[coverattach=1]Scheduling drag races in different countries approximately 7,500 miles apart can sometimes create daunting tasks for the team involved.
Von Smith, Howard Moon and the crew of the Al-Anabi Racing Pro Modified Extreme team will be adding up the frequent flyer miles over the next month as they compete in events in Bahrain and Qatar . In between those stops, the Oak Ridge, Tenn.-based team returns home for the opening race in the 2009 National Guard American Drag Racing League series in Houston , March 6-7.
The trip to Qatar “is about 15,000 miles round trip, so we have a lot of traveling to do,” said Moon’s spokesman, Terry Hope. “Howard has put a great team together. We have six people working at the shop and all six travel to the races.”
Their journey half-way around the world began Sunday. The team, sponsored by Al-Anabi Racing’s Sheik Khalid Al Thani, flew to Doha, Qatar and then on to Bahrain for the Feb. 26-27 race, the result of a postponed event in Bahrain last month.
The next day the team comes back to Oak Ridge to complete work on a new Pro Mod Extreme ’68 Chevy Camaro built by Tim McAmis Racing that Smith will drive at Houston .
Only a last-minute schedule alteration prevented the team from competing in three races in three weeks, beginning with Bahrain , followed by Houston and then back to Qatar .
“Fortunately for us, the Qatar Racing Club in Doha decided to move its race back a week, so we’ll have a week at home before flying back for races in Qatar, March 19 -20, and Bahrain, March 26-27,” explained Smith, who was still bummed about his final-round loss to Al Balooshi in the Qatar Racing Club’s inaugural race earlier this month. However, he was excited to see his Al-Anabi teammate capture the title.
The motor in Smith’s 1957 Chevy expired early in the quarter-mile run, ending his two-race win streak. “It was just a glitch in the ignition,” he said. “The identical thing happened at Indianapolis last year and we don’t know why it did it again. There was nothing to give you a warning it’s getting ready to happen . . . it just goes poof and burns the head off the engine.
“We’ll put a new motor in the car and be ready to race on Thursday,” continued Smith, who was the No. 1 qualifier at Qatar with a 5.94-second elapsed time. “Things will go better this time. We’ll make it happen.”
Preparing the new Camaro for the Houston race shouldn’t be a problem, either, Smith says. “McAmis builds an excellent race car so we should have it ready to race. We will get a chance to run the new Camaro before the ADRL race, even if it’s Friday before qualifying begins.”
Von Smith, Howard Moon and the crew of the Al-Anabi Racing Pro Modified Extreme team will be adding up the frequent flyer miles over the next month as they compete in events in Bahrain and Qatar . In between those stops, the Oak Ridge, Tenn.-based team returns home for the opening race in the 2009 National Guard American Drag Racing League series in Houston , March 6-7.
The trip to Qatar “is about 15,000 miles round trip, so we have a lot of traveling to do,” said Moon’s spokesman, Terry Hope. “Howard has put a great team together. We have six people working at the shop and all six travel to the races.”
Their journey half-way around the world began Sunday. The team, sponsored by Al-Anabi Racing’s Sheik Khalid Al Thani, flew to Doha, Qatar and then on to Bahrain for the Feb. 26-27 race, the result of a postponed event in Bahrain last month.
The next day the team comes back to Oak Ridge to complete work on a new Pro Mod Extreme ’68 Chevy Camaro built by Tim McAmis Racing that Smith will drive at Houston .
Only a last-minute schedule alteration prevented the team from competing in three races in three weeks, beginning with Bahrain , followed by Houston and then back to Qatar .
“Fortunately for us, the Qatar Racing Club in Doha decided to move its race back a week, so we’ll have a week at home before flying back for races in Qatar, March 19 -20, and Bahrain, March 26-27,” explained Smith, who was still bummed about his final-round loss to Al Balooshi in the Qatar Racing Club’s inaugural race earlier this month. However, he was excited to see his Al-Anabi teammate capture the title.
The motor in Smith’s 1957 Chevy expired early in the quarter-mile run, ending his two-race win streak. “It was just a glitch in the ignition,” he said. “The identical thing happened at Indianapolis last year and we don’t know why it did it again. There was nothing to give you a warning it’s getting ready to happen . . . it just goes poof and burns the head off the engine.
“We’ll put a new motor in the car and be ready to race on Thursday,” continued Smith, who was the No. 1 qualifier at Qatar with a 5.94-second elapsed time. “Things will go better this time. We’ll make it happen.”
Preparing the new Camaro for the Houston race shouldn’t be a problem, either, Smith says. “McAmis builds an excellent race car so we should have it ready to race. We will get a chance to run the new Camaro before the ADRL race, even if it’s Friday before qualifying begins.”
