Marstons Mills, MA -March 19, 2014-Jay Blake’s Permatex/Follow A Dream team debuted its new Monte Carlo Top Alcohol Funny Car with one great run after another at the Amalie Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla. Driver Todd Veney ran better on all four runs at Gainesville than any run he made all last year – 5.57, 5.57, 5.55, and 5.54.
After shaking down the car with a couple of abbreviated blasts in a test session at South Georgia Motorsports Park in Valdosta, Ga., earlier in the week, Veney ran a 5.573 on the car’s first full run ever, followed by an identical 5.573 later that afternoon. A 5.55 in last-shot qualifying positioned the team No. 6 of 19 cars in attendance and set up a first-round match with Stockholm, Sweden’s Jonnie Lindberg, who had a better reaction time and won with a slower time, 5.60 to 5.54.
“That’s probably the worst way there is to lose,” Veney said. “We had the better car and lost, but the most important thing is how the car ran. If we keep running like that all year, we can really win some races.”
“There isn’t anybody who hasn’t lost on a holeshot, and that time it happened to us,” Blake said. “It’s tough, but the way the car ran all weekend was absolutely unbelievable. It’s a testament to all the hard work everyone on the team put in all winter and to tuner Tommy Howell, who made all the right calls and had the car running great right out of the box.”
The team’s next race is the Eastern Regional Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event April 4-5 in Richmond, Va., where two years ago Veney picked up the first of three wins on the way to the East Region championship.