Robertson's ride to the winner's circle started Thursday when the team headed out for some pre-race testing. Posting career best 60 foot times in the .970 range Robertson and crew seemed poised for their competition Friday night till their transmission decided to throw a big curve their way.

"Everything seemed fine then the tranny decided to eat itself; without enough spare parts to fix it we called three time NHRA division three Top Alcohol Funny Car Champ Mick Snyder to see if he could give us a hand," said Robertson's crew member, Dennis Kolomyiec.

With Mick and his father Larry Snyder, of Snyder Motorsports, a little over three and a half hours away Kolomyiec and Robertson packed up their wounded trans and headed for DeMotte, Indiana. Reaching Snyder's shop at around 11 P.M the two were greeted by Mick and Larry and were back on the road in less than three hours with a repaired transmission.

"I can't thank Larry and Mick enough; they went above and beyond to help us out. They were just great and they exemplify the people you can find in this great sport," said Robertson.

Returning to Milan just prior to 5 A.M. Robertson and Kolomyiec had enough time to stare at the inside of their eyelids before returning to work on their Aeroquip sponsored Cobalt at 7:30 A.M. Once repairs were completed the team readied themselves for the stiff competition of Milan Dragway's Aeroquip Heads Up Series.

Robertson didn't take it easy on his newly rebuilt trans posting a 6.37 elapsed time in qualifying; grabbing the pole position heading into eliminations. Robertson then made his way to his second final of the season by defeating the Beavens Racing S-10 in round one and then having the win handed to him in the semis when the Speedtech Nitrous assisted Firebird of Scot Johnson took out the centerline cones causing his disqualification.

The win over Johnson paired Robertson with point's leader Bill Rowe in the finals. Rowe at the wheel of his blown Pontiac was one of only a few drivers to consistently make it down the tricky Milan Surface. With the finals delayed due to several oil downs and crashes the two combatants made their way to the starting line at near 2:30 A.M. Saturday morning.

In what turned into a long three days at the track one would think Robertson would be the one asleep at the wheel but he cut a stellar .058 light to Rowe's lethargic .420. Robertson then took the win posting a 6.68 to Rowe's quicker 6.46.

"This is just fantastic," Said Robertson. "We had a real tough time this week and to come out of here with the win means a lot to myself and my crew. It's just awesome. We busted our butts for this win and my guys deserve a lot of credit."

"There are so many people we need to thank. Starting with Scott Kruger and Mike Rasnick. Those two guys have stood by us and supported us for a long time. Without the help from Aeroquip and Eaton we couldn't even think about being here. Mick and Larry Snyder, what can I say? Those guys are top notch in my book and my crew, especially Dennis for sticking it out with me on the long ride to the Snyder's shop, thank you. Thanks to the staff of Milan Dragway for all they do. They continually improve each race and put together a tremendous place for us to race. Thanks a lot everyone," said Robertson.

Courtesy of Rob Kozak