Las Vegas, NV - When you are passionate about something, it shows. Cody Perkins is passionate about Drag Racing, and even more so about winning. After not competing up to his standards, Perkins was determined to make an impression on the SummitRacing.com Nationals. The 801 Racing sponsored driver and car then set off to do something about it.
In qualifying, things were not exactly going as planned. With only fifteen cars in attendance, the idea was to gain data and save on parts. Perkins ended up in the number fifteen position with a pedestrian 14.358/50.54. That didn't bother Perkins. In the first round he was up against Megan McKernan. Cody's 5.415/261.98 was enough to send the number two qualifier home. Next up was the fellow 801 Racing sponsored car of Johnny Ahten. Ahten got the ever so slight reaction time advantage, and was ahead at the sixty foot mark. Ahten had some traction issues and Perkins won the round with a 5.503/232.55.
"I heard Ahten pedal it, and I lifted," said Perkins. "The crew ran up to me on the top end and wondered what had gone wrong. I had just hit the chutes early and shut it down to save parts. We can't just order up more parts, it costs too much money."
The semi-finals saw a match up against another 801 Racing sponsored car. The Nitromethan injected rail of Garrett Bateman was in the other lane. Even though they are both supported by the same company, it changes when the visor comes down and the lights change. Perkins then served up a .024 off the line and got the holeshot win with a 5.408/262.13 to Bateman's quicker 5.399/253.37. It was on to the finals. Waiting for Perkins was the rocket ship of Jim Whiteley. The Y-Not car had just defeated Chris Demke with a 5.28/272.28. With this in mind, the 801 Racing Team prepared the car for the finals. Cody Perkins did his part at the start, jumping off the line with a stellar .006 reaction time. "Flash" had the advantage, but the Whiteley express laid down a 5.306/269.35 to beat Perkins' 5.679/247.25.
"In the final we tried to rotate the earth. It worked for one second," said Perkins. "In Vegas the ladder went our way and we didn't blow anything up like we have the last five years."
John Hill of 801 Racing had this to say about Perkins: "What a performance. He made us proud. I met up with him Thursday night before the races and his confidence levels were through the roof. He really had his game face on and it paid off. He is seriously one of the most talented drivers in the field and it shows. He doesn't have the budget some of these teams have and yet he's still a major competitor and threat in the TAD class. It all boils down to his talent."
Cody Perkins and 801 Racing have many similarities. Both are in a rebuilding process. 801 Racing is working on a new building, and Perkins is working on a new valvetrain. Perkins said, "801 Racing has great products. If something needs improvement, they will do it. We will do it too."
We believe true happiness comes from blazing down the blacktop with the pedal to the metal and our hair on fire. The whiter our knuckles get, the better. If it were up to us, the cars wouldn't even have brakes, just two gas pedals. It's this never-ending need for speed that drives everything we do. We spend countless hours in the lab and lying awake at night plotting and planning how to get more speed by any means possible. After decades of research and innovation, we've developed a complete line of performance and car care products designed to ensure that your ride lives up to its potential on the street and on the track. We know what you want. We got what you need. We are 801 Racing. For more information on 801 racing, please visit: http://www.801racing.com/
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