From DNQ to Semifinalist - Don Nolan Enjoys Career-Best Finish at Carolina Nationals

Courtesy of NVW Motorsports Promotion

Photo courtesy of David Smith/PSA

   

MANCHESTER, Ky. (September 18) – Prior to the Carlyle Tools NHRA Carolina Nationals, Top Alcohol Dragster driver Don Nolan had only qualified for two races outside of the 2013 season. He not only qualified for this race, he qualified in the top half of the strong field, ran career-best numbers by a bunch, and beat two of the class’ most accomplished drivers on his way to the semifinals.

Nolan was the talk of the alcohol pits after he drove his VisoneRV.com blown alcohol dragster to the provisional No. 2 spot following two qualifying sessions on Friday, clocking a career-best 5.406 at 263 miles per hour. Though he ran a close 5.45 during Saturday’s final qualifying session, he was bumped to No. 7 in the sixteen-car field.

“We were not expecting that 5.40. I expected maybe a mid to high 5.4 run out of the car this weekend. The crew and I were very excited to see those numbers to close out a difficult season,” said Nolan, owner of Nolan Surveying.

Don would face multi-event winning driver and world championship tuner Randy Meyer in the opening round of eliminations. Racing under the lights at Charlotte, N.C.’s state-of-the-art zMax Dragway, Meyer lost traction early into the run while Nolan clicked off another 5.45 to earn the first round win of his early TAD career.

Another tough competitor would be in the other lane for the quarter-finals. Five-time world champion and Top Alcohol Dragster icon Bill Reichert provided a good race, but it was Don’s VisoneRV.com entry taking the win in a 5.42 to 5.48 match.

“It’s an honor just to race with guys like Meyer and Reichert. To be able to beat them was just unbelievable. When I got to the end of the track, I thought the officials were going to tell me that I red-lighted. I had no idea that Randy smoked the tires,” Nolan said of his round wins.

His luck ran short in the semifinal round. Nolan was thrown off by the staging procedure, double-stepped the throttle, and left too late. A .465 light and 5.50 run wasn’t nearly enough to beat Rich McPhillips’ .005 reaction time and 5.45 run.

The Carlyle Tools Carolina Nationals was still a career weekend for Nolan and his crew of brother Michael Nolan and Mike Saltsman. Don cites a series of small problems for preventing the team from enjoying success earlier in their sophomore season.

“We’ve been fighting little gremlins all season. Errors of inexperience on both ends cost us good runs on multiple occasions. After an oil line came loose and resulted in a DNQ at Columbus, we really started to turn things around,” Don said, adding, “We could have ten people tell us what to change with the fuel management or the clutch, and all ten could tell us something completely different from one another. All ten of them could be right, but I just went back to tuning it based off of what I know. It’s starting to work out for us.”

Nolan Racing is Manchester, Kentucky-based Top Alcohol Dragster team, competing in the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series. First generation driver Don Nolan pilots the family-owned VisoneRV.com/Nolan Construction blown alcohol dragster. Nolan Racing receives support from Visone RV and Auto Mart, Nolan Construction, Renegade Fuels and Oils, Robinson Meats, Cumberland Gap Bottled Water, and Hot Rods Service Center. To learn more about Nolan Racing, please visit www.facebook.com/392racing.