AREND AGAIN COMES THROUGH ON LAST SHOT, SECURING 16th POSITION
Jeff Arend drove the blue Checker, Schuck's, Kragen Chevy to a couple of good laps before the final qualifying session rolled around here in Phoenix. A pair of 4.95s were on the board for Arend, with neither being spectacular and both coming from a totally different directions. Heading into session four, Arend was 14th on the list, but an all-star lineup of big time teams made up most of the rest of the sheet, and Arend knew the odds were enormous he'd be below the cut-line by the time he ran.
Not only was he outside the field when we approached the starting line, he was also well aware that teammate Del Worsham had just DNQ'd for the second consecutive race, and Arend knew the awful concept of seeing both CSK cars miss the Checker, Schuck's, Kragen Nationals was as close as a missed tune-up call, a bobble, a leak, or a swerve. The pressure was squarely and seriously on.
"Pomona was bad, in terms of pressure, but this set the bar at an all-time high for me," Arend said. "Knowing what had happened right in front of us, with Del making a good lap but not quite good enough, I also knew we were outside the field ourselves and we had to put a great lap on the board to get in. The thought of both of us missing the show here was like a block of lead sitting on my shoulders in there. It was kind of hard to breathe.
"But, my guys gave me a lap I could work with, which was quite an accomplishment out there, and I just focused on the finish line and got it there. I was still nervous until I heard the time. It's just terrible that Del missed the field here, and everyone on this team feels for him, the red team, and everyone at CSK. We're going to do everything we can to make Sunday a good day."
