To say that Robert Patrick was overjoyed with his first career ADRL Extreme Pro Stock pole position
would be an understatement.
The veteran driver from Fredericksburg, Va., pushed his Purvis Ford-sponsored Shelby Cobra to the
top spot with a 4.143 elapsed time at 173.47 miles per hour during the ADRL Gateway Nationals in
St. Louis, Mo.
The No. 1 effort is not a bad outcome for an engine that Patrick admits is not the strongest in his
arsenal.
"We are extremely excited about this," said Patrick as he prepared for Saturday evening's first
round of eliminations. "We've been close on a lot of races this year and there was always some
little part breaking here and there, but today everything just worked out."
By virtue of the fifteen car field, Patrick receives a first round bye run.
Patrick opted to sit out the final qualifying session after jumping to the top earlier in the day.
"We just wanted to take our time and prepare for eliminations," Patrick said. "We didn't see much
room for improvement in the final session and we have our combination dialed in for the heat, so we
just wanted to make sure everything was perfect for eliminations."
Patrick has yet to win a national event in ADRL competition this season. He is credited with
winning the first exhibition Extreme Pro Stock competition last summer in Budds Creek, Md.
