It’s Back to the Future for Lee

Nine months ago this week Funny Car driver Paul Lee was preparing to climb into the CANIDAE Pet Foods/Lucas Oil/WileyX/Kymco Chevy for the first time in competition as his new team, Jim Dunn Racing, prepared for the 50th annual NHRA Winternationals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona.  Fast forward those nine months to the same quarter-mile facility and the season opener becomes the season finale as the NHRA Full Throttle Series makes its 23rd and final stop of the season for this weekend’s 46th annual Auto Club NHRA Finals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona.

With a degree from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton Business School and two graduate degrees from Rutgers, one can see that the 53-year-old Lee is not your typical drag racer.  The start of this season marked the first opportunity for the veteran Top Alcohol Funny Car driver to drive a Top Fuel Funny Car full time after select NHRA Full Throttle Series stops over the years (10 races prior to the 2010 season including the U.S. Nationals)... (read more)

TWO LIVE CANIDAE RACING RACING BLOGS THIS WEEKEND!
Both NHRA Race Fans and Offroad Fans can catch all the action live as it happens throughout the weekend. While the CANIDAE Jimm Dunn sends in live reports and pictures from Pomona, the CANIDAE Racing Trophy Truck team begins live blogging their adventures in Mexico as preparations for the Baja 1000 continue. Log in to view reports and photos from both teams . . .  Don’t miss a second of the action!

Lee Looks for Streak of Strong Runs to Continue at Charlotte

After a quarterfinals showing two weeks ago at the NHRA Full Throttle Series’ biggest race of the year, the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis, Paul Lee is confident the Jim Dunn Racing team will continue its late-season surge at this weekend’s third annual O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Nationals at zMAX Dragway.  The New Jersey native has actually driven the CANIDAE Pet Foods/Lucas Oil/WileyX Chevy to back-to-back quarterfinals (Brainerd, Indy) and sees no reason that trend can’t continue in Charlotte.

LIVE BLOGGING ANNOUNCEMENT: NHRA race fans can catch all the action live as it happens from zMAX Dragway by visiting www.CanidaeRacing.com to follow the CANIDAE Pet Foods/Lucas Oil/WileyX Funny Car throughout qualifying and eliminations.  Log in to view reports and photos direct from the Jim Dunn crew and driver Paul Lee . . .  Don’t miss a second of the action!

“That was by far the best U.S. Nationals I’ve ever been a part of,” Lee said.  “I had a career-best run in qualifying on Saturday and then bettered that in our first-round win over Robert (Hight).  Not only did the CANIDAE car perform well on the track, but the weather was almost perfect and the crowds were great.  It was just an awesome weekend.” (read more)

Dunn Racing Looking for Lightning to Strike Twice at Seattle

This weekend’s 23rd annual NHRA Northwest Nationals at Pacific Raceways on the outskirts of Seattle stirs up fond memories for the Jim Dunn Racing team and team owner/crew chief “Big Jim” Dunn as the NHRA Full Throttle Series prepares for its three-race Western Swing. It was at this race in 2008 that the Dunn-tuned CANIDAE Pet Foods Funny Car gave its sponsor its first win in the series and presented driver Tony Bartone with his first Professional victory in the Funny Car class.

LIVE BLOGGING ANNOUNCEMENT: NHRA race fans can catch all the action live as it happens from Pacific Raceways by visiting www.CanidaeRacing.com to follow the CANIDAE Pet Foods/Lucas Oil/WileyX Funny Car throughout qualifying and eliminations. Log in to view reports and photos direct from the Jim Dunn crew and driver Paul Lee . . . Don’t miss a second of the action!

“That was cool to get Tony his first win,” said Dunn. “It wasn’t as good as me getting one, but I was glad to get one for him (laughs). Tony had worked hard for it.”

Fast-forward to 2010 and the California-based Funny Car team with first-year driver Paul Lee is coming off a quarterfinals appearance two weeks ago at Norwalk (Ohio) and would welcome a return trip to the Pacific Raceways winner’s circle... (read more)

Another Week, Another Race for Lee and NHRA Full Throttle Series

In the midst of its longest continuous stretch of racing this season, the NHRA Full Throttle Series sets its sights on the hills of Tennessee for this weekend’s 10th annual NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway, the third of four consecutive race weekends for the straight-line series. Funny Car driver Paul Lee doesn’t seem to mind getting behind the wheel of the CANIDAE/Lucas Oil/WileyX for a race every weekend in June, especially when one of them was the just-completed NHRA SuperNationals at his home track in Englishtown, N.J. Now the New Jersey-born Lee and his Jim Dunn Racing teammates are geared up for the Bruton Smith-owned quarter-mile in “Thunder Valley.”

LIVE BLOGGING ANNOUNCEMENT: NHRA race fans can catch all the action live as it happens from Old Bridge Township Raceway Park by visiting CanidaeRacing.com to follow the CANIDAE Pet Foods/Lucas Oil/WileyX Funny Car throughout qualifying and eliminations. Log in to view reports and photos direct from the Jim Dunn crew and driver Paul Lee... Don’t miss a second of the action!

“It’s kind of hard on the crews, but I don’t mind having these races back to back to back,” Lee said. “In fact, it kind of keeps you sharp in the car. If we’re off a couple of three weeks I wouldn’t say you get rusty, but it can take a pass or two to shake the cobwebs off. It’s nice to know you’re going to be back in the car in five days after a race when we... (read more)

Lee Anxious to go Home for NHRA SuperNationals

When legendary drag-racing team owner/crew chief “Big” Jim Dunn tabbed veteran Paul Lee to be the driver of the CANIDAE/Lucas Oil/WileyX Funny Car for the 2010 NHRA Full Throttle Series, the lifelong pursuit of a dream was realized, and now the 52-year-old Lee gets to continue it near his hometown at this weekend’s 41st annual NHRA SuperNationals at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park. A native of Ewan, N.J., the former CFO of Boninfante Clutches now owns McLeod Clutches, a California-based high-performance clutch shop, and resides in Anaheim Hills, Calif.

LIVE BLOGGING ANNOUNCEMENT: NHRA race fans can catch all the action live as it happens from Old Bridge Township Raceway Park by visiting CanidaeRacing.com to follow the CANIDAE Pet Foods/Lucas Oil/WileyX Funny Car throughout qualifying and eliminations. Log in to view reports and photos direct from the Jim Dunn crew and driver Paul Lee... Don’t miss a second of the action!

“I’m a New Jersey native so not only is Englishtown my home track, it’s my favorite track,” Lee said. “I pretty much grew up racing there. I got my first racing license there, I got my Alcohol Funny Car license there, and I have more laps at Englishtown than at any other drag strip. That is truly my home track and definitely my favorite place in the whole world. I’m looking forward to getting back there... (read more)

Career-Best E.T. Advances Lee to Quarterfinals at NHRA Summer Nationals

In his only visit to Heartland Park Topeka in 2004, Funny Car driver Paul Lee took home a ‘Wally,’ albeit in the Top Alcohol Funny Car class, giving him positive expectations for his Jim Dunn-tuned CANIDAE Pet Foods/Lucas Oil/WileyX Funny Car heading into this weekend’s 22nd annual O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Summer Nationals at HPT. Lee was unable to repeat his ‘Wally’ win in ’04, but he’ll take his advancing to the quarterfinals of today’s Funny Car eliminations by defeating No. 2 qualifier Tim Wilkerson in the first round before bowing out to Jim Head. Robert Hight defeated Jeff Arend in the finals to take the Summer Nationals crown.

“We’ve been struggling and haven’t had the best of racing luck,” Lee said, “but Big Jim (team owner/crew chief Dunn) and the guys have been working hard and we’ve slowly been sneaking up on this CANIDAE car. Right off the truck on Friday we made a good, solid pass and we made full pulls every time down the track this weekend. Big Jim put a brand new blower on the car before today’s eliminations and said, ‘Let’s go for it.’ He said it was going to run a .14 and he didn’t miss by much.” (read more)

Lee Looking for Better Fortune at The Strip

You won’t find Funny Car driver Paul Lee complaining about the early-season back-to-back races with Houston last weekend and this weekend’s 11th annual SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. In fact, the 52-year-old pilot of the CANIDAE Pet Foods/Lucas Oil/WileyX Chevy is anxious to get back on track and continue moving in the right direction.

LIVE BLOGGING ANNOUNCEMENT: NHRA race fans can catch all the action live as it happens from The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway by visiting canidaeracing.com to follow the CANIDAE Pet Foods/Lucas Oil/WileyX Funny Car throughout qualifying and eliminations. Log in to view reports and photos direct from the Jim Dunn crew.

“I probably sound like a broken record, but we’re really not that far off,” Lee said. “We had a couple of qualifying runs at Houston that weren’t spectacular, but they were solid and we learned from them. Every lap we make we learn something, even the bad ones.

“Our new clutch tune-up has shown some promise so we just need to keep putting laps on this CANIDAE car until we get it right – and we will. I think the quick turnaround can actually help us by taking what we learned last weekend and getting right back up to the starting line.” (read more)

Jim Dunn Racing Announces Paul Lee as Driver in 2010

Jim Dunn Racing has announced that Funny Car veteran Paul Lee will drive the CANIDAE All Natural Pet Foods/Lucas Oil/WileyX Chevrolet for the 2010 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series season.

Lee is a four-time national-event winner in the Funny Car category, winning once in 2008 in the IHRA Nitro Funny Car class and three times in 2004 in NHRA Top Alcohol Funny Car.

"Paul is an experienced driver with the same kind of passion for drag racing that I have," said team owner and crew chief Jim Dunn. "He's been competing a long time and his experience will serve him well as he gets up to speed in the CANIDAE/Lucas Oil car. His company (McLeod Industries) was actually a sponsor of ours last year, so Paul is no stranger to the team and we're excited to get him behind the wheel."

The 52-year-old Lee finished a career-best fourth in points in IHRA Nitro Funny Car in 2008 with a win at the Motor City Nationals at Milan (Mich.) Dragway and runner-up finishes at Rockingham (also No. 1 qualifier) and Martin (Mich.). He finished ninth in the final standings in IHRA NFC in 2007 and sixth in the class in 2006 on the strength of runners-up at San Antonio, Epping (N.H.), Toronto, and Budds Creek (Md.). Last year Lee ran a limited Top Fuel schedule in IHRA.

The New Jersey native also has three wins in NHRA's Top Alcohol Funny Car class, all coming in 2004 when he finished in the top 10 in the final points standings. That year Lee took home the Wally at Atlanta, Topeka, and at his home track at Englishtown (N.J.).

"I've known the Dunns business-wise for some time," Lee said, "but to get to drive for 'Big Jim' is an honor and a dream come true. He is a living legend in the sport so I'm looking forward to working with him and the team."

As a businessman Lee was formerly CFO of Boninfante Clutches before purchasing McLeod Industries and its Weber Clutch brand last year. His impressive resume includes a BBA from the Wharton Business School at the Univ. of Pennsylvania and an MBA and JD from Rutgers University. Currently residing in Anaheim Hills, Calif., Lee is also an expert skydiver with more than 1,500 jumps in 18 years.

In addition to its driver announcement, Jim Dunn Racing will partner with Morgan Lucas Racing in the Team Lucas Corporate Hospitality pavilion allowing the team and CANIDAE to entertain guests, customers and regional employees at all 23 NHRA Full Throttle Series races in 2010.

Kirk Weeks

Three-Time Pomona Winner Toliver Returns for Season-Ending NHRA Finals

As with several of their NHRA Full Throttle peers, Southern California natives Jerry Toliver and Jim Dunn will be racing in front of hometown friends and family at this weekend's 45th annual Auto Club of Southern California NHRA Finals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, and the duo would love nothing better than to deliver a season-ending victory for their fans and sponsors in their Jim Dunn Racing entry, the CANIDAE/Lucas Oil/WileyX Chevy Funny Car.

"I love starting and ending the season at Pomona," Toliver said. "It's a great track and it's fun to race in front of so many friends and family that don't normally get to see us. Plus I've run pretty well there over the years, so it's an easy facility for me to like. In fact, I got my first career win at this race in '99 when I beat Force in the finals. I probably could have called it a career right there, beating John Force at Pomona to win the NHRA Finals. But then we turned right around and won the Winternationals to start the season in 2000, so you can see why Pomona is my favorite track."

Toliver, a five-time NHRA Funny Car national-event winner, has had three of his career wins here at the quarter-mile track at the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds. The Compton, Calif., native won the NHRA Finals in 1999, and followed up with victories at the season-opening NHRA Winternationals in 2000 and 2004.

"The CANIDAE folks are headquartered right up the road in San Luis Obispo, so I'm sure we'll have a lot of them out here supporting us and I'd love nothing better than to give them a win right in their own backyard. And Lucas Oil and WileyX are California companies, too, so that would be a great ending to the season.

"We have probably two or three really big, historic races at Pomona, Gainesville and Indy. I've been fortunate enough to have won at two of them (Pomona, Gainesville), but I can't think of anything better than to add another Pomona notch on my belt. We're going to give it our best shot."

Another racer spreading the message of Responsible Pet Ownership is one of the owners of CANIDAE, Scott Whipple. Whipple, a regular competitor in the National Sand Drag Association (NSDA), drove his CANIDAE/Lucas Oil Top Fuel sand dragster to the 2009 NSDA season points championship, putting an exclamation point on the championship at the series' season-ending race in Primm, Nev., on Oct. 24-25. The CANIDAE team not only won the event but Whipple broke his own record on the 100-yard track on three consecutive passes during eliminations with runs of 2.278 seconds at 162.75 mph, 2.273 at 160.71, and 2.239 at 164.16 mph.

A two-hour telecast of qualifying coverage for the Auto Club NHRA Finals can be seen on ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD on Saturday, Nov. 14, beginning at 10:30 p.m. (ET). Coverage on ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD continues on Sunday, Nov. 15 when NHRA Race Day kicks off eliminator coverage starting at 11:00 a.m. (ET), and concludes with three hours of final-eliminations coverage beginning at 7:00 p.m. (ET).

Kirk Week

Toliver Misses Funny Car Field at NHRA Las Vegas Nationals

Las Vegas has not been a place of good fortune for the Jim Dunn Racing team this season as Jerry Toliver in the CANIDAE/Lucas Oil/WileyX Chevy will miss Sunday eliminations at an NHRA Full Throttle Series event at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the second time this year. After final qualifying today the CANIDAE car failed to qualify for the 16-car Funny Car field for this weekend's ninth annual NHRA Las Vegas Nationals after also missing the field at the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals here in April.

Toliver's first qualifying pass on Friday resulted in an elapsed time of 5.405 seconds at 118.03 mph as the CANIDAE car lost traction just past the 330-foot mark. In the second qualifying session Toliver made a solid 4.241-second pass at 279.15 mph to place the Jim Dunn Racing entry 15th on the provisional Funny Car grid.

Unfortunately the team couldn't build on that performance during Saturday's two qualifying sessions with the CANIDAE car losing traction again in Q3 and slowing to a 7.074 e.t. at 94.22 mph and then going up in smoke right at the start in the fourth and final qualifying session.

"The only luck we've had here at Las Vegas this year has been bad," Toliver said. "but I felt pretty positive coming into this weekend. We've been struggling with the car losing traction just past the 'tree'. We just can't seem to tune it out no matter which way Big Jim (team owner/crew chief Dunn) goes. On that last run we obviously went the wrong way and the car lost traction right at the hit.

"We've got one more race to get it right and I know nobody on this team is going to quit working. I've had pretty good success at Pomona and won a couple of races there, so we'll go there and try to add one more."

The final stop on the 24-race NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series is the 45th annual Auto Club of Southern California NHRA Finals on Nov. 12-15 at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona in Pomona, Calif., the last of six races in the NHRA Countdown to 1 for the 2009 Full Throttle Series championship.

Kirk Weeks

CANIDAE Racing NHRA Funny Car Team Returns to Track at Las Vegas

Funny Car driver Jerry Toliver and the Jim Dunn-owned CANIDAE Racing team will join their NHRA Full Throttle Series peers in making a return trip to The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for this weekend's ninth annual NHRA Las Vegas Nationals. The premier drag racing series made a stop at The Strip earlier this season in April and returns for the 23rd of 24 races on its schedule.

"What's not to like about going to Las Vegas?" Toliver asked. "It's another first-class, Bruton Smith-owned track in a great city. And it looks like it's going to be cool there, although it might hit 80 on Sunday, so the track could be really fast and you should see some good times and great racing this weekend."

Toliver looks to get the CANIDAE/Lucas Oil/WileyX Chevy back on the performance path it displayed last month qualifying in the top-half of the field at the U.S. Nationals and then a season-best third at Dallas. The Jim Dunn Racing team also had its best day of eliminations on the season at the Texas Motorplex when Toliver defeated Memphis winner Jeff Arend in the first round and Bob Tasca III in the second round before losing to Jack Beckman in the semifinals.

"We've had some ups and downs with the CANIDAE car this season, there's no question about that," Toliver said. "But we're real positive going into these last two races of the season at Las Vegas and Pomona. We owe it to ourselves, to our sponsors, to the Dunns to give it our best and try to get a win in these last two races.

"Like I said before, the Countdown to 1 is exciting and probably going to come down to the last round, but we're not looking to play the role of spoiler and ruin anybody's chances. I don't want to be a spoiler; I want to be a winner. We're looking to win rounds and win races, and that's what we're going to try and do."

A two-hour telecast of qualifying coverage for the NHRA Las Vegas Nationals can be seen on ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD on Saturday, Oct. 31, beginning at 11:00 p.m. (ET). Coverage on ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD continues on Sunday, Nov. 1, when NHRA Race Day kicks off eliminator coverage starting at 2:30 p.m. (ET), and concludes with three hours of final-eliminations coverage beginning at 7:30 p.m. (ET).

Kirk Weeks

Toliver Falls in First Round at Virginia NHRA Nationals

Jerry Toliver and Ron Capps met for the first time this season in a first-round matchup today at the Fourth annual Virginia NHRA Nationals at Virginia Motorsports Park. Capps entered eliminations as the No. 2 qualifier and in the first round drove his NAPA Dodge to a winning elapsed time of 4.085 seconds at 309.27 mph to Toliver's 4.241 e.t. at 286.25 mph in the CANIDAE/Lucas Oil/WileyX Chevy.

"Hat's off to Ron and 'Ace' (crew chief Ed McCulloch)," Toliver said. "They obviously had that car dialed in and just plain beat us. I think they had the second- or third-quickest run of the round so we had our work cut out for us.

"I felt better coming into today after making a good, solid pass in Q4, but we just couldn't build on it. The tuning window on this CANIDAE car is so small and it's tough to stay inside it on a consistent basis. We just need to get the car back to how it was responding to Big Jim's (team owner/crew chief Dunn) tuning changes at Indy and Dallas a few races ago - that's the challenge we have heading back to Las Vegas."

Del Worsham defeated Tim Wilkerson in the Funny Car finals and Force Racing's Robert Hight took over the points lead with two races remaining in the season.

The next stop on the 24-race NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series is the 9th annual NHRA Las Vegas Nationals on Oct. 29 - Nov. 1 at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the penultimate race in the six-race NHRA Countdown to 1 for the 2009 Full Throttle Series championship.

Kirk Weeks

Toliver Bounces Back to Qualify for Virginia NHRA Nationals

The Jim Dunn Racing team got right back to work after uncharacteristically failing to qualify for the Memphis NHRA race last weekend and placed the CANIDAE/Lucas Oil/WileyX Chevy 15th on the Funny Car qualifying grid for tomorrow's eliminations at the Fourth annual Virginia NHRA Nationals at Virgina Motorsports Park.

After rain showers delayed the start of today's qualifying, driver Jerry Toliver drove the CANIDAE car to an elapsed time of 4.165 seconds at 283.79 mph in the second of two qualifying sessions. Toliver posted an elapsed time of 4.305 seconds at 283.13 mph after losing a cylinder in the first session.

"We're not there, but we're definitely heading in the right direction," Toliver said. "It's been a bit of a struggle this weekend, but we did run a lot better today and had our best run in that last session. The car made a full pull on that last run so that should give Jim (team owner/crew chief Dunn) some good data to work off of for tomorrow. We're still chasing this thing, but we're in the show and on Sunday anything can happen - you got to be in to win."

Toliver will face No. 2-qualifier Ron Capps for the first time this season in the first round of eliminations. Capps' teammate, Jack Beckman, is the No. 1 qualifier with an elapsed time of 4.044 seconds at 305.22 mph.

Kirk Weeks

CANIDAE Team Concludes Challenging Four-Race Stretch at Virginia NHRA Nationals

A four-races-in-four-weeks stretch concludes for NHRA teams with this weekend's Fourth annual Virginia NHRA Nationals at Virginia Motorsports Park, and Funny Car driver Jerry Toliver and the Jim Dunn Racing look to finish the arduous stretch on a high note.

Toliver had a late-season surge in the CANIDAE car interrupted last weekend at Memphis, but the affable Californian is confident the team can bounce back here at Richmond. He has qualified the CANIDAE/Lucas Oil/WileyX Chevy in the top-half of the Funny Car field in two of the last four races including a season-best third at Dallas. The Jim Dunn Racing team also had its best day of eliminations on the season at the Texas Motorplex when Toliver defeated Memphis winner Jeff Arend in the first round and Bob Tasca III in the second round before losing to Jack Beckman in the semifinals.

"We made a solid 4.18 pass right off the truck at Memphis, but then the car just didn't want to go down the track," Toliver said. "Every run after that the car just shook the tires off before it even got to the 'tree'. Big Jim (team owner/crew chief Dunn) just couldn't tune it out no matter which way he went which is really surprising the way this CANIDAE car had been running. He had the car in a tuning window where it was really responding to the changes he was making and was making real consistent runs.

"That just shows you how temperamental these 7,000-horsepower beasts can be. It seems like the weather this time of year in Richmond always produces great racing conditions so we look forward to getting this CANIDAE hot rod back on track. Our goals are still the same for these last few races; try and win as many rounds as we can and hopefully get a race win, at it starts this weekend at Richmond."

A two-hour telecast of qualifying coverage for the Virginia NHRA Nationals can be seen on ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD on Saturday, Oct. 10, beginning at 10:30 p.m. (ET). Coverage on ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD continues on Sunday, Oct. 11, when NHRA Race Day kicks off eliminator coverage starting at 11:00 am (ET), and concludes with three hours of final-eliminations coverage beginning at 7:00 p.m. (ET).

Kirk Weeks

Toliver Misses Funny Car Field at NHRA Mid-South Nationals

For only the second time this season Jerry Toliver in the CANIDAE/Lucas Oil/WileyX Chevy will miss Sunday eliminations at an NHRA Full Throttle Series event after failing to qualify for this weekend's 22nd annual O'Reilly NHRA Mid-South Nationals at Memphis Motorsports Park. The California native also missed qualifying for the Funny Car field at Las Vegas in April.

Toliver made a solid pass of 4.184 seconds at 295.21 mph in Friday's first qualifying session which was good for ninth on the provisional Funny Car sheet, but the Jim Dunn Racing team missed a golden opportunity to move up the grid during the cooler conditions of Friday night's second round when the CANIDAE lost traction and slowed to a 7.092 e.t. at 97.67 mph while several drivers improved their times. Unfortunately Saturday was more of the same as Toliver ran a 7.161 e.t. at 96.69 mph in the third qualifying session, a 6.970 e.t. at 93.10 mph in the fourth and final session, and he failed to qualify for 16-car Funny Car field.

"We tried to go for it Friday night and run a really good number, but it was too much," Toliver said, "so we backed it way down for the first session on Saturday to the tune-up we ran the 4.18 with in the same lane. It should have gone down but it shook, and then we just overpowered the track on that last pass. It was just too much for the track.

"Except for that first run on Friday we just had a problem of shaking it before it got to the 'tree'. Unfortunately we got to a spot there Jim (team owner/crew chief Dunn) just couldn't tune out, no matter which way we went."

The next stop on the 24-race NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series is the 4th annual Virginia NHRA Nationals on Oct. 9-11 at Virginia Motorsports Park just south of Richmond in Parkersburg, Va., the fourth of six races in the NHRA Countdown to 1 for the 2009 Full Throttle Series championship.

Kirk Weeks

Toliver Looking to Win Rounds, Win Races in Season's Final Four Events

It doesn't matter to Funny Car driver Jerry Toliver that this weekend's 22nd annual O'Reilly NHRA Mid-South Nationals at Memphis Motorsports Park is the third of six races in NHRA's Countdown to 1. He's not looking to be a spoiler to points leader Robert Hight or any of the other Funny Car competitors qualified for the Countdown. After a solid semifinal-round appearance at Dallas last weekend, he and his Jim Dunn Racing teammates just want to continue winning rounds with the CANIDAE/Lucas Oil/WileyX Chevy to close out the season.

"This Funny Car class is a tough, tough class," Toliver said, "and this team is no different than any other team out here - we're just trying to win. When I line up against somebody in the other lane, I don't look at them and think, 'Oh good, that guy is first in points or second in points and I can spoil his weekend if we beat him.' I'm up there for me, for my team, for Big Jim, and for our sponsors, just trying to win the race and go on to the next round. I'm not out here to spoil anybody's day; I'm trying to make it a good day for me and my team. That's what we were trying to do in Dallas and that's what we will be trying to do this weekend in Memphis."

Toliver is looking to continue the late-season surge the CANIDAE car has made, qualifying in the top-half in two of the last three races including a season-best third at Dallas. After a strong qualifying effort at the Texas Motorplex, Toliver went on to defeat Jeff Arend in the first round and Bob Tasca III in the second before losing to Jack Beckman in the semifinals.

"We had our best weekend of the season at Dallas last weekend," Toliver said, "but that was last weekend and now we move on to the next race. We want to win some more rounds and hopefully win a race before the season is out. Jim has the car in a tuning window where it's really reacting to what he's telling it on a consistent basis, so we'll see if this hot rod can keep it going at Memphis."

A two-hour telecast of qualifying coverage for the NHRA Mid-South Nationals can be seen on ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD on Saturday, Oct. 3, beginning at 10:30 p.m. (ET). Coverage on ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD continues on Sunday, Oct. 4, when NHRA Race Day kicks off eliminator coverage starting at 11:00 am (ET), and concludes with three hours of final-eliminations coverage beginning at 7:00 p.m. (ET).

Kirk Weeks

Toliver Advances to Semifinals at NHRA Fall Nationals

Jerry Toliver and the Jim Dunn Racing team turned in their best performance of the season when the CANIDAE/Lucas Oil/WileyX Chevy advanced to the semifinals today at the 24th annual O'Reilly Super Start Batteries NHRA Fall Nationals at the Texas Motorplex. Toliver defeated Jeff Arend in Round 1, Bob Tasca III in Round 2 before falling to Jack Beckman in the semifinals.

The CANIDAE car was fast right off of the team transporter as Toliver qualified a season-best third in Friday's night session with a 4.163 elapsed time at 302.55 mph. His speed was the second-best in qualifying and continuing its late-season surge, this was the second time in the last three races that the team had placed the CANIDAE/Lucas Oil/WileyX Chevy in the top half of the qualifying field.

"Qualifying in the top half makes such a big difference," Toliver said. "You're assured lane choice and you're not always facing the No. 1, or No. 2, or No. 3 qualifier in the first round. Jim (team owner/crew chief Dunn) has the car in a tuning window where it really is reacting to what he's telling it. He just has so much experience with these hot tracks, and today he did a great job of getting the CANIDAE car to go from A to B and we were able to go a few rounds."

In the first round Toliver defeated Jeff Arend with an elapsed time of 4.277 seconds at 290.38 mph to Arend's 4.920 e.t. at 211.06 mph, reversing Arend's defeat of Toliver in their only other meeting this year three weeks ago at Indy. In the second round Toliver bested Tasca with a 4.354 elapsed time at 289.54 mph to Tasca's 4.588 e.t. at 261.17 mph but lost lane choice to Beckman in the semifinals.

In the semifinal round both drivers left the starting line with near-identical reaction times but Beckman pulled ahead as Toliver lost tire traction and had to pedal the car. Beckman also experienced trouble when he lost a cylinder but edged Toliver at the finish line with an elapsed time of 4.546 seconds at 218.55 mph to Toliver's 4.555-second e.t. at 214.01 mph.

"To say this was a good weekend for this race team would be an understatement," Toliver said. "We've been so hungry for a race weekend like this that I was ready to eat some of CANIDAE's Snap-Biscuits. This team works hard and is no different than any other team out here - it only wants to win.

"Yesterday somebody asked me if I was looking forward to playing the role of spoiler and I said I don't want to be a spoiler, I want to be a winner. I'm not out here to spoil somebody's day, I'm not out here to ruin his day, I'm out here to make mine. This team wants to win. Big Jim is getting this thing turned around and I'm proud of the guys."

The next stop on the 24-race NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series is the 22nd annual O'Reilly NHRA Mid-South Nationals on Oct. 2-4 at Memphis Motorsports Park, the third of six races in the NHRA Countdown to 1 for the 2009 Full Throttle Series championship.

Kirk Weeks

Toliver Qualifies No. 3 at NHRA Fall Nationals at Dallas

CANIDAE Racing Team Continues Late-Season Surge with Best Qualifying Effort of the Season

Turning in their best qualifying effort of the season, Jerry Toliver and the Jim Dunn Racing team continued to make late-season gains by qualifying No. 3 on the Funny Car grid for tomorrow's eliminations at the 24th annual O'Reilly Super Start Batteries NHRA Fall Nationals at the Texas Motorplex. In yesterday's night session Toliver drove the CANIDAE/Lucas Oil/WileyX Chevy to the third-quickest elapsed time at 4.163 seconds at 302.55 mph. His speed was second only to pole-sitter Robert Hight who qualified No. 1 with a 4.109 e.t. at 305.46 mph. With today's hotter track conditions no drivers were able to improve on their times from Friday and Toliver held on for his best starting position on the season.

"How about that, No. 3," Toliver said. "I said coming into this race that we just needed to do a little better job getting this CANIDAE car to leave off of the starting line, and that has come around nicely this weekend. Everything's going in the right direction. I'm really pleased with the speed we ran last night and the way we got down the racetrack.

"It was really hot out there today but we still learned something. When the track gets hot like today, the clutch wants to lock up and shock the tires, so we just need to calm it down a little with the tune-up."

Toliver will face No. 14 qualifier Jeff Arend in the first round for the second time in the last three races. The CANIDAE Funny Car pilot will look to reverse his first-round loss to Arend at Indy at the U.S. Nationals.

"We face Jeff Arend in the first round and we're fighting for a position in the points, so it should be a lot of fun," Toliver said. "I'm really excited about the way the CANIDAE car is running. Jim's (team owner/crew chief Dunn) got this in a window right now that whenever he makes a move on it, whenever he does something the car is responding which is a huge thing. A lot of times you pick a spot where the car just doesn't respond to what you're doing, but right now the car is doing what he's telling it to do and I feel pretty good about it."

Kirk Weeks

Toliver Sets Sights on Texas Motorplex for NHRA Fall Nationals

After leaving Charlotte and the newest quarter-mile on the circuit, Bruton Smith's zMAX Dragway, the NHRA Full Throttle Series now heads just south of Dallas to its original "supertrack," the Texas Motorplex, for this weekend's 24th annual O'Reilly Super Start Batteries NHRA Fall Nationals. The all-concrete track was built in 1986 and has long been a favorite of NHRA competitors including Jerry Toliver, driver of the CANIDAE/Lucas Oil/WileyX Funny Car.

"Texas Motorplex was state of the art when she was built," Toliver said. "It was all concrete. I remember coming here for the first time 10 or 12 years ago thinking, 'Man, this place is pretty neat,' and I still think that. It's a narrow groove with the concrete, but that being said, it's also a very fast racetrack. Billy (track owner Meyer) has done a great job over there and they've got great fans in Dallas. I always like going to Texas and everybody should be in for a good time."

The NHRA Fall Nationals is the second of six races in the Countdown to 1 and is also the second race in a tough four-races-in-four-weekends stretch. Despite the challenging schedule, Toliver and the Jim Dunn Racing team have been working hard and would love nothing better than to wheel the CANIDAE/Lucas Oil/WileyX Chevy into the winner's circle before the season's out.

"We just need to improve our early numbers," Toliver said. "The CANIDAE car went down the track each time at Charlotte, and that's a great thing, so I think we're dialing it in. We just need to get the car to leave better and improve our 60-foot time. If we can pick that up, we've got a hot rod.

"We've got a few more races left so hopefully we can bag a win for the folks at CANIDAE and Lucas Oil and WileyX and make them all happy. We're competitive, and if we can get this thing leaving early we'll really have something."

A two-hour telecast of qualifying coverage for the NHRA Fall Nationals can be seen on ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD on Sunday, Sept. 27, beginning at 12:15 a.m. (ET). Coverage on ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD continues on Sunday when NHRA Race Day kicks off eliminator coverage starting at 11:00 am (ET), and concludes with three hours of final-eliminations coverage beginning at 7:00 p.m. (ET).

Kirk Weeks

Toliver Falls to Hight in First Round at NHRA Carolinas Nationals

The first of six races in NHRA's Countdown to 1 playoffs, the NHRA Carolinas Nationals, was completed today at zMAX Dragway. In a first-round match-up with Force Racing's Robert Hight, Jerry Toliver and the Jim Dunn Racing team matched its qualifying numbers but that wasn't enough to get past Hight. He went on to defeat Matt Hagan in the Funny Car finals.

"We ran our exact time from qualifying but that wasn't quite good enough against Robert," Toliver said. "That team showed they had a good hot rod by going on and winning the race. Overall I thought the CANIDAE car ran pretty good this weekend. It definitely ran more consistent and is responding to the changes Big Jim (team owner/crew chief Dunn) is making."

Toliver entered eliminations as the No. 14 qualifier in a tight Funny Car field, qualifying the CANIDAE/Lucas Oil/WileyX Chevy with an elapsed time of 4.148 seconds at 301.74 mph to earn No. 3 qualifier Hight as a first-round opponent. In today's first round, Toliver ran a 4.147 elapsed time at 304.46 mph to Hight's winning 4.105 e.t. at 308.99 mph. Only four other drivers topped Toliver's speed in the first round.

"This is probably the most consistent the CANIDAE car has run all season," Toliver said. "Now we just need to pump up the performance a little bit and see if we can't go some rounds and win a race in these last five races."

The next stop on the 24-race NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series is the O'Reilly NHRA Fall Nationals on Sept. 14-27 at the Texas Motorplex in Ennis, Texas, the second of six races in the NHRA Countdown to 1 for the 2009 Full Throttle Series championship.

Kirk Weeks