With its fourth final-round appearance of the season, Jay Blake’s Permatex/Follow A Dream team climbed to third in the national Top Alcohol Funny Car rankings, behind only yearlong leader Tony Bartone and perennial champ Frank Manzo.

At the Division 1 Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event at New England Dragway, the team’s home track, Veney tied his career-best by qualifying in the No. 2 spot, behind only Manzo, with a 5.69. Following a close 5.80 to 5.88 win over Wayne Morris and an easy 5.69 win when semifinal opponent Fred Tigges broke, Veney lost the final to Manzo, 5.60 to 5.71. Manzo’s run took the track record from the Permatex/Follow A Dream team, which ran a 5.62 at New England Dragway last year.

“I’m getting a little tired of running Frank Manzo in all these finals, but to be that high in the standings, ahead of all those great teams, is unbelievable,” said driver Todd Veney. “We got as high as fifth at one point last year, and we were fifth earlier this year, but third is the highest this team and I have ever been. Now we just need to turn some of these final-round appearances into wins.”

“Frank’s always tough – there’s a reason he’s won all those championships – but it was a great weekend for our team,” Blake said. “We had friends and family from all over the New England area in our pit, especially Saturday night for eliminations, and it was great to get to the final for them.”