Celebrating, promoting and supporting women in motorsports and Moto Enthusiasts
The Dote Racing Gumout Top Fuel dragster driven by Leah Pritchett is undergoing a mid-season makeover. The team promises a “Golden” experience, offering this sneak-peak teaser photo:
The shiny new look will be debuted Friday, June 19 at the 15th annual NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals in Bristol, Tennessee.
Me
et Cara Adams, Senior Project Engineer of Race Tire Development for Firestone Racing, the exclusive tire manufacturer for the Verizon IndyCar Series. On the track, she is responsible for the design and development of Firestone’s tires for the oval circuits, including the Indianapolis 500, superspeedway and mile oval tracks.
I have always been fascinated by how things work. I liked to take things apart and put them back together… most of the time.”
Cara grew up with a passion for dissecting and reassembling things around her. The daughter of a high school science teacher, she was regularly surrounded by neighborhood science camps growing up. Her grandfather, an engineer for NASA, was the inspiration that led her to pursue her Bachelors degree in Mechanical Engineering with a focus on vehicle dynamics from the University of Akron in Ohio.
While attending college, she would take an interest in Formula SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers), a program in which students design, build and race an open-wheeled race car. Through this program, she attend ed a few Champ Car races in nearby Cleveland, Ohio.
I was so impressed by the engineering of these machines, I started going every year. I remember being fascinated by the cars flying through the chicane in turns 9 and 10, watching the motion of the cars as the chassis reacted to braking, turning, and acceleration as the drivers navigated that tricky section of track. I could have watched that for hours.”
Her start in the program wasn’t a glamorous one. She began at the bottom, cleaning up the shop area. From there, Cara began learning how to use a mill and lathe, machining small parts and becoming more engaged and useful around the shop. She progressed to cutting and bending the tubes for the frame, using FEA to help design uprights and designing the safety systems that go in the car, like the impact crush zones and various electronics.
Away from school, Cara would again encounter the racing bug as a passenger in a friend’s supercharged Mustang. She was instantly hooked, and decided she wanted to own a car that fast.
I saved up, bought a car that needed some work, and decided to learn how to make it fast. Since then, I’ve worked to improve upon just about every area of that car.”
Her first engine rebuild would come on a Honda CBR F3. Learning the inner workings of the engine was fascinating to Adams. She would wrench away on her own cars, and then take them to local drag strips, auto-cross events, or road courses to test her work and results.
From that moment on, I knew I wanted to work in the automotive field, and that I would love an opportunity to work in racing. I wanted this to become a full time job. Seeing the results of my own hobbies gave me confidence to work in racing for a living. I am very blessed to do this for a living.”
Her first entry into the profession would come in 2003, working with Bridgestone Americas’ Tire/Vehicle Dynamics team. Working with the Formula SAE team, there wasn’t much time for “typical” college activities like eating, sleeping, doing homework or having a social life. Every spare moment was spent down in the shop machining new parts or working on new designs. She gained experience working during this time, but had her heart set on working with the Firestone Racing team. Breaking into a full-time career in racing is difficult regardless of the role, but Cara was determined to make her dreams a reality.
I met with the head of race tire development, and asked him what skills and traits he wanted to see in a race tire engineer. I told him my goal was to work for the Firestone Racing team, asked him for advice and took everything he said to heart. I picked up a couple of Vehicle Dynamics textbooks, and also and started teaching myself how to code in the MATLAB programming language, as that was not one of my strengths at the time. I was determined to go into the interview and give them no choice but to hire me as the next race tire engineer.”
Taking heed of that advice, Cara would remain adamant about her ambitions and soak up as much knowledge and experience as she could. She would learn from mentors that would help further her goal of breaking into the racing world.
I learned most of what I know from my first manager, Page Mader, and our lead engineer, Dale Harrigle (Dale is now the Chief Engineer of Bridgestone Americas Motorsports). It is unbelievable the work and knowledge that goes into designing these racing tires that withstand high loads and speeds of IndyCars. At some tracks, the tires withstand speeds of more than 240 mph and the right rear tire can bear loads equivalent to the weight of a Honda Civic or a Chevrolet Cruze!”
Her dream job didn’t happen by accident, as Cara often credits herself as “pestering her way into racing”. In 2007, Cara strategically planned a trip to visit her younger sister, also an engineer who had just begun working for Boeing in Seattle. The Champ Car Portland Grand Prix was also scheduled that week, so Cara reached out to the Firestone Racing team to volunteer for the group.
Since Portland was only three hours from her apartment, I told the group I’d come out and volunteer that weekend ‘since I was there anyway.’ In reality, I chose that weekend to fly out in hopes I could work with the Firestone Racing team.”
Her pestering paid off, when later that year she interviewed for and was hired on by the Race Tire Development team with the Firestone Racing brand, carrying primary responsibility in road and street course tires.
Having made her way into racing, her first official business trip would be to a tire test session at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Assigned to work with drivers Marco Andretti and Danica Patrick, Cara had a busy week to get her feet wet in the sport. Bad luck would strike, as Cara became ill before her trip, and would rupture her eardrum on the flight down, spending the night before the test in the emergency room. Despite these setbacks, she would soldier on through the entire test, spending all day on pit lane learning about IndyCar and Firestone racing and getting feedback from the drivers about tire performance.
I found that the IndyCar community is a fantastic group of people- one of the reasons is that almost everyone that works in IndyCar does it because they want to be there. This leads to a very focused, dedicated group of people in all ranks of the organization, be it a team, or supplier like Firestone.”
The Firestone team travels to about 17 races per year, not including on-track testing, and Cara often feels that she spends more time with her IndyCar family than with her own family. The height of this busy road life occurs during the month leading up to the Indianapolis 500, when the culmination of the Indianapolis Rookie Orientation Programs, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course open test, the Grand Prix of Indianapolis, and the Indy 500 practice sessions/qualifying /race require Cara to live in the same hotel room for over a month. Luckily, her husband loves racing too, and is more than willing to come out for a visit.
In addition to the on-track products, Cara oversees rain tire development and all of Firestone’s racing force and moment testing (testing the tire and creating a model that teams can use in their vehicle simulations).
I have the privilege of working for a fantastic company that respects its employees and I’m fortunate to work with a great team of people. It is important to choose a company with values you respect. Bridgestone creates a great collaborative environment that gives us the flexibility to be innovative while designing high-performance tires, whether they’re on the race track, on the highway or in a farmer’s field.”
Though being among a smaller minority of women working in the male-dominated racing community makes you stick out just like any big difference in a large group, Cara insists that this diversity works to her advantage.
Instead of just being “the tire guy” (although I am still called that), people quickly learned to know me as Cara, the Tire Engineer and Force and Moment expert. Having diversity among a group, whether gender, area of expertise or anything else, can lead to different ways of thinking about the same issue and can yield unique solutions to any challenges you may face. A small minority of the ‘old school’ racers might initially be more skeptical of a female engineer in the paddock, but like everyone, you prove yourself by your performance. Once they see your work ethic, talent, passion and ability to solve challenges, it doesn’t matter whether you’re male or female. Brown, black, white or purple – everyone respects results.”
Cara has been able to use her career experience as a Race Tire Engineer to help introduce engineering to the younger generations, speaking to children of all ages about the importance of math and sciences and showing them the possibilities within the field of engineering. She has fostered some fantastic mentoring relationships with young people.
As an engineer who is female working in a mostly male dominated sport, I hope to be a role model who inspires young girls to believe that being an engineer is a very attainable goal.”
Going forward, the same goal that has propelled Adams thus far in her career continues to motivate and drive her: to be not just the best female engineer, but the best in her field.
I always have the same goal, regardless of my role: Be the best at what I do, provide engineering solutions to challenges no one has yet thought of, contribute to and/or lead a successful team. More specifically for my job, my goals are: To make safe, consistent, innovative tires that go fast, and to provide excellent customer service to the IndyCar teams – listen to their feedback and use it to continuously improve the performance of our tires. I don’t want to be the best ‘female engineer’; I want to be the best engineer, period!”
And for those who are wanting to pursue their dreams in the racing world, she offers:
Don’t let anyone tell you what you can or can’t do, what you are or aren’t good at, or who you are. If you have a goal, do everything in your power to accomplish it, and don’t be timid if you run into obstacles. It’s important to have a good support system. I have been blessed with a great network of people who know me and believe in me. Having people who care about and support you, and provide you with genuine feedback is priceless. If you don’t have a mentor, reach out to someone you respect and ask for advice. Having someone in your field with whom you can discuss your career, challenges, or simply use as a sounding board for ideas, will help you along the way. You may even give back as much as you get out of a good mentoring relationship. And, if you have others that can learn from you, be a mentor for them.”
For the fifth time in her career and the first time this season, Brittany Force raced to a runner-up finish in Top Fuel at the 46th Annual Toyota NHRA Summernationals in Englishtown, New Jersey. Her bid to become the eighth woman to win in drag racing’s Top Fuel class fell just short to New Jersey native Antron Brown in the final round. Force qualified No. 6 and worked her way to the final round by defeating Richie Crampton, Tony Schumacher and Terry McMillen.
Overall this was an awesome day for this Monster Energy team. I am so proud of every one of my guys. They put everything into this dragster this weekend. We went all the way to the final and I don’t even know how that happened it was just a blur today. You can tell they are bummed and they really wanted to take home that win but I am so proud of them and especially my crew chiefs Todd Smith and Ronnie Thompson,” said Force.
Force and the Monster Energy team faced Richie Crampton in the first round, hoping to avenge the semi-final loss against Crampton in Kansas. Both former Rookie of the Year recipients were quick off the line, but Crampton lost traction immediately and aborted, while Brittany thundered through to a 3.848 second elapsed time at 316.01 mph. The win was critical for the team and would move Brittany into round two with lane choice against 8-time Top Fuel champion Tony Schumacher.
Again, the pair would leave the line together, but Schumacher would also go up in smoke instantly, allowing Brittany to take the win with another consistent 3.838 second E.T. at 314.02 mph. For the second race in a row, Force bested the former World Champ, evening her career head-to-head record against ‘The Sarg’ at 3-3.
It always helps when you get multiple round wins against anyone. We just use that to keep moving forward and to keep pushing a little bit harder. Really now having Monster Energy on board we now have the power to push harder. We can be more aggressive and push the performance,” said an excited Force.
Force moved on to face Terry McMillen in round number three. She would again reach the finish line first with a 3.899 at 314.09 mph, but would lose a fuel line at the top end and upset the blower. This would cost her lane-choice in the final against Antron Brown. Though she would leave first, Brittany shook the tires shortly after the launch. She tried to pedal, but seeing the hometown boy was out ahead she clicked off. Antron drove straight through the finish, with a solid 3.843 at 318.47 mph.
We pushed it all the way to the finals this weekend. Earlier in the season we were playing it safe because we didn’t have a sponsor and we couldn’t press as hard on the parts. We are a lot more confident and we are proud to be teamed up with Monster Energy.”
Two weeks ago, Force raced to her first semi-final finish of the season, and her advance to the final round of Englishtown moves her up in the Mello Yello point standings from 11th place to 8th place. The runner-up finish marked the first final for her new sponsor Monster Energy, who last saw the final round with Kenny Bernstein’s Funny Car team, where they lost to John Force at Brainerd August 2007.
Brittany Force, in her third professional year of Top Fuel, is only 29 points out of 7th place with nine races left in the regular season, and is now headed to Epping, New Hampshire for the 3rd Annual NHRA New England Nationals this weekend.
I love having back to back races. That is the best part about having some momentum. We ended on a good note and we went to our fifth final. We only have a few days off and we go right back into the next one. I like to get into that groove and so does my team,” said Force, on the prospect of racing three weekends in a row.
Racing in Red, the behind-the-scenes documentary movie project that followed Erica Enders in her 2014 Pro Stock Championship winning season, recently achieved its Kickstarter funding campaign goal required to enter final production. 252 contributors successfully backed the campaign, donating a total of $126,255.00 towards the project’s final production costs.
Racing in Red Official Trailer from Design con Carne, Inc. on Vimeo.
As the 2014 season began, Erik Danielson, a close associate of Elite Motorsports team owner Richard Freeman and owner of Danielson Entertainment Group, LLC had the forethought and vision to know this was a story that needed to be told. Using his own capital, he engaged husband and wife design and filmmaking team Kevin and Kelly Anderson of Design con Carne, Inc. to travel with the Elite team through the bulk of the season. The cameras rolled constantly, beginning in February with shaky test runs of the new car and driver and in Phoenix and on through the ups and downs, wins and losses, big paydays and empty bank accounts, trophies and blown engines of the grueling 10-month NHRA season.
As the project neared 95% completion, they needed financial assistant to enter final production to cover the costs of licensing, video and audio post-production, and original musical composition needed to finish. The Kickstarter campaign gave fans a chance to donate, earning themselves unique project rewards for their support.
Anticipated release of the Racing in Red Blu-Ray or DVD was listed on the the Kickstarter Campaign as July 2016.
Alexis DeJoria finishes 2nd at Englishtown in Funny CarAlexis DeJoria and the Patrón XO Cafe Incendio Toyota Camry Funny Car team raced to their first runner-up finish of 2015 at the 46th annual Toyota NHRA Summernationals. The sixth final round appearance of her Funny Car career, DeJoria and her Patrón team had one of the most consistent cars throughout eliminations on Sunday.
In the opening round, the No. 10 qualified DeJoria would take on No. 7 qualifier Jack Beckman. Beckman had the upper hand in their previous meetings, with an 11-4 record. Beckman would leave first, but quickly lost traction and spun the tires as Alexis would power on to victory with a 4.089 elapsed time at 302.96 mph to his 4.458 second E.T. at 206.39mph. That pass would earn DeJoria lane choice for the second round.
Dom Lagana would also take the reaction advantage against DeJoria in round two, but aborted the run when he also lost traction, as Alexis again made another strong 4.168 second pass. This would place her in the semi-final round against Kalitta teammate, Del Worsham.
This would be a close race between the Kalitta Camrys. Although Worsham would take a slight advantage off of the starting line, DeJoria was on his tail and passed him by 330 feet in route to a run of 4.120 to his competitive 4.138 second pass. The margin of victory at the finish line was just 0.0015 seconds, or approximately 8 inches. Alexis would also just edge out reigning World Champion and current points leader, Matt Hagan, for lane choice into the finals.
The final round was a nail-biter from start-to-finish. The two launched off of the starting line with nearly identical reaction times (0.079 versus Hagan’s 0.074), with DeJoria pulling away to take the early lead. She led the race to 330 feet, but Hagan recaptured the lead at 660 feet, by just 0.001 seconds. He would hold onto the win, defeating DeJoria by a 0.0114 second margin of victory and less than a car length. An exciting race but unfortunately DeJoria just barely missed setting off the win light with her 4.138-sec pass to his 4.132.
What a day. I’m just beside myself right now,” said DeJoria a three-time Funny Car winner. “To do this well at the Toyota NHRA Summernationals is awesome. I’ve never won in Englishtown and I’ve definitely never made it to the finals here, so it feels good. I’ve really got to give it up to my team- they’re the main reason we went so far today. They’re such an excellent group and they’ve really got my back. I love these guys like a family. I wasn’t the greatest on my reaction times every round, but when it mattered, I really pulled it off. It was a hell of a final against Matt Hagan. I didn’t give anything up on the starting line, that’s for sure, and I’m leaving Englishtown pretty stoked.”
Although she missed putting her Patrón Toyota Camry in the Winners Circle by just a few thousandths of a second, advancing to the final round enabled the Patrón team to gain sixty valuable points. The team has struggled with only a pair of semi-final finishes over the course of the first eight races, and has sat at the bottom of the NHRA Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship points throughout most of the season. They entered Sunday of the Toyota NHRA Summernationals in the No. 10 spot with only a one-point advantage above the No. 11th ranked driver. The runner-up finish allowed them to move up to the 8th spot, and put much needed points on the board in an ultra-competitive Funny Car class.
“We picked up quite a few points this weekend, and we’re starting to get back into the swing things so I’m really glad we’re back at it up in Epping next weekend.”
Now ranked eighth, the Patrón XO Cafe Incendio Toyota Camry Funny Car team leaves Old Bridge Township Raceway with 487 points. They compete next at the 3rd annual NHRA New England Nationals in Epping, N.H., June 12-14.
Larsen Motorsports Jet Dragster driver Marisha Falk announced that she will step down from full time driving at the conclusion of the 2015 season. The 28 year-old from Kenosha, WI is in her fourth season with the Larsen Motorsports team and is one of four Larsen Motorsports jet dragsters that currently compete in the IHRA Nitro Jam Series.
Marisha is the currently the driver of the Applied Racing Components Jet Dragster, but plans to step out of the full-time position, into a back-up driver role for the Larsen team. This will allow new Larsen Motorsports drivers to gain seat time as part of a recently introduced Larsen Motorsports expansion.
Marisha driving for us is among the best things that has happened to Larsen Motorsports,” said Elaine Larsen. “Four seasons of outstanding performance and dedication to the growth of our company have shown her commitment not only to LMS but to the sport of drag racing.”
Falk plans to participate in testing with the Larsen Motorsports team in order to keep her license current, and may occasionally be seen at races beyond 2015. She also plans on being an integral part of the team’s driver development program.
She will be hugely missed by her fans but rest assured, Marisha could return in an LMS car,” said Chris Larsen.
Marisha Falk has a Bachelor’s degree in Aeronautical Science and Masters of Business Administration, she has over 10 years of flight experience and her multi-engine air transport rating, and works as a worldwide private jet charter specialist with Paramount Business Jets, putting her knowledge of the aviation industry to use.
I am grateful for the opportunity Chris and Elaine Larsen have given me to drive for our team over the past four years,” said Marisha. “I am excited about future opportunities to mentor and share my knowledge and skills with upcoming drivers. I cannot thank the entire racing community enough for being so welcoming and supportive; you have definitely made my racing career thus far much more meaningful. It is with great sadness that I close this chapter in my life to open so many more.”
With 13 years experience in the pits, 7 of those for one of the most successful Super Street Outlaw programs on the planet, and a ‘Crew Member of the Year’ title to her name, 30 year-old New Mexico resident, Melissa Urist continues to crush assumptions with her class-winning knowledge and wrench-turning skills.
Growing up, Melissa was always surrounded by a love for cars. Her father an avid Mustang enthusiast, he always had more ponies than Melissa could even remember. His passion and auto enthusiasm was passed down through the family; first to her brother, and eventually taking hold of Melissa herself, who wanted to follow in her brother’s footsteps.
It began with local car cruise-ins to a popular hangout called Blue Top, an establishment frequented by the muscle car crowd in her suburban Chicago hometown. From there, she would venture to the race track with the family. Drag Racing wasn’t love at first sight for Urist, who said that the dragstrip took time to grow on her, “mainly because at that time, I wasn’t even old enough to have a learners permit,” she says. She began learning the basics from brother Johnny Leslie- who competed in the National Mustang Racers Association (NMRA)- changing tires, fly wheels, clutches, rear ends, etc. for his Factory Stock class Mustang. Soon, drag racing became an obsession.
8 years later, Melissa would meet NMRA racing standout, John Urist of Hellion Racing at the Performance Racing Industry (PRI) tradeshow. Teamed with John, who would not only become her racing partner, but her husband and partner in life, she learned what it took to crew a championship winning Street Outlaw program, from valve train to engine maintenance and all the other round preparation tasks of a top-caliber team. She and one other member serve as the entire working crew on the car, a fact that put many in disbelief.
I would have to say most people who pass through our pits assume that I don’t know much about the car or that because the pit is filled with more men than women that I’m just there to film, no actual labor on the car,” she says of her role as main crew member. “I don’t come right out and tell people that I have a major hand in the car because I let my work speak for itself. I’m lucky that my husband will tell people himself how during a typical race weekend, he does no work on the car himself besides tuning, and that myself and Mike King do 100% of the work.”
From loading the Hellion hauler in preparation for its cross-country travel to races, to her flying into the track for set-up and tech, checking over the engine and fixing problems that arise, maintenance between fueling, water, ice, spark plugs, battery charging, towing the car to/from the race surface, and lining John up for each and every run, there isn’t much Melissa doesn’t have a hand in on the car’s upkeep.
…Most just assume that if you’re a woman at the track, you’re there for attention only. I honestly don’t walk the track that often at races, I stick to my pit, work on the car, chat with our crew members, talk about our plan for the next pass with my crew and worry about my daughter. I think it’s an awesome experience when you can talk cars with people who pass through your pits and they commend you on your knowledge of cars, throwing in that they didn’t expect that. I feel like maybe with that experience, they will treat the next female with a little more respect.”
Melissa propelled John to countless wins in the class, culminating with six Super Street Outlaw Championship titles, and earning the coveted NMRA 2014 Crew Member of the Year title for her work.
This [Crew Member of the Year award] was so special and unique to me because I believe I’m the 2nd woman in the NMRA to have ever won this award,” she said of the honor. I really hope that someday my daughter will race and feel confident in what she’s doing because her mom has shown her that it is possible.”
But her work doesn’t stop there. Since the arrival of their daughter Lauren in September 2012, Melissa also handles getting the entire house ready for the Grandparents to watch while her and John are away at the races. Between her crew duties, she is making sure everything is 100% ok at home and that there are no issues with their daughter.
I was blessed to grow up with Super Mom-I mean that! My mom can juggle 4 children with crazy busy schedules like she’s baking a cake. It always came so natural to her, (and I struggle with 1!) that I said when situations get tough, I need to channel my own Mom. Growing up with her has turned me into the best Mom/wife/daughter I could be.”
Melissa and John are sure they will continue the family legacy with the next generation of racers. Already car-savvy at the tender age of 2, Lauren is wasting no time following right behind her mommy and daddy’s footsteps.
Family is everything. With that said, you can have a family AND race. 9 days after our daughter was born, we loaded up in the motorhome and drove from Albuquerque, NM (where we live) to Bowling Green, KY for a race and won the championship. It was the most exciting and exhausting weekend of my life. I committed to responsibilities on the car and didn’t want to give them up so I’d feed our daughter, put her in her baby rocker and work on the car. Thankfully, at 9 days old, she found the sound of cars going down the track to be lulling and slept, literally, like a baby. Her entire first year and a half, she was at every race no matter what. Motherhood doesn’t mean your life stops, it means you get to pass this love of cars onto your own children. Getting them involved is, in my opinion, the best way to continue to do what you love AND you don’t have to give up those precious moments with them. My daughter pops the hood on her mini- Boss 302 and shows us how she works on cars. She’s also obsessed with looking under the hood of our 2015 and pointing out the turbos.”
Despite over a decade at the track, Melissa has never taken her turn behind the wheel. She stated that this is something that is soon to change, and is looking forward to her first trip down the track herself. She will hit the track in a Hellion Twin Turbo 2015 Mustang, and has her eye on the NMRA’s Turbo Coyote Shootout held in Bowling Green and the NMRA All-Female shootout in Ohio.
As far as advice for women wanting to get involved in the sport? She offers:
Always be humble. Respect other women in the sport. Don’t come into the scene with an attitude against others, especially when you don’t know them nor have the years of experience behind you. Lift one another up. Never give up, no matter how many times you cross the stripe 2nd. It’s an exciting experience for me to watch my sister race in the same class as my brother and it brings me to tears each and every time my sister does well because I know how much hard work she’s put in to go just one more round. Enjoy and embrace every moment!”
Best of luck to Melissa! We can’t wait to see you add driver to your accomplished resume!
Enders returns to record-setting EnglishtownAs NHRA Pro Stock drag racer, Erica Enders prepares for the 46th Annual Toyota Summernationals at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park, she carries the memories of last year’s record-setting performance – an added measure of confidence for this year’s event
Enders and her Elite Motorsports team set the national elapsed time and speed records in Englishtown, New Jersey a year ago with a 6.464 second performance at 215.55 mph, with the speed mark still intact today.
“There’s a lot of history at Raceway Park,” said Enders, the 2014 Pro Stock champion. “I’m excited to go back because we set both ends of the national record there for e.t. and mph. The E.T. record was just broken by Jason (Line) in Charlotte, but we still hold the mph record. Definitely some fond memories there for me: My husband Richie (Stevens) has won there a handful of times, so it’s a lucky track for him.”
Plus, Englishtown is a favorite stop for Pro Stock competitors because fans in the area truly love the class.
“It’s Pro Stock country up there,” Enders said. “People there love Pro Stock, so it’s always exciting to get back to a racetrack where the whole grandstands want to see us race. The back of the pits are packed, and you get a lot of educated questions. It’s nice.”
Weather may not be favorable for any record-setting runs this year, but Enders expects to be among the fastest drivers. Fresh off a victory at Heartland Park Topeka, she was the quickest in all three rounds of qualifying and in all four rounds of eliminations. The weather forecast calls for temperatures in the low 80s this weekend with a slight chance for rain.
“Englishtown and Reading are always two of the most likely tracks to have weather conditions conducive for record-setting runs,” Enders said. “If the conditions are there, I definitely put our money on us. We’ve certainly got a good handle on our hot rod right now, and I’ve been driving really well. We’ll see what the good Lord deals us with the weather, and we’ll go up there and do our best. Record or not, our goal is to win the race. Coming off a win in Topeka, I’m very excited to get back behind the wheel.”
The Topeka victory put Enders back on top in the points standings for the second time this year, and she leads Jason Line by 58 points. But her focus isn’t on points at this stage of the season.
“It’s always exciting to lead the points, but it’s a long season,” Enders said. “We’re only a third of the way through it, and we’ve got a lot of races left. There are a lot of tough competitors out there in Pro Stock, and it’s going to come down to the wire. With the Countdown format, it doesn’t mean a whole lot to get very far ahead. We were 250 points ahead last year, and it came down to the final round of the final race.”
Qualifying for the 46th Annual Toyota NHRA Summernationals takes place at 3:45 and 6:15 p.m. ET, Friday, and 1:15 and 3:45 p.m., Saturday. Elimination round racing begins at noon, Sunday. ESPN2 will broadcast the action.
Las Vegas drag racer, Rachel Yee shows us what her horsepower and heels look like with this cool shot by Divonte Photos. Rachel drives this record-breaking Harley Davidson Edition F-150 down the quarter mile in just 10 seconds, at over 138mph. We LOVE this photo!
Look out for more about Rachel Yee and her badass truck in an upcoming article!
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NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle driver Angelle Sampey and her Star Racing team just announced a new event sponsor for the upcoming 46th Annual NHRA Toyota Summernationals in Englishtown, New Jersey. Platinum General Construction Services joined the Star Racing team as an event sponsor after owner Ralphie Navarro visited the three-time world champion’s new crowd-funding program, JoinTeamAngelle.com a sponsorship initiative for fans to get involved with the team.
With sponsorship through the JoinTeamAngelle.com campaign, Platinum General Construction Services will have its logo featured on Sampey’s Star Racing motorcycle during the event. Other perks include pit uniforms for Platinum General Construction Services staff members, meet-and-greet time with Sampey and the Star Racing team and tickets to all sessions of the Toyota Summer Nationals event.
When I first saw the opportunity that Star Racing and Angelle were offering through the JoinTeamAngelle.com website, I knew right away that it would be a great fit for us because it offers affordable access to a major sponsorship with benefits our staff can enjoy,” said Mr. Navarro. “I’ve been looking for a special event opportunity to share with our staff. We have a great team of people who do such a terrific job every day, and the chance to share a weekend of NHRA racing with the Star Racing team is one I couldn’t pass up. Plus, I’ve been a big fan of Angelle over the years. She’s a true superstar in this sport. Star Racing is one of the all-time great teams in NHRA, and this was an opportunity for me to be able to step up and make a difference for them.”
Select employees of the New Jersey-based Platinum General Construction Services company will get the opportunity to experience the activities at the Toyota Summer Nationals event. Star Racing will be hosting the Platinum General Construction Services staff in the team’s pit area, and they will have the opportunity to see what takes place behind the scenes as Sampey and the Star team prepare to race.
What makes this event sponsorship with Star Racing and JoinTeamAngelle.com so special is that they are going to be sharing time with us and taking us inside their racing operation,” said Mr. Navarro. “I want to compliment Star Racing on the JoinTeamAngelle.com program because it offers our company a number of advantages through our sponsorship. This type of opportunity is totally unique and I would encourage other smaller or mid-sized companies to visit JoinTeamAngelle.com. Platinum General Construction Services is proud to be a part of Team Angelle, and we are counting the hours until we get to the track.”
Star Racing team owner George Bryce was able to put together a custom program that fit the needs of Navarro’s company.
Quite obviously, we are thrilled that Raphie Navarro and Platinum General Construction Services will be joining us through the JoinTeamAngelle.com campaign at the Toyota Summer Nationals as an event sponsor. When Ralphie contacted us about what he had in mind to celebrate the work of his staff, we immediately began working with him on designing an event sponsor package that would create a meaningful and memorable experience for his company. We want to salute Ralphie as a sponsor and as a business owner who sincerely cares about his staff. One of the advantages we have with the JoinTeamAngelle.com campaign is that we can customize sponsor packages for an event, a series of events or the entire season.”
The JoinTeamAngelle.com fan sponsorship drive has continued to gain momentum since the program debuted in mid-May during the NHRA Atlanta Dragway event. Currently at the 70% threshold, the campaign is on-track to reach its initial $30,000 goal in its first 30 days.
It’s been quite gratifying and quite humbling to see the response we have received in the first couple of weeks following the announcement and debut of JoinTeamAngelle.com,” said Mr. Bryce. “We have seen our fans engaged in ways that I’ve not seen in my 40 years in racing. Through the website, fans are watching our videos, reading our blogs and getting a sense of what happens on the inside of a racing team. We’ve also seen small and mid-sized businesses approach us concerning sponsorships that are financially reachable and provide value for their organizations. The campaign has given our team tremendous momentum and we are excited about the possibilities for the season.”