Mon, 7 Sep 2009, 12:20 AM Toliver Qualifies in Top-Half of Field at U.S. Nationals at Indy

Courtesy of Kirk Weeks

CLERMONT, Ind. -- Jerry Toliver and the Jim Dunn Racing team picked NHRA's biggest stage, the 55th annual Mac Tools U.S. Nationals at O'Reilly Raceway Park, to turn in their best qualifying effort of the season. A rain delay of four-plus hours shortened today's qualifying to just one session, and then Toliver had to endure a lengthy clean-up after Bob Bode literally disintegrated his Funny Car body with an apparent blower explosion on his qualifying run just prior to Toliver's. But the wait was well worth it as Toliver pedaled the CANIDAE/Lucas Oil/WileyX Funny Car to an impressive 4.110-second elapsed time at 302.69 mph which was good enough for seventh on the qualifying grid.

Even more impressive was the fact that Toliver made the third-quickest pass in the final qualifying session, bested only by the 4.095 elapsed time of No. 1 qualifier Robert Hight and the 4.098 e.t. of Cruz Pedregon.

"I asked the guys is it still Sunday or is it Monday we were sitting in the staging lane so long," Toliver said. "How about that Jim Dunn, though. That's a brand-new body on this CANIDAE/Lucas Oil car we're running for the first time this race. Jim always loads up for 'The Big Go' and we're happy. We'll take a 4.11."

The Jim Dunn Racing entry for the U.S. Nationals is a new Chevy Impala body with a new paint scheme featuring CANIDAE's "Dog Food for All Life Stages." Tomorrow Toliver will wheel the new CANIDAE livery against first-round opponent Jeff Arend.

"Every dog has its day," Dunn said. "This is the first time we've run this new body, and we've got some new parts, new cylinder heads, so we're happy with it. I've won Indy and won the Bud Shootout, I was runner-up when I drove here, I was runner-up when I tuned Brad Anderson, so Indy's been good to me. I love Indy."

About CANIDAE All Natural Pet Foods
Founded out of love for pets and animals, CANIDAE Pet Food, Inc. manufactures and distributes a complete line of healthy meat based, holistic all natural dog food, cat food, and gourmet pet treats sold worldwide through independent pet food retailers including over 7,000 locations throughout the United States and Canada. For the most recent information about CANIDAE and its line of healthy pet products, visit http://www.canidae.com/canidae-news-updates.html.

About Responsible Pet Ownership
In accordance with its philosophy of promoting Responsible Pet Ownership through proper nutrition and care, CANIDAE All Natural Pet Foods is the title sponsor of the Responsible Pet Ownership blog. This blog exists as a free service to all pet owners, providing daily articles from a range of professional pet authors on topics such as natural nutrition, training and exercise, veterinarian care, planned breeding, spaying/neutering, and supporting reputable breeders and rescue groups. Pet owners can subscribe to these informative daily articles at http://canidaepetfood.blogspot.com/.

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