Two races, two final rounds and another career best for Carpenter
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<img src="http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b72/Deby706/carpenter_buddscreek1.jpg"
<br><font color="Navy">“This was a whirlwind weekend,” Carpenter said. “We struggled through the first two rounds of qualifying."</font>
<P> (7-28-2008) BUDDS CREEK, MD – Charles Carpenter’s brand new ’55 Chevy carried him to a second consecutive final round appearance at the inaugural ADRL 1-800-GO-GUARD.com U.S. Drags at Maryland International Raceway.
Carpenter didn’t rely on the car’s performance alone; a lightning-quick left foot led the Pro Mod pioneer through eliminations as he used holeshot after holeshot to put some of the top racers in the country on the trailer.
“This was a whirlwind weekend,” Carpenter said. “We struggled through the first two rounds of qualifying. We were just throwing way more at the track than it was willing to take. Finally we backed everything down and got in the show on our last attempt. We went from having little hope of making the field all the way to the final round.”
Carpenter was one of the few drivers able to bump his way into the extremely tough Pro Nitrous field during Saturday’s final session. His 4.07 landed him 13th in the qualifying order and earned him a first round matchup with fellow North Carolinian Randy Weatherford.
Weatherford had been laying down high 3’s and low 4.0’s all weekend, so Carpenter knew he would have to be on his game on the starting line. Picking up where he left off at the Independence Drags, Carpenter strapped a major holeshot on Weatherford and took the win, 4.06 to a 4.00.
Next up was Stan Allen in the Bankston Boyz Camaro. Carpenter began to find his groove on the MIR surface, and cruised to a career best 4.033 lap as Allen ran into traction problems at the half-track mark.
That would set up a huge semi-final round showdown between Carpenter and perennial front-runner Jim Halsey. Halsey used a 4.02 pass to take down world-beater Billy Harper in the second round, and subsequently had lane choice over Carpenter in the semi’s.
“Jim is one of the best out there, and is always killer on the tree,” Carpenter said. “I tuned it up a little more because I knew it would take a career best run and a killer light on my end to get around Jim.”
A career best is exactly what Carpenter got when he used a 4.013 and a .019 light to hold off a fast approaching Halsey and his 3.98.
On the other side of the ladder, Rickie Smith laid down a string of three-second runs on his way to the finals where he would face Carpenter in a matchup of two icons in the world of fast doorslammer drag racing.
In the finals, Carpenter wasn’t able to keep up with Smith’s 3.95 pass as his Terry Murphy-built ’55 slowed to a 4.06.
“Rickie’s going to be dangerous with the new horsepower he has gained from teaming up with Shannon Jenkins and all those guys over there,” admitted Carpenter. “I tried everything I had, but unfortunately it didn’t work out for us in the final round. I really wanted to get a win for all these great fans here at MIR and all over the country. They were a very vocal crowd, and they were cheering for us all day long. We knew we were the fan favorite, but we just came up a little short in the end.”
“I’m thrilled for this whole team,” Carpenter continued. “I did my job as a driver this weekend, and that got us some round wins. On top of that, the car performed well when we needed it to. It’s great to be able to come out and compete like this with all these guys that have virtually unlimited resources. To be able to do what we do with what we have to work with is a source of tremendous pride for everyone involved, from Mike and Paul and all our crew to our supporters like Pat Doherty and Custom Autosound.”
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
<p style="width:300px;float:right;font-weight:bold;padding-right:0px;">
<img src="http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b72/Deby706/carpenter_buddscreek1.jpg"
<br><font color="Navy">“This was a whirlwind weekend,” Carpenter said. “We struggled through the first two rounds of qualifying."</font>
<P> (7-28-2008) BUDDS CREEK, MD – Charles Carpenter’s brand new ’55 Chevy carried him to a second consecutive final round appearance at the inaugural ADRL 1-800-GO-GUARD.com U.S. Drags at Maryland International Raceway.
Carpenter didn’t rely on the car’s performance alone; a lightning-quick left foot led the Pro Mod pioneer through eliminations as he used holeshot after holeshot to put some of the top racers in the country on the trailer.
“This was a whirlwind weekend,” Carpenter said. “We struggled through the first two rounds of qualifying. We were just throwing way more at the track than it was willing to take. Finally we backed everything down and got in the show on our last attempt. We went from having little hope of making the field all the way to the final round.”
Carpenter was one of the few drivers able to bump his way into the extremely tough Pro Nitrous field during Saturday’s final session. His 4.07 landed him 13th in the qualifying order and earned him a first round matchup with fellow North Carolinian Randy Weatherford.
Weatherford had been laying down high 3’s and low 4.0’s all weekend, so Carpenter knew he would have to be on his game on the starting line. Picking up where he left off at the Independence Drags, Carpenter strapped a major holeshot on Weatherford and took the win, 4.06 to a 4.00.
Next up was Stan Allen in the Bankston Boyz Camaro. Carpenter began to find his groove on the MIR surface, and cruised to a career best 4.033 lap as Allen ran into traction problems at the half-track mark.
That would set up a huge semi-final round showdown between Carpenter and perennial front-runner Jim Halsey. Halsey used a 4.02 pass to take down world-beater Billy Harper in the second round, and subsequently had lane choice over Carpenter in the semi’s.
“Jim is one of the best out there, and is always killer on the tree,” Carpenter said. “I tuned it up a little more because I knew it would take a career best run and a killer light on my end to get around Jim.”
A career best is exactly what Carpenter got when he used a 4.013 and a .019 light to hold off a fast approaching Halsey and his 3.98.
On the other side of the ladder, Rickie Smith laid down a string of three-second runs on his way to the finals where he would face Carpenter in a matchup of two icons in the world of fast doorslammer drag racing.
In the finals, Carpenter wasn’t able to keep up with Smith’s 3.95 pass as his Terry Murphy-built ’55 slowed to a 4.06.
“Rickie’s going to be dangerous with the new horsepower he has gained from teaming up with Shannon Jenkins and all those guys over there,” admitted Carpenter. “I tried everything I had, but unfortunately it didn’t work out for us in the final round. I really wanted to get a win for all these great fans here at MIR and all over the country. They were a very vocal crowd, and they were cheering for us all day long. We knew we were the fan favorite, but we just came up a little short in the end.”
“I’m thrilled for this whole team,” Carpenter continued. “I did my job as a driver this weekend, and that got us some round wins. On top of that, the car performed well when we needed it to. It’s great to be able to come out and compete like this with all these guys that have virtually unlimited resources. To be able to do what we do with what we have to work with is a source of tremendous pride for everyone involved, from Mike and Paul and all our crew to our supporters like Pat Doherty and Custom Autosound.”
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
