Photo courtesy of Kon Rodz Racing
CLERMONT, Ind. (August 27, 2013) – Top Alcohol Funny Car
driver Cassie Simonton will end a two-month break in on-track action when she
hops back in the Kon Rodz Racing entry at the 59th Annual Chevrolet
Performance U.S. Nationals, August 30-Sept. 2. Though Simonton and the Ontario,
Canada-based team last competed at the Summit Racing Equipment Nationals at
Norwalk in early July, they have spent weeks preparing for the prestigious “Big
Go”.
“A few of the crew members and I have been in Indy for a
couple weeks, preparing parts for the weekend. We also installed several new
carbon fiber pieces from Aerodine Composites Group. The boys have been back in
Canada working on Spiro’s hot rods. I moved to Indy so I’ve been here working
out with Cam (team clutch technician and NCAA All-American wrestler) getting
myself ready for this race. I’ve been hitting the practice tree, making sure
I’m ready after two months out of the car,” Cassie said of the team’s U.S.
Nationals preparations.
The young team has experienced a few moments of success at
Indy – a first round win over defending event champion Jay Payne in 2011 being
the highlight. Cassie and the team hope this will be the year that they break
through to the semifinals for the first time at this legendary event.
“We’ve always seemed to have a pretty good car here,”
Simonton said. “We struggled last year
because we changed a few things after back-to-back finals. We’ve qualified well
here, we’ve made it to the second round, but now we need to get past second
round, where we’ve struggled all year.
We ran some of the big guys first round and beat them, but we want to
keep going rounds on Monday as well.”
Numerous factors combine to make this race very special for
Kon Rodz Racing.
“The Big Go is the biggest race of the year. There is a lot
of history behind the event and it’s the one that everyone wants to win. All of
the top cars from around the country show up, hoping to add the U.S. Nationals
Wally to their trophy case. This would be a great race for us to get our first
win. There have been a lot of drivers who earned their first win here,” Cassie
said.
Among those drivers is Kon Rodz crew chief Randy Anderson,
who won the 1992 U.S Nationals behind the wheel of father Brad’s Top Alcohol
Funny Car. His achievement gives the team additional motivation to earn their
first victory this weekend.
“That would be a surreal moment, to share that with Randy,
to have the same experience he did to win his first national event. I know this
is something he’s been pushing for real hard. He wants to win this race – he
wants to win many races. We’re all working very hard and he wants it just as bad
as the rest of us on the team,” Simonton noted.
Simonton and Kon Rodz Racing will be highlighting major team
sponsors Bell Racing USA and Speedway, Ind.-based Aerodine Composites Group
through the course of the weekend. Cassie will be wearing one of her new Bell
helmets, painted by Off Axis Custom Paint. Indy is the debut race for the Kon
Rodz TAFC’s new Aerodine carbon fiber pieces, including a computer box, fuel
tank braces, and tin work.
Top Alcohol Funny Car qualifying at the 59th
Annual Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals begins on Friday with two sessions
followed by single sessions on Saturday and Sunday. First round of eliminations
is set for Sunday night. The balance of eliminations will continue on Monday,
Labor Day.
Kon Rodz Racing is a NHRA Top Alcohol Funny Car team owned
by Canadian businessman Spiro Kontos. Minnesota native Cassie Simonton drives
the team's KonRodzRacing.com Monte Carlo Alcohol Funny Car in the NHRA Lucas
Oil Drag Racing Series. Spiro, Cassie, and the entire Kon Rodz team are
grateful to the quality companies that support their racing program; Sadi,
Lucas Oil, NGK Spark Plugs, Goodson, Goodyear, Clevite, Mac Tools, Artist
ButchM, Flaming River Industries, Bell Racing, CRC Automotive Products, Mid-Ontario
Mack, Sparco USA, and Top Alcohol News.
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