Dallas: Herbert, SnapOn Racing summary

Snap-On Racing Report
Herbert Keeps Firm Graps On Seventh Place At O'Reilly Nationals

ENNIS, Texas, Oct. 21, 2001 - Doug Herbert saved his best run of the weekend for Sunday's first round of the O'Reilly Nationals at the Texas Motorplex and it helped him in the point standings.

Herbert's 4.668-second, 319.14-mph performance in the Snap-on Racing Top Fuel dragster was enough to send Tony Schumacher home and boost Herbert's seventh-place advantage to 72 points (1140-1068), or four rounds of racing. With only two races to go this year, Herbert is close to equaling his best NHRA Winston Series finish.

"We believe that first round win made the difference between finishing seventh and eighth place," Herbert said. "That was a 40-point swing."

Herbert left Schumacher at the starting line with a .441 reaction time to a .531 and never trailed. Schumacher stopped the clocks with a 4.759 at 316.90. "I definitely drilled him at the starting line," Herbert added. Paired against Kenny Bernstein in the quarterfinals, Herbert's dragster slowed to a 4.897 at 243.57 mph to Bernstein's 4.561 at 326.44. "We had something wrong with the blower on that run and the engine dropped a cylinder," Herbert said.

His best qualifying run was 4.728 seconds and he began the weekend from the No. 12 position. Herbert has an opportunity to clinch seventh place next Friday through Sunday in the AC Delco Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Qualified: No. 12, 4.728 seconds at 306.53 mph
First round: Herbert, 4.668 at 319.14 def. Tony Schumacher; Quarterfinals: Kenny Bernstein def. Herbert.
Race winners: Larry Dixon, Top Fuel; Gary Densham, Funny Car; V. Gaines, Pro Stock

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