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 POMONA,
CA (November 8-11) -- Team-Hoosier put the finishing touches on a
stellar 2001 NHRA season by capturing five class titles, in the seven
divisions in which it competes, for the fourth consecutive national
event. Pomona Raceway, the oldest venue on the NHRA Winston Drag
Racing Series circuit and the only one to host three national events
in 2001, was the final stage for teams using USA-made Hoosier tires to
strut their stuff. Eight Hoosier-shod drivers made it into the final
round of five class finals in the 37th annual Automobile Club of
Southern California NHRA Finals at Pomona Raceway. After the smoke had
cleared on the season ending event, Hoosier tires were on the winners
in every class final in which they competed, marking the fourth
consecutive event they accomplished this amazing feat. Rick Santos and
Duane Shields made it to the final round in Federal-Mogul Dragster,
while Von Smith and Steve Harker went head-to-head in Federal-Mogul
Funny Car. The third, "All-Hoosier" final had Mary Ann
Method facing Tom Watts in the Stock final. While Rick Beckstrom in
Super Comp and Dave Slatten would be the sole Hoosier-shod drivers to
compete in their respective class finals.
FEDERAL-MOGUL DRAGSTER
Hoosier 34.5/17.0-16 C06 drag tires carried Rick Santos
and Duane Shields into the F/M Dragster final. Santos, in the Oakwood
Homes dragster, got the jump at the light after posting a .452 RT to
Shields .461 RT. As he had done in all four rounds of competition, Santos
posted yet another run in the .36's, motoring to a 5.36 ET (263.26 mph) to
Shields' 5.489 ET (259.81 mph) in the Short Line Express dragster. The
win was Santos' sixth national win of the season for the 2001 World
Champion in Federal-Mogul Dragster. The Oakwood Homes Dragster,
who's crew chief is Norm Grimes, has now won an amazing five World
Championships in a row, the last two, using USA-made Hoosier tires. FEDERAL-MOGUL
FUNNY CAR
In the second, "All-Hoosier" final, Von Smith battled
Steve Harker in F/M Funny Car. Both drivers used Hoosier's 34.5/17.0-16 C06 drag tires.
Smith, who's crew, led by crew chief Howard Moon, thrashed on race day
to put the Jensen Audio Firebird back together after making not one,
but two trips into the sand at the end of the track in earlier action.
Smith got the slight edge at the light posting a .472 RT to Harker's
.478 RT in the Harker Racing Avenger. Smith earned the victory with a
5.706 ET (254.90 mph) after Harker shut his machine down giving the
former IHRA champion, Smith, his first NHRA national win of the
season. Interestingly, Von Smith was the first Alcohol Funny Car to
ever run the Hoosier brand four years ago. STOCK
In the third and final "All-Hoosier" final, Mary Ann
Method met Tom Watts in the Stock final, as both drivers used
Hoosier's 30.0/9.0-15 D07 drag tire. Method posted a .530 RT to Watts'
.596 to get the early jump. Watts then ran an 11.155 ET on an 11.15
dial for a .005 difference and a package of .101 seconds. Method
combined a 10.622 ET on a 10.57 dial to register a .082 package and
capture the win. SUPER
COMP
In the first class final in which a Hoosier-shod winner was not a guarantee,
Rick Beckstrom would be the lone Hoosier soldier in the Super Comp
final. With wife Patti cheering him on, Beckstrom got the early jump
at the light, posting a .427 RT to his competition's .432 RT. Both
drivers then broke out, with Beckstrom the lesser offender.
Beckstrom's ET was 8.892 seconds to his opponent's 8.852. Beckstrom
took the win, -.008 under, versus -.042 under, posted by the
runner-up. SUPER
GAS
The fourth consecutive perfect weekend in NHRA national
competition rested on the shoulders of Dave Slatten in Super Gas.
Slatten, who also serves as a Hoosier Tire Midwest dealer, used a .413
RT to get the jump on his opponent who posted a .432 RT at the light.
As Slatten posted a 9.933 ET, his opponent posted a 9.914 ET on the
9.90 index, as this one would be determined by a mere one ten
thousandth of a second, with Slatten taking the win and extending
Team-Hoosier's end-of-season HOT streak through the final event. Hoosier
Racing Tire Corp. had both engineering staff and product managers on
hand for the season ending race at Pomona. While this was the most
successful season to date for the Hoosier drag tire line, improvements
are continuously being made to stay on top. Hoosier
Racing Tire Corp. now claims three World Champions in 2001. Rick
Santos in Federal-Mogul Dragster while capturing seven of the top ten
positions in points in the class. Frank Manzo is the World champion in
Federal-Mogul Funny Car, as Team-Hoosier lays claim to nine of the top
ten in points. In Super Comp, Rodney Costlow takes the World Champion
title as eight of the top ten in the final points standings used
American-made Hoosier tires. Also of note, Team-Hoosier secured seven
of the top ten positions in the final standings in both Super Gas and
Stock classes. Congratulations
to all the competitors using USA-made Hoosier tires and making this
season Team-Hoosier's best-ever. |
