Dallas Delays Distract Etterman Racing

Dallas Delays Distract Etterman Racing
photo courtesy Robert Grice, Extreme Photography

<img border="0" src="http://insidetopalcohol.com/johnsonnplaunch.jpg" width="400" height="258" align="left">ENNIS, Texas – After a couple of rough runs during Friday’s qualifying sessions, Etterman Racing found themselves heading into Saturday’s final session in the No. 20 qualifying spot with only one remaining session.

With rains threatening, the Bar’s Leaks team made their final run straight down the racetrack and landed in the No. 3 qualifying position with a 5.730-second elapsed time effort at over 249 mph. With this standing, Etterman Racing would stage a first round match up with Bobby Martin and his CAP Avenger. Jonathan Johnson won the first round race with another 5.73 to Martin’s improved 5.78 elapsed time. Upon returning to the pits and completing routine car maintenance, the team discovered that they hurt the rear main bearing in the engine. The attrition not only hurts the crankshaft, but the cylinder block as well. With a similar instance happening the week before in Houston, Etterman Racing was unable to make the repairs to return for their second round match against Jay Payne.

“It was unfortunate for this to happen,” states Jonathan Johnson. “This year seems to be one of those where we take one step forward and two steps back. However, we were able to find the cause of the problem with the help of crew chief David Scheelk’s longtime friend Les Davenport. We are going to have to send both blocks off and see what the season has left upon their return to make plans accordingly. Despite all of this, I know I want to get back to racing. This is what we all love to do and we look forward to our next race,” concludes Johnson.

“Everyone pulled together Saturday after our two runs on Friday,” comments George Etterman, team owner. “We made two good runs; however, the car had a great deal of wheel speed down low, causing it to move around a bit. On that last qualifying session, as well as the first round of elimination, Jonathan and Scheelk straightened out the problems that resulted in a win. Therefore, upon our victory, Etterman Racing felt that we had a good chance for our second round opponent Jay Payne. Nevertheless, fate took its toll and we were bitten by some small inconvenience once again. Even though we did not receive the winning resultes that we had wished for this past weekend, Etterman Racing looks forward to getting back out and showing our potential,” says Etterman.

Keep up with Etterman Racing and up-to-the-minute results on www.dragracecentral.com. Additionally, for more information on Etterman Racing themselves, their Marketing Partners or their updated racing schedule, please visit their website at www.etterman-racing.com.

Contact: Katie Ward
Email: katie@etterman-racing.com