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» Jim Whiteley Sonoma preview |
Whiteley ready to bounce back in Sonoma
SONOMA, Calif. – Following a disappointing first round loss last weekend in Seattle, NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster driver Jim Whiteley and his YNot Racing team will be looking to bounce back during this weekend’s Fram-Autolite Nationals at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif. Whiteley enters the event ranked seventh in national points.
Whiteley, from Grand Junction, Colo., made his first dip into the 5.20’s with his Norm Grimes tuned Blown Alcohol Dragster to qualify third with a 5.291 second elapsed time at 272.45 mph, the second fastest speed ever posted by a Blown Alcohol Dragster. However, Whiteley’s mount fell prey to the dreaded tireshake that has plagued the team this season in round one for a disappointing loss.
“We’re going to work real hard to keep that from happening again,” said Whiteley. “We got a little too aggressive in the first round and it bit us. We... [Read More]
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» Sean O'Bannon Sonoma preview |
O’Bannon focused on success in Sonoma
SONOMA, Calif. – Coming off a semifinal finish at last weekend’s national event in Seattle, NHRA Top Alcohol Funny Car driver Sean O’Bannon and the Tequila Patrón/Forest River RV’s team are focused on continuing their success at this weekend’s Fram-Autolite Nationals at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif. After qualifying No. 1 last weekend and running career-best numbers, the team is focused on maintaining the consistency to reach the winner’s circle at Infineon Raceway.
O’Bannon, 29, of Ontario, Calif., is happy with the team’s progression over the course of their second season, but points out getting the Sam Shockley tuned ’08 Monte Carlo into the winner’s circle is the chief concern.
“We ran good numbers in Seattle last weekend,” said O’Bannon. “Qualifying No. 1 is nice, but we need to close the=2 0deal and get this car into the winner’s circle. This weekend our... [Read More]
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» Alexis De Joria Sonoma preview |
De Joria ready to turn the corner in Sonoma
SONOMA, Calif. – After posting some solid elapsed times at last weekend’s national event in Seattle, NHRA Top Alcohol Funny Car driver Alexis De Joria and the Tequila Patrón/Jack O’Bannon Racing team will be trying to turn the proverbial 8 0corner’ in terms of performance during this weekend’s Fram-Autolite Nationals at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif. The team led by veteran Crew Chief Bob DeVour feels confident they can build on their performance this weekend in Sonoma.
De Joria, 30, daughter of Paul Mitchell Hair Products and Patrón Spirits Co., founder John Paul De Joria, is excited about the track the team is on.
“The car has a new attitude,” said De Joria. “The team made some changes for the final qualifying session and it went down the track just as smooth as glass. It really feels good for the team for us to get the car going down the track again. We... [Read More]
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» Sean O'Bannon Seattle wrap up |
O’Bannon runs career numbers en route to semifinal
KENT, Wash. – NHRA Top Alcohol Funny Car driver Sean O’Bannon and the Tequila Patrón/Forest River RV’s team recorded career-best numbers en route to a semifinal finish during this past weekend’s Schuck’s Auto Supply Nationals at Pacific Raceways just outside of Seattle. The event marked O’Bannon’s first national event pole in the Top Alcohol Funny Car class.
O’Bannon, 29, of Ontario, Calif., qualified the Sam Shockley tuned ’08 Monte Carlo No. 1 with a 5.562 second elapsed time at 261.72 mph, both numbers career-bests. In round one, he won a close matchup with Clint Thompson with a 5.686 at 256.80, and then took out Keeter Ray with a 5.628 at 259.61. In the semifinal, O’Bannon squared off with Division 6 rival Brian Hough. Both drivers left with nearly identical reaction times, but it was Hough who pulled off the win with a 5.654 at 253.71 mph to O’Bannon’s right-there... [Read More]
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» Dennis Taylor Seattle wrap up |
Taylor Has Best Qualifying Effort in Seattle
ANAHEIM, CA — Dennis Taylor and his Plumbing Concepts Funny Car came into this weekend’s Schuck’s Auto Supply Nationals at Pacific Raceways with a fresh win, having collected their second consecutive victory at the Northwest Division 6 event last month. Also, Taylor won this Schuck’s national event in 2004 and runner-upped here last year, so this place has been good to the team.
Qualifying on Friday got off to a tough start, as Dennis fell victim to hard tire shake, recording an off-pace 10.18-second run. Crew chief, Terry Morrow adjusted the tune-up to produce a 5.853 at 251.95mph to close out the day’s action. Morrow noted, “We actually had a dead cylinder right at the start that we later traced to a defective spark plug. In drag racing, anything can happen.”
The final qualifying shot on Saturday produced the second quickest pass of Taylor’s career – 5.60, which... [Read More]
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» Roger Bateman Seattle wrap up |
New engine combination coming around for Bateman
Summer is usually a time to relax when one gets time off. This was not the case for the Friesen Motorsports Top Alcohol Funny Car Team. The team spent the time between Denver in mid June foregoing an IHRA race in Edmonton, Alberta to this past weekend in Seattle (for the Schuck’s Auto Supply NHRA Nationals) tweaking the engine of the team’s hot rod. The initial result was a 13.357 second time at 59.12 mph leaving the team qualified thirteenth. Undeterred, the team adjusted the compression and fine tuned the engine to run a 5.675 second time at 254.76 mph to propel them into the number seven spot on the qualifying ladder and giving them lane choice in round one.
Saturday afternoon was quite a different story for first round of eliminations with the air temperature of 79 Degrees but a track temperature of over 110 and an adjusted altitude of over 2,000 feet above sea level.... [Read More]
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» Paul Noakes Grand Bend preview |
Noakes plans to continue mid-season charge
GRAND BEND, Ont. (July 16, 2008) -- Paul Noakes has driven the Amalie Oil InstiGator in back-to-back final rounds in each of the last 2 events. The mid-season charge has been enough to tighten the points chase, but not enough to make up any ground on Laurie Cannister, who beat Noakes in both final round appearances.
"We just want to continue this mid-season push," Noakes said as he greets fans and sponsors at a London media and cancer benefit event. "Laurie is going to be tough to catch if someone in this funny car class can't put the brakes on her. We've had three shots at her this season and have come up empty handed. It's going to be tough, but I don't think anyone has conceded the championship yet. We're not racing for second place yet," he said with a smile.
Les Mellows, crew chief agrees, "We are still running for number one in the championship, but we need to... [Read More]
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» Sean O'Bannon Seattle preview |
O’Bannon aiming for late rounds in Seattle
KENT, Wash. – While many racers wouldn’t consider a semifinal outing on the divisional level a ‘bad,’ outing, NHRA Top Alcohol Funny Car driver Sean O’Bannon doesn’t classify it as good. At least by his father Jack’s Tequila Patrón/Forest River RV’s backed team’s standards. The team entered last weekend’s Woodburn, Ore., Division 6 event on the heels of three-straight final round appearances, but lost a close race in the semifinal round. O’Bannon has his eye set on returning to the final round during this weekend’s Schuck’s Auto Supply Nationals at Pacific Raceways just outside of Seattle.
O’Bannon, 29, of Ontario, Calif., feels that returning to a national event racing surface will help get the team back on track. The Sam Shockley lead team scored a runner-up finish at the Division 6 event held at Pacific Raceways last month.
“If you look at the three races we... [Read More]
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» Dennis Taylor Seattle preview |
Taylor Prepared for Battle in Seattle
ANAHEIM, CA — Just a few weeks ago, Dennis Taylor was victorious during the Northwest Division 6 event at Pacific Raceways. It marked his second consecutive win at the same race. Coming into this weekend’s Schuck’s Auto Supply Nationals, Taylor remembers his 2004 national event win here, and has his sights firmly set on bettering his runner-up performance from last year’s Schuck’s Nationals. To be perfectly honest, Pacific Raceways just seems to suit Dennis, his Plumbing Concepts Funny Car, and his entire Terry Morrow-led crew.
Taylor noted, “We have an added dynamic to help our car here this weekend. While the Pacific Raceways crew did a great job prepping the track during our Division 6 win last month, this weekend, the fuel cars will apply more rubber in the middle (of the track) and our car should like that a lot.” Terry added, “Forecasters call for temperatures in the low 70s to the... [Read More]
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» Alexis De Joria Seattle preview |
De Joria hoping to rekindle Seattle ‘magic’
KENT, Wash. – Just one year ago, then-rookie NHRA Top Alcohol Funny Car driver Alexis De Joria had one of the best outings of her young career at the Schuck’s Auto Supply Nationals at Pacific Raceways just outside of Seattle. Going into this year’s event, De Joria and the Tequila Patrón/Jack O’Bannon Racing team hope to rekindle some of that magic with another good outing this weekend.
De Joria, the 30 year old daughter of hair products mogul and Patrón Spirits Company founder John Paul De Joria, is excited about returning to Seattle.
“When we ran that 5.73 here last year, that was a really big moment for us,” said De Joria. “Bob [DeVour – Crew Chief] has been trying some new things which hopefully will come around for us this weekend. We ran really well here last year, so hopefully we can do that again.”
De Joria is also looking forward to the... [Read More]
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