Racetrack Insider - News and Views of the Motorsports Industry from Insiders Drew Patey and Buddy Judy

Safety-Kleen Goes 2 for 3 at NHRA in Dallas

It looked like it would be a Safety-Kleen "sweep" in the finals at the NHRA event in Dallas on Sunday. Each of the teams that Safety-Kleen sponsors had cars that made it through eliminations to the final round. The highlight of the event was the Funny Car final with Robert Hight up against teammate Ashley Force Hood. Both cars were on rails all day, knocking off their rivals along the way. And the one thing that was certain was that the winner would move into first place in the NHRA championship points race. As the go light came on, the two John Force Racing cars launched. Hight was out in front with Ashley close behind, but at half track, Ashley's car went into tire shake and lost traction giving the win to Hight. In Pro Stock, Safety-Kleen's Greg Anderson made his way to the final round for the first time in a long time. Anderson, who is a past champion, has struggled this year with close finishes but never in the money. But Sunday was his day - as he earned the win, the 58th of his career, by a narrow .002-second margin after tracking down Johnny Gray's .034 to .061 holeshot to win, 6.684, 207.11 to 6.713, 206.64. In Top Fuel, it was the battle of the titans as the Safety-Kleen sponsored dragster driven by Larry Dixon came up against Tony Schumacher in the finals. Schumacher took away the Safety-Kleen sweep as he got the win, the 60th of his career, 3.944, 312.86 to 4.23, 225.18. This event was the first time the Safety-Kleen Irving, Texas branch provided the environmental services for the Dallas Texas Motorplex. Bryan Hoeffner and his crew were at the track providing collection drums for the used oil and helping the track "Be Green". Great job Bryan.