PERMATEX/FOLLOW A DREAM TEAM BREAKS EPPING SPEED RECORD

Marstons Mills, MA-July 27, 2015-With a run of 266.27 mph – fastest in team history – Jay Blake’s Permatex/Follow A Dream team shattered the New England Dragway speed record by 4 mph at the Eastern Regional. Driver Todd Veney qualified No. 2 in the Top Alcohol Funny Car field on that run with a 5.60 E.T. but overpowered the track in eliminations and was upset by veteran Eric Lourie.

“It shook the tires about 100 feet out,” said Veney, who slipped to a 5.90 in the first round but still made the fastest run of the round, 259.51 mph, in a loss to Lourie’s 5.79 at 245.54 mph. “It seemed to come out of nowhere – no way did I think that was going to happen. The car had been going right down the track all weekend. I shut off on a test run before the race and coasted to a 5.71 at 218 mph, so it’s tough to lose to a 5.79, but when the car makes as much power as it is right now, you’re close to the edge all the time.”

The disappointing loss dropped the team’s win-loss record on its first four-race tour to 9-2, with a regional win at Lebanon Valley Dragway and the team’s first national event title in nine years, at Norwalk. “It was still a good trip – no, a great trip,” said Blake. “This race hurt for the regional title because the guy who was right behind us in points [Matt Gill] got to the final, but two wins in one trip is really good for anybody – especially when one of them is at a national event.”

The Follow A Dream team’s next race is the East Regional closer July 31-Aug. 1 in Atco, N.J. After that, it’s nothing but national events for the rest of the season – Indianapolis, Charlotte, and Maple Grove.