BROWNSBURG, Indiana -- It was an all Ringers Winner’s Circle at the Checker Schuck’s Kragen NHRA Nationals at Firebird International Raceway just outside of Phoenix last weekend. One of the newest Ringers team additions, “Hot Rod” Fuller and his David Powers Motorsports-owned Top Fuel dragster, landed on the Phoenix stage for the second consecutive year to collect his Wally.
The Top Fuel finals were a replay of last year with Fuller and fellow Ringers team racer Melanie Troxel from the Lucas Oil Racing stable facing off against each other. The two had a great drag race down the strip, with Troxel giving Fuller a battle until the finish. Fuller topped Troxel 4.409 seconds/327.19 mph to 4.536 seconds/325.61 mph.
Funny Car action found 2003 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series champion and Ringers racer Tony Pedregon facing off with a driver from his former team at John Force Racing. Pedregon blew past a squirrelly Robert Hight onto a 4.083-second/326.32 mph run. TP not only took home a win during the second round of the season, he also became the first Funny Car driver to set an NHRA national record at Firebird with a 4.650-second pass.
No one on the POWERade Drag Racing circuit can dispute that Ringers racer Kurt Johnson is one of the best Pro Stock drivers at the Tree…and he reconfirmed it on Sunday in the Pro Stock finals against reigning series champion and fellow Ringers supporter Jason Line. KJ blistered Line off the line 0.16 seconds to 0.51 seconds to cruise onto a holeshot victory, 6.694/206.67 to Line’s 6.676/207.85 mph run.
KJ dedicated his win to fellow racer Allen Johnson’s father, Roy. Roy suffered two heart attacks at the conclusion of the second day of qualifying on Saturday. The doctors at the nearby Chandler hospital were able to revive him and do the proper operations to fix the 100% blockage to the main artery in his heart. Roy is now back home in Tennessee, however not resting. According to the “Geiger Counter” on www.nhra.com, he is already back in the shop prepping the motors for the upcoming Gainesville race. On a personal note, Roy is one of my favorite people out on the NHRA tour. You can always find him riding his bike through the midway and the pit area. He usually stops by the trailer and always has some kind of joke or story to tell. Everyone at Ringers Gloves and Chicago Pneumatic, including myself, would like to wish Roy a speedy recovery! I can already see he is well on his way. Roy, you are awesome and we love you!
All three NASCAR series’ visited California Speedway in Fontana, Calif., with the Craftsman Truck Series being the first to race on Friday. The Ringers supporting teams of South Point Racing with driver Brendan Gaughan and the Green Light Racing team all qualified for the show. After qualifying fifth, Gaughan battled his ill-handling No. 77 South Point Chevrolet to the finish line in 21st. Green Light Racing drivers Tim Sauter and Chad McCumbee didn’t fair much better, both coming home behind Gaughan in the 26th and 27th positions, respectively.
The Ringers supporting team of Penske Racing had a much better weekend than they did at the season opening Daytona 500 the prior week. Both drivers scored top-15 finishes in the Auto Club 500, with Kurt Busch leading the way in his No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge in seventh and Ryan Newman with his No. 12 Mobil 1 Dodge Charger in 12th. Their Penske Racing teammate had a good run going in the Busch Series event on Saturday, before encountering a lap car. Sam Hornish Jr. was running 17th at the time he came into was attempting to pass J.J. Yeley, when the air was taken off Hornish’s No. 12 Mobil 1 Charger, forcing him into the outside wall and resulting in a 35th-place finish.
The NASCAR Busch Series is the only series in action this weekend at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City. The Craftsman Trucks and Nextel Cup series' will pick up in action again next weekend.
About Ringers Gloves
Ringers Gloves, Official Gloves of NHRA and title sponsor for the Ringers Gloves Pro Bike Battle, is a full-line manufacturer of high-end, task specific gloves, SFI 3.3/1, 3.3/10, 3.3/20 racing gloves, UnderX protective undergarments and rdigs pit boots.
Keep up with your favorite Ringers racers in ‘07 by logging onto www.ringersgloves.com for photos and highlights!
