Marty Thacker - Joliet Divisional Wrap-up

Thacker Earns Second Final Round Appearance in Two Weeks
Moves into Top 10 in National Standings

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Last weekend, the Rapid Transit Race Team reached the final round of the Lucas Oil Divisional series event in Joliet, Illinois. With 17 cars trying to make it into the field, The Knoll Gas – Torco Racing Fuels sponsored blown alcohol dragster qualified #5 with a 5.44 at 264 MPH. It was the second time in 2 weeks driver Marty Thacker and the Team had reached the final round at this race track.

"We really struggled to find the right tune-up for this weekend. The air was bad and the track was a little tricky. The injected nitro cars had a performance advantage, so we had no choice other than to try and out drive them,” said Thacker.

Thacker used two good runs and two great lights to make it to the final round. In the first round, he ran a 5.49 at 263 MPH and cut a .011 light to take the hole shot victory. Thacker used another hole shot during the semi-finals when he cut a perfect .000 light and ran a 5.47 at 263 MPH to earn his way into the finals. In the finals, the Team was unable to come away with the win when the car ran a 5.54 at 260 MPH.

“I was seeing the tree really well on Sunday. After the perfect light in the semi-finals, I worried about going red in the finals. I kept it green, but it just wasn’t enough this time. This Team is really starting to gel. We have had a couple semi-final finishes, a couple runner-ups, now it is time to get a couple wins."

For their next event, the Team will head to Norwalk, Ohio, June 28th thru July 1st for the Summit Racing Equipment Nationals.

Quick Facts

• The Team has been to the final round at their last two events.
• Last weekend the Team moved up into 10th place in the National standings.
• The Team went to three final rounds last year and earned one win at the prestigious Jeg’s All-Star event in Joliet, Illinois. This year, Thacker went to the final round of the Jeg’s event, but missed out on a second straight victory by just inches.
• The Team set a personal best ET of 5.26 at the TORCO Racing Fuels National event in Richmond, Virginia the end of last season.
• The 2005 Division 3 Champions finished 3rd in the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series points standings and finished in 16th place nationally in 2006.
• The Team, based out of Robinson, Illinois, has won 5 UDRA National Championships and 2 NHRA Divisional championships.

Please visit the official team website www.rapidtransitracing.com.

You can access the full line of innovative products offered by our major sponsor TORCO Racing Fuels including racing gasoline, additives, and Skull Gear at www.torcoracefuels.com.

Visit the websites of our current associate and product sponsors at the following websites:

Hoosier Racing Tire – www.hoosiertire.com

Lucas Oil – www.lucasoil.com

Fatheadz – www.fatheadz.com

Submitted by: Shanna Snyder-Bell

Contact Person: Marty Thacker
Contact email address: mlthacker@marathonpetroleum.com