Vandergriff starts Sonoma from No. 9

SONOMA, Calif., (July 29, 2006)- Top Fuel pilot Bob Vandergriff Jr. settled back into the No. 9 position for Sunday's final elimination's at the FRAM Autolite NHRA Nationals at Infineon Raceway. After running a hard-charging 4.607/321.12 blast on Friday, the Jim Dupuy-tuned UPS dragster struggled on both of Saturday's passes striking the tires at about 150 feet, posting runs of 9.052 and 8.740 seconds.

"I was hoping to run better," explained Vandergriff. "We spent the week changing chassis' so we could run more consistently. We are still finding out what this one wants. I have all the faith in the world in Jim (Dupuy) and the guys. They will find what this car needs and get it going."

Vandergriff faces Morgan Lucas in the opening round.

RACE SCHEDULE:
SUNDAY, July 30- Pre-race ceremonies, 11 a.m. Final elimination's begin at noon.

TELEVISION SCHEDULE:
Sunday, July 30, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD
will telecast NHRA 2Day, a 30-minute news magazine show, at 11:30 a.m. (ET).
Sunday, July 30, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise three hours of final round elimination's at 8 p.m. (ET).

SATELLITE FEED:
Sunday, July 30, 11:30 p.m.-midnight (ET) Å] SBS 10 R, Transponder 23 K (12160 MHz, vertical)



Ken Sklute
Vandergriff Motorsports Public Relations
www.VandergriffMotorsports.com
www.RacersEdgePhotography.com