 MADISON,
IL (June 21-24) -- It was another great weekend for drag racing teams
riding Hoosier tires, as seven Hoosier-shod drivers made it to four
class finals at the Fifth Annual Craftsman NHRA Nationals. When the
competition was completed, Hoosier Racing Tire Corp. was a perfect
four-for-four in the class finals it competed in, as three of the four
classes had an "all-Hoosier" final. Vince Nannini met
Shannon Mingee in the Super Comp final, Todd Heins met Jimmy Lewis in
the Super Gas final, Marc White met Kim Fritts in the Federal-Mogul
Funny Car final, while Hoosier's hope for a victory in Federal-Mogul
Dragster rested on Jay Meyer's shoulders.
FEDERAL-MOGUL DRAGSTER
Of the four classes that Hoosier had competitors in the final
round, only Federal-Mogul Dragster a Hoosier victory was not a
guarantee. Jay Meyer used a .457 RT combined with a 5.491 ET, or
254.81 mph, in the final contest to take the win. This was Meyer's
third consecutive national event final and fourth of the year. The
victory was Meyer's third national event win of the year. Jay Meyer
uses Hoosier's 34.5/17.0-16 C06 drag tire.
FEDERAL-MOGUL FUNNY CAR
In one of the three "all-Hoosier" finals that would be
contested at the Fifth Annual Sears Craftsman NHRA Nationals, Marc
White, in the Etterman Racing '01 Pontiac Firebird, met Kim Fritts in
the Hard Work & Worry '98 Pontiac Firebird. Both drivers saved
their best efforts for the final. Fritts got the jump at the light
with a reaction time of .455 seconds to White's .487. But White's ET
of 5.786 seconds was a bit better than Fritts' 5.860 time. White
posted a top speed of 250.04 mph en route to the win. This now marks
the seventh different driver to win a national event on Hoosier tires
in 2001. Both drivers used Hoosier's 34.5/17.0-16 C06 drag tires.
SUPER GAS
Todd Heins and Jimmy Lewis (see above photo) met in another
"all-Hoosier" final. Heins used a .435 RT to Lewis' .463 RT
to get the jump at the light. Heins posted a 9.888 ET to Lewis' 9.873
on a 9.90 index to take the win. Heins had a -.012 index to Lewis'
-.027 index. The win was Hein's second national event win having won
the Advance Auto Part National at Topeka, KS in May.
SUPER COMP
While a Hoosier-shod driver winning the Super Comp class wasn't in
question, who would be the winner, was. Vince Nannini met Shannon
Mingee to determine who takes home the top prize. Nannini got the
slightly better light, with an RT of .422 to Mingee's .431 RT.
However, Mingee broke out with a 8.890 ET (-.010 index) to Nannini's
8.901 ET (.001 index) on the 8.900 index. The win was Vince Nannini's
first ever national event win and Hoosier's 8th national Super Comp
victory of the 2001 season. The tires used by both competitors were
Hoosier 33.0/16.5-15S C07 drag tires.
Next up for the NHRA competitors, a stop in Pomona,
California, July 5-7 for the Pep Boys NHRA 50th Anniversary
Nationals.
Hoosier Racing Tire Corp. would like to thank all
the teams, drivers and fans who have made the 2001 drag racing season
so successful. |
