Houston: Joe Fuentes Saturday pit notes

BAYTOWN, Texas - Federal Mogul Dragster driver Joe Fuentes regained his normal 5.4 second [elapsed time] pace to pick up the win in round one of this weekend's O'Reilly Nationals presented by Pennzoil at Houston Raceway Park.

Fuentes, from Austin, Texas, qualified his Ora Vasquez tuned Blown Alcohol Dragster eighth with a 5.506 at 257.09 mph. In round one, he stepped up to a 5.459 at 257.92 mph to put away his opponent Lee Callaway's 5.690 at 248.02 mph. In tomorrow's second round, Fuentes will face No. 1 qualifier Bruce Bowler, who ran a 5.34 in round one.

"We're just going to do a little more of what we did to the car in the first round today," said Fuentes. "We made a change that the car liked, so we're going to try to step it up some more for Bowler. Even if he beats us, we're going to just try to get some new information from some things we have been trying. Basically it's a tune up run."

"If we can run a low .40 or better and I cut a good light, we should be able to get him," Fuentes continued. "We'll just go up there and give it our best."

Final eliminations start at 11 a.m. Sunday in all categories. Stay tuned to J&D Racing's award winning website, www.JoeFuentesRacing.com for updates of the team's progress from Baytown.

-J&D Racing