3rd Mac Tools Thunder Valley Nationals
Bristol, TN (Apr. 25-27, 2003)
Notes |
Results | Photos
NATIONALS NOTEBOOK:
Bristol’s Mac Tools Thunder Nationals event highlight reel is dominated by defending NHRA World Champion Larry Dixon who goes for frightening high speed spill during the final Top Fuel qualifying session on Saturday night. Dixon’s Miller Lite Dragster appears to lose a rear slick shortly after running 4.613 secs 320.81 mph. That knocks down the rear wing strut and makes the car unstable. The car veers hard left into the wall then hard right into the other wall. Dixon slides to a stop upside down and on fire -- but miraculously escapes the car on his own and without injury. The Don Prudhomme-owned team shows true grit as overnight they assemble their back-up car. Dixon wins round one but then the car smokes its tires in the second frame while racing Jim Head.
Dixon’s event misfortune opens the door for Brandon Bernstein who wins for the 3rd time in only six starts as a Pro. Bernstein qualifies on the pole with a track record 4.530 secs but then has to battle an ill-handling car throughout the first three rounds of eliminations. With the victory, Bernstein’s Budweiser-sponsored team leap frogs over Dixon into first place in NHRA POWERade points.
Doug Kalitta qualifies 5th at Bristol misses his bid to make NHRA history in Top Fuel. He had qualified low at the first five NHRA events this season consecutively to tie a record held jointly by Gary Beck and Darrell Gwynn.
Don Lampus makes his first appearance in Top Fuel of the season. Lampus is behind the wheel of the Tennessee-based Carrier Boyz dragster replacing the recently injured Andrew Cowin. Lampus qualifies 15th with a 4.705 secs but cannot run down Larry Dixon Jr. in round one.
Del Worsham makes a move into 3rd place in POWERade Funny Car points with his first win of the season. Del drives the C.S.K. Firebird past a tire-smoking Whit Bazemore in the final round.
Funny Car racing saw the John Force team qualify 1-2-3 -- and all in the 4.7 secs zone. Tony Pedregon lead the way with the Castrol Syntec Mustang at 4.765 secs (low ET) followed by John Force and Gary Densham. Densham set top speed of the meet for the third straight NHRA race -- this time at 325.06 mph.
Sophomore Funny Car racer Vince Arcadi has a scary run on Saturday when his Chevy Camaro does a wheel stand and then slams back to earth breaking the steering. Arcadi then crosses lanes and clips the guardwall running along it under power for quite a distance before getting stopped. Arcadi exits a little groggy but otherwise OK. He car receives major damage.
Kurt Johnson pads his overall lead in NHRA POWERade Pro Stock points winning for the 4th time this season driving the AC Delco Chevy Cavalier. Johnson meets Mike Edwards in the final round and overcomes a great .003 RT by Edwards for the victory.
Warren Johnson is the quickest Pro Stock car at Bristol running a track record 6.862 secs in his Pontiac Grand-Am. Greg Anderson, also in a Pontiac Grand-Am sets top speed at 201.25 mph.
NHRA’s AMS Pro Mod program continued with Bristol’s Thunder Valley Dragway hosting the 3rd of ten events this season. Fred Hahn, who ran a record quick 6.072 secs at Houston two weeks earlier, won his second career NHRA title driving Jim Oddy’s Summit Racing Equipment Corvette. Hahn runs consistent 6.2 secs runs throughout and beats recent hot hand Mitch Stott who is a DQ after he crosses the centreline in the final. Hahn had set low ET of the meet at 6.173 secs in qualifying.
NHRA played host to it’s first ever Nitro Harley eliminator which was presented by Screamin’ Eagle. Doug Vancil won the first of three 8-bike field demonstration eliminators for 2003 aboard the Vance & Hines machine. Vancil qualified on the pole at a spectacular 6.379 secs and beat Mark Cox in the final round. Cox had set top speed at a numbing 232.75 mph in earlier action. The Screamin’ Eagle Nitro Harleys will return to NHRA at Joliet and Houston later this season.
