Team Press Releases

[coverattach=1]After struggling all season, Angie Smith was smiling Sunday amidst another gloomy day at the NHRA Route 66 Nationals. Rain hung around all weekend, but Smith’s performance on her new Coffman Tank Trucks Pro Stock Motorcycle enabled her to advance to the semifinals before losing to L.E. Tonglet. Smith qualified eighth (6.982 seconds at 185.84 mph) and opened eliminations against Eddie Krawiec, who had won all six of their previous races. “This time I’m going to be ready for him” she said Saturday evening, and came back and proved it on race day, using a near-perfect .001-second reaction to beat Krawiec to the finish line – 6.961 seconds at 6.960 at 189.42. It was the first hole-shot win of her career...

[coverattach=1]Joliet, Sunday: The 13th annual United Association Route 66 Nationals was filled with long rain delays but rookie Shane Gray didn’t let the rain dampen the best weekend of his young Pro Stock career. Gray had a great time as he took his beautiful Tire Kingdom Pontiac GXP to the semifinal round, for the first time this season. Gray’s Tire Kingdom GXP was a hot car this weekend and made great passes on every run. In the first-round of eliminations today, Gray easily put away Warren Johnson. Gray left on Johnson and never looked back, posting an impressive 6.630 at 208.46 mph against Johnson’s 6.642. In the next round, the second-generation driver faced another veteran, V. Gaines. Gray stepped up and posted an even...

[coverattach=1]Joliet, Sunday: Despite all the rain delays, Johnny Gray and his NTB, National Tire and Battery Pro Stock had a good weekend at the United Association Route 66 Nationals at Route 66 Raceway. Gray enjoyed a great No. 8 qualifying position and felt good about a great race day. He saved his best pass for last but it didn’t turn out the way wanted. As Gray took on his first-round opponent, Greg Anderson, he knew he needed to take his best shot. The two qualified eighth and ninth with the exact same E.T. Gray got the higher spot by having the faster mph but Gray knew Anderson would be right beside him. Gray’s 6.634 was his quickest of the weekend and better than Anderson’s 6.642 but he gave the run away with his red...

[coverattach=1]JOLIET, Ill. (June 6, 2010) - Jack Beckman and the Valvoline/Mail Terminal Services Dodge Charge team weathered severe rainstorms and delays during eliminations at the 13th annual Route 66 NHRA Nationals to collect their third semifinal finish of the 2010 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series. En route to the semifinal round in the all-new DSR chassis, Beckman dismissed Paul Lee with a 4.158-second elapsed time at 299.06 mph, and Bob Tasca III with a 4.121/302.55. After a nearly five-hour rain delay, cooler conditions prevailed under a darkening sky, as he then met up with a resurgent Robert Hight, winner of the last three events. Beckman posted his weekend-best 4.060/314.61 (for top speed of the meet and his...

[coverattach=1]It has been one wet weekend at NHRA’s Route 66 Nationals. The rain that washed out one of Friday’s qualifying sessions and lingered again Saturday, returned Sunday, too, creating what Al-Anabi Racing Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Matt Smith dubbed “Lake Joliet” at Route 66 Raceway. It precipitated an unlikely scenario that plagued Smith during qualifying and in Sunday’s opening round loss to Steve Johnson. “Our pit area is at the end of a row,” explained Smith, “and right next to us was an area that collected a lot of water, so I called it Lake Joliet. Every time we went to the starting line, we had to run through it. We were careful and thought we went through the water slow enough, but some of the water...

[coverattach=1]After two days of countless delays caused by persistent rain, race day at the United Association Route 66 Nationals dawned with clear blue skies and cooler temperatures, conditions that were tailor-made for the naturally-aspirated Pro Stock Cars. As a result, many racers, including Greg Anderson and the Summit Racing team, were able to significantly better their performance from qualifying. Starting ninth, Anderson’s day got off to a good start as he was the beneficiary of a red-light start by opponent Johnny Gray, punctuating his win with a 6.642-second, 208.26 mph pass. This set the stage for a second-round encounter with defending Pro Stock champion, and No. 1 qualifier Mike Edwards. Although Anderson was able...

[coverattach=1]JOLIET, Ill. (June 6, 2010) - No. 1 qualifier Craig Treble was upset in the opening round of Pro Stock Motorcycle eliminations today at the 13th annual Route 66 NHRA Nationals by No. 16 qualifier Redell Harris because of a mechanical problem on the Valvoline Motorcycle Oils Suzuki. The pair took off side-by-side, and it was clear by the 60-foot mark that Treble was in trouble. After qualifying with a 6.932-second elapsed time at 190.27 mph, Treble crossed the finish line in second, posting an uncharacteristic 7.123/190.30 pass to Harris' winning 7.070/185.08. “We were thrilled with our qualifying effort; the Valvoline Suzuki is obviously extremely fast. For whatever reason, we’ll figure it out when we get back to...

[coverattach=1]JOLIET, ILL. (June 5, 2010) - Racing the NAPA Batteries Dodge Charger Funny Car, Ron Capps made an early exit at the 13th annual Route 66 NHRA Nationals today, ceding the first round to Jeff Arend. Under a warm Midwestern sun and dryer air conditions after severe thunderstorms passed through the Joliet area overnight, No. 6 qualifier Capps launched a hair later than Arend, then took over the lead until the 660-foot mark (of a 1000-foot track). He couldn't hold it to the finish, however, as Arend passed him at the stripe to take the win with a 4.239-second elapsed time to Capps' 4.272/262.64. "We saw an oildown a couple of pairs in front of us and the sun started beating a little harder on the track," said Capps...

[coverattach=1]JOLIET, Ill. (June 6, 2010) - Cory McClenathan ended his run at the 13th annual Route 66 NHRA Nationals today in the quarterfinal round after defeating Morgan Lucas in the opening stanza. "Cory Mac" and the FRAM Top Fuel dragster didn't fail to demonstrate the consistency that has become their trademark this season. After qualifying No. 2 with a 3.822-second lap at 320.05 mph, McClenathan posted another solid pass of 3.859/305.15 to dismiss Lucas, then clocked in with a 3.877/315.86 against his second-round opponent Steve Torrence. Torrence, however, crossed the finish line first, winning with a slower 3.888/310.34 to McClenathan's 3.877/315.86 for a "hole shot" victory. McClenathan's more-than-respectable .098...