INDIANAPOLIS, September 6, 2010 – For the second consecutive race Funny Car veteran Paul Lee drove the CANIDAE/Lucas Oil/WileyX Chevy to the quarterfinals of an NHRA Full Throttle Series race, this time at the prestigious Mac Tools U.S. Nationals presented by Lucas Oil at O’Reilly Raceway Park. Three weeks ago at Brainerd Lee drove past No. 1 qualifier Ashley Force Hood in his first-round matchup, and today the New Jersey native posted a career-best elapsed time for the second consecutive day to get past Force Hood’s teammate, defending Funny Car champ Robert Hight.
“It’s twice as cool (to win a round at Indy),” Lee said. “Brainerd was awesome, but anytime you win a round at Indy, it’s almost like winning a race. At least that’s from our perspective since we’re not competing for the championship. Anytime we win a round, that’s a big plus for us. We’re out here having a good time and bottom line, that’s what it’s all about, having fun.”
After qualifying 14th with a then-career-best elapsed time of 4.120 seconds at 300.20 mph in Sunday qualifying, Lee bettered that mark in today’s first round of eliminations with a winning elapsed time of 4.114 seconds at 277.26 mph. No. 3 qualifier Hight ran a 4.473 e.t. at 267.37 mph after losing traction at half-track.
“Big Jim (team owner/crew chief Dunn) has the tune up and this CANIDAE crew is doing an awesome job – they never make any mistakes,” Lee said. “The car is awesome. We’ve got the tune-up, the clutch is coming around nicely, and we’re making consistent runs down the track. The first couple of runs this weekend we just had some dumb luck. The car was on an awesome run every time, and first the input shaft broke and then a then a spark plug shot out. I mean, little stuff that very rarely happens happened, and then we finally put it altogether yesterday and ran that 4.12. It’s been wanting to do that every run now. We have a car now that will run maybe not at the top, but it will run with a lot of them. That’s what you need, a car that will get down the track every time.”
In his quarterfinal round matchup, Lee had a rematch with Ashley Force Hood. Both drivers left together and ran side by side to half-track before Lee lost traction and Hood Force drove around him. Force Hood had a winning elapsed time of 4.137 seconds at 306.95 mph to Lee’s 4.446 e.t. at 206.16 mph. She went on to defeat her father, John Force, in the finals for her second consecutive U.S. Nationals championship.
“This is the biggest race there is,” Lee said. “For me personally, Englishtown is my favorite race because that’s my home track and that’s where I grew up, but besides Englishtown, this is it, this is the biggest race. What made this weekend special was the unbelievable weather we had. It just made it enjoyable to be out here and the fans were packed in here every day. I’ve raced at probably six or seven U.S. Nationals (Top Alcohol Funny Car and Top Fuel Funny Car), not a lot like a lot of guys out here, but for me this is the most fun I’ve ever had at the U.S. Nationals. It was awesome.”
The next stop on the 23-race 2010 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series schedule will be the second race of the six-race Countdown to 1 playoffs, the 3rd annual O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Nationals at zMax Dragway in Concord, N.C., on Sept. 16-19.
About CANIDAE All Natural Pet Foods
Founded out of love for pets and animals, CANIDAE Pet Food, Inc. manufactures and distributes a complete line of healthy meat based, holistic all natural dog food, cat food, and gourmet pet treats sold worldwide through independent pet food retailers including over 7,000 locations throughout the United States and Canada. For the most recent information about CANIDAE and its line of healthy pet products, visit CANIDAE® Pet Foods News.
About Responsible Pet Ownership
In accordance with its philosophy of promoting Responsible Pet Ownership through proper nutrition and care, CANIDAE All Natural Pet Foods is the title sponsor of the Responsible Pet Ownership blog. This blog exists as a free service to all pet owners, providing daily articles from a range of professional pet authors on topics such as natural nutrition, training and exercise, veterinarian care, planned breeding, spaying/neutering, and supporting reputable breeders and rescue groups. Pet owners can subscribe to these informative daily articles at Responsible Pet Ownership.
“It’s twice as cool (to win a round at Indy),” Lee said. “Brainerd was awesome, but anytime you win a round at Indy, it’s almost like winning a race. At least that’s from our perspective since we’re not competing for the championship. Anytime we win a round, that’s a big plus for us. We’re out here having a good time and bottom line, that’s what it’s all about, having fun.”
After qualifying 14th with a then-career-best elapsed time of 4.120 seconds at 300.20 mph in Sunday qualifying, Lee bettered that mark in today’s first round of eliminations with a winning elapsed time of 4.114 seconds at 277.26 mph. No. 3 qualifier Hight ran a 4.473 e.t. at 267.37 mph after losing traction at half-track.
“Big Jim (team owner/crew chief Dunn) has the tune up and this CANIDAE crew is doing an awesome job – they never make any mistakes,” Lee said. “The car is awesome. We’ve got the tune-up, the clutch is coming around nicely, and we’re making consistent runs down the track. The first couple of runs this weekend we just had some dumb luck. The car was on an awesome run every time, and first the input shaft broke and then a then a spark plug shot out. I mean, little stuff that very rarely happens happened, and then we finally put it altogether yesterday and ran that 4.12. It’s been wanting to do that every run now. We have a car now that will run maybe not at the top, but it will run with a lot of them. That’s what you need, a car that will get down the track every time.”
In his quarterfinal round matchup, Lee had a rematch with Ashley Force Hood. Both drivers left together and ran side by side to half-track before Lee lost traction and Hood Force drove around him. Force Hood had a winning elapsed time of 4.137 seconds at 306.95 mph to Lee’s 4.446 e.t. at 206.16 mph. She went on to defeat her father, John Force, in the finals for her second consecutive U.S. Nationals championship.
“This is the biggest race there is,” Lee said. “For me personally, Englishtown is my favorite race because that’s my home track and that’s where I grew up, but besides Englishtown, this is it, this is the biggest race. What made this weekend special was the unbelievable weather we had. It just made it enjoyable to be out here and the fans were packed in here every day. I’ve raced at probably six or seven U.S. Nationals (Top Alcohol Funny Car and Top Fuel Funny Car), not a lot like a lot of guys out here, but for me this is the most fun I’ve ever had at the U.S. Nationals. It was awesome.”
The next stop on the 23-race 2010 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series schedule will be the second race of the six-race Countdown to 1 playoffs, the 3rd annual O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Nationals at zMax Dragway in Concord, N.C., on Sept. 16-19.
About CANIDAE All Natural Pet Foods
Founded out of love for pets and animals, CANIDAE Pet Food, Inc. manufactures and distributes a complete line of healthy meat based, holistic all natural dog food, cat food, and gourmet pet treats sold worldwide through independent pet food retailers including over 7,000 locations throughout the United States and Canada. For the most recent information about CANIDAE and its line of healthy pet products, visit CANIDAE® Pet Foods News.
About Responsible Pet Ownership
In accordance with its philosophy of promoting Responsible Pet Ownership through proper nutrition and care, CANIDAE All Natural Pet Foods is the title sponsor of the Responsible Pet Ownership blog. This blog exists as a free service to all pet owners, providing daily articles from a range of professional pet authors on topics such as natural nutrition, training and exercise, veterinarian care, planned breeding, spaying/neutering, and supporting reputable breeders and rescue groups. Pet owners can subscribe to these informative daily articles at Responsible Pet Ownership.
