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Clermont, Ind
(Aug. 29-Sept. 3)
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Bob Benza Benza Racing Pontiac Pro Stocker |
Reports: Sunday Saturday |
Indianapolis, Sunday: Pro Stock driver Bob Benza realized his goal of improving during today's final two sessions of professional qualifying for the 47th annual Mac Tools U.S. Nationals at Indianapolis Raceway Park. Unfortunately, his quickest lap of the weekend -- a Round 4 blast of 6.974 seconds at 196.96 mph -- wasn't enough to place him in the elite field of 16 who will race for this celebrated event's trophy tomorrow.
Benza, a 41-year-old from Briarcliff Manor, N.Y., entered the day with an established quarter-mile elapsed time of 6.990 seconds and 196.56 mph. Like the rest of the 45 drivers competing in the Pro Stock class at this event, he knew the time to strike was in the cooler morning session. His team, led by crew chief Andy Enax and Tom Vollbrecht, went for a big number and pulled off the 6.97-second effort, but remained five hundredths of a second off the bump spot necessary to earn a position in the field.
"We found a lot of things with the car this weekend and I continue to be very happy with the progress we're making," Benza said. "I credit Tom and Andy for their hard work and it's satisfying for all of us to see it start to pay off. We can see the progress now and it's very encouraging for all of us.
"At the end of the day we found a bad fuel regulator and we have determined that it was slowing us down just enough for us to miss the cut. The car was literally cutting off from the lack of fuel. I think this has been hampering us for a while. Plus, we changed the fuel pump at the start of the weekend and I think that just aggravated the problem.
"We're getting to where we need to be. I thank Bob Gillig and Frank Iaconio for their help and guidance. We'll go from here and test in Englishtown or Atco Raceway in New Jersey and get ready for the Reading (Pa.) event. I like our chances there already."
Outside of racing, Benza's day was made interesting when he helped fellow pro driver Robert Patrick put out a fire in his engine compartment. Alerted to the flames burning away at Patrick's awning, Benza grabbed an extinguisher from his trailer and ran into Patrick's pit just in time to contain the damage. Fortunately, no one was injured in the incident.
Indianapolis, Saturday: Three rounds of steadily improving performances has Pro Stock driver Bob Benza convinced he'll find a spot in the 16-car elimination field of the prestigious 47th annual Mac Tools U.S. Nationals, running this weekend at Indianapolis Raceway Park. Benza has pushed his elapsed times to new lows during each of the first three professional qualifying sessions, stopping for the moment at 6.990 seconds and 196.56 mph, a mere .051 of a second off the pace necessary to make the field.
"We're closing in fast on what this car wants," Benza said. "I'm very encouraged with what has happened at the last two races. We're fixing our problems and we're going to do whatever we can to try and get in this field. This is Indy. We have to pull out all the stops."
Benza opened qualifying with a feel-it-out 7.034-second lap Friday night. He then posted a 7.030 at 196.13 mph in today's first session before improving to a 6.990 at 196.56 mph in the evening session. The entire Pro Stock class, including 41-year-old New York native Benza, has improved dramatically during this year's stop in Indianapolis thanks in large part to a repaved race track that now features over 660-feet of concrete.
"The new Grand Am and the power we're getting from Frank Iaconio has made a big difference," Benza said. "And the new carburetors we've found appear to be awesome. We haven't had time to test with them yet but I can already tell the difference. It's night and day from the ones we used to run. These are so much better.
"We're starting to understand everything. This is the best I've ever felt about this car. I feel like we have a very good chance of getting in during the morning session tomorrow. It should be reasonably good conditions. If not, we still have a shot in the final round. Unless the bump moves down to a 6.90, I like our chances of getting in."
The final two qualifying sessions are scheduled for 10 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. tomorrow.
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