Sun, May 17, 07:00 PM News From the Pennzoil Pits

Courtesy of Bob Brown Mopar Parts Nationals

ENGLISHTOWN, N.J. - The elimination rounds of the 29th Annual Mopar Parts Nationals at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park yielded mixed reactions within Team Pennzoil. Top Fuel driver Eddie Hill advanced into Round 2 and reset all of his career-best marks while Pro Stock driver Mike Thomas allowed human error to eliminate his superior car in Round 1.

Here's the latest news from pit row ...

Eddie Hill, the pilot of the Pennzoil Top Fuel Dragster, started the day's racing by slipping the Electric Banana past Mike Dunn. In the race, Dunn enjoyed a minuscule lead off the starting line (0.484 reaction time to Hill's 0.505) but the two cars quickly became mirror images from the transition area through half track. At that point, Dunn's engine dropped a cylinder and he fell back, giving Hill the win. Hill finished with a 4.749 elapsed time at 286.92 mph.

During the run, Hill's fuel system was damaged and the Pennzoil crew had to work overtime to replace the entire engine before Round 2. "The fuel system let go at the 1,000-foot mark and our performance fell way off," Hill said. "I kept my leg in it anyway because I couldn't see Dunn and I figured he was right behind me somewhere."

Hill faced top qualifier Gary Scelzi in the second round. Scelzi had posted the quickest run of Round 1 when he beat Steve Smith with a 4.610-second pass at 315.93 mph. In the race, an over-anxious Hill left the starting line before the green light and was disqualified. Remarkably, Hill still covered the quarter-mile in 4.625 seconds at 312.64 mph. Both marks represent career bests.

"I can't blame anyone but myself for the last three events," said Hill, who was beaten by better reaction times in Dallas and Richmond, Va. "First I'm late two times in a row, now I'm too quick. It's a shame because I felt like it was our day. Things looked good for us and I thought we were going to pull one off. Obviously, the Pennzoil Dragster is running great. We are so close."

Mike Thomas, the driver of the Pennzoil Pro Stock Pontiac, will long be remembered by first-round opponent Greg Anderson. That's because the race between the two marked the first career elimination round victory for Anderson as he parlayed an excellent reaction time at the starting line (0.428 seconds to 0.465 seconds) into a car-length victory at the other end of the track.

Thomas, who had qualified in the No. 2 spot and obviously had the faster car, was understandably upset at his mental lapse. "The Pennzoil car left hard and I was a little late," Thomas said, "but at the eighth-mile mark I was pulling up on Anderson and figured I had him. Then, just as I got into fourth gear, the car made a quick right drift I had to lift (off of the accelerator) to keep the car going straight. I got back on the pedal and the car went right again. I had to fight it to keep from hitting the wall. I hate to lose like that but I'm pleased that the car still ran a 6.97 even after I lifted."