Topeka: Doug Herbert Friday summary

HERBERT DRIVES TO THE NO. 6 SPOT

TOPEKA, Kan. (May 27, 2005) -- Doug Herbert showed the crowds how to drive a Top Fuel dragster Friday night at the O'Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals at Heartland Park Topeka. Herbert's Snap-on Tools dragster didn't make it down the track during the first round of qualifying, but he was determined to be in the top 16 before the night was over.

Determination won out. Herbert drove the Snap-on dragster to a 4.626-second pass at 322.04 mph. Herbert's dragster lost traction almost immediately, forcing Herbert to pedal the car and get it back on track.

"I just wasn't going to let that run go," Herbert said. "It was definitely better than the first pass of the day. It was a move in the right direction but we need to keep improving and just make that one, solid run straight down the track."

Herbert, the 1999 winner at Heartland Park, is qualified in the No. 6 spot after two sessions. Persistent rain showers forced the two sessions late into the evening, making the track more difficult to navigate.

"The track temperature dropped quite a bit from the first session," Herbert said. "Guys either made a great pass down the track or didn't get to half track before smoking the tires. I'm glad we got the car down the track and am in the top half of the field going into the second day of qualifying.

"Tomorrow (Saturday) could be a completely different game. It could be warm and that would require an entirely different setup. We'll get out here bright and early and see what we can do."

Qualifying continues Saturday with sessions at noon and 3 p.m. ESPN and ESPN2 will air coverage of the event. Qualifying will start at 8 p.m. (ET) on ESPN on Saturday. Final eliminations can be seen at 8 p.m. (ET) on Sunday.

-gs-