Indy ORP: Bill Windham final report

Bill Windham's Best Pro Stock Outing Falls Short of U.S. Nationals Starting Spot

Bill Windham  returned to Pro Stock competition in the Big O Tire Chevy
Cobalt at the Mac  Tools U.S. Nationals and turned in the best performance of his
fledgling driving  career at O'Reilly Raceway Park.  However, he wasn't able
to get into the  starting lineup.

"This was my best race," said the El Dorado Hills, Calif., driver. "I came closer to qualifying and we were running with some of the fast cars during the hot qualifying sessions."

Windham said  his mistake during the heat Sunday afternoon likely robbed him
of the coveted  starting spot.  "I shifted into third gear too soon and the
difference was  300 rpm, but that slowed me enough."

Running against 35-year  veteran and former Pro Stock champion Warren
Johnson, Windham's elapsed time was  6.709 seconds, four-thousandths of a second off
the No. 16 6.705 and  two-thousandths slower than Johnson's time on that run.

"Steve  Schmidt gave us a motor with good horsepower and we should've
qualified,"  Windham added.  "I told Steve he gave us the power but it was my fault
we  didn't qualify."

Schmidt, incidentally, stayed was the 16th starter.

-credit: bwr