Denver: Bob Vandergriff Jr Friday summary

Vandergriff sitting in No. 10 position in Denver

DENVER, Co., (July 14, 2006)- Under bright blue skies and record heat, Bob Vandergriff Jr. jumped to the No. 10 position in the first day of qualifying at the Mopar Mile-High Nationals at Bandimere Speedway. Between the thin Denver air and a track temperature of 127 degrees, less than half of the field made it down the track in the first session.

"We chose to go down the track safely during the second session," Vandergriff said. "We decided that rather than attempt to go for a No. 1, we would try for getting into the middle of the pack. I'm not sure if we will be able to better our position on Saturday, but we can work on our raceday setup." Fresh off a two weekend break, the Alpharetta, Ga., based team recorded a 4.704 second lap at 311.24 mph to move into the No.10 position as qualifying ended on Friday. Vandergriff has had his UPS Top Fueler in the top half of the field in the last three races.

"We put two holes out on our second pass," explains crew chief Jim Dupuy. It would have run a 4.68 had it not. We struggled in the first session and I wanted to jump all over it for our second attempt. I thought it would be better to go down the track and get info. We were slow early, but we will fix that."

Record high heat is predicted again for Saturday.

-www.VandergriffMotorsports.com