Phoenix: Doug Herbert final summary

Herbert Loses to McClenathan at CSK Nationals
Snap-on Top Fuel Dragster Suffers Traction Loss in First Round

CHANDLER, Ariz., March 7, 2004 - Doug Herbert and his Snap-on Racing Top Fuel team planned to return to Firebird Raceway Monday morning for a test session following a first-round loss Sunday in the Checker Schuck's Kragen Nationals.

The facts:

Herbert qualified ninth for the second straight event (4.621 seconds at 305.29 mph) but had a quick day at the office, losing to Cory McClenathan, 4.692 seconds at 312.86 mph to a traction-troubled 6.623 at 131.99 mph.

A malfunctioning throttle prevented Herbert from making his Friday night qualifying attempt.

Tuner Ed "Ace" McCulloch wants more laps on his new tune-up to become more familiar with the dragster's reactions to changes.

And Herbert wants his performance to pick up, and testing will help.

Herbert quotes:

"We have to work out the new combination. We'll get it sorted out. We're going to test until we get it right. We are running one-tenth of a second off what the fast cars are running and we need to pick up the pace.

"Losing the Friday night session didn't help, either. We had a problem with the throttle and I couldn't do a burnout. I backed up but they wouldn't let me do a quick burnout so I had to stage the car with wet tires . . . and the tires smoked right away.

"We'll get it figured out."

Next race: Gatornationals, March 19-21 at Gainesville, Fla.

-sor-