Follow A Dream Racing

Follow A Dream Heads to Reading

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.”

Louise Cook

Louise Cook Ends First Year Beautifully


Louise Cook, 24 from Maidstone in Kent, completed her debut season in the Dulux Trade MSA British Rally Championship this weekend. Louise became the DT MSA BRC Ladies Champion and collected 2nd place from 13 runners in Britain’s most competitive one make rally series, the M-Sport Ford Fiesta Sport Trophy. Louise was forced to contest the season in the older slower Fiesta ST due to a lack of funds but amazingly against 11 male drivers in the new Fiesta R2, Louise finished the season with 11 drivers behind her in the table. Louise also collected a top 10 in the BRC Formula 2 championship, 7th/21 Junior, and 7th/21 in BRC R2 Class.
“I am over the moon, I thought the cancellation of the Isle of Man Rally had taken all my chances away of a better championship position, but our consistent quick pace through the season worked in our favour.” Said the British Champion.
The late news just the day before Trackrod Rally Yorkshire that October’s Rally Isle of Man was unexpectedly cancelled meant International Rally Yorkshire became the season’s final event. The drop scores of the British Rally Championship were no longer applicable so all 6 scores now counted.
Cookie suffering a non start on the previous round in Ulster left Louise in limbo. “As soon as I got the email, I spent an hour working out every possibility. If I won the rally outright above all the 4WD cars I could not finish any higher than 4th in the Fiesta Sport Trophy. If I got the car to the finish, I would climb the table to 4th and maybe climb further in the unlikely event of the Finland Fiesta Sport Trophy Champion 2010 Jussi Kumpumaki and ex Karting Champion Nick Cristofaro not making the finish. I could even get as far up as second in the Fiesta Sport Trophy UK so I just had to get the Fiesta home. No rally driver wants to drive slowly, it was painful, and much more stressful than driving flat out! I knew I had a duty to my sponsors to give them the best result I could after all their support this season. I had to be professional and do my job.” Said Cook.
The first stage, 14 miles of the notorious Dalby Forest got under way. 5 miles in, Louise’s competitor, Jussi Kumpumaki had crashed off the road. “It was good to see that they were alright, and the car, though dented, did not look so bad. I thought, these stages must be really tricky as the Finish Fiesta Sport Champion Kumpumaki is a great driver. It started to blow my mind and I felt the pressure double as a finish would now mean joint 3rd with Jussi.” Said Louise.
Cookie carried on through the next three stages and got to the first service all intact with no problems to report. It was then back out to another two stages,
the Langdale stage being particularly rough, a real car breaker. “I thought if a car is going to break, it is going to break here.” said Louise.
The crew made it through and back for 2nd service. After looking through the times, competitor Nick Cristofaro had no times posted for the last 2 stages. Louise noticed he was also not at the time control for Service In. Nick had fell victim to the Langdale stage, breaking a driveshaft. This now meant Louise’s professional strategy and painful caution had put her in a position to climb to an unbelievable 2nd place in her debut season in the Ford Fiesta Sport Trophy if only she could make it to the end. The pressure was really on. “I still had 3 stages to get round, including Langdale, which had a surface like the Moon!! I couldn’t believe it. I was cringing at every bump and pot hole and avoided anything that could get in the way of 2nd place. I was accelerating so progressively to look after the drive shafts and short shifted to save the engine and gearbox, it was intense!” Said Cook.
Louise finished the rally drama free and 2nd in the Fiesta Sport Trophy Championship for 2011 was hers along with being crowned British Ladies Rally Champion and in her debut season in the DT MSA British Rally Championship.

Brianna Leigh Blintzler

Brianna Blintzler Had a Great Weekend!

Thanks to Tyler Caheely, Brianna’s car ran in the 4.31’s all five passes down the track!  4.313 / 4.316 / 4.319 / 4.319 / 4.315
 
 
Yesterday, Brianna ran three classes in three different cars with three different lights and, good or bad, cut two perfect lights!  First pass in her Jr. Comp car on a 5/10th Pro tree and the first pass in her Bracket car on a 5/10th Sportsman tree.

Kasey Kahne Racing

Kasey Kahne Racing Recap

Joey Saldana triumphed at Hartford Motor Speedway in Michigan on Wednesday night after returning behind the wheel of the # 9 Red Bull Maxim for the first time since an injury sidelined him in July.

Joey Saldana, driver of the #9 Red Bull/Sage Fruit Maxim

Many people told him it was too soon. His family and friends cautioned him against it. Joey Saldana, though, knew Wednesday night at Hartford Motor Speedway he was ready to return to World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series action.

With support from car owner Kasey Kahne, Saldana climbed back into the #9 Red Bull Maxim for the first time in nine weeks, since suffering a shattered right forearm, a punctured lung and broken ribs in scary crash during the Kings Royal in July at Eldora Speedway. He never looked back. Saldana earned the pole position at the half-mile dirt oval and dominated the 25-lap feature for his fifth victory of the season and the most uplifting win of his career.

“This was way more than I expected tonight,” said Saldana. “My family thought it was too soon but I kept telling them I was ready. I was working out very hard at Pit Fit in Indianapolis to get myself ready to come back. I wanted to come back and be competitive and build something for next year. That’s why I came back for these races. I know and respect racing. Several drivers have been in accidents like mine and will never crawl back into a car. I’m very lucky and blessed to be here tonight and to come away with a win is huge.”

An eight in the dash inversion draw put Saldana on the outside row for the 6-lap sprint that determines the first 10 starting spots of the main event. Saldana wrestled the lead away from four-time champion Donny Schatz to earn the right to start on the pole for the 25-lap feature.

Saldana raced away from the field at the drop of the green flag and held Schatz and the rest of the field at bay through three restarts.

Paul McMahan, driver of the #83 HR Cattle/Roth Motorsports Maxim

Paul had another solid night in the #83 HR Cattle/Roth Motorsports Maxim. He started out the night with a fourth-place qualifying effort and finished fourth in his heat. He finished seventh in the dash and eighth in the A-main event. He is still fourth in the point standings.

-Cody Darrah, driver of the #91 Great Clips/Sage Fruit/ASE Maxim

Cody qualified third, finished third in his heat and fifth in the Dash. After being involved in an on-track incident in the early stages of the A-main, Cody finished 19th. He is still 10th in the point standings.  

Ross Hoek Motorsports

Ross Hoek Motorsports Introduces Ignite Racing Fuels @ Chicagoland!

Ross Hoek Motorsports Introduces Ignite Racing Fuels @ Chicagoland!
 
Holland, MI (September 20, 2011) – Ross Hoek Motorsports was really looking forward to the return to The Dirt Track at Chicagoland Speedway as the technical layout was a favorite from a year ago. After missing the middle portion of the TORC race season due to a catastrophic incident at Charlotte, Ross Hoek got back into the game with a top ten finish his first race back at Crandon.  Heading into Chicagoland, Ross was also looking forward to show-casing his newest marketing partner; National Biofuel Distribution. Ross Hoek Motorsports will be promoting the Ignite High Performance Ethanol brand of racing fuels for NBD.

Adding to the anticipation of racing during Chicagoland Speedway’s NASCAR week was the announcement that Thursday night’s racing schedule would be broadcast live on the SPEED Channel.  Before the SPEED Channel broadcast, Ross Hoek had to make sure of a strong performance by the Ignite, Allstar Performance, Venom Energy sponsored Ford Ranger. Once again rain fell during a TORC race event, which caused the cancellation of first two practice sessions. This made the last practice also the qualifying session. With an untested, brutal track and flashbacks of the Charlotte disaster, Ross took it easy and settled for at fourteenth qualifying position in the twenty truck PRO-Light field.
 
When it was time to race, Ross Hoek ran a fairly contact free race while still challenging for a top five finish. After some fierce door to door racing, Ross Hoek crossed the finish line in eighth place.
 
The result was not the finish the RHM team was looking for, but it was great preparation for Thursday’s television showcase. 

Needless to say, Thursday night was one of the biggest nights of racing for Ross Hoek and the rest of the TORC competitors.   
 
Round 12 action saw Ross run a very smart race, once again running hard looking for that top five finish. It looked like it might happen, but a slight miscue had the #21 Ignite Racing Fuels, Allstar Performance, Venom Energy sponsored Ford Ranger finishing the night in seventh place.
 
“Both nights we ran fairly well,” remarked Ross Hoek. “With nearly twenty PRO-Light trucks taking the green flag every time out, the level of competition is really incredible. We came out of this midweek race in great shape, nothing major needs to be replaced. Our finishes were solid. I’m pretty happy with our results.”
 
“It’s great to have Ignite on board for the rest of year.  Finishing on the podium every time out is our goal and with the help of great partners like Ignite, Allstar Performance, BFGoodrich tires, Royal Purple, and Venom Energy our team will be one to watch.”

Subaru Road Racing Team

Subaru Road Racing Team Leads at Mid-Ohio

The Subaru Road Racing Team wrapped up its 2011 Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge season with a 15th place finish at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course near Lexington, Ohio, racing in a 39-car Grand Sports class field.
 
The SRRT effort included eight race laps in the lead, and determined runs up through the field by both of the car’s drivers, and strategic pit stops supported with heads-up pit action by the crew.
 
Bret Spaude, Bushnell, Fla., qualified the #35 SRRT Impreza WRX STI in 15th place and moved up to 6th by the end of his 50-min stint in the driver’s seat.  Teammate Andrew Aquilante, Chester Springs, Pa., took over at that point, re-entering the race in 26th place. He moved through the field quickly, emerging in the race lead on lap 39 and remained there for eight laps.
 
Aquilante made a second refueling stop with 40 minutes to go in the 2.5-hour race and worked his way back to 13th place, before late race cautions bunched the field.

Nitrous Xpress Top Fuel Dragster

Contratulations to Emily Herod and Nitrous Express!

Emily Herod Driver of the Nitrous Express Dragster had her sights set upon becoming the next World Champion early in 2011.  Emily and team traveled up from Texas to the FASS Nationals at Indianapolis in June to debut the car and they won the event.
 
Soon after Indy they  began preparations and testing  for the World Finals in September and her quest to become World Champion.
 
Mike Woods owner of Nitrous Express was on hand at Heartland Park and was very excited to see his team blow away the competition by running a 8.13Et at 173.70mph
 
I have been on cloud nine since last Saturday! Of course I would never have gotten there without God. Mike Wood and the entire Nitrous Express crew have worked their butts off preparing the car for every race and I want to give them a big thanks for that! I have had so much fun racing that car this year and winning the World Championship put icing on the cake. I met and raced great people at the events,  
everyone was friendly to me and my family. We are looking forward to next year and maybe we can pull off another championship. Thanks to the NHRDA for great hospitality and putting on great events and races !
Sincerely,
 
Emily Herod
2011 Top Diesel World Champion
 

Race Winners

Race Results Week Ending 9/25/11

Nascar
Sprint Cup- Loudon NH- Sylvania 300- Tony Stewart
Camping World Truck Series- FW Webb 175- Kyle Busch
KN East-New Hampshire 125- Brett Moffitt
Whelan-New Hampshire 100- Ron SIlk

NHRA
Top Fuel — Bob Vandergriff:  Vandergriff’s first win EVER.
Funny Car — Cruz Pedregon
Pro Stock — Jason Line
Pro Stock Motorcycle — Michael Phillips
Top Alcohol Dragster — Chase Copeland
Top Alcohol Funny Car — Tony Bartone
Competition Eliminator — Bruno Massel
Super Stock — Jerry Emmons
Stock Eliminator — Gary Emmons
Super Comp — Richard Pierson
Super Gas — Tommy Phillips
Top Dragster — Phil Unruh

Race Winners

Race Report Week Ending 9/19/11

Nascar
Sprint Cup- Chicago- Geico 400- Tony Stewart
Nationwide Series- Chicago- Dollar General 300- Brad Keselowski
Camping World Truck Series- Chicago- Fast Five 225- Austin Dillon
Whelan 66/99 by Town Fair Tire- Todd Szegeddy

Indy Car- Japan Final- Scott Dixon

Grand Am- Emco Gears Classic- Ryan Dalziel, Enzo Potollcchio

NHRA
Top Fuel — Antron Brown
Funny Car — Matt Hagan
Pro Stock — Kurt Johnson
Pro Stock Motorcycle — Eddie Krawiec
Pro Modified — Leah Pruett, Ford Mustang
Competition Eliminator — Van Puckett,
Super Stock — Joe Tysinger
Stock Eliminator — Victor Guilmino
Super Comp — Michelle Furr
Super Gas — Jason Kenny
Super Street — Dennis Hill

Follow A Dream Racing

Follow a Dream

We hate that our friends are having a rough time.  It’s pretty admirable of them to continue sending out the releases and keeping us informed. 

Jay Blake’s Permatex/Follow A Dream Top Alcohol Funny Car team endured a third straight disappointing outing as driver Todd Veney missed the cut at the final Division 1 Lucas Oil Series event of the season.

 

At Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in Englishtown, N.J., where last year the team reached the final, Veney shook the tires in the first qualifying session and went up in smoke right off the line in the only other session for a second DNQ in the team’s last three starts. On the first attempt, Veney got back in the throttle after shaking the tires at the top of low gear, and it’s a good thing he did because opponent Melinda Green-King was all over both lanes and surely would have hit the Permatex car had Veney been coasting

 

“It probably looks like we’re completely lost because we haven’t done well at three races in a row,” Veney said, “but I don’t think we are. It was something different all three times.”

 

“We need to get this thing figured out – and we will,” Blake said. “There’s no way this car should be running like this, and we’ll be testing at New England Dragway before our next event in Reading.”

 

While it was a difficult weekend, the team was honored with the Best Appearing Crew award for the special “Free to Dream” shirts they wore commemorating the 10th anniversary of the September 11th attacks on the United States. 

Kasey Kahne Racing

Kasey Kahne Racing Recap

 
The Kasey Kahne Racing crew finished up their second trip of the year to the west coast last weekend where McMahan scored his fourth victory of the season at Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico, Cali.

-Paul McMahan, driver of the #83 HR Cattle/Roth Motorsports Maxim

On Friday, Paul McMahan had lady luck on his side as he picked up his fourth victory of the 2011 season at Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico, Calif. With a challenging racing surface, the Elk Grove, Calif. native made the best of his pole position starting spot to lead all 25 laps. The starting spot was by virtue of his win in the night’s dash. McMahan started the dash thanks to a drawing of six, which placed him on the front row.

“To get a win here in front of (team co-owners) Dennis and Teresa Roth is huge for this team,” said McMahan. “The dash draw really helped us and it meant we got to start up front which was key. The track started taking rubber early on (in the night) and they worked it a little bit after time trials. For the feature, it still had a lot of rubber so I was trying to be patient as I worked my way around here. I knew Jason (Meyers) would give me a run for my money near the end and I had to keep him at bay.”

On Saturday night at Gold cup, Paul qualified ninth, finished third in his heat and 11th in the A-main event. Paul is currently fourth in the point standings.

-Cody Darrah, driver of the #91 Great Clips/Sage Fruit/ASE Maxim

On Friday night, Darrah qualified 25th, finished ninth in his heat and eighth in the B-Main event.

Darrah qualified 21st on Saturday night at Chico and finished sixth in his heat and eighth in the B-Main event.

-Brad Sweet, driver of the #9 Red Bull/Ollie’s Bargain Outlet/Sage Fruit Maxim

On Friday night, Sweet spun out in the A main and settled for an 18th-place finish.

Sweet struggled with the track conditions on Saturday night. He qualified eighth, finished fourth in his heat and 15th in the A-main.

Follow A Dream Racing

Follow a Dream

We hate that our friends are having a rough time.  It’s pretty admirable of them to continue sending out the releases and keeping us informed. 

Jay Blake’s Permatex/Follow A Dream Top Alcohol Funny Car team endured a third straight disappointing outing as driver Todd Veney missed the cut at the final Division 1 Lucas Oil Series event of the season.

 

At Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in Englishtown, N.J., where last year the team reached the final, Veney shook the tires in the first qualifying session and went up in smoke right off the line in the only other session for a second DNQ in the team’s last three starts. On the first attempt, Veney got back in the throttle after shaking the tires at the top of low gear, and it’s a good thing he did because opponent Melinda Green-King was all over both lanes and surely would have hit the Permatex car had Veney been coasting

 

“It probably looks like we’re completely lost because we haven’t done well at three races in a row,” Veney said, “but I don’t think we are. It was something different all three times.”

 

“We need to get this thing figured out – and we will,” Blake said. “There’s no way this car should be running like this, and we’ll be testing at New England Dragway before our next event in Reading.”

 

While it was a difficult weekend, the team was honored with the Best Appearing Crew award for the special “Free to Dream” shirts they wore commemorating the 10th anniversary of the September 11th attacks on the United States. 

Uncategorized

Beat the Heat World FInals

I just want to take a minute and reflect back on the 2011 Beat the HEAT World Finals that I hosted this year.  This event is hosted by a different agency every year and last year I put our name into the hat as the host agency….On Monday the 5th of September we were hit with 10 inches of rain in a 24 hour period….Yes the water rose….matter of fact on Wednesday afternoon the 330 foot mark on the track had 4 inches of water on it and the shutdown was under a foot of water….The water dropped and everything was perfect by race time.

That was a relief because I had invested over $1500 in trophies and plaques and over $1000 in printed t-shirts to hand out and the food for the reception and the teams on race day and no one has money to throw away nor do you want to waste a sponsor’s money.
 
We had the opportunity to visit three area high schools and spoke with several hundred young people about the dangers of Illegal Street Racing and the importance of staying in school and continuing their education. 

Thursday came and the Beat the HEAT Teams from around the country started to arrive downtown for the car show/display and it was great.  The Students from the East Ridge High School Engine Building Team came down and displayed with us and decimated the national record engine tear down and build for us with a time of 2 minutes less than the record they set at SEMA in Las Vegas last year.  I made a special bond with the East Ridge High School and their world record engine builders.  Stay tuned for a special project that I will be working on them with this year.

Patrons of the downtown establishments poured outside to take pictures and wave as the parade or Beat the HEAT drag cars roared through downtown Chattanooga, led by our 1931 Sheriff’s Car that we seized when I worked Narcotics and turned into a parade car. 

We ended up at Coker Tire and Honest Charley with Corky Coker where we had a nice reception for everyone.  
 
Friday night arrived and everyone was off to the drag strip where we were greeted by a huge crowd that came to see the Beat the HEAT Teams in a Good Guys vs. Bad Guys match up….the crowd had a blast pulling for the bad guys…..but at last count….we won more rounds…..Chalk one up for the “GOOD GUYS”.

Saturday came and it was time for our World Finals.  Beat the HEAT’s Chaplain, Roy Sisco, retired Oklahoma State Patrol, opened our event in prayer and also a special thanks to Sgt. Major Bull and the East Ridge Jr. ROTC for presenting the colors as we paused for a minute in remembrance of 9/11 before getting started. Congrats to Mike Carroll of the Colony, Texas PD for winning Mod Cop and Gerald Cooley with the Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office in Georgia as runner up, Jose Ayala with the Medley, Florida PD as the runner up and Rick Wilkens from the Highland County Ohio Sheriff’s Office for winning  Pro Cop and Top Cop for 2011..    

Subaru Road Racing Team

SRRT Looks Toward Mid-Ohio

The Subaru Road Racing Team, with co-drivers Andrew Aquilante, Chester Springs, Pa., and Bret Spaude, Bushnell, Fla., is headed to the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio for the 10th and final round of the GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge to be held on Saturday, Sept. 17.
 
Given the team’s past successes at Mid-Ohio, winning in both 2007 and 2008, the team is looking to this race with optimism.
 
“Any time you go to a race where you have been successful in previous years, history gives you the confidence to know you can do the job,” said SRRT owner Joe Aquilante, owner of Phoenix Performance Inc., in Phoenixville, Pa., where the SRRT cars are race-prepared.

Saturday’s 2 ½-hour race on the world-famous 2.258-mile road course is also the final race of the 10-race GRAND-AM Continental Tire series season.
 
“This year has not been without its trials, but we’ve made a lot of progress in our efforts to develop the ‘package’ with which we compete against seven other automotive brands,” said Joe Aquilante. “Our STI has become very competitive and we have achieved new levels of performance this year.”
 
James Han, motorsports marketing manager for Subaru of America, Inc., noted, “We were under no illusions when we kicked off this campaign in January that we would be laying the groundwork for a championship-contending effort, and our team has performed well against a robust field of competitors throughout the year. [The] Mid-Ohio [round] represents the culmination of a technical development program that has been a collective effort by all our team members this season.”
 

Race Winners

Race Report Week Ending 9/11/11

Sprint Cup- Wonderful Pistachios 400- Kevin Harvick
Nationwide Series- Virginia 529 College Savings 250- Kyle Busch
K&N Series East- Kevin Whitaker Chevrolet 140- Sergio Reva
K&N Series West- Spokane 200- Eric Holmes
Whelan Modified- Southern Thompson 125- Doug Colby
Whelan Modified- Northern Thompson 125- George Brunnhoelz III
World of Outlaws- Gold Cup Race of Champions- Kyle Larson
F1- Italian Grand Prix- Sebastian Vettel

Nitrous Xpress Top Fuel Dragster

Nitrous Xpress World Champion!

It seems like only yesterday that the NHRDA season began, but here it is already September and the season is over!  The good news is that your support was not wasted; we are the NHRDA Top Diesel World Champions!  
Emily’s driving skills and a lot of luck landed us in the winner’s circle this weekend at the World Finals in Topeka, Kansas.  We had some pretty stiff competition when Dan Scheid showed up with the worlds quickest and fastest Top Diesel dragster as well as John Robinson’s Cummins powered Funny Car.  We were lucky enough to qualify #1 when Sheid’s dragster experienced waste gate problems on his first qualifying pass and was shut off with engine problems after his burnout on his last qualifier.  Robinson’s funny car exploded a turbo charger on his first qualifying pass and was not able to return to competition.   Matt Handwork in the Bone Shaker Altered put on an excellent show for the crowd as did all of the competitors.   It rained both days and cut qualifying to only two passes.
After struggling with rain, an uncooperative injector and a finicky dual fuel pump tune up we were finally able to battle our way to the finals facing the Bone Shaker altered.  We had experienced several engine backfires in the burnout so we decided to forgo the burnout ritual in the finals and just get the car staged and hope for the best.  When the tree dropped Emily cut her best light yet in the NX dragster and never looked back as Matt experienced trouble at mid track and was forced to shut off.  Our 8.13 ET was a big disappointment but it was good enough to clinch the World Championship!
 Our racing season is far from over however.  We still will attend the remaining NADM events in Columbus OH, Denton, TX and Orlando FL.  Plus we are going to try to set a new land speed record in the standing mile in late October at THE TEXAS MILE event in Beeville TX.  That’s right, a LSR in the Nitrous Express diesel powered dragster.  We have it geared to run over 275mph so all we need now is some open space and a little luck!

Ross Hoek Motorsports

Ross Hoek Motorsports

Holland, MI (September 8, 2011) – The Labor Day Weekend event in Crandon was the first time the #21 Allstar Performance, Venom Energy sponsored Ford Ranger saw action on the track since the practice incident at Charlotte. In fact when Ross Hoek Motorsports arrived at the track early Friday morning, the #21 Ford Ranger would need several more hours of prep time before it was ready for competition. Realizing magnitude of work still needed, Ross and his team didn’t rush the situation and had the truck ready for Sunday’s Round 10 race action.

The race weekend was plagued with intermittent rain showers during all three days of competition. This caused track conditions to vary greatly depending on when your class was scheduled to run. When the PRO-Light group lined up for Sunday’s race, the group was fortunate enough to have blue skies and a fairly dry race track.

Round 10 had twenty PRO-Light trucks line up side by side in two rows deep for the Crandon land rush start. Due to missing the last four rounds of racing, Ross was at a disadvantage with a second row starting position.  The race was scheduled for ten green flag laps with a mandatory yellow / caution lap at the halfway point of the race to bunch up the field.

The start saw the #21 Allstar Performance, Venom Energy sponsored Ford Ranger quickly move into eighth place by the second lap. When the mandatory yellow came out Ross was in sixth place and was looking to challenge for a spot on the podium.  After the field went back to green flag racing, the #21 Ford Ranger began to have carburetor issues, slowing the pace of the race truck. After ten hard fought laps, Ross Hoek crossed the finish line in ninth place.
 
“After Charlotte, our truck was a disaster,” recalled Ross Hoek. “We really took a hard hit and we tore the engine right loose in the chassis; I knew if we rushed the repairs it would come back to bite us. When we arrived at Crandon we still had to finish all the wiring and plumbing as well as mount the body and a brand new ISP containment seat. It took us until late Saturday afternoon to get our hot rod running and Sunday afternoon we barely made the call to the green flag.”
 
“As far as the racing, we had a great first half of the race considering we started in the second row. Then after the mandatory yellow we developed a miss in the carburetor and this really hurt the truck coming out of the corners. Other than carb issue, the truck is in really great shape and after a couple days back at the shop  the #21 Allstar Performance, Venom Energy sponsored Ford Ranger will be ready for Chicagoland.  I need to commend my crew for totally rebuilding this truck and having it ready to compete with no test time prior to the race.   We almost called it a year after that wreck but getting back on the track now will make us better prepared to run for the 2012 Championship!”

Follow A Dream Racing

Follow a Dream Heads to Englishtown

 Jay Blake’s Permatex/Follow A Dream Top Alcohol Funny Car team heads to vaunted Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in Englishtown, N.J., for the final stop on the 2011 Division 1 Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series. Last year, driver Todd Veney ran a best of 5.58 en route to a final-round appearance against Frank Manzo.

 

“It’ll be great for everybody on the team to get back to a racetrack – especially after our last two outings,” Blake said. “We’re all anxious to keep our spot in the top five in the national points standings.” Inactive since mid-August, the team dropped from third to fifth in the rankings.

 

“It’s time to get back into the 5.50s and time to get back into another final round,” Veney said. “Englishtown has always been one of my favorite tracks in the country, and we did well at both races there last year.”

Race Winners

Race Report Week Ending 9/6/11

Nascar
Sprint Cup- Atlanta GA-Advocare 500- Jeff Gordon
Nationwide Series- Great Clips 300- Carl Edwards
Camping World Truck Series- Atlanta 200- Ron Hornaday
ARCA- Southern Illinois 100- Chris Buescher
K&N Pro Series- Eric Holmes

AMA Road Racing- New Jersey Motorsports Park- Blake Young

IndyCar- Baltimore Grand Prix- Will Power

World of Outlaws- Cottage Grove- Kraig Kinser

Racer News and Results