Phoenix: Justin Humphreys preview

In NHRA Pro Stock Top 10, Justin Humphreys Begins Working to Stay There

A more comfortable Justin Humphreys returns to Firebird Raceway this weekend.

His NHRA Pro Stock career now totals 24 races; the myriad competitive experiences of '07 helped him develop into a driver with race-winning potential; he's been schooled by Pro Stock icon Bob Glidden for the last seven races; and veteran engine builder Richard Maskin is providing the horsepower.

He arrives for his second Checker Schuck's Kragen Nationals tied for seventh (53 points) in POWERade Series standings - his first appearance in the top 10 - following the season-opening race at Pomona, Calif., two weeks ago.

"We are excited to get back to  the race track," said  the driver of the
RaceRedi Motorsports  Pontiac.  "Our goal this year is to  win some races
and finish in  the top 10.  It feels good to already be in  the top 10.
Now we  want to work on staying there."

Humphreys, who began the year by qualifying seventh at Pomona and advancing to the quarterfinals, also hopes to erase the memories of his 2007 visit to Firebird.

"It was horrible," he said of his slow qualifying effort (22nd), "by far our worst race of the year. Our game plan now is to make four good qualifying runs, start in the top half of the field again and win more rounds on Sunday.

"Bob (Glidden) and Richard have been busy working on our engines. We don't want any more dumb mechanical mistakes, either."

A fluke thing happened prior to his  quarterfinal round at  Pomona.  One
of the car's braking parachutes  - stuck inside the car after  his
first-round victory - inadvertently  altered a switch in the car when it
was  pulled out, and the result was  it slowed Humphreys leaving the
starting line in  his  loss.

Humphreys has rebounded well from last year's outcome at Firebird. He was nominated for the Road to the Future Award (rookie of the year) and finished 15th in points. He made his first final-round appearance at the Finals at Pomona, losing a close race by seven-thousandths of a second.

Humphreys wants to emulate his mentor, and Firebird Raceway would be a perfect place to start. Five of Glidden's 85 career victories came here. Glidden, who retired at the beginning of the 1997 season, still has more wins at Firebird than any other driver in the category.

Right now, Humphreys is seeking No. 1.

-credit: rrm