Sean O'Bannon Pomona preview

O'Bannon looking to start '07 strong in Pomona

POMONA, Calif. - After pressing last year's NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster Championship battle down to the wire last season, Sean O'Bannon will be looking to start the year with a bang during this weekend's CARQUEST Auto Parts Winternationals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona. Armed with the new increased overdrive rule from late last season, O'Bannon hopes to come away with a win in his Tequila Patrón/Forest River RV's Blown Alcohol Dragster.

After finishing second in the country last season, O'Bannon, 28, of nearby Fontana, Calif., hopes to take the first step toward his first National Championship and his father Jack's sixth National Championship as a car owner this weekend at his hometown race.

"The team is very fired up to get the season started," said O'Bannon. "We just have to take it one run at a time and see what happens. They are forecasting some bad weather this weekend, so that is going to make getting down the track on the first run that much more critical since they would shorten qualifying if it does rain. The car ran well in testing, and we're all ready to go out there and try to put this Tequila Patrón dragster in the winner's circle."

O'Bannon's duties will extend beyond the cockpit this weekend, however. The team's recently hired tuner, Sam Shockley will be unable to attend due to health reasons this weekend. O'Bannon will share the tune-up calls with his Top Alcohol Funny Car teammate Alexis De Joria's Crew Chief Randy Anderson and Team Manager Jeff Lirones.

"Sam is recovering from surgery and has an appointment this weekend he's been waiting to get for a while," explained O'Bannon. "We have a pretty solid baseline, so Jeff and I will pretty much run the car. Luckily we have Randy in our camp, and Sam is only a phone call away. We should be able to handle it this weekend, but we definitely look forward to getting Sam back soon."

Qualifying begins on Thursday for the Top Alcohol classes, followed by two more sessions on Friday. Eliminations begin with round one on Saturday and will conclude on Sunday.

Fast Fact:
Team Owner Jack O'Bannon has 39 national event wins and 22 divisional wins as a team owner. His previous driver Rick Santos won five-straight National Championships.

About The Patrón Spirits Company:
Headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada, the company's eight distinctive products now share the Patrón label; Gran Patrón Platinum, Patrón Añejo, Patrón Reposado, Patrón Silver, Patrón XO Café, Patrón Citrónge, Pyrat Cask 23, Pyrat XO Reserve. Each brand is the finest in their category. The newest, Gran Patrón Platinum, is an extraordinary triple distilled pure tequila. Patrón Tequila is today, the world’s number one ultra premium tequila. In 2004 & 2005, Patrón Tequila was recognized with the American Academy of Hospitality Sciences Five Star Diamond Award. Patrón is the first spirits brand ever to receive this prestigious honor. Patrón Tequila continues to set new sales records every year.

To find out more about Jack O'Bannon Racing's quality partners, visit these websites:

www.PatronSpirits.com - Find out more about the world's number one tequila - Tequila Patrón.

www.ForestRiverInc.com - Find out more about America's largest producer of towable RV's and Cargo Trailers.

Contact: Will Hanna/ Pro Race Communications
Email: Will.Hanna@InsideTopAlcohol.com