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COMMERCE, Ga., April 25, 2008 - GM-backed drivers made their presence felt today as qualifying got under way for this weekend's 28th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway, the 600th event the NHRA has sanctioned competition in the Pro Stock class. Ron Krisher in the Valvoline Chevy Cobalt is on the provisional Pro Stock pole as the veteran driver looks for his first No. 1 qualifier since Dallas in 2002. Krisher had an elapsed time of 6.644 e.t. at 207.69 mph to edge out the Pontiac driven by Jason Line. Line, a winner two weeks ago at Las Vegas has the Summit Racing Pontiac GXP in the No. 2 spot of his sponsor's race with an elapsed time of 6.650 seconds at 207.53 mph. Chevy racers also took the top six qualifying positions on the provisional qualifying grid for Funny Car led by Las Vegas winner Tim Wilkerson, and GMC-sponsored Cory McClenathan, also a Las Vegas winner, has his FRAM/GMC dragster No. 1 in Top Fuel.
"We've got a fast race car, we've got a good crew chief in Tommy Utt, and good guys lining me up," Krisher said. "It takes a whole bunch of people to make a run like that. You can't lay it on one guy. I just can't give enough people credit. You know, (engine builder) Victor Cagnazzi has been tremendous, Joe Hornick with Cagnazzi Racing, it's just a tremendous group of people that allows this to happen. The driving's the easy part, I think. We're pretty excited and we're going to be able to do this a lot more; there's no reason not to. But there are a lot of tough people out there, and the whole (Pro Stock) field is starting to get jammed up again. There was a big spread at the beginning of the season, but it's starting to crunch down here pretty quick for some reason. And with Davey (Connolly) coming in, there goes a spot that somebody's been qualifying in.
"The track is the best I've ever seen it at Atlanta. I was so surprised that we had the wrong transmission on our first run. We anticipated what we used to see. We thought it was going to be a problem for everybody, but this is the best track I've seen here."
Several GM racers were also recognized prior to today's second round of qualifying as "milestone" Pro Stock race winners en route to this weekend's 600th race. The winner of race No. 500 was three-time Pro Stock champ Greg Anderson in the Summit Racing Pontiac, race No. 400 winner was ACDelco Chevy driver Kurt Johnson, and the winner of race No. 300 was Jim Yates, driver of the WileyX Pontiac GXP. The man who won the very first Pro Stock race 38 years ago was also honored. Bill "Grumpy" Jenkins was a legendary racer, engine builder and motorsports innovator over his still ongoing career, more times than not in conjunction with Team Chevrolet. Jenkins was voted No. 8 on NHRA's all-time driver list, and just yesterday his racing exploits were recognized in the form of induction into the prestigious International Motorsports Hall of Fame in Talladega, Ala.
Cagnazzi Racing driver Dave Connolly is making his long-awaited return to NHRA Pro Stock racing this weekend behind the wheel of a Chevy Pro Stock car. The 25-year-old Connolly debuts the Charter Communications Chevy Cobalt after loss of sponsorship forced the young talent to miss this season's first five races. He won eight races last year including a record-equaling five in a row from the race at Reading (Pa.) through the U.S. Nationals at Indianapolis to the third annual race at Richmond.
"I'm thrilled to be back and I hope to be racing with Charter on the side of our car for many years to come," Connolly said. "They are a good company and we're going to do everything we can to put the Charter Chevy Cobalt in the winner's circle. I feel comfortable. It's been a while, and it made me a lot hungrier. I'm ready to get out and get at it.
"I have a lot of hope that we can go out and get into the top 10. I think if any team can come back after missing five races and qualify for the final part of the Countdown, it's this team. We're going to give it our best shot. Hopefully, we can put on a good show in our first outing with a brand new car. It's the same old driver, the same old crew chief (Tommy Utt) and crew, but we have a new sponsor and a new Chevy Cobalt."
In Funny Car, Tim Wilkerson is looking to put the Levi, Ray & Shoup Chevy Impala SS on the pole for the third time this season. In fact, Chevy drivers have claimed four of the first five No. 1 qualifiers of the season coming into the Atlanta race. Wilkerson led a contingent of six Chevy drivers in the top six qualifying positions with an elapsed time of 4.774 seconds at 325.92 mph.
"I'm going to break that (No. 1 qualifier) jinx, I keep telling you," Wilkerson said. "I need the Full Throttle money, I need the No. 1 qualifier money, and we need the win to stay in the top 10. I'm pretty proud of my guys. Like I told you before, we've just got a bunch of young guys over there with two real good veterans. We're just doing the best we can do for Levi, Ray & Shoup, Diversified Yacht, Chevrolet and all the folks on the car. Pretty good day."
Cory McClenathan in the FRAM/GMC Top Fuel dragster is on a roll with a win two weeks ago at Las Vegas and now the provisional Top Fuel pole. McClenathan blasted to an elapsed time of 4.562 seconds at 327.03 mph to best Rod Fuller for the top spot.
"Coming in here we new the track was going to be a little on the green side since they redid the surface," McClenathan said. "They did a great job at that and then NHRA comes in and does their stuff. We wanted to go A to B this morning, and (crew chief) Mike Green's really good at that. He plays the game real smart. We knew we could stand on the gas that last run with the track getting better and the temperature dropping. We're just following (teammate) Tony Schumacher and (Schumacher's crew chief) Alan Johnson's lead, and Mike Green does what he does best and that's work it."
General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM), the world's largest automaker, has been the annual global industry sales leader for 77 years. Founded in 1908, GM today employs about 266,000 people around the world. With global headquarters in Detroit, GM manufactures its cars and trucks in 35 countries. In 2007, nearly 9.37 million GM cars and trucks were sold globally under the following brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, GM Daewoo, Holden, HUMMER, Opel, Pontiac, Saab, Saturn, Vauxhall and Wuling. GM's OnStar subsidiary is the industry leader in vehicle safety, security and information services. More information on GM can be found at General Motors | Corporate Website | GM.
GM Racers Well Represented at NHRA's 600th Pro Stock Race
Chevy Also Takes Top 6 Spots on Funny Car Qualifying Grid
COMMERCE, Ga., April 25, 2008 - GM-backed drivers made their presence felt today as qualifying got under way for this weekend's 28th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway, the 600th event the NHRA has sanctioned competition in the Pro Stock class. Ron Krisher in the Valvoline Chevy Cobalt is on the provisional Pro Stock pole as the veteran driver looks for his first No. 1 qualifier since Dallas in 2002. Krisher had an elapsed time of 6.644 e.t. at 207.69 mph to edge out the Pontiac driven by Jason Line. Line, a winner two weeks ago at Las Vegas has the Summit Racing Pontiac GXP in the No. 2 spot of his sponsor's race with an elapsed time of 6.650 seconds at 207.53 mph. Chevy racers also took the top six qualifying positions on the provisional qualifying grid for Funny Car led by Las Vegas winner Tim Wilkerson, and GMC-sponsored Cory McClenathan, also a Las Vegas winner, has his FRAM/GMC dragster No. 1 in Top Fuel.
"We've got a fast race car, we've got a good crew chief in Tommy Utt, and good guys lining me up," Krisher said. "It takes a whole bunch of people to make a run like that. You can't lay it on one guy. I just can't give enough people credit. You know, (engine builder) Victor Cagnazzi has been tremendous, Joe Hornick with Cagnazzi Racing, it's just a tremendous group of people that allows this to happen. The driving's the easy part, I think. We're pretty excited and we're going to be able to do this a lot more; there's no reason not to. But there are a lot of tough people out there, and the whole (Pro Stock) field is starting to get jammed up again. There was a big spread at the beginning of the season, but it's starting to crunch down here pretty quick for some reason. And with Davey (Connolly) coming in, there goes a spot that somebody's been qualifying in.
"The track is the best I've ever seen it at Atlanta. I was so surprised that we had the wrong transmission on our first run. We anticipated what we used to see. We thought it was going to be a problem for everybody, but this is the best track I've seen here."
Several GM racers were also recognized prior to today's second round of qualifying as "milestone" Pro Stock race winners en route to this weekend's 600th race. The winner of race No. 500 was three-time Pro Stock champ Greg Anderson in the Summit Racing Pontiac, race No. 400 winner was ACDelco Chevy driver Kurt Johnson, and the winner of race No. 300 was Jim Yates, driver of the WileyX Pontiac GXP. The man who won the very first Pro Stock race 38 years ago was also honored. Bill "Grumpy" Jenkins was a legendary racer, engine builder and motorsports innovator over his still ongoing career, more times than not in conjunction with Team Chevrolet. Jenkins was voted No. 8 on NHRA's all-time driver list, and just yesterday his racing exploits were recognized in the form of induction into the prestigious International Motorsports Hall of Fame in Talladega, Ala.
Cagnazzi Racing driver Dave Connolly is making his long-awaited return to NHRA Pro Stock racing this weekend behind the wheel of a Chevy Pro Stock car. The 25-year-old Connolly debuts the Charter Communications Chevy Cobalt after loss of sponsorship forced the young talent to miss this season's first five races. He won eight races last year including a record-equaling five in a row from the race at Reading (Pa.) through the U.S. Nationals at Indianapolis to the third annual race at Richmond.
"I'm thrilled to be back and I hope to be racing with Charter on the side of our car for many years to come," Connolly said. "They are a good company and we're going to do everything we can to put the Charter Chevy Cobalt in the winner's circle. I feel comfortable. It's been a while, and it made me a lot hungrier. I'm ready to get out and get at it.
"I have a lot of hope that we can go out and get into the top 10. I think if any team can come back after missing five races and qualify for the final part of the Countdown, it's this team. We're going to give it our best shot. Hopefully, we can put on a good show in our first outing with a brand new car. It's the same old driver, the same old crew chief (Tommy Utt) and crew, but we have a new sponsor and a new Chevy Cobalt."
In Funny Car, Tim Wilkerson is looking to put the Levi, Ray & Shoup Chevy Impala SS on the pole for the third time this season. In fact, Chevy drivers have claimed four of the first five No. 1 qualifiers of the season coming into the Atlanta race. Wilkerson led a contingent of six Chevy drivers in the top six qualifying positions with an elapsed time of 4.774 seconds at 325.92 mph.
"I'm going to break that (No. 1 qualifier) jinx, I keep telling you," Wilkerson said. "I need the Full Throttle money, I need the No. 1 qualifier money, and we need the win to stay in the top 10. I'm pretty proud of my guys. Like I told you before, we've just got a bunch of young guys over there with two real good veterans. We're just doing the best we can do for Levi, Ray & Shoup, Diversified Yacht, Chevrolet and all the folks on the car. Pretty good day."
Cory McClenathan in the FRAM/GMC Top Fuel dragster is on a roll with a win two weeks ago at Las Vegas and now the provisional Top Fuel pole. McClenathan blasted to an elapsed time of 4.562 seconds at 327.03 mph to best Rod Fuller for the top spot.
"Coming in here we new the track was going to be a little on the green side since they redid the surface," McClenathan said. "They did a great job at that and then NHRA comes in and does their stuff. We wanted to go A to B this morning, and (crew chief) Mike Green's really good at that. He plays the game real smart. We knew we could stand on the gas that last run with the track getting better and the temperature dropping. We're just following (teammate) Tony Schumacher and (Schumacher's crew chief) Alan Johnson's lead, and Mike Green does what he does best and that's work it."
General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM), the world's largest automaker, has been the annual global industry sales leader for 77 years. Founded in 1908, GM today employs about 266,000 people around the world. With global headquarters in Detroit, GM manufactures its cars and trucks in 35 countries. In 2007, nearly 9.37 million GM cars and trucks were sold globally under the following brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, GM Daewoo, Holden, HUMMER, Opel, Pontiac, Saab, Saturn, Vauxhall and Wuling. GM's OnStar subsidiary is the industry leader in vehicle safety, security and information services. More information on GM can be found at General Motors | Corporate Website | GM.
