Gainesville: Dale Brinsfield Friday notes

GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Dale Brinsfield appears to have his misfortunes of the past two seasons behind him. The former 500-inch Pro Stock competitor turned Pro Modified driver, was one of the eight-car qualified after the first day of qualifications in Pro Modified exhibition during the NHRA Mac Tools Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla.

Brinsfield earned his berth in the field on his first attempt with a 6.351/221.60. He currently resides in the seventh position. His largest enemy has been with getting his tire combination to work out.

"We have really been struggling to get our tire combination dialed in," explained Brinsfield. "On the first run, we were battling the stagger in the tires. When we rolled out for the first session, there was a quarter-inch difference in rollout. That's about as much as you can go. We got back to the pits and the difference was 1 ¼-inch."

Brinsfield continued, "We put on a new set that only had 24 runs on them and we had our clutch decent. However, the tires just wouldn't hold."

Brinsfield added that he will follow the same tune-up path and will add a new set of tires before the third session of Pro Modified exhibitions roll around tomorrow afternoon at 1:30. The final session is slated for 4:30 PM.

-HC