Gainesville: Scott Weis Saturday summary

WEIS STARTS ELIMINATIONS FROM LUCKY POSITION 13

GAINESVILLE, Fla-(March 18, 2006)- Scott Weis is happy to start the AC Delco NHRA Gatornationals from his lucky 13 position, facing Morgan Lucas in the opening round. Entering the final session of qualifying, Weis and the Barrett Enterprises/Chicago Council of Regional Carpenters Top Fueler found themselves in the 15th position, thinking that it was totally possible to be bumped out of the 16 car field. As they made their way through the staging lanes, they heard that they had indeed been bumped out of the show. The closer they got to the starting line, the further they fell from the bump spot. "It was a little hair raising to have to wait to the last session to get bumped out," Weis explained. "In the field sitting in the staging lanes, out of the field as I was suiting up, and into the burnout box, a good ways out of the field, it was exciting to be able to pull it off." Weis and crew had been slowly improving with each lap. On the fourth and final attempt, Weis stepped up again and back into the show, landing in the number 13 position with a 4.630 second blast at 323.04 mph.

"We haven't been running extremely fast but we are finding consistency," said Weis. "It was strange to run Larry Dixon three out of four passes. Larry and I joked before the run that it was his 2004 championship car that he was running against."

Weis will run Doug Kalitta in the opening round on Sunday. They are hoping that the car will continue to improve and Gainesville Raceway will continue to bring the Weis family more good luck. Pre-race ceremonies will begin at 10 am and elimination's will start at 11 am.

-swr