RUSSELL, T. PEDREGON AND KRISHER LEAD TESTING FOR MAC TOOLS U.S. NATIONALS

       
        CLERMONT, Ind. - Darrell Russell recorded the quickest Top Fuel pass Tuesday, the opening day of testing for the 48^th annual Mac Tools U.S. Nationals at Indianapolis Raceway Park, Aug. 28-Sept. 2. The $2.2 million race is the 17^th of 23 events in the $50 million NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series.

Russell, the 2001 NHRA Rookie of the Year, powered his Bilstein Engine Flush dragster down the quarter-mile track in 4.656 seconds at 316.78 mph for the day's best performance.

"It was definitely a good run," said Russell. Our car has had a problem of dropping cylinders near the end of the track. The car is leaving well, but when we pass the 330-foot mark, we have struggled a little bit. (Crew chief) Wayne (Dupuy) has been trying some things to get the speed up, and it seemed to work on that run. We'll definitely put that in our books and use it for next week at the U.S. Nationals."

Tony Schumacher, the 1999 Top Fuel champion, made a night run in the U.S. Army dragster and turned in the second best performance of the day, a 4.663 pass at 301.30. Current POWERade points leader Larry Dixon recorded the third-quickest Top Fuel run of the day when he blasted his Miller Lite dragster down the track in 4.680 at 272.97, despite shutting his dragster off at the 1000-foot mark.

        Tony Pedregon led the Funny Car category as his Castrol Syntec Ford Mustang sped the distance of the track in 4.836 at 310.34.

        "I think that definitely put us in the right direction, especially if we have these conditions for the Friday session next week," said Pedregon. "The whole idea for us is to become familiar with the conditions out here, but we were also trying some things with our clutch and in some other areas that we can improve on. If we can get the car to the finish line, it's going to put up an impressive number."

Scotty Cannon recorded the second-best time for Funny Cars when he clocked a 4.841 at 314.46 in his Oakley Pontiac Firebird. Cannon was followed by teammate and defending event winner Whit Bazemore (4.854 at 313.47) and Funny Car champion John Force (4.859 309.38).

        Ron Krisher clocked the best performance in Pro Stock, driving his Eagle One Chevy Cavalier to a pass of 6.862 at 200.53, which is quicker than the existing track record. Warren Johnson (6.864), Kenny Koretsky (6.864), Jim Yates (6.870) and V. Gaines (6.875) also ran quicker than the existing track record on the first day of testing. Johnson was the only driver to run faster than the track record when he clocked a speed of 200.75.

CLERMONT, Ind. - Tuesday's test results for the 48^th annual Mac Tools U.S. Nationals at Indianapolis Raceway Park. The following shows each driver's best elapsed time and speed.  Testing continues Wednesday.

DRIVER / TEAM                                           E.T. / SPEED

TOP FUEL
Darrell Russell, Bilstein Engine Flush Dragster         4.656/ 316.78
Tony Schumacher, U.S. Army Dragster                     4.663 / 301.30
Larry Dixon, Miller Lite Dragster                               4.680 / 272.97
Paul Romine, CarQuest dragster                          4.952 / 222.11

FUNNY CAR
Tony Pedregon, Castrol Syntec Mustang                   4.836 / 310.34
Scotty Cannon, Oakley Firebird                          4.841 / 314.46
Whit Bazemore, Matco Tools Firebird                     4.854 / 313.47
John Force, Castrol GTX Ford Mustang                    4.859 / 309.38
Tommy Johnson Jr., Skoal Camaro                 4.896 / 308.95
Gary Densham, Castrol/Auto Club Mustang         4.953 / 279.41
Dean Skuza, Mopar Parts Stratus R/T                     5.007 / 299.60
Johnny Gray, Checker Schuck's Kragen Firebird           5.015 / 264.00
Cruz Pedregon, Advance Auto Parts Firebird              5.067 / 267.93
Del Worsham, Checker Schuck's Kragen Firebird   5.072 / 232.55
Ron Capps, Skoal Camaro                                 5.281 / 207.42

PRO STOCK
Ron Krisher, Eagle One Chevy Cavalier                   6.862* / 200.66
Warren Johnson, GM Goodwrench Grand Am          6.864* / 200.75*
Kenny Koretsky, Koretsky Racing Grand Am                6.864* / 199.86
Jim Yates, Splitfire/Peak Grand Am                      6.870* / 200.04
V. Gaines, Western Motorsports Cavalier                 6.875* / 200.66
Mike Edwards, Younglife Chevy Cavalier                  6.883 / 199.37
Tom Martino, Jesel Motorsports Grand Am         6.884 / 200.49
Mark Pawuk, Summit Racing Grand Am                      6.884 / 198.98
Greg Anderson, Vegas Construction Cavalier              6.887 / 200.62
Kurt Johnson, ACDelco Chevy Cavalier                    6.888 / 200.22
Allen Johnson, Johnson Racing Dodge Neon R/T    6.889 / 199.73
John Nobile, Nobile Trucking Cutlass                    6.900 / 199.02
Tom Hammonds, Winnebago Chevy Cavalier          6.902 / 199.86
Tom Lee, Johnson Racing Dodge Neon R/T          6.914 / 199.33
Greg Stanfield, Stanfield Racing Neon R/T               6.920 / 198.63
George Marnell, Matco Tools Pontiac Grand Am            6.921 / 198.71
Robert Patrick, Pervis Racing Ford Probe                6.922 / 198.45
Mark Osborne, Osborne Racing Grand Am           6.937 / 198.93
Arturo Delgado, Delgado Motorsports Cavalier            6.958 / 197.84
Mark Whisnant RW Performance Cavalier           6.978 / 197.49
Randy Daniels, Bailey's Trucking Grand Am               6.978 / 195.95
Don Smith, Smith Racing Cavalier                                7.030 / 196.20
Jim Bernard, Bernard Racing Cavalier                    7.069 / 194.76
Mark Weinle, Weinle Motorsports Cavalier                7.151 / 193.00

* -- Denotes performance better than the current track record for that category.