Spencer Massey comes "home" for this week's NHRA Nationals in Texas

September 20

When Texan Spencer Massey brings his FRAM/Prestone Top Fuel dragster to the starting line at the Texas Motorplex here for this weekend’s 26th-annual AAA Texas NHRA Nationals, he will be gunning for continued success in the Countdown to the Championship playoffs.

The 29-year-old Fort Worth native used a runner-up finish in last week’s Charlotte race, first of six to determine the 2011 NHRA Top Fuel champion, to move into second place, less than a round behind leader and Charlotte winner, Don Schumacher Racing teammate Antron Brown. Less than three rounds separate the top five drivers.

“It seems like we’ve been battling Antron all year for our position in the standings,” Massey said. “And now we’ll be battling him and the likes of “The Sarge” (DSR teammate Tony Schumacher), Del Worsham and Larry Dixon for the championship.

“But this week we’re at my home track and I’m really ready to take them on.”

Massey won his first championship at the Motorplex, a 1998 Junior Drag Racing crown. He went to the semifinals in 2009, his lone Top Fuel appearance here after qualifying seventh.

“My past results here or at any other track really don’t mean much,” he said. “This is a whole new year, a whole new team with a focus on winning the championship, something I dreamt about during my (2009) rookie season but seems much closer to a possibility now.”

Three wins and two additional final-round appearances, including 40-consecutive rounds of successfully getting down the race track, helped put Massey into his present strong position.

“It’s been an amazing season. Todd and Phil (Okuhara and Shuler, co-crew chiefs) and the entire FRAM/Prestone team just keep giving me one very fast hot rod and now I want to show it off to all my family and friends from the Fort Worth/Dallas area,” said the DSR driver who has been to two final rounds in the last three races. “I think they may be surprised at just how good this team really is – I know I’m afraid of pinching myself because I don’t want to wake up from this great dream (of a season)!”