Goodyear Wins Six of Nince In NHRA Vegas Race
LAS VEGAS, Nev. (April 13, 2008) – When you develop traction for a living, a hot and slippery drag strip is a tough place to work.
But when you race on Goodyear tires, you have an advantage.
Drivers equipped with Goodyear Eagles won six of nine categories in the National Hot Rod Association’s POWERade Drag Racing Series SummitRacing.com Nationals at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Four of the six Goodyear wins at LVMS came in categories open to competition among tiremakers. The wins lifted Goodyear’s 2008 total to 24 in NHRA national event competition this season. That total leads the tire industry.
Cory McClenathan, the Top Fuel winner, said, “It’s a tricky track. The Goodyears, they did their job.”
McClenathan beat Antron Brown in the final round, scoring his first 2008 victory and the 30th win of his career.
The other Goodyear winners included Tim Wilkerson (in Funny Car), Jason Line (Pro Stock), Lou Ficco (Competition Eliminator), Jeff Isbell (Top Alcohol Dragster) and Randy Balough (Super Gas).
“In spite of challenging track conditions, the Goodyear Eagles performed well,” said Carolyn Ashbee, Goodyear’s sales account manager for drag racing. “We won in six classes and with six different applications.”
Wilkerson beat crowd favorite Ashley Force in the final round. It was Wilkerson’s first victory since 2004. The Funny Car winner said that, despite the tricky conditions, his team got the grip they needed on the track.
“Goodyear makes a quality tire, a good tire,” Wilkerson said. “Carolyn (Ashbee) does a great job. We work with them. We’re testing with them tomorrow. We didn’t have a problem at all this weekend.”
Force made it to her second consecutive final round and became the first woman to lead the Funny Car category standings at the end of an event in the 39-season history of the category. She is the sixth woman to lead an NHRA professional category. In her 26 career races, Force has reached the final round three times.
Line took his first victory of 2008 and the 14th of his career.
Isbell’s win was his first in a national event. He said, “I’m not about to change (tires). I’ve always loved Goodyears.”
Balough won for the first time since 1995 and Ficco’s last win was in 2006.
More information on the NHRA is available at www.nhra.com.
04/17/2008
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