Sean O'Bannon Topeka wrap up

O'Bannon reaches semifinals in national debut

TOPEKA, Kan. - NHRA Top Alcohol Funny Car rookie Sean O'Bannon reached the semifinals of this past weekend's O'Reilly Summer Nationals presented by Castrol GTX at Heartland Park in Topeka, Kan. The event marked the national event debut of the team's new Tequila Patrón/Forest River RV's Dodge Charger Top Alcohol Funny Car. O'Bannon won this event last year in the team's Top Alcohol Dragster.

O'Bannon, 28, of Fontana, Calif., qualified the Sam Shockley tuned machine sixth in the field with a 5.720 second elapsed time at 252.49 mph. In round one he defeated Shane Lawson with a 5.730 at 254.23 mph then defeated Wayne Butler in round two with a 5.823 at 247.66 mph. In the semifinals he took on Steve Harker. O'Bannon was first out of the gate, but could not hold off Harker's 5.627 at 255.00 mph with his own 5.833 at 251.49 mph.

"Overall, it was a good weekend," said O'Bannon. "This was our first national event with this car and second race with the car. The car is showing a lot of promise; we just need to make more laps in the car. We think we might have some ignition problems going on because the car just seemed to be down on power the last two runs. Sam and the crew are looking everything over with a fine tooth comb, and we'll be ready to go in Chicago next weekend."

The Jack O'Bannon Racing Tequila Patrón/Forest River RV's backed team will head straight to the 'windy city' for next weekend's Torco Racing Fuels Route 66 Nationals at Route 66 Raceway just outside of Chicago.

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