Massey ready to make new memories at track near St. Louis, wants sole ownership of Top Fuel points lead in Countdown

September 26

BROWNSBURG, Ind. (Sept. 26, 2012) - Spencer Massey and the Prestone/FRAM team will venture into a some unfamiliar territory this weekend when the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series returns to Gateway Motorsports Park near St. Louis for the first time since 2010. 

Massey hasn't raced a Top Fuel dragster at the track since 2009 when he advanced to the semifinal round while driving for Don Prudhomme Racing.

"I've actually only raced there once," Massey said. "I've been to the track quite a few times working as a crew member. I like the track and it's always been a great facility so I'm excited to go back."

And this time he will arrive tied for first place with Don Schumacher Racing teammate Antron Brown in the NHRA Countdown to the Championship. Brown edged Massey for the championship Sunday at the Texas Motorplex near Dallas.

Massey's crew chiefs Todd Okuhara and Phil Shuler already have a plan set for their first pass at Gateway during the AAA NHRA Midwest Nationals that begin with two qualifying sessions on Friday.

"We'll just look at the conditions with what our weather station says, look at the track temperature and other conditions," Okuhara said. "Being where we are in the points, we'll get to watch a lot of cars go down the track in front of us and that well help us determine what we want to try and run out there."

Massey isn't concerned about what his first pass on the track in three years will be like because he has confidence in the team.

"Whenever I have a great team like I have with Todd, Phil and this Prestone team, it makes me comfortable. I know that I can get in the car and go down any racetrack with them behind me."

The following are Massey's statistics and other event notes for this weekend's return to Gateway Motorsports Park near St. Louis.

Spencer Massey, Prestone/FRAM dragster
2011 at St. Louis: No event
2010 at St. Louis: Did not race
Career at St. Louis: Wins 0, Runner-ups 0, Poles 0

2012 Pts Races Wins Rup Poles DNQ Win/Loss
1st 19 4 4 3 0 40-15
Career Races Titles Rup Poles DNQ Win/Loss
67 10 11 8 2 117-55

NHRA FULL THROTTLE STANDINGS
After second of six events in the Countdown to the Championship
(Unofficial through Sept. 23, 2012; DSR drivers in CAPS)

TOP FUEL
1. ANTRON BROWN, 2,256
1. SPENCER MASSEY, 2,256
3. TONY SCHUMACHER, 2,232
4. Shawn Langdon, 2,215
5. Morgan Lucas, 2,173
6. Brandon Bernstein, 2,166
7. Doug Kalitta, 2,133
8. Steve Torrence, 2,126
9. Bob Vandergriff, 2,085
10. David Grubnic, 2,075

NHRA MIDWEST NATIONALS EVENT SCHEDULE (All times CT):
Friday: 4 p.m., 6:30 p.m., qualifying
Saturday: 12:30 p.m., 3 p.m. qualifying
Sunday: 11 a.m., eliminations

ESPN2 SCHEDULE (All times ET, subject to change):
Sunday: 2:30 a.m., 1 p.m., qualifying
Sunday: 8-11 p.m. ET, eliminations

WEATHER
Friday: high 73, 10 percent chance of rain
Saturday: high 74, 0 percent chance of rain
Sunday: high 78, 0 percent chance of rain

NEXT FULL THROTTLE EVENTS
Sept. 28-30, NHRA Midwest Nationals, Madison, Ill. (St. Louis area)
Oct. 4-7, NHRA Nationals, Reading, Pa.
Oct. 25-28, Big O Tires NHRA Nationals, Las Vegas
Nov. 8-11, Auto Club of Southern California Finals, Pomona, Calif. (finale)

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 193 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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