Post by Franko10 ™ on Nov 26, 2004 11:11:18 GMT -5
11/16/2004 : Arend excited about the future of CMKXtreme Racing despite missing the field in Pomona
POMONA, qualifying: CMKXtreme Machine Funny Car driver Jeff Arend may have missed the field at 40th annual Southern California NHRA Finals, but the 42-year-old Canadian native is still ecstatic about his future with the team.
"We tried hard to qualify here in Pomona but I guess it just wasn't meant to be," said Arend. "We still feel like we've had a good season, all things considered, We qualified for 16 races this year after throwing this team together in just two weeks, which is pretty amazing. The future definately looks very bright from the CMKXtreme Machine Racing team."
Arend got down to business Thursday during the first professional qualifying session, roaring to a 4.896 at 315.64 mph to qualify in the No. 9 position. The solid opening run gave Arend and crew chief Paul Smith a good baseline to work with for their next three qualifying attempts.
The great weather continued at Pomona Raceway on Friday. Arend's second run was a handful for the Canadian native and he lifted early, recording a 5.849 at 162.02 mph to finish the second day of qualifying in the 17th position.
The CMKXtreme Machine team returned to Pomona Raceway on Saturday prepared for two more rounds of qualifying. On his third attempt of the weekend Arend roared to respectable 4.921 at 310.13 mph to qualify in the 18th position, but it still wasn't enough to put the CMKXtreme Machine in the show.
The pressure was on and the team knew they were down to their final attempt of the season to qualify for the NHRA Finals. Unfortunately, Arend's 4.952 at 310.77 failed to qualify him for Sunday's 16-car eliminations field.
"It's a tough way to end the season but we are very excited about getting started on working on next year," said Arend. "I want to thanks the Casavant's, all the CMKX shareholders and all of our fans for their outstanding support this season. We will do our best to give them something to cheer about next year."
POMONA, qualifying: CMKXtreme Machine Funny Car driver Jeff Arend may have missed the field at 40th annual Southern California NHRA Finals, but the 42-year-old Canadian native is still ecstatic about his future with the team.
"We tried hard to qualify here in Pomona but I guess it just wasn't meant to be," said Arend. "We still feel like we've had a good season, all things considered, We qualified for 16 races this year after throwing this team together in just two weeks, which is pretty amazing. The future definately looks very bright from the CMKXtreme Machine Racing team."
Arend got down to business Thursday during the first professional qualifying session, roaring to a 4.896 at 315.64 mph to qualify in the No. 9 position. The solid opening run gave Arend and crew chief Paul Smith a good baseline to work with for their next three qualifying attempts.
The great weather continued at Pomona Raceway on Friday. Arend's second run was a handful for the Canadian native and he lifted early, recording a 5.849 at 162.02 mph to finish the second day of qualifying in the 17th position.
The CMKXtreme Machine team returned to Pomona Raceway on Saturday prepared for two more rounds of qualifying. On his third attempt of the weekend Arend roared to respectable 4.921 at 310.13 mph to qualify in the 18th position, but it still wasn't enough to put the CMKXtreme Machine in the show.
The pressure was on and the team knew they were down to their final attempt of the season to qualify for the NHRA Finals. Unfortunately, Arend's 4.952 at 310.77 failed to qualify him for Sunday's 16-car eliminations field.
"It's a tough way to end the season but we are very excited about getting started on working on next year," said Arend. "I want to thanks the Casavant's, all the CMKX shareholders and all of our fans for their outstanding support this season. We will do our best to give them something to cheer about next year."