Championship Drag Racing

O'Reilly NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals
Bristol, Tenn.
(April 30-May 2)

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David Baca American Racing Wheels Top Fueler

Reports: Monday Saturday Pre-race

Bristol, Monday: Having qualified for his 30th consecutive race, David Baca, driver of the American Racing Top Fuel dragster, squared off against Doug Kalitta in the opening round of the fourth annual NHRA O'Reilly Thunder Valley Nationals presented by Quaker State.

Prior to this meeting the pair has raced three times with Kalitta winning twice.

Baca, with his best elapsed time of the year - 4.528 seconds - turned back Kalitta. Baca led Kalitta all the way down Bristol Dragway. Additionally, his speed of 324.83 mph was his fastest of 2004.

"We've struggled all weekend. Johnny West (crew chief) and crew came up with the right tune up for this one. I guess I did my job. That was a big win. This team needed that one," said Baca, who has Scott Weis in round two.

The match up with Weis was a smoke fest, with both dragsters losing traction. Both drivers were on and off the throttle several times but Weis was the one who finally hooked up and crossed the finish line first. Weis goes on, Baca looks to Atlanta.

"The track got to us on that one," said Baca following the lost to Weis. "It may have been exciting for the fans to watch that one but it was frustrating from where I sat."

Bristol, Saturday: Qualified ended for the sixth race on the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series with David Baca No. 15 on the Top Fuel qualifying ladder.

In qualifying 15th, Baca, driver of the American Racing dragster, traversed the Bristol Dragway in 4.709 seconds at 308.35 mph.

"We had a lot of little things go wrong with this American Racing dragster during qualifying," said Rick Henkelman, who along with Baca own and operate Henkelman & Baca Motorsports. "We need to review all our computer data and come up with a plan of attach for tomorrow. Hopefully then we'll be back on our game and can go a few rounds."

In tomorrow's eliminations, Baca, from Brentwood, Calif., faces Doug Kalitta, from Ann Arbor, Mich., in the opening round. Kalitta qualified No. 2 with a pass of 4.530 seconds at 326.32 mph.

Bristol, pre-race: Summer is just around the corner, a fact that Top Fuel driver David Baca indicates is good as he anticipates this weekend's NHRA O'Reilly Thunder Valley Nationals presented by Quaker State at Bristol Dragway.

"We've been planning for summer since the end of last season," said Baca. "During preseason testing and during the five national events we've run this season, we've built our tune up toward the summertime months. Bring on summer."

If the last outing in Houston, where the temperature began to approach summer status, is any indication, then the Henkelman & Baca Motorsports team is right on schedule. At Houston, even in a losing effort, Baca's American Racing dragster ran quicker than the seven other first round losers and quicker than four of the opening round winners.

"Hot weather is to my liking, but even more importantly, winning is to my liking," Baca said. "We've been working on the hot weather set-up for the last few races and maybe that's why we've been going out first round. Hopefully, we're over that. The first three races we went two rounds, the last two we went one. Bristol will be a mighty good time to go three or four rounds."

As to his winning at Bristol, Baca added, "Top Fuel is a tough field. Thus far, in five races, we've had only two drivers win. Brandon (Bernstein) has won two and Tony Schumacher three. I think the team we've assembled, led by crew chief Johnny West, Larry Meyer and my partner Rick Henkelman, are as good as any team out here. At the moment, we probably don't have the funding they do, but other than that, we lack nothing as far as parts and the capability to post big numbers.

"As to Bristol, we'd like to believe we're on the right path now. The bottom line is that every race I go to, I'm there to win and that includes Bristol. If I didn't think I was there to win, I would have got tired of this a long time ago and gone home and parked this car."

Although a POWERade championship is currently not out of reach for most Top Fuel drivers, Baca's goal is to finish in the top five. He current sits in the 10th spot with 221 points, but is only 65 points behind No. 5.