After a few weeks off, Jay Blake’s Permatex/Follow A Dream team is back in action this weekend in Reading, Pa., at Blake’s favorite race of the year, the Auto Plus Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway. With a strong performance there, driver Todd Veney, ninth in the national Top Alcohol Funny Car standings, can shoot back into the top five.
“I love this race and this track. It’s where I made the decision about what I wanted to do with the rest of my life,” said Blake, who committed himself to forming his own race team while attending the 1998 event. “We’ve been to the semifinals there a few times, and it’s time for another win for the Follow A Dream team.”
“I made my quickest run ever [5.54] there last year, and the conditions usually are perfect for Alcohol Funny Cars,” Veney said. “Our test session at New England Dragway after the Englishtown divisional race was productive. We didn’t run in the .50s, but that wasn’t really the point. I think [tuner] Tom [Howell] learned what he wanted to know.”