<img src="http://www.nitromater.com/gallery/files/5/carpenter.jpg" alt="carpenter" align="left"borders="0"/>
(5-31-2007) HUNTSVILLE, AL – Thus far this season, Charles Carpenter’s on-track performance has seemingly taken everyone by surprise.
Everyone but Carpenter himself, that is.
“We really had this thing running great at the end of last season,” said Carpenter. “We got our new engine from Gene Fulton in September of last year, and ever since then we have been making steady gains in performance.”
“I knew we were going to be fast this season,” Carpenter continued. “I told a lot of people at the end of last year that I have all the best parts and pieces to work with, and with a little time we would be hard to handle. I’m never one to get cocky or toot my own horn, but I felt really confident with our operation heading into this season.”
Carpenter posted a 6.20 pass at the World Finals in Rockingham last October, and has since followed that up with stellar performances at virtually every stop along the way in 2007. In the month of May, Carpenter qualified his Tommy Mauney-built ’55 Chevy fourth at the ADRL Georgia Drags in Valdosta and was the quickest car on Saturday heading into eliminations, qualified second at a Quick 8 in Roxboro, NC, and was the top qualifier at last weekend’s Quick 8 at the legendary Farmington Dragway. Add to that the fact that Carpenter is doing it on a shoestring budget without primary sponsorship, and 2007 has been quite impressive for the Charlotte, NC based team.
Carpenter isn’t completely satisfied though, as all that qualifying success has translated to limited success in eliminations.
“We just have to put it all together and be not only fast, but consistently fast,” Carpenter added. “We always used to struggle in qualifying and fare pretty well in eliminations, now it’s the opposite. We have to find that happy medium.”
The team will look to do just that at this weekend’s ADRL AMS Summer Drags at Huntsville Dragway. Known for its tricky track surface, Huntsville is poised to be much more of a driver and tuner’s race than an all-out performance fest.
“I used to make my living on situations like this,” Carpenter said. “Back in the day, I could get my car down any track. But as our performance has increased, that has gone away somewhat. Most tracks are so good now, it’s all about going fast.”
“I’ll see if I can’t reach way down in the bag of tricks and get this Custom Autosound / Doherty Motorsports machine in the winner’s circle again,” said Carpenter. “We are only a few points out of 4th or 5th place in the Battle for the Belts standings, so we need a solid finish.”
Carpenter is still actively seeking primary sponsorship support. For more information about Charles Carpenter Racing and The World’s Fastest ’55 Chevy, or for a copy of the team’s 2007 Marketing Partnership Guide, visit Charles Carpenter Racing.
Photo courtesy of Roger Richards / Competition Plus
Carpenter’s performance surprising everyone but him
(5-31-2007) HUNTSVILLE, AL – Thus far this season, Charles Carpenter’s on-track performance has seemingly taken everyone by surprise.
Everyone but Carpenter himself, that is.
“We really had this thing running great at the end of last season,” said Carpenter. “We got our new engine from Gene Fulton in September of last year, and ever since then we have been making steady gains in performance.”
“I knew we were going to be fast this season,” Carpenter continued. “I told a lot of people at the end of last year that I have all the best parts and pieces to work with, and with a little time we would be hard to handle. I’m never one to get cocky or toot my own horn, but I felt really confident with our operation heading into this season.”
Carpenter posted a 6.20 pass at the World Finals in Rockingham last October, and has since followed that up with stellar performances at virtually every stop along the way in 2007. In the month of May, Carpenter qualified his Tommy Mauney-built ’55 Chevy fourth at the ADRL Georgia Drags in Valdosta and was the quickest car on Saturday heading into eliminations, qualified second at a Quick 8 in Roxboro, NC, and was the top qualifier at last weekend’s Quick 8 at the legendary Farmington Dragway. Add to that the fact that Carpenter is doing it on a shoestring budget without primary sponsorship, and 2007 has been quite impressive for the Charlotte, NC based team.
Carpenter isn’t completely satisfied though, as all that qualifying success has translated to limited success in eliminations.
“We just have to put it all together and be not only fast, but consistently fast,” Carpenter added. “We always used to struggle in qualifying and fare pretty well in eliminations, now it’s the opposite. We have to find that happy medium.”
The team will look to do just that at this weekend’s ADRL AMS Summer Drags at Huntsville Dragway. Known for its tricky track surface, Huntsville is poised to be much more of a driver and tuner’s race than an all-out performance fest.
“I used to make my living on situations like this,” Carpenter said. “Back in the day, I could get my car down any track. But as our performance has increased, that has gone away somewhat. Most tracks are so good now, it’s all about going fast.”
“I’ll see if I can’t reach way down in the bag of tricks and get this Custom Autosound / Doherty Motorsports machine in the winner’s circle again,” said Carpenter. “We are only a few points out of 4th or 5th place in the Battle for the Belts standings, so we need a solid finish.”
Carpenter is still actively seeking primary sponsorship support. For more information about Charles Carpenter Racing and The World’s Fastest ’55 Chevy, or for a copy of the team’s 2007 Marketing Partnership Guide, visit Charles Carpenter Racing.
Photo courtesy of Roger Richards / Competition Plus
