NASCAR
SPRINT CUP SERIES CHAMPION TO COMPETE IN
PRESTIGIOUS
TIRE
KINGDOM NHRA GATORNATIONALS
GLENDORA, Calif. (March 6, 2010) – 2004
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion
Kurt Busch will return to his drag racing
roots during the 41st running of
the
Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals
March 11-14 at historic Gainesville (Fla.)
Raceway.
The driver of the No. 2
Miller Lite Dodge for Penske Racing
is set to get behind the wheel of his
rebuilt 1970
Dodge Challenger next weekend to
compete against a field of between 70 and 90
veteran “Super Gas” racers who no doubt will
be champing at the bit to line up against
one of the biggest names in motorsports.
Busch will make a minimum of three “time
trial” passes on Thursday March 11 and the
field will return Friday morning, pair off,
and begin eliminations.
“ Gainesville is one of the marquee events
on the NHRA calendar and it’s a privilege to
compete against the best Sportsman racers
out there,” Busch said.
Super Gas is one of seven different
Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series (LODRS)
classes that will be contested at the Tire
Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals. The LODRS is
NHRA’s “sportsman” series that is home to a
wide variety of racers from hobbyists to
highly-competitive, highly-invested teams to
young drivers with aspirations to move up to
the
NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series.
Busch bought the Dodge Challenger in 2008
and began the process of getting it into
race shape in March of 2009. The car is
powered by a stroked 6.1 liter Hemi, weighs
3000 pounds and puts out an incredible 1167
horsepower.
While Busch feels at home behind the wheel
of his
Sprint Cup car he is aware that this
will be a new and exciting environment for
him.
“Sportsman racing is no different than any
other type of racing, you need seat time. I
spent over 30 hours at
Roy Hill’s drag racing school, and
have had two tests in my own Challenger, but
that’s nowhere compared to the seat time
many of these guys have in their own cars.
We are going to go out there and do our best
competing against these talented Sportsman
racers,” Busch said.
Busch’s love affair with drag racing began
back in the early 1990’s when he met a pair
of Las Vegas based NHRA racers - George
Marnell, a Pro Stock racer, and Dave Bush
(no relation), a Super Comp competitor. And
when Kurt began driving in the
Sprint Cup Series for Penske Racing,
he got to know NHRA Top Fuel champion
Larry Dixon as they were both
sponsored by Miller Lite.
He got the idea to compete in an NHRA event
after taking part in the opening night of
zMAX Dragway in Concord , N.C. in September
of 2008 and one of the rare off-weekends in
the NASCAR schedule coincided with next
weekend’s 41st running of the
prestigious Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals.
The Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals has
been the site of many of NHRA’s most
compelling moments and the track where some
of the most important performance barriers
in the history of NHRA were broken,
including most importantly Kenny Bernstein’s
legendary first 300 mph pass which took
place in 1992.
For tickets for the
41st annual Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals,
log on to
www.ticketmaster.com
or call
800-884-NHRA (6472).
Headquartered in
Glendora , Calif. , NHRA has 80,000 members
and 140 member tracks nationwide. As the
primary sanctioning body for the sport of
drag racing in the United States , NHRA
presents 23 national events featuring the
NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series,
NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series and NHRA
Get Screened America Pro Mod Drag Racing
Series. Two NHRA-sanctioned
bracket racing series provide
competition opportunities for drivers of all
levels: the NHRA
Summit Racing Series and the NHRA
Drags: Street Legal Style presented by AAA.
NHRA also offers the Jr. Drag Racing League
for youth ages 8 to 17. In addition, NHRA
owns and operates five racing facilities:
Gainesville Raceway in Florida ;
Atlanta Dragway in Georgia ; National
Trail Raceway in Ohio ;
O’Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis
; and Auto Club Raceway at Pomona in
Southern California . For more information,
log on to
NHRA.com,
or visit the official NHRA pages on
Facebook,
YouTube
and
Twitter.
McCLENATHAN
EYEING ELUSIVE NHRA FULL THROTTLE WORLD
CHAMPIONSHIP CROWN AS FRAM TEAM OFF TO HOT
START
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Veteran Top Fuel driver
Cory McClenathan, who has accomplished much
during his highly-decorated NHRA racing
career, still needs to check off two pesky
items that stand out near the top of his
drag racing bucket list.
Item one – A win at the tradition-rich Tire
Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals, one of NHRA’s
major events
Item two – An NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing
Series Top Fuel world championship title
If early season performance indicates
anything, the Anaheim, Calif. native may be
well on his way to crossing both off the
list in 2010.
He’s called his FRAM dragster a “bracket
car” for its incredible consistency early on
this season. Crew chiefs Todd Okuhara and
Phil Shuler have mastered the tune-up and
can dial up a 3.81 when needed almost at
will. Factor in McClenathan’s years of
driving experience, and the combination
could produce a champion’s trophy by year’s
end.
McClenathan opened the season as the No. 1
qualifier at the NHRA Winternationals, then
posted a semifinal finish at the Southern
California season-opener before claiming his
32nd career victory one week later in
Phoenix.
He heads to historic Gainesville Raceway for
the Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals, March
11-14, as the Top Fuel points leader, a
position he hopes to hang on to for the
entire 10-month season. Larry Dixon (Top
Fuel), Bob Tasca (Funny Car), Jason Line
(Pro Stock) and Hector Arana (Pro Stock
Motorcycle) are the defending winners of the
NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event,
which will be televised on ESPN2 and ESPN2
HD.
“Right now we’re the points leader and we’re
going in there with the same attitude of,
‘Let’s qualify very well, let’s try to keep
lane choice on race day, and try to put this
FRAM car in the winner’s circle,’”
McClenathan said. “The FRAM car is
definitely the car to beat right now and I
think people know that and they’re taking
notice of it. Obviously our teammates’ cars,
Tony’s (Schumacher) and Antron’s (Brown),
are running well; Larry Dixon’s running good
also; and Doug Kalitta, obviously.”
Amazingly, McClenathan’s effort last season
is his only final round appearance at the
Florida track. He posted a runner-up finish
to Larry Dixon. He knows the importance of
the Gatornationals in NHRA lore and he would
love to add his name to the impressive list
of winners.
“We’ve done fairly well there in the past,”
McClenathan said. “Every time you go to a
track you never won at you want to walk away
with that Wally on those weekends. And if
you have been driving as long as I have
been, you want to win at every single race
track on the tour, and that’s one that has
eluded us. We had some very good weekends
there, we qualified well there, went to a
final, but we never seemed to be able to
make it to the winner’s circle there.”
And after he qualified No. 1 at Pomona,
McClenathan made it very clear what his
objective was for the season. He said at the
time he wanted to make his presence known
early on and not lurk in the background. He
said he wanted to go toe-to-toe with the
competition from day one. At the same time,
he is very respectful of the competition.
“We’re not taking anybody lightly from here
on out,” he said. “We’re just going to run
our own race, but at the same time it
definitely feels good to be the points
leader for a (while) before we do roll into
Gainesville. We’re kind of going with the
flow. Yes, it’s nice to be the points
leader; we’re only there by a few points and
it could change every single weekend, and we
know that. I think nowadays when we look at
the Countdown we would like to be points
leader the whole season and have those few
extra points when we do go into the
Countdown. But at the same time it’s about
winning races, going rounds, and trying to
take home as many trophies as we can before
the Countdown starts.”
And about that 320-mph bracket car? He’s
having a great time driving it. He hopes to
put it in the Wally Parks NHRA Museum one
day as the 2010 Top Fuel world champion.
“I think in testing we did exactly what Todd
and Phil wanted to do,” McClenathan said.
“And, in the off-season we all looked at
what the car really needed and that was to
shed some weight and be real close to the
minimum weight. And now we have a weight bar
on the car and we’re able to control that,
and a lighter car goes quicker and faster.
That’s all there is to it.”
“We kind of parlayed two different things
into one and that’s really worked out great
for us,” he continued. “The more runs that
Todd and Phil have in the dragster the more
confident they become, the more competent I
become behind the wheel, and I think that
will just keep on getting better.”
In Funny Car, 14-time world champ John Force
has advanced to two consecutive final
rounds, winning at the Winternationals, and
currently leads the point standings in that
category. Jack Beckman earned the Phoenix
win, while teammate Ron Capps has also been
strong early on in his NAPA Dodge Charger.
Others to watch include defending world
champ Robert Hight, Ashley Force Hood and
two-time series champ Tony Pedregon.
During Gatornationals qualifying, eight Pro
Stock racers will simultaneously continue
the rain-delayed eliminations from the NHRA
Arizona Nationals. The highlight of those
pairings include a quarterfinal meeting
between defending world champ Mike Edwards,
the winner of the season-opener, and
three-time world champ Greg Anderson.
The race will showcase the season-debut of
the Pro Stock Motorcycle category. Defending
world champ and event champ Arana will try
to continue his recent success on his Lucas
Oil Buell. His competition will be stout and
include past champs Eddie Krawiec, Andrew
Hines and Matt Smith. Others to watch in the
two-wheel category include Doug Horne, Karen
Stoffer, Craig Treble, Steve Johnson and
David Hope.
• SCHEDULE:
Full Throttle Series qualifying sessions are
scheduled for noon and 2:45 p.m. on March 12
and March 13. Final eliminations begin at 11
a.m. on Sunday, March 14.
• TICKETS:
Tickets are available for the 41st annual
Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals. Call NHRA
at (800) 884-NHRA or visit
www.ticketmaster.com to purchase tickets.
• ON TV:
ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise two hours of
qualifying highlights at 2 a.m. (ET) on
Sunday, March 14; that show also will re-air
later the same day at 10 a.m. (ET). ESPN2
and ESPN2HD will televise NHRA Race Day, a
30-minute pre-race show, at noon (ET) on
Sunday, March 14. ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will
televise three hours of eliminations
coverage beginning at 6 p.m. (ET) on Sunday,
March 14.
• LUCAS OIL
SERIES: The 41st annual Tire Kingdom NHRA
Gatornationals also will feature competition
in seven categories in the NHRA Lucas Oil
Series, where the future stars of the NHRA
Full Throttle Series earn their racing
stripes. Lucas Oil Series qualifying begins
at 7:30 a.m. on March 11. Lucas Oil Series
eliminations begin at 7:30 a.m. on March 12.
• GET
SCREENED AMERICA PRO MOD SERIES: NHRA’s
newest touring series will make its debut at
the Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals. The
series will feature some of the world’s
fastest and most unique doorslammer cars,
featuring an ecclectic mix of vintage and
late model body styles, in quarter-mile
competition.
• ON THE WEB: Get live
timing, scoring, multimedia and the latest
news updates from every NHRA Full Throttle
Drag Racing Series event on the Internet at
www.nhra.com.
Visit the official NHRA pages on
Facebook,
YouTube
and
Twitter.
NHRA ARIZONA NATIONALS PRO STOCK
ELIMINATIONS TO BE COMPLETED DURING TIRE
KINGDOM GATORNATIONALS QUALIFYING
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – In an unprecedented
move, NHRA officials rescheduled the
completion of Pro Stock eliminations for the
NHRA Arizona Nationals two weeks ago in
Phoenix to the scheduled qualifying sessions
at the Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals this
weekend at historic Gainesville Raceway.
Eight Pro Stock competitors will race for
the NHRA Arizona Nationals Wally during
quarterfinals, semifinals and final round
competition that will be held during
Gatornationals qualifying. The times posted
for these rescheduled elimination runs also
will count toward qualifying for the Tire
Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals.
The four quarterfinal pairings will be
featured during Friday’s second Pro Stock
session. The two semifinal pairings will be
featured during Saturday’s first Pro Stock
session and the final round will be held
during the final Pro Stock session on
Saturday.
Below is a breakdown of the elimination
pairings:
QUARTERFINALS (Friday, March 12 at
approximately 2:45 p.m.)
Mike Edwards vs. Greg Anderson
Allen Johnson vs. Jason Line
Ron Krisher vs. Greg Stanfield
Rodger Brogdon vs. Bob Yonke
SEMIFINALS (Saturday, March 13 at
approximately noon)
Edwards-Anderson winner vs. Johnson-Line
winner
Krisher-Stanfield winner vs. Brogdon-Yonke
winner
FINAL ROUND
To be held at approximately 2:45 p.m.,
Saturday, March 13
• SCHEDULE:
Full Throttle qualifying sessions are
scheduled for noon and 2:45 p.m. on March 12
and March 13. Final eliminations begin at 11
a.m. on Sunday, March 14.
• TICKETS:
Tickets are available for the 41st annual
Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals. Call NHRA
at (800) 884-NHRA or visit
www.ticketmaster.com to purchase tickets.
• ON TV:
ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise two hours of
qualifying highlights at 2 a.m. (ET) on
Sunday, March 14; that show also will re-air
later the same day at 10 a.m. (ET). ESPN2
and ESPN2HD will televise NHRA Race Day, a
30-minute pre-race show, at noon (ET) on
Sunday, March 14. ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will
televise three hours of eliminations
coverage beginning at 6 p.m. (ET) on Sunday,
March 14.
• LUCAS OIL
SERIES: The 41st annual Tire Kingdom NHRA
Gatornationals also will feature competition
in seven categories in the NHRA Lucas Oil
Series, where the future stars of the NHRA
Full Throttle Series earn their racing
stripes. Lucas Oil Series qualifying begins
at 7:30 a.m. on March 11. Lucas Oil Series
eliminations begin at 7:30 a.m. on March 12.
• GET
SCREENED AMERICA PRO MOD SERIES: NHRA’s
newest touring series will make its debut at
the Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals. The
series will feature some of the world’s
fastest and most unique doorslammer cars,
featuring an ecclectic mix of vintage and
late model body styles, in quarter-mile
competition.
• ON THE WEB: Get live
timing, scoring, multimedia and the latest
news updates from every NHRA Full Throttle
Drag Racing Series event on the Internet at
www.nhra.com.
Visit the official NHRA pages on
Facebook,
YouTube
and
Twitter.
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* * *
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
NHRA Communications, (626) 914-4761
NHRA Media Center Online: http://media.nhra.com
PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE CATEGORY MAKES 2010
NHRA FULL THROTTLE SERIES DEBUT AT TIRE
KINGDOM NHRA GATORNATIONALS
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The high-revving
excitement of NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle
competition will make its 2010 NHRA Full
Throttle Drag Racing Series debut at the
Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals when
qualifying opens for the two-wheel category
on Friday, March 12 at historic Gainesville
Raceway.
The Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals, the
third of 23 events in the NHRA Full Throttle
Drag Racing Series and first of 17 for the
Pro Stock Motorcycle category, will be held
March 11-14 at historic Gainesville Raceway.
Larry Dixon (Top Fuel), Bob Tasca (Funny
Car), Jason Line (Pro Stock) and Hector
Arana (Pro Stock Motorcycle) are the
defending winners of the NHRA Full Throttle
Drag Racing Series event, which will be
televised on ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD.
Defending world champ and event champ Arana,
who had a dream season in 2009, will try to
continue his recent string of success on his
Lucas Oil Buell.
“Now I’m the one all the others will try to
beat,” Arana said. “I have to be even better
than before, and I want to be because I hear
sometimes that people say I got lucky. I won
five races. I had the No. 1 qualifier eight
times. I set the record. That’s more than
luck. It’s okay because it just gives me
more reasons to race hard again this year.
“We didn’t change anything on the bike.
(Lucas Oil teammate) Larry Morgan helped us
so much last year with our engine program
and we had a new oil from Lucas Oil that
made a big difference. We didn’t feel like
we had to do too much. Plus, we were going
all over the place with the bike for shows
and autograph things.”
The 20-year veteran rider says winning the
season-opener is a big momentum booster and
was key in getting his hunt for the
championship last year off to a strong
start.
“It’s good to win the first one because it
sets up the whole year,” Arana said. “I beat
(past champions) Eddie Krawiec and Matt
Smith too, so it was a tough race. Everyone
goes to Gainesville looking to see how they
measure against the others. You find out
real quick what happened in the off-season.”
Arana’s 2010 competition will be stout and
include past champs Eddie Krawiec and Andrew
Hines of the Screamin’ Eagle Vance & Hines
Harley-Davidson team and Matt Smith, who
returns to compete on his own bike, the Al-Anabi
Racing Buell.
Others to watch in the two-wheel category
include last year’s rookie phenom Doug
Horne, GEICO Powersports Suzuki rider Karen
Stoffer, Team Scream’s Craig Treble,
two-time U.S. Nationals winner Steve
Johnson, Coffman Tank Trucks Buell rider
Angie Smith and David Hope, who will be
riding the Mohegan Sun Racing Buell.
• SCHEDULE:
Full Throttle Series qualifying sessions are
scheduled for noon and 2:45 p.m. on March 12
and March 13. Final eliminations begin at 11
a.m. on Sunday, March 14.
• TICKETS:
Tickets are available for the 41st annual
Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals. Call NHRA
at (800) 884-NHRA or visit
www.ticketmaster.com to purchase tickets.
• ON TV:
ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise two hours of
qualifying highlights at 2 a.m. (ET) on
Sunday, March 14; that show also will re-air
later the same day at 10 a.m. (ET). ESPN2
and ESPN2HD will televise NHRA Race Day, a
30-minute pre-race show, at noon (ET) on
Sunday, March 14. ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will
televise three hours of eliminations
coverage beginning at 6 p.m. (ET) on Sunday,
March 14.
• LUCAS OIL
SERIES: The 41st annual Tire Kingdom NHRA
Gatornationals also will feature competition
in seven categories in the NHRA Lucas Oil
Series, where the future stars of the NHRA
Full Throttle Series earn their racing
stripes. Lucas Oil Series qualifying begins
at 7:30 a.m. on March 11. Lucas Oil Series
eliminations begin at 7:30 a.m. on March 12.
• GET
SCREENED AMERICA PRO MOD SERIES: NHRA’s
newest touring series will make its debut at
the Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals. The
series will feature some of the world’s
fastest and most unique doorslammer cars,
featuring an ecclectic mix of vintage and
late model body styles, in quarter-mile
competition.
• ON THE WEB: Get live
timing, scoring, multimedia and the latest
news updates from every NHRA Full Throttle
Drag Racing Series event on the Internet at
www.nhra.com.
Visit the official NHRA pages on
Facebook,
YouTube
and
Twitter.
-30-
* * *
TIRE KINGDOM NHRA GATORNATIONALS FACT SHEET
WHAT: 41st Tire
Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals,
the third of 23 events in the
NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series.
Drivers in four categories - Top Fuel, Funny
Car, Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle -
earn points leading to 2010 NHRA Full
Throttle Drag Racing Series world
championships.
WHERE:
Gainesville Raceway, Gainesville, Fla. The
track is located on 11211 North County Road
225 in Gainesville.
WHEN:
Thursday through Sunday,
March 11-14
SCHEDULE:
THURSDAY, March 11 – LUCAS OIL SERIES
qualifying at 9 a.m.
FRIDAY, March 12
– LUCAS OIL SERIES
qualifying at 7:30 a.m.
GET SCREENED AMERICA PRO MOD
SERIES
qualifying at 1:45 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.
FULL THROTTLE
SERIES qualifying at noon and 2:45 p.m.
SATURDAY,
March 13 – LUCAS OIL SERIES eliminations
begin at 7:30 a.m.
GET SCREENED AMERICA PRO MOD
SERIES
qualifying at 1:45 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.
FULL THROTTLE SERIES
qualifying at noon and
2:45 p.m.
SUNDAY, March 14
- Pre-race ceremonies, 10
a.m.
FULL THROTTLE SERIES
eliminations begin at 11
a.m.
TELEVISION:
Sunday, March 14, ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will
televise two hours of qualifying highlights
at midnight (ET).
Sunday, March
14, ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will re-air the
two-hour qualifying highlights show at 10
a.m. (ET).
Sunday, March 14,
ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise NHRA Race
Day, a 30-minute news magazine show, at
noon (ET).
Sunday, March 14,
ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise three hours
of coverage starting at 6 p.m. (ET).
SATELLITE:
Friday, March 12, 7:30 - 8 p.m. (ET), AMC 6
/ Transponder 21K (11920 MHz, vertical)
(Analog feed)
Saturday,
March 13,
7 - 7:30 p.m. (ET), AMC 6 / Transponder 21K
(11920 MHz, vertical)
Sunday, March
14, 7 - 7:30 p.m. (ET), AMC 6 / Transponder
21K (11920 MHz, vertical)
Video news
release contains race action highlights each
day and winners’ interviews on Sunday.
2009 EVENT
WINNERS: Larry Dixon,
Top Fuel; Bob Tasca, Funny
Car; Jason Line, Pro Stock; Hector Arana,
Pro Stock Motorcycle.
TRACK
Top Fuel - 3.882 seconds by Larry Dixon,
March ’09; 315.42 mph by Brandon Bernstein,
March ’09.
RECORDS:
Funny Car - 4.118 seconds by Ashley Force
Hood, March ’09; 304.60 mph by John Force,
March ‘09.
Pro Stock -
6.536 seconds by Greg Anderson, March ’07;
211.69 by Jason Line, March ’07.
PS Motorcycle
- 6.911 seconds by Angelle
Sampey, March ’07; 197.45 mph by Andrew
Hines, March ’05.
(Top Fuel
and Funny Car race distance is 1,000 feet;
Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle is 1,320
feet)
NATIONAL Top Fuel
- 3.771 sec. by Tony
Schumacher, Oct. ’08, Richmond, Va.; 321.58
mph by Larry Dixon, Nov. ’09, Pomona, Calif.
RECORDS: Funny Car
-
4.023 sec. by Ron Capps, Feb.
’09, Chandler, Ariz.; 312.13 mph by Ashley
Force Hood, April ’09, Atlanta
Pro Stock
-
6.509 sec. by Mike Edwards,
Oct. ’09, Richmond, Va.; 212.36 mph by Greg
Anderson, Oct. ’09, Richmond, Va.
PS Motorcycle-
6.851 sec. by Hector Arana,
Sept. ’09, Memphis, Tenn.; 197.45 mph by
Andrew Hines, March ’05, Gainesville, Fla.
(Top Fuel and Funny Car race
distance is 1,000 feet; Pro Stock and Pro
Stock Motorcycle is 1,320 feet)
TICKETS:
For tickets call NHRA, (800)
884-NHRA (6472); Tickets also available at
Ticketmaster.com or at NHRA.com.
GENERAL ADMISSION (includes
pit pass)
- FULL EVENT: $140. DAILY: Thursday:
Adult, $16; Junior (6-12 years), $10;
Friday: Adult, $36; Junior (6-12 years),
$10. Saturday: Adult, $58; Junior
(6-12 years), $10. Sunday: Adult,
$58; Junior (6-12 years) $10. Children (5
years-under), free with paying adult in
general admission and pit access areas each
day.
RESERVED SEATS (includes pit
pass)
- Friday: Adult, $46; Junior (6-12
years), $20; Child (5 years-under), $10.
Saturday: Adult, $65; Junior (6-12
years), $24; Child (5 years and under),
$14. Sunday: Adult, $65; Junior
(6-12 years), $24; Child (5 years and
under), $14.
- 30 -
* * *
2010 NHRA FULL THROTTLE DRAG
RACING SERIES POINT STANDINGS
GLENDORA, Calif. -- Point
standings (top 10) for NHRA professional
categories following the second of 23 events
in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series
-
Top Fuel
1. Cory McClenathan, 201;
2. Doug Kalitta, 196; 3. Larry Dixon, 161;
4. Tony Schumacher, 144; 5. Morgan Lucas,
108; 6. Steve Torrence, 107; 7. Troy Buff,
103; 8. Shawn Langdon, 92; 9. Antron
Brown, 90; 10. Brandon Bernstein, 85.
Funny Car
1. John Force, 224; 2. Jack
Beckman, 187; 3. Ron Capps, 148; 4. Robert
Hight, 121; 5. Matt Hagan, 120; 6. (tie)
Ashley Force Hood, 111; Bob Tasca III, 111;
8. Tony Pedregon, 104; 9. Del Worsham, 97;
10. Jim Head, 86.
Pro Stock
(Through first round of Phoenix
eliminations; quarterfinals, semifinals and
final will be completed during final three
rounds of qualifying at Tire Kingdom NHRA
Gatornationals)
1. Mike
Edwards, 197; 2. Greg Anderson, 147; 3.
Allen Johnson, 136; 4. Rodger Brogdon, 112;
5. Greg Stanfield, 105; 6. Larry Morgan,
102; 7. Ron Krisher, 99; 8. Jason Line, 87;
9. Ronnie Humphrey, 85; 10. Shane Gray, 82.
NHRA GET
SCREENED AMERICA PRO MOD SERIES
TO MAKE DEBUT
AT TIRE KINGDOM NHRA GATORNATIONALS
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – NHRA’s newest national
touring series will make its debut at the
Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals: The
NHRA Get Screened America Pro Mod Drag
Racing Series.
Conducted for nine seasons as an exhibition
at select NHRA national events, the new
series will feature some of the world’s
fastest and most unique doorslammer cars,
featuring an eclectic mix of vintage and
late model body styles, in quarter-mile
competition. A diverse group of drivers in
the series will compete for Wally trophies,
official NHRA points and
world championship titles.
The Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals, the
first of 10 events in the NHRA Get Screened
America Pro Mod Series, will be contested
March 11-14 at historic Gainesville Raceway
and will be televised on ESPN2 and ESPN2
HD.
West Virginian Burton Auxier enters the
season with the coveted No. 1 on his car as
the status of NHRA Pro Mod racing makes its
shift from exhibition to official. He
finished on top in the 2009 Pro Mod
Challenge standings by getting off to a
great start in the early season with a win
and a runner-up finish and not suffering any
DNQs during the 10-event schedule.
“We’re going to try to do the same things as
we did last year, but we’ll need to be
quicker and more consistent,” Auxier said.
“We’ve already tested in different
conditions, and I think we’ve learned quite
a bit. Like always, we’ll be looking for
ways to keep the car consistent through the
whole season.”
Auxier will enjoy plenty of support from the
powerful Al-Anabi Pro Mod team, which
features some of the best talent working
today with nitrous-oxide-injected engines.
His new Jerry Bickel-built ’68 Camaro is
tuned by
Jack Foster with team
crew chief Shannon Jenkins, an
eight-time Pro Mod exhibition event winner,
also available in the pits.
As a class, Pro Mod has become noticeably
more consistent and deeper over the past
three or four seasons, which means
Auxier will certainly have his hands full as
he seeks the first official NHRA Pro Mod
title. At the top of any list of
championship threats for 2010 would have to
be Roger Burgess’ three-car stable of
powerful supercharged entries, which
features Burgess, record-setting Canadian
Raymond Commisso, and Melanie Troxel, who
also drives the In-N-Out
Dodge Charger in
Funny Car competition in the
NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series.
A number of other drivers with supercharged
powerplants are likely to be challenging for
the top few spots in the points standings.
Jay Payne, already well-known as one of the
best alcohol-class drivers ever in the
Lucas Oil Series, has also
established himself as a heavy hitter in Pro
Mod, scoring seven exhibition event wins and
82 round-wins, the second-highest total in
class history, since he made his debut in
2004. Danny Rowe is a veteran driver who has
been competing in the exhibition races since
they began in 2001, and his team is as solid
as they’ve ever been. Joe Baker, who opened
the 2008 season by winning the first two
NHRA Pro Mod races he entered, is always a
threat to win, as are drivers Tim Tindle and
Rick Stivers.
“It’s really going to be hard this year;
there’s a lot of guys who really have good
programs going,” Auxier said. “There’s no
easy rounds out there. I expect it to be
harder than ever now that NHRA made it a
series.”
In terms of performance, the sky seems to be
the limit lately for the Pro Mod class,
which has obliterated its performance
standards on a consistent basis since the
first 5-second run was recorded at the 2007
season-opener. Entering the 2010 season, the
best-ever marks posted at an NHRA track are
Commisso’s 5.817-second elapsed time and the
best speed belongs to turbocharged-driver
Brad Personett, who posted a 253.28 mph run.
NHRA recently announced the official
national records for the Get Screened
America Pro Mod Series and Commisso’s 5.817
holds down the spot for time, but Personett
didn’t back up his career-best 253 mph
performance within the required 1 percent
per NHRA rules. However, he does hold the
national speed record at 250.92 mph, which
he recorded in Las Vegas last October.
• SCHEDULE:
Get Screened America qualifying sessions are
scheduled for 1:45 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. on
March 12 and March 13. Pro Mod eliminations
are scheduled to begin at approximately
12:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 14.
• TICKETS: Tickets are
available for the 41st annual
Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals.
Call NHRA at
(800) 884-NHRA or visit
www.ticketmaster.com
to purchase tickets.
• ON TV:
ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise 30-minutes
of racing highlights from the Get Screened
America Pro Mod Series portion of the NHRA
Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals on Sunday,
March 21 at 11 a.m. (ET).
NHRA HIRES
HEDGES & COMPANY TO ASSIST WITH
DATABASE MARKETING INITIATIVE
GLENDORA, Calif. (March 9, 2010) – With the
intent of better reaching and servicing its
fan base, NHRA has retained the services of
Hedges & Company, a database
marketing agency in Hudson, Ohio, to
assist the world’s largest motorsports
sanctioning body with a comprehensive
database marketing initiative in 2010.
“We’ve launched our database marketing
initiative in order to better communicate
with NHRA fans and to add value for our
sponsors and partners,” said Gary Darcy,
senior vice president, sales and marketing,
NHRA. “Aligning our efforts with Hedges &
Company makes perfect sense given their
extensive knowledge and success in database
marketing and the drag racing marketplace.”
Hedges & Company will assist NHRA in
organizing its extensive internal databases
with the goal of creating an actionable
marketing database to extend the variety of
touch points NHRA currently has with its
various customers and constituents,” said
Jon Hedges, principal of Hedges & Company
“We’re excited to be working with NHRA and
bringing the latest
database marketing technology and
predictive analytics to motorsports.”
Hedges & Company is a
full service database marketing, market
research and
strategic planning firm specializing
in motorsports and the automotive industry,
headquartered in Hudson, Ohio. The company
offers email marketing, database marketing,
direct mail and customer list management
solutions, as well as mailing lists through
its subsidiary Enthusiasts Direct. For more
information, log on to
HedgesCompany.com
or
EnthusiastsDirect.com.
Headquartered in
Glendora, Calif., NHRA has 80,000 members
and 140 member tracks nationwide. As the
primary sanctioning body for the sport of
drag racing in the United States, NHRA
presents 23 national events in the U.S.
featuring the
NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series,
NHRA
Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series and NHRA
Get Screened America Pro Mod Drag Racing
Series. Two NHRA-sanctioned
bracket racing series provide
competition opportunities for drivers of all
levels: the NHRA
Summit Racing Series and the NHRA
Drags: Street Legal Style presented by AAA.
NHRA also offers the Jr. Drag Racing League
for youth ages 8 to 17. In addition, NHRA
owns and operates five racing facilities:
Gainesville Raceway in Florida;
Atlanta Dragway in Georgia; National
Trail Raceway in Ohio;
O’Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis;
and Auto Club Raceway at Pomona in Southern
California. For more information, log on to
NHRA.com,
or visit the Official NHRA Pages on
Facebook,
Youtube
and
Twitter.
NHRA HIRES
TONY DRISCOLL AS VICE PRESIDENT
OF SALES
AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
Driscoll brings over a decade of
motorsports experience to head sales
position at NHRA
GLENDORA , Calif. (March 10, 2010) — After a
national search, NHRA has hired motorsports
executive Tony Driscoll to become
vice president sales & business
development. Driscoll will be based in
Charlotte , N.C. and will report to Gary
Darcy, NHRA’s
senior vice president sales and
marketing.
Driscoll has spent more than 10 years
working in motorsports, most recently
serving as senior director of partnership
and integrated media sales for
International Speedway Corporation (ISC).
ISC, whose primary business is the
ownership and management of 13
NASCAR race tracks, is a leading
promoter of motorsports activities. In his
role as senior director, Driscoll was
responsible for developing integrated
partnership for
Corporate America. Driscoll has
worked in ISC’s
corporate office in Daytona , Fla. ,
since 2003, and spent the last six years
working in various capacities including
director of licensing business development.
“Bringing somebody of Tony’s caliber with
his background and experience to our sales
team, rounds out our commitment to increase
NHRA’s visibility among
Corporate America and increase
sponsorship development,” said Tom Compton,
president, NHRA.
“NHRA offers an incredible
value proposition and we believe we
have a significant opportunity to expand our
sponsorship base both at the league and team
level,” said Darcy. “With the addition of
Tony, coupled with IMG and our current sales
team in-house, we are poised to aggressively
and proactively make an immediate impact on
the
national sports sponsorship
community.” NHRA’s internal sales team
will report directly to Driscoll.
NHRA will maintain its
strategic alliance with IMG, which
began in 2008, as its exclusive outside
sponsorship marketing agent at the league
level. Driscoll will split time between
NHRA’s corporate headquarters in Glendora ,
Calif. and his permanent location in
Charlotte . Coupled with IMG’s strong
presence in
New York , NHRA now boasts a strong
sales effort presence in New York ,
Charlotte and
Southern California .
The list of companies that Driscoll has
worked with over the years is a who’s who of
Corporate America and some of the most
recognizable brands in the world. His
relationships with key decision makers in
sports sponsorships are ideally-suited to
support NHRA’s recent commitment to drive
broader awareness for the sport in corporate
boardrooms.
“I’m excited to join NHRA and am anxious to
get started on meeting the current partners
and immediately make an impact on developing
new partnerships,” said Driscoll. “This is
an incredible opportunity and I believe my
experience will allow me to contribute to
the continued success of NHRA.”
Driscoll graduated from
Eastern Michigan University with a
Bachelor of Arts degree in marketing.
Headquartered in
Glendora , Calif. , NHRA has 80,000 members
and 140 member tracks nationwide. As the
primary sanctioning body for the sport of
drag racing in the United States , NHRA
presents 23 national events featuring the
NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series,
NHRA
Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series and NHRA
Get Screened America Pro Mod Drag Racing
Series. Two NHRA-sanctioned
bracket racing series provide
competition opportunities for drivers of all
levels: the NHRA
Summit Racing Series and the NHRA
Drags: Street Legal Style presented by AAA.
NHRA also offers the Jr. Drag Racing League
for youth ages 8 to 17. In addition, NHRA
owns and operates five racing facilities:
Gainesville Raceway in Florida ;
Atlanta Dragway in Georgia ;
National Trail Raceway in Ohio ;
O’Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis
; and Auto Club Raceway at
Pomona in Southern California . For
more information, log on to
NHRA.com,
or visit the official NHRA pages on
Facebook,
YouTube
and
Twitter.
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