Team Press Releases

After qualifying ninth for Sunday’s final eliminations of the 50th annual Kragen O’Reilly Winternationals, Jason Line and the Summit Racing team looked to repeat their winning performance from a year ago. To do so, however, they knew they would need to more closely match their race car to the tricky surface at The Auto Club Raceway, with their assignment further complicated by being delegated to the less-preferred right hand lane for their first round encounter against starting-line specialist Greg Stanfield. Finally, as the first pair of Pro Stock cars to run in final eliminations, they would not have the benefit of making final adjustments based on the performance of others. Even so, the KB Racing crew responded by posting the...

[coverattach=1]Pomona, Calif. – Don’t blame 23-year old Danny Gruninger if he’s excited for the next NHRA event to start. After incrementally increasing the USRECOGNITION.COM PRO STOCK DODGE’s career best elapsed time in 3 out of 4 qualifying attempts at the season opening NHRA Winternationals, the Denver, Colo. based team can’t wait for their next race in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series. The team began their qualifying effort on Thursday afternoon with a solid 6.69 second elapsed time which stood as the 15th quickest elapsed time in the Pro Stock class this day. “The air was very good on Thursday, hovering around 2000 foot corrected altitude,” noted driver Danny Gruninger. “We put together a solid base line tune up...

POMONA, Sunday: Johnny Gray put his beautiful Pro Stocker in a good qualifying position on his last attempt yesterday. He thought that saving his best until last meant that the Gray Motorsports Pontiac GXP was finally getting rid of all the new car bugs. He hoped that in eliminations today at the 50th annual NHRA Kragen O’Reilly Winternationals his improved performance would continue. But that wasn’t the case. In the first-round of eliminations, Gray encountered some problems and his 6.717 at 205.88 mph wasn’t enough to put away his opponent, Rodger Brogdon, who laid down a 6.651. “We were light on the clutch and the motor ran away and then when the clutch tried to catch up with it, the motor had such a run at it that it...

[coverattach=1]Pomona, Calif. – They say that Rome was not built in a day; well ‘they’ were absolutely right. When Ron August Jr. and the Lescure Company (Lescure Company - Complete Mechanical Services since 1947) Top Alcohol Funny Car team entered their 2008 Ford Mustang bodied Funny Car for the 50th running of the NHRA Kragen O’Reilly Winternationals held in Pomona, Calif., their intention was to compete side-by-side with some of the best TAFC teams in drag racing. After a round one exit on Saturday afternoon, the Pleasanton, Calif. based team realizes their quest to regain the performance this car once had will take patience and time. The team hit Auto Club Raceway Thursday with a renewed attitude, new parts and even a new...

Greg Anderson and the Summit Racing team opened the 2010 Full Throttle season in tremendous fashion on Sunday, battling their way to a runner-up finish at the 50th annual Kragen O’Reilly Winternationals in Pomona, CA. Starting from the sixth position, the KB Racing crew opened with the second quickest time of the first round at 6.608-seconds to trailer rival Kurt Johnson, and following that success with subsequent victories over rookie Shane Gray and veteran Larry Morgan to advance to the final round for the 89th time in Anderson’s illustrious career. The final obstacle between Anderson and his fifth Winternationals win was defending Pro Stock champion Mike Edwards, who had posted the quickest elapsed time in each round of...

[coverattach=1]POMONA, Calif. (Feb. 14, 2010) - Ken Muranaka, equipment manager at Excel Paving of Long Beach, Calif., was named the first NAPA AUTO PARTS Honorary Crew Member of the 2010 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series today at the 50th annual NHRA Winternationals. Muranaka, 45, of Chino Hills, Calif., has been a drag racing fan for 30 years, and has attended this event every one of those years. "I used to stand on the outside of the fence before there were seats on the right side of the track," he said. "I used to be able to ride my bicycle up here and stand on the seat of my bicycle and look over the fence. That's how I watched the race. I only got to see some of it, but that's what I got to do." Excel Paving, a...

POMONA, Calif. (Feb. 14, 2010) - Matt Hagan, racing the all-new DieHard Dodge Charger Funny Car in the 2010 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series, started off the season in good form, reaching the quarterfinals and leaving the 50th annual NHRA Winternationals in sixth place in points. The 27-year-old Angus Cattle farmer from Christiansburg, Va., qualified fifth then dismissed Gary Densham in the opening round of eliminations with a 4.524/270.00 to Densham's 4.572/278.69. He was then defeated in the second stanza when Bob Tasca III pulled out a 4.196/301.00 to beat a tire-smoking 4.636/237.25 pass by Hagan. He didn't think not having lane choice made a difference. "I think both lanes were pretty tough no matter what you did in the...

POMONA, Calif. (Feb. 14, 2010) - Ron Capps came from the bottom half of the field to almost win the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series season-opening 50th annual NHRA Winternationals against 14-time Funny Car champion John Force. It was oh so close. Only seven feet (15 thousandths of a second) separated the pair at the finish line, but it was Force in front, grabbing his first victory in 40 races with a 4.124-second lap at 298.67 mph to Capps' quicker 4.123/305.08. En route to the final round from his No. 9 qualifying position, driving the NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge Charger Funny Car, defending event champion Capps beat Jim Head, Cruz Pedregon and Bob Tasca III to face the man he has defeated in their last three final-round...

POMONA, Calif. (Feb. 14, 2010) - Jack Beckman opened up the 2010 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series season with a semifinal finish at the 50th annual NHRA Winternationals, driving the Valvoline/Mail Terminal Services Dodge Charger Funny Car. After qualifying seventh with a 4.101/310.91 pass, Beckman dismissed Tony Pedregon in the opening round of eliminations with a 4.164/306.12, then defeated Del Worsham using a 4.183/304.32. Having enjoyed lane choice up to that point, he lost it to his semifinal round antagonist, 14-time Funny Car champion John Force. Beckman trailed Force by a tick at the launch but soon struck the tires, as Force cruised to the victory with a 4.125/305.56 run. Beckman crossed the finish line in 5.658...