Columbus Doug Herbert Preview

HERBERT, SNAP-ON DRAGSTER LOOK TO MOVE UP IN STANDINGS AT COLUMBUS, OHIO

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Doug Herbert has fond memories of National Trail Raceway.

"I should," he says. "Until April, that was the only track where I'd won a NHRA race."

Lest you think six years is a long time to go between victory celebrations, you should know that Herbert didn't make many Winston Series races from 1994-97. He returns to the site of his first major win for the Pontiac Excitement Nationals, June 11-13, as a championship contender.

Herbert, driving the Snap-on Racing Top Fuel dragster, scored his second career win at Houston in April. It was more memorable, perhaps, because he added a $100,000 Winston No Bull bonus to his payday. He has two second-place finishes in the season's first nine races and is third in points behind leader Mike Dunn. Dunn, a three-time winner in 1999, has 713 points. Kenny Bernstein is next with 587 and Herbert has 578 in what is developing as a tough fight for the title.

Dunn defeated Bernstein Sunday near Chicago to add 50 points to his margin. Bernstein's runner-up enabled him to take second ahead of Herbert.

"I really didn't want to see either driver get to the finals," said Herbert, who was upset by Jim Head in the quarterfinals. "There are quite a few drivers running good."

Consistent efforts by the top three, plus Larry Dixon (fourth, 544 points) and Tony Schumacher (fifth, 542) have helped separate them from the other five members of the top 10.

Herbert expects weather conditions - usually hot and humid - to play a role in Sunday's outcome. "That's why I'm happy Dick LaHaie is my crew chief," Herbert added. "It looked like Dick was getting a handle on his hot-weather tune-up last weekend."

Herbert's 4.690-second time in a first-round win over Scott Kalitta was the day's second quickest. But the Snap-on dragster's tires smoked against Head, slowing Herbert to a 7.306 at 115.58 mph to Head's 4.804 at 285.05 mph.

"I don't know what happened, but I felt the tires begin to shake before they started spinning," Herbert noted. "Dick wasn't sure why that happened. We hated to lose then because we would've raced Dunn in the semifinals."

"That was just another way to lose a race," LaHaie said of last Sunday's meeting with Head. "The race car keeps you humble."

LaHaie is familiar with racing on hot, slippery tracks this time of the year, especially National Trail. He won there as a driver in 1987, the year he was the Winston champion. He also was crew chief when Scott Kalitta won back-to-back events in 1994-95 - the same years he won championships. That's one trend Herbert and LaHaie would like to see continue this time around.