Marty Thacker - St. Louis Divisional Wrap-up

Another Semi-Final Finish for Thacker​

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It has been said many times that in drag racing there are a million ways to lose and only one way to win. This past weekend in St. Louis, Marty Thacker and the Rapid Transit Race Team made it to the semi-finals before a brake caliper bolt prevented them from making it to their third final round of the season. Even though they were disappointed about heading home early, the Knoll Gas – Torco Racing Fuels sponsored Team knows they have been running well enough to win and it is only a matter of time until their day will come.

“We were having a good weekend. We had a solid 5.40's race car in tricky conditions, and weren't hurting parts. All the Knoll Gas - Torco Racing Fuels products were working as advertised.”

Thacker qualified #2 for the event with a 5.46 at 263 MPH. In the first round he was able to lay down another nice pass of 5.48 at 259 MPH to earn the win light at the other end. Second round, the car slowed to a 5.55 at 249 MPH.

“In the semi-finals, we had a brake caliper bolt pull out on the burnout. The carbon fiber brake rotor shattered and the caliper rotated around until it jammed between the frame and wheel. You think you've checked everything on these cars, made all the right tuning moves, and something unexpected happens. It just goes to prove that there really are a million ways to lose, but only one way to win a drag race. On a positive note, this Team won’t let the same thing happen again so that is one less thing to come between our car and the winner’s circle.”

The next event for the Team will be next weekend July 20th thru 22nd in Indianapolis.

Quick Facts

• The Team has had 2 final round appearances so far this year.
• They are currently sitting in the #9 position in the Lucas Oil National points 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