Winston Finals: Top Fuel Notes & Quotes Sunday, November 15, 1998

MEMBER TRACKS
Track Directory
Member Track Programs

CLASSIFIED ADS
Performance Directory
Dragmart (For Sale)

HELP
Contact NHRA
Division Directors

Top Fuel Notes & Quotes
Sunday, November 15, 1998
This page will be updated throughout the evening
All reports courtesy of the racing teams

Eddie Hill (Pennzoil), lost in round one to Cory McClenathan:
Hill lost in the opening round of eliminations after a thrilling side-by-side race against Cory McClenathan. The final numbers saw Hill cross the finish line in 4.637 seconds at 312.82 mph to McClenathan's 4.597-second, 302.82-mph lap.

"You look at the results from this weekend and you see that it took two 4.5-second passes to beat us," Hill said, alluding to today's race and yesterday's Big Bud Shootout final round which he lost to Doug Kalitta by a margin of 4.599 seconds to 4.620 seconds. "I've lost a lot of races where I run real quick and just barely lose and it's still real hard to swallow. Congrats to Cory. He ran a great lap. We'll get him next time.

"The car has been awesome all year. Obviously our qualifying performances back that statement up. The Pennzoil Dragster has been so consistent. We just haven't been able to find much luck on Sunday. It felt great to take part in the Big Bud Shootout and to do so well in it. We ran a career-best speed in Round 1 (315.12 mph), beat the best driver in the world in Round 2 (Gary Scelzi), and battled to the finish in the finals. This has been a good year for us and we really feel good about the finish."

Hill finishes the 1998 season with nine elimination-round wins in 22 races. He is one of only six drivers to have qualified for every race this year. Additionally, Hill has not missed an elimination-round in the last 40 races.

Mike Dunn (Mopar), lost in round two to Larry Dixon:
"We had two pretty identical runs today. The Mopar dragster just got out to the half-track and wanted to spin the tires a bit. I had to tug the brake both times to get the car on down through to the finish line. The difference was our 4.68 was strong enough to win the first round and the 4.67 wasn't in the second. If I didn't have to pull on the brake, the car was on a pace to run a low 4.6 or so. We have had Larry's (Dixon) number all year and it was about time that he came back to get us. What's disappointing is that we let Kenny (Bernstein) slip around us into fourth position in points. It has been a real solid year for our Mopar dragster. We moved up three spots in the Top Fuel points and worked our tails off in getting our car consistent. Four final rounds and a bunch of semifinal appearances is a great foundation for us to build upon for 1999. We'll go take some time off and get ready to test next month."

Return to the Home Page
Return to News Archive