Booher Finishes 2013 Season with Reading Runner-Up

Courtesy of NVW Motorsports Promotion
Photo courtesy of NVW M.P.

MOHNTON, Penn. (October 10) – Recent national event winner Brandon Booher came close to securing a win at the Auto-Plus NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway this weekend. A No. 1 qualifying effort and low ETs of every round took Brandon and his torque converter-equipped Top Alcohol Dragster to the finals where a starting line mishap and mechanical failure cost him a second national event win.

Brandon missed his first qualifying run after electrical components started smoking in the cockpit following the burnout. He came back and set low E.T. of the event, 5.307 at 269 MPH, in the second session. A broken blower belt prevented Booher from running his first 5.2-second pass in the final qualifying session, but his Q2 run stood up for the No. 1 spot at the end of qualifying.

Booher met 2011 national champion Duane Shields in the first round. Brandon streaked to a 5.33 at 271 MPH to move on to face Jeff Veale, the second-quickest driver in round one. The AB Construction/Torque Management car repeated its qualifying effort, running 5.307 to beat Veale’s 5.43.

Upon returning to the pits, the team discovered a burnt piston. With the help of Andy Bohl’s Top Alcohol Funny Car team, Doug Foley Jr., and Cam Brady, the AB Construction team was able to do a major overhaul to prepare for a semifinal pairing with Dan Page.

“We burned a piston racing Veale. It shouldn’t have – everything else looked fine. We had very little time to get the car ready for the semifinals. I figure we had about twenty-five minutes from the time we left the scales to the time we left the pit area. We had to change cylinder heads, put new pistons in it, and do normal maintenance. I got strapped in while the car was still on the Pro-Jacks and we headed for the staging lanes. I don’t think any of us worked that hard between runs before. That was a big round win, and we couldn’t have done it without the help we received,” Brandon said gratefully.

Brandon survived the round with a 5.36 win over Page’s 5.45. Rival Division 3 A/Fuel driver Robin Samsel would be waiting for Brandon in the finals.

A starting line abnormality haltered the reaction time of the usually quick-leaving Booher. Samsel lit both stage lights before Brandon pre-staged. Because he wasn’t able to bring up the RPMs in time for the tree to drop, Brandon left with a .083 light to Samsel’s .020. The slow reaction time combined with unnecessary technical issues led the AB Construction entry to finish second, 5.51 to Samsel’s 5.56 – a holeshot loss.

“With the converter, I have a slightly different staging procedure compared to the other blown cars. After Samsel lit both stage lights simultaneously, I didn’t have time to bring up the RPMs after I fully staged. It threw me off. We’ve already taken measures to prevent similar starting line issues from happening,” Booher claimed.

The true issue was a mechanical failure that caused the car to slow from its usual five-thirty range to a 5.51 in the finals.

“The transbrake button engaged in the middle of the run, right around the shift point. The micro switch that we use is so sensitive. Something shook or vibrated it and activated the switch. The switch is made for use in a Super Stock car, not a Top Alcohol Dragster that goes over 270 miles per hour.

“The transbrake only came on momentarily, but if it stayed on much longer it would have locked up the transmission. It could’ve done a lot of damage,” said Brandon, who has proven the capabilities of the torque converter over the 2013 season.

Though a national event win was the desired outcome, Booher still earned enough points to move up to third in NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster National points standings. His lead in the Lucas Oil Series North Central region points remains as the series enters its final race of the year.

Booher Racing is a Champaign, Illinois-based Top Alcohol Dragster team, competing in the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series. Former Junior Dragster driver Brandon Booher pilots the family-owned AB Construction blown alcohol dragster. The team owns the world record for quickest and fastest converter-equipped TAD. Booher Racing receives support from Motorsports Unlimited, Goodson Tools, Spitzer Race Cars, and Torque Management. To learn more about Booher Racing, please visit www.nitronate.com/booher.

For news and results throughout the 2013 season, follow Booher Racing on Facebook (www.facebook.com/booherracing) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/booherracing).