Patrick Hopes to Make History in ADRL Extreme Pro Stock Challenge
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<img src="http://www.nitromater.com/gallery/files/5/Patrick1.jpg" alt="Patrick1" />
<br><font color="Navy">Robert Patrick, 30, says he’s looking forward to the opportunity to make history as the ADRL’s first-ever Extreme Pro Stock winner.</font>
<P> 7/22/08 FREDERICKSBURG, VA (July 22, 2008) — Robert Patrick was only six years old when the first mountain-motor Pro Stock race was contested in March of 1977. One of his greatest regrets is he never got to compete in that inaugural event.
Thirty years later, the defending IHRA Pro Stock world champion from Fredericksburg, VA, will get another shot at the history books to win an inaugural mountain-motor Pro Stock event when Patrick and a multitude of other drivers usher in the ADRL’s Extreme Pro Stock era July 25-26, at Maryland International Raceway (MIR) in Budd’s Creek, MD.
As part of the inaugural ADRL 1-800-GO-GUARD U.S. Drags, Patrick will compete in the first leg of the Sonny’s Extreme Pro Stock Challenge presented by Purvis Ford, a special, two-event series to conclude at Rockingham, NC, in September.
“Ever since I was a kid, I knew I wanted to race a mountain-motor Pro Stocker,” said Patrick, who was voted by CompetitionPlus.com magazine as the number-12 all-time racer in the class. “At my dad’s dealership, in the days leading up to the national events, we used to have all the big name drivers like Lee Edwards, Rickie Smith, Roy Hill and Ronnie Sox come in to do displays. I idolized those drivers and I knew when I grew up I wanted to be just like them.”
This weekend as part of the Extreme Pro Stock event sponsored by Sonny’s Race Engines and presented by the Patrick family’s Purvis Ford dealership, Patrick will be one of those heroes he aspired to be.
“I’m very excited about this event,” Patrick said. “The ADRL has many events around our [Purvis Ford] dealership’s marketing area. I’m really excited about it and I hope the event has a real good turnout. I hope they have a lot of racers show up to support the event.”
Patrick is expected to compete against the likes of past IHRA Pro Stock world champion Pete Berner and current points leader Jeff Dobbins this weekend. He’s banking on the ADRL’s doorslammer-friendly crowd liking what the mountain-motor Pro Stock cars have to offer.
“I hope the Extreme Pro Stock class takes off because the mountain-motor racers will have another venue to show what we are capable of doing,” he added.
Maryland International may be his home track, but for Patrick, the facility hasn’t always dealt good luck. His biggest win at MIR came in 2006, when he pocketed $20,000 for winning a Pro Stock Showdown.
“MIR is a track that we either run really well at or really bad,” Patrick admitted. “I really want to win this inaugural race. It’s real important for us to put on a good show for the fans because they deserve it. We want to do that for (ADRL President) Kenny Nowling, too, because he’s given us a great opportunity to showcase our product.
“It would mean a lot to me to win this first one. There will be a lot of eyes on this race and they are going to be watching to see how this deal turns out. I’ll have the hometown friends and family there to watch us race. This would mean a lot to our team, my crew, myself and my family.”
<p style="width:220px;float:right;font-weight:bold;padding-right:0px;">
<img src="http://www.nitromater.com/gallery/files/5/Patrick1.jpg" alt="Patrick1" />
<br><font color="Navy">Robert Patrick, 30, says he’s looking forward to the opportunity to make history as the ADRL’s first-ever Extreme Pro Stock winner.</font>
<P> 7/22/08 FREDERICKSBURG, VA (July 22, 2008) — Robert Patrick was only six years old when the first mountain-motor Pro Stock race was contested in March of 1977. One of his greatest regrets is he never got to compete in that inaugural event.
Thirty years later, the defending IHRA Pro Stock world champion from Fredericksburg, VA, will get another shot at the history books to win an inaugural mountain-motor Pro Stock event when Patrick and a multitude of other drivers usher in the ADRL’s Extreme Pro Stock era July 25-26, at Maryland International Raceway (MIR) in Budd’s Creek, MD.
As part of the inaugural ADRL 1-800-GO-GUARD U.S. Drags, Patrick will compete in the first leg of the Sonny’s Extreme Pro Stock Challenge presented by Purvis Ford, a special, two-event series to conclude at Rockingham, NC, in September.
“Ever since I was a kid, I knew I wanted to race a mountain-motor Pro Stocker,” said Patrick, who was voted by CompetitionPlus.com magazine as the number-12 all-time racer in the class. “At my dad’s dealership, in the days leading up to the national events, we used to have all the big name drivers like Lee Edwards, Rickie Smith, Roy Hill and Ronnie Sox come in to do displays. I idolized those drivers and I knew when I grew up I wanted to be just like them.”
This weekend as part of the Extreme Pro Stock event sponsored by Sonny’s Race Engines and presented by the Patrick family’s Purvis Ford dealership, Patrick will be one of those heroes he aspired to be.
“I’m very excited about this event,” Patrick said. “The ADRL has many events around our [Purvis Ford] dealership’s marketing area. I’m really excited about it and I hope the event has a real good turnout. I hope they have a lot of racers show up to support the event.”
Patrick is expected to compete against the likes of past IHRA Pro Stock world champion Pete Berner and current points leader Jeff Dobbins this weekend. He’s banking on the ADRL’s doorslammer-friendly crowd liking what the mountain-motor Pro Stock cars have to offer.
“I hope the Extreme Pro Stock class takes off because the mountain-motor racers will have another venue to show what we are capable of doing,” he added.
Maryland International may be his home track, but for Patrick, the facility hasn’t always dealt good luck. His biggest win at MIR came in 2006, when he pocketed $20,000 for winning a Pro Stock Showdown.
“MIR is a track that we either run really well at or really bad,” Patrick admitted. “I really want to win this inaugural race. It’s real important for us to put on a good show for the fans because they deserve it. We want to do that for (ADRL President) Kenny Nowling, too, because he’s given us a great opportunity to showcase our product.
“It would mean a lot to me to win this first one. There will be a lot of eyes on this race and they are going to be watching to see how this deal turns out. I’ll have the hometown friends and family there to watch us race. This would mean a lot to our team, my crew, myself and my family.”
