Perkins Works His Way to First Round in Vegas

Courtesy of THR5 Communications
Photo courtesy of Images LTD

Las Vegas, NV – Long days preceded the return of Cody Perkins to the Top Alcohol Dragster class at the Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. A string of twelve to fourteen hour days is what it took to just make a qualifying run. Their efforts were rewarded with a good qualifying position and valuable tuning data. The racing ended in the first round but not for a lack of effort and insight.

“We spent Friday getting things done,” said Perkins of not running the first qualifying session. “It was a big team effort to get everything together. We had parts that hadn't been on the car for years. We had to work out a bunch of little issues instead of rushing and finding them out the hard way on the track.”

Friday’s second qualifying session was cancelled due to track issues so the 801 Racing Team had time to put into Saturday’s efforts. Their first trip down the quarter mile resulted in a 5.919/249.38 Early in the run there was a bit of tire shake and a quick pedal job followed. In the final qualifying session the car responded with a 5.393/263.72.

“We had to run good the last session since everyone stepped up big time,” added Perkins. “The bump spot dropped a full tenth. It was an exciting session that had us as high as 6th and dropped all the way down to 12th.”

Elimination Sunday presented itself with a first round match up with Megan McKernan. Perkins got the huge holeshot off the line and at one hundred feet out experienced some shake and short shifted the car. McKernan started to make up ground and took the win with a 5.350/254.33 to Perkins’ 5.470/262.64. “If not for the need to short shift, the car was on a 5.37 run,” added Perkins.  “We will get a handle on it and be ready for Pomona. We made the decision not to run the Regional race in the Dragster this coming weekend. We will be testing our Top Alcohol Funny Car and I hope to license in it. I would like to expand my resume as a driver.”

With the Vegas Big O Tires NHRA Nationals behind them, the 801 Racing Team and Cody Perkins are looking forward to the next two weekends of track time. The coming test runs in an Alcohol Funny Car, followed by a trip to Pomona and the World Finals is just the thing to put a cap on the racing season. Those winter months are long, and ending the year at the dragstrip racing cars will keep them warm all off-season long.  

…

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, 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: www.801Racing.com

TAN