Rain Curtails U.S. Nationals Qualifying, Eliminations Set for Monday  

Event:  58th annual Mac Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals

Location: Lucas Oil Raceway, Clermont, Ind.

Day/Date: Sunday, September 2, 2012

Constant rain which pelted Lucas Oil Raceway throughout the day on Sunday forced NHRA officials to cancel the final day of qualifying at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis, Ind. The fields for Monday’s final eliminations will be set based on the two qualifying sessions held on Friday and Saturday, starting with the first round of Top Fuel at 11:00 a.m. (ET).  

Although defending U.S. Nationals champion Greg Anderson would naturally have preferred to have a couple more attempts at the tricky Indy track in his Summit Racing Camaro, starting from the fifth position based on his 6.655-second, 208.17 mph run from Friday, he is cautiously optimistic that his team will have the right answers in place by tomorrow’s opening round.

“We were hoping to get at least one run in today, but the weather just did not allow it, so we’ll probably have to make a few calculated guesses with the tune-up heading into the first round,” said Anderson. “Still, we have gained a lot of ground with these Summit Racing Camaros over the last few weeks, and I am confident my guys will come up with the right combination to help put us in contention for the win.

“Although today’s events were certainly out of everyone’s control, I still feel bad for the fans who came out today.  We did get to spend some time with them in the pits during the rain delay, but it would have been nice to show them something on the race track.  Hopefully they will be back tomorrow and get to see some great drag racing.”

It was a similar story for Summit Racing teammate Jason Line, who earned the fourth starting position with his opening 6.646-second, 208.52 mph pass.

“You always want to get as much track time as you can, but today that just wasn’t possible,” said Line.  “For the second straight day the pits were filled with die-hard fans who just wanted to see us race, and I’m sorry we weren’t able to do so, but Mother Nature was in the driver’s seat.

“I feel good about our chances for tomorrow.  We seem to be headed in the right direction with my Summit Racing Camaro, and as long as the weather cooperates, I think we’ll be in contention.  It certainly won’t be easy, and we have absolutely no room for error, but we’re looking for a long day of racing on Monday.”