Englishtown: Mopar Friday notes

ENGLISHTOWN, N.J. (Sept. 8, 2000) - Team Mopar drivers Darrell Alderman and Dean Skuza completed two rounds of practice Friday prior to final eliminations for the rain-delayed Matco Tools Spring Supernationals at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park.

Alderman, driver of the Team Mopar Dodge Avenger, turned the fourth-quickest elapsed time in the first practice session with a 6.952-second lap at 198.12 mph. In his second effort, he clocked a 6.943/197.78 combination.

"We made a couple of good runs out there," Alderman said. "The car left real good, especially on that first run. I though our second run was okay, but we were a little heavy in the clutch. Track conditions will be completely different tomorrow."

Alderman, who qualified 13th last May with a career best 6.864-second run at 199.52 mph, will face Troy Coughlin in round one.

The Matco Tools/Mopar Parts entry of Skuza shook the tires on both of his runs and shut it off about half-track. The Dodge Avenger driver qualified third prior to the rain delay and faces Todd Paton in round one.

"We're still searching for the right clutch combination," Skuza said. "We know the track conditions will be completely different tomorrow, so I'm not sure how much these runs mean. We have a nice position and lane choice; we'll see what happens."