Columbus: Doug Herbert final summary

Herbert endures tough first round defeat in Columbus

COLUMBUS, post-race: Doug Herbert was streaking to a first round victory at the 42nd annual Pontiac Performance NHRA Nationals when things got ugly. The driver of the Snap-on Tools Top Fuel dragster lost after a dramatic engine explosion ended his day in spectacular fashion.

Sunday dawned with a solid cloud cover and cool temperatures at National Trail Raceway. A light rain fell, which delayed the beginning of eliminations by over an hour and a half. Once the skies cleared and the track was dried the overflow crowd was ready for action.

Herbert and the Snap-on Tools team methodically prepared for their first round match up with Cory McClenathan. It was the second race of the year between 'Dougzilla' and Cory Mac. Herbert won their first encounter during a quarterfinal showdown in Gainesville. Both cars left the starting line together and Herbert was pulling away for the win when the motor on the Snap-on Tools dragster suffered a mechanical failure and exploded just past the 660-foot mark. McClenathan drove by to take the win with a 4.555 at 328.94 mph to Herbert's fiery 5.036 at 197.86 mph.

"The numbers showed us that we were on a mid to high 4.40 run when it broke a piston," said Herbert. "We've got a little bit of a problem to correct but we made some big changes that will make the Snap-on dragster more consistent and fast. Even though we didn't win that round I think we are on the right track."

-dougherbert.com