Pomona: Bob Tasca III Thursday notes

BOB TASCA III MAKES FIRST NITRO FUNNY CAR QUALIFYING RUN

POMONA, Calif., Feb. 7, 2008 -- The first day of Nitro Funny Car competition was one of firsts for Bob Tasca III and the entire Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire& Auto Center Shelby Mustang team.

Tasca made his inaugural qualifying run, and what better way to do that then as the first nitro driver out on the track.

"Being the first car out in qualifying today, I was sitting there in the car thinking that I'm the first fuel car to go down the race track for the season in this class, and that was pretty neat," said Tasca. "The car shook, we struggled with some tire shake and that's something we struggled in Phoenix with. I've got smart guys on the team and they'll figure it out."

Tasca's qualifying effort resulted in a 5.277 second, 309.34 mph run -- a run the team looks to improve on in Friday's qualifying session.

"The motor is running great speed. We ran a 309 pedaling it, but being on and off the throttle is never good for the motor. But for Quick Lane and Motorcraft and the fans, this is big time for all of them and it's just neat to be a part of it."

-credit: ford