Gainesville: Doug Herbert final report

Herbert Makes One Of The Best Runs, Day Ends Early

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (March 16, 2008) Doug Herbert, owner and driver of the SnaponFranchise.com Top Fuel dragster, came within .006 of a second of bringing home a first round win at the ACDelco Gatornationals.

After only two rounds of qualifying due to persistent rain showers on Friday, Herbert qualified in the No. 9 position and squared off against Larry Dixon in the first round of eliminations.

As the first pair of dragsters to face the quarter-mile, Herbert and Dixon left the line within .003 of a second of each other. The two veteran drivers were neck and neck down the track, with Herbert's 4.598 second pass at 322.19 falling just .006 seconds shy of Dixon's 4.592 second pass.

"Qualifying got shortened because of the rain," said Herbert, "and that hurt us a little. We are still playing catch up because we haven't gotten to test and make as many passes as everyone else. We really needed those two passes on Friday, but that's how it goes.

"Even under those circumstances, we still had one of the strongest passes of the session, but Dixon ran just a little bit better and got us.

"We are going to stay here and do some more testing tomorrow with a new car. We are confident that putting what we have learned with this car into the new car will give us the performance advantage we are looking for.

"Remember, we are out here to win, and we are going to do whatever it takes to make sure we reach our goal: win the championship for my boys."

-credit: dhr