Championship Drag Racing

K&N Filters Winternationals
Pomona
(Feb. 27-29)

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Bob Gilbertson Trick Tank Funny Car

Reports: Pre-race

Pomona, pre-race: There's a brand-new Bob Gilbertson in town and he's ready to take on the best Funny Car drivers and teams on the NHRA POWERade circuit in 2004.

Gilbertson spent the off-season having rotator cuff surgery on his left shoulder, taking his son Jake to motocross races all across the Southeast, which resulted in him qualifying for the National ArenaCross Finals in Las Vegas, and making sure his Trick Tank Funny Car team has the parts they need for an all-out assault on the NHRA POWERade circuit.

"Right after the World Finals last year I had my shoulder repaired, something that had been bothering me for a long time," Gilbertson said. "I worked real hard on re-hab and I am now at 110-percent and feel great. I spent the winter with my 10-year-old son, Jake, taking him to races just about every weekend and I'm so proud that he qualified for the championships in Las Vegas.

"I also spent a lot of time, effort, and money re-stocking the Trick Tank Racing Team war chest for the 2004 season. We bought 10 sets of heads, two bodies and a lot of other stuff from [Don] Prudhomme along with a couple of new Brad Anderson blocks and have completely re-vamped the truck, trailer and racecar. We've now got the parts we need to step-up our program and take the Trick Tank Funny Car to the next level."

Gilbertson and his Trick Tank team will be testing at the Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway the Monday before the season-opening Winternationals, then they're off to Pomona to start off the season.

"We'll also debut our 'Nitro Intern' program at the Winternationals," Gilbertson said. "We've selected 23 lucky winners from the over 4,500 entries we received to be a part of the Trick Tank team at each of the races on the NHRA POWERade circuit this year. We wanted to give the average fan the chance to be a part of a professional nitro team and work 'behind the ropes' to experience exactly what it takes to run a car at this level."

Michelle Read, from Creston, Calif., is a clerk for the county of San Luis Obispo and will be the first intern assisting the team at Pomona.

"I'm so excited about this," said Read. "To be the first person selected for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity is a great honor and I've spent the time since I was picked doing research on fuel cars and the Trick Tank team. I want to do a good job for them and hopefully bring them a little luck."