Massey, FRAM/Prestone dragster will start from second spot as the Countdown to the Championship kicks off near Charlotte

September 15

CONCORD, N.C. (Sept. 15, 2012) – For Spencer Massey, the NHRA Countdown to the Championship brings a new outlook to the Full Throttle Drag Racing Series.

With the points standings reset and six races left, he knows it’s time for his FRAM/Prestone Top Fuel dragster to shine. And they couldn’t ask for a better place to start than the NHRA Nationals at Charlotte Motor Speedway’s zMAX Dragway at Concord, N.C.

“As of right now it’s going to be anyone’s ballgame for the Countdown,” Massey said. “With the points reset we’re all pretty close together. Really, any of the guys in the top five could walk away tomorrow with the points lead.

“It’s just about who has the best day. The FRAM team has a history of having good days here at zMAX Dragway and I’m hoping we can just add another one to that list.”

Since Massey began driving for Don Schumacher Racing at the start of the last season, he has advanced final rounds both times at the track known as the “Bellagio of Drag Strips.” Crew chiefs Todd Okuhara and Phil Shuler tuned Massey to second in the qualifying order for Sunday’s championship eliminations, which begin at noon (ET).

“For the first qualifying session on Friday everybody was struggling a bit,” said Massey, who celebrated his 30th birthday on Thursday. “The second run we got the FRAM car down the track and into the number two spot.

“The sun is out (Saturday) and it’s a little greasy out there. It makes it a little bit harder to get down the track but Todd and Phil know how to tune in these conditions. But whether it’s a cool, fast track or a hot, greasy track it seems we always have a consistent race car and that’s huge.”

Massey will face Terry McMillen in the opening round of eliminations and expects more consistent performances from his FRAM dragster Sunday.

“It’s not the 4-wide race in April at zMAX and it’s not the same conditions that we had here then, but I’m hoping for the same result because that means I’d be in the Winner’s Circle.”

The following are Massey’s results from Saturday’s qualifying sessions and other notes:

TOP FUEL
No. 1 qualifier: Shawn Langdon 3.807 sec., 324.12 mph

Spencer Massey, FRAM/Prestone dragster
Qualified: No. 2
First-round opponent: Terry McMillen

FRIDAY QUALIFYING
Session 1: 3.992 sec., 303.30 mph
Session 2: 3.811, 322.73
SATURDAY QUALIFYING
Session 3: 3.859, 318.84
Session 4: 3.851, 321.58

FULL THROTTLE EVENT SCHEDULE
SUNDAY: Championship eliminations, Noon

ON ESPN2 (times are ET, delayed)
SUNDAY: Qualifying, 2 p.m.; Eliminations, 8:30 p.m.

WEATHER.COM FORECAST
SUNDAY: High 79 degrees; 40 percent chance of scattered thunderstorms

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 191 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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