Drag

Rockingham: Lee sets record, runner-up finish

ROCKINGHAM, NC - Tom Lee may have gotten used to seeing his name in the IHRA's Pro Stock record books, but that doesn't mean he'll ever stop trying to rewrite it. In fact, the four-time national event winner from Kingsport, Tennessee showed up at ...

Edited: Apr 15, 2002, 11:45 PM

Copy link

Share on Viber

Add as a preferred source

ROCKINGHAM, NC - Tom Lee may have gotten used to seeing his name in the IHRA's Pro Stock record books, but that doesn't mean he'll ever stop trying to rewrite it. In fact, the four-time national event winner from Kingsport, Tennessee showed up at the IHRA's season-opening 31st Annual Holley Springs Nationals with a freshly sharpened pencil in his pocket.

During pre-season testing, Lee's new Charlie Taylor-owned Mustang, tuned by Cliff Moore, the IHRA's "Wrench of the Year" last year, was a rampaging stallion right out of the gate. On the heels of a super strong performance in 2000, which included a win at last fall's event at Rockingham, Lee hit the ground running in February, and lowered the Sunoco Fuels Pro Stock mark to 6.57.

"We knew at the conclusion of last season that we had the toughest car out there, and that we were more than capable of holding our own, " said Lee at the time. "I don't think I'm sticking my neck out when I predict that we're going to be a team that will be tough to deal with this year."

Lee knows that predictions can often come back and bite you, but he was very confident when he made that statement, and after this weekend's race, he's even more so. On his first regular season run of 2001, Lee stormed to the early qualifying lead with a 6.712/206.92, and found himself in second position overall once the smoke had cleared. During the second round, he restated his promise to be tough to deal with by laying down a blazing 6.611/208.65 to reclaim the top spot after day one.

On Saturday, Lee solidified his grip on the number one position by posting runs of 6.638/207.82 and 6.604/208.71. In the elimination rounds, Lee sent Steve Speiss, John Montecalvo and Dwayne Rice to the sidelines before facing off against number 2 qualifier, holeshot artist Gene Wilson, in the final. Lee blasted to a jaw dropping 6.552 on the run, the quickest Pro Stock elapsed time ever, but he was unable to make up the starting-line jump Wilson grabbed by virtue of a .423 reaction time.

There's not much doubt that Tom Lee would rather have had the win instead of the new record, but it all adds up over the course of a long season. You just have to know that that 6.55 has gotten everyone's attention. The Ford versus GM rivalry promises to be one of the highlights of the IHRA tour this year, and Tom Lee has served notice that he intends to lead the charge to the championship in 2001.

Lee has his own website at www.tomleeracing.com.

-Brian Wood

We want your opinion!

What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?

Take our 5 minute survey.

- The Motorsport.com Team

Read and post comments

Share Or Save This Story

Copy link

Share on Viber

Previous article SWS: Mesa Marin fast facts

Next article BUSCH: Harvick Texas Busch revies

Top Comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?

View More & Comment

Latest news

Max Verstappen slams “unacceptable” bumps at Austin F1 track: “It's out of control”

Formula 1

F1 Formula 1

United States GP

3 h

Max Verstappen slams “unacceptable” bumps at Austin F1 track: “It's out of control”

Kimi Antonelli ready to "finish the job" as first F1 title chance beckons at US GP

Formula 1

F1 Formula 1

United States GP

4 h

Kimi Antonelli ready to "finish the job" as first F1 title chance beckons at US GP

How to watch NASCAR at Talladega II: Weekend schedule, start time, entry list, TV

NASCAR Cup

NAS NASCAR Cup

Talladega II

4 h

How to watch NASCAR at Talladega II: Weekend schedule, start time, entry list, TV

Peterson Racing addresses online abuse after parting ways with Austin Green

NASCAR O'Reilly

NOAP NASCAR O'Reilly

Talladega II

5 h

Peterson Racing addresses online abuse after parting ways with Austin Green

Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.

From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.

You have 2 options:

Become a subscriber.
Disable your adblocker.

Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here

Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page

Manage Alerts