Nitromater

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Mason grows the family and trophy case, New Super Gas World Champion

(11-20-19) Alvaton, Ky – The NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Season of 2019 is coming to close for racers from coast to coast. One racer from Richmond, KY enjoyed 2019 as much as anyone person could, picking up a World Championship in a car his father raced and becoming a father himself, Jeremy Mason, the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series 2019 Super Gas Champion.

“Driving a car that my father raced and being able to win a World Championship as well as Divisional Championship, well can it get any cooler than that,” smiled Jeremy Mason, driver. “However, having a newborn healthy baby girl is pretty awesome as well,” continued Mason. “We put together a really solid run-up to the divisional at Bowling Green, just needed my National record to improve and we were able to accomplish just that, ” said Mason.

Jeremy Mason drove the family-owned 1966 Chevy II that has been in the family for over 28...

For Immediate Release

TORRENCE LOSES BATTLE; WINS WAR
Capco Contractors Driver Claims Second Consecutive Mello Yello Top Fuel Title

POMONA, Calif. – Steve Torrence managed to regain his composure after an incident with rival Cameron Ferre and, thanks to a pressure-packed, all-or-nothing victory over Brittany Force in the second round of Sunday’s 55th annual Auto Club Finals, became just the eighth driver in NHRA history to win back-to-back Mello Yello Top Fuel championships.

After using an .026 of a second starting line advantage and a 3.749 second track time to beat Force and, for all intents, secure the title, Torrence admittedly lost focus against semifinal opponent Richie Crampton.

Knowing that the only way he could still lose the championship was if he was assessed a points penalty for crossing the centerline or hitting the outside barrier, the 36-time tour winner had an uncharacteristic .183 reaction time that he was unable to overcome despite a slightly quicker...

NHRA® Team Report
NHRA Finals - Pomona
Pre-Race Report

Cruz Pedregon and team are motivated by a quarterfinal showing and two 300+ mile per hour runs to prove the same consistency in the upcoming final NHRA race of 2019. "Overall I believe we've been plagued by mechanical issues in the piston department. Chasing scuffing problems for more than half of the races made us feel like we had an anchor around our ankle. These issues meant we weren't really able to show what our car is capable of," says Cruz. "We resolved that in the last few races, but later found a problem in the clutch area where the surface of the disks weren't as they should be and that hampered our motor situation.

"Together with Nick (Casertano), Jay (Ryskey) and the rest of the team, we have really worked our tails off to bring our car back to the high-performing quality it should be. We plan on showing in Pomona that we can finish strong and are heading in the right direction for the 2020 season…ahead...

Torrence Eyes Second Straight Title
BUT MELLO YELLO CHAMP UNDER SEIGE AT AUTO CLUB FINALS

POMONA, Calif. – Through the polarized lenses of his new Freebyrds model BEX sunglasses, Steve Torrence can see clearly the path to the Top Fuel championship that would make him just the eighth driver in NHRA history to win back-to-back titles in drag racing’s signature category.

For the 36-year-old Texan, it simply is a matter of turning on four win-lights this week at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona in a Capco Contractors dragster in which he has won nine times this year and in which he has appeared in more than half the final rounds contested over the last three seasons (36 of 71)..

“There are lots of different scenarios (that could send him back to the podium as Mello Yello Champion),” said the 36-time pro tour winner, “but if we just go out and win the race, everything else will take care of itself.”

The race in question is the 55th annual Auto Club Finals, the wrap-up to the NHRA’s...

SANTA MONICA, Calif. (November 6, 2019) - NHRA Drag Racer Alexis DeJoria is one of three inductees selected to be enshrined into the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame on November 9th, 2019 in Rosemont, Ill.

DeJoria, a seven-time NHRA national event winner, will join an elite group of Italian-American athletes when she is recognized as a member of The Hall’s Class of 2019. Joining DeJoria will be NFL star Glen Carano and the late Ralph ‘Babe’ Serpico. DeJoria will also share the stage with auto racing legend Mario Andretti as he is presented with The Hall’s first Lifetime Achievement Award.

“This is an incredible honor to be recognized as an Italian-American athlete in the sport of NHRA Drag Racing,” said DeJoria, whose heritage includes Italian and Greek roots. “When I learned I had been selected, I felt instant pride thinking back to when my...

TORRENCE ADDS NEW PARTNER
BEX Sunglasses Will Provide Clarity as World Champion Looks Ahead


LAS VEGAS, Nevada – Reigning NHRA World Champion Steve Torrence announced Wednesday a marketing partnership with Las Vegas-based BEX Sunglasses, LLC, which will begin with next week’s 55th annual Auto Club of Southern California Finals at Pomona, Calif., and extend through the 2020 season.

Established in 2009, BEX is one of the world’s leading product design and eyewear brands. Chosen by customers for its superior comfort and affordability, it is considered the professional standard in lightweight eyewear. BEX Sunglasses are engineered to stay comfortably on the face, complementing any active lifestyle.

“We’re very excited to be associated with Steve and the Capco Contractors race team,” said Jason Adams, founder and president of BEX Sunglasses. “Steve pursues the kind of active lifestyle for which we created our product line. So, whether he’s riding, roping or racing...

Reigning Champion Moves on to Auto Club Finals with Narrow Point Lead

LAS VEGAS, Nevada. – Steve Torrence will roll his Capco Contractors dragster to the starting line two weeks hence knowing that despite a runner-up finish in Sunday’s 19th annual Dodge Nationals at the Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, he still controls his own destiny in his bid to become only the eighth driver in NHRA history to win back-to-back Top Fuel Championships.

In a battle between the two most recent Mello Yello champions, Brittany Force got the better of Sunday’s final round, laying down the quickest run of eliminations to relegate Torrence to the runner-up position for the fifth time in a dominating season in which he has won a category-best nine races.

It was just the second win of the year for Force, who will move on to the season-ending Auto Club Finals at Pomona, Calif. in virtually the same position she occupied when she won the championship in 2017.

That year, she left Vegas 20...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Torrence Still the Man to Beat
MELLO YELLO CHAMP DEFENDS TITLE IN DODGE NATIONALS

LAS VEGAS, Nevada – Despite first round losses in two of the first four races in the Countdown to the Championship, it would be difficult to find anyone willing to bet against Steve Torrence and his Capco Contractors Top Fuel dragster this week as the Mello Yello tour moves to The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the 19th annual Dodge NHRA Nationals.

After all, despite early exits at Reading, Pa., and Dallas, Texas, Torrence still leads the point standings entering this, the season’s next-to-last event.

Add the fact that he is the reigning series champion, that he has won this race two of the last three years and that he is the track record-holder at 333.33 miles per hour and it’s easy to see why so many people still consider him the odds-on favorite.

That said, the 36-year-old cancer survivor is well aware that he is in a battle this time around, unlike 2018...

NHRA® Team Report
NHRA Nevada Nationals – Las Vegas
Pre-Race Report

Finishing up October in recognition of The Pink Fund® on the Snap-on Dodge®, Cruz Pedregon and team are headed to Las Vegas with memories of his epic wheelie run in a pink paint scheme in 2017 and a win at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway drag strip in 2013. "We plan to finish out the season strong while bringing back other great memories of my dad racing here," says Cruz. "We're doing that with a hand-lettered 'Flamin' Frank' helmet design that matches the dragster he drove here in Vegas and Pomona back in the '60s."



Before heading to Las Vegas, the team took time to ensure the Funny Car's main fuel line is fully serviced and ready to race. It broke off the car in Dallas creating a chain reaction of the motor pulling down, drive shaft speeding up, tire...