Dave Northrop will be at the controls of Kenny Koretsky's Nitro Fish Pro Stock Pontiac GXP on
Friday when qualifying begins for Sunday's NHRA Virginia Nationals at Virginia Motorsports Park in
Dinwiddie, near Richmond.
And, Koretsky said, the car will be powered by motors from fellow Pro Stock driver Tom Hammonds'
shop.
"We've run Hammonds' motors in our Pontiac, so we already have a combination that's close to what
we had before," said crew chief Eddie Guarnaccia. "It's something we can grasp without testing,
and Tom's going to service the motor for us. That will give me more time to work with the car."
Guarnaccia has dealt with two different race cars this season. Matt Hartford qualified the Nitro
Fish Dodge, with motors from David Nickens, two weeks ago at Dallas, and Hartford - the No. 15
qualifier - upset championship hopeful Jason Line (No. 2) in the first round.
"We've run Hammonds' motors a number of times and they have been fast," Guarnaccia said. "We'll
have a baseline combination to start with and we'll get more aggressive from there.
"It looks like the weather conditions are going to be cool for the Friday night session and
Saturday's first session - maybe good enough to set records," added Guarnaccia. "We want to get
qualified early and give Dave the opportunity to see what racing on Sunday is like."
Northrop, meanwhile, wants to capitalize on the horsepower potential of the Hammonds' motors. He
has missed a spot in the top 16 by a few thousandths of a second on several occasions this season.
"I like what Eddie's saying," said Northrop, of Perkasie, Pa. "I'm optimistic. We need to make a
good run off the trailer, and I think we can. I don't want any of that couple of thousandths stuff
this time. I hope we qualify deep into the lineup on Friday so we can concentrate on getting ready
for eliminations.
Tony Pedregon, runner-up on Monday at Memphis in the rain-delayed Mid-South Nationals, moved into
third place in the Funny Car standings and is within 26 points of pacesetter Ashley Force Hood
going into the fourth of six NHRA Countdown to 1 championship events.
Pedregon began eliminations with the Nitro Fish Wear Impala body, but a supercharger explosion sent
it flying high in the air, so he finished the day with another Impala body. Mechanical trouble at
the starting line prevented Pedregon from challenging Jeff Arend in the finale. It took 16.659
seconds for Pedregon's car to travel the 1,000 feet. Arend made it in 4.091 seconds.
Pedregon and his crew worked to repair the damage done to the NFW body and he will use it this
weekend.
Matt Smith, driving the Don Schumacher Racing Pro Stock Motorcycle Suzuki, is fourth in points, 67
behind leader Eddie Krawiec. It was Krawiec who sidelined Smith in the semifinals by a miniscule
.0092-second, 6.929 seconds at 192.03 mph to 6.944 at 191.10.
Super Comp driver Ray Fordyce completes the Nitro Fish roster for Richmond.
Schedule:
Qualifying: Friday - 1:30 and 4 p.m.; Saturday - noon and 2:30 p.m.; Sunday - Eliminations, 11
a.m.
Television: ESPNHD & ESPN2HD All times ET
Saturday - Two hours of qualifying, 10:30 p.m.; Sunday - Race Day, 11 a.m., three-hours of
eliminations, 7 p.m.
