Massey, FRAM/Prestone dragster semi-final appearance means strong start at Bandimere for NHRA’s Western Swing

July 22

MORRISON, Colo. (July 22, 2012) - Spencer Massey and the FRAM/Prestone Top Fuel team debuted a new chassis this weekend for the Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals at Bandimere Speedway in the Rocky Mountains near Denver.

Built in-house at the Don Schumacher Racing headquarters outside Indianapolis, the chassis had a great debut. From its first green-light start, the new dragster performed well for Massey and crew chiefs Todd Okuhara and Phil Shuler.

“It was a great outing for our entire FRAM/Prestone team at the start of the Western Swing,” said Massey. “We brought out a new chassis and on its first qualifying pass it got the number one spot. The car went down the track and made good, solid runs all weekend.”

Massey dominated qualifying, posting the quickest elapsed times in three of four sessions.

On Sunday, Massey started the day with a solid 3.992-elapsed time to defeat Steve Chrisman. In the second round, Massey ousted rookie driver Khalid alBalooshi with a 4.058-second run.

In the semifinals against Brandon Bernstein, Massey was out in front until his FRAM/Prestone dragster dropped a cylinder, allowing Bernstein to go around him.

“We would’ve liked to leave here with that Wally trophy, but we can’t be disappointed with the performance we had this weekend,” Massey said. “It was just a great weekend with the new chassis.

Massey and the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series continues its Western Swing with a race next weekend in Sonoma, Calif., that is followed by a trip to Kent, Wash.

“We are very confident going into Sonoma and Seattle. I can’t wait to get to sea level and see how fast this dragster can go.”

Another confidence booster is they were able to maintain its Top Fuel points lead over teammates Antron Brown and Tony Schumacher. Brown won the Mile-High title and moved one spot ahead of Schumacher into second.

“That’s the most important thing,” Massey said of keeping the lead. “If we can keep going rounds and gaining points to hold on to that number one spot, that’s the main goal.”

Spencer Massey, FRAM/Prestone dragster
Qualified: No. 1

SUNDAY ELIMINATIONS
1st round: MASSEY (3.992 sec., 308.92 mph) def. Steve Chrisman (4.127, 285.89)
2nd round: MASSEY (4.058, 296.18) def. Khalid alBalooshi (4.115, 250.23)
Semifinals: Brandon Bernstein (4.015, 300.00) def. MASSEY (4.059, 296.11)

FRIDAY QUALIFYING
Session 1: 3.914 sec., 309.49 mph
Session 2: 3.923, 318.02
SATURDAY QUALIFYING
Session 3: 4.026, 298.54
Session 4: 4.775, 162.06

NHRA FULL THROTTLE TOP FUEL STANDINGS
(unofficial through July 22; DSR drivers in CAPS)
1. SPENCER MASSEY, 1,071
2. ANTRON BROWN, 1,060
3. TONY SCHUMACHER, 990
4. Steve Torrence, 950
5. Morgan Lucas, 762
6. Doug Kalitta, 744
7. Shawn Langdon, 685
8. Brandon Bernstein, 661
9. David Grubnic, 625
10. Bob Vandergriff, 568

NEXT UP
The DSR convoy of nearly 20 trucks heads west this week for the Sonoma NHRA Nationals in Northern California. Then the following weekend heads north to Seattle for the third stop on the grueling Western Swing.

About FRAM
FRAM Group LLC has its headquarters in Perrysburg, Ohio. Its leading automotive care products include FRAM® oil, air, transmission and fuel filters; Autolite® spark plugs and ignition wire sets; Prestone® antifreeze/coolant and car care products; and Holts® car care. It maintains R&D capabilities in the United States and Europe and has a manufacturing footprint in 10 countries worldwide.

About Don Schumacher Racing
Don Schumacher Racing, headquartered in Brownsburg, Ind., consists of seven professional NHRA teams: in Top Fuel, the U.S. Army dragster driven by seven-time world champion Tony Schumacher, the FRAM/Prestone dragster of Spencer Massey and the Matco Tools dragster of Antron Brown; and in Funny Car, 2011 NHRA Funny Car champion Matt Hagan in the Aaron’s Dream Machine/Mopar Dodge Charger R/T, Valvoline NextGen Dodge piloted by Jack Beckman, the NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge of Ron Capps and the Service Central Dodge of Johnny Gray. DSR has won 187 NHRA national event titles and nine world championships.
Follow Don Schumacher Racing at ShoeRacing.com, on Twitter at @shoeracing and Facebook.com/shoeracing.

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