Sat, Oct 10, 08:20 PM Thomas Enters Pennzoil Car into Title Hunt

Courtesy of Rob Geiger - Team Pennzoil

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Drag racing fans witnessed another extremely fast session Saturday morning at Memphis Motorsports Park as professional qualifying for the 11th annual Pennzoil Nationals sponsored by AutoZone continued under sunny skies and amidst cool temperatures. Team Pennzoil's quickest drivers used the round to continue jockeying for a favorable position in Sunday's elimination rounds.

Mike Thomas, the Pro Stock driver of the Pennzoil Pontiac Firebird, made the biggest move of the day for Team Pennzoil when he jumped from out-of-contention to the No. 8 spot on Saturday morning. Thomas covered the strip in 6.939 seconds at 198.29 mph.

"Finally, a decent run down this track," Thomas said. "The chassis adjustments we made really helped. It was still a real bumpy ride but we were able to get a lot more power on the track. I believe we can still go quicker. It's a fast field out there and we'll have to continue to be fast to have a chance at winning. I sure feel a lot better than I did yesterday. I'd like to see my teammate Bruce Allen get in this afternoon."

Eddie Hill, the Top Fuel pilot of the Pennzoil Dragster, smoked the tires in his third pass and shut his engine down to avoid unnecessarily damaging any parts. Hill's opening day run of 4.703 seconds at 304.12 mph still has him comfortably in the title hunt.

"We were shooting for a record but the track wouldn't hold it," Hill said. "I really wanted to look good for our sponsors by grabbing the No. 1 spot and setting a couple of personal-best marks. We've made a decision to be aggressive and make as much noise as we can to finish the season with a bang. I've been working tremendously hard at improving my reaction times and now we need to join that stat with our fast car and then we can make all the noise we want to. It's time to have some fun."

Bruce Allen, the Pro Stock driver of the Outlaw Fuel Additives Pontiac Firebird, couldn't improve on his Friday night pass of 6.978 seconds at 196.33 mph during Saturday's first run. Allen tripped the Round 3 timers in 7.001 seconds at 196.33 and slipped to 18th place on the qualifying ladder.

"We were too aggressive," Allen said. "We had too much clutch for what the track could handle. I was spinning all the way through second, third and fourth gear. It's a real fine line between too much and not enough clutch. The bump is 6.95 and we might be able to squeak under that this afternoon. We need to find some more speed and make some adjustments to the transmission to tune it down a little. Maybe then it will hold."