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Fitzgerald USA NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals Saturday Notebook

16 Jun 2018
NHRA National Dragster staff
Race coverage
Bristol

Preview | Features | Photos | Results

QUALIFYING ROUND RECAPS

jason_0.JPGPRO STOCK Q3 (2:48 p.m.): Jason Line made the quickest run of the session for the first time since the NHRA Arizona Nationals nine events ago. Those three bonus points for a 6.717-second pass help the driver of the blue Summit Chevy’s cause, but perhaps more importantly it seems Line made a directionally correct move. The session, made in much warmer conditions than Q2 on Friday night, didn’t allow for much vertical movement. Deric Kramer (6.721) picked up a pair of points and Chris McGaha earned the third (6.73). A 6.703 still separates the quick half of the field from the less quick half with one session left to make improvements. Tommy Lee took his Pro Stock machine into the sand in the first run of the third qualifying session. He exited the car under his own power after making contact with the catch net at the end of the track. 

clay4.jpgTOP FUEL Q3 (3:20 p.m.): Friday night low qualifier Clay Millican also showed that he can lead the pack in the heat, becoming the only Top Fuel pilot to record a three-second pass on the temperamental surface. Millican’s David Grubnic-tuned machine ran 3.967 to garner another three bonus points. Veteran Pat Dakin used all of his years of wiles to grab two bonus points with the round’s next-best pass of 4.00 with Antron Brown going 4.07 for the third spot. Only 15 cars are qualified right now as Bill Litton, who sat out Friday, had to tow off without making a pass.

capps3.jpgFUNNY CAR Q3 (3:55 p.m.): Ron Capps had the best run of a round that seemed to bedevil all of the crew chiefs. Ron Capps gets credit for the best run of the frame, a 4.193 that, while it was nearly two-tenths better than his Friday best of 4.362, nonetheless only got him to the No. 11 spot. Tim Wilkerson also improved by two-tenths (from a 4.45 best Friday to a 4.262) but only to 13th. Tommy Johnson Jr.’s Make-A-Wish Dodge has had the best consistency with three runs varying by no more than a tenth of a second (4.167, 4.221, 4.263). The bump spot is 4.771 by Jonnie Lindberg with Terry Haddock on the outside looking in.

Doug Winters crossed the centerline and smacked the wall during the final Pro Mod qualifying session. He exited the car under his own power following the incident. 

greg3.JPGPRO STOCK Q4 (5:44 p.m.): Greg Anderson will start at the No. 1 position for the 100th time in his career, joining John Force, Warren Johnson and Bob Glidden on the prestigious list. He made another clean run (6.734) but was outrun in the final round by his teammate, Jason Line. A 6.72 scored Line a single bonus point, while Jeg Coughlin Jr. and Vincent Nobile each posted a 6.717 to top the sheet. Hot conditions prevented a shakeup in the qualifying order, which means Anderson will get a matchup with Wally Stroupe in the first round while Coughlin essentially gets a bye following Tommy Lee’s wreck in the third qualifying session. 

First-round pairings (lane choice first): Greg Anderson vs. Wally Stroupe; Jeg Coughlin Jr. vs. Tommy Lee; Drew Skillman vs. Alan Prusiensky; Tanner Gray vs. John Gaydosh Jr.; Alex Laughlin vs. Tim Freeman; Jason Line vs. Erica Enders; Deric Kramer vs. Chris McGaha; Vincent Nobile vs. Bo Butner

pritchett.jpgTOP FUEL Q4 (6:10 p.m.): For the third time in four qualifying sessions, Clay Millican had the quickest car, with his 3.924 almost a full tenth ahead of Leah Pritchett, who improved from an earlier best of 4.12 to a 4.00 for the No. 9 spot while her first-round opponent, Mike Salinas, was the third best of the session with a 4.037. After a false start in Q3, Bill Litton finally got a run down to make him an official part of the 16-car field

First-round pairings (lane choice first): Clay Millican vs. Terry Totton; Tony Schumacher vs. Terry McMillen; Antron Brown vs. Richie Crampton; Scott Palmer vs. Bill Litton; Brittany Force vs. Doug Kalitta; Steve Torrence vs. Shawn Reed; Dom Lagana vs. Pat Dakin; Mike Salinas vs. Leah Pritchett

hagan3.jpgFUNNY CAR Q4 (6:30 p.m.): Courtney Force held on to record her seventh No. 1 qualifying effort in the season’s first 11 events, her 3.99 from Friday night being her official number; J.R. Todd ended up No. 2 with his 4.07 and Robert Hight in the third spot with a 4.077. Matt Hagan had the best run of another tough session, his 4.188 ahead of DSR teammates Ron Capps (4.211) and Tommy Johnson Jr. (4.216).

First-round pairings (lane choice listed first): Courtney Force vs. Jonnie Lindberg; J.R. Todd vs. Del Worsham; Robert Hight vs. Jeff Diehl; Bob Tasca III vs. Tim Wilkerson; Cruz Pedregon vs. Jim Campbell; John Force vs. Ron Capps; Jack Beckman vs. Shawn Langdon; Tommy Johnson Jr. vs. Matt Hagan

G_Anderson.JPGPRO STOCK NO. 1 QUALIFIER GREG ANDERSON: “A lot of hard work and great team effort went into (earning 100th No. 1 qualifier). These No. 1 qualifiers are not a driver award, they’re a team award. It’s all about the guys back in the shop at K.B. Racing getting every nut and bolt right on this race car. It’s a team award and we’re going to have to celebrate this one, because I’m not sure if I’m going to be around for No. 200. It’s an honor for me, I’ve certainly looked up to the other guys who have reached this milestone. 

“I’m just out here having fun and trying to win races, not set records. It’s been a really special year for us at K.B. Racing with it being the 50th anniversary for Summit. We wanted to do something special for them and hopefully this is something that they can be proud of as well as I’m proud of.”

C_Millican.JPGTOP FUEL LOW QUALIFIER CLAY MILLICAN: “I’m certainly smiling, the way the car went down the track today, as hot as it is and as much as everyone was struggling, just hats off to Dave Grubnic, Max Savage, and all the guys working on the car. It’s pretty incredible what they’re doing right now. I’d love to have that tomorrow. It’s so much fun to drive.

“We love this racetrack; it’s by far my favorite place to race. The car is so good right now; no dropped cylinders until the end, no breakage.  I’m having a blast, in case y’all hadn’t noticed. I’ve had this level of confidence before, when you get in the racecar and do you job and the crew doesn’t mess up, you’re going to win. We know that the other teams are testing, we know that Alan Johnson and Brittany Force are coming for us, they’re not going to wait around for us, so we’re still trying to push forward.”

C_Force.JPGFUNNY CAR LOW QUALIFIER COURTNEY FORCE: “It’s been a great start to the season for our team. I’m really proud of my guys and we’ve got a good thing going. We’re just trying to keep our focus and keep our heads on straight round by round. We’ve had some good wins and we’re in the points lead right now, but everything resets right after Indy.

“We just want to learn a lot about this car because we’ve still got a long season to go. This weekend we had only one good run, in prime conditions, so it would be great to say we got all the bonus points, but we haven’t had the consistent car like we’ve had the last few races. We’re going to have to learn quick and learn from our runs yesterday and build from that. Some of the teams have figured out how to get down the track in the heat and we’ve struggled a little bit. I have the faith in my team, that they’re smart enough to get it done.”

Saturday Recap: Greg Anderson secures 100th No. 1 qualifier; C. Force, Millican claim poles.

FEATURES

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The only defending Mello Yello world champion with more than one win is Eddie Krawiec. So, it’s a stretch to say Brittany Force has struggled during her inaugural title defense. The winner of the 2018 NHRA SpringNationals dealt with more adversity than most, following a devastating crash at the season-opening Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals. Still, with great success comes great expectations. 

“This race car has been so good in qualifying,” said Force. “We just need to get some things to go our way on race day. I know we have a team that can win races and win championships. We have proven that. You look at all the drivers in Top Fuel right now and most of them are a little hit and miss on race day. I there are a lot of really good Top Fuel teams out here and that is great news for our fans.”

The Advance Auto Parts/Monster Energy dragster Force drives boasts an average elapsed time of 3.775 seconds and gets down the track quicker than 3.9 seconds 55.4 percent of the time. That’s the sixth quickest average elapsed time and an above average success rate (44.5 is the class average), but Top Fuel points leader Steve Torrence has been quicker and more consistent. 

Force dealt with a bit of inconsistency at the Virginia NHRA Nationals when racing Bill Litton in the first round. Her dragster lost traction at about half track and while the racer got back into the throttle, it proved to be too late. 

“Pedaling these race cars is all about letting them settle down and being patient enough to wait before getting back on the throttle. I was able to get it under control again and get it going again but we just ran out of race track,” said Force. “We were looking to try and get the best opportunity to give us lane choice for the next run. I think we just pushed it too hard and blew the tires off it.”

Force enters the Fitzgerald USA NHRA Nationals in eighth place, 309 points behind Torrence. She’s just 12 points behind Antron Brown, who sits in sixth place. 

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clay.jpgAnyone who was at Bristol Dragway last Sunday won’t soon forget Clay Millican’s emotional win in his homestate, crying on the stage with the fans joining him in a sing-along to “Rocky Top,” one of Tennessee’s official state songs. Millican’s return to Bristol – the first time he’s been a “defending champ” at an NHRA event -- has been almost as emotional already.

“It’s been a lot of fun, it’s been very busy,” he said. “I’ve done a lot of [local] radio and TV and it’s fun because not a single person has asked me about my accent and where I’m from, and they understand what I say.

“The only pressure [to repeat] is what I’m putting on myself because of what this race means to me and [wife] Donna and the whole family. Last year was such an emotional win with the way it all played out. The fans have been coming by – there’s been so many people at my pit area I feel a little like John Force – the majority of them saying they cried with em and sang “Rocky Top” with you and we want to do it again. Yiu can’t do nothing but smile when so many people are telling you that. I guess it wasn’t just a big deal to me, it was a big deal to the fans as well.

“I think it was Larry Dixon a few years ago who got on a streak of winning on Father’s Day, and I’d love nothing more than that, but you have to do it one at a time.”

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NHRA Drag Racing fans are getting another dose of Dom Lagana at the Fitzgerald USA NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals. While the NHRA tour is amid a four-race swing, Lagana is in the middle of a swing of his own: getting into the driver’s seat instead of “only” tuning as he usually does. He and CatSpot Top Fuel teammate Scott Palmer made similar runs in the second session (3.863 for Palmer, 3.886 for Lagana) after securing bonus points in the first. 

“We were pretty happy,” said Lagana. “We’ve been battling the car on the early part of the track and we’re sneaking up on it. It’s still really slow early and then has a good back half. We were shooting for the 3.80s, a 3.85-89, so we pretty much got it. Today is going to be a whole different ballgame, though.”

Lagana is in the quick half of the field with his 3.886 (No. 7, to be exact), and it’s unlikely he’ll get bumped back much, if at all, given the hot weather conditions expected Saturday. That won’t stop the team from working on the tune-up, particularly as it related to its numbers in the early part of the race track. 

“On this kind of track, it’s better to be slow than fast because if you’re too fast you’re going to miss it,” said Lagana. “We’re picking at it a little bit and we’re just trying to dial in our hot weather tune-up.”

Lagana’s CatSpot dragster is averaging a 3.88 elapsed time with four successful runs under their belt. That’s nothing to get excited about yet, but the numbers the dragster puts up in the last segment of the race track is a good start. If nothing else, Lagana is gaining confidence driving at multiple events in a row – that can only be bad news for the rest of the class. 

“It’s tough when you’re out of the seat for a while,” said Lagana. “I always try to cut a good light in qualifying and eliminations, you know? It’s nice when you’re not just driving once a month; not just for driving but also for tuning when you just ran last week you’re more in tune with the car than if you had the whole winter off or something.”

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hagan2_0.jpgMatt Hagan remembers seeing his first nitro car. It was at Bristol Dragway in the mid-1990s. 

“I remember I was like, ‘What the hell was that?’ It numbed my whole body; it was intense,” he recalled. “So, to be able to grow up here and to race here is definitely special to me.”

Even more special was the time that he left Bristol Dragway with the Wally trophy after beating Ron Capps in the 2015 final.

“This is one of the most special races I’ve ever won,” he proclaims. “ I wanted to win it for a long time because this is my hometown event [Hagan lives in Christianburg, Va., just two hours away]. People talk about winning Indy and how big and great it is, but broke down and cried like a little girl when I won here because it was Father’s Day and I had my kids here, my dad here, my family here. It’s definitely a trophy you put on the mantle and look back and remember how special it was..”

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capps2.jpgRon Capps loves the history of our sport, so a trip to Bristol Dragway, which began hosting NHRA national events back in 1965, is always eager to return to “Thunder Valley.”

“It has history, it’s got ghosts, it’s got all the cool stuff that made it what it was,” he said. “Growing up I read all about this place. The history of this track goes way back, and to drive for ‘the Snake’ [Don Prudhomme] and Don Schumacher and have crew chiefs like Roland Leong and ‘Ace’ [Ed McCulloch], and Rahn Tobler, I’ve been blessed to have been surrounded by these heroes and to hear these stories, this folklore that you’ve read about and to sit around and have a beer with them and hear the real, unedited stories.

“I always say that I feel that I was born 18 or 19 years too late because I think I would have fit right in match racing three or four times a week. Sometimes have dreams that I’m back in those times, match racing ‘Jungle Jim’ [Liberman]. I love the history; it just gives me good mojo.”

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NHRA’s new track prep has caused some issues, especially among the sport’s higher-powered cars, and that certainly includes the Auto Club Chevy of Robert Hight and crew chief Jimmy Prock, who broke e.t. and speed records everywhere last year. They have just one victory this year, two weeks ago in Chicago, and sit third in points, but a massive 191 points behind his teammate, Courtney Force, who has won four times this season.

“The biggest problem we seem to be having on Sundays is getting a good read on the track prep,” he said. “We have two guys who take readings along the track before the first round of Top Fuel, but we’ve found that by the time all of the dragsters run and the time and pair that we run in Funny Car can be 20-30 minutes, and the track has changed from all the cars running ahead of us. Before this season it wasn’t really an issue for us but we’ve found it to be pretty tricky this year. The spray just seems to go away because it has alcohol in it, and it just seems to break down before we run. Plus, every track is different, with their own personalities. I think all of that needs to be considered with how we prep the track.

The team had hoped to stay and test at Virginia Motorsports Park after last weekend’s event, but rain scotched those plans

Hight has won before at Bristol Dragway, on Father’s Day weekend in 2011 outrunning Ron Capps, Mike Neff, Jeff Arend and Jack Beckman for the win. That day he raced to victory as the No. 6 qualifier. Surprisingly, Hight has never qualified No. 1 at Bristol Dragway but has started race day from one of the top four spots four times since 2005.

During the race weekend Hight is hosting Pitmaster Malcolm Reed who stars in a popular YouTube series called “How to BBQ Right.” Reed is barbecuing for the Auto Club team and Hight’s personal guests. Hight’s not bad around the grill either, regularly feeding family and friends with his Traeger grill.

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Tanner Gray owns a pair of 2018 Pro Stock Wallys, but the Gray Motorsports / Valvoline team still sees plenty of room for improvement in its Chevy Camaro. The second-year racer averages an elapsed time of 6.594 seconds, just a couple tics better than the class average (6.596). That’s a full .015 second behind class leader Greg Anderson, which makes a big difference in the doorslamming category.  

“You can pick up everywhere, you just have to be aggressive but consistent with it,” said Gray. “I feel like we had a really good car last week, but we have to be aggressive first round. We were soft first round (in Richmond), aggressive second round, soft in the semi’s and aggressive in the final. I feel like we need to be aggressive every single time and keep lane choice.”

While Gray has made a name for himself by winning on holeshots thanks to his stellar reaction times, those won’t help score lane choice for the following round. Gray picked up a bit of speed on the competition a week ago, averaging better than 209 mph (compared to a 208-mph average). That stands close to his season average of 209.12 compared to the 208.87 mph Pro Stock average speed. 

“We just need to be in a good position going into the Countdown, so we can race and be more aggressive,” said Gray. “It always seems like things get tougher once we get there.” 

Gray struggled after winning the Countdown to the Championship opener in 2017. He entered the playoffs in second place but was out of the running by the time racing began at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona. That’s a learning experience he hopes to put to good use. 

“I feel like that was a new experience for me and (crew chief Dave Connolly),” he said. “He drove and had a little to do with tuning when he drove, but this put a new pressure on him, too. Going into the Countdown with a kid who has just started that year and both of us were making mistakes here and there. I just think he has some pressure because he might have to pick up where I’m lacking some weekends and going into the Countdown you don’t want any of that.”

Sitting in third place with a pair of Wallys with eight races to go until the Countdown begins, it seems the Gray Motorsports team is on the right path. 

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Greg Anderson and the Summit Racing team figured something out better than anyone else last night. That’s not just evidenced by him entering Sunday in the No. position (though, yeah, that helps), a deeper dig into the numbers reveals how well his Camaro managed the first 60 feet of the race track. The first session of Pro Stock was filled with some of the worst 60-foot numbers of the season as teams were cautious with their initial setup. 

That changed in the second session, at least for some teams. While a handful of cars made a move into the .98s (an average 60-foot time in Pro Stock is .997), nobody did better than Anderson. His .981 not only bested the field, it stood out as a high-water mark against his own average (.987). Teams were understandably conservative given the conditions, but Anderson and company proved there’s more in the track (at least early). 

“This track just provides a different challenge than what we’re used to,” said Anderson. “That’s not a bad thing, it’s just a new challenge and that’s kind of how we want to look at it. We tested here a couple of weeks ago and worked on our suspension.”

That suspension comes in handy down track more than it does at the starting lines. Nobody posted killer incrementals outside of the 60-foot block, but Anderson led the field down the strip as he has for most of the season. The conditions will only be hotter on Saturday and won’t change much on Sunday, so if there’s one thing working in the Summit team’s favor it’s that they’re already ahead of a curve that won’t change much. 

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Chris McGaha started the season as one of the best cars in the Pro Stock paddock, but the Texan struggled entering the Virginia NHRA Nationals. McGaha got closer to where he wants to be in Richmond. He reached the semifinals in his Harlow-Sammons Chevy Camaro and fell to Erica Enders, but made progress. 

“We did suck at the last two races before Richmond, just stunk it up in both Topeka and Chicago,” said McGaha. “We actually stunk it up during the first round of qualifying in Richmond, too. We made so many changes that we eventually had to stop and think about how we had changed so we could change it back.”

Two places you don’t want to get lost: the woods near Burkitsville, Maryland and when you’re tuning a Pro Stock engine. The good news for McGaha, who slipped to sixth place in points after leaving the fourth race of the season in second, is the horsepower he’s funneling into his machine is a quick way back to the right path. 

“We blame (our problems) on this track prep, but whether or not it really is we have to overcome it,” said McGaha. “So, we have been blaming it on that, but either way we’ve been struggling there up to the 330 mark and through the middle. I think what happened is that we weren’t running good there, so we started working on other stuff to get it to run good there and I think we got our car so assed up that we struggled getting down the race track.”

The team left everything the same after Richmond and sits 10th on the qualifying sheet after the first day of action with a 6.721 and a 6.706 to their name. That’s just .003 second away from getting into the quick half of the field, so it looks like McGaha is back on the right track.

PHOTOS

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There are few tracks on the tour as scenic as "Thunder Valley," Bristol Dragway.

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The pits at Bristol Dragway are packed with fans checking out the action as teams prepare for their runs.

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Friday’s Funny car low qualifier Courtney Force and her Advance Auto crew drew a crowd as they unloaded their Camaro.

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In addition to all of the Mello Yello Series action, fans are also getting a look at a lot of the Sportsman cars from the NHRA Lucas Oil Series.

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Former Pro Stock drivers Allen Johnson (above) and Mark Pawuk (below) are among those taking part in the SAM Tech NHRA Factory Showdown at this event.
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“Papa John” Schnatter, near lane, took the first round of his charity challenge race with Antron Brown, which benefits the Infinite Hero foundation.

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NHRA’s Alan Reinhart was joined by Top Fuel low qualifier Clay Millican to teach some fuel-racing basics to fans during the popular Nitro School session in the pits.

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Don Schumacher and his Army-backed drivers – Tony Schumacher, Antron Brown, and Leah Pritchett – join with officials from the Army and NHRA for a cake cutting to celebrate the Army’s 243rd birthday.

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As part of the celebration, the U.S. Army's Golden Knights parachute team sky-dived into the facility, finishing with pinpoint landings on the side of the track.

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Steve Torrence, J.R. Todd, and Bo Butner greeted fans at the traditional Mello Yello autograph session in the pits.

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Three-time Top Fuel champ Shirley Muldowney also signed autographs as part of the NHRA Legends Tour that peaks at next year’s 50th anniversary Gatornationals.

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Pro Stock racer Tommy Lee ended up in the catch net after a parachute failure. The car briefly caught fire but the NHRA Safety Safari presented by AAA was quickly on the scene.

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Pro Stock pilot Vincent Nobile performed a long, smoky burnout in front of the packed Bristol stands.

PREVIEW

Perhaps no racer other than Courtney Force and the Advance Auto Parts team left Bristol Dragway completely satisfied after the first day of qualifying at the Fitzgerald USA NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals. The first session presented a bevy of challenges: Heat, a tricky track and a dash of humidity to throw teams for a loop. Some managed the track better than others. 

C_Millican.JPGLike Clay Millican, who enters Bristol Dragway as a defending event champion for the first time in his long career. The 3.817 put down by the Strutmasters / Great Clips car didn’t impress Millican much, and while it’s possible it holds through another hot day of qualifying, there are tune-up improvements to be made. That may be the story of qualifying on Saturday: Tuning improvements that don’t always show up in the elapsed time that pops up on the board. 

C_Force.JPGCourtney Force made the only 3-second run of the day, a 3.993 blast that wowed the crowd at Bristol Dragway if for no other reason than it was so much better than anything before it. J.R. Todd made a solid 4.072 pull, but that was blown out of the water once the Advance Auto Parts Chevy Camaro drove through the lights. Force continues to be the class of the Funny Car category, and it’s up to everyone else to catch up. 

G_Anderson.JPGThat’s equally true in Pro Stock as Greg Anderson made a domineering 6.674-second pass, nearly a hundredth better than Jeg Coughlin Jr.’s pull. There’s still more in the track, but the Summit team has figured out how to 60-foot the race track, evidenced by a .981 (below the team’s average of .988) that helped Anderson to the top of the field. Drew Skillman and Tanner Gray both made great power in the second session and posted the other two 6.80s on Saturday.