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Pro Stock rookie Rodger Brogdon just continues to make his presence known in one of the toughest categories in motorsports. Qualifying for his third consecutive event in the NHRA POWERade 2007 tour, Brogdon started Sunday's eliminations from the number ten qualifying spot, his best qualifying position so far in his young Pro Stock career.
With twenty-seven cars on the Gainesville Raceway property trying to qualify for the sixteen-car eliminations field, just making the sweet sixteen of eliminations this weekend was a feat unto itself. With noted drivers Tom Martino (defending event champion), Jim Yates (former national champion), Richie Stevens (fellow Mopar racer) and winner of the last race on the tour, Kurt Johnson, all failing to make the cut, Brogdon found himself firmly planted in the second quickest field in NHRA history.
For Rodger though, qualifying wasn't as easy as it had been at the first two events. Friday's two qualifying sessions resulted in a first run that found the set-up just wasn't what the track was ready for. The second session started off better with good early numbers in the run, but an ignition problem slowed the car considerably on the top end, and after the first two sessions the team found itself somewhere it had never been, outside of the qualified field.
Saturday dawned cool and clear, and with a renewed vigor the team readied the car for what everyone knew was going to be the best qualifying session of the weekend. With the third quickest run in the left lane Brogdon and team ended three rounds of qualifying in the number nine position with an outstanding 6.605 second run. The final qualifying session saw the team continue to pick up the pace, running the fifth quickest lap of the entire session, a 6.617 elapsed time in conditions that weren't near as conducive to performance as earlier in the day.
With Sundays weather a virtual carbon copy of what the team saw on Saturday, Rodger's round one match up with David Connolly was looked to with much anticipation. After a second round loss to Connolly at the season opening event in Pomona, the team was looking forward to the opportunity for a little redemption. As the second pair out, Rodger and Connolly left the line side by side. It was just past the sixty foot timers though that the left lane wasn't ready to have that much Nickens horsepower be applied to it, with the car going into severe tire shake and making a hard move to the right.
As Rodger put it "We are beginning to feel comfortable with our ability to qualify, it's the race day tune up that we will be working on between now and Houston. The run order for Pro Stock changes on Sunday, and with that change comes the need for us to adapt our set-up to those different conditions. We're not just out here to look good and qualify, we are here to win."
With that being said this team will continue to put test laps down leading into the next event at their home track in Houston TX. With family, friends and business associates planning to be on hand for the next stop on the NHRA tour, Rodger Brogdon and team will continue their torrid early season schedule, and look forward to taking on the competition at a track they feel gives them a distinct home town advantage.
Brogdon Racing Gainesville Wrap Up
Pro Stock rookie Rodger Brogdon just continues to make his presence known in one of the toughest categories in motorsports. Qualifying for his third consecutive event in the NHRA POWERade 2007 tour, Brogdon started Sunday's eliminations from the number ten qualifying spot, his best qualifying position so far in his young Pro Stock career.
With twenty-seven cars on the Gainesville Raceway property trying to qualify for the sixteen-car eliminations field, just making the sweet sixteen of eliminations this weekend was a feat unto itself. With noted drivers Tom Martino (defending event champion), Jim Yates (former national champion), Richie Stevens (fellow Mopar racer) and winner of the last race on the tour, Kurt Johnson, all failing to make the cut, Brogdon found himself firmly planted in the second quickest field in NHRA history.
For Rodger though, qualifying wasn't as easy as it had been at the first two events. Friday's two qualifying sessions resulted in a first run that found the set-up just wasn't what the track was ready for. The second session started off better with good early numbers in the run, but an ignition problem slowed the car considerably on the top end, and after the first two sessions the team found itself somewhere it had never been, outside of the qualified field.
Saturday dawned cool and clear, and with a renewed vigor the team readied the car for what everyone knew was going to be the best qualifying session of the weekend. With the third quickest run in the left lane Brogdon and team ended three rounds of qualifying in the number nine position with an outstanding 6.605 second run. The final qualifying session saw the team continue to pick up the pace, running the fifth quickest lap of the entire session, a 6.617 elapsed time in conditions that weren't near as conducive to performance as earlier in the day.
With Sundays weather a virtual carbon copy of what the team saw on Saturday, Rodger's round one match up with David Connolly was looked to with much anticipation. After a second round loss to Connolly at the season opening event in Pomona, the team was looking forward to the opportunity for a little redemption. As the second pair out, Rodger and Connolly left the line side by side. It was just past the sixty foot timers though that the left lane wasn't ready to have that much Nickens horsepower be applied to it, with the car going into severe tire shake and making a hard move to the right.
As Rodger put it "We are beginning to feel comfortable with our ability to qualify, it's the race day tune up that we will be working on between now and Houston. The run order for Pro Stock changes on Sunday, and with that change comes the need for us to adapt our set-up to those different conditions. We're not just out here to look good and qualify, we are here to win."
With that being said this team will continue to put test laps down leading into the next event at their home track in Houston TX. With family, friends and business associates planning to be on hand for the next stop on the NHRA tour, Rodger Brogdon and team will continue their torrid early season schedule, and look forward to taking on the competition at a track they feel gives them a distinct home town advantage.
