Sean O'Bannon Seattle wrap up

O’Bannon reaches third straight final in Seattle

KENT, Wash. – NHRA Top Alcohol Funny Car driver Sean O’Bannon and the Tequila Patrón/Forest River RV’s team reached their third-straight final in a runner-up effort during this past weekend’s Division 6 Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event at Pacific Raceways just outside of Seattle. The runner-up moved O’Bannon to first place in Division 6 standings and fifth in national standings.

O’Bannon, 29, from Ontario, Calif., qualified the Sam Shockley tuned ’08 Monte Carlo fourth in the field with a 5.691 second elapsed time at 254.81 mph. In round one he defeated John Evanchuk with a 5.627 at 258.27 mph. That set-up a huge matchup with Brian Hough, who led the Division 6 standings entering the event. O’Bannon prevailed in a tight drag race with a 5.609 at 259.06 mph.

O’Bannon would square off with fellow So-Cal native Dennis Taylor in the final. O’Bannon took the jump off the line, but got out of the groove and hit a timing cone, handing the automatic win to Taylor, who stepped up to run his career-best time of a 5.567 at 259.36 mph to take the win.

“I lost the groove in the sunlight,” said O’Bannon. “I just let it get away from me a little bit and we hit the cone with the header. All the numbers show we were on about a 5.58 run, so with me holding roughly .03 off the line, we might have been able to pull out a holeshot win. Coulda-woulda-shoulda though.

“We’re still looking for that first win, but we’re still going rounds,” O’Bannon continued. “We’re going to finals at that. As long as we can keep on doing that, we have a pretty good shot at winning the Division 6 Championship. Sam and the boys have this car really running well. We’ll have this Tequila Patrón/Forest River RV’s Monte Carlo in a winner’s circle soon.”

The next event for the Jack O’Bannon Racing team will be July 11-13, at the Division 6 Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event in Woodburn, Ore.

Simply Perfect in every way, Patrón is the world’s No. 1 selling ultra-premium tequila. From the finest, most expensive Weaber Blue agave plants grown in the highlands of Jalisco, Mexico, to the centuries-old distillation process, to the signed, handcrafted glass bottles, Patrón is produced with unparalleled attention to detail. Imported and marketed by Las Vegas-based The Patrón Spirits Company, brands in the portfolio consist of Patrón Gran Platinum, Patrón Anejo, Patrón Reposado, Patrón Silver, Patrón XO Café (tequila and coffee blend), and Patrón Citrónge (extra fine orange liqueur), Ultimat Vodka (80 proof, Black Cherry and Chocolate Vanilla), as well as Pyrat Pistol, Pyrat Cask, and Pyrat XO Reserve Caribbean rums.

To find out more about the Jack O'Bannon Racing Team, visit their website at www.JackOBannonRacing.com

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

www.HoosierTire.com - "Tires Designed for Champions"

www.LE-Inc.com - Lubrication Engineers - "Leaders in Lubrication"

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