Team Press Releases

[coverattach=1]Five times this season she’s gone to the starting line in the first round, and five times she’s gone home early. It wasn’t the way Angie Smith pictured the way her first full season of NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle racing would begin. Neither did Matt Smith, her husband and tuner of Karl and Kim Klement’s Coffman Tank Truck entry. An assortment of parts woes – even a highly unusual motorcycle fuel fire – has frustrated both Smiths, but they believe better days are ahead, beginning Friday when they begin qualifying for the Route 66 Nationals at Joliet, Ill. “We’ve had problems with Angie’s bike since the season began,” Matt Smith said. “We’ve changed motors, transmissions, clutches, everything on it . . . so...

[coverattach=1]As NHRA’s Pro Stock Motorcycle contingent heads into the halfway mark of NHRA’s Countdown to 10 portion of the championship hunt, Matt Smith sees only one rider between him and first place. Smith rode his Al-Anabi Racing V-Twin into the semifinals two weeks ago at Atlanta to slip into the runner-up position. He will try this weekend to cut into the 101-point advantage Hector Arana currently holds during the United Association Route 66 Nationals that begin Friday at Route 66 Raceway. “I’m looking forward to racing at Joliet,” said Smith, the 2007 Full Throttle Drag Racing Series champion. “I was runner-up there in 2007. I’d definitely like to get the win on Sunday. We need to start chipping away at Hector’s...

[coverattach=1]Mooresville, N.C., June 2, 2010 – One of the more popular genres of television shows in recent years has been that of crime scene investigation. Almost daily, we are entertained by scenes of fictitious law enforcement personnel in cities across the country using cutting edge technology to solve seemingly perfect crimes. Over the last week, a similar scenario has unfolded at the KB Racing shops in Mooresville, NC, as Greg Anderson and his Summit Racing team have labored to find and fix the gremlins that have been haunting their race cars of late. Just as with their TV counterparts, it is a comprehensive effort that the crew hopes will bring a swift resolution, with this weekend’s United Association Route 66 Nationals in...

[coverattach=1]Mooresville, N.C., June 2, 2010 – With the recently completed Memorial Day weekend marking the unofficial start of the summer season, families across the country are looking forward to well-earned vacations. However, for competitors in the NHRA’s Full Throttle Drag Racing Series, the next two months represent the toughest part of their entire season, a seven-race-in-eight-week cross-country odyssey that will most likely determine the players in the 2010 Countdown to One championship playoff. With so much at stake, pre-race preparations have taken on added meaning, as there will be little time during this period for anything more than simple maintenance. Therefore, since their return from Topeka a week ago Jason...

[coverattach=1]BROWNSBURG, Ind. (June 2, 2010) - Cory McClenathan has been hot this season driving the FRAM Top Fuel dragster in the 2010 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series. He's won two national events in four final rounds and is second in the point standings. He's triumphed 33 times in his career in 61 final rounds and has earned pole position 36 times. Talk about a contender. What he hasn't done is win at Route 66 Raceway. So, with a consistently-fast hot rod under him, tuned by Todd Okuhara and Phil Shuler, "Cory Mac" and the FRAM team expect to modify that statistic in this weekend's 13th annual Route 66 NHRA Nationals in Joliet, Ill. He and the FRAM team will also embark on a four-in-a-row series of NHRA national events...

[coverattach=1]NORCO, Calif. (June 2, 2010) - Jack Beckman and the Valvoline/Mail Terminal Services Dodge Charger Funny Car team arrive for this weekend's 13th annual Route 66 NHRA Nationals in Joliet, Ill., to race the latest version of the initial 2008 DSR-1 chassis design. With the original DSR-1 iteration put to pasture, Beckman is confident the new chassis will provide the improved performance the team needs to move up in the points and be assured a spot in the top 10 to contend for the class crown in the Countdown to 1 playoffs (the final six events of the year). Beginning this weekend, the schedule hosts four back-to-back events, followed by one weekend off, then the three-race Western Swing. "This weekend will be the first...

[coverattach=1]CARLSBAD, Calif. (June 2, 2010) - Ron Capps will race the NAPA Batteries Dodge Charger Funny Car in this weekend's 13th annual Route 66 NHRA Nationals in Joliet, Ill., as part of a month-long NAPA AUTO PARTS promotion. He'll be aiming for his first victory of the 2010 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series. Consumers can visit a NAPA AUTO PARTS store or a NAPA AutoCare Center in June and get the following mail-in rebates: $20 rebate on the NAPA Optima Heavy-Duty batteries, $15 rebate on NAPA Legend 84-month batteries and $10 rebate on all NAPA LEGEND 75-month batteries. "NAPA always has great promotions," said Capps, "so I hope our fans take advantage of these offers then come out to Route 66 Raceway to root for us...

[coverattach=1]EDMONTON, Alberta (June 2, 2010) – For racing aficionado Tim Boychuk, the past 12 months have been a bit of a rollercoaster ride. This time last year Boychuk was fourth in the world in Top Fuel fresh off of a victory at the Sooner Nationals at Tulsa Raceway Park as he prepared for the biggest race of his career at his home track of Castrol Raceway in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. But by the end of last year Boychuk was out of Top Fuel and at a crossroad in his career as he mulled over what avenue of drag racing to pursue next. Boychuk admits that he loved racing Top Fuel, but his heart truly belonged to the Nostalgia Nitro Funny Car he co-owned with Ross Hodgson. It was a tough decision, but by the end of 2009...

JOLIET, Illinois – The Route 66 Nationals is an exciting event each year. Not only is the facility top notch, but also is the event that holds the race-within-a-race for the Jeg’s All-Stars competition. This event is comprised of 80 drivers that have accumulated points over the last season in their respective geographic divisions for a shot at the elusive title. The field is always stout, and, on the occurrence you win, you have beaten the top drivers in the country. The 2010 version of the Jeg’s All-Stars event will present an opportunity for competitors in ten categories to become part of an elite group of racers – an All-Stars Champion. This year’s competition has Gary Emmons in position and eager for success. Gary has the...