Anthony Fooshee, from Smithville, MS, drove the only supercharged car entered in the Quick 8 Outlaws Series at Huntsville.

Nick Cline's '38 Chevy originally was built in 1999 by his father Mike and older brother Chris for Chris to race in Top Sportsman events. Nick took over the wheel in 2001 when Chris became a hired driver for an IHRA Pro Mod team.

The two were destined to meet again, as Cline advanced from a first- round bye to eliminate Tom Stringer, then his brother Stephan Stringer in a pair of first-generation Camaros. On the other side of the ladder, Green downed Neal Light's Chevy S-10, Anthony Fooshee's '63 Vette, and Richard Lee in his 2002 Grand Am.

In the final round, Cline left with a very small starting-line advantage, posting a .027 light to Green's .033, then went 4.349 at 167.59 compared to a 4.382 at 165.59 mph in the opposing lane. "It was tight down there," Cline said later. "I knew he was right with me all the way." He also acknowledged he "dodged a bullet" in the first round when severe tire shake forced him to shut off early. "Our day could've been a lot shorter than it was."

OUTLAW PRO MOD

Fresh off a match-race victory over Scotty Cannon a week earlier at Huntsville Dragway, Bil Clanton from Rome, GA, looked set to dominate again at the 'Bama Nationals, but mechanical woes prematurely ended his day.

Over in the Outlaw Pro Mod ranks, Bil Clanton earned the top qualifying spot with a 4.038-secs blast at 178.28 mph in his supercharged hemi- powered 1953 Studebaker. Clanton made a 4.08 pass in a first-round bye, but his luck ran out in the second round when his car lost fire after the burnout.

Meanwhile, sixth-place qualifier Danny "Buck" Gardner and number-nine Ron Stokes began their march toward a final-round meeting by taking out Jeff Fisher's blown Datsun 240Z and Rex Kelley's '63 Corvette, respectively, in the opening round. Next up for Gardner and his blown Olds-powered '98 GMC pickup was Michael Neal in a blown '92 Lumina and Kevin Reed in a 2000 Corvette. Stokes, meanwhile, took advantage of Clanton's misfortune, then got another gift in the semis from a redlighting Greg Holt in another blown late-model Corvette.