Post by daj on Jun 29, 2005 14:24:54 GMT -5
Bartone beats the heat to qualify 10th at the Sears Craftsman Nationals
ST. LOUIS, qualifying: Tony Bartone qualified the Jim Dunn Racing/Got CMKX?/Lucas Oil Funny Car in the No. 10 position on Saturday at the 9th annual Sears Craftsman NHRA Nationals at Gateway International Raceway.
Bartone began his weekend in St. Louis by visiting children at the St. Louis Shriners Hospital along with his CMKX Racing teammates. The team signed autographs and gave away CMKX T-shirts to the delight of the children and their parents.
The conditions were extremely hot when the Got CMKX?/Lucas Oil Monte Carlo pulled to the starting line late Friday afternoon for Bartone's first qualifying attempt. Bartone made the best of the poor racing conditions, grabbing the No. 7 qualifying position with a 5.783 at 192.60 mph. The New York native smoked the tires on his second attempt and finished the first day of qualifying in the No. 17 spot, with two more chances on Saturday to break into the 16-car field.
It was past 7:30 in the evening on Saturday when Bartone pulled to the starting line for his third qualifying attempt. The Got CMKX?/Lucas Oil Funny Car blasted into the top half of the field in the No. 8 spot with a stout 4.893 at 305.70 mph. The team decided to skip the final session and Bartone finished qualifying in the No. 10 position. The former NHRA Alcohol Funny Car champion will face Del Worsham in the opening round on Sunday, the fourth time they have raced against each other this season.
"The conditions this weekend are extremely difficult," said Bartone. "The combination of high heat and humidity make it very tough to get one of these cars to respond. My hat is off to our Got CMKX?/Lucas Oil team. The 4.89 during the third session was really impressive especially under these conditions. It was a great run and I'm looking forward to eliminations tomorrow."
ST. LOUIS, qualifying: Tony Bartone qualified the Jim Dunn Racing/Got CMKX?/Lucas Oil Funny Car in the No. 10 position on Saturday at the 9th annual Sears Craftsman NHRA Nationals at Gateway International Raceway.
Bartone began his weekend in St. Louis by visiting children at the St. Louis Shriners Hospital along with his CMKX Racing teammates. The team signed autographs and gave away CMKX T-shirts to the delight of the children and their parents.
The conditions were extremely hot when the Got CMKX?/Lucas Oil Monte Carlo pulled to the starting line late Friday afternoon for Bartone's first qualifying attempt. Bartone made the best of the poor racing conditions, grabbing the No. 7 qualifying position with a 5.783 at 192.60 mph. The New York native smoked the tires on his second attempt and finished the first day of qualifying in the No. 17 spot, with two more chances on Saturday to break into the 16-car field.
It was past 7:30 in the evening on Saturday when Bartone pulled to the starting line for his third qualifying attempt. The Got CMKX?/Lucas Oil Funny Car blasted into the top half of the field in the No. 8 spot with a stout 4.893 at 305.70 mph. The team decided to skip the final session and Bartone finished qualifying in the No. 10 position. The former NHRA Alcohol Funny Car champion will face Del Worsham in the opening round on Sunday, the fourth time they have raced against each other this season.
"The conditions this weekend are extremely difficult," said Bartone. "The combination of high heat and humidity make it very tough to get one of these cars to respond. My hat is off to our Got CMKX?/Lucas Oil team. The 4.89 during the third session was really impressive especially under these conditions. It was a great run and I'm looking forward to eliminations tomorrow."