Photo courtesy of Mike Sopko Jr.
JOLIET, Ill. (July 7, 2016) – For the second time in his Top Alcohol Dragster career, Brandon Booher will represent the NHRA North Central Region in the prestigious JEGS Allstars race this weekend. Held in conjunction with the NHRA K&N Filters Route 66 Nationals, July 7-10, the Allstars race will pit eight of the best TAD competitors from across the country against each other. But unlike most of the other competitors, Booher will spend most of his on-track time dialing in his combination for regional competition.
Booher, the 2013 NHRA North Central Region champion, is using his 2016 national event appearances as testing opportunities to prepare for regional events. The AB Construction team’s first national event of the year at Norwalk two weeks ago yielded promising results, but an untimely loose fitting prevented Booher from making a run in the first round of eliminations.
“The testing strategy worked at Norwalk,” Booher said. “The car ran really well in the heat. It would’ve ran better first round, but we can’t really think about that now. Moving on to Joliet, we have the same plan. I’ve got some converter stuff I’m going to test. I’ve got a different set of tires I’m going to test. Don’t get me wrong; if it goes out there on the first pass and runs really well, I’m probably not going to swing for the fences after that. I’ll dial it in. I’m going there and I’m going to put a car down the track that’s different than what went down the track Q3 and E1 at Norwalk, which already was a really competitive car; second or third-low for the session and quickest blower car by quite a bit. That’s sort of the plan.”
Booher certainly considers the prestige and prizes associated with winning the JEGS Allstars race and the NHRA Route 66 Nationals, but he’s intent on getting ready for the next NHRA North Central Regional event in Columbus, Ohio, July 22-24. He currently leads the region points.
“I sort of pigeon-holed myself trying to run the Allstars race (in 2014) and I’ve seen it happen to guys who run that race and they don’t qualify for the national. Not that the national points mean that much to me, but the money definitely matters to a team like ours. Seven grand to win the Allstars, five grand to win the national, plus contingencies on both. It could be a big, big weekend for us. That’s on my mind, but I’m there to test. I’m there to make something better than what I have and go to Columbus with a set-up that’s going to be hateful in the heat. That’s what we need. It’s going to be hot and greasy. My plan as far as the regional points is not let off the gas. I want to lock this deal up. I let it slip through my fingers last year and I’m going to do everything within my power to make sure that doesn’t happen again this year,” added Booher, who finished second in the region championship by 10 points last season.
The AB Construction/Torque MGMT team enters the weekend as the most recent Top Alcohol Dragster team to win at Route 66 Raceway. Booher was victorious at the Burndown at Sundown NHRA regional race at Route 66 in June, winning for the first time with his 11 month old daughter, Adelynn, in attendance.
“We know this track. We know what it’s like to tow back with winning timeslips. We’ve already won races here, there and everywhere, but to come back to our home track where we just won, there’s going to be a certain comfort level,” noted Booher, a Champaign, Illinois native.
Adding to Booher’s aggressive outlook on the weekend is the sting that remains from losing first round at Norwalk.
“I want to rebound from Norwalk. Perform how you want in qualifying, but when it came down to when it mattered, we failed. I’m hungry. I know the guys are. I wouldn’t want to line up against me. I’m going to take no prisoners. We’ll be ready for sure.”
Booher praised the technical and product support from Steve Graves at Quick Drive, Mike Strasburg at B&J Transmissions, MVM Motorsports Products, High Performance Lubricants (HPL), and Goodson Tools for contributing to the team’s performance.
ABOUT BOOHER RACING
Booher Racing is a father-son NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster team led by owner/crew chief Aaron Booher and his son, driver/tuner Brandon Booher. The AB Construction team holds the title of quickest and fastest torque converter-equipped vehicle in the world. Crew members include Brian Booher, Pete Brady, Cam Brady, Nate Van Wagnen, and Kirk Wolf. The 2013 NHRA North Central TAD Regional championship-winning Booher Racing team receives support from MVM Motorsports Products, Spitzer Race Cars, B&J Transmission, High Performance Lubricants (HPL), Quick Drive, Goodson Tools, and Torque MGMT.
Follow Booher Racing on Facebook (www.facebook.com/booherracing), Twitter (www.twitter.com/booherracing), and Instagram (www.instagram.com/booherracing).
No comments:
Post a Comment