<img src="http://www.nitromater.com/gallery/files/5/j_arend07_343561.jpg" alt="j_arend07_343561" align="left"borders="0"/>
Jeff Arend was a bit of a copy-cat during session No. 1 here at Brainerd, smoking the tires just short of half-track, exactly like the vast majority of the Funny Car class did during their first attempt. Coasting across the finish line with a 6.355, Arend still found himself in the No. 12 spot after one lap, but he and his crew were fully aware they'd need a full A-to-B effort in Q2, if they wanted to stay in the top 16. They did just that, powering to a 4.938, which was good enough for the final slot in the top half of the field. Arend sits 8th, with two sessions to go on Saturday.
"That first session was just pretty much of a mess, except for a handful of teams that figured out a way to get down there," Arend said.
"We knew we had to come back and we had to count on the track being better in Q2, because you couldn't just push the timing out and back it down like it was still Q1. You had to be confident the track would coming around a little, and it did just that. To go out there and put a nice 4.93 on the scoreboard was very good, for all of us.
"We'll just have to see what the weatherman gives us tomorrow. If it's like today, and I heard someone say it might even be hotter, well it's going to be really hard to even improve on a 4.93. The truth is, in this sport, you can only take what the track will give you. If it's as hot and humid as this again, the track isn't going to give us much."
AREND BOUNCES BACK IN SECOND SESSION, VAULTS TO No. 8 SPOT
Jeff Arend was a bit of a copy-cat during session No. 1 here at Brainerd, smoking the tires just short of half-track, exactly like the vast majority of the Funny Car class did during their first attempt. Coasting across the finish line with a 6.355, Arend still found himself in the No. 12 spot after one lap, but he and his crew were fully aware they'd need a full A-to-B effort in Q2, if they wanted to stay in the top 16. They did just that, powering to a 4.938, which was good enough for the final slot in the top half of the field. Arend sits 8th, with two sessions to go on Saturday.
"That first session was just pretty much of a mess, except for a handful of teams that figured out a way to get down there," Arend said.
"We knew we had to come back and we had to count on the track being better in Q2, because you couldn't just push the timing out and back it down like it was still Q1. You had to be confident the track would coming around a little, and it did just that. To go out there and put a nice 4.93 on the scoreboard was very good, for all of us.
"We'll just have to see what the weatherman gives us tomorrow. If it's like today, and I heard someone say it might even be hotter, well it's going to be really hard to even improve on a 4.93. The truth is, in this sport, you can only take what the track will give you. If it's as hot and humid as this again, the track isn't going to give us much."
