Compiled by Ian Tocher
Photos by Chris Haverly
5/2/06
he NHRA’s best made their annual visit to Bristol Dragway Apr. 28-30, for the 6th annual O'Reilly Thunder Valley Nationals presented by Q, with Doug Kalitta returning to the winner’s circle in Top Fuel, Ron Capps scoring his third Funny Car win this season, and Jason Line becoming the sixth different driver to win in the six races held so far in Pro Stock. And as usual, the competitors told the whole story in quotes taken from NHRA and team press releases.
"Boy, we needed that one.”— Doug Kalitta on winning for the first time since the Brainerd event last August
"Cory was able to get out of the car on his own. He was alert. He knew what happened and he was talking to the crew about getting our back-up chassis ready for Saturday."— Andy Carrier, co-team owner for Cory McClenathan after he suffered a violent top-end crash during Friday night’s qualifying session
"You go from one standpoint where you're on all four (wheels) and looking at the front of the car to where you're looking straight down at the front of the car. At that point you realize you are in trouble."— Cory Mac, the next day, on what happened as his dragster's top chassis frame rail broke behind him, allowing the car to fold upward in a V-shape before crashing
"Contrary to what I've seen and read, I did not lose control of that race car. I want to make sure everybody knows that. I've been doing this too long. I know when to shut off the race car."— McClenathan again, taking issue with reports he lost control of the car before it broke
"I was worried about Cory and we all hoped that he was okay. When the report came back that he was conscious and alert we were all very relieved. I then returned my focus to the upcoming run, reminding myself that I do this because I love it and there is no room for fear. You can't be scared of driving this car because then the car will drive you."— Hillary Will on being half of the next pair down the track after McClenathan’s accident
"I had to pedal it twice to get down the track which made the run real exciting.”— Tony Schumacher on his Friday night qualifying pass
"I got on the brakes pretty hard down there. I probably inadvertently caused it to bounce a little more than it normally would have. I hadn't done any welding in a while, so it was a good chance for me to get back in practice and to help my guys fix what I probably caused in the first place."— Doug Kalitta, an accomplished welder, on helping to fix his car’s chassis after it scraped the Bristol asphalt in the shutdown area