Pomona: Doug Herbert final report

Herbert Advances to Quarterfinal Round in First Race of "For My Boys" Tour

POMONA, Calif. (February 10, 2008) Doug Herbert's "For My Boys" Tour began with a quarterfinal appearance at the 48th annual CARQUEST Winternationals in Pomona, Calif.

In the first round of racing action, Herbert, in his newly themed SnaponFranchise.com dragster, pulled to the line against Alan Bradshaw. First off the line, Herbert sailed through the quarter-mile to take the win light with a 4.64 second pass at 325.06 mph to Bradshaw's tire smoking 11.77 second pass.

The second round pitted Herbert against defending champion Tony Schumacher. First off the line yet again with a stellar reaction time (.056 of a second to Schumacher's .078), Herbert and the SnaponFranchise.com team posted a solid 4.67 at 315.42, just .16 of a second behind Schumacher's 4.51 at 331.45.

"We're disappointed," said Herbert. "The car went down the track, but we just didn't quite go fast enough. I know these guys will get it figured out and it's just going to get better."

Just two weeks since losing his sons Jon, 17, and James, 12, in a tragic automobile accident, Herbert has had a good but tough race weekend.

"My life has changed forever," said Herbert, "and this first race weekend has been particularly hard. It's good to be at the track because it's where I love to be and my boys loved being here, too. My drag racing family and all the fans have been really good to me, but it's still been really tough.

"We are still the most motivated team in drag racing. We need to win, and we will soon. I can feel it. The important thing is for us to stay focused on our goal: winning rounds, winning races and being crowned champion in November - for Jon and for James."

-credit: dhr