InsideTopAlcohol
InsideTopAlcohol
INDIANAPOLIS (September 7, 2017) – Kirk Wolf and the Booher Racing Top Alcohol Dragster team turned a slow start into a record-breaking weekend at last weekend’s Chevrolet Performance NHRA U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Raceway. Wolf drove the AB Construction supercharged dragster to a 5.300-second pass in qualifying and a 5.256 in the first round of eliminations to reset the world record for the quickest torque-converter-equipped race car.
“It felt amazing to make two strong runs,” Wolf said. “We’ve worked so hard, especially Brandon, to get the car to this point. For him to let me pilot the car and set the records, I can’t really ask for much more. We’ve shown we now have one of the most competitive cars in the class, and that we have a torque converter car that can run right there with the top clutch cars and A/Fuel cars.”
Wolf’s qualifying effort at the prestigious U.S. Nationals began with mechanical gremlins. A rare issue with the frequency on the car’s on-board radio caused the AB Construction machine to shut off before pre-staging during Friday’s two qualifying sessions. A trans-brake malfunction prevented Wolf from posting a representative run on Saturday morning. A career- and team-best 5.300 at 273.05 mph moved Wolf into the field at 11th on the fourth and final qualifying session Saturdayafternoon.
“I let out a huge sigh of relief,” Wolf laughed. “The car is just making so much power. Luckily, Brandon is good at controlling the car, as far as getting it down the track under different conditions. It was a huge relief to get in the show. I went into the session thinking, ‘We have the strongest running car in the region with a win and a runner-up here a few weeks ago, and we might not qualify?’ It was a huge burden lifted off my shoulders when I saw the 5.300 time slip.”
A new standard was set in the first round of eliminations Sunday morning when former driver Brandon Booher tuned Wolf to a...
“It felt amazing to make two strong runs,” Wolf said. “We’ve worked so hard, especially Brandon, to get the car to this point. For him to let me pilot the car and set the records, I can’t really ask for much more. We’ve shown we now have one of the most competitive cars in the class, and that we have a torque converter car that can run right there with the top clutch cars and A/Fuel cars.”
Wolf’s qualifying effort at the prestigious U.S. Nationals began with mechanical gremlins. A rare issue with the frequency on the car’s on-board radio caused the AB Construction machine to shut off before pre-staging during Friday’s two qualifying sessions. A trans-brake malfunction prevented Wolf from posting a representative run on Saturday morning. A career- and team-best 5.300 at 273.05 mph moved Wolf into the field at 11th on the fourth and final qualifying session Saturdayafternoon.
“I let out a huge sigh of relief,” Wolf laughed. “The car is just making so much power. Luckily, Brandon is good at controlling the car, as far as getting it down the track under different conditions. It was a huge relief to get in the show. I went into the session thinking, ‘We have the strongest running car in the region with a win and a runner-up here a few weeks ago, and we might not qualify?’ It was a huge burden lifted off my shoulders when I saw the 5.300 time slip.”
A new standard was set in the first round of eliminations Sunday morning when former driver Brandon Booher tuned Wolf to a...
Known as the World’s Biggest Drag Race, the NHRA Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals held at Lucas Oil Raceway in Indianapolis saw 22 Top Alcohol Dragsters compete for the 16-car field. Amongst the best were Megan Meyer and rookie Justin Ashley driving for the Randy Meyer Racing Team.
Technician.Academy, an automotive training company based out of Evansville, Indiana, partnered with Megan and the team for the U.S. Nationals. Technician.Academy focuses on continuing education for technicians with in-class, online, and in-the-bay hands-on training. It’s category-specific education that is manufacturer-supported to benefit the technicians of today and tomorrow. The “Respect is Learned, In The Pits” contest winner, Kyle Clapp, joined the Randy Meyer Racing Team for the weekend as a crew member on Megan’s A/Fuel Dragster.
Megan posted 5.23, 5.25, 5.19, and 5.26 elapsed times in qualifying and was positioned in the fourth spot, while Justin ran a 5.16 E.T. at 277 mph in the second session to claim the top spot. Megan took down Robin Samsel and Chris Demke in the first and second round, running low of the meet with a 5.19 E.T. at 277 mph. Justin defeated Jackie Fricke in first round followed by Marty Thacker in the second round.
The third round of eliminations, held on Monday morning, had an interesting match-up with Megan and Justin against each other for the first time in competition. Justin got the jump on the starting line, but Megan pulled ahead for the win with a 5.32 E.T. at 276 to Justin’s 5.39 E.T. at 264 mph.
The final round saw two first-time potential winners of the U.S. Nationals with Megan and competitor Josh Hart. Megan was 1-0 against Josh in previous final rounds, but this time it would be Josh for the win. Megan’s losing 5.36 E.T. at 275 mph effort was not enough for Josh’s 5.30 E.T. at 274 mph....
Technician.Academy, an automotive training company based out of Evansville, Indiana, partnered with Megan and the team for the U.S. Nationals. Technician.Academy focuses on continuing education for technicians with in-class, online, and in-the-bay hands-on training. It’s category-specific education that is manufacturer-supported to benefit the technicians of today and tomorrow. The “Respect is Learned, In The Pits” contest winner, Kyle Clapp, joined the Randy Meyer Racing Team for the weekend as a crew member on Megan’s A/Fuel Dragster.
Megan posted 5.23, 5.25, 5.19, and 5.26 elapsed times in qualifying and was positioned in the fourth spot, while Justin ran a 5.16 E.T. at 277 mph in the second session to claim the top spot. Megan took down Robin Samsel and Chris Demke in the first and second round, running low of the meet with a 5.19 E.T. at 277 mph. Justin defeated Jackie Fricke in first round followed by Marty Thacker in the second round.
The third round of eliminations, held on Monday morning, had an interesting match-up with Megan and Justin against each other for the first time in competition. Justin got the jump on the starting line, but Megan pulled ahead for the win with a 5.32 E.T. at 276 to Justin’s 5.39 E.T. at 264 mph.
The final round saw two first-time potential winners of the U.S. Nationals with Megan and competitor Josh Hart. Megan was 1-0 against Josh in previous final rounds, but this time it would be Josh for the win. Megan’s losing 5.36 E.T. at 275 mph effort was not enough for Josh’s 5.30 E.T. at 274 mph....
Indianapolis - Duane Shields driving the PEAK A/Fuel Dragster qualified second at the Chevrolet Performance US Nationals. Duane had an impressive qualifying time of 5.18 at 277 MPH in the highly competitive Top Alcohol Dragster division. “It was a tough field and to qualify second at the US Nationals shows that we have a very competitive car. We have run in the teens before but it’s been a while so the PEAK Dragster is really coming around” Duane said.
In round one, Duane faced Fred Hanssen. As the lights on the tree came down Hanssen got the starting line advantage and never gave up the lead as Duane pedalled it as he anticipated tire shake. This added some extra time onto the run which resulted in Hanssen escaping with the win in an otherwise close race. Hanssen posted a 5.37 at 247 MPH to Duane’s slightly quicker 5.36 at 277 MPH. “I have been experiencing tire shake lately so I was mentally prepared for it. I thought I felt some shake coming on so I pedalled but it turned out that wasn’t necessary and it slowed me down just enough to lose the race” Duane said.
With Indy now in the books, Duane is now shifting gears and focusing on the NHRA Carolina Nationals in Charlotte, September 15-17. “With the car running better than it has all year and with our past history in Charlotte, I feel confident that we will have a good showing there’’ Duane said. As always, Duane would like to thank PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK, GRP and Brad Anderson Enterprises.
In round one, Duane faced Fred Hanssen. As the lights on the tree came down Hanssen got the starting line advantage and never gave up the lead as Duane pedalled it as he anticipated tire shake. This added some extra time onto the run which resulted in Hanssen escaping with the win in an otherwise close race. Hanssen posted a 5.37 at 247 MPH to Duane’s slightly quicker 5.36 at 277 MPH. “I have been experiencing tire shake lately so I was mentally prepared for it. I thought I felt some shake coming on so I pedalled but it turned out that wasn’t necessary and it slowed me down just enough to lose the race” Duane said.
With Indy now in the books, Duane is now shifting gears and focusing on the NHRA Carolina Nationals in Charlotte, September 15-17. “With the car running better than it has all year and with our past history in Charlotte, I feel confident that we will have a good showing there’’ Duane said. As always, Duane would like to thank PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK, GRP and Brad Anderson Enterprises.
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