Phil Burkart's Great 2006 NHRA POWERade Start Hits a Snag in Las Vegas
- Apr 10, 2006
For the first time this year blue Checker, Schuck’s, Kragen driver Phil Burkart
found his day to be over after the first round, at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
K&N Filter on Team Worsham Car
Burkart had a great start to the 2006 NHRA POWERade season, going 6-4 at
the first four races to get the No. 4 spot in points, prior to the weekend at
“The Strip” in Las Vegas. Phil Burkart and his blue CSK Funny Car team use K&N
Engineering oil filters (HP-5001)
every time they race.
On Friday night, Burkart secured a position in the top half of the field with a 4.773 which was good enough for the No. 7 spot on Sunday. This was the second consecutive No. 7 position for the CSK driver.
“We were about where we wanted to be for race day,” said Burkart. “We were pretty aggressive on Saturday, after the nice run on Friday night, and the last run was actually so aggressive we almost did a wheelstand out there. Still, the car was reacting to what (co-crew chiefs) Chris Cunningham and Marc Denner were telling it, so we felt pretty good about our chances on Sunday. The hard part to take was the fact we qualified in the top half, but we still had Whit Bazemore to run on Sunday. That’s a good team over there, and they’d had a rough start to the season. You never like to face teams like that, because you know the odds are building up that they’ll have to whip someone soon.”
Burkart's CSK Funny Car Photo Courtey of delworsham.com
Burkart jumped out to a very slight edge at the start as both drivers
nailed the tree with very respectable numbers, and was ahead at 60-feet. Race
tracks are 1,320 feet long, however, and this race was over just past that first
timer at the 60-foot mark. Burkart’s car first started to rattle the tires, next
they shook. He pedaled the car quickly but it almost immediately smoked the
tires, while Bazemore’s car tore down the track to a strong 4.833.
“It’s easy to get mad because we smoked the tires, but you have to give them credit for the 4.83. That was a great run, and they did it without any trouble. We gave ourselves the trouble, but even if we had gone down there it would have been tight,” said Burkart. “A 4.83 was a great run, and it was what we were aiming for, so it would’ve been a very tight race down there. Would’ve been, could’ve been, should’ve been, whatever. It wasn’t, and we got to taste a first round loss for the first time this year. It didn’t taste very good.
Burkart and the CSK team get another shot in three weeks, when the NHRA tour heads to the Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee.
Follow Phil Burkart's progress throughout the racing season at the K&N news site. Find K&N products for your vehicle using the K&N application search then use the K&N dealer search to find a K&N dealer in your part of the world.
K&N Filter on Team Worsham Car
On Friday night, Burkart secured a position in the top half of the field with a 4.773 which was good enough for the No. 7 spot on Sunday. This was the second consecutive No. 7 position for the CSK driver.
“We were about where we wanted to be for race day,” said Burkart. “We were pretty aggressive on Saturday, after the nice run on Friday night, and the last run was actually so aggressive we almost did a wheelstand out there. Still, the car was reacting to what (co-crew chiefs) Chris Cunningham and Marc Denner were telling it, so we felt pretty good about our chances on Sunday. The hard part to take was the fact we qualified in the top half, but we still had Whit Bazemore to run on Sunday. That’s a good team over there, and they’d had a rough start to the season. You never like to face teams like that, because you know the odds are building up that they’ll have to whip someone soon.”
Burkart's CSK Funny Car Photo Courtey of delworsham.com
“It’s easy to get mad because we smoked the tires, but you have to give them credit for the 4.83. That was a great run, and they did it without any trouble. We gave ourselves the trouble, but even if we had gone down there it would have been tight,” said Burkart. “A 4.83 was a great run, and it was what we were aiming for, so it would’ve been a very tight race down there. Would’ve been, could’ve been, should’ve been, whatever. It wasn’t, and we got to taste a first round loss for the first time this year. It didn’t taste very good.
Burkart and the CSK team get another shot in three weeks, when the NHRA tour heads to the Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee.
Follow Phil Burkart's progress throughout the racing season at the K&N news site. Find K&N products for your vehicle using the K&N application search then use the K&N dealer search to find a K&N dealer in your part of the world.
