(5-20-2010) PETERSBURG, VA – Dating back to the ADRL World Finals held in Dallas, TX last October, Charles Carpenter's performance has been nearly unparalleled. However, after a serious crash at the 2009 season opener in Houston, the patchwork appearance of his legendary Pro Nitrous '55 Chevy left much to be desired.
After racing in various stages of repair for almost a year, Carpenter will debut a brand new paint scheme at this weekend's ADRL Speedtech U.S. Drags III at Virginia Motorsports Park in Petersburg, VA.
"I'm thrilled about debuting our new look this weekend," Carpenter said. "We decided to stay within our traditional purple and yellow color scheme, but we switched it up by reversing the location of the colors and having yellow as the main color. I think it's a great way to get a different look while retaining our identity, and it brings back memories because my very first '55 Chevy that I had when I was 15 years old was this same shade of yellow. Reed and Chandler Robbins at East Coast Refinishing & Fiberglass in Manassas, VA truly exceeded my expectations with the quality of this paint job. The fact that they were able to even complete the job in such a tight time frame is amazing in itself, but the quality of the work and level of detail on top of that is unreal."
After racing to his second consecutive final round appearance at last month's Georgia Drags VI in Valdosta, Carpenter and crew immediately disassembled the car and hauled it to East Coast Refinishing on Tuesday following the race. Carpenter then picked up the car on Tuesday of this week and the thrash was on to have the car put back together for this weekend's all-important race.
"We're running on very little sleep, but we got it done," Carpenter admitted. "Thankfully, we've assembled and disassembled the car for what is hopefully the last time for a while. It's all worth it though, and I'm extremely excited about our total appearance makeover."
In addition to the fresh paint, the team will also be sporting brand new custom sublimated crew shirts and will have all-new Charles Carpenter Racing t-shirts available for purchase for the first time in several seasons.
"Thanks to Scott Bathurst and Classic Graphix, we're going to be looking as good off the track as we do on it," said Carpenter. "Fans have been asking for t-shirts for years now, so Scott and his team were able to put together awesome artwork featuring the car's new paint scheme and we're excited to begin offering them for purchase this weekend."
All the cosmetic stuff is nice, but the nitrous pioneer's performance hasn't been forgotten.
"We've got this '55 running better than it ever has, and the best part is we feel like we haven't scratched the surface with our new engine combination," said the Charlotte, NC auto repair center owner. "It shows a ton of potential, and I look forward to being able to tune on it and tackle the stellar VMP racing surface. We're going to creep up on what it wants and try to go rounds again. We're just 15 points out of first place, and we need to be consistent and keep doing what we know to stay there or move up to the top spot."
Charles Carpenter Racing would like to thank Paul Albino and Total Induction Tuning Solutions, MagnaFuel, Reed & Chandler Robbins at East Coast Refinishing & Fiberglass, DMP Awnings, Doherty Motorsports, Custom Autosound, WFO Racing & Machine, Santhuff Suspension Specialties, Alan Pittman Race Cars, Terry Murphy Race Cars, Dennis Radford & Tom Hemphill, Fulton Competition, Hairy Glass, Pro Glass, TEK Headers, JAZ Products, Weld Racing, Stroud Safety, Safety Solutions, RJS Safety Equipment, Goodridge Hose & Fittings, Goodyear, Friction Unlimited, Racepak, Bell Helmets, Indocil Art, Justin Spencer & CompetitionDesigns.com, Scott Bathurst & Classic Graphix, RH2Way, and VP Racing Fuels for their continued support.
Carpenter is actively seeking primary sponsorship for 2010. For more information about Charles Carpenter Racing and the World's Fastest '55 Chevy, or for a copy of the team's Marketing Partnership Guide, visit www.fastest55.com.
Photo by Johnny Roberts / RacebarnMotorsports.com
