Mon, 3 Dec 2001, 07:28 AM Terminator Motorsports Strengthens in 2001

Courtesy of Jay Wells

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Like the U.S. military trucks that Stewart & Stevenson builds, nothing could block the forward progress of Funny Car racer, Bob Gilbertson in 2001.

Bob Gilbertson

After acquiring major sponsorship for his NHRA Winston Drag Racing campaign from Stewart & Stevenson, a Houston-based industrialist company, Gilbertson and his Terminator Motorsports team could finally mount, for the first time in his career, a complete offense to run for the NHRA Winston Funny Car championship. Tagged by S&S to carry the colors of their military Tactical Vehicles division, TEAM FMTV was created.

At the season-opening event at Pomona (Ca.) Raceway, Gilbertson’s full armada rolled through the gates in complete camouflage regalia, turning heads with their new show-stopping livery. No where has anybody seen such a distinctive look at 300 mph. Although Gilbertson’s season started slowly, he quickly picked up the pace at the next race in Phoenix, resetting his career best time and speed (4.913 ET, 309.34 mph) in qualifying. At the Mac Tools Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla., the Gastonia, NC-based team experienced both a high and a low. Although a set of performance-altering weather changes plagued their final attempt and denied them entry into the race, the crew’s resplendent green and gold uniforms earned them the award for Best Appearing Crew.

Heading into the spring, Gilbertson battled through a series of races where despite a strong qualifying effort at every stop, an elimination round win eluded him. His lack of racing luck during this time was highlighted during some incredibly close racing. A prime example came at the Bristol event, where Gilbertson, threatening to steal eventual winner Ron Capps’ thunder, saw his upset bid fall shy by an immeasurable 7/1000ths of a second. Sensing a turn-around was within their grasp, his nitro-crew worked harder than ever to get over their first-round blues.

As the weather turned warmer, Gilbertson’s TEAM FMTV turned up the heat. At Topeka, Gilbertson made his Memorial Day weekend a memorable one by reaching another one of his goals of the season – breaking down the 4.80 barrier. He came close in qualifying, lowering his career best elapsed time for the second time in 2001 to 4.907 seconds. That mark didn’t stay in the record books for long, as in his first-round victory over Funny Car frontrunner, Del Worsham, Gilbertson shattered the 4.80 barrier, blasting through the quarter-mile in 4.882 seconds at a speed of 306.81 mph.

At Columbus’ National Trail Raceway, Gilbertson came close to scoring his second upset win over Funny Car champ John Force in the first round of eliminations. Rocketing off the line first, Gilbertson built on his lead as he raced down the quarter-mile. However, as they neared the finish, Gilberston’s fuel coupe suffered tire spin, allowing Force to just edge him at the stripe. The margin of victory was a mere 27/1000ths of second despite the disparity in elapsed times between Gilbertson’s 4.998 seconds and Force’s quicker 4.947 seconds.

Gilbertson’s accelerated pace hastened ever further the next week in Chicago, as he again lowered his career best E. T. in qualifying to 4.858 seconds before being ousted in Round 1 by local favorite, Tim Wilkerson.

With the summer winds bearing down, the NHRA tour headed west into the toughest part of the schedule, starting with a three-race tour through Denver, Seattle, and San Francisco.

It was the start of exactly what the Stewart & Stevenson racing team had in mind. Bolstered by the acquisition of a sleek new 2001 Pontiac Firebird body, Gilbertson and trusted crew chief, Paul Smith debuted their new ‘Desert Storm camo' Funny Car, which proved to be a fan favorite. On the track, Gilbertson responded by guiding his team to the finals, taking out a notable cast, starting with a hole-shot victory over Scotty Cannon on in the first round, followed by equal successes over Tommy Johnson, Jr. and Dean Skuza. Gilbertson’s reward would be to face 10-time NHRA Winston Funny Car champion, John Force in the finals.

With Force recording a lackluster time of 5.225 seconds, it should have been money in the bank for Gilbertson, one of the most consistent cars on race day. Unfortunately, he suffered troubles of his own, with smoke billowing from his rear tires, the result of severe tire shake, conceding the win to his opponent.

However, reaching the second final round appearance of Gilbertson’s career provided TEAM FMTV with a welcome dose of positive momentum following their Rocky Mountain visit. Gilbertson leapt three positions in the Winston Funny Car point standings to 13th and focused his attention on a Top 10 assault.

Keeping his foot to the floor, Gilbertson scored positive runs in his hometown area of Seattle and Sonoma, running consistently and maintaining his status in the hotly contested points race.

At the next event in the idyllic setting of Brainerd International Raceway Gilbertson delivered another serving to his craving for speed. After the first day qualifying in Minnesota, the Gastonia, and N.C. resident stole the headlines with a run of 4.949 seconds to capture the No. 1 position. His quarterfinal finish at this event pushed him to 12th in the points with only seven races remaining on the quarter-mile calendar.

After the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, Gilbertson joined all Americans in mourning. Heeding President George W. Bush’s advice, however, he attempted a return to normalcy by rolling out his camouflage Firebird at the Memphis Motorsports Park when racing resumed, honoring our country by prominently displaying the American Flag in several locations on his 300-mph racer. An immediate hit with fans and crews alike, this show of patriotic pride shined brightly in the pits.

Onward Gilbertson’s troops moved north to revisit the Route 66 Raceway in Chicago. The ideal conditions on the track rewarded TEAM FMTV by matching his best qualifying performance of the year. Gilbertson lowered his best ET again by 2/1000ths of a second to 4.856 seconds, and improved his career best miles per hour to 312.46 mph, gaining the No. 9 position.

Gilbertson’s experience during the next event in Reading, Pa. could very easily be titled as “A Tale of Two Cities”. After qualifying his TEAM FMTV Pontiac on Friday, he left Maple Grove Raceway to live up to a promise he had made to the employees of Stewart & Stevenson by attending their company’s picnic in Houston on Saturday. As if flying to the Lone Star state and back in one day wasn’t hectic enough for Gilbertson & Co., his pensive crew at the track intently watched every car that made an attempt on Saturday, challenging their position in a tough qualifying field. Fortunately, things worked in their favor, and when Gilbertson arrived at the track on Sunday morning, he was qualified in the No. 16 position with John Force firmly in his racing sights. It took another remarkable run by Force to beat Gilbertson. In fact, his 4.747 second-effort was good enough to back up a new Funny Car NHRA E.T. National record at 4.731 seconds.

The next race in Dallas proved to be a turning point for Gilbertson as he prepared for the remaining races on the schedule. With Stewart & Stevenson president, Mike Grimes, on hand Gilbertson lit up the scoreboard with an impressive new career best time of 4.827 seconds in defeating Tony Pedregon in Round 1 of eliminations at the O ’Reilly Fall Nationals. This guaranteed Gilbertson would finish no worse than 12th in the title standings.

However, this was just the start of string of strong performances by Gilbertson. Although not one for gambling, his second Las Vegas visit of the year was sure to raise a few eyebrows, as he would post the third final-round finish of his career. Virtually assured of placing No. 11 in the Winston standings, Gilbertson took advantage of a national ESPN2 television audience to showcase his wares. After dismissing Scotty Cannon in the opening round, for the second straight week he dispatched Tony Pedregon, teammate of the legendary John Force. In the semi-finals he quickly outdistanced himself from Bruce Sarver with an incredible .434 starting-line reaction time (.400 is perfect) and set the stage for a match up with friend and rival, Ron Capps in the finals.

In a sport measured in thousandths of a second, it does not take long to bask in the glow of victory or suffer a cold, hard defeat. Gilbertson unfortunately felt the chill after leaving the starting line before the tree activated green, automatically giving the win to Capps. Facing an opponent with an apparent performance advantage, Gilbertson had tried to maximize whatever advantage he could muster, falling shy by the blink of an eye. As only second red light of his career, Gilbertson left Las Vegas dissatisfied, but not defeated.

At the final race of season in Pomona, Gilbertson held the distinction of being the anchor of the quickest field in NHRA Winston Funny Car history with a time of 4.889 seconds, the ninth time the mark had been reset in 2001, but the first with an all-4.80 program. Although he didn’t win against No. 1 qualifier, Whit Bazemore, he did lock up the No. 11 position in the overall Winston standings with 908 points.

Gilbertson is quickly becoming legendary with his excellent reaction times. In 2001, he led the category, in accordance with DragStats, with a .490 average as compared to runner up, Tommy Johnson, Jr.’s number of .498. His average elapsed time for the year was 4.963 seconds, with a thundering average speed of 301 mph. He established career bests in elapsed with his 4.827 second-run in Dallas during competition, and in top speed with his 312.86 mph blast at the state of the art Route 66 Raceway in Chicago. His highest qualifying position for 2001 was No. 9 – St. Louis, Brainerd, MN, and Memphis with an average 11.9 starting position overall.

In career statistics, Gilbertson has now competed in 49 NHRA National events, reached the final round three times while making it to the winner’s circle at Houston Raceway Park’s 2000 O’Reilly Nationals. His highest qualifying position of career for Terminator Motorsports is No. 6, which came at the 2000 Houston Fall event.

Throughout his racing career, Gilbertson’s drag racing resolution has been simple – get to the finish line first. His team has been fashioned on a good business foundation, forged on the principles, which allowed him to develop a thriving industrial truck supply business, keeping him on solid ground as he ventures behind the wheel of a massive 6,000-horsepower Funny Car.



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