NHRA
Pomona II: Scotty Cannon eliminations summary
Cannon out in first round in Pomona; thanks his fans POMONA, Calif. (Nov. 9, 2003) - Despite announcing that he would return to Pro Mod competition in 2004, Scotty Cannon could not have been more focused on winning his first NHRA Funny Car race ...
Published: Nov 11, 2003, 6:34 PM
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Cannon out in first round in Pomona; thanks his fans
POMONA, Calif. (Nov. 9, 2003) - Despite announcing that he would return to Pro Mod competition in 2004, Scotty Cannon could not have been more focused on winning his first NHRA Funny Car race than he was today in the final eliminations of the Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals.
After qualifying 11th in his Oakley Time Bomb Dodge Stratus, he was looking for good results in the first round against Del Worsham. The pair launched with identical reaction times of .075, but it was Worsham first across the finish line with a 4.793/318.54 pass. Cannon was off the pace early, then darted left to the centerline, crossing it and knocking out the half-mile mph cone, which resulted in a disqualification of his 5.679/178.87 run. Worsham went on to win the event.
"We didn't lose a cylinder," Cannon said. "It just moved to the left. It was a total surprise when it shot left and crossed the centerline. It was disappointing to end the season with a disqualification, but I know we had a good car. The season was just too short, in a way, as the Oakley Time Bomb Dodge was making progress."
Cannon, of Lyman, S.C., and the 1999 NHRA Rookie of the Year, reached the quarterfinals four times this year. He has three runner-up finishes in his NHRA Funny Car career, has reached 14 semifinals and has qualified No. 1 two times. When he switched to the Dodge body on his Oakley Time Bomb, he posted his career-best speed of 325.73 mph in Dallas this season.
Always a crowd favorite, Cannon had a message for his fans: "Now that the 2003 NHRA season is over it's important for me to thank my fans. They are number one. If it weren't for the fans sticking behind me even before I started racing NHRA, I don't think I'd even have the chance to run Funny Car or be associated with NHRA. I want them to know I'm not giving up. I'm going into Pro Mod to do the best I possibly can. In no way, shape, fashion or form do I think it's going to be easy. I'm five years behind, the way I look at it.
"If the fans continue to support me it will drive me to a higher level. The worse thing that could happen to me mentally would be if I thought I had lost the support of my fans.
"If there's been one kid or a family standing outside my pits who saw me walk into the trailer, they need to know that I was in there looking at the computer trying to make my car perform better for Don Schumacher and (Oakley's Mad Scientist) Jim Jannard. If I didn't spend enough time signing autographs or showing my fans the attention they deserve, then I apologize. Next year I should have more time.
Cannon completes his 2003 Funny Car season 14th in the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series championship, with 772 points.
-dsr-
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