Permatex/Follow A Dream TA/FC team barely misses making it three wins in a row
MARSTONS MILLS, Massachusetts (August 22, 2017) – The Permatex/ Follow A Dream Top Alcohol Funny Car team continued its roll this past weekend, just barely missing a third straight victory.
The team finished runner-up in the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series’ Northeast Division’s event at Cecil County Dragway in Maryland.
After earning his third consecutive No. 1 qualifier position, Follow A Dream driver Phil Burkart had a better elapsed time (5.601 seconds) and speed (262.08 mph) in the final round of eliminations.
However, No. 2 qualifier D.J. Cox got the jump at the starting line with a quicker reaction time (by .044 of a second) and continued on for the event win.
“The car has come together and Anthony (tuner Anthony Terenzio) and the whole team are doing a great job,” team owner Jay Blake said. “When we take the car to the starting line, it’s ready to go.
“Knock on wood, we’re not having any issues. It’s all working real well and we’re excited for the rest of the year.”
The Follow A Dream team won its previous two races at Atco Dragway in New Jersey, and at the team’s home track, New England Dragway in Epping, New Hampshire.
Following this past weekend’s event, Burkart slipped slightly from fifth to seventh place in the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series’ AA/FC standings.
But that isn’t as bad as it sounds: Burkart is only six points out of his previous fifth place ranking.
And here’s even bigger good news: Burkart is on the verge of clinching the Lucas Oil East Region championship in the next two races. He has a commanding 160-point lead over the next closest driver.
“We’re a little closer to clinching the Region championship, which we’re real excited about,” Blake said. “It’s all good.”
The Follow A Dream team is back on track this weekend, in the middle race of a three-week stretch, with this Friday’s and Saturday’s rescheduled event at Richmond, Va., which was rained out this past April.
“I’m very confident we’ll have a good showing,” Blake said. “Honestly, if we don’t get to the finals, we’ll be disappointed.”
The team has a good chance of doing just that, losing in the final round at last year’s race at Virginia after smoking the tires.
Is there a revenge factor because of that going into this year’s race?
“The hell with last year, I just want to win this year,” Blake said with a laugh.
After Richmond, it’s on to the big daddy of all NHRA events, the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis (Aug. 30 – Sept. 4).
“To me, Indy’s just another race,” Blake said. “The hype and prestige of it is huge, but the most important race for us is not Indy.”
Blake considers next month’s national event at Maple Grove Raceway in Pennsylvania as the biggest race of the season for his team, but Indy is definitely a big part of his to-do bucket list of races still to win in his lifetime.
“It’d be really cool to win there, but it’s not the end all and be all,” Blake said. “It’s a long race, but if you can win it, it’s a huge statement.
“We came close a few years ago when we got to the semifinals at Indy. You’ve just got to do what you’ve got to do.
“We know we can make the car go fast and track. If we concentrate on doing that, everything else will fall into place.”
Off the track, Blake will speak this Wednesday (Aug. 23) at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, just outside the nation’s capital, Washington, D.C.
This will be the fifth time Blake has spoken at the nation’s preeminent facility for treating soldiers injured in the line of duty.
The Follow A Dream team has been a staunch supporter of our nation’s military for more than a decade.
To illustrate that, the rear of the FAD Chevrolet Camaro carries dozens of signatures of military members who’ve visited with the team over the years.
The car also carries this saying on its rear window: “Free to dream, thanks to our troops.”