RINGERS GLOVES RACING RECAP

Source: Ringers Gloves Media Relations
Date: 06/30/2008

BROWNSBURG, Indiana – I returned late last night from Norwalk, Oh., from Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park and the NHRA event. If you haven’t been to this facility, make sure it is a stop on your racing list within the next couple years. The upgrades the Bader family did to the track over the last couple years are great and of course you can’t beat a pound of ice cream for a dollar! It’s the best deal at the track!

The race was the first full weekend event since Scott Kalitta’s death last weekend in Englishtown. The mood around the pit area was definitely a different one than the vibe you usually find at an NHRA event, but all within good reason. I think there are a lot of unanswered questions on everyone’s minds from the accident that haven’t been answered just yet.

Nevertheless, the racing went on because “we are racers and that’s what we do.” Four Ringers’ racers picked up some nice hardware and one even picked up $50,000 from K&N Filters.

On Saturday afternoon, Allen Johnson had a perfect .000-second reaction time to claim his first K&N Horsepower Challenge title and the check for $50,000. While Greg Anderson (Pro Stock event winner on Sunday) had the quicker run, AJ’s killer reaction time gave him the cash and the hardware.

There was another first of the weekend on Sunday and that first was a first win for Pro Stock Motorcycle 18-year motorcycle veteran Hector Arana. Arana has raced 149 races in the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series without collecting a Wally. Well on Sunday afternoon, he finally got to collect his Wally and winner’s medal in post-race ceremonies. Arana beat Craig Treble by 10 feet with a 7.027-second, 187.60 mph run.

Ringers’ supporter Tony Pedregon found himself in the NHRA Winner’s Circle for the third time this year and the second time in the past three races. TP defeated John Force Racing’s Robert Hight with a 4.882-second, 306.26 mph run. His win boosted him up two positions in the Funny Car point standings from fourth to second.

Everyone on the NHRA tour, including myself, will enjoy the Fourth of July weekend off before heading on the Western Swing (Denver, Seattle and Sonoma) starting on July 11 at Bandimere Speedway in Morrison, Colo., and ending at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif., on July 27. This is my favorite swing on the year!

On Saturday night, the IndyCar Series visited Richmond International Raceway in Virginia for the SunTrust Indy Challenge 300. Six Ringers’ supporting teams took the green flag for the event with one of the team’s finishing at the peak.

Even though this team has led during a couple other events this season, the laps led haven’t produced a race win, but they did on Saturday night for the No. 11 Team 7-Eleven of Andretti-Green Racing. The No. 11 led a total of 166 laps before taking the checkered flags. Another car in the AGR stable also led during the 300-lap event and that was the No. 26 Blockbuster entry. The No. 26 was out front for a total of 90 laps before finishing in the ninth position. A third AGR entry finished in the top 10 and that was the entry of the Japan-winning No. 7 Motorola in sixth place. The fourth AGR entry, the No. 27 Formula Dream car finished 13th, expiring from the race on lap 220 with mechanical issues.

One of the two cars making up Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing collected a top-10 finish. The No. 02 McDonald’s Racing Team scored a seventh-place finish while the second entry, the No. 06 Hole in the Wall Camps car exited from the race on lap 131 after contact between the turns three and four walls, finishing 18th.

The IndyCar Series, along with the Firestone IndyLight Series, heads to Watkins Glen International Raceway this weekend for their respective races.

On Sunday in a rained shortened event from New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, N.H., Penske Racing’s Kurt Busch and his No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge crew celebrated their first victory of 2008, after rains moving through the area forced NASCAR officials to halt the race at lap 284. A humble Busch accepted his Lenox 301 trophy in a makeshift Victory Lane at Loudon.

His Penske Racing teammates Ryan Newman and Sam Hornish Jr., finished 15th and 39th, respectively.

The NASCAR Nationwide and Sprint Cup Series will venture to Daytona International Raceway this Fourth weekend for their races, while the Craftsman Truck Series heads to Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, Ky., for the Built Ford Tough 225 presented by the Greater Cincinnati Ford Dealers.

I hope everyone has a happy and safe Fourth of July weekend! Be careful when playing with your fireworks!

Ringers Gloves, the 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, UnderX Performance gear, crew shoes, as well as a full line of accessories for every need. Isn’t it time you bring in the Ringers? Check us out at www.ringersgloves.com.

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