Rockingham II: Paul Lee final summary

Lee closes year with semifinal finish

ROCKINGHAM, N.C. - IHRA Torco Pro Nitro Funny Car driver Paul Lee was one of the hottest drivers during the second half of the IHRA eMax Drag Racing Series tour and capped the season with a semifinal finish in the Rislone Engine Treatment/ J&B Motorsports Monte Carlo during this past weekend's UTI World Finals at Rockingham Dragway. The team not only had to battle the competition, but Mother Nature as eliminations were pushed to Monday after persistent rains on Sunday.

Lee, of Bala Cynwyd, Pa., qualified the Jimbo Ermalovich tuned machine third with a solid 4.965 second pass at 304.25 mph. In round one, he defeated Todd Simpson with a 5.036 at 298.01 mph. In his semifinal bout with Jack Wyatt, Lee grabbed a huge starting line adantage (.012 to .107) but slowed to a 5.304 at 276.97 mph to Wyatt's 5.030 at 295.59 mph.

"We just got out ran," said Team Owner Jeff McGaffic. "The track was just starting to get good on Sunday when it rained. We just missed the tune-up and Wyatt made a good run."

"We had a pretty good weekend," stated Lee. "We really would have liked to finish the year with a win, but we had a very strong second half of the season. You always want to end a year running strong."

The event was their last for 2006, but the team will have the car on display at the SEMA show in Las Vegas in the Rislone/Bar's Leaks area. The team finished sixth in points despite missing two events.

-credit: jb motorsports