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2013 NHRA: 'Big Money' Up For Grabs In First-Round Match-Up Between Brogdon And Line
Despite an occasionally uncooperative car, Rodger Brogdon qualified his ProtectTheHarvest.co/Lucas Oil Chevy Camaro No. 14 for one of the quickest Pro Stock fields in history at the NHRA Gatornationals at Auto-Plus Raceway.
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"The car could be better. We're struggling with a few issues," Brogdon said. "We had to change engines today. Yesterday, it just didn't seem to be accelerating like it should. We ran respectable today, which I'm happy with. We get to race tomorrow, so that's good."
Brogdon had a best pass of 6.549 at 211.59 mph to get into that 14th spot. While he would have liked for his qualifying results to have been better, he realizes a new team and engine program takes time to jell.
"It's a slow process," Brogdon said. "The shop is good. If we could quit breaking some of the stuff we're running we'll have more time to work on some new ideas, but that's part of it. We've got some things going. We've got one or two things we should be able to get done before Vegas. We should be able to make a little move with some more horsepower."
Brogdon's opponent in Sunday's first round will be No. 3 qualifier Jason Line, who had a best pass of 6.483 seconds at 213.40 mph. Line and Brogdon have a friendship that goes way back, and they'll occasionally put a little something extra on the line before they square off, which will be the case for tomorrow's matchup.
"He's a good friend of mine but I'm going to whoop him," Brogdon said. "I beat him in Dallas last year in the first round. I felt bad after I beat him. You want to win but he's my friend. I was hoping I wasn't the one who knocked him out of the world championship, but he didn't do too well after that either, so I'm not taking that responsibility."
"We bet $1 for tomorrow. We bet $1 on the light and $1 on who gets there first. I told him, 'It's not the money; it's winning.' That's a new, ongoing bet every time we race each other."
Eliminations for the NHRA Gatornationals will get under way at 11 a.m. EDT on Sunday from Auto-Plus Raceway. ESPN2 will air the coverage of eliminations starting at 7 p.m. EDT.
PaddockTalk Perspective
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