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 LAS
VEGAS, NV (April 1-4) -- The Hoosier brand followed its strongest
performance of the young season at the Gatornationals in the NHRA
Series with another stellar effort at the 5th annual SummitRacing.com
Nationals. Hoosier tires carried five drivers into their respective
class finals with three coming away winners. In Top Alcohol Dragster,
Chris Demke was in the final contest, while in Top Alcohol Funny Car
Cy Chesterman and Mark Woznichak made it an all-Hoosier final. Todd
Barton was the Hoosier representative in the Super Comp final with
Todd Stewart (photo) carrying the purple banner into the Super Gas
final.
TOP ALCOHOL DRAGSTER
Chris Demke, driving the Peen-Rite Abrasive B/AD, rocketed off the
starting line with a .026 RT to his opponent's .044 RT. Demke led
through the 330-foot point only to lose the race at the line after
being forced to lift during the race's final moments taking runner-up
honors.
TOP ALCOHOL FUNNY CAR
In T/A Funny Car, the Hoosier brand has dominated the past several
years winning 13 of the 16 NHRA National events last season and going
undefeated in 2002. This final was once again a lock for Team Hoosier
with both drivers riding atop the purple tire brand. In yet another
Firebird vs. Camaro contest, previous Gatornationals winner Cy
Chesterman in the Chippewa Spring Water Firebird met Mark Woznichak to
determine the T/A Funny Car winner.
As expected, this was a close one. Chesterman got the
slight edge at the light with a .049 RT to Woznichak's .067 RT.
Chesterman, using a pair of Hoosier 34.5/17.0-16 C2000 drag tires,
went on to take the win with a 5.647 ET and a speed of 255.58 mph. The
5.647 time was also low ET of the weekend. Woznichak also ran strong
at a 5.746 ET and a speed of 251.02 mph, but it wasn't enough to
prevent Chesterman from going 8-0 in his new car mounted on Hoosiers.
SUPER COMP
Todd Barton captured his first-ever National event win in a double
breakout final. With both drivers on a 9.05 index, Barton, on
Hoosiers, took the win with a .030 RT coupled with a 9.041 ET for a
-0.009 package.
SUPER GAS
2002 World Champion Todd Stewart was looking for back-to-back wins in
Las Vegas after taking last year's Spring race. Stewart found what he
was looking for taking the win with a .024 RT and a 10.059 ET (10.07
index) for a -0.011 package in another double breakout win for the
Hoosier brand. Stewart used a pair of Hoosier's 33.0/16.0-15 C07 drag
tires en route to the win.
Hoosier Drag Racing Product Manager Steve Hudspeth
attended the event and contributed details used in this report. If you
are interested in Hoosier's extensive lineup of drag racing tires,
feel free to stop by the Hoosier service trailer and speak to NHRA
Track Service Manager John Adamo who attends every event of the NHRA
Series schedule.
The 17th annual O'Reilly NHRA Spring Nationals is the
next event on the NHRA Series schedule. The event is scheduled for
April 15-18, at Houston, TX.
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