Sun, 27 Sep 2009, 09:58 PM Matt Hartford Surprises Jason Line at Dallas

Courtesy of Joe Sherk

ENNIS, Tex. -- Matt Hartford used a near-perfect starting-line reaction time on Sunday to produce a stunning upset of championship hopeful Jason Line in the opening round of Sunday's O'Reilly Super Start Batteries Fall Nationals at the Texas Motorplex in Ennis.

Hartford, a title contender in the ADRL series, knew he needed a good reaction to put Kenny Koretsky's Nitro Fish Dodge into the second round. His .014-second effort provided a lead he'd never lose, and he turned on the win light 6.751 seconds at 205.04 mph. His winning margin was .008-second, or about one foot, to Line's .076 reaction and 6.697 at 205.98 mph.

Line was third in NHRA Countdown to 1 championship series points and was the No. 2 qualifier to Hartford's No. 15.

Hartford also knew he must accomplish the same thing to conjure up another round win, but it didn't happen. He left the line too soon against Johnny Gray in the quarterfinals and Gray won with a 6.699 at 207.08.

"It's satisfying to win when you're not supposed to," said happy crew chief Eddie Guarnaccia, who worked with engine builder David Nickens to make sure Hartford had a car capable of getting down the track.

"It's an example of anything can happen on race day. It was a pleasant surprise."

Hartford, meanwhile, knew what he needed to do. "We needed a hole-shot to have a chance to win and Eddie and David did everything they could to make that happen," he said. "And I did the same thing.

"I was amped up against Gray and just left too soon (.060). Even if I'd had a .000 light it still wouldn't have been enough. I was happy for Kenny and the Nitro Fish team. They were able to get data they can use at the next race and hopefully they'll go more rounds."

Elsewhere on the Nitro Fish front, Tony Pedregon was knocked out by Bob Tasca III in the first Funny Car round and Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Matt Smith reached the semifinals in the Nitro Fish Suzuki from Don Schumacher Racing.