NHRA

Pomona: Martino final qualifying moments

Martino Moments Final qualifying results for the K&N Filters NHRA Winternationals Martino qualifies 11th for NHRA season-opener Date: Saturday, February 9, 2002 Location: Pomona Raceway, Pomona, CA On the strength of a 6.849-second, 201.97-mph ...

Edited: Apr 15, 2002, 11:45 PM

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Martino Moments
Final qualifying results for the K&N Filters NHRA Winternationals

Martino qualifies 11th for NHRA season-opener

Date: Saturday, February 9, 2002
Location: Pomona Raceway, Pomona, CA

On the strength of a 6.849-second, 201.97-mph run recorded on Saturday morning, Tom Martino qualified his Jesel Motorsports Grand Am 11th for Sunday's final eliminations of the K&N Filters NHRA Winternationals in Pomona, California. Martino continued to be the picture of consistency, as three of his four qualifying attempts were within seven thousandths of a second of each other, with his two quickest runs being identical in elapsed time. Although Martino will have to cede lane choice for the first round to his opponent Kurt Johnson, the Farmingdale, NJ native was still optimistic about his chances for the first race of the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing season.

"Naturally, you always like to have lane choice for the first round, but from what we've seen so far this weekend, there does not appear to be a huge difference between the two lanes. With the entire field separated by only four hundredths, anyone who qualified is capable of winning the race.

"We're still getting the handle on our Jesel Motorsports Grand Am, but it's pretty obvious that all the work we did during the winter has improved our performance. We have yet to make what I would consider a great run, but we've been consistent and competitive. The whole team feels like we should have qualified higher, but we'll take it and try to build on it tomorrow.

"If we can make another run like our first four in the first round, I believe we have a good shot at winning. Kurt is always tough, and we will need a strong performance from both the driver and the race car to beat him, but I feel we're capable."

-mm-

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