Justin Humphreys Commerce final notes

Humphreys Still Few Seconds Shy of a Starting Position
New Knoll-Gas Energy Pontiac Driver Runs Weekend Best of 6.703 Seconds

COMMERCE, Ga., April 28, 2007 -- There was the usual disappointment associated with not qualifying for the Summit Racing Equipment Southern Nationals Saturday at Atlanta Dragway, but Justin Humphreys and engine builder Richard Maskin were nonetheless pleased with the performance of this new NHRA Pro Stock alliance.

They did come close, seven-thousandths of a second from it, actually.

"Tune-up-wise, we aren't where we are going to be," said Humphreys, of Monrovia, Md., after the sixth POWERade Series event of his rookie season. "We are making progress every day, but a relationship like this takes time to develop. We're going to get there. We have no doubts about Richard's motors. It's just going to take some time."

This was the second race for the new team. Humphreys did go down the track on his last three runs, running a best of 6.703 seconds at 206.16 mph that put him in 17th position. Tom Hammonds was 16th at 6.696. Humphreys added runs of 6.744 and 7.733 seconds.

The team heads to St. Louis for next weekend's O'Reilly Auto Parts Nationals, Friday through Sunday at Gateway International Raceway in nearby Madison, Ill.

-credit: jls