(3-6-2009) BAYTOWN, Texas – It may not have ended in the fashion that anyone on Al Anabi Racing/Team SPEEDTECH was anticipating, but undeniably, the mission was accomplished.
Despite the obvious aspirations of putting two Al Anabi Racing Pro Nitrous doorslammers in the final round side-by-side, and maybe expectations from within and beyond to break into the 3.8-second zone; the goal for this weekend in Houston was simply to put all five of the Al Anabi Racing Pro Nitrous cars into the field. As the ADRL continues to grow, the performance demands of the organization’s top-tier classes has reached monumental proportions, making qualifying for the big show on Saturday night an incredible feat in itself.
“Obviously, we would have liked to have put this Al Anabi Racing Pro Nitrous Camaro in the winner’s circle here tonight,” said a somewhat frustrated, but satisfied Shannon Jenkins. “As I said before we got out here, I was really looking for us to put together a race program based on consistency for 2009. We’ve always had a ‘swing for the fence’ mentality, we can’t help it – we want to go fast – but we also know we have to win races and go rounds to earn a spot in the SPEEDTECH Nitrous Battle for the Belts come October.”
The fan-favorite driver continued, “To say that we’re happy with the outcome tonight would be incorrect, but we are satisfied that we were able to put five Al Anabi Racing cars in the field. To have this number of cars, engines, parts and people all come together for a common good is a feat in and of itself. We’ve got a lot to accomplish this season and I feel we’re off and running. We’ll be back in Valdosta here in a few weeks with the same intentions – you can count on that.”
Jenkins was the sole Al Anabi Racing car to advance beyond the first round of competition, taking out Josh Chester in the opening round with a stout 3.998-second, 191.40mph blast to best Chester’s losing 4.47/151mph combination. In the quarter-finals it would be 2006 ADRL Pro Nitrous world champion Keith Baker in the lane opposite of the “Iceman”; Jenkins had the early advantage, but broke the tires loose just prior to the 330’ cones, forcing him to lift on the throttle and hand the win to a game Keith Baker.
Beyond Jenkins, the Al Anabi Racing group surely made their presence known throughout the weekend with three team cars in the top half of the qualifying field: #3 Shannon Jenkins (3.97/192.93), #5 Rickie Smith (4.00/189.47), #6 Mike Castellana (4.02/189.02), as well as #9 Burton Auxier (4.06/187.44) and K.A. Balooshi (4.14/179.68) rounding out the field.
Castellana noted, “It’s apparent that we’ve got quite a bit going on here. I’m glad to see the five teams starting to gel, and that some team synergy is developing. No question, we were excited to have all five cars make the show, and even though things didn’t pan out the way we would have liked – we aren’t disappointed. We have a lot of potential in this program, the performance capabilities that we’ve shown over the course of this weekend alone put us in contention for the championship, and our goal, ultimately, is to have all five Al Anabi Racing cars competing for the Battle for the Belts this fall.”
Just over a month away is the fifth running of the ADRL Georgia Drags at South Georgia Motorsports Park near Valdosta, and Al Anabi Racing is anxiously looking forward to getting back into the no-holds-barred ADRL Pro Nitrous ring as soon as possible.
Al Anabi Racing driver and tuner “Tricky” Rickie Smith commented, “We fought some issues this weekend that are impossible to foresee and these cars, as most know, tend to be a little unpredictable at times, but we pulled it all together and made a number of good runs. We’ve got a few events between now and the next ADRL race and we’ll definitely be on our game when it comes time.”
Al Anabi Racing Qualifying:
3. Shannon Jenkins (3.97/192.93)
5. Rickie Smith (4.00/189.47)
6. Mike Castellana (4.02/189.02)
9. Burton Auxier (4.06/187.44)
16. K.A. Balooshi (4.14/179.68)
Al Anabi Racing Eliminations:
Round 1:
Johnny Pilcher (.051) – 5.615/155.04 (W)
K.A. Balooshi (.091) – 5.353/133.28
Steve Vick (.073) – 4.008/184.84 (W)
Burton Auxier (.021) – 5.028/139.21
Rickie Smith (.076) – 8.801/48.46
Pat Stoken (.046) – 4.033/187.08 (W)
Shannon Jenkins (.069) – 3.998/191.40 (W)
Josh Chester (.003) – 4.478/151.14
Mike Castellana (.052) – 4.452/135.51
Keith Baker (.035) – 4.063/184.02
Round 2:
Shannon Jenkins (.061) – 5.397/91.88
Keith Baker (.032) – 4.032/184.52 (W)
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