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Columbus: Whisnant preview

Piranaz Sportswear / RW Performance Chevy S-10 Pro Stock Truck Reid Whisnant - Owner Mark Whisnant - Driver Whisnant Likes His Chances In Columbus COLUMBUS, Ohio (Pre-race) - This weekend Mark Whisnant and his PiranaZ Pro Stock Truck team will ...

Edited: Apr 15, 2002, 11:45 PM

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Piranaz Sportswear / RW Performance
Chevy S-10 Pro Stock Truck
Reid Whisnant - Owner
Mark Whisnant - Driver

Whisnant Likes His Chances In Columbus

COLUMBUS, Ohio (Pre-race) - This weekend Mark Whisnant and his PiranaZ Pro Stock Truck team will return to National Trail Raceway in Columbus, Ohio for the running of the 37th Annual Pontiac Excitement Nationals.

"I feel pretty good coming into Columbus," said Whisnant of Stockbridge, Ga. "We have had some success here at this track in the past. With the way our truck is running right now, I feel like we have a pretty good chance of qualifying and going some rounds there."

At this event last year, Whisnant qualified fourth, but due to parts breakage he exited from eliminations in the first round.

"We qualified well in Columbus last year. If we had not had some bad luck on Sunday, I believe we could have gone some rounds.

"This year we are bringing our new truck to Columbus. Power-wise, we are making more horsepower than we were last year, which will help us. I think our biggest advantage this year will be our consistency.

"Right now we are building on the consistency that we have found in the last two races. Being consistent is important, but what we need now is a couple breaks so we can capitalize on that consistency, and we are going to need breaks this coming weekend in Columbus.

"National Trail Raceway is a hard track to tune for. This track is a little different than the racetracks we are used to seeing. Safety Safari comes to Columbus and prepares the track as best as they can. Then the track will deteriorate over the coarse of the weekend. That is normal at any racetrack. When you add in the heat and the rain that Columbus is known for, it makes this particular track very hard to tune for.

"My ace-in-the-hole for Columbus is my Crew Chief Kevin Horst. Kevin is pretty sharp at tuning for these hot greasy racetracks. He has a lot of experience with hot weather tuning and we are going to try to make the most of his experience.

"If we can do those things; stay consistent, get a couple breaks, and hit our tune-up right. I think we have a good chance of qualifying in the top half again, and this year getting past the first round in Columbus."

Qualifying at the 37th Annual Pontiac Excitement Nationals begins on Friday June 15th and continues on Saturday June 16th. Pro Stock Truck eliminations will take place on Sunday June 17 at 11:00 AM EST. <pre> Pontiac Excitement Nationals

TV Schedule Qualifying Highlights - Saturday June 16 ESPN2 10:00 - 12:00 PM EST

Eliminations Coverage - Sunday June 17 ESPN2 8:00 - 10:00 PM EST

-PZ-

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