LONGSHOT EPLER POWER-BOMBS FIELD
Jim Epler claimed his first win of the 2000 NHRA season, and the third of his career (his last win was at the 1993 Winston Finals at the Pomona Raceway. It was another Chevy-vs.-Ford, Camaro-vs.-Mustang confrontation, as Epler defeated Tony Pedregon in the final round with a 4.983-second pass at 302.21 mph to Pedregon’s 5.417 / 197.02. WWF Racing has now won three of the four events of 2000. Jerry Toliver, in the other WWF Racing Camaro, won the other two.

“I couldn’t have done it without the Camaro body,” said Epler. “The car has been on a string every run. It just takes a good team, a good tune-up and that’s what we have now. We saw those odds (at the Sports Book Betting Line) — 25 to 1 against us. Unfortunately I never bet on a drag race; I hope I won a lot of money for somebody.”

-Judy Stropus

PANELLA CLAIMS HIS SECOND PRO STOCK TRUCK TITLE OF SEASON;
CHEVY S-10’s CONTINUE DOMINATION !
Bob Panella Jr., in the Panella Motorsports Chevy S-10, defeated Randy Daniels’ Bailey Trucking Chevy S-10 in an all-S-10 final round of the Pro Stock Truck category. Daniels had a better reaction time, .416 to Panella’s .432, but he couldn’t outrun the Panella power at the top end. Panella defeated Daniels with a 7.680-second pass at 176.24 mph, the lowest elapsed time and highest speed of the weekend. Daniels posted a 7.719-second pass at 175.75 mph.

Panella: on ‘slow’ reaction time: “Everybody gets me at the light. I can’t seem to get out first, no matter what I do. That’s all part of having that bulls-eye on my back. It kind of looks bad in the National Dragster when you see the percentage of times I left first, it’s like zero. I won two races, I guess I’m doing something right.”

On that final run: “I saw him pretty much the whole way until probably three-quarter track. It was the closest race of the day, and in the final that’s the way it’s supposed to be.”

-JS

FUNNY CARS TURN OUT IN RECORD NUMBERS
Or close to it. According to the NHRA entry list, an even 32 Funny Cars had signed up for the SummitRacing.Com Nationals at the Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Did someone say 32 cars? If so, that would really be something, considering that, off the top of my head, the last time I can remember 32 or more cars at an NHRA event, was the 1980 NHRA Winternationals where 33 cars made runs. According to eyewitness accounts, the Las Vegas figure was 29 cars, 27 that actually made qualifying attempts, and two others that never left the pits. That’s as good a turnout, though, as NHRA’s experienced in at least a decade. How things have changed. Why just 27 years ago at the 1973 U.S. Nationals, there were nearly 60 Funny Cars entered.

- Chris Martin

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