FUNNY CAR

"I don't foresee any problems, but we have to go through all the correct channels and the prescribed steps to make it happen. I'm psyched." -- Arnie Karp on getting cleared to race again by NHRA personnel after a serious off-track leg injury put him on the sidelines since August

"You've seen my last run in a Nitro Funny Car. I've worked hard to be a good driver, but it's clear that the car is ahead of me and on that run I put my teammate and my best friend in all of drag racing (Del Worsham) in peril. I can't do that again, and I won't. I'm stepping down. I did the absolute best I could, but I have to be man enough to stand up and say I'm walking away." -- Karp again, immediately after DNQing by crossing the center line at the top end in the final qualifying session on Saturday

"I don't make a lot of mistakes, but this was a dumb one. So I get to wear the dunce cap." -- Gary Scelzi after over-revving his engine during the burnout before his second qualifying attempt, then having it let go and oiling down the track

"That was thrilling! It got over to the left on me right when the clutch locked up, but there was no lifting on this deal." -- Del Worsham after breaking into the field with a 4.872 in the last qualifying session

"There's a nasty bump out there in the right lane and you end up steering the daylights out of it. The car gets to bass boatin'. You know, that's when the ass end gets to swaying. You have to be careful down there." -- Tim Wilkerson after the first qualifying session

"It was a handful down there, and I was steering it around like crazy. We had a big strong headwind all day, and that makes the cars a little darty down there." -- Phil Burkart Jr. on his 4.796-secs qualifying pass that put him third for raceday

"We thought we had the setup just right, but we just couldn't clear that bump." -- Scotty Cannon, after losing in round one to Worsham, on the bump in the track where it passes over an underground walkway

"We couldn't get a much better reaction time." -- Tommy Johnson Jr. on his .002 light in a losing effort against Whit Bazemore in round one

"As all good as Saturday was, today was all bad. We blew the blower right at the hit of the throttle and it was all over." -- Gary Densham on his number-two qualifying effort, followed by a first-round exit against Keith Jackson

"We are in a test mode, working on 2004 setups. Our main goal is to make ourselves better for next season." -- Ron Capps after losing to Frank Pedregon in the first round

"We came from the rubble." -- Scelzi after beating John Force in round one

"What do John Force and Tony Pedregon have in common? They've each beaten me on a holeshot in the last two races." -- Worsham after Pedregon's .058 reaction proved to be the winning difference in round two

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"Every pass the car went down the track, so we're kind of getting the reputation of a team that doesn't screw up. And that's a good thing, because if we can keep from screwing up we'll get to go more rounds than we would if we're trying to knock their heads off."
-- Wilkerson on making it to the second round, where he lost to Scelzi

"I'm not sure why it did what it did, but for whatever the reason, we didn't get the win."
-- Scelzi after going up in smoke in the semis against T. Pedregon

"I was waiting for a lot to happen. Fortunately, we didn't crash and nothing else happened either." -- Bazemore on his tire-smoking duel against T. Pedregon in the final round

"You have to be a good loser, I think, before you can be a good winner." -- Bazemore again, on losing the round, and with it any mathematical chance at winning this year's championship