Quote:
Originally Posted by Kevin McKenna
WOW, what a qualifying session. I hardly know where to begin.
Actually, any discussion about Stock at Indy should begin with Roy Hill. After yesterday's close call with Marty Buth, "Uncle Roy" outdid himself this morning. Another monster wheelstand that ended when his Cobra Jet brushed the wall near the 330-foot clocks. I haven't seen the car so I don't know how much damage was done but I can say that it had the potential to be much, much worse. Thankfully, as he was going right, the front end came down before he contacted the wall. At any rate, I'm sure you'll see some amazing photos because there are at least a dozen hard working media-types out there this morning. And yes, Roy does still operate a driving school so if you want to learn some of his techniques, I'm sure he's willing to share.
Mike Pustelny's luck went from bad to worse when he blew up an engine in his COPO Camaro. Mike wasn't in yesterday so I'm guessing he wanted to lean on it this morning. Unfortunately, the end result was a 15-minute clean-up.
Jason Line got it done with his Buick with a 10.369 on the 11.40 index. Obviously, he hasn't forgotten how to built a Stocker engine.
The Factory Stock guys are in full "index preservation" mode.
Chris Holbrook ran 8.59 at just 145, Kevin Skinner followed with an 8.55 at 141 and Clay Arnett joined in with an 8.60 at 140. Gonne be interesting to see what happens when these guys take the block out from under the gas pedal.
There was a great "side-by-side" race between Ellis Buth's Pinto and Chuck Watson's Cobra Jet. Watson broke about 100 feet out and coasted to the finish line. He was ahead for a long time before Buth passed him to win, 15.54 to 17.32. It was a great illustration of the difference in performance between the quickest and slowest cars in Stock
Finally, a personal observation. I've been coming here a long, long time and on Thursday's, the media center used to be a ghost town. Not anymore. There are at least a 18-20 people in here and most of them have a genuine interest in Stock and the Factory Stock Showdown. I've answered a lot of questions from writers/photographers who've been sent here to cover the event and it's refreshing to see the increasing interest in Sportsman racing.
more later...
|
Thanks for the updates Kevin !
Not sure if anyone noticed this, but a little more History was made at the US Nationals this morning.
The first 11 second pass was made this morning in Stock with a 4 cylinder engine.
( Marty Buth - N/SA __ 2.3 Ford Mustang @ 11.867 > 1.133 under ) # 19 qualifier