O’FALLON, MO (Aug. 10, 2009) — When Chuck Ulsch covered the eighth mile at Gateway International Raceway in 3.98 seconds Aug. 8, he entered a realm few people thought even possible just a couple of years earlier. He also picked up a $5,000 bonus from Flowmaster Mufflers for being the first Flowmaster Extreme 10.5 driver to post a three-second elapsed time in official National Guard American Drag Racing League (ADRL) competition.
“We congratulate Chuck and his entire team on an awesome performance,” Flowmaster Senior Vice President of Marketing Richard Small said. “The Flowmaster Extreme 10.5 class has become one of the tightest, toughest classes anywhere in professional drag racing and to see one of these cars finally break into the threes is really something special. That’s why we posted this bounty, to reward a truly historic accomplishment.”
Ulsch turned in his record-setting performance in a win over Jeff Naiser in the semi-finals of the ADRL Hardee’s Gateway Drags II.
“As soon as it left I knew this could be the one. It just felt so good, pulling hard all the way to the end,” the Clarksville, Maryland-based driver said. “I also want to thank Vanishing Point for building such a great race car and especially Todd Tutterow for all his help. There’s no way this happens without Todd.”
Gil Mobley, co-owner with John Ferguson of the supercharged 1968 Camaro driven by Ulsch, said breaking into the threes definitely was a goal for the team, but added that getting it done in only its second race provided huge relief.
“Now we can just concentrate on going faster and having fun,” Mobley said. “But I’ll never forget this night as long as I live. The best part for me was coming back along the return road in front of all those thousands and thousands of fans and high-fiving what felt like every one of them. That was awesome.”
National Guard ADRL President and CEO Kenny Nowling called Ulsch’s effort “one of the most incredible passes I’ve ever seen,” and pointed out his 197.88-mph top speed also set a new National Guard ADRL record.
“We saw something special here tonight and I want to congratulate Chuck Ulsch, Gil Mobley, Todd Tutterow and everyone else involved with that team for getting the job done,” Nowling said. “We’re very proud of them here at the National Guard ADRL, and proud of the entire Flowmaster Extreme 10.5 class.”
In addition to earning the Flowmaster award, Ulsch became the first member of the Mickey Thompson XTF 3-Second Club, created to honor the first five Flowmaster Extreme 10.5 drivers to accomplish the feat. Flowmaster also posted a $5,000 bounty for the first Flowmaster Extreme 10.5 driver over 185 mph, with Todd Moyer claiming that prize at the 2009 National Guard ADRL season opener at Houston in March.
The National Guard ADRL returns to action Aug. 21-22, with its Summit Racing Equipment Ohio Drags III at National Trail Raceway in Hebron, Ohio.
(Photos courtesy ADRL Communications)
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