GLENDORA, Calif. (Oct. 10, 2011) – Nine NHRA rookie drivers, representative of all four NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series categories, are the eligible candidates for the 2011 Automobile Club of Southern California Road to the Future Award, it was announced today by officials from NHRA and the Automobile Club of Southern California.
The candidates for the prestigious award are, in alphabetical order: Hector Arana Jr. (Pro Stock Motorcycle), Justin Finley (Pro Stock Motorcycle), Steve Kent (Pro Stock), Dominick Lagana (Top Fuel), Vincent Nobile (Pro Stock), Buddy Perkinson (Pro Stock), Michael Ray (Pro Stock Motorcycle), Jerry Savoie (Pro Stock Motorcycle) and Brian Thiel (Funny Car).
The award, which recognizes the top rookie competitor in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series and offers a $20,000 prize and traditional trophy to the winner, will be presented during NHRA’s annual championship awards ceremony on Monday, Nov. 14 at the Hollywood & Highland Center in Hollywood, Calif.
“The Automobile Club of Southern California is honored to present this prestigious award,” said Thomas V. McKernan, CEO of the Auto Club. “Not only does it call attention to the accomplishments of the NHRA first-year professional drivers who are the future of the sport, but it emphasizes the building blocks of integrity, commitment, dedication, perseverance and professionalism that have been representative of our company values for more than 100 years.”
Arana Jr., 22, from Milltown, Ind., raced his Lucas Oil Buell, tuned by father and 2009 Full Throttle world champion Hector Arana Sr., to his first win at the prestigious Mac Tools U.S. Nationals. The win helped Arana Jr. lock up his position in the Full Throttle Countdown to the Championship and was his second consecutive final round appearance for the season, his first coming in Brainerd, Minn. Arana then went on to post a runner-up finish in the Countdown at the AAA Texas NHRA Fall Nationals at Texas Motorplex near Dallas and win the Auto-Plus® NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway. Arana also raced to No. 1 qualifying positions at Norwalk, Chicago, Sonoma and Reading and is currently second in the Pro Stock Motorcycle point standings.
Finley, 31, from Stamford, Conn., powered his Next Level Racing Suzuki to a career-best performance of 6.928 seconds at 193.79 mph and currently sits in the 17th spot in the Pro Stock Motorcycle standings. He also raced to a second round finish at the NHRA SuperNationals in Englishtown, N.J.
Kent, 56, from Lottie, La., raced The Pistonator Pontiac GXP into starting spots at Houston, Atlanta, where he qualified ninth in the field, Englishtown, Bristol and Dallas. He raced to a semifinal round finish at the AAA Texas NHRA Fall Nationals in Dallas. Kent also clocked a career-best performance of 6.545 seconds at 211.20 mph this season.
Lagana, 26, from Scarsdale, N.Y., qualified his Service Central dragster for five of the six races he’s competed in thus far this season. Lagana is currently 17th in the Top Fuel point standings and has one final round appearance for his career (Las Vegas 1, 2010).
Nobile, 20, from Melville, N.Y., drove his Mountain View Tire Dodge Avenger to the winner’s circle twice this season, first at the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Spring Nationals in Houston and then the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio. In addition, Nobile has posted runner-up finishes at the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals in Las Vegas and the NHRA SuperNationals in Englishtown, N.J. Nobile qualified for the Countdown to the Championship in his first year of competition and is currently fifth in the Pro Stock point standings. He has never been lower than ninth in the point standings the entire season.
Perkinson, 20, from Prince George, Va., qualified in his very first Pro Stock race, the season opening Kragen O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Winternationals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona. He’s clocked career-best performances of 6.584 seconds at 210.54 mph this season and is currently 18th in the Pro Stock point standings.
Ray, 27, from New Braunfels, Texas, put his Star Racing Buell in the field at the Pro Stock Motorcycle season-opening race, the Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla. Ray posted a career best performance of 6.919 seconds at 191.13 mph this season.
Savoie, 52, from Cut Off, La., rode his White Alligator Suzuki to a runner-up finish at the prestigious Mac Tools U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis, as well as a semifinal appearances at the NHRA SuperNationals in Englishtown, N.J. and the Auto-Plus NHRA Nationals in Reading, Pa. He qualified for the Countdown to the Championship and is currently seventh in the Pro Stock Motorcycle point standings.
Thiel, 36, from Pleasant Grove, Calif., qualified his Lucas Cattle Company Dodge Charger in four of the 10 Full Throttle Series events he competed in. He is currently 18th in the Funny Car point standings.
In 2002 the Automobile Club of Southern California Road to the Future Award and the NHRA Rookie of the Year Award were combined to create one award recognizing the future stars of the sport. Past winners of the Automobile Club of Southern California Road to the Future Award have developed into some of NHRA’s biggest stars, including Tony Pedregon (1996, Funny Car), Ron Capps (1997, Funny Car), Doug Kalitta (1998, Top Fuel), Antron Brown (1999, Pro Stock Motorcycle), Melanie Troxel (2000, Top Fuel), GT Tonglet (2001, Pro Stock Motorcycle), Gene Wilson (2002, Pro Stock); Brandon Bernstein (2003, Top Fuel); Jason Line (2004, Pro Stock); Robert Hight (2005, Funny Car); J.R. Todd (2006, Top Fuel); Ashley Force Hood (2007, Funny Car); Mike Neff (2008, Funny Car); Spencer Massey (2009, Top Fuel); and LE Tonglet (2010, Pro Stock Motorcycle).
NHRA Rookie of the Year winners prior to the merger of the two awards included the late Darrell Russell (2001, Top Fuel), Don Lampus (2000, Top Fuel), Scotty Cannon (1999, Funny Car), Jeg Coughlin (1998, Pro Stock), Gary Scelzi (1997, Top Fuel) and co-winners in 1996, Mike Edwards (Pro Stock) and Matt Hines (Pro Stock Motorcycle).
Rookie drivers in all four of NHRA’s professional categories are eligible to win the Automobile Club of Southern California Road to the Future Award. More than 150 of the nation’s leading auto racing journalists will select the winner through a voting system based on the following criteria: number of events participated, performance on and off the race track, participation in NHRA promotions and relationships with fans, sponsors and media.
In addition to the Automobile Club of Southern California Road to the Future Award, the company is the title sponsor for the Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals, Nov. 10-13 at historic Auto Club Raceway at Pomona. The company also is a major sponsor for John Force Racing, providing primary sponsorship for the Ford Mustang driven by Hight, as well as associate sponsorship for the Mustangs driven by John Force and Mike Neff. In addition, the company is the title sponsor for the Automobile Club of Southern California Hot Rod Reunion presented by Holly, as well as the presenting sponsor for the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum.
