Indy ends early for Scott Palmer, but his CatSpot team will run for the title once again
INDIANAPOLIS – For the second year in a row, Scott Palmer has earned a coveted spot in the Countdown to the 
Championship playoffs for his CatSpot Organic Cat Litter Top Fuel dragster team.
Due to oil pressure issues during his warm-up in the pits and as his team tried to ignite his dragster on the starting line, Palmer elected not to run his first-round race against Terry McMillen despite the fact he had a lot of confidence in his machine.
“Ultimately, we’re leaving Indy in the top 10 so we’ll have a chance to run for the championship and that was our primary goal for the regular season,” Palmer said. “Now we’ll reset our goals, along with the points being reset, and we’ll do everything we can these last six races to win everything we can.
“I’m disappointed in this day because our fans here and really throughout the year have been so supportive and we knew we had a car that could have made a run. We qualified fourth at the U.S. Nationals! I mean, we have a lot of racecar here and I’m convinced we could have made a run today.”
Playing it safe and not making a run with a dodgy oil pressure reading paid dividends in the form of securing Palmer’s place in the Countdown. The playoff pressure was actually relieved a few pairs in front of Palmer’s race when Richie Crampton lost, eliminating his team from contention.
“There were three of us racing for two spots and Mike (Salinas) and I made it in and Richie was the odd guy out,” Palmer said. “We’re extremely pleased to do this for Tommy Thompson, everyone at CatSpot and Magic Dry, and all of our other sponsors. And we’re glad to give our fans someone to cheer for down the stretch. We will be fighting hard every race from here on in, for sure.”
Palmer’s CatSpot teammate Rickey House bowed out in the opening round of action in the Mickey Thompson Tire Top Fuel Harley race, losing to Bob Malloy after smoking his tires.
“I swapped lanes up there and it bit me,” House said. “I had heard there were some bald spots in the lane I was going to run but Bob went down that lane and we ended up smoking the tire.
“I’m just upset with myself but I’m super proud of the season and the work the guys put in to help us finish fourth. Thanks to Tommy Thompson and everyone else at CatSpot and Magic Dry. We’re done for the year but we’ll be back in 2019 looking for the championship.”
The Mello Yello series takes a weekend off before heading to eastern Pennsylvania for the 34th annual Dodge NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway in Reading, Pa.
