Booher Racing Goes Big at The Big Go

Courtesy of NVW Motorsports Promotion

Clermont, Ind. – The Brandon Booher-led AB Construction blown alcohol dragster team is on a roll, experiencing a career-best season in NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster competition. After qualifying 9^th, the all-volunteer team made it to the semi-finals at the U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis this past weekend.

First round of eliminations was a rematch from the Norwalk final round. “We knew Marty (Thacker) was going to be tough to beat. He’s a two-time Indy winner, as well as the defending event champion. The car actually shut off at 5.39 into the run due to a faulty RF wire, so it was pretty intense because I could hear Marty right next to me.   Fortunately, I had the better car that run and was able to get the win” said Booher.

The second round opponent’s run was not what the team expected. “(Matt) Cummings ran 5.60’s and 5.70’s in qualifying and first round, so we didn’t expect him to come close to what we would run, but we were ready for whatever he would bring. He left me hanging during the burnout and staging processes, which was very frustrating,” claimed the second-year TAD pilot. Cummings’ starting line games didn’t faze Brandon, as he took the advantage off the starting line and parlayed it into a win, 5.44 to Matt’s 5.46.

In the end, a broken injector nozzle would end their day, causing a torched cylinder head and block in the last few feet of their semi-final round against Duane Shields.

“If the nozzle didn’t break, that would’ve been our first 5.3x pass and we would be going into the finals. I was ahead of Duane until the last few feet before the finish line; we lost by three feet. We did what we could do to win; it was just one of those times where a tiny, simple part will ruin the run. I went over the graph after the run and found that the car would’ve run 5.37 at 266 mph if it stayed together,” Booher said.  “Although the car shut off at 5.309 we still managed the quickest converter equipped pass in racing history with a  5.420;  the 261.47 in the quarters was also a new career best.”

The event was a great example of how far the team has come. After just two short years in the fastest sportsman class in NHRA racing, Brandon and the Illinois-based team have proven that they can run 5.3’s with the best of the best. Booher is now 13^th in national points; the highest he’s been in TAD point standings. The fact that the race team is a low budget, family-owned and operated group makes their accomplishments even more impressive.

Brandon is the first to point out that the success wouldn’t be possible without the support group that he has.

“The crew put in more than their share of work this weekend, as they have at all of our races. We were up until 5 am on Monday morning, got a few hours of sleep, then were back up working on the motor until 45 minutes before the quarterfinals. They had the motor down to a bare block after the semis so I could take it to get repaired. I really appreciate what they do to get the car turned around between rounds, it’s weight off of my back. I want to thank Gary and David at Lenco especially. We were having transmission issues at the Cordova divisional and they got everything sorted out for this weekend.

Brandon and the team are planning on attending a couple more national events this year, in Dallas and Reading. Check in on their future race attendances by visiting the Booher Racing Facebook page, www.facebook.com/booherracing, or on Twitter (www.twitter.com/booherracing). While you’re there, watch video from the U.S. Nationals on the car’s on-board cameras, set up by Brian Booher and On-Site Computer Repair.

About Booher Racing-The NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster team led by Brandon and Aaron Booher competes at national events across the eastern United States, all of which are televised nationally on ESPN2. To become a sponsor with Booher Racing, contact NVW Motorsports Promotion (http://www.nitronate.com/).