Foster geared up for divisional debut in Dallas

Foster geared up for divisional debut in Dallas

Defending Division 3 Champ will claim Division 4 this season

<img src="http://insidetopalcohol.com/picture.php?pictureid=165&albumid=14&dl=1271981561&thumb=1" align="right" borders="0"/>ENNIS, Texas – Defending NHRA Division 3 Top Alcohol Funny Car Champion Chris Foster will make his divisional debut at this weekend’s Division 4 Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series opener at the Texas Motorplex just south of Dallas. The Goodridge Hoses & Fittings/DragRaceHose.com backed team will claim Division 4 this year due to Crew Chief Will Hanna’s racing schedule in Europe.

Foster, from Davenport, Ia., regrets not being able to defend his Division 3 crown, but is looking forward to the challenge of racing in Division 4.

“We’re kind of bummed out we can’t go back and defend our Division 3 title,” said Foster. “[Division 3 Director] Jay Hullinger and his crew up there are a great bunch of people to race for. This year will be a new challenge for sure. All of the Divisions are tough out there. We’ll be racing against different teams, but the bottom line is you have to bring your A game if you’re going to succeed on this level. This is our last race on the Goodridge deal, so we hope to close it out with a strong showing this weekend.”

“Our Crew Chief Will Hanna is booked in to run all of the European races with Fred Hanssen’s Top Methanol Dragster team,” explained Foster. “They offered me a deal to come over there and work with his team for a few races, so I couldn’t resist the opportunity to go race in Europe. The way the schedules line up, if we raced Division 3 again, I wouldn’t be able to go to Europe, and we would lose Will for three or four races, so we decided to come down here and race Division 4.”

The team ran career best numbers at the Houston national event two weeks ago en route to a quarterfinal showing, but Hanna is not satisfied with the numbers and hopes to improve this weekend.

“We ran our career best numbers [5.62-256mph] in Houston, but as good as the conditions were, it was almost like they were handing out career-bests at the gate,” stated Hanna. “We just had a few things throw us a curveball in qualifying, and once we figured out what was going on, we got things going back in the right direction, running our best run in the worst conditions of the weekend. Classic day late, dollar short kind of deal. We’ve all looked real hard at the data and I’ve got a pretty good idea what we left on the table and where to get it. You never know sometimes, these cars can humble you. We’ll dig in and try to get it in Dallas.”

Team sponsor DragRaceHose.com will host a Racer Appreciation party Friday night at the track, featuring Texas Country performer Brett Crenshaw. Texas-style BBQ and all the fixings will be available to all Goodridge Hose & Fittings customers.

“This is just a small way of saying thanks to our Goodridge Hose & Fittings customers,” cited Hanna. “Not to mention here in Texas we’re always looking for an excuse to BBQ and have a good time. We’re really looking forward to eating some good food and listening to some good music with our customers.”

Qualifying begins on Friday for the alcohol cars with one session, followed by two more sessions on Saturday. Final eliminations will conclude the event on Sunday.