Spencer Massey earns final round appearance in Charlotte

September 19

Driving his FRAM/Prestone Top Fuel dragster, Spencer Massey lost in the finals of the fourth-annual NHRA Nationals here Sunday at zMAX Dragway.

Massey had tire shake and then engine issues in the final round match up with his Don Schumacher Racing teammate, Antron Brown.

“The car started to shake and then I felt a bang,” said Massey. “With Antron being on the run he had going (which ended with a 3.784-second pass at 325.14 miles per hour), that was all she wrote for us.

“While we obviously wanted to win, we can still look at this weekend as being productive.”

Massey moved up to second in the Countdown to the Championship standings behind Brown, who took over the points lead.

“This was a good start to the Countdown,” offered the 29-year-old. “We gained a place in the standings, so any time you improve that’s always welcomed.”

After wins over Dominick Lagana, Doug Kalitta and Larry Dixon, Massey, who had qualified second, seemed poised to take his fourth win of the year. But, it wasn’t to be.

“The car is running really well – like it did in the middle of the season when we were very consistent,” he said. “This is a very fast hot rod.”

Massey, who is a Fort Worth native and resident, will be playing a home game next weekend as the NHRA tour moves to the Texas Motorplex in Ennis for the 26th-annual AAA Texas Fall Nationals.

“I’m ready to go to my hometown and continue our quest for the championship,” said Massey. “Of course, we’d like to win that race, but the important thing is that we continue to go rounds like we did today and to do well in qualifying to pick up those critical bonus points.”