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Charles Carpenter Racing ADRL Speedtech U.S. Drags III Wrap-up
Carpenter’s New Look Earns Best Appearing Car Award at U.S. Drags
(5-25-2010) CHARLOTTE, NC – Going into the third annual ADRL Speedtech U.S. Drags at
Virginia Motorsports Park, Charles Carpenter was looking for a clean sweep of the
event, aiming to win Best Appearing Car, Best Appearing Crew, and take home the Pro
Nitrous Minuteman trophy all in one weekend.
After it was announced that Carpenter’s fresh paint and airbrushing, applied by
Chandler Robbins and East Coast Refinishing, had garnered him the Olson Paint & Body
Best Appearing Car award, the team set its sights on the other task at hand: taking
the momentum of two consecutive ADRL Pro Nitrous final round appearances and turning
it into a win at VMP.
Capping Friday’s qualifying with a 3.946 at 188.99 MPH, his quickest of three full
passes, Carpenter was qualified in the number eight position heading into Saturday’s
final qualifying attempt.
Just when everything seemed to be going well, the gremlins started to rear their
ugly heads.
During the standard warmup routine on Saturday morning, the team struggled to keep
the engine running. Things went from bad to worse as the engine wouldn’t fire at all
after a few of the sudden shutoffs.
“In all my years of racing, I’ve never encountered a problem like that one,”
Carpenter admitted. “We immediately went to work replacing every electrical
component on the car, but none of it provided the solution. Eventually we thought we
found the problem with the rotor out of phase, so we adjusted it and the engine
fired and stayed running.”
The thrash caused Carpenter to miss the final qualifying attempt and lose valuable
track data heading into eliminations. He lined up against perennial Pro Nitrous
front runner Jim Halsey in the first round, who was off his normal pace and
qualified ninth.
When the tree flashed green, both drivers were away with stellar reaction times, but
Halsey’s 3.91 was too much for Carpenter’s slowing 4.07.
“We thought the problem was with the rotor phase, but we’re not so sure now,” said
Carpenter. “Adjusting it seemed to rob a lot of our power, and on top of that we
were light on clutch. The track was a ton better Saturday than it was Friday, but by
missing the last qualifier we didn’t know that and went out there way too soft.”
“It seems like we’re either gone after the first round or in the finals,” Carpenter
continued. “Luckily, we didn’t tear anything up and it’s all in one piece, so we’ll
take the engine apart at the shop and see if we can solve our mysterious problem
before we make the long haul to Martin, MI for the Summer Drags. We were able to
maintain our position at second in the points, so we have to get it figured out and
keep the championship push going.”
Charles Carpenter Racing would like to thank Paul Albino and Total Induction Tuning
Solutions, MagnaFuel, Reed Robbins, Steve Smarr, and Chandler Robbins at East Coast
Refinishing & Fiberglass, DMP Awnings, Doherty Motorsports, Custom Autosound, WFO
Racing & Machine, Santhuff Suspension Specialties, Alan Pittman Race Cars, Terry
Murphy Race Cars, Dennis Radford & Tom Hemphill, Fulton Competition, Hairy Glass,
Pro Glass, TEK Headers, JAZ Products, Weld Racing, Stroud Safety, Safety Solutions,
RJS Safety Equipment, Goodridge Hose & Fittings, Goodyear, Friction Unlimited,
Racepak, Bell Helmets, Indocil Art, Justin Spencer & CompetitionDesigns.com, Scott
Bathurst & Classic Graphix, RH2Way, and VP Racing Fuels for their continued support.
Carpenter is actively seeking primary sponsorship for 2010. For more information
about Charles Carpenter Racing and the World’s Fastest ’55 Chevy, or for a copy of
the team’s Marketing Partnership Guide, visit Charles Carpenter Racing.
rchresults&searchid=692
Charles Carpenter Racing ADRL Speedtech U.S. Drags III Wrap-up
Carpenter’s New Look Earns Best Appearing Car Award at U.S. Drags
(5-25-2010) CHARLOTTE, NC – Going into the third annual ADRL Speedtech U.S. Drags at
Virginia Motorsports Park, Charles Carpenter was looking for a clean sweep of the
event, aiming to win Best Appearing Car, Best Appearing Crew, and take home the Pro
Nitrous Minuteman trophy all in one weekend.
After it was announced that Carpenter’s fresh paint and airbrushing, applied by
Chandler Robbins and East Coast Refinishing, had garnered him the Olson Paint & Body
Best Appearing Car award, the team set its sights on the other task at hand: taking
the momentum of two consecutive ADRL Pro Nitrous final round appearances and turning
it into a win at VMP.
Capping Friday’s qualifying with a 3.946 at 188.99 MPH, his quickest of three full
passes, Carpenter was qualified in the number eight position heading into Saturday’s
final qualifying attempt.
Just when everything seemed to be going well, the gremlins started to rear their
ugly heads.
During the standard warmup routine on Saturday morning, the team struggled to keep
the engine running. Things went from bad to worse as the engine wouldn’t fire at all
after a few of the sudden shutoffs.
“In all my years of racing, I’ve never encountered a problem like that one,”
Carpenter admitted. “We immediately went to work replacing every electrical
component on the car, but none of it provided the solution. Eventually we thought we
found the problem with the rotor out of phase, so we adjusted it and the engine
fired and stayed running.”
The thrash caused Carpenter to miss the final qualifying attempt and lose valuable
track data heading into eliminations. He lined up against perennial Pro Nitrous
front runner Jim Halsey in the first round, who was off his normal pace and
qualified ninth.
When the tree flashed green, both drivers were away with stellar reaction times, but
Halsey’s 3.91 was too much for Carpenter’s slowing 4.07.
“We thought the problem was with the rotor phase, but we’re not so sure now,” said
Carpenter. “Adjusting it seemed to rob a lot of our power, and on top of that we
were light on clutch. The track was a ton better Saturday than it was Friday, but by
missing the last qualifier we didn’t know that and went out there way too soft.”
“It seems like we’re either gone after the first round or in the finals,” Carpenter
continued. “Luckily, we didn’t tear anything up and it’s all in one piece, so we’ll
take the engine apart at the shop and see if we can solve our mysterious problem
before we make the long haul to Martin, MI for the Summer Drags. We were able to
maintain our position at second in the points, so we have to get it figured out and
keep the championship push going.”
Charles Carpenter Racing would like to thank Paul Albino and Total Induction Tuning
Solutions, MagnaFuel, Reed Robbins, Steve Smarr, and Chandler Robbins at East Coast
Refinishing & Fiberglass, DMP Awnings, Doherty Motorsports, Custom Autosound, WFO
Racing & Machine, Santhuff Suspension Specialties, Alan Pittman Race Cars, Terry
Murphy Race Cars, Dennis Radford & Tom Hemphill, Fulton Competition, Hairy Glass,
Pro Glass, TEK Headers, JAZ Products, Weld Racing, Stroud Safety, Safety Solutions,
RJS Safety Equipment, Goodridge Hose & Fittings, Goodyear, Friction Unlimited,
Racepak, Bell Helmets, Indocil Art, Justin Spencer & CompetitionDesigns.com, Scott
Bathurst & Classic Graphix, RH2Way, and VP Racing Fuels for their continued support.
Carpenter is actively seeking primary sponsorship for 2010. For more information
about Charles Carpenter Racing and the World’s Fastest ’55 Chevy, or for a copy of
the team’s Marketing Partnership Guide, visit Charles Carpenter Racing.
rchresults&searchid=692
