Sears Point: Mopar Friday summary

SONOMA, Calif. (Aug. 4, 2000) - Darrell Alderman flashed a little qualifying brilliance after he drove his Team Mopar Dodge Avenger to fourth following the second Pro Stock session for the Autolite NHRA Nationals at Sears Point Raceway Friday. The three-time NHRA Winston Pro Stock World Champion managed a 6.965-second elapsed time at 198.03 mph.

"We didn't have the computer running in the first round, so we didn't have any information," said Alderman, who smoked the tires in the first session. "We changed it around a little for the second round. The car absolutely flew."

After shaking the tires in the second session, Alderman's Team Mopar teammate Scott Geoffrion missed the top 16 with a 7.068/197.22 outing. Geoffrion was knocked from 15th in round one to 20th in round two.

"It shook (the tires) pretty hard out of the box," said Geoffrion, describing his second-session problems. "I'm confident - with what Darrell ran - that we'll have a good qualify day tomorrow."

Larry Morgan, driver of the Dodge Motorsports Avenger, failed to qualify for the field when he ran a 7.069/197.02 combination. Morgan spoke of his second session.

"If it wasn't for being sideways at the start, we could have had a great run," Morgan said. "I think I could have run a 6.95 or 6.96, but we just made a poor run. We should be in good shape for tomorrow."

Matco Tools/Mopar Parts Dodge Avenger pilot Dean Skuza drove to the eighth qualifying position with a 5.133/293.09 outing. Despite being conservative, Skuza made the top half of the bracket.

"We were a little conservative on that run," Skuza said. "I just wanted to get it in the show and we accomplished that. We're going to pick it up tomorrow and run a low 4.90."