Jerry Toliver: “We Have to Get The Car to 60-Foot Better”
Jun 07, 2007
jerrytoliver
Performance of Toliver’s ROCKSTAR Energy Drink Toyota Catching Up with Rest of Funny Car Field
Jerry Toliver spotted the Funny Car field four races before his new ROCKSTAR Energy Drink Toyota Solara was ready to drive into the NHRA POWERADE Series fracas. It was a daunting task but Toliver’s gritty crew appears to be getting a competitive foothold after just four races.
He’s qualified at the last two events and, Sunday in Topeka, Toliver came within a few ticks of earning his first 2007 round win. In the process, Dale Armstrong, his crew chief and highly acclaimed tuner, has hunkered down and come up with a combination that is almost capable of consistently winning rounds.
“We have to get the car to 60-foot better, ” said Toliver. “Our problem is the car isn’t launching like it should. We should’ve won our race Sunday (against Tim Wilkerson in the first round at Topeka). We were pulling on him on the big end, trying to catch him.
“We will address those issues before we get to Joliet (Ill., site of the Torco Racing Fuels Route 66 Nationals at Route 66 Raceway, Friday through Sunday). “I hate to sound like a broken record, but we’re right there. We just need to make more laps. We are testing more stuff and learning on every lap, at every race. We just need to win some rounds. ”
Toliver qualified 12th at Topeka with a run of 4.903 seconds at 317.05 mph. Most impressive, however, was the fact he was the first Funny Car to go down the marginal racing surface. He added two more qualifying runs of 5.336 at 4.994 seconds.
Against Wilkerson, Toliver stopped the clocks in 4.974 at 305.15 to 4.984 at 302.55.
Toliver believes the upcoming schedule of six straight races will benefit his team. “I’m really happy to have all these races in a row, ” he said. “We have great group of guys who stay on top of things. They are focused and our morale is high. We’ll get this thing figured out. I have some pretty smart guys.
“It’s not like Dale Armstrong fell on his head and can’t figure out how to run a race car. His head is in it. Some good things should be coming our way very shortly. ”
Toliver, of Temecula, Calif., returned to Funny Car competition after a two-year hiatus. The team does not race the June 16-17 weekend, but when the guys return, they begin the arduous six-pack of races in Englishtown, N.J. (June 24). It’s followed by visits to Norwalk, Ohio, Bristol, Tenn., Denver, Seattle and Sonoma, Calif. Developed to increase the recovery time of those who lead active and exhausting lifestyles, ROCKSTAR Energy Drink is available in five amazing flavors. You can find Original, Sugar Free, Juiced, Zero Carb and Guava at convenience and grocery retail outlets across the United States.
