Monthly Archives: July 2013

Honda Racing

Honda Racing–Tigert Wins Class, Pagenaud Stars at Pikes Peak

A record-setting effort from Honda’s North American R&D and motorsport companies – Honda R&D Americas and Honda Performance Development – resulted in one class victory and eight more top-five results Sunday in the 91st running of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb.

A total of 11 Honda-entered drivers and riders in nine classes took part in the 2013 edition of the “Race to the Clouds”, including Honda-powered Schmidt Hamilton Motorsports Indy car driver Simon Pagenaud, driving a unique, competition-modified Honda “Pikes Peak Odyssey” minivan. 

With the exception of Pagenaud, all drivers and riders competing at Pikes Peak on Honda equipment were Honda associates. Honda also served as partnering sponsor of the Hill Climb, the first time the company has participated as a corporate sponsor of the legendary event.

In addition, Honda Power Equipment provided race operation support, including generators which supplied electricity and lights to the pit and staging areas.

Driving a highly-modified Honda Odyssey, Pagenaud was a crowd favorite in his Pikes Peak debut, powering up the 12.42-mile course to a second-place finish in the Exhibition Class.  Modifications to Pagenaud’s minivan included a 500+ horsepower, turbocharged and intercooled Honda V6 engine –similar to the engine used in LMP2 competition in the American Le Mans Series – competition suspension and brakes, high-performance tires and a full competition roll cage. 

Posting a new record time of 10 minutes, 32.964 seconds, Honda R&D’s Jeff Tigert won the Pikes Peak 450 category, the largest motorcycle class in this year’s race, featuring 17 entrants.  A Honda associate making his Pikes Peak debut, Erik Dunshee placed third in the Superbike 750 class, riding a Honda CRB600RR.  An otherwise exciting day for Honda was marred by a crash involving Honda R&D’s Alex Moreno, who went off course in his Exhibition Powersport class Honda CBR1000R in the second segment of his hill climb.  Moreno

Making his second appearance at the Hill Climb in his modified 1991 Acura NSX, James Robinson braved deteriorating weather conditions – including rain and heavy fog – to finish fourth in the Pikes Peak Open category.  Robinson’s NSX is also highly modified from its original form, including a twin-turbo LMP2-derived V6 engine, Le Mans-style wide-body kit, competition suspension and roll cage.

Jeff Tigert(Honda CRF450F) finished 1st in Pikes Peak 450 motorcycles, with a new class record of 10:32.964, a full 34 seconds under the previous mark: “Oh man, I can’t believe it!  I hope all the folks at home and everyone at Honda is proud, this was a total team effort.  The bike worked perfectly.  Looking at the tires, we might have been able to go even a little bit quicker.  It’s pretty unbelievable what Honda can do when they put their minds to it.  We also had a teammate [Erik Dunshee] finish third in his class [Pikes Peak Superbike 750] in his first run up the mountain, so I’m really happy for him, as well.”

Simon Pagenaud (Honda “Pikes Peak Odyssey”) finished 2nd in the Exhibition Class with a time of 12:54.325: “It was a win for all the ‘soccer moms’.  For me, it was amazing.  Pikes Peak was always a dream for me, ever since I was a kid in France.  There is a lot of interest in this event in Europe, and I think that’s why you saw so many French drivers this year.For me, it was a great opportunity to learn.  Honda prepared a great car. Really ‘unique’, I have to say.  I have to thank my [Indy car] team and everyone at Schmidt Hamilton Motorsports for allowing me to do this, and thank Honda for the huge effort they made for this year’s event.  With more than 500 horsepower, the conditions [rain, cold and fog] were tricky and kept me busy … very busy!  But I’m actually pretty happy.  I feel very blessed and very proud.I’d like to come back again next year, with something even more crazy!”

Erik Berkman(President, Honda R&D Americas) on Honda’s 11-vehicle, 9-class effort in the 91strunning of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb:  “First and foremost, our thoughts are with our injured associate, Alex Moreno, his family and friends.  As racers, we all understand and accept the risks involved in our sport, but that doesn’t lessen the dismay we feel when one of our own is hurt.I’d like to thank everyone at Honda R&D Americas – in both in Ohio and California – Honda Performance Development and American Honda who participated in this massive effort, including more than two dozen associates on the ground here in Colorado and many, many more back in Ohio and California.  Congratulations to Jeff Tigert on his winning run and new lap record in the Pikes Peak 450 motorcycle category, and to our special guest driver Simon Pagenaud, who gave a great demonstration of the performance capabilities of a Honda Odyssey with more than 500 horsepower!”

John Force Racing

John Force Racing–Chicago Post Race

JOHN FORCE RUNNER-UP IN CHICAGO

 

JOLIET, IL—- John Force raced to his 219th final but came up a few hundredths of a second short of picking up his 136th NHRA Funny Car win at the 16th annual O’Reilly Auto Parts Route 66 NHRA Nationals at Route 66 Raceway today. In a tremendous final with Matt Hagan Force’s Castrol GTX Ford Mustang ran 4.113, his slowest run of the weekend, beside Hagan’s winning 4.065 second run. Force’s Mustang began chucking spark plugs at half-track bleeding off power as the 10,000 hp Funny Car tried to accelerate down the race track.

 

Prior to today’s final Force was 2-1 in final rounds against Hagan who he outdistanced for the 2010 Mello Yello Drag Racing Series title, his unprecedented 15th NHRA Mello Yello world championship,  on the last day of the season. Today Force was masterful on his way to his third consecutive final round defeating Tony Pedregon, Del Worsham and Ron Capps to reach the final.

 

After his semi-final round win over Capps Force’s parachutes became tangled with Capps’ NAPA Dodge Charger R/T as the Funny Cars turned off. Luckily, no one was injured and neither Funny Car sustained damage.

 

Over the first nine races of the 2013 season Force’s round win record was 6-9 but since a remarkable turnaround led by crew chief Mike Neff and Force the Castrol GTX Ford Mustang is 10-2 over the last three races. He has moved up from 9th in the Mello Yello point standings to 3rd over that span and he is less than two rounds of racing 36 points behind No. 2 Cruz Pedregon.

 

Robert Hight and the Auto Club Ford Mustang team held onto their Top Ten position but Bob Tasca III closed the gap to three points as he sits in 11th place heading to the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio, next weekend. Hight defeated rookie Chad Head in the first round with a 4.059 second run. Over the course of the weekend Hight and the Auto Club Ford Mustang posted runs of 4.055, 4.052, and 4.059 and in a losing effort to Capps, 4.096. His lone off-run was the final run of qualifying last night when there was a Christmas Tree malfunction that forced a restart.

 

Hight’s 4.059 second run was the quickest of the first round of eliminations. In the second round his 4.096 second run against Capps would have trailered eventual semi-finalist Bob Tasca III (5.056) and eventual winner Matt Hagan (4.105) in that same round.

 

“We made a great run in the first round our third 4.05 run of the weekend. This Auto Club Ford Mustang is turning around. We slowed down a little bit in the second round against Capps but we know how to make it run quicker in Norwalk,” said Hight. “The tracks are going to get hotter and I think we have a race car that can run in different conditions. We are still in the Top Ten and you need to hang onto those spots to get into the Countdown. It was good to see John get to another final.”

 

Courtney Force made a brief appearance today in eliminations before she was dismissed in an upset against No. 10 qualifier and Ford racer Tim Wilkerson. Force posted a 4.123 ET to Wilkerson’s 4.090.

 

“It was a little bit of a rough start this weekend. The rain didn’t help either. We only got one run on Friday because of it and we smoked the tires later in the evening. I mean, right as I hit the throttle it just went up in smoke. We probably should have put some newer tires on. The track was a lot better than we thought it was going to be,” Force said.

 

Force made her best run of the weekend in the second session on Saturday when she posted a 4.04 second run.

 

“Coming out on Saturday, we just had a malfunction in the electrical system in the car and the battery went dead. We were just having some bad luck. We finally got our car in the show on the last run. We went out and ran a 4.04, which is a great run; close to being one of my career best runs. It was such a great track on Saturday. You saw some great numbers on the board. But that 4.04 shot us up to the top half of the field, which was good for us,” said Force.

 

Force qualified in the No. 7 spot for race day, but got outrun by Wilkerson in their 6th career match-up. Force is now 5-1 against Wilkerson in previous events.

 

“Going up first round today, our car just went slower than we expected it to early on in the run. We started to drive around him down at the end. We were definitely gaining on him, but just ran out of real estate. He got the win over us, which was unfortunate for our team.”

 

“It’s just one of those days. You have to go through it. We came here off a win last weekend, and then we went out first round, but it’s all part of NHRA drag racing. Our Traxxas Ford Mustang Funny Car has been a pretty good car. We can run some good numbers. We can put 4.0’s on the board so I know we have a good car and we’re up there in the points so we just have to get back at it next weekend,” said Force.

 

After three tough runs in qualifying with engine failures a plenty, Top Fuel rookie Brittany Force laid down a solid run in round one of eliminations Sunday at Route 66 Raceway.

 

Facing fellow competitor Bob Vandergriff Jr., Force ran a 3.846 second pass at 322.11 mph, but fell short to his 3.843 pass. Amidst an early round loss, Force and her Castrol EDGE team are proud of the work they had accomplished in overcoming those engine issues.

 

“It was a close run against Vandergriff,” Force said. “I had never run him before, so I was excited to go out there and run against him. He had a great car all weekend. We finally stepped our car up and didn’t blow it up like we had been doing the entire weekend. Glad we stepped it up. We had a good run, but it just wasn’t quite good enough. I saw him right next to me, so I knew it was close. We’ll just have to give it another shot next weekend.”

 

Crew chief Dean Antonelli felt the heat all weekend long as well as he and co-crew chief Eric Lane called the shots to get the 26-year-old down track smoothly. It was no easy task, but entering the first round of eliminations, they hit on something golden.

 

“Our weekend started out not too bad the first qualifying session,” Antonelli said. “We ran an .84, but nicked the motor a little bit down track. We lost the night session that night. In Q2, we put a hole out early and probably should have had her shut it off and the motor got real unhappy and blew up. Last night in Q3, we thought we’d go for it, but something unhappy in the engine, but we haven’t really found any one particular thing. We made several changes and it responded good. We were trying to run .84 and ended up running a 3.84 in the first round, but we just kind of got clipped in the lights. It was a good race and a good recovery from how qualifying went. Hopefully we’re on track and look forward to Norwalk.”   

 

Even with the set-back today the Castrol EDGE team has confidence in their abilities. Brittany has qualified for the two quickest fields in NHRA history this weekend and Pomona1 (quickest field in history).

 

Mopar Racing

Mopar Racing–Mopar Doubles up on Wins at Route 66 NHRA Nationals with Hagan and Coughlin

Mopar Doubles up on Wins at Route 66 NHRA Nationals with Hagan and Coughlin
 
·         Mopar doubles up by earning both Funny Car and Pro Stock title wins at 16th annual Route 66 NHRA Nationals
·         Hagan posts third title win in his sixth final round appearance of the year to extend his lead in Funny Car Championship standings with six races left in regular season.
·         Coughlin earns his fifth career Pro Stock win at Route 66 Raceway and his second of the season
·         Just two points separate Coughlin and Johnson in second and third spot in the Pro Stock standings as they chase down the leader

Joliet, Ill. (Sunday, June 30, 2013) – Mopar drivers Matt Hagan and Jeg Coughlin Jr took top honours at the 16th annual Route 66 NHRA Nationals “doubling-up” at the Chicagoland area track with title wins in both Funny Car and Pro Stock classes for a third time in the 2013 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing series season. Hagan extended his lead in the Funny Car championship standings by posting his third victory of the season in the “Magneti Marelli Offered by Mopar” Dodge Charger R/T in his sixth final round appearance for Don Schumacher Racing. For his part, Coughlin earned his second win the year aboard the Jegs.com Mopar Dodge Avenger by taking his fifth career “Wally” trophy at Route 66 Raceway to jump into second place in the Pro Stock standings.

 

“It was great to have Matt Hagan and Jeg Coughlin Jr. add two more wins in their Dodge vehicles today with their efforts at the Route 66 Nationals and everyone at Mopar is very proud of the strong first half of the season we’ve had,” said Pietro Gorlier, President and CEO of Mopar, Chrysler Group LLC’s service, parts and customer-care brand. “Earning wins in both Pro Stock and Funny Car classes at the same event for the third time this year, is a great way to showcase all the hard work that Mopar HEMI-powered teams and drivers are putting in to defend both world titles this season.”

 

Drivers to previously double-up on National wins in both categories this year for Mopar were Johnny Gray and Allen Johnson at the GatorNationals, and then Gray again with Coughlin at the Kansas Nationals.

 

Hagan earned his Route 66 title win by defeating two of his Don Schumacher Racing teammates; After turning the win lights on in his first round match-up his against Gray, Hagan went on to run an incredible side-by-side, Mopar versus Mopar, showdown against defending world champion Jack Beckman, emerging the victor on a holeshot. His final round victory against John Force was earned by posting his best elapsed time of eliminations with a 4.605-second pass at 315.34 mph, to his competitor’s 4.113-seconds (304.80 mph) attempt.

 

“I don’t think you could put together a tougher line-up,” said Hagan in reference to having to battle two teammates, and veterans Bob Tasca III and Force to earn his eighth career victory. “We’re doing good things right now and we want to keep it up, but I want to stay humble. This is such a humbling sport. Things can change fast, so we’re just going to keep doing what we’ve been doing.”

 With six races left in the regular season, Hagan leads the championship over Cruz Pedregon and Force while his DSR teammates Gray, Ron Capps and Beckman are all right there in the closely contested battle in the top six spots.

 

In Pro Stock action, Coughlin took home his fifth win from the Route 66 venue for his second win of the 2013 season, bringing his victories total to 54 titles. He won this one in a final elimination match against opponent Greg Anderson after having to face his Mopar teammate Allen Johnson, winner of the previous event at the New England Nationals, in the semifinals.

 

“When I let out the clutch, the car didn’t feel the best that it had all day, and by the time I got into second and third gear I was just cracking the whip on the thing as hard as I could,” said Coughlin, who moved into second place in the standings just two points ahead of Johnson with the win and closing the gap on the leader Mike Edwards. “You look at the guys we had to race and there were certainly no easy rounds. To see that win light come on in my lane and to have such a huge win here feels amazing. I feel very fortunate to be standing here clutching this Wally (trophy).”

 

The next stop for Mopar teams and drivers is the fourth NHRA event in as many weeks taking place at this upcoming weekend at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio, marking the halfway point of the 2013 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing series with the 7th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals on July 4-7.

Richard Childress Racing

Richard Childress Racing–Kentucky Speedway Sprint Cup Post Race

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series

Quaker State 400
Kentucky Speedway
Sunday, June 30, 2013

Race Highlights:
Richard Childress Racing teammates finished 10th (Kevin Harvick), 19th (Jeff Burton) and 30th (Paul Menard) in the Quaker State 400.
Following the event at Kentucky Speedway, Harvick remains fourth in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver championship point standings, trailing leader Jimmie Johnson by 66 markers, while Menard ranks 15th, 151 points back, and Burton sits 21st, 182 points out of the top position.
The No. 29 Chevrolet SS team ranks fourth in the Sprint Cup Series owner championship point standings, with the No. 27 team 15th and the No. 31 team 22nd.
According to NASCAR’s Post-Race Loop-Data Statistics, Harvick completed 33 passes while running in the top 15, ranking him fifth in Quality Passes.
Harvick made 61 Green-Flag Passes, ranking him fifth in that category.
Burton was the ninth-Fastest Driver Early In a Run and made 62 Green-Flag Passes ranking him third overall.
Menard was credited with two of The Fastest Laps run and made 13 Green-Flag passes during the event.
Matt Kenseth earned his fourth victory of the 2013 Sprint Cup Series season and was followed to the finish line by Jamie McMurray, Clint Bowyer, Joey Logano and Kyle Busch.
The next Sprint Cup Series race is the Coke Zero 400 Powered by Coca-Cola at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday, July 6. The 18th race of the 2013 season is scheduled to be televised live on TNT beginning at 6:30 p.m. Eastern Time and broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Satellite Radio.

Menard Finishes 30th at Kentucky Speedway After Early Involvement in Multi-Car Incident
 
Paul Menard started the Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway from the 24th position after persistent rain showers postponed the originally scheduled Saturday night event until Sunday afternoon. In the early laps, Menard relayed to the crew that his SYLVANIA/Menards Chevrolet was loose on entry and tight through the middle of the corners. A competition-caution on lap 30 allowed Menard to come down pit road for fresh tires, fuel and spring rubber and wedge adjustments. The chassis adjustments seemed to help the handling of the No. 27 machine and Menard had worked his way up to 20th at lap 42. Just five laps later, the Eau Claire, Wis., native was involved in a multi-car incident, which ultimately brought out the red flag on lap 48. Menard sustained significant right-front fender and front bumper damage during the on-track melee and the crew went to work making repairs during multiple pit stops once the red flag was lifted. Restarting in the 36th position, four laps down to the leader, Menard struggled with a tight condition for the reminder of race. Though he had a battle-scarred race car, Menard and the crew never gave up. By virtue of not having to take the car to the garage, Menard was able to gain six positions in the remaining laps of the event to finish 30th, earning valuable points in his quest to make the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. Menard now sits 15th in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver championship point standings heading into Daytona International Speedway next weekend.
 
       Start – 24th               Finish – 30th            Laps Led – 0          Points – 15th
 
PAUL MENARD QUOTE:
“It’s unfortunate we got caught up in a wreck early at Kentucky Speedway. We never really got a chance to see what our SYLVANIA/Menards Chevrolet had. I have to thank my guys though, they did a great job of getting the car patched up, which allowed me to stay on the racetrack and gain several positions over the course of the event. We’ve got to keep our heads up and hope our luck changes next weekend at Daytona International Speedway.”
 
  
 
After being rained out Saturday evening, the NASCAR Sprint Cup engines fired back to life on Sunday with Kevin Harvick and No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet team rolling off the grid 22nd at Kentucky Speedway. NASCAR mandated a competition caution at lap 30 to allow teams to check tire wear and address handling issues because rain washed rubber off the track following Saturday’s heavy storms. Harvick started the first run by quickly picking off several spots, moving up to 17th place in just the first five laps.  With the competition yellow out on lap 30, crew chief Gil Martin dialed up a few quick adjustments to fix the tight handling No. 29 car and opted to only take two two tires for track position on the first stop of the day.  The strategy paid off with some ensuing caution laps pushing the team up to 11th place on lap 38.  On the next restart, Harvick was able to squeak by a big wreck that put the field under a red flag condition.  After making it to fifth by lap 60, the car began to develop a loose condition that would ultimately play a factor for the rest of the race.  The following green flag stop saw a slew of cars get caught by an ill-timed caution, which included Harvick and the Budweiser Chevrolet SS. The team rallied back to the lead lap with a few fortunate cautions going their way. Through laps 214 to 243, Harvick maintained a tough battle for a top-10 spot with the No. 5 and No. 24 cars, until the yellow came out again and put the spotlight back on Gil and the crew for one final strategy call to take the team to the end.  Right side tires and fuel with a small air pressure adjustment sorted the No. 29 Chevy back to ninth when the field took the green on lap 246.  When the dust settled, Harvick brought home a 10th place finish and maintained his fourth place slot in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship points Race to the Chase.
 
Start – 22nd                  Finish – 10th              Laps Led – 0            Points – 4th 

KEVIN HARVICK QUOTE:  “We were loose in and fairly free through the corners for most of the day.  Kentucky Speedway is a great place to race, but gave us all we could handle on getting our Budweiser Chevrolet to grip the turns.
 
 
  
Jeff Burton Overcomes Adversity to Finish 19th at Kentucky Speedway
 
Jeff Burton and the No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet SS team lined up 15th for the 400-mile race at Kentucky Speedway on Saturday. After waiting an extra day because Mother Nature washed out racing action on Saturday evening, the 43-car field took the initial green flag on Sunday afternoon. From the start, Burton and the Luke Lambert-led team battled a tight-handling condition through the corners of the 1.5-mile oval, but still managed to race up to 11th in the first 30, of 267, laps. That was when a pre-determined competition caution was displayed because rain washed so much rubber off the track the prior two days. After pitting for tires, fuel and air pressure adjustments, NASCAR penalized Burton for exiting pit road too fast in sections seven and eight. Taking the green flag at the tail end of the field in 34th, Burton picked up six positions before the caution waved again on lap 39. This time, Lambert called Burton to pit road for tires and additional adjustments. Once again, Burton was penalized for being too fast exiting pit road. This time, it was for sections two, three and eight. At this point, driver and crew chief realized there was a problem with the car’s tachometer. For the remainder of the race, Burton used extreme caution upon entry and exit of pit road, which resulted in no more penalties. After another caution restart on lap 46, Burton was scored 35th. A multi-car wreck on lap 48 brought out the red flag. Electing not to pit allowed the team to restart 20th. From there, Burt
on raced his way up to fifth and then ran in and near the top-10 for the middle stages of the race. Towards the latter stages, Burton let Lambert know he was tight through the turns and lost some of the grip he had earlier in the race. More stops for adjustments didn’t work to the team’s desire and they ended up finishing 19th. Burton is now 21st in the
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver championship point standings as the team heads to Daytona International Speedway for next Saturday night’s scheduled race.
 
 
Start – 15th            Finish – 19th          Laps Led – 0        Points – 21
 
JEFF BURTON QUOTE: “This was not the finish this Caterpillar team deserved. We were good in the early part of the race, then got way too tight before the car went to loose. It was very frustrating. Those speeding penalties on pit road cost us some, but we ended up racing our back into the top-10 for a while. The last part of the race just didn’t go the way needed it to for this team. I hate it, but I know we’re going to be good when we get to Daytona (International Speedway) next weekend.”
 

Summit Racing

Summit Racing–Line Marking Progress as Series Leaves Chicago

Line Marking Progress as Series Leaves Chicago
 
JOLIET, Ill. (June 30, 2013) – Summit Racing Pro Stock driver Jason Line was able to identify areas of success as well as a few trouble spots that need a little more fine-tuning over the course of the weekend at Route 66 Raceway near Chicago. The Mooresville, N.C.-based competitor had one of the quickest cars at the critical early incremental markers on the racetrack throughout qualifying and on raceday, and the important progress should be a building block as Team Summit continues their journey towards refreshing a championship-worthy program.
 
Line tucked away a 6.590 to 6.722 victory over Mark Martino in round one at the Route 66 NHRA Nationals and got the jump start on Jeg Coughlin in their second round meeting but fell into tire shake and gave up the advantage. Coughlin inched ahead for the 6.595 to 6.642 win, but Line counted the positives and is aiming to continue his consistent progress as the Countdown to the Championship comes into view.
 
“I was pretty happy with the 60-foot times we saw with my Summit Racing Camaro,” said Line, who qualified the blue Summit Racing Chevrolet Camaro in the No. 6 position with a best time of 6.584 at 209.33 mph. “That was good, and if we hadn’t shaken in the second round, we would have won that round and it would have made all the difference in our day. We would have gone down a decidedly different path. But still, the Summit Racing team took a step forward. We didn’t have the performance that we were looking for this weekend, but we made some strides.”
 
Line was particularly pleased to see his Summit Racing teammate Greg Anderson make progress this weekend with the new white Summit Racing Camaro. Anderson recorded his best qualifying performance since the race in Atlanta earlier this year and finished in the final round – his first of the season, while Line won the race in Houston. 
 
“This didn’t start out to be a very good year for us in terms of what this KB Racing team is used to,” admitted Line. “We’ve both struggled, but maybe Greg has struggled a little bit more, so it’s good to see him have a weekend like this. It certainly helped his situation points-wise, and anytime you get to the final, it’s a good day.”
 
Anderson moved up to the No. 7 position in the Pro Stock standings, and Line preserved his possession of the No. 4 spot. The Summit Racing duo will have another chance to move up in the series standings in just a few days, when the circuit makes its annual stop in Norwalk at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals, their title sponsors main event.
 
“The Summit Racing team is pretty excited to get back to Norwalk,” said Line. “It’s a race we look forward to all year. Every team goes through a little bit of a slump, but thankfully, it looks like we’re working our way out of this. It’s a gradual process, but hopefully, we’ll make Summit Racing proud next weekend. This race in Chicago was a good warm up, and we’re sure going to try to go a couple of steps further.”
 

Summit Racing

Summit Racing–Anderson Wheels Summit Racing Camaro to the Final Round in Chicago

Anderson Wheels Summit Racing Camaro to the Final Round in Chicago
 
JOLIET, Ill. (June 30, 2013) – Summit Racing Pro Stock driver Greg Anderson returned to familiar form at Route 66 Raceway this weekend at the 12th race of 24 on the 2013 Mello Yello Drag Racing Series schedule. The four-time Pro Stock world champion and 74-time national event winner qualified his three-race-new Summit Racing Camaro in the No. 4 position and took out some serious competitors en route to his first final round of the season.
 
“I had a good day,” said Anderson, who competed in the 113th final round appearance of his career. “I certainly can’t argue that. It was a good day for the Summit Racing team, and hopefully we can build on it when we get to Norwalk next week for the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals.”
 
Anderson launched into raceday with a qualifying-best 6.569 at 209.30 that would count as his best start since Atlanta earlier this season. Scheduled for a first-round meeting with veteran competitor V. Gaines, Anderson arrived at the Chicago-area racetrack in full race-mode and wearing his game face. The Mooresville, N.C.-based driver had a cool .016-second reaction time to Gaines’ .055 and sealed the deal at the top end on a holeshot, recording a slower e.t. but crossing the finish line ahead of his opponent thanks to a very strong start. Anderson’s scoreboard flashed a winning 6.619 at 208.94 mph to a 6.602 with an identical 208.94.
 
The victory set the stage for a repeat of last year’s final at Route 66 Raceway, when Anderson forfeited the win to Erica Enders-Stevens. Again, Anderson was first off the starting line, and his .002-second advantage was the deciding factor in his 6.662 to 6.660 win. The margin of victory was an incredible .0008-second, and with No. 1 qualifier Mike Edwards waiting in the wings, Anderson took a breath and steadily continued the charge. He wheeled his Summit Racing Camaro off the starting line with a psychic .002-second reaction and parlayed the tremendous advantage into an astonishing third consecutive holeshot win. Edwards was .076 at the starting line and a quicker but losing 6.640 at the finish line stripe.
 
“You can’t let your guard down out here at any time,” said Anderson, who moved up one position to occupy the No. 7 spot in the Pro Stock standings. “Second and third round, running Erica and Mike and not having lane choice – those were big rounds. You have to have a lot of luck to win those rounds, and I got lucky. But those were big wins for me; I haven’t had many wins like that this year. I’m realistic and I know we have to keep digging, but I’ve got to be happy about those wins.”
 
The charge came to an end in the final round of eliminations, when Anderson’s starting line advantage wasn’t quite enough against challenger Jeg Coughlin. Anderson was out of the gate first with a respectable .027 light to Coughlin’s .036, but he soon fell into tire shake and had to give up the run. Coughlin turned on the win light, 6.603 to 11.680.
 
“I think we had a lot of luck today, and even though we had a decent day, the reality is that we still have a lot of work to do to get our Summit Racing Camaros living up to their potential,” said Anderson. “I ran very well during qualifying, and that definitely put a smile on all of our faces over here in the KB Racing camp. Today, though, I was a little disappointed. I was happy to get the win light three times today, but it didn’t quite happen the way we wanted it to. We just weren’t able to get near where we were yesterday – there was a little bit of extra heat and sun on the racetrack and that crossed us up again. We are working to make sure that doesn’t continue.”
 
The final round in Joliet was the third consecutive final for Anderson at the event. Notably, Anderson was challenged at Route 66 Raceway for most of his career, and it was the only venue on the NHRA tour where he had not won before he closed the deal in 2011.
 
“It was the one I couldn’t get for a long time,” said Anderson. “But it’s a great racetrack, one where you can consistently go out there and make good, quality runs. I’ve raced quite a lot of years at this place, and nowadays it’s a lot of fun to come out here.
 
“What happened here this weekend is a morale booster, nobody on this team is going to leave here dragging their lip. The bottom line is that we did this as a team, and that’s good. A lot of good happened today, and we have to build off of that. Right now, I’m glad we go to Norwalk next week. The more we’re on the track, the better we’ll be.”

Chevrolet Racing

Chevy Racing–Action Express Racing and Stevenson Motorsports Repeat as Winners in Six Hours of the Glen to Give Team Chevy Double Victory

Action Express Racing and Stevenson Motorsports Repeat as Winners in Six Hours of the Glen to Give Team Chevy Double Victory
The Victory is the Second Consecutive in 2013 for Barbosa and Fittipaldi in Corvette DP and Fourth Win in Five Races for Camaro GT.R Piloted by Liddell and Edwards
 
WATKINS GLEN, New York (June 30, 2013) – Action Express Racing driver Joao Barbosa battled his way to Victory Lane at Watkins Glen International last year in the difficult and prestigious GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series Six Hours of The Glen. Today, behind the wheel of the No. 5 Action Express Racing Corvette Daytona Prototype (DP) with his new co-driver, Christian Fittipaldi, Barbosa made a return trip to the Winner’s Circle to occupy the top step on the podium and once again collect the winner’s trophy for the overall win.
 
The pair combined to lead 30 of the 171 laps completed in the six-hour race that saw bright sunny conditions quickly replaced with heavy rain that was just as quickly replaced with blue skies and warmer temperatures. Fittipaldi held off all challengers in the final stint of the race to bring the Corvette DP to the checkered flag first.
 
It is the second consecutive win and the third consecutive podium finish for Barbosa and Fittipaldi this season. The victory moved the team from fifth in the DP team standings to third.
 
Not to be outdone, John Edwards and Robin Liddell powered the No. 57 Stevenson Motorsports Camaro GT.R to the win in the Rolex Series Grand Touring Class (GT), also for the second consecutive year. The pair combined to lead a race-high 67 laps of the 164 run by the leaders in the GT class.
 
It is the fourth victory in the last five races for Edwards and Liddell, and closed the team to within six points of the leaders in the GT class standings.
 
“Our Chevrolet teams rose to the occasion today, and dealt with some changing and sometimes difficult circumstances throughout the Six Hours of the Glen,” said Jim Lutz, Chevrolet Racing Program Manager, GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series. “It is always a rewarding experience for everyone associated with the Team Chevy program in the Rolex Series to score a win in both Daytona Prototype and Grand Touring as we did today.  Congratulations to the No. 5 Action Express Racing Corvette DP team and the No. 57 Stevenson Motorsports Camaro team on their repeat victories in this prestigious race.”
 
Equaling its best finish of the season, a runner-up run at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, the No. 3 8Star Motorsports Corvette DP gave Chevrolet the first and second spots on today’s DP  podium.  Team owner Enzo Potolicchio started the race, and then Stephane Sarrazin and Michael Valiante shared the driving duties for remainder of the event. Valiante was in the cockpit for the final stint to make a charge for the win in the closing laps.
 
The two Corvette Daytona DP teams that came into today’s race holding the first and second spots in the standings suffered setbacks early in the race. The No. 10 Velolcity Worldwide Wayne Taylor Racing Corvette DP had a mechanical issue with the shifter linkage on the opening lap of the race.  The team was able to make repairs and the car driven by Max Angelelli and Jordan Taylor returned to competition. The team was credited with a 10th place finish and now sits in a tie in the standings for the top spot.
 
The No. 99 GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing Corvette DP piloted by Jon Fogarty and Alex Gurney came into the race second in the standings, but also had to battle back from a mechanical problem early in the race. Something went awry in the steering and sent it on an off-course excursion.  The team made repairs in the paddock and got the “Red Dragon” back in competition, but on the long track in a race that didn’t see a great deal of attrition, the team was relegated to a 14th place in class finishing position. They now sit fourth in the team standings.
 
In Saturday’s GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge, the No. 9 Stevenson Motorsports Camaro GS.R led the way for Team Chevy posting a sixth-place finish.
 
Next on the schedule for both the Rolex Series and the Continental Tire Challenge will be the Brickyard Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 25-26, 2013.
 
 
DRIVER POST RACE QUOTES:
 
NO. 5 ACTION EXPRESS RACING CORVETTE DAYTONA PROTOTYPE, OVERALL AND DP RACE WINNER:
CHRISTIAN FITTIPALDI: ON HIS THOUGHTS AS THE RACE CAME TO A CLOSE: “I don’t know. I was on the limit all the time.”
 
WHAT AN INCREDIBLE RACE. THAT WAS A FANTASTIC FINAL FEW LAPS. WERE YOU MORE CONCERNED ABOUT MICHAEL VALLENTE CATCHING YOU, OR THOSE LAPPED CARS THAT BOTH OF YOU WERE STARTING TO APPROACH ON THE FINAL LAP?
“I guess both. I knew that the No. 3 car had a very strong piece. They showed it a couple of times during the race. They were definitely stronger than us. But I think we played the game better than they did. And we, as a team, won the race today. Hats off to Joao, who drove an outstanding stint. And man, I’m very happy. Two in a row is a very nice feeling. We led at the three-hour mark and won the race, so it couldn’t have been a better weekend.”
 
YOU ALMOST HAD A FLAWLESS BECAUSE THERE AT THE END WHEN YOU WERE GOING THROUGH THE BOOT, YOU GOT SIDEWAYS. WHAT HAPPENED THERE? AND DID YOU THINK YOU MIGHT HAVE THROWN AWAY THE WIN?
“I was under limit. I was very heavily under limit every single lap that I could do and maybe I ran a little bit over a little bit. But I managed to catch it, I guess. That’s where 42 years of age and 20-some years of 30 years of racing counts a little bit. And I’m happy that that came into the play. That definitely helped me a little bit like experience over there and it was a great week and a great day. We didn’t have the quickest car on the track today. And I just think that the whole group as a team did an excellent job.”
 
JOAO BARBOSA: TALK ABOUT THE CHEMISTRY BETWEEN YOU AND CHRISTIAN AND THE TEAM: “It is working isn’t it? It’s like they say ‘We are in it to win it’. This was a great points day for us. We led at the three-hour mark. We led at six hours. We won the race overall. It is looking great for us in the points now. I think we made a great click.  This Action Express team, man…the chemistry that is going on is unbelievable. The car is running excellent. Christian did a fantastic job. He is a little worn out, but he’ll get over it (SMILES). What can I say, this group of guys has done a tremendous job, and the car drove awesome today.”
 
HOW SATISFYING IS THIS TO HAVE TWO WINS IN A ROW? LAST YEAR, YOU WERE USUALLY AT TEAM AROUND FOURTH OR FIFTH. NOW, YOU ARE SHOWING UP AND WINNING RACES.  “I don’t agree with that. We won the Six Hours last year. So, this team has been doing phenomenal. Obviously the chemistry is working so well and we were able to make the car go fast and these guys are awesome. They did a tremendous job. Every pit stop was great and we were able to bring the car home again in first place. Two wins and a second-place in the last three races and it is looking good. I’m really looking forward to the rest of the season.”
 
 
NO. 57 STEVENSON MOTORSPORTS CAMARO GT.R, GT CLASS WINNER:
JOHN EDWARDS: YOU HAD TO SIT THERE AND WATCH ROBIN WORK SO HARD THAT LAST STINT, HOW HARD IS THAT?  “It was really tough, especially with the changing conditions. I’ve always said I prefer to be in the car at the end, because sitting on the pit stand I just get a nervous twitch going on with my leg. That is the worst part of the race for me. When I got out of the car, that was the most nervous part for me. Ultimately the car was good in the dry, and we were hoping it wouldn’t rain because those conditions are really tough, and you might throw it off even if you are as good of a driver as anyone can be.”
 
ROBIN LIDDELL: THE PRESSURE WAS ON THE WHOLE WAY THROUGH WASN

Chevrolet Racing

Chevy Racing–Kentucky Speedway–Post Race

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
QUAKER STATE 400
KENTUCKY SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY POST RACE NOTES AND QUOTES
JUNE 30, 2013

JAMIE MCMURRAY, NO. 1 HELLMANN’S CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED SECOND
ON HIS RACE AND RUN THAT GOT SECOND PLACE FINISH:
“Yes, it was a really good day for us. I wasn’t sure after Happy Hour what we had. We’ve had really quick cars for the last two months, and have not been able to capitalize on it. We’ve had really unfortunate luck. But cool to have a really good run. I was quite a bit quicker than him (Clint Bowyer), and I guess the No. 20 (Matt Kenseth) wasn’t on tires, so you are just fighting to get by as quick as you can because you never know when a caution is going to come out, or how it is going to play out.”
 
JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 DRIVE TO END HUNGER CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED EIGHTH
TELL US ABOUT YOUR DAY:
“We had an awesome fast Drive To End Hunger Chevrolet that is for sure.  I think we passed more cars than anybody.  These pit stops just aren’t going our way.  If we try to stretch it doesn’t work our way.  If we try to pit early it doesn’t work our way.  I don’t know, you just have to keep working hard at it and hope they fall your way eventually.  Pit stops were great when we had them.  The car was awesome on the race track.  It took a little while for it to come in and that last restart I kind of timed it and the No. 18 (Kyle Busch) spun his tires and stacked us up, then cars were four-wide.  That didn’t certainly work out in our favor.”
 
WITH THE BAD LUCK YOU HAVE HAD THIS YEAR YOU GUYS HAVE BATTLED BACK TO 12TH IN POINT’S ONLY TWO POINT’S BEHIND 10TH.  TALK ABOUT HOW THE TEAM CONTINUES TO FIGHT TO GET IN THE CHASE:
“I’m happy the way we are running.  The last two weeks have been very promising.  That is going to help us as we move forward.  We are doing the right things.  We’ve got to continue to qualify better, execute better, hope some things go our way and then I have to be able to get those restarts.  The first one actually wasn’t that bad.  We were going to come out pretty good.  The last one, yeah, I could have done a better job.  I’m just happy with the way the car is working right now.”
 
A LOT OF GUYS COMPLAINED ABOUT THE TRACK HOW BUMPY IT IS. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON IF THEY SHOULD REPAVE IT OR JUST LEAVE IT THE WAY IT IS?
“I would rather it stay the way it is.  I don’t like repaves.  I think a smooth new pavement that they are putting on these race tracks now is worse than that.  Yeah, it’s rough and it beats the cars all up.  I don’t think we should be going down on the apron here on restarts.  I think that is pretty dangerous.  Other than that I like everything about the track.  It’s just trying to find a tire that works well here.  That is a challenging thing to do for this surface.”
 
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S DOVER WHITE CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED NINTH
ON FINAL RESTART:
“I don’t know. We were kind of in an awkward situation in that restart there. And then we were like three and four wide going in the corner, then something happened with the air and just kind of turned me around. Unfortunate, but at least we rallied back for a good finish.  The No. 20 (Matt Kenseth) broke the pace car speed, which you aren’t supposed to, but, they aren’t calling guys on that so I need to start trying that in the future.”

DALE EARNHARDT, JR., NO. 88 NATIONAL GUARD YOUTH FOUNDATION CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED 12TH
ON HITTING THE TIRE DEBRIS AND DAMAGING HIS CAR:
“You just fix it and keep going. The guys did a good job on pit road all day long working on it and trying to fix everything. I’m not sure we got everything back where it is supposed to be, but we did well-enough to get a decent finish out it. Just proud of how hard the team worked. Did a good job for qualifying, and put a good car out there for the race. Can’t do anything about what happened out there on the race track with that casing.  They worked hard on it to get it right, and get it good enough where we could run well. So, they deserve a lot of credit today.”
 
ON HITTING THE TIRE DEBRIS AND DAMAGING HIS CAR:
“You just fix it and keep going. The guys did a good job on pit road all day long working on it and trying to fix everything. I’m not sure we got everything back where it is supposed to be, but we did well-enough to get a decent finish out it. Just proud of how hard the team worked. Did a good job for qualifying, and put a good car out there for the race. Can’t do anything about what happened out there on the race track with that casing.  They worked hard on it to get it right, and get it good enough where we could run well. So, they deserve a lot of credit today.”
 

Chevrolet Racing

Chevy Racing–Kentucky Speedway–Jamie McMurray

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
QUAKER STATE 400
KENTUCKY SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
JUNE 30, 2013
 
JAMIE MCMURRAY LEADS TEAM CHEVY AT KENTUCKY SPEEDWAY
Five Team Chevy Drivers in the Top-10
 
 
SPARTA, Kentucky (June 30, 2013) – Jamie McMurray, No. 1 Hellman’s Chevrolet SS, recovered from early issues to finish second in today’s Quaker State 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup series race at Kentucky Speedway.  McMurray, who rallied from a mid-race tire problem, had one of the fastest cars in the field at the end of the 267-lap event.  With fresher tires, the Earnhardt Ganassi Racing driver was gaining on the leader in the closing laps, but was unable to catch him for the win.
 
The race, which was originally scheduled to run Saturday night, but postponed until noon Sunday due to rain, was dominated by Chevrolet driver Jimmie Johnson until an incident on the final restart.  Johnson, who led a race-high 182 laps in his No. 48 Lowe’s Dover White Chevrolet SS, lost control of the car and spun on a restart with less than 25 laps to go. After a pit stop for tires, Johnson made a furious charge from the back to finish ninth in the race and maintain his position as the series point leader. He now holds a 38-point advantage over second place.
 
Kurt Busch, behind the wheel of the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing/Sealy Chevrolet SS, scored his second straight top-ten finish and came home sixth.  The finish helped Busch move up three positions in the standings to 14th.  
 
Jeff Gordon gained more valuable points with a solid eighth-place finish in his No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet SS, which enabled him to move up one spot in the standings to 12th.   Richard Childress Racing driver Kevin Harvick, No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet SS, finished 10th in today’s event and remains fourth in the overall standings.
 
Dale Earnhardt, Jr., No. 88 National Guard Youth Foundation Chevrolet SS, started on the pole for the race, but hit debris from a shredded tire early in the race.   After several repairs by the crew and some determined driving, Earnhardt Jr. came back to finish 12th. 
 
Matt Kenseth (Toyota) was the race winner, Clint Bowyer (Toyota) was third, Joey Logano (Ford) was fourth, and Kyle Busch (Toyota) was fifth to round out the top-five finishing order.
 
Next stop on the circuit will be Round 18 at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday, July 6th.  Green flag is set for 7:30 pm ET and will air live on TNT, Sirius/XM Channel 90, PRN Radio and

Mopar Racing

Mopar Racing–Record Setting Run by Capps Gives Mopar No.1 Qualifier Honors at Route 66 NHRA Nationals

Record Setting Run by Capps Gives Mopar No.1 Qualifier Honors at Route 66 NHRA Nationals
 
·         Mopar is competing at 16th annual Route 66 NHRA Nationals this weekend at Route 66 Raceway in Joliet, Ill., the 12th of 24 national events
·         Capps sets both track e.t. and speed records with the third quickest pass in NHRA history to earn Funny Car No.1 qualifier position
·         DSR teammates Capps , Beckman are two of four drivers to run under the four second barrier
·         Johnson and Coughlin Jr. earn second and third qualifying spots in Pro Stock competition

Joliet, Ill. (Saturday, June 29, 2013) – A record setting run by Don Schumacher Racing’s Ron Capps in his Dodge Charger R/T earned him No.1 qualifier honors for the 16th annual Route 66 NHRA Nationals. Saturday evening’s cool temperatures and perfect track conditions set the stage for Capps’ run of 3.988 seconds with a top speed of 320.28 mph, the third quickest pass in NHRA history, setting both the Funny Car elapsed time and speed records at the Chicagoland area track.

 

The Mopar driver posted the first three-second pass in the track’s history during the final qualifying session where three more entries, including his teammate Jack Beckman, would also run sub four-second elapsed times, but none were able to beat it.

 

“I really didn’t think it would hold since we ran so early in the session,” said Capps who’s record setting pass gave him his first top qualifier position of the season, his first at Route 66 Raceway, and the 15th of his career. “It was a great run. I thought [Matt] Hagan or [Jack] Beckman would go quicker than that, but we’ll take it. I’ve been hit or miss at this place, so maybe we can get one tomorrow. It’s great for the fans to have two night sessions. Funny Cars racing at night, it doesn’t get a lot better than that.”

 

Capps will face Bob Bode in the first round of Sunday’s eliminations.

 

Jack Beckman’s elapsed time pass of 3.993-seconds (319.52 mph) was good enough to put his Mopar in third spot and will give him lane choice over Alexis DeJoria in the opening round.

 

After sitting second in the sole Friday session with a 4.040 seconds (317.19 mph) pass, Matt Hagan ended up sixth in his “Magneti Marelli Offered by Mopar” machine after a mechanical problem with the lighting tree delayed his final qualifying attempt against Robert Hight. Once they restaged their Funny Cars, neither were able to complete the run or take a shot a adding their names to the list of drivers breaking the four second barrier that evening.

 

For his first round showdown, Hagan, who has two wins this year and is the current Funny Car points leader, will face the Mopar of his teammate Johnny Gray, who is third in those championship rankings with three wins of his own so far and who qualified 11th with a 4.064-second (310.70 mph) effort.

 

The 70 degree track temperature for Saturday’s final Pro Stock qualifying session also helped Allen Johnson and his Mopar Express Lane Dodge Avenger initially set a track record with a 6.556-second run to go to the top of the qualifying score sheets, but his efforts were short lived as current points leader Mike Edwards earned his tenth No.1 qualifier position of the season with his own record low e.t. of 6.542 seconds and 210.64mph. That put Johnson second overall in qualifying and matched him up with Steve Kent for the first round of eliminations.

 

Johnson’s Mopar teammate and driver of the Jegs.com entry, Jeg Coughlin Jr., ran his own impressive 6.565-second e.t. with a speed of 209.92 mph to put him third on the qualifying score sheets, pitting him against Roger Brogden in the opening elimination round.

 

Fellow HEMI-powered entry of Vincent Nobile qualified eighth and will start against Greg Stanfield, while V. Gaines will pit his own Mopar against Greg Anderson in the first elimination round battle.

 

Summit Racing

Summit Racing–Line Encouraged by Early Numbers, Set for Strong Raceday in Joliet

Line Encouraged by Early Numbers, Set for Strong Raceday in Joliet
                                                                                                   
Event:  16th annual Route 66 NHRA Nationals
Location: Route 66 Raceway, Chicago, Illinois
Day/Date: Saturday, June 29, 2013
 
The final day of qualifying at the Route 66 NHRA Nationals at Chicago’s Route 66 Raceway was one of the best of the 2013 season of Mello Yello Drag Racing in terms of elapsed time and speed, with a remarkable series of 6.5-second blasts in the ultra-competitive Pro Stock category, including the 6.584 at 209.33 mph recorded by Summit Racing campaigner Jason Line, who will start sixth on raceday.
 
The first day of the event, the 12th of 24 on the 2013 schedule, allotted only a single qualifying session due to looming stormy weather. Line cleared the finish line with a 6.637 at 208.30 mph and ended the first day in the No. 6 spot, and in Saturday’s first session, the Mooresville, N.C.-based driver improved to a 6.611 at over 209 mph.
 
After the first session, the final round of qualifying was projected, accurately, to be the best. Line and the rest of the Pro Stock class watched as the air improved and the track temperature dropped dramatically, creating prime conditions for mind-blowing runs. Line was among those in the category to make their best run of the weekend so far in the later session.
 
“The conditions changed between the time we left the trailer and we got up there to the staging lanes,” said Line. “The session was fun, and it was good because you usually just kind of know who is going to go fast – it would be hard to bet against certain people right now – but there were a couple of surprises in there.
 
“Maybe it wasn’t the smartest thing to do, but in my particular case we used the run as a test. My car did not make a great run, it shook really hard [through] second gear, but we learned something – and it 60-footed phenomenal. I don’t know that I ever went faster than that [to the 60-foot timer].”
 
Although the final timer on the racetrack is the critical decider in terms of round wins, the 60-foot marker is a carefully watched increment in a category where victories are often recorded by mere thousandths of a second.
 
Line’s .965-second dash to the first timing block was the quickest of all the Pro Stock cars, and the Summit Racing team proved that they certainly have the first part of the smooth racing surface figured out better than most as Line’s KB Racing teammate Greg Anderson wasn’t far behind (.968).
 
“All in all, things ended up pretty good today,” said Line, who will race Mark Martino in the first round of eliminations for the first time this year. “We got the Summit Racing Camaros to run a little bit better, and I have a good starting spot for tomorrow. I’d say we’re all looking forward to tomorrow morning.”

Summit Racing

Summit Racing–Anderson Rejuvenated and Ready for Raceday at Route 66 Raceway

Anderson Rejuvenated and Ready for Raceday at Route 66 Raceway
 
Event:  16th annual Route 66 NHRA Nationals
Location: Route 66 Raceway, Chicago, Illinois
Day/Date: Saturday, June 29, 2013
 
Greg Anderson wasn’t satisfied when he left Route 66 Raceway near Chicago on Friday night, but the Summit Racing Chevrolet Camaro pilot returned on the second day of the Route 66 NHRA Nationals and quickly made amends with his racecar. The powerful combination of seasoned driver and improving hot rod clocked one of the quickest runs of the day in the closing session of qualifying to launch all the way up to the No. 4 position.
 
The first day of qualifying was abbreviated by one session when storms in the area surrounding Route 66 Raceway became a threat, and Anderson was deeply disappointed to forfeit a round after a 6.636 at 208.17 mph. The four-time Pro Stock champion seemed to realize that the pass was really just a warm-up to what was ahead. Sitting fifth after day one, Anderson improved in the first session on Saturday to a 6.621 at 208.23 and prepared for the final round of qualifying with optimism. The conditions were predicted to be ideal for incredible numbers, and the session certainly lived up to expectations.
 
In his white Summit Racing Camaro, Anderson got a hold of the racetrack and jetted to a head-turning 6.569 at 209.30 that was fourth-quickest in the category.
 
“That run felt a lot better,” said an enthused Anderson. “The racetrack and air were significantly better, and the whole class picked up. We gained on the pack, and that’s good; it’s definitely a good feeling going into Sunday. We think we can learn from what happened today and apply that towards tomorrow, so we’re going to bed feeling a little happier tonight.
 
“We’ll see how much sunshine we get tomorrow, and how the racetrack holds up, but it’s great out there and the surface just seems to be getting better every run.”
 
Anderson’s start from the No. 4 position is his best qualifying performance since the race in Atlanta earlier this year, and with a new car performing well in only its third event, the Mooresville, N.C.-based driver is looking forward to Sunday.
 
“We went into that last session thinking, ‘here is our opportunity, we have to capitalize on it,’ and I think we did,” said Anderson, who will race V. Gaines in round one on raceday. “We’re making forward progress, and we’re happy. Tonight was fun – these are the kind of race conditions we enjoy, and I wish we could do that more often. Now tomorrow we’ll see if we can negotiate the racetrack, take what we learned, and apply it.”
 

John Force Racing

John Force Racing–Chicago Qualifying

CAREER BEST ET HAS FORCE 5TH GOING INTO CHICAGO ELIMS

 

JOLIET, IL – The conditions were some of the best the NHRA has ever seen and the Funny Cars took advantage as four drivers made three second passes, a record for an NHRA Mello Yello Series national event, in the final qualifying session. John Force had the quickest Funny Car on Friday and in the first session today but in a long final session the 15-time champion Force’s career quickest ET, 4.010 seconds, was only good enough for the No. 5 qualifying spot. Ron Capps recorded the first three second pass at Route 66 Raceway and will be the No. 1 qualifier on Sunday with his 3.988 second run. Force will race former teammate Tony Pedregon in the first round tomorrow at the 16th annual O’Reilly Auto Parts Route 66 NHRA Nationals.

 

“We ran 4.0s every run this weekend. Three runs in a row in the 4.0s out of three qualifying runs. Courtney got in on the last run with a 4.04. The Don Schumacher Racing teams stepped up and put a bunch of threes out there and so did Del Worsham (Kalitta Motorsports),” said Force.

 

“The conditions were there and it was trying to run a three right there at the end but it dropped a cylinder and still ran 4.01 seconds. We are OK and I will have to race Tony Pedregon in the first round. He threw a 4.09 out there. This was a great race for the fans. We found the consistency that we want. (Auto Club crew chief) Jimmy (Prock) right there at the end just like (Matt) Hagan didn’t get to do a burnout. You can’t look at performance from that run. Tomorrow will be a different situation.”

 

When Force is talking about consistency he can look back at the previous two races where his Castrol GTX Ford Mustang has posted the quickest ET five out of seven sessions and was 5th quickest in the other two sessions. He has also had a consistently quick Funny Car on race day earning seven round wins over the past two weeks.

 

Force’s 4.010 second run tonight was a career best for the winningest Funny Car driver in NHRA history. His previous quickest run was 4.011 seconds at the Reading national event in 2011.

 

Robert Hight and the Auto Club Ford Mustang team stepped up in the first session on Saturday running 4.052 seconds and grabbing the No. 5 qualifying spot. It also earned the 2009 Mello Yello Funny Car champion one qualifying bonus point as the third quickest run of the session. The run was quick enough to put Hight at the back of the pack for the night session. His two runs this weekend of 4.055 and 4.052 seconds show the team has the consistency to go rounds.

 

As the second session came to a close Hight was paired with Matt Hagan right in front of John Force and Jack Beckman. As Hight and Hagan staged the Christmas Tree staging system remained dark and as each team brought this to official starter Mark Lyle’s attention fuel was being consumed rapidly in each Funny Car. The decision was made to push each team back and let them add fuel then run after Force and Beckman. It was a reasonable solution to a terrible situation. Both teams smoked the tires at the hit of the throttle bringing a tremendous night of performance to an anti-climactic end.

 

“I am just glad we got two runs in today. When you looked at the forecast it was a shaky deal. I am glad we got all three Funny Cars in the top half so we will all have lane choice. We could get three Funny Cars to the semi-finals tomorrow,” said a dejected Hight. “The conditions tomorrow will not be anything like tonight so it will be anybody’s race. I have Chad Head and I know Jim Head his dad and crew chief will give him a good race car. We will be ready. We want to keep the John Force Racing winning streak alive.”

 

Courtney Force and her Traxxas Ford Mustang team made one of their best runs to date tonight at Route 66 Raceway. The team ended the day in the No. 7 spot and will have lance choice over fellow Ford driver Tim Wilkerson in the opening round on Sunday.

 

“I’m very proud of my team. We struggled a little bit during qualifying, but the fact that we could make such a big come back and run such a good number in the last qualifying session, especially under that pressure, says a lot for our Traxxas Ford Mustang team,” said Force, the winner of last weekend’s inaugural race in Epping, New Hampshire.

 

Force came into Saturday not in the show after qualifying was shortened to just one round on Friday. The Traxxas Ford Mustang Funny Car team had traction issues and ran a 9.742 second pass, leaving them in the No. 18 spot.

 

“We only got one qualifying run in yesterday due to the rain, which is a little unfortunate. The track cooled down and was actually a lot better than we expected it to be. It cooled down quickly. The sun went down and when we got out there to run we probably should have switched to a different set of tires,” said Force. “We went there and didn’t realize how good the track was and struck the tires immediately. We didn’t get a good run out of it, but luckily we got two more chances today.”

 

Since the 25-year-old Funny Car driver did not make the top 12 after the first qualifying session, she had to enter Saturday with a clean slate.

 

In the first session today, the Traxxas Ford Mustang had a short in the electrical system and that, in turn, drained the battery. The car shut off on the starting line after the burnout and the team went back to their pit area to prepare for the final session to qualify.

 

“First run we had a little bit of bad luck. We couldn’t make a pass on that run so there was definitely some pressure getting our Traxxas Ford Mustang qualified in the final session. It was a lot of pressure on me as a driver. I was nervous, but I felt okay. I know we have a great car tuned by Ron Douglas, it’s just a matter of getting it down there and my team came through in a big way,” said Force.

 

Force drove her Traxxas Ford Mustang straight down the track to make a 4.04 second pass and jumped up to the top half of the field.

 

 “I have all the faith in the world in my guys, so I knew that we would be able to get the job done. If not, I was planning on just pedaling it all the way down there to make sure we got it in the show. Luckily we went out there and ran a 4.04 and it took us to the top half of the field,” said Force.

 

Brittany Force, driver of the Castrol EDGE dragster, wound up 14th on the ladder going into Sunday’s elimination rounds.

 

With a run of 3.849 seconds at 317.49, she will face fellow Top Fuel competitor Bob Vandergriff in round one for the first time in her career.

 

“This is the first time I’ll be running Bob Vandergriff. He’s an awesome driver, so I’m excited to go up against him. Hopefully we can make some changes to our car and go some rounds tomorrow.”

 

Despite having two engine failures in her final two qualifying attempts, Force managed to make consistent runs, allowing her to qualify for her 11th race of the 2013 NHRA Mello Yello Series season.

 

“We were able to get two runs today. The first run it threw the rods out and the second run it had a hole out, so it caused the engine to blow up right before the lights. I’m hoping we can make those changes before tomorrow because we completely destroyed the engine. That’s not good for this Castrol EDGE team, but I know we’ll figure it out and make those changes.”