In an effort to improve the performance of his Nitro Fish Wear Pro Stock team, Kenny Koretsky and
crew chief Eddie Guarnaccia are switching cars for this weekend's United Associates Route 66
Nationals at Route 66 Raceway. Dave Northrop will be at the controls of the team's Pontiac GXP
Friday when qualifying begins.
"We have been discussing this change because we haven't been as competitive as we'd like to be,"
Guarnaccia said, "and the plan is to do it at Joliet." His plans to test Wednesday at St. Louis
Wednesday were scrubbed due to rain, but he did get track time Thursday before making the short
drive to Joliet.
"It will be interesting to see how well the car does run," said Koretsky. "Eddie has worked hard
to get it ready to race."
Northrop, meanwhile, is looking forward to shifting gears in the GXP. "It was time to pick a
different road to travel," he said of the car swap. "Hopefully we'll be able to qualify well and
get solidly into the starting lineup. We're ready to go."
Although his abbreviated competitive season began with consecutive non-qualifying results, Northrop
did start 16th at St. Louis and Topeka.
This will be another busy weekend for Koretsky's Nitro Fish teams. Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Matt
Smith is second in a tight six-way struggle for the lead. Smith, driving Don Schumacher Racing's
Suzuki, trails Eddie Krawiec by 16 points. Only 63 points separate the top six riders. And Tony
Pedregon comes to Joliet fourth in Funny Car points.
Route 66 Nationals schedule:
Pro qualifying: Friday, 2:30 p.m. and 6 pm.; Saturday, noon and 3 p.m. Final eliminations begin at
11 a.m. on Sunday.
ON TV: ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD, all times ET
Saturday, two hours of qualifying coverage at 10:30 p.m.; Sunday, NHRA Race Day, at 11 a.m., and
two hours of eliminations coverage at 4 p.m.
