That's a pretty strong statement on what we did. The past five years have been good to Etchells. He has six victories since the '93 Sears race and has finished in the top five of the season standings every year. Epler has two career wins and has never reached the top five. He came into Topeka in '93 with a reputation as a speed guy.
Some guys post low elapsed times, some throw out big speeds.
Force and 1992 Funny Car champ Cruz Pedregon do both. At the '93 U.S. Nationals over Labor Day, Epler's car started hooking up and running fast. It continued during the first qualifying session in Topeka when Epler ran 299.90 mph. He didn't get his 300 until Sunday, though. But it's impossible to tell the difference in 295 and 300.