Joliet: Fred Collis Saturday summary

Collis saves the best for last -- Qualifies 10th JOLIET, Ill. (May 22, 2004) -- Qualifying for the NHRA Route 66 Nationals ended, albeit late due to intermittent rain, with Pro Stock Bike rider Fred Collis in the No. 10 position aboard the Star ...

Collis saves the best for last -- Qualifies 10th

JOLIET, Ill. (May 22, 2004) -- Qualifying for the NHRA Route 66 Nationals ended, albeit late due to intermittent rain, with Pro Stock Bike rider Fred Collis in the No. 10 position aboard the Star Racing/G Squared Motorsports Suzuki.

The bikes fought heat and humid conditions on Friday. Then on Saturday, rain along with a little more heat and humidity was the order of the day. Collis fought an unexplained engine problem both days but rebounded in the final qualifying session when he ran his best pass of the weekend, a run of 7.268 seconds at 181.06 mph.

The team will review all computer data and be ready for eliminations.

In the opening session of tomorrow's eliminations, Collis will face Michael Phillips, who qualified No. 7 with an elapsed time of 7.223 seconds at a speed of 184.25 mph.

Entering this event, in 22 career races on the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series Collis has won once in three final rounds and has a round record of 22 wins and 21 losses.

Final eliminations for all classes get underway on Sunday at 11 a.m. (CDT). For those unable to attend the event, same-day television coverage can be seen on ESPN2 on Sunday (May 23) from 7-10 p.m. (ET).