Sean O'Bannon Vegas wrap up

O'Bannon qualifies No. 2, clutch malfunction leads to early exit in Vegas

LAS VEGAS - During qualifying at this past weekend's SummitRacing.com Nationals at 'The Strip' at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, it looked as if second-year NHRA Top Alcohol Funny Car driver Sean O'Bannon might be on his way to breaking through for his first win in a Funny Car. However, the proverbial ten-cent part failure lead to an early exit for the Tequila Patrón/Forest River RV's backed team.

O'Bannon, 29, from Ontario, Calif., wheeled the Jack O'Bannon Racing, Sam Shockley tuned Dodge Charger to a 5.640 second elapsed time at 257.38 mph, which was good for the No. 2 qualifying position. His first round opponent would be Tequila Patrón/Jack O'Bannon Racing teammate Alexis De Joria. O'Bannon took the jump off the line, but quickly launched into tire smoke after a clutch finger malfunctioned.

"We were pretty excited about our chances after qualifying No. 2," said O'Bannon. "Those hopes literally went up in smoke right at the line. If we had to lose to anyone, at least it was to our teammate Alexis. It was good to see her get her first round win, just hated being on the other side of that statistic. She's really come a long way in a relatively short time, especially this year. Hopefully the next time we run her, it will be in a later round. Hate to race our teammate early."

"We also enjoyed hosting Tequila Patrón CEO Ed Brown and VP of Marketing Matt Carroll," O'Bannon continued. "They're headquartered in Las Vegas, so we would have liked to get the win for them, but this whole team is getting better every race. It's definitely not from a lack of work or effort on anyone's part. We're all working with one goal in mind; reaching the top."

The next stop for the Tequila Patrón team will be the O'Reilly Summer Nationals at Heartland Park in Topeka, Kan., May 28-June 1.

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