News Releases

2004 NHRA Southern Nationals Report
May 15, 2004
Bill Walters

Arend and his Paul Smith-tuned ride was one of the first fuel cars to go down the Atlanta Dragway quarter-mile during the opening round of qualifying Friday afternoon. The CMKXtreme Machine left the starting line hard but starting smoking the tires just past the 330-foot mark. Arend finished the first session qualified on the bump spot in the No. 16 position with a 5.902 at 159.89 mph. Things didn't get much better in left lane for the Canadian native during his second qualifying run early Friday evening. The CMKX Corvette shook and Arend lost traction again, smoking the tires and slowing to a 8.773 at 94.99 mph. Arend fell to No. 18 on the Funny Car qualifying ladder with two shots remaining on Saturday to make the 16-car field.

The weather continued to be warm on Saturday, with intermittent cloud cover not offering much help in cooling the racing surface. Arend made it further down the track on his third qualifying attempt but still lost traction before the 660-foot mark, improving to a 5.678 at 184.32 mph but still not qualified for Sunday's eliminations. On the final run, crew chief Paul Smith backed the car down hoping to make it down the tricky track. The CMKXtreme Machine ran its quickest 60-foot time of the weekend but Arend lost traction once again and slowed to a 8.160 at 99.22 mph to finish the weekend in the No. 18 qualifying position.

"It's disappointing but understandable," said Arend following the end of qualifying. "It's a new team, working with a new tire, a new car and new people so its going to take a little time to get used to. With every run we're learning something and the more runs we make the quicker we can figure it out. Paul Smith is a smart guy and he'll get a handle on it, it just takes a little while to sort out."

"I'm really looking forward to the next event in Chicago," Arend added. "The track at Route 66 Raceway is really nice and it should be a little cooler conditions. We'll be working hard to get the CMKX Funny Car into the show in Chicago."