeff Burk

he Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway hosted the 3rd annual ACDelco Las Vegas Nationals Oct. 24-26, and as always, in their own words, the racers described the action in team and NHRA press releases.

TOP FUEL

"At this point in the season, we're usually battling for a championship, so it feels a little strange to have that out of reach this year." -- Kenny Bernstein, on entering the race while seventh in the points standings

"It doesn't make a difference, everywhere we go there's a quarter mile; this one is just a little bit higher than most of them, with the exception of Denver. I just try and keep it in the groove and do the best job I can." -- Larry Dixon on team owner Don Prudhomme's and crew chief Dick LaHaie's lack of driving experience at The Strip

"We've only had a couple good time slips lately and we could use a few more." -- Doug Herbert before failing to qualify at Vegas

"The car was trucking. It was going to the top of the heap. Golly gee, I hope it holds. I need to stay in." -- David Baca on the 4.714-secs pass he made in the last qualifying session that eventually landed him the 16th and final starting spot

"He was just like a kid in a candy store. His eyes just lit up." -- Bernstein on the reaction of his son Brandon while sitting in the car for warm-ups before each round, the first time Brandon had an opportunity to run the car since his accident in it at Englishtown, NJ, in May

"Just because you're number one doesn't mean you deserve freebies." -- Tony Schumacher on his raceday chances after earning his third straight top-qualifier position with a 4.503-seconds pass at 328.22 mph

"We're still working on our top-end numbers and if they come around, we'll be running with the best of them." -- Paul Romine before qualifying eighth, then dropping his first-round match against Darrell Russell

"It was inevitable." -- LaHaie, after his and Dixon's 21-race-long streak of making it past the first round ended at the hands of Clay Millican

"That was pretty huge! Today is our team owner Peter Lehman's birthday, and we gave him a great present by finally beating the Miller Lite car." -- Millican on his first-ever elimination round victory in his sixth try against Dixon

"We know that the Kalittas only have one way to run a race: as fast as they can. The great thing is we share similar tune-ups with the Kalitta camp, so the fans can expect one of two things in round one. A pair of track flattening runs or a tire-smoking pedalfest." -- Scott Weis before striking the tires in a first-round loss to Scott Kalitta

"We feel we gave Tony a good race, but have you noticed how we are always matched against the best drivers or the driver in the other lane runs a career best? No wonder we have a hard time of late getting past the first round." -- Baca after running a 4.66 in the first round, but still losing to number-one qualifier Schumacher

"I am having the most fun I have ever had in a racecar." -- S. Kalitta before qualifying third, then making it to the semis against Bernstein

"I love to race and there's hardly anything better in the world than winning." -- Bernstein after securing his 68th NHRA national-event victory, and his third win of the last four races

"I am anxious for Brandon to get back in the car. I think I will be able to handle being on the sidelines better this time. I feel very comfortable in the car and it is fun to race this Budweiser car, but I am ready to watch him race." -- Bernstein again, who has been subbing for his injured son, on his impending retirement from driving for the second-straight season