Post by Franko10 ™ on Nov 13, 2004 12:43:15 GMT -5
10/3/2004 : Arend blasts to career-best speed; qualifies for quickest Funny Car field in NHRA history
CHICAGO, qualifying: CMKXtreme Machine Funny Car pilot Jeff Arend blasted to the fastest run of his career to qualify for the 4th annual CARQUEST Auto Parts NHRA Nationals at Route 66 Raceway in Illinois. Arend qualified for his 13th consecutive NHRA national event and 15th race of the 2004 POWERade Drag Racing season.
The first session of Funny Car qualifying was run on Friday afternoon with 24 fuel floppers taking a shot at the Route 66 quarter-mile. The CMKXtreme Machine shook the tires before the 100-foot mark and Arend coasted to a 9.831 at 91.26 mph, finishing the first session in the 21st position. The CMKX team returned to the pit area and crew chief Paul Smith led the crew in preparation for the Friday evening session. Unfortunately, rain moved into the area and washed out the second round of qualifying.
The weather was cold at the CARQUEST Nationals on Saturday, with cloudless skies and a stiff breeze blowing down track. Arend, a native Canadian transplanted to California, felt right at home with the cooler conditions. The CMKXtreme team had two chances remaining to qualify for Sunday’s 16-car elimination field and extend Arend’s qualifying streak to 13 races.
Arend was lined up in the right lane for his second qualifying attempt of the weekend Saturday afternoon. The CMKXtreme Machine launched aggressively off the starting line and Arend was on his way to a mid-4.80 when the car broke a driveline piece. The world’s fastest Corvette slowed to a 6.043 at 142.93 mph and Arend finished the session in the No. 22 position.
After looking at the computer and the incremental numbers from his second run Arend determined that the CMKXtreme Machine was on pace to run quicker than his career-best 4.84, which he ran at Route 66 in May. The team was upbeat as they geared up to put the CMKXtreme Machine in the show on their last qualifying attempt.
Crew chief Paul Smith took full advantage of the record-setting conditions during the final qualifying run. Arend stormed off of the Route 66 starting line and tripped the finish line clocks in 4.854-seconds at 320.36-mph, the fastest run of the 41-year-old veteran Funny Car driver’s career. The 4.862 bump slot also anchors the quickest 16-car Funny car field in NHRA history. Arend will face rookie Eric Medlen during the first round of eliminations on Sunday, the same driver he faced during the race in Chicago in May.
“Waiting to get in the show on the last run is getting to be normal for this team,” said Arend, “I think we’ve done it about four or five times this year. The CMKX crew is really good and I have a lot of faith in Paul and the entire team. We’ve got a great sponsor and that makes things a whole lot easier. This has got to be the best race track we’ve raced on all year long and the conditions were perfect today.”<br>
Arend will be looking for a little revenge during his first round encounter with Medlen. “We ran a 4.85 and the motor looked brand new, so who knows, I think we’ll have something for him tomorrow.”
CHICAGO, qualifying: CMKXtreme Machine Funny Car pilot Jeff Arend blasted to the fastest run of his career to qualify for the 4th annual CARQUEST Auto Parts NHRA Nationals at Route 66 Raceway in Illinois. Arend qualified for his 13th consecutive NHRA national event and 15th race of the 2004 POWERade Drag Racing season.
The first session of Funny Car qualifying was run on Friday afternoon with 24 fuel floppers taking a shot at the Route 66 quarter-mile. The CMKXtreme Machine shook the tires before the 100-foot mark and Arend coasted to a 9.831 at 91.26 mph, finishing the first session in the 21st position. The CMKX team returned to the pit area and crew chief Paul Smith led the crew in preparation for the Friday evening session. Unfortunately, rain moved into the area and washed out the second round of qualifying.
The weather was cold at the CARQUEST Nationals on Saturday, with cloudless skies and a stiff breeze blowing down track. Arend, a native Canadian transplanted to California, felt right at home with the cooler conditions. The CMKXtreme team had two chances remaining to qualify for Sunday’s 16-car elimination field and extend Arend’s qualifying streak to 13 races.
Arend was lined up in the right lane for his second qualifying attempt of the weekend Saturday afternoon. The CMKXtreme Machine launched aggressively off the starting line and Arend was on his way to a mid-4.80 when the car broke a driveline piece. The world’s fastest Corvette slowed to a 6.043 at 142.93 mph and Arend finished the session in the No. 22 position.
After looking at the computer and the incremental numbers from his second run Arend determined that the CMKXtreme Machine was on pace to run quicker than his career-best 4.84, which he ran at Route 66 in May. The team was upbeat as they geared up to put the CMKXtreme Machine in the show on their last qualifying attempt.
Crew chief Paul Smith took full advantage of the record-setting conditions during the final qualifying run. Arend stormed off of the Route 66 starting line and tripped the finish line clocks in 4.854-seconds at 320.36-mph, the fastest run of the 41-year-old veteran Funny Car driver’s career. The 4.862 bump slot also anchors the quickest 16-car Funny car field in NHRA history. Arend will face rookie Eric Medlen during the first round of eliminations on Sunday, the same driver he faced during the race in Chicago in May.
“Waiting to get in the show on the last run is getting to be normal for this team,” said Arend, “I think we’ve done it about four or five times this year. The CMKX crew is really good and I have a lot of faith in Paul and the entire team. We’ve got a great sponsor and that makes things a whole lot easier. This has got to be the best race track we’ve raced on all year long and the conditions were perfect today.”<br>
Arend will be looking for a little revenge during his first round encounter with Medlen. “We ran a 4.85 and the motor looked brand new, so who knows, I think we’ll have something for him tomorrow.”