Deby
Nitro Member
Rockingham woes end Carpenter's Battle for the Belts bid
<img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3050/2868251852_dcc3c9f8fc.jpg?v=0" align="right"borders="0"/>
(9-18-08) CHARLOTTE, NC — Charles Carpenter’s long shot attempt to make it into contention for the ADRL Pro Nitrous Battle for the Belts ended Saturday at Rockingham Dragway.
After using a stellar heat-of-the-day 4.025 pass to crack the quickest Pro Nitrous field in history, Carpenter found himself in control of his own destiny. Carpenter came into the race ninth in the points, with Burton Auxier trailing closely behind. When Harold Martin, who was in the eighth and final points position, failed to qualify, it left the door wide open for Carpenter and Auxier to make their moves up the ladder. As fate would have it, Carpenter’s first-round opponent at Dragstock V ended up being none other than Auxier.
“It was a perfect situation to be in,” said Carpenter. “We were in control of our championship quest. Burton and I had been running similar numbers in the heat on Saturday, so it looked like it would be a killer matchup with the winner going on to take the final Battle for the Belts spot.”
Unfortunately, during the most important run of the year for both drivers, Carpenter and Auxier would have to deal with more than each other when it came time to race. With Auxier already staged, a spectator made the ill-advised decision to throw a water bottle onto the track just past the 60-foot marker in Carpenter’s lane as the Pro Modified pioneer was pulling his ’55 Chevy into the staging beams.
ADRL Starter Eddie Cranford immediately ran in front of Carpenter’s car and alerted both drivers to the situation in the nick of time.
“I saw Eddie running out there, and I thought someone had dropped something on the track like one of Jamie Hancock’s crew did when we ran him in Huntsville last year,” Carpenter recalled.
The bottle and water were cleaned up as the cars backed off the line, but the damage was done. Carpenter’s clutch had become heated from dragging into the beams the first time, and the power application was too aggressive, causing the car to go into immediate tire shake as Auxier streaked to the most important round win of the season.
After track owner Steve Earwood and the ADRL offered a reward, the offending spectator was quickly arrested and faces criminal charges based on North Carolina law, where it is a felony to throw any object onto a race track.
“It’s a real shame, especially considering the importance of the run and everything that was riding on it,” said a dejected Carpenter. “We love the fans and appreciate every last one of them, but for something like that to happen is extremely disappointing. It’s such an uphill battle for us to come out and do what we do with what we have to work with as it is without having to deal with things like that, but that’s racing I guess. The important thing is that no one got hurt and Burton and I were both able to take our cars to the next race in one piece.”
That next race is the actually the first race of the 2009 season for Carpenter and crew. The 4th annual AlphaTrade World Finals at the Texas Motorplex promises a fresh start for the Charlotte, NC based owner and driver.
“We are looking to go down to Texas, get into the 3’s, and get a good jump on 2009,” said Carpenter. “The wheels sort of fell off the wagon for us at this race last year, so if we can just go out and have a solid performance this time around for Custom Autosound, Buddy’s Automotive Concepts, Total Induction Tuning Solutions, and Doherty Motorsports, it’ll be a win in my book.”
Carpenter is actively seeking primary sponsorship for 2008. For more information about Charles Carpenter Racing and the World’s Fastest ’55 Chevy, or for a copy of the team’s 2008 Marketing Partnership Guide, visit Charles Carpenter Racing.
Photo courtesy of Roger Richards
<img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3050/2868251852_dcc3c9f8fc.jpg?v=0" align="right"borders="0"/>
(9-18-08) CHARLOTTE, NC — Charles Carpenter’s long shot attempt to make it into contention for the ADRL Pro Nitrous Battle for the Belts ended Saturday at Rockingham Dragway.
After using a stellar heat-of-the-day 4.025 pass to crack the quickest Pro Nitrous field in history, Carpenter found himself in control of his own destiny. Carpenter came into the race ninth in the points, with Burton Auxier trailing closely behind. When Harold Martin, who was in the eighth and final points position, failed to qualify, it left the door wide open for Carpenter and Auxier to make their moves up the ladder. As fate would have it, Carpenter’s first-round opponent at Dragstock V ended up being none other than Auxier.
“It was a perfect situation to be in,” said Carpenter. “We were in control of our championship quest. Burton and I had been running similar numbers in the heat on Saturday, so it looked like it would be a killer matchup with the winner going on to take the final Battle for the Belts spot.”
Unfortunately, during the most important run of the year for both drivers, Carpenter and Auxier would have to deal with more than each other when it came time to race. With Auxier already staged, a spectator made the ill-advised decision to throw a water bottle onto the track just past the 60-foot marker in Carpenter’s lane as the Pro Modified pioneer was pulling his ’55 Chevy into the staging beams.
ADRL Starter Eddie Cranford immediately ran in front of Carpenter’s car and alerted both drivers to the situation in the nick of time.
“I saw Eddie running out there, and I thought someone had dropped something on the track like one of Jamie Hancock’s crew did when we ran him in Huntsville last year,” Carpenter recalled.
The bottle and water were cleaned up as the cars backed off the line, but the damage was done. Carpenter’s clutch had become heated from dragging into the beams the first time, and the power application was too aggressive, causing the car to go into immediate tire shake as Auxier streaked to the most important round win of the season.
After track owner Steve Earwood and the ADRL offered a reward, the offending spectator was quickly arrested and faces criminal charges based on North Carolina law, where it is a felony to throw any object onto a race track.
“It’s a real shame, especially considering the importance of the run and everything that was riding on it,” said a dejected Carpenter. “We love the fans and appreciate every last one of them, but for something like that to happen is extremely disappointing. It’s such an uphill battle for us to come out and do what we do with what we have to work with as it is without having to deal with things like that, but that’s racing I guess. The important thing is that no one got hurt and Burton and I were both able to take our cars to the next race in one piece.”
That next race is the actually the first race of the 2009 season for Carpenter and crew. The 4th annual AlphaTrade World Finals at the Texas Motorplex promises a fresh start for the Charlotte, NC based owner and driver.
“We are looking to go down to Texas, get into the 3’s, and get a good jump on 2009,” said Carpenter. “The wheels sort of fell off the wagon for us at this race last year, so if we can just go out and have a solid performance this time around for Custom Autosound, Buddy’s Automotive Concepts, Total Induction Tuning Solutions, and Doherty Motorsports, it’ll be a win in my book.”
Carpenter is actively seeking primary sponsorship for 2008. For more information about Charles Carpenter Racing and the World’s Fastest ’55 Chevy, or for a copy of the team’s 2008 Marketing Partnership Guide, visit Charles Carpenter Racing.
Photo courtesy of Roger Richards
