Qualifying not a problem for Massey, Prestone/FRAM heading to elimination rounds of Arizona Nationals

February 18

CHANDLER, Ariz. (Feb. 18, 2012) - There is no listing of "woulda, coulda, shoulda" in the Prestone/FRAM Top Fuel Dragster playbook used by driver Spencer Massey and crew chiefs Todd Okuhara and Phil Shuler.

When the team didn't qualify at the last NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event in October at Firebird International Raceway it could have circled this weekend's race at the track near Phoenix for redemption.

But that's not how they are approaching 2012.

It was Oct. 14, 2011, and one of the most disappointing events in the 29-year-old Top Fuel racer's first year at Don Schumacher Racing.

That was a Saturday, and instead of getting ready for the following day's championship rounds, Spencer and his FRAM/Prestone team were packing up after failing to qualify for the 20th of 22 events of the 2011 season.

But that was last year.

After finishing second in the championship standings, the Prestone/FRAM team dominated last weekend's season-opening NHRA Winternationals by setting a national speed record and making the second quickest run ever in NHRA en route to winning the event title.

Qualifying wasn't a problem Friday and Saturday this year, and the team will start championship eliminations Sunday as the No. 4 qualifier and face former DSR driver Cory McClenathan when racing begins at 11 a.m. (MT).

"We qualified fourth and that's not too bad," said Massey, who took over driving on the team for McClenathan to start the 2011 season. "I'm feeling very confident going into race day."

"This car has run well on every run this year," Massey said. "We want to treat this season like it's one big race."

TOP FUEL

Spencer Massey, Prestone/FRAM dragster
Qualifying position: No. 4
Sunday's first-round opponent: Cory McClenathan
Friday
Session 1: 3.871 sec., 316.23 mph
Session 2: 3.795, 323.81
Saturday
Session 3: 3.831, 312.50
Session 4: 3.814, 318.84
No. 1 qualifier: Langdon


SCHEDULE:
Sunday: Pro eliminations, 11 a.m.

WEATHER.COM FORECAST:
Sunday: High of 69, partly cloudy, 0 percent chance of rain

ON ESPN2
Saturday qualifying
8-10 p.m. (ET), 5-7 p.m. (PT)
Sunday eliminations
7 p.m.-midnight (ET), 6-9 p.m. (PT)

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 174 NHRA national event titles and nine world championships.