NHRA
Joliet: Shelly Howard preview
JOLIET, Ill. - Just one week after picking up her second career national event win, NHRA Federal Mogul Dragster driver Shelly Howard will be looking to make it two in a row during this weekend's Lucas Oil Products Nationals at Route 66 Raceway, just ...
Edited: Apr 15, 2002, 11:45 PM
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JOLIET, Ill. - Just one week after picking up her second career national event win, NHRA Federal Mogul Dragster driver Shelly Howard will be looking to make it two in a row during this weekend's Lucas Oil Products Nationals at Route 66 Raceway, just outside of Chicago. Howard is currently ranked fourth in national standings, and is hoping to improve her standing this weekend.
Howard, from Tulsa, Okla., once again has her sights set on the consistency that has her in the Division 4 points lead, and No. 4 nationally right now.
She is also quick to realize that winning one race does not automatically mean you will do well at the next.
"The team is pumped with enthusiasm going into this weekend," said Howard. "But, I think it is self-defeating behavior to go into an event with the attitude that you're going to win this one because you won the last one. I absolutely don't feel that we are at an advantage because we won Topeka last weekend. I'm extremely happy about winning it, but everyone else wants to win as badly as I do. So we have to have the attitude to do the best we can as a team, and myself as a driver, and hope the car remains consistent."
In her victory at last weekend's Advance Auto Parts Nationals last weekend, Howard used a string of low 5.50 elapsed times to become only the second female driver in the history of the class to pick up multiple national event wins. Howard hopes to duplicate that performance this weekend, if not improve on it.
"It really all depends on the air conditions," stated Howard. "If the air is good this weekend like it was during the first part of last weekend, then we will run better. We definitely want to stay in the top half of the field."
"When the air gets good, you really can't run with those A/Fuel cars, so what you have to shoot for is consistency with a blown car," said Howard of her Tom Conway-tuned Blown Alcohol Dragster. "If we can run in the .40's that will be good, but if we run in the low .50's, then that's the best we can do.
We just want to shoot for consistency no matter what we run."
Qualifying will begin at 11:30 a.m. for the Federal Mogul Dragsters with another session following at 2:30 p.m.
-ShellyHoward.com
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