(8-17-2009) ORANGEBURG, SC – Charles Carpenter built a large portion of his reputation in doorslammer racing by burning down small dragstrips in and around the Carolinas with his unbelievable ’55 Chevy, resetting track records and dropping jaws at each stop as his nitrous-assisted “Winnebago-sized” Bel Air.
Those days soon gave way to national tours and cross-country journeys as the Pro Modified phenomenon took off. The large shows have been the de-facto standard for over two decades, but Carpenter certainly hasn’t forgotten his roots.
That’s why when the allure of a Saturday night at a local dragstrip calls, the Pro Modified pioneer has a hard time not answering.
Over the past two weekends Carpenter has done just that. Two weeks ago he brought the house down with a nearly wire-to-wire performance at Farmington Dragway to claim the King of Carolina Pro Modified Shootout crown, and this past weekend he reset his own career-best elapsed time in a runner-up finish at another legendary Carolina 1/8 mile facility, Buddy Boozer’s revamped Orangeburg Dragstrip.
After qualifying with a 3.99 that was second only to pace-setter Greg Godwin’s 3.95, Carpenter made his way through Chris Patrick and Steve Vick to set up a final round matchup against Godwin, who had been resetting track records and personal-bests all night with runs of 3.94 and an incredible 3.91.
In the finals, Carpenter left on the hometown hero but Godwin quickly closed the gap and the two cars were doorhandle-to-doorhandle with flames blazing all the way down the track. In the end, the crowd went wild when the scoreboards flashed and showed a 3.958 in Carpenter’s lane and a 3.926 and a win light in Godwin’s.
“That was an awesome run,” Carpenter said afterward. “I’m pretty sure that’s the quickest side-by-side race they’ve ever had at this track. That’s the quickest we’ve ever been.”
“Paul Albino and I have been working and tweaking on this car to try to find a few extra hundredths, and I think we may have found it,” Carpenter continued. “It’s been so much fun running these Quick 8’s over the past two weekends, but on top of that we were in test mode and really needed to find some ET before we head to Columbus to do battle with the ADRL heavy hitters. This gives us something to work with.”
Carpenter had high praise for everyone at Orangeburg, from the track crew to Godwin himself.
“Greg’s been working really hard to get his combination figured out and he’s finally found it,” said Carpenter. “That 3.91 was awesome. Also, I can’t say enough about this facility that Buddy has provided for us, and Faye and everyone else on the staff for putting the races together. It’s a major plus for us to have another great place to race that’s not too far from home. I’ve been racing here for 30 years and it’s unbelievable how they’ve transformed this facility.”
Next up for Charles Carpenter Racing is the ADRL Summit Racing Equipment Ohio Drags III at National Trail Raceway in Columbus, OH this weekend.
Charles Carpenter Racing would like to thank Doherty Motorsports, Total Induction Tuning Solutions, MagnaFuel, WFO Racing & Machine, Santhuff Suspension Specialties, Dennis Radford & Tom Hemphill, Custom Autosound, DMP Awnings, Hairy Glass, Pro Glass, TEK Headers, JAZ Products, Weld Racing, Stroud Safety, RJS Safety Equipment, Goodridge Hose & Fittings, Goodyear, Friction Unlimited, Lockwood Racing, Racepak, and VP Racing Fuels for their continued support.
Carpenter is actively seeking primary sponsorship for 2009. For more information about Charles Carpenter Racing and the World’s Fastest ’55 Chevy, or for a copy of the team’s 2009 Marketing Partnership Guide, visit Charles Carpenter Racing.
Those days soon gave way to national tours and cross-country journeys as the Pro Modified phenomenon took off. The large shows have been the de-facto standard for over two decades, but Carpenter certainly hasn’t forgotten his roots.
That’s why when the allure of a Saturday night at a local dragstrip calls, the Pro Modified pioneer has a hard time not answering.
Over the past two weekends Carpenter has done just that. Two weeks ago he brought the house down with a nearly wire-to-wire performance at Farmington Dragway to claim the King of Carolina Pro Modified Shootout crown, and this past weekend he reset his own career-best elapsed time in a runner-up finish at another legendary Carolina 1/8 mile facility, Buddy Boozer’s revamped Orangeburg Dragstrip.
After qualifying with a 3.99 that was second only to pace-setter Greg Godwin’s 3.95, Carpenter made his way through Chris Patrick and Steve Vick to set up a final round matchup against Godwin, who had been resetting track records and personal-bests all night with runs of 3.94 and an incredible 3.91.
In the finals, Carpenter left on the hometown hero but Godwin quickly closed the gap and the two cars were doorhandle-to-doorhandle with flames blazing all the way down the track. In the end, the crowd went wild when the scoreboards flashed and showed a 3.958 in Carpenter’s lane and a 3.926 and a win light in Godwin’s.
“That was an awesome run,” Carpenter said afterward. “I’m pretty sure that’s the quickest side-by-side race they’ve ever had at this track. That’s the quickest we’ve ever been.”
“Paul Albino and I have been working and tweaking on this car to try to find a few extra hundredths, and I think we may have found it,” Carpenter continued. “It’s been so much fun running these Quick 8’s over the past two weekends, but on top of that we were in test mode and really needed to find some ET before we head to Columbus to do battle with the ADRL heavy hitters. This gives us something to work with.”
Carpenter had high praise for everyone at Orangeburg, from the track crew to Godwin himself.
“Greg’s been working really hard to get his combination figured out and he’s finally found it,” said Carpenter. “That 3.91 was awesome. Also, I can’t say enough about this facility that Buddy has provided for us, and Faye and everyone else on the staff for putting the races together. It’s a major plus for us to have another great place to race that’s not too far from home. I’ve been racing here for 30 years and it’s unbelievable how they’ve transformed this facility.”
Next up for Charles Carpenter Racing is the ADRL Summit Racing Equipment Ohio Drags III at National Trail Raceway in Columbus, OH this weekend.
Charles Carpenter Racing would like to thank Doherty Motorsports, Total Induction Tuning Solutions, MagnaFuel, WFO Racing & Machine, Santhuff Suspension Specialties, Dennis Radford & Tom Hemphill, Custom Autosound, DMP Awnings, Hairy Glass, Pro Glass, TEK Headers, JAZ Products, Weld Racing, Stroud Safety, RJS Safety Equipment, Goodridge Hose & Fittings, Goodyear, Friction Unlimited, Lockwood Racing, Racepak, and VP Racing Fuels for their continued support.
Carpenter is actively seeking primary sponsorship for 2009. For more information about Charles Carpenter Racing and the World’s Fastest ’55 Chevy, or for a copy of the team’s 2009 Marketing Partnership Guide, visit Charles Carpenter Racing.
