AREND HOLDS ONTO 15th IN COMPETITIVE FIELD

Jeff Arend drove his Checker, Schuck's, Kragen Monte Carlo to a solid 4.915 in the afternoon sunshine here in Las Vegas, which was good enough for the No. 4 spot after one session, but then failed to complete the quarter-mile under power in the nightcap, ending up 15th on the chart. Notables including Tony Pedregon, Jim Head, Gary Densham, and Jerry Toliver are all below the cut-line going into Saturday's final two sessions.

"The first run was great, right there at the top of the sheet compared to everyone else," Arend said. "We knew the night session would be the key thing, and it was really running great. Put it this way, we were ahead of our teammate Del Worsham's numbers to half-track, but the car started moving around down there at the top end, until it finally spun the tires. The schedule for tomorrow is two afternoon runs, but if we have any delays at all, we might be getting late in the day on the second one. Even if it's 80 degrees and the sun is on the track, I know we can improve on the 4.91, so that's what we'll do. We might not have a chance to bust into the top half of the field if the temperature goes up and the sun is out, but I'm confident we'll be in the show and that's what you have to do if you want to win."