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PHOENIX, pre-race: CMKXtreme Machine Funny Car driver Jeff Arend can hardly wait to get to Firebird International Raceway to compete at the 21st annual Checker Schuck’s Kragen NHRA Nationals. Arend is eager to run the CMKXtreme team’s new Monte Carlo body after their performance at the Winternationals indicated they are headed in the right direction.

Arend qualified tenth in Pomona after laying down a blistering career-best 4.797-elapsed time. “That was the first time we were able to make a full run with our new Murf McKinney chassis and it was a really smooth ride,” said Arend. “We only made a few runs testing prior to the Winternationals so to put up a 4.79 on just our second run of the weekend was pretty impressive and a credit to Paul Smith’s tuning talents.”

Arend drove with the team’s Pontiac Firebird body in Pomona and he expects his performance to pick up when the team switches to the Chevy Monte Carlo shell in Phoenix. “When we ran the 4.79 in Pomona we were basically using last year’s tune up, so that gives you an indication of what we had to work with last season,” Arend explained. “Now we have all the best parts and pieces. The Monte Carlo body is 45 pounds lighter than the Firebird and that should be good for a couple of hundredths in elapsed time. Once Paul gets a handle on the tune up the CMKXtreme Machine is going to be flying.”

The CMKXtreme Machine team enters the Checker Schuck’s Kragen Nationals with all the right parts and pieces in place to achieve success. Arend and the team are determined to be a force to be reckoned with in the Funny Car class in 2005 and Phoenix is the perfect place to begin rising toward the top of the pack.