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 BAYTOWN, TX (April 11-14) -- The NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series
was in action over the weekend at Houston Raceway Park for the 15th
annual O'Reilly NHRA Spring Nationals. The event resulted in
Team-Hoosier recording its best final round performance of the
season. A total of nine Hoosier-shod drivers made it to their
respective class finals in the event. Those drivers reaching the final
round were: Chip King (Pro Mod), Duane Shields and Alan Bradshaw (Top
Alcohol Dragster), Steve Gasparrelli and Jay Payne (Top Alcohol Funny
Car), Jeff Hefler (Super Stock), Jeff Hefler (Stock), Jim Hughes and
Larry Scarth (Super Comp).
TOP ALCOHOL DRAGSTER
The Top Alcohol Dragster final was one of three finals in which both
drivers were riding on Hoosier tires. Hoosier's 34.5/17.0-16 C4000
drag tires carried Duane Shields and Alan Bradshaw into the T/A
Dragster final. Bradshaw got the jump at the light with a .544 RT to
Shields' .571 RT. But Shields made up the difference with a 5.472 ET
(261.mph) to Bradshaw's 5.616 (256.06 mph) to take the win. TOP
ALCOHOL FUNNY CAR
In the second Hoosier vs. Hoosier final, Steve Gasparrelli in a
Firebird locked horns with Jay Payne in a Camaro to determine the T/A
Funny Car winner. Gasparrelli had the better light with a .466 RT to
Payne's .489 RT. Gasparrelli's ET was 5.725 seconds (253.14 mph) to
Payne's 5.710 ET (250.64 mph). Gasparrelli took the win by a scant .008
seconds. Both drivers used Hoosier's 35.4/17.0-16 C2000 drag tires. STOCK
In the Stock final, all hope for a Hoosier-shod winner rested on
the shoulders of Jeff Hefler and his 30.0/9.0-15 Radial C07 drag
tires. Hefler did not disappoint, taking the win with a .543 RT
coupled with an ET of 11.345 seconds on the 11.30 dial for the win.
Hefler couldn't celebrate too long because he also made it to the
final round in Super Stock. In Super Stock, Hefler settled for
runner-up honors by a mere 4/1,000ths of a second after breaking out. SUPER
COMP
In the third "all-Hoosier" final, Jim Hughes used
Hoosier's 33.0/16.5-15S C07 drag tires against Larry Scarth who was
using Hoosier's 33.0/16.0-15 D05 drag tires. Both drivers were quick
at the light with Hughes registering a .434 RT to Scarth's .449 RT. At
the finish, it was Hughes taking the win after Scarth broke out with an
8.885 ET on the 8.90 index. Hughes posted an 8.904 ET in capturing his
second consecutive national event win. Interestingly, Hughes had
so much confidence in Hoosier's ability to produce a consistent
product that he elected to mount a brand new set of Hoosier
33.0/16.5-16S C07 slicks on his dragster between the 3rd and 4th
rounds. Jim proved there is no "break-in" period necessary
on the Hoosier's by posting a .417 light and a 60' time within .002
seconds of his previous run. RUNNER UP FINISHERS
Chip King took runner-up honors in Pro Mod, while Jeff Hefler
earned runner-up in the Super Stock final. As reported earlier, Alan
Bradshaw (T/A Dragster), Jay Payne (T/A Funny Car) and Larry Scarth
(Super Comp) were also runners up in their respective class
finals. Hoosier Drag Racing Product Manager Faron Lubbers was
in Texas attending the event to monitor tire performance and answer
questions. Hoosier Racing Tire congratulates all
the competitors at this year's O'Reilly NHRA Spring Nationals trusting
Hoosier tires for their racing needs. The next event for the NHRA
Series is April 26-28, at Bristol, TN for the 2nd annual Mac Tools
Thunder Valley NHRA Nationals. |
