Nail-biting final qualifying run puts Millican into starting lineup.
There were a few tense moments Saturday afternoon at Memphis Motorsports when Clay Millican was
uncertain about what he would be doing Sunday -- lining up for the first round of O'Reilly
Mid-South Nationals Top Fuel eliminations or describing the action in the track's announcing booth.
Fortunately, Millican's tire-spinning effort of 4.866 seconds at 158.58 mph on his final attempt
was good enough for the 16th, and last, starting position. And a collective sigh of relief went
through the Hope4Sudan/Motorvation Top Fuel camp.
This is, after all, Millican's hometown track He does have a tough first-round foe, however -- No.
1 qualifier Larry Dixon, who notched a 1,000-foot best of 3.810 seconds at 318.99 mph.
"We like to make things exciting," Millican said, "but definitely not that way. The downside is
that we have to race Dixon Sunday, but the upside is we have a chance to beat the No. 1 qualifier.
When we push the cars up to the starting line, we have as good a chance of winning as Larry Dixon
does.
"And I can guarantee you we'll be working late tonight trying to come up with a plan to do it."
