Baytown: Doug Herbert final summary

Tire shake claims Herbert in the first round at Houston

HOUSTON, post-race: Doug Herbert went out in the first round on Sunday at the O'Reilly NHRA Spring Nationals at Houston Raceway Park in Texas. The driver of the Snap-on Tools/ Doug Herbert Performance Top Fuel dragster fell victim to tire shake after an outstanding effort during qualifying.

Herbert entered eliminations from the No. 3 qualifying position with a 4.537, which included four consistent runs on Friday and Saturday, and the Snap-on crew was confident going into race day.

The skies were overcast and the temperatures were cool as the fans and racers streamed into Houston Raceway Park for Sunday's eliminations. Daylight savings time pushed the clock ahead one hour which gave the teams a chance to run on a cooler racing surface than they had experience during qualifying.

Herbert squared off against rookie Hillary Will in round one. 'Dougzilla' took the lead at the flash of green with a .108 to .166 reaction but the Snap-on dragster shook the tires just off the starting line and Will drove by for the victory with a 4.570 at 329.42 mph to Herbert's 5.206 at 235.56 mph.

"I was really surprised the Snap-on dragster shook the tires," said Herbert. "We ran so well during qualifying and I felt we had a very good chance to win the race. At least we have a good handle on the new 2420 Goodyear tire and that should help us a lot when we get to Las Vegas next weekend."

-dhr