Sun, May 31, 07:44 PM Team Mopar Notes and Quotes

Courtesy of Scott Sebastian, Team Mopar PR Fram Route 66 Nationals

JOLIET, Ill. - TOP FUEL

Mike Dunn (Team Mopar Top Fueler) lost to Kenny Bernstein in the first round, 4.841, 288.77 to 5.753, 164.29: "It was a tough day for the Mopar dragster. We knew coming in that the conditions were going to be tricky being the first pair out for the elimination round. The track temperature was about 110 degrees with the sun really beating down unlike the conditions we had during qualifying.

"We were looking to run a 4.65 with our setup and if we spun the tires a bit, we thought that we could get away with a 4.68 or 4.69. We spun the tires a bit about 150-feet out so I grabbed the brake and stayed on it. I was really surprised when I smoked them at the 330-foot marker and when that happens you have your work cut out for you. I saw Kenny (Bernstein) smoke the tires late and tried to drive around him but just ran out of race track."

PRO STOCK

Darrell Alderman (Team Mopar Dodge Avenger) lost in the first round to Mark Pawuk, 7.054,196.19 to 7.873, 133.72: "We qualified both Mopar Avengers but ran into some tough luck on Sunday. It certainly wasn't the number we were looking to run. We had a couple of hundredths out of the box but when I shifted into second gear, the car shook real hard. I got through third but in fourth I had hard tire shake again.

"A lot of guys struggled with their tune-ups because of the heat and humidity and we were one of them. I really thought that coming into the weekend that the Mopar Avenger had a good shot at winning the race. The engine showed good, consistent power all weekend and made up ground on the back-half of the race track.

Scott Geoffrion (Team Mopar Dodge Avenger) broke against Troy Coughlin in the first round: "It looks like we broke a rod during the burnout just like we did in Englishtown two weeks ago. I new it was broke while I was in the water. "I heard this clicking noise coming from the engine and did everything to not let on that something was wrong. All you can do is stage and hope that your opponent red-lights so you can steal a victory. After the lights went green, I just shut-off and waited for the guys to come get me.

"It's disappointing because the Mopar Avenger made some good hits during the weekend and we had the power to do some damage. I'll just have to wait and see what Dale (Eicke) finds when he tears the engine down."

FUNNY CAR

Dean Skuza (Matco Tools/Mopar Daytona), lost to Whit Bazemore in the first round, 5.005, 291.82 to 5.119, 292.01: "Despite losing in the first round, it was a productive and consistent weekend for the Matco Tools/ Mopar Funny Car. We made real good progress with our combinations and got back to the consistency we are use to during race weekends. We have been working real hard down low trying to get the car to 330-foot and this weekend we did exactly that. We head home to Cleveland with some great information to build upon on our way to Columbus in two weeks."