Marty Nothstein St. Louis wrap up

The Texas Roadhouse Shakes the Blues in St. Louis
Nothstein hosts a barbeque, then wins the race

Milford, Michigan – St. Louis may be famous for the blues, but that’s not what the Texas Roadhouse team was singing in nearby Madison, Illinois. Marty Nothstein drove the team’s 2007 Dodge Charger Top Alcohol Funny Car into the winner’s circle of NHRA’s Division 3 “Rage on the River” race, a Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event, July 15. The win shakes a string of excellent but winless outings, moves Nothstein up to fifth in national points and firmly plants him in the Division 3 point lead.

Nothstein, along with co-crew chiefs Frank and Dan Parker, set the stellar race weekend in motion by hosting a huge Thursday night party at the Kirkwood, Missouri Texas Roadhouse location. The restaurant e-mailed invitations to over 3,000 customers. Gateway International Speedway helped spread the word and NHRA kicked in promotional items and race tickets. With dinner specials, door prizes, Marty and the race car, Andy Armadillo (the Texas Roadhouse mascot) and outstanding barbeque tempting diners and racers alike, the restaurant was soon vapor locked by the crowd.

The party spirit carried over into qualifying on Friday and Saturday. The Parkers gave their Mopar Hemi engine a tune-up that easily plunked Nothstein into the number two spot with a 5.793 elapsed time and a top speed of 249.72 mph. The run pleased the short-handed crew – three generations of Parkers and their clutch man, Tom McVey. “This is the first race where family schedules prevented everyone from attending,” said Frank, the middle Parker. “My two kids, Rachel and Kyle, have been growing up at races. But the interviews are over and this weekend they have to start full time race mechanic jobs to earn their keep.” Two pairs of eyeballs rolled back and one of the younger Parkers commented, “Dad and grand-dad may put on a tough act, but they’re just marshmallows in crew chief shirts.”

On Sunday, the two marshmallows gave the youngsters a lesson in how to set up a top alcohol funny car to toast a race track. Nothstein took their settings and ran 5.823 and 250.46 mph to eliminate Jeff Wilson. The next round pitted the Texas Roadhouse team against their friend and nemesis, Mick Snyder, who couldn’t top Nothstein’s 5.773 and 252.24 mph pass. Frank Parker’s self-built Mopar Hemi had just breezed through the first two rounds without a hiccup and given the team lane choice for the finals. It needed only a cursory glance before the money round.

Nothstein had one last consultation with his advisors, Rachel and Kyle, strapped into the Dodge Charger and began focusing on Dan Wilkerson, in the next lane. Both cars launched, made the one-two upshift and Wilkerson’s tires shook him out of the race. Nothstein blasted on down the track in 5.801 seconds at 253.47 mph to earn his second win of the season.

In the winner’s circle, the weekend winners posed behind the Texas Roadhouse 2007 Dodge Charger. Watch for the image and race review in an upcoming issue of National Dragster.

The team heads next to Clermont, Indiana, for the July 20 – 22 Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event at O’Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis. Alcohol cars qualify at 4:00 P.M. Friday and on Saturday at 1:00 and 4:30 P.M. Racing begins on Sunday, July 22, at 9:00 A.M. and the first round of alcohol eliminations kicks off at noon.

For ticket, schedule and track information, call 317-291-4090 or visit the track website at www.oreillyracewaypark.com.

Texas Roadhouse opened in 1993 and, just 14 years later, now has more than 251 locations in 44 states. In 2006, readers of Consumer Reports named Texas Roadhouse the Top Concept in its Pub/Grill category and Forbes ranked it one of the 200 Best Small Companies. For restaurant locations, menus and more, visit Texas Roadhouse at www.texasroadhouse.com.



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Contact:

Charlie Henry

Challenger Consulting

248-477-1970

248-476-0191 fax

charlie@challengerconsultingllc.com