MORRISON, Colo. – After sitting on the sidelines for two months, Steve Chrisman is returning to NHRA Top Fuel competition at the busiest part of the schedule.
The part-time driver and fulltime businessman will double the number of 2011 Full Throttle series races he has attended during the three-race Western Swing, which launches Friday at Bandimere Speedway and moves to Sonoma, Calif., July 29-31, and concludes at Seattle, Aug. 5-7.
Chrisman and crew chief Kevin Meredyk updated the clutch and supercharger on the Nitro Fish dragster last winter and were trying to dial in the new combination in previous races at Pomona, Calif., Las Vegas and Topeka, Kan., where the tune-up began moving in the right direction.
“We decided to stop and test at Las Vegas on the way home from Topeka,” Chrisman said, “and it went well. We went down the track three times.”
While some drivers may shy away from Bandimere, which is a tune-up troubling 5,680 feet above sea level, Chrisman doesn’t mind. The car ran consistently there last year. “We got down the track on four of our five runs and qualified 14th,” he added. “Now we’ll see if we’ve worked out the changes for up there this year.”
The part-time driver and fulltime businessman will double the number of 2011 Full Throttle series races he has attended during the three-race Western Swing, which launches Friday at Bandimere Speedway and moves to Sonoma, Calif., July 29-31, and concludes at Seattle, Aug. 5-7.
Chrisman and crew chief Kevin Meredyk updated the clutch and supercharger on the Nitro Fish dragster last winter and were trying to dial in the new combination in previous races at Pomona, Calif., Las Vegas and Topeka, Kan., where the tune-up began moving in the right direction.
“We decided to stop and test at Las Vegas on the way home from Topeka,” Chrisman said, “and it went well. We went down the track three times.”
While some drivers may shy away from Bandimere, which is a tune-up troubling 5,680 feet above sea level, Chrisman doesn’t mind. The car ran consistently there last year. “We got down the track on four of our five runs and qualified 14th,” he added. “Now we’ll see if we’ve worked out the changes for up there this year.”
