Tony Pedregon’s second NHRA Full Throttle Racing Series race flying Nitro Fish colors didn’t end in winner’s circle, but his semifinal finish in the Toyo Tires Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway kept him atop the series standings.
Pedregon was the lone Nitro Fish member to advance past the quarterfinals on a sunny day – for a change – in the Reading, Pa. area. Matt Smith, aboard Don Schumacher’s Nitro Fish Suzuki, had a quarterfinal finish while Koretsky’s son Kyle bowed in his first round of Competition Eliminator action.
Rain scrubbed one qualifying session Friday and another Saturday. Losing those runs severely hampered
Dave Northrop and the Nitro Fish/ISC Racers Tape/ISC Salesmaster Corp. Pro Stock Pontiac GXP crew.
“I spent a lot time sitting in the staging lanes watching it rain,” said Northrop, of Perkasie, Pa. “Not getting to make those runs really hurt us because Eddie (Guarnaccia, crew chief) needed those runs to tune the car.
His best time of 6.758 seconds came on Friday. The car spun the tires hard off the starting line on Saturday’s run, forcing him to shut off the motor and not qualify.
“We are going to test Monday at Maple Grove so we can learn more about the car and the motor,” added Northrop. “We want to be ready to qualify at the U.S. Nationals (Sept. 4-7 at Indianapolis).”
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