Wow, I had an amazing time at Norwalk this past weekend! I was working with Brandon Booher and the AB Construction Top Alcohol Dragster team, who just happened to runner-up at the event! Well, it didn't just happen, it took a fantastic driver and crew to get there.
On Thursday night, I headed out to the track to help Brandon and his dad, Aaron, set up the pit area. We got set up and prepared the car for two rounds of qualifying on Friday. Or so we thought. Periodic drizzles and downpours wreaked havoc on the area, leaving track officials to cancel all of the day's events, including the aforementioned qualifying sessions. By Saturday morning, NHRA decided to give TAD two qualifying runs, with 1st round around 10 pm. When qualifying was all said and done, we were qualifed 7th with a 5.44 at 260 MPH, leaving us to run Robin Samsel, who qualified 10th with a 5.49.
We entered the staging lanes around 9:30, optimisticly hoping to win first round. I thought we had a pretty good chance of winning the round, considering the gap in between our qualifying ET's. Well, I was wrong! Brandon did win the round, but Robin and crew put up one heck of a fight! Robin ran a 5.38, to Brandon's winning 5.46. Now that took a serious holeshot!
Here's a summary of the rest of our eliminations:
(W) Brandon Booher (AB Construction B/AD) 0.047 5.460 259.76
(L) Robin Samsel (A/FD) 0.127 5.389 260.31
(W) Brandon Booher (AB Construction B/AD) 0.045 5.476 259.61
(L) Dan Page (A/FD) 0.070 5.533 263.77
(W) Brandon Booher (AB Construction B/AD) 0.023 5.497 259.26
(L) Karen Stalba (A.A. Auto Salvage A/FD) 0.142 5.574 250.64
(W) Marty Thacker (Rapid Transit B/AD) 0.048 5.403 263.26
(L) Brandon Booher (AB Construction B/AD) 0.015 6.465 107.66
It was cool to run Marty Thacker and the Rapid Transit team in the finals, mostly because we're friends with him and a few of his crew guys. We couldn't have lost to a better group!
Although we had a great weekend, easily the team's most successful in NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster competition, the motor took a serious hit. Around the 1,000 ft mark, crap hit the fan. Standing on the starting line, all we could see was the parachutes come out early, which usually means a problem with the supercharger. Upon further inspection in the turnoff area, it was determined that the rods failed, putting holes in the oil pan and block, also damaging the pistons and sleeves. It was a disappointing end to an exciting day. Now the team is forced to miss the rescheduled NHRA divisional at Norwalk, as well as the Route 66 NHRA Nationals in Joliet, Brandon's home track.
Even though it was big set-back for the team, the weekend was still a huge morale boost for the whole team, especially Brandon and his dad, Aaron. The car hadn't been running well for almost a year, so the consistent E.T.'s and results were a sign of a turning point in the car's performance. The car wasn't the only thing performing well. Brandon took the holeshot in every single round, even against Marty, who cut a perfect .000 light earlier in eliminations. Without the driver doing his job on the line, we would've been packing up after Round 1.
With all that being said, winning makes racing a lot more fun! I had never experienced such a winning weekend in previous trips to the track. To be with the runner-up team at my home track's national event was such a blast. I look forward to more round wins and hopefully a few Wally's in the future! Before I end this little smorgasbord of literature, I'd like to congratulate our final round opponent, Marty Thacker and his crew, as well as Troy Stone and the Vintage Trailers Top Dragster team. Also, final congratulations to Brandon, Aaron, and the crew; Shannon Pappas, Pete Brady, and John Halloran.
Thanks for reading my blog this week, I'll post another after this weekend's NHRA Division 3 race in Norwalk. To read more on Brandon and the AB Construction team, visit www.nitronate.com/booher, www.facebook.com/booherracing, or www.twitter.com/booherracing.com. Congratulate him while you're there! Follow me on Twitter (@nitronate1320) at www.twitter.com/nitronate1320.
Thanks again for reading!
Nitro Nate
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Monday, June 20, 2011
Norwalk National Event Week!
It's finally time for the race I look forward to the most, the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Motorsports Park. This is easily my favorite race weekend of the year because Norwalk is my hometrack and I have a lot of local friends that will be in attendance. This is also one of the few national events that I'll be attending this year, so I try to have as much fun at this race as possible. Along with the typical race activities, there are a few special parts of the event.
One of those activities that is sure to be fun is an NHRA Countdown to the Championship PS2 tournament, held by Stefan Kontos and the Kon Rodz Racing Top Alcohol Funny Car team in their pit area. If everything goes as planned, we'll be playing from 10:30 Friday night until the wee hours of the morning on Saturday. So far, the entry list includes some top alcohol and nitro crew guys, with a few possible Pro drivers attending. If you're at the track, stop by and enter the race, it'll be a good time. $10 entry fee, winner recieves $100, RU gets $25, then there are $10-20 awards for low qualifier, top speed, etc.
Another cool feature of the Norwalk event is the K&N Filters Horsepower Challenge. This is a special bonus race for the Top 7 drivers in Pro Stock, along with an eighth driver that is voted in by the fans. As of June 5th, the drivers are Jason Line, Allen Johnson, Mike Edwards, Greg Anderson, Ron Krisher, Rodger Brogdon, Shane Gray, and Erica Enders as the fan-voted driver. The winner goes home with a cool $50,000, so all of the drivers will be on their A-game, providing a great show for the fans.
One of the factors that make this race so enjoyable for myself, the drivers, fans, and anyone at the track is the hospitality and show that the Bader family puts on. I feel that they go above and beyond when it comes to promoting and scheduling all of their events, especially the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals. This year's special attractions include passes by Bob Motz's jet Kenworth and Danny O'Day's wheelstander, a Sunday pre-race concert, and the fantastic fireworks show after Friday Night qualifying. And we can't forget the famous $1 for a pound ice cream that everyone raves about.
The amount of cars on the entry lists for the race are some of the highest of NHRA national events this year. In the nitro classes, there are currently 17 drivers entered in Top Fuel Dragster and 20 in Fuel Funny Car. Pro Stock has the highest Pro counts, with 27 in Pro Stock Car and 24 in Pro Stock Motorcycle. The top Sportsman classes (Pro Mod, Top Alcohol Dragster, Top Alcohol Funny Car) have 26, 15, and 20, respectively.
All of these factors should make for another amazing weekend in "the Maple city". If you're within 200 miles of the track, I'd give the track a call, order tickets, hop in the car and head to Norwalk! If not, be sure to watch it on ESPN2, as well as the results on NHRA.com and dragracecentral.com. Check back here later in the week for another blog about the upcoming race weekend.
See ya at the track!
Nitro Nate
One of those activities that is sure to be fun is an NHRA Countdown to the Championship PS2 tournament, held by Stefan Kontos and the Kon Rodz Racing Top Alcohol Funny Car team in their pit area. If everything goes as planned, we'll be playing from 10:30 Friday night until the wee hours of the morning on Saturday. So far, the entry list includes some top alcohol and nitro crew guys, with a few possible Pro drivers attending. If you're at the track, stop by and enter the race, it'll be a good time. $10 entry fee, winner recieves $100, RU gets $25, then there are $10-20 awards for low qualifier, top speed, etc.
Another cool feature of the Norwalk event is the K&N Filters Horsepower Challenge. This is a special bonus race for the Top 7 drivers in Pro Stock, along with an eighth driver that is voted in by the fans. As of June 5th, the drivers are Jason Line, Allen Johnson, Mike Edwards, Greg Anderson, Ron Krisher, Rodger Brogdon, Shane Gray, and Erica Enders as the fan-voted driver. The winner goes home with a cool $50,000, so all of the drivers will be on their A-game, providing a great show for the fans.
One of the factors that make this race so enjoyable for myself, the drivers, fans, and anyone at the track is the hospitality and show that the Bader family puts on. I feel that they go above and beyond when it comes to promoting and scheduling all of their events, especially the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals. This year's special attractions include passes by Bob Motz's jet Kenworth and Danny O'Day's wheelstander, a Sunday pre-race concert, and the fantastic fireworks show after Friday Night qualifying. And we can't forget the famous $1 for a pound ice cream that everyone raves about.
The amount of cars on the entry lists for the race are some of the highest of NHRA national events this year. In the nitro classes, there are currently 17 drivers entered in Top Fuel Dragster and 20 in Fuel Funny Car. Pro Stock has the highest Pro counts, with 27 in Pro Stock Car and 24 in Pro Stock Motorcycle. The top Sportsman classes (Pro Mod, Top Alcohol Dragster, Top Alcohol Funny Car) have 26, 15, and 20, respectively.
All of these factors should make for another amazing weekend in "the Maple city". If you're within 200 miles of the track, I'd give the track a call, order tickets, hop in the car and head to Norwalk! If not, be sure to watch it on ESPN2, as well as the results on NHRA.com and dragracecentral.com. Check back here later in the week for another blog about the upcoming race weekend.
See ya at the track!
Nitro Nate
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Wacky Weather season...
Hey folks, sorry I haven't updated the blog lately. Between school and keeping up with the race teams, I've been busy. Here in northern Ohio, we've been dealing with very rainy days that put a real damper on our racing plans. Thanks to Mother Nature, the Cavalcade of Stars divisional race at Norwalk was rescheduled for July 2-3.
Speaking of the Cavalcade, it was a great time even if we didn't get much racing in. Two of the teams I write for, Dave Hill's Nitro Fever Racing A/fuel team and Brandon Booher's AB Construction blown alcohol dragster team were in attendance to compete in Top Alcohol Dragster. I spent the weekend in Boohers' pit area as a crew member, waiting out the rain with the rest of the team. TAD only got one qualifying run in, so we spent the majority of the weekend chilling out. It was a fun weekend thanks to good company and I'm really looking forward to the make-up date.
Over the course of the weekend, I got to speak with and get to know one of the emerging drivers in NHRA Division 3 Top Alcohol Dragster competition, Dave Hill. I've been writing for Dave since the end of the 2010 season, but I hadn't met him until the Cavalcade weekend. I don't think I've benefitted from a conversation as much as I did with my conversations with Dave that weekend. Due to the lack of on-track action, I had lots of time to listen to him talk about his history, both racing and personal. If you're ever at a race where Dave and Team Nitro Fever are competing, stop by and say hi, he's really one of the coolest guys in the pits. He also gave the JDP Motorsports Junior Dragster team a lot of ideas that we're eager to try out. Dave and his sons used to race Jr's in Michigan and Indiana, where they were very successful.
One of the main reasons that I'm anticipating the rescheduled Cavalcade weekend is because all of the teams I do PR work for will be there. Jake Parker and the JDP Motorsports/K&N Filters team and Noah Rambow and the NAPA Auto Parts junior dragster team will be racing in their weekly points race on Saturday morning, than Brandon and Dave in Top Alcohol have qualifying on Saturday and Sunday, with eliminations on Sunday afternoon. This is a rare opportunity to get the whole group together for a big photoshoot. The photos that will be taken will be used for an upcoming NVW Motorsports Promotion ad in a magazine, Drag Illustrated probably. My friend John Stutsman will be doing the photography, as well as Chris Ternaux of RC Ternaux Photography.
Alright, enough of my random ramblings. Before I end this post, I want to mention a project that I'm working on, Nitro Cribs. It's basically MTV Cribs on NITRO. I'll get into more detail about it on my next post. Until then, keep it between the lines.
Thanks for reading!
Nitro Nate
Speaking of the Cavalcade, it was a great time even if we didn't get much racing in. Two of the teams I write for, Dave Hill's Nitro Fever Racing A/fuel team and Brandon Booher's AB Construction blown alcohol dragster team were in attendance to compete in Top Alcohol Dragster. I spent the weekend in Boohers' pit area as a crew member, waiting out the rain with the rest of the team. TAD only got one qualifying run in, so we spent the majority of the weekend chilling out. It was a fun weekend thanks to good company and I'm really looking forward to the make-up date.
Over the course of the weekend, I got to speak with and get to know one of the emerging drivers in NHRA Division 3 Top Alcohol Dragster competition, Dave Hill. I've been writing for Dave since the end of the 2010 season, but I hadn't met him until the Cavalcade weekend. I don't think I've benefitted from a conversation as much as I did with my conversations with Dave that weekend. Due to the lack of on-track action, I had lots of time to listen to him talk about his history, both racing and personal. If you're ever at a race where Dave and Team Nitro Fever are competing, stop by and say hi, he's really one of the coolest guys in the pits. He also gave the JDP Motorsports Junior Dragster team a lot of ideas that we're eager to try out. Dave and his sons used to race Jr's in Michigan and Indiana, where they were very successful.
One of the main reasons that I'm anticipating the rescheduled Cavalcade weekend is because all of the teams I do PR work for will be there. Jake Parker and the JDP Motorsports/K&N Filters team and Noah Rambow and the NAPA Auto Parts junior dragster team will be racing in their weekly points race on Saturday morning, than Brandon and Dave in Top Alcohol have qualifying on Saturday and Sunday, with eliminations on Sunday afternoon. This is a rare opportunity to get the whole group together for a big photoshoot. The photos that will be taken will be used for an upcoming NVW Motorsports Promotion ad in a magazine, Drag Illustrated probably. My friend John Stutsman will be doing the photography, as well as Chris Ternaux of RC Ternaux Photography.
Alright, enough of my random ramblings. Before I end this post, I want to mention a project that I'm working on, Nitro Cribs. It's basically MTV Cribs on NITRO. I'll get into more detail about it on my next post. Until then, keep it between the lines.
Thanks for reading!
Nitro Nate
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