INDIANAPOLIS (Aug. 31) - Already confident in his initial qualifying times posted, Pro Stock driver Shane Tucker bested his overall pass to put himself in contention for a successful finish at the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Raceway.
After making substantial improvements from the first two days of qualifying, the Auzmet Chevrolet Camaro put down its best pass of 6.637 seconds at 207.53 mph while dodging rain drops early on in the fourth session. Capturing the No. 14 spot, Tucker will set his sights on turning on the win lights in round one over No. 3 qualifier Shane Gray.
"I had a lot of confidence yesterday afternoon with three rounds of qualifying under our belts," Tucker said. "I really thought that we could make some good progress today in the final two sessions and I think we accomplished that."
With the majority of the Pro Stock field separated by only a few hundredths of a second, Tucker knows that the key to being successful during Monday's final eliminations will be determined by those who can keep up with the changing track and weather conditions throughout the day.
"We need to be smart on how we approach this race tomorrow," Tucker said. "We need to focus on racing the racetrack throughout the rounds. These cars are just so unpredictable to begin with. Adding in the way the weather conditions constantly changed today made it even more difficult to predict.
"On top of that, I need to be on my game and be absolutely perfect. If we can get that combination right, I think we can go rounds and hopefully be at the podium come tomorrow afternoon."
Tucker will look to post a solid finish when eliminations start at approximately noon, Monday. Final elimination action will be broadcast live on ESPN2.
