Seattle: Justin Humphreys preview

Justin Humphreys Ready to Extend Qualifying Streak at Seattle Owning a three-race qualifying streak may not seem like much to smile about . . . unless you are an NHRA rookie Pro Stock driver competing in what is arguably the most competitive ...

Justin Humphreys Ready to Extend Qualifying Streak at Seattle

Owning a  three-race qualifying streak may not seem like much to smile about
. . . unless  you are an NHRA rookie Pro Stock driver competing in what is
arguably the most  competitive pro category.

That is Justin Humphreys' situation as he  makes his first visit to Seattle
and the Northwest for the Schuck's Auto Supply  Nationals at Pacific Raceways
in nearby Kent. The driver of the RaceRedi  Motorsports Knoll-Gas Energy
Pontiac GTO is from Monrovia,  Md.

"This is a new track for me," said Humphreys, a former Sport Compact/Nopi Series driver. "It is exciting to visit new places because I feel comfortable with what we have going on."

While Humphreys is a  newcomer, Eric Luzinski, his crew chief, is a veteran,
as is engine builder  Richard Maskin.  The latter duo combined to put
Humphreys in the No. 8  starting position -- a career high -- Sunday in the
oxygen-deprived altitude of  Denver.

Luzinski has been to Seattle before, most recently  as crew chief for the
late Scott Geoffrion in 2003.  He didn't expect any  problems making the tuning
adjustments necessary for sea level compared to what  he dealt with in Denver.

"It will be easy to change," said  Luzinski.  "We'll probably go with the
same setup we used at Englishtown  (N.J., last month).  "We always have a good
barometer in Seattle, but, as I  recall, the track can be a little suspect
sometimes. With the power we have, I  think we can make a good, conservative run
Friday and go from  there."

"He'll do his job and I'll do mine," added Humphreys, who has two semifinals finishes among his five race appearances, a rather remarkable mark. He has missed starting lineups by narrow margins of two, three, four and five-thousandths of a second.

"We have done better than we  expected at the beginning of the year,"
Humphreys continued.  "We passed  the goals we set and now we want to get this car
into the finals.  We will  by trying our hardest until the end of the year."