FUNNY CAR

"Do I think we can win? Yes. Do I think we should be the favorite? No. How can Worsham not be the favorite. He's won two races in a row and is a whole race ahead in the points. Bottom line, who would bet on a drag race anyway?" -- John Force before the race, on learning he was the 3-1 betting favorite according to Las Vegas odds makers, while Del Worsham was second at 7-2

"We have nothing to lose and they have all of it to lose." -- Whit Bazemore after qualifying 10th and having to face points leader Del Worsham in the first round

"Being able to see like you can through the larger windshield makes it a pleasure to drive." -- Ron Capps on his new Monte Carlo-bodied ride

"At this track, if the conditions are like they were tonight, you better bring the big bat with you to the plate. We hit a double, but some other guys were going very deep." -- Phil Burkart Jr. on lining up ninth with a 4.914 pass after the first qualifying session

 

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"It's hard to believe that 10 years ago I was shoveling out horse stalls in Oakdale." -- Eric Medlen on his good fortune to inherit Tony Pedregon's ride for Team Force

"Yeah, there is another race in two weeks, but it can't make up for this one. This is rough. It's not acceptable for us not to qualify." -- Tommy Johnson Jr. on missing the show in Vegas

"She was a real pooch. The blower went away and we lost e.t." -- Terry Haddock on his second qualifying attempt

"I'm getting real bored watching the races on Sunday." -- Jim Head on missing the cut at the season's first three races, and before qualifying 16th at Vegas

"Back when I ran my own car, I never even thought about a championship, but when you've got a car this good, it's hard not to dream." -- Gary Densham, the third leg of Force's driving triumvirate, on his chances to add a championship to his racing resume

"I don't know what our last minute adjustments were, but we went up there with low e.t. in mind. Dickie made the right decision and made a great call." -- Tony Pedregon on his crew chief Dickie Venables and the 4.747-second pass that earned them their first number-one qualifying position as a new team

"There's never an easy round for anyone anymore. I always say what makes this sport so intense and exciting are the match-ups because it could be first round or the final round and that other guy in the other lane is going to be tough." -- Cruz Pedregon before falling in the first round to Force

"When you give a driver like Medlen, even though he is a rookie, enough shots at you, you're going to get beat after a while." -- Jerry Toliver on his opening round loss to Medlen

"I left first, the car was quicker, it was going to win the race, no doubt about it. It just didn't happen." -- Gary Scelzi after mechanical gremlins cost him a second-round win over Burkart Jr.

"We should be producing a lot better results than we have. All of us know that we haven't run to our potential." -- Capps on his disappointing year to date, and after going up in smoke against Medlen in round two

"We made up some on Worsham, but we didn't get it done. We had a chance. The problem is that anybody out there can beat you." -- Force after losing in the semis to Burkart Jr.

"I was bummed a little, but it was a good showing." -- Medlen on his semi-final loss to Bazemore