Thompson Goes to Quarter Finals in Chicago

Thompson Goes to Quarter Finals in Chicago

Chicago - Clint Thompson made a surprise visit to the Windy City to race at the O’Reilly Auto Parts Route 66 Nationals, competing in the Top Alcohol Funny Car class.

Thompson qualified ninth with a 5.67 at 258 MPH. In round one, he faced number eight qualifier Chris Foster so it was a pretty even match up on paper. As the lights came down, Foster suffered some big time tire shake while Thompson cruised to a 5.59 at 259 MPH round win.

In round two Thompson took on the World Champ Frank Manzo. At the hit, Thompson was out of the gate first with an 0.063 reaction time to Manzo’s 0.080. However, Manzo was able to over take Thompson with a quicker 5.41 ET to Thompson’s respectable 5.63. "I drove thru a lot of tire shake on the .63 against Manzo who had only run a .75 in round one. His run against me was his quickest of eliminations" Thompson said.

Even with the second round loss Thompson was still upbeat. "We were very pleased with our performance considering it was our first national event this year" Thompson said.

Next, the Thompson races the funny car this weekend in Norwalk, Ohio and then he will be back behind the wheel of his Pro Extreme Camaro at US131 Motorsports Park in Martin, MI, July 13-14.