Pomona: Doug Herbert Saturday summary

HERBERT QUALIFIES FOR QUICKEST TOP FUEL FIELD EVER

Pomona, Saturday: The forecasted rain held off at the CARQUEST Winternationals, allowing conditions to be perfect for what would become the quickest top fuel field of all time.

Doug Herbert raced his way into this amazing field with a strong 4.56 at 318 mph. With the 16-car field separated by a mere tenth of a second, Herbert's solid time puts him in 15th position.

"We can win from anywhere," said Herbert, "it doesn't really matter. Anything can happen on race day."

As the door closes on the first qualifying session of the 2007 NHRA POWERade season, Herbert and the Snap-on Tools team prepare to face last years number five finisher, "Hot Rod" Fuller, in the opening round of eliminations.

The weekend has been a special one for Herbert. In addition to qualifying for the quickest field of all time, his father, hall of fame member Chet Herbert, was in attendance to watch his son make Friday's qualifying pass.

Also accompanying Herbert and the Snap-on Tools dragster for the weekend has been an on-board camera, allowing viewers of ESPN2's coverage of NHRA POWERade Drag Racing to see the beautiful southern California landscape pass at more than 300 mph. Final eliminations of the CARQUEST Winternationals will air on ESPN2 Sunday evening.

"The way we see it, there is nobody we can't beat," said Herbert. "We'll either race them now or race them later. We're here to win, and we're not scared to pull up to anyone."

-credit: dhr