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(10-15-2007) CHARLOTTE, NC – Charles Carpenter was hoping to rebound from a disappointing few weeks at the Flowmaster American Drag Racing League’s final event of 2007, but it just wasn’t meant to be. That fact was clearly evident from the first time Carpenter attempted to make a test pass at the storied Texas Motorplex in Ennis.
“We had trouble from the get-go,” said Carpenter, a two-time national event winner on the circuit this season. “From tiny wiring issues to burning the motor up, all the little gremlins got us and made it a nightmare weekend. We had a great season, but what terrible timing for all these things to go wrong.”
On his first test pass, when Carpenter went to test the first stage of nitrous, the wire connecting to the solenoids on the motor came loose, which was a quick fix. After repairing the issue in the staging lanes, when Carpenter made a second attempt at a run, the line that engages the high-gear air pod on the Lenco transmission failed, spraying nitrous oxide everywhere inside the car.
“At that point we headed back to the pits to cool the car,” Carpenter said. “We were hoping that we got all that stuff out of our system on that run, but unfortunately more trouble was ahead of us.”
On the second test run, the car left hard and was on a good pass when the engine just shut off at half-track. “Normally, when something like that happens, it’s a problem with the ignition box,” said Carpenter. “We changed everything in the entire ignition system just to be safe. But when we started the car, the ignition timing wasn’t right. We couldn’t get it to where it needed to be. They were already running the Battle for the Belts and ADRL officials were standing there telling us we had to go, so all we could do was go with it and pray for the best. I had to head into one of the most important runs of my career with a malfunctioning engine.”
“I can’t say enough about the sportsmanship Terry Housley showed by waiting for us,” Carpenter said. “With all that was on the line, most guys would have jumped at the chance for a bye run, but Terry told the officials he wasn’t going anywhere until we got up to the lanes, even if it took all night. Terry is an unbelievable competitor and person.”
Carpenter’s unmistakable ’55 Chevy fired, but completed the burnout on only six cylinders. To avoid catastrophic engine damage, the 34-year veteran came to the gut-wrenching decision to just stage the car and not drop the clutch, making a red-light by Housley his only chance at a victory.
“Sitting there when the tree dropped and watching Terry leave was the hardest thing I have ever had to do in my racing career,” Carpenter admitted. Further inspection after the run revealed that the problem was a missing magnet on the crank trigger wheel.
By also foregoing his only night-time qualifying pass, Carpenter had an uphill battle just qualify for the ultra-competitive Pro Nitrous field on Saturday. Unfortunately, Friday’s engine failure resurfaced in the form of a burned piston during the final qualifying session, which left Carpenter in the 17th spot for the second consecutive race.
“Our luck was so bad this weekend, we couldn’t even make the call as first alternate when Rex Kelley couldn’t make it for the first round of eliminations,” said Carpenter.
“It’s certainly not the way we wanted to end the season,” he said. “Pat Doherty and Custom Autosound have been right with us all year, and we had some great support from Buddy Johnson and Richard Patterson’s PMS Excavation this weekend, so we wanted to put on a better show for them this weekend. We also wanted to get a good start on next year’s points race, but we will just have to wait for 2008 to do that now.”
The hard-working veteran isn’t going to sit around thinking about the great season that slipped away at the end.
“We are already working on next season,” said Carpenter. “Pro Nitrous has always been tough, but the last few races have given us a preview of how much tougher it will be in 2008. It’s time to regroup, refocus, and make things happen this off-season. I want to thank all my fans and everyone else that has supported us throughout this resurgent season. You can rest assured that we’re going to come out swinging harder than ever.”
Carpenter is actively seeking primary sponsorship for 2008. For more information about Charles Carpenter Racing and The World’s Fastest ’55 Chevy, or for a copy of the team’s 2008 Marketing Partnership Guide, visit Charles Carpenter Racing.
Photo courtesy of Roger Richards / Competition Plus
Bad timing ends Carpenter’s 2007 championship run
(10-15-2007) CHARLOTTE, NC – Charles Carpenter was hoping to rebound from a disappointing few weeks at the Flowmaster American Drag Racing League’s final event of 2007, but it just wasn’t meant to be. That fact was clearly evident from the first time Carpenter attempted to make a test pass at the storied Texas Motorplex in Ennis.
“We had trouble from the get-go,” said Carpenter, a two-time national event winner on the circuit this season. “From tiny wiring issues to burning the motor up, all the little gremlins got us and made it a nightmare weekend. We had a great season, but what terrible timing for all these things to go wrong.”
On his first test pass, when Carpenter went to test the first stage of nitrous, the wire connecting to the solenoids on the motor came loose, which was a quick fix. After repairing the issue in the staging lanes, when Carpenter made a second attempt at a run, the line that engages the high-gear air pod on the Lenco transmission failed, spraying nitrous oxide everywhere inside the car.
“At that point we headed back to the pits to cool the car,” Carpenter said. “We were hoping that we got all that stuff out of our system on that run, but unfortunately more trouble was ahead of us.”
On the second test run, the car left hard and was on a good pass when the engine just shut off at half-track. “Normally, when something like that happens, it’s a problem with the ignition box,” said Carpenter. “We changed everything in the entire ignition system just to be safe. But when we started the car, the ignition timing wasn’t right. We couldn’t get it to where it needed to be. They were already running the Battle for the Belts and ADRL officials were standing there telling us we had to go, so all we could do was go with it and pray for the best. I had to head into one of the most important runs of my career with a malfunctioning engine.”
“I can’t say enough about the sportsmanship Terry Housley showed by waiting for us,” Carpenter said. “With all that was on the line, most guys would have jumped at the chance for a bye run, but Terry told the officials he wasn’t going anywhere until we got up to the lanes, even if it took all night. Terry is an unbelievable competitor and person.”
Carpenter’s unmistakable ’55 Chevy fired, but completed the burnout on only six cylinders. To avoid catastrophic engine damage, the 34-year veteran came to the gut-wrenching decision to just stage the car and not drop the clutch, making a red-light by Housley his only chance at a victory.
“Sitting there when the tree dropped and watching Terry leave was the hardest thing I have ever had to do in my racing career,” Carpenter admitted. Further inspection after the run revealed that the problem was a missing magnet on the crank trigger wheel.
By also foregoing his only night-time qualifying pass, Carpenter had an uphill battle just qualify for the ultra-competitive Pro Nitrous field on Saturday. Unfortunately, Friday’s engine failure resurfaced in the form of a burned piston during the final qualifying session, which left Carpenter in the 17th spot for the second consecutive race.
“Our luck was so bad this weekend, we couldn’t even make the call as first alternate when Rex Kelley couldn’t make it for the first round of eliminations,” said Carpenter.
“It’s certainly not the way we wanted to end the season,” he said. “Pat Doherty and Custom Autosound have been right with us all year, and we had some great support from Buddy Johnson and Richard Patterson’s PMS Excavation this weekend, so we wanted to put on a better show for them this weekend. We also wanted to get a good start on next year’s points race, but we will just have to wait for 2008 to do that now.”
The hard-working veteran isn’t going to sit around thinking about the great season that slipped away at the end.
“We are already working on next season,” said Carpenter. “Pro Nitrous has always been tough, but the last few races have given us a preview of how much tougher it will be in 2008. It’s time to regroup, refocus, and make things happen this off-season. I want to thank all my fans and everyone else that has supported us throughout this resurgent season. You can rest assured that we’re going to come out swinging harder than ever.”
Carpenter is actively seeking primary sponsorship for 2008. For more information about Charles Carpenter Racing and The World’s Fastest ’55 Chevy, or for a copy of the team’s 2008 Marketing Partnership Guide, visit Charles Carpenter Racing.
Photo courtesy of Roger Richards / Competition Plus
