GAINESVILLE, Fla. (March 17, 2013) - Spencer Massey and his Battery Extender Powered by Schumacher Top Fuel Dragster advanced to their second straight semifinal finish during the NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway on Sunday.
And he's having fun while going rounds.
Massey's crew chief Phil Shuler and Don Schumacher Racing director of racing Todd Okuhara propelled Massey to seven consecutive runs between 3.791-seconds and 3.844-seconds this weekend at the Florida track.
"This weekend has been a lot of fun," Massey said. "Obviously going rounds and going to the semifinals again like we did in Phoenix is nothing to hang your head about."
It was a very special in the history as Massey's teammate Antron Brown won the 200th NHRA national event title for the organization. In Massey's three years with DSR, he contributed eight titles to the total.
He lost a close race to Brown, the eventual event winner. Massey and Brown left the starting line with nearly identical reaction times and Brown's dragster was just two- hundredths of a second quicker on track.
"It was a great race with Antron and we were almost identical on reaction times and both of our cars went in the 3.70s," he said. "If you want to watch a drag race that's the kind of drag race to watch."
Massey feels the team is back to the performance level it saw last season when the team earned four national event wins in nine final round appearances.
"I think we are going in the right direction," Massey said. "I think this car and this team is getting back to the level it has been the past couple of years and that race car is happy and wants to go rounds and turn on win lights."
Massey knew coming into the event that the Gatornationals has a history of being a tough event on drivers and crew chiefs, but the Battery Extender Powered by Schumacher team didn't miss a beat.
"The track has been tricky for the entire pro category but our car has been pretty consistent because we have good crew chiefs that make the right decisions," Massey said of Shuler and Okuhara.
"The car has been a bracket car all weekend long. We didn't smoke the tires on seven runs this weekend. Two years ago we went on a streak where we didn't do that for 40 runs in a row and maybe we're headed in that direction again."
More...
And he's having fun while going rounds.
Massey's crew chief Phil Shuler and Don Schumacher Racing director of racing Todd Okuhara propelled Massey to seven consecutive runs between 3.791-seconds and 3.844-seconds this weekend at the Florida track.
"This weekend has been a lot of fun," Massey said. "Obviously going rounds and going to the semifinals again like we did in Phoenix is nothing to hang your head about."
It was a very special in the history as Massey's teammate Antron Brown won the 200th NHRA national event title for the organization. In Massey's three years with DSR, he contributed eight titles to the total.
He lost a close race to Brown, the eventual event winner. Massey and Brown left the starting line with nearly identical reaction times and Brown's dragster was just two- hundredths of a second quicker on track.
"It was a great race with Antron and we were almost identical on reaction times and both of our cars went in the 3.70s," he said. "If you want to watch a drag race that's the kind of drag race to watch."
Massey feels the team is back to the performance level it saw last season when the team earned four national event wins in nine final round appearances.
"I think we are going in the right direction," Massey said. "I think this car and this team is getting back to the level it has been the past couple of years and that race car is happy and wants to go rounds and turn on win lights."
Massey knew coming into the event that the Gatornationals has a history of being a tough event on drivers and crew chiefs, but the Battery Extender Powered by Schumacher team didn't miss a beat.
"The track has been tricky for the entire pro category but our car has been pretty consistent because we have good crew chiefs that make the right decisions," Massey said of Shuler and Okuhara.
"The car has been a bracket car all weekend long. We didn't smoke the tires on seven runs this weekend. Two years ago we went on a streak where we didn't do that for 40 runs in a row and maybe we're headed in that direction again."
More...
