Pennzoil Nationals: Team Chevrolet Notes & Quotes Friday, Oct. 9, 1998

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Team Chevrolet Notes & Quotes Friday, Oct. 9, 1998

FUNNY CAR

Ron Capps (Copenhagen Camaro Z28), No. 5 qualifier, 4.981, 301.47:
Capps performed a spectacular wheelstand in the second qualifying round. The Camaro stood straight up on its rear wheels at a 35-degree angle and skated on its rear bodywork for approximately 100 feet, the tires barely skimming the surface. When the car settled, Capps climbed out, opened his visor and stood atop the Camaro with arms spread out in a bow to the crowd. He is quite sore, but otherwise unhurt. The chassis, however, is damaged and will be replaced.

"I was so afraid I was going to come down on top of the guardrail. After it came down I knew it broke the front end, and I was going to coast it in. I remember Raymond Beadle when he wrecked, and he got out of the car and raised his arms to the crowd (in Gainesville, Fla., in 1982), I figured I owed the crowd a little bit. I opened my visor and held my arms up. That was the loudest I had ever heard the crowd."

What happened?
"It's never felt like it's ever been in jeopardy of going that high. We had it set up to run a high 4.80 and it left the starting line and it was up a little higher than usual at the hit of the throttle. And then all of a sudden it just went straight up quicker than I ever thought it could. I instantly got out of the throttle. I could hear the wind underneath blowing and holding the car up. I couldn't see anything out of the windows except black. It really felt like it would go backwards. The wind was kind of holding it up, it was real quiet.

"I reached up with my ring finger (on right hand) and I just pulled on the brake a little bit. It stayed up for a while then came back down. I gritted my teeth and made sure I didn't bite my tongue. As it came back down I had the fear that the Camaro had moved, I felt it teeter-tottering when it was straight up. I thought it might land on the guardrail. That would have been ugly. But it came down in the middle of the lane and I brought it to a stop. Then I got out and took a bow.

"The last thing I wanted to do was to ruin all the hard work the guys had done on the Camaro body. We made some changes in the GM wind tunnel last week, and the guys spent countless hours making the car better. As it is, we are going to have to change chassis."

Why no wheelie bars?
"The Camaro has always been so well balanced that we have never had the bars on. We've had them off for most of the season. It never felt like it was in jeopardy. It was a freak deal. Even on the very good runs the front end never felt it was out of control."

On the points chase and strategy:
"We're not backing down, we're going 110%. Sometimes when these things happen; it's just a matter of pushing the envelope too much. You have to back off a little bit. These guys are awesome, they will work all night to get the chassis ready, it's always been ready to go if we needed it. They're prepared, they're the best guys in the business. I will put them against anybody. We have the Camaro body that we got back from the wind tunnel in one piece and that's the best thing of all." "Roland (Leong, crew chief) says everything looked right, the engine revved up pretty high instantly, I could feel it backing out of the burnout. It sounded awesome."

Whit Bazemore (Team Winston Camaro Z28), No. 3 qualifier, 4.955/310.27:
"It was not a perfect run. But it was good and it is kind of representative of what we expected to do in the first round at Topeka. It's cold, and it's a little damp here. We're excited because we made two good runs now. The Camaro Z28 performed, it's running well, the guys are doing a great job and we've got a good team. Everyone is really motivated and they're wanting to prove to the drag racing world that we belong. It's a big thing for them, and for me, too, for everybody. I'm a couple of weeks away from traveling through Europe all next year, riding a Ducati, checking out the scenery, drinking a lot of vino. That's not what we want to do. We drag race. We have a lot of good things in the works, it's a matter of all the pieces falling together soon to keep this team the way it is now, in one piece. We're going into the GM wind tunnel with Chevrolet as soon as the season is over, and we're doing everything as if we are racing very aggressively next year. That's our goal and we are prepared to do that. And when all the pieces fall in place, we will be prepared to have a better team than we have now. It's a lot easier to stop doing things than to start doing them when you are behind the 8-ball. We are going to be aggressive over the winter in improving our team."

PRO STOCK TRUCK

Brad Jeter (Brad Jeter Motorsports Chevy S-10), captured his second straight No. 1 qualifier position, but this time his Chevy S-10 was powered by a new Bill "Grumpy" Jenkins Chevy V8 splayed-valve engine. The top eight compact pickup trucks in the 16-truck field are Chevy S-10s. Jeter set a track record elapsed time of 7.635 seconds, matching Larry Kopp's national e.t. record. Jeter's speed of 175.62 mph is also a track record.

Jeter is followed by Larry Kopp (7.653/175.34); Bob Panella Jr. (7.680/174.75); Jerry Haas (7.697/175.09); John Lingenfelter (7.699/174.35); Tim Freeman, Randy Daniels and Grant Lewis.

Jeter: "This morning we got a brand new engine from Grumpy Jenkins. We have been waiting for it for quite a few races. We felt we had the program pretty much together, as good as we ran last weekend with the other (Lingenfelter) motor. We knew when we got this engine we would be a lot better. It's the second run with it. I do think there's still a good bit left. I'm anxious to see what we have left. I can't say enough about my Chevy S-10 crew; they have done a really good job. They keep everything going. They make this truck very easy to drive."

On the good air here:
"The air is good, the track is good. Everyone now is getting a handle on the trucks and what they like. It's starting to show up."

How does it feel to tie the national record?:
"They told me when they dynoed the engine that it was good, and that I was probably the one who would set it, but you never know. The engine is only as good as what you do with it. It's just one part of it. You still have to make the truck go down the race track."

Did you feel it was that good a run?
"It's the best run by far that I have made in the Chevy S-10. I knew when I put it in high gear that we were on a good run. A high 7.50 is what I thought we could run. I think it's possible, I think there's a little bit left in the S-10 if we make the right moves, and I think we can."

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