ROOKIE CARLSON STRUGGLES IN SEATTLE QUALIFYING

Seattle, Saturday - NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series Pro Stock rookie Shaun Carlson was sure he would qualify the Team Mopar/SRT Dodge Stratus R/T to race in this Sunday's Schuck's Auto Supply NHRA Nationals at Pacific Raceways, but a tough third qualifying session foiled his chances of entering the elite 16-car Pro Stock field.

Carlson was on a solid run when the problems occurred. "The 60-ft. increment) was good (12th quickest of the session), but just as I was shifting into second gear the rpm ramped up and it was over. I tried to go through the gears to get by it, but it was too late," he said of his 8.389-second pass at 119.35 mph.

"I knew the run was over when I pulled second gear, but at that point your adrenaline is running so much, you don't want to believe it. That was really the session to get in, and we missed it," he said of the round in which 14 of the 16 qualifiers ran their weekend-best elapsed times.

Carlson's best ET for the weekend came Friday evening, when he posted a6.791-second pass at 203.77 mph. His other two runs were a 6.845/203.06and a 6.800/203.61.

"I know that David Nickens (crew chief/engine builder), Terry Adams (co-crew chief), and Mike Sullivan (clutch specialist) really threw everything at it this weekend. I feel bad that we weren't able to get into the show."

Next up for Carlson is the Fram-Autolite NHRA Nationals at Infineon Raceway (Sonoma, Calif., July 28-30).