Less than a week after winning the ADRL Extreme Pro Stock championship, Matt Hartford will climb
into Kenny Koretsky's Nitro Fish Dodge to see if he can bring some competitive good fortune to the
Richboro, Pa.-based team in the city where luck is a welcomed - and much used - four-letter word.
Hartford, who clinched his title Saturday in the eighth-mile competition, isn't too concerned about
keeping his right foot stuffed against the floorboard for another 660 feet when the NHRA Las Vegas
Nationals unfolds, Oct. 29-Nov.1, at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
"On that last run at Dallas," recalled Hartford, "I'm sure I ran it to the quarter-mile mark to
make sure I wasn't going to get beat. It was a great way to top off the (ADRL) season. I was
pretty happy.
"Now, I'm certainly looking forward to going to Las Vegas and getting to race for the Nitro Fish
team because I know Eddie (Guarnaccia, crew chief) and David (Nickens, engine builder) have been
working very hard on getting the car and engines ready to go. They have done everything to the
best of their ability - Eddie working on the car setup and David trying to find more horsepower -
to give us a car that will give us our best chance of the season."
Guarnaccia said the team wants to run well at Las Vegas and Pomona, Calif., site of the
season-closing Auto Club Finals, Nov. 12-15. "We struggled a lot this year, but we've done a good
job recently and we hope to carry that momentum through to the Finals," he added.
This is Hartford's third start in the bright blue Dodge. He qualified 15th at Dallas last month
and put a dent in Jason Line's title hopes by registering a hole-shot victory in the first round.
"David and Eddie have done their jobs, now I must do mine," said Hartford.
Also representing Nitro Fish in this penultimate event in NHRA's Countdown to the Championship are
Tony Pedregon - who has an associate sponsorship from Nitro Fish on his Impala Funny Car - and Pro
Stock Motorcycle rider Matt Smith, the 2007 titleholder.
Pedregon is attempting to erase the 48-point deficit separating him from leader Robert Hight.
Smith, the 2007 series champion, will be aboard the Don Schumacher Racing Nitro Fish Suzuki. He is
locked in tight tussle for third place with Michael Phillips, who has a slim two-point lead,
2,255-2,253.
Las Vegas Nationals Schedule:
Qualifying:
Friday: 12:30 and 3 p.m.; Saturday, 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.
Eliminations: Sunday, 11 a.m.
Television: ESPN2, ESPN2HD All times ET
Saturday: Qualifying highlights, two hours, 11:30 p.m. Sunday: Race Day, 2:30 p.m.; Eliminations,
three hours, 7:30 p.m.
