BAYTOWN, Texas – Top Fuel dragster pilot Spencer Massey is riding a two-race winning streak heading to his home state of Texas for the 25th annual O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Nationals presented by Super Start Batteries at Royal Purple Raceway, the first of two stops in the Lone Star state during the 2012 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series.
“It’s awesome to come off any race as the winner much less two in a row,” Massey said. “Winning four-wide was great and winning Vegas was fun so obviously we have lots of momentum heading into a track that is kind of close to home. We’ll have lots of friends and family out so it’s going to be a great weekend.”
Not only has the Texas native won two events in a row, he’s won three out of the first five races this season and is the national speed record holder thanks to his 332.18 mph performance during the final round at the circuit’s most recent event in Charlotte, N.C., that held off his hard-charging teammates, Antron Brown and Tony Schumacher.
“We’re not trying to set the world on fire, but somehow we managed to just set the national record and win the race,” Massey said. “It’s awesome to set the speed record. We’re the fastest team out there in NHRA Drag Racing thanks to (crew chiefs) Todd (Okuhara), Phil (Shuler) and my guys and it should stick for quite a while. The number one goal for us is to keep going rounds and winning races. We came so close last year and we want to make sure we get it done this year.”
Massey and his Prestone/FRAM team came close to winning the Top Fuel world championship in 2011, taking their fight all the way to the final race of the season. The team lost the championship on the last day of the season and Massey doesn’t want that same fate for his team this year. He has all the faith in his team to earn their first NHRA Full Throttle Top Fuel world championship.
“Its’ still early in the year and we still have the Countdown to the Championship, so I don’t want to use up all of my luck in the beginning of the season but, there are ups and downs throughout the year and right now we’re on the upside,” Massey said. “We’re not going to win every race, even though we’d love to, it’s just not going to happen. I’m hoping we ride this for a while and then hit another stride toward the end of the season during the Countdown. I know we have everything we need to go one more step this season and win the championship.”
Massey isn’t the only Texas native in Top Fuel ready to race for the Wally trophy at Royal Purple Raceway. Steve Torrence, who earned his first career No. 1 qualifying position two weeks ago in Charlotte, is looking to ride his own wave of momentum into Houston. Torrence is working to earn his first career NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event win, while seven-time world champ Schumacher is hoping to end his 28-race winless drought and Brown is looking to close the gap on point leader Massey.
Four-time world champ Greg Anderson leads the championship point standings in Pro Stock and is followed closely by his Summit Racing teammate Jason Line. Mike Edwards sits third, Allen Johnson is currently in fourth, Vincent Nobile is fifth and Houston native Erica Enders is sixth; Greg Stanfield, Roger Brogdon, Ronnie Humphrey and Jeg Coughlin round out the top 10.
John Force Racing driver Robert Hight, who is riding a four-race win streak heading into Houston, has dominated Funny Car competition all season long and leads the championship point standings in the 7,000-horsepower class. His JFR teammate Mike Neff trails in second place while Jack Beckman, Johnny Gray and John Force round out the top five. Rookie Courtney Force is in ninth and defending world champion Matt Hagan is currently outside of the top 10 after a DNQ in Charlotte.
* SCHEDULE: Full Throttle Drag Racing Series qualifying sessions are scheduled for 2:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. on Friday, April 27, and 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 28. Final eliminations will begin at 11 a.m. on Sunday, April 29.
* TICKETS: Tickets are available for the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Spring Nationals presented by Super Start Batteries. For tickets, please call Royal Purple Raceway at (281) 383-7223 or visit www.RoyalPurpleRaceway.com.
* ON TV: ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise two hours of qualifying coverage at 6 p.m. (ET) on Saturday, April 28. ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise three hours of eliminations coverage at 7 p.m. (ET) on Sunday, April 29.
* LUCAS OIL SERIES: The O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Spring Nationals presented by Super Start Batteries also will feature competition in seven categories in the NHRA Lucas Oil Series, where the future stars of the NHRA Full Throttle Series are born. Lucas Oil Series qualifying begins at 8 a.m. on April 27. Lucas Oil Series eliminations begin at 8 a.m. on April 28 and continue through April 29.
* PRO MOD SERIES presented by ProCare Rx: NHRA’s popular Pro Mod touring series will be featured at the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Spring Nationals presented by Super Start Batteries. The series features some of the world’s fastest and most unique doorslammer cars, with an eclectic mix of vintage and late-model body styles, in quarter-mile competition. Two rounds of qualifying will be held on April 27, with one additional round of qualifying on April 28 followed by the first round of eliminations. Eliminations continue on Sunday, April 29.
* ON THE WEB: Get live timing, scoring, multimedia and the latest news updates from every NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event on the Internet at www.nhra.com. Visit the official NHRA pages on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.
O’REILLY AUTO PARTS NHRA SPRING NATIONALS FACT SHEET
WHAT: 25th annual O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Spring Nationals presented by Super Start Batteries, the sixth of 23 events in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series. Drivers in four categories - Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle - earn points leading to 2012 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series world championships.
WHERE: Royal Purple Raceway, Baytown, Texas. From Interstate 10 take the State Hwy. 99 (Grand Parkway) exit, which is exit 799. Take a right on State Hwy. 99 and go to the first exit (2 miles) which is FM 565. Take a right on FM 565 and Royal Purple Raceway will be on your right. For additional information about directions please visit royalpurpleraceway.com.
WHEN: Friday through Sunday, April 27-29
SCHEDULE:
FRIDAY, April 27 - LUCAS OIL SERIES qualifying at 8 a.m.
NHRA PRO MOD SERIES presented by ProCare Rx qualifying at 1 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.
FULL THROTTLE SERIES qualifying at 2:30 p.m. and 5 p.m.
SATURDAY, April 28 – LUCAS OIL SERIES eliminations begin at 8 a.m.
NHRA PRO MOD SERIES presented by ProCare Rx qualifying at 1:30p.m.; and first round of eliminations at 4 p.m.
FULL THROTTLE SERIES qualifying at 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m.
SUNDAY, April 29 - Pre-race ceremonies, 10 a.m.
FULL THROTTLE SERIES eliminations begin at 11 a.m.
TELEVISION:
Saturday, April 28, ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise two hours of qualifying coverage at 6 p.m. (ET).
Sunday, April 29, ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise three hours of coverage starting at 7 p.m. (ET).
SATELLITE (Digital HD feed):
Friday, April 27, 10-10:30 p.m. (ET), SES 2 / Transponder 22C
Saturday, April 28, 8:30 -9 p.m. (ET), SES 2 / Transponder 22C
Sunday, April 29, 7:30-8 p.m. (ET), SES 2 / Transponder 22C
(4140 MHz, vertical; Data Rate: 40.461470554 Mbp; Symbol Rate: 29.27 Ms; FEC: ¾; Bandwidth: 36 Mhz)
Video news release contains race action highlights each day and winners’ interviews on Sunday.
2011 EVENT WINNERS: Del Worsham, Top Fuel; Jeff Arend, Funny Car; Vincent Nobile, Pro Stock; Andrew Hines, Pro Stock Motorcycle.
MOST VICTORIES: John Force, 6, FC; Warren Johnson, 5, PS; John Myers, 4, PSM; Angelle Sampey, 4, PSM.
TRACK RECORDS:
Top Fuel – 3.772 seconds by Larry Dixon, April ’10; 323.81 mph by Tony Schumacher, April ’11.
Funny Car – 4.021 seconds by John Force, April ’10; 316.08 mph by Force, April ’10.
Pro Stock – 6.539 seconds by Mike Edwards, April ’10; 212.43 mph by Edwards, April ’10.
PS Motorcycle – 6.849 seconds by LE Tonglet, April ’11; 197.39 mph by Michael Phillips, April ’11.
NATIONAL RECORDS:
Top Fuel - 3.735 sec. by Del Worsham, Oct. ’11, Reading, Pa.; 332.18 mph by Spencer Massey, April ’12, Charlotte, N.C.
Funny Car - 3.995 sec. by Matt Hagan, Sept. ’11, Charlotte, N.C.; 318.99 mph by Jack Beckman, Sept. ’11, Charlotte, N.C.
Pro Stock - 6.477 sec. by Jason Line, Oct. ’11, Reading, Pa.; 213.91 mph by Jason Line, April ’12, Charlotte, N.C.
PS Motorcycle - 6.750 sec. by Eddie Krawiec, March ’12, Gainesville, Fla.; 199.26 mph by Eddie Krawiec, March ’11, Gainesville, Fla.
TICKETS: For tickets call Royal Purple Raceway at (281) 383-RACE (7223) or visit www.royalpurpleraceway.com.
NHRA FULL THROTTLE DRAG RACING SERIES POINTS STANDINGS
GLENDORA, Calif. -- Point standings (top 10) for NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series categories following the fifth of 23 events in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series -
Top Fuel: 1. Spencer Massey, 465; 2. Tony Schumacher, 443; 3. Antron Brown, 438; 4. Morgan Lucas, 384; 5. Shawn Langdon, 294; 6. Doug Kalitta, 281; 7. Steve Torrence, 262; 8. Bob Vandergriff, 228; 9. Clay Millican, 227; 10. Brandon Bernstein, 207.
Funny Car: 1. Robert Hight, 520; 2. Mike Neff, 375; 3. Jack Beckman, 333; 4. Johnny Gray, 301; 5. John Force, 292; 6. Cruz Pedregon, 278; 7. Ron Capps, 274; 8. Bob Tasca III, 262; 9. Courtney Force, 213; 10. Bob Bode, 198.
Pro Stock: 1. Greg Anderson, 475; 2. Jason Line, 407; 3. Mike Edwards, 362; 4. Allen Johnson, 324; 5. Vincent Nobile, 318; 6. Erica Enders, 289; 7. Greg Stanfield, 237; 8. Rodger Brogdon, 223; 9. Ronnie Humphrey, 222; 10. Jeg Coughlin, 215.
Pro Stock Motorcycle: 1. Eddie Krawiec, 150; 2. Andrew Hines, 101; 3. Hector Arana Jr, 80; 4. Matt Smith, 74; 5. (tie) Hector Arana, 56; LE Tonglet, 56; 7. Karen Stoffer, 53; 8. Scotty Pollacheck, 52; 9. Steve Johnson, 34; 10. (tie) Shawn Gann, 32; Joey Gladstone, 32: Jerry Savoie, 32; John Hall, 32.
