Harker Looking to Finish Strong in Virginia

Aussie NHRA Top Alcohol Funny Car racer Steve Harker will be looking to finish the year out strong with a win at this weekend's Torco Race Fuels Nationals at Virginia Motorsports Park just outside of Richmond. Harker enters the event hot off of a No. 1 qualifying effort in Dallas two weeks ago and a semifinal finish at last weekend's Division 2 event in Atlanta.

Harker, originally of Brisbane, Aus., but now calls Gainesville, Ga., home, enters the event seventh in national standings. Despite the fact he can't claim points from this event due to already competing at eight races this year (Top Alcohol Funny Car competitors claim national points from the best five out of the first eight national events they attend), Harker still wants to pick up a win for the year.

"We've ran well all year," said Harker. "We can't gain any points this weekend, but we'd like to get a win on the year. The air should be pretty good, so it should be fast this weekend. We're still learning how to handle the horsepower this new blower is making, so the goal is to get more data this weekend, have a good time and make a good showing."

Harker's last and only national event win came in 2001 in Bristol, Tenn. This year, Harker has made the finals twice, at Atlanta and Chicago, with one win on the divisional level.

"We shook the tires pretty hard last weekend when we lost in the semifinals," Harker explained. "We're just learning how to compensate for different track conditions with this new blower and injector. The changes we used to make just aren't enough. It looks like it will be cool all weekend, so we probably won't see those kinds of conditions this weekend."

Qualifying begins on Friday for the alcohol cars, with one final qualifying shot Saturday morning. Eliminations begin Saturday afternoon, with final eliminations concluding the event on Sunday.

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