EPPING, N.H. (June 4, 2017) – The AMALIEⓇ Motor Oil XTERMIGATORⓇ Top Fuel team led by driver and team owner Terry McMillen experienced a career best weekend during qualifying. As in most sports, the thrill of success can often be followed by the disappointment of traumatic events. Such was the scenario for McMillen and it was all wrapped into one weekend known as the NHRA New England Nationals
“It really looked a lot worse than it was or could have been,” McMillen explained after his first round explosion. “Every piston and rod was in the motor. The intake manifold, blower and blower restraints are junk, but everything else is fine.”
McMillen’s Rob Wendland led crew qualified fifth for the event, the best starting position for the team since Denver 2012. McMillen reset his career best elapsed time in the second qualifying session with a 3.730 and then reset it again along with mile per hour in the third session when he posted a 3.723 at 327.19MPH.
“We were really feeling good about our consistency,” McMillen added. “We felt like it was our weekend to go deep into elimination rounds. What happened was really unfair to our team’s efforts and the farthest thing from our minds as to what the outcome would be. It was really unfortunate and in no way a reflection of our tune-up or maintenance program. The car started to lose traction early in the run and I slapped to throttle like I’ve done many times. We’re not 100% sure what happened yet, but something caused an explosion in the intake area and the rest of the story is sure to be part of a highlight reel. The car is back together and we’re ready to pick up where we left off in qualifying when we get to Englishtown next week.”
Professional qualifying for Englishtown begins June 9th.
