However, the door opened for the veteran in the semifinals when No. 1 qualifier and IHRA eMAX Series points leader Frank Gugliotta of Mt. Airy, Md., was guilty of what Gillig called “a very uncharacteristic” foul start just one round after No. 2 starter and track record-holder Robert Patrick of Ferdericksburg, Va., preceded him to the sidelines.
In the final, pitted against No. 16 qualifier and first time finalist Bert Jackson of Glen Allen, Va., Gillig left no doubt, streaking through the quarter mile timers in 6.497 seconds while Jackson was experiencing a tire shake situation that forced him to abort the run.
“It’s been a long time,” Gillig said. “This place has been kicking my butt for three years (but) we put it together today. It went well for us. The first two rounds were tough but we’ve been testing a lot and we’ve got the car running real well when the track gets hot. Tire shake wasn’t an issue at all for us whatsoever. The car made real smooth runs.“
Cowin, driving for Wilmington, N.C., car owner Scott Griffin, handed Millican his first loss at Rockingham since April 1, 2001, 4.942 to 5.075. Millican, who was bidding for his 10th consecutive Top Fuel title at The Rock and his 11th in 12 races, saw his Rockingham winning streak ended at 28 straight rounds.
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The fact that Cowin was leading the low qualifier beyond halftrack in the final was the more surprising because his team didn’t have an opportunity to warm up the engine before the final due to maintenance following the semifinal.
“The track was very tricky today with the sun beating on it,” McClenathan said. “It definitely was different than it was the last two days. (Crew chief Wes) Cerny and the guys made some very good calls.
“The kid (Cowin) was out on me,” he continued, “(and) it was a real good drag race to about 1,000 foot (but Cowin and his team) have to be happy, too. It’s always tough when you sell them all your stuff (as McClenathan did last year) and then you have to come back and race your own car. I knew what to expect. I knew it would run.
“It was a lot of fun coming back here,” McClenathan said. “The fans were great, the people were great, the track guys did a great job prepping and taking care of the track and I’ll tell you, I was very impressed. I’ve had kind of a shady deal here in the past. I’ve been upside down on my head here, on fire (in 1993, an incident that sidelined him for six weeks). To come back and win at the Rock, it was very cool.”