TAN Driver Blog-Cassie Simonton-TAFC

We started our season as we always do at the pre-Gator test session at South Georgia Motorsports Park. It was so nice to be back at the track with my team. We made two passes on our first day of testing. Since I had been out of the car for almost 7 months, the first hit was all about getting us back to our routine so we just did a half-track pass. Everything went smoothly and all data looked good on the computer, so I was told that if it felt good, to make a full pass on the second run. So she launched hard and went straight down the track to run a 5.56 at 258 mph. When Adam came on the radio to tell me what I ran, I am pretty sure I asked him three times to repeat what he said because none of us were expecting to run that fact on our first pass out. Needless to say, we were all very happy with that run and excited to get to Gainesville and compete. We also tested Tuesday but just made two half-track passes to break in some clutch discs for the race.

Wednesday morning we loaded up and made the short two hour drive over to Gainesville. Wednesday night I was given the opportunity to be part of a "jersey swap" with the Harlem Globetrotters. That was the first time I have seen the Globetrotters and I have to say they put on a good show. I was also able to hang out with some of the top drivers of the NHRA, including Matt Hagan, Bob Tasca, Jack Beckman, Bob Vandergriff, Hillary Will, and Leah Pruett.

On Friday morning, we had our first qualifying session at 10 am and ran a 5.70, which put us #5 in the field. Our second pass was Friday night after all the pro sessions and had great conditions to run fast times. The car launched hard and I knew she was on a good pass, but when I went to shift into second gear, it didn't shift and I had to lift. We could tell by the early numbers that it was on a great run and probably would have run a low fifty. We were up late that night working on the transmissions and had to change my brake master cylinder, bleed the brakes and of course all the regular maintenance between rounds.

Saturday morning we were scheduled to run again at 10 am. We were not able to improve on our last qualifying run because we smoked the tires and had to shut it down early. We were not going to let that get us down, though. We stayed qualified in the #10 spot and had Todd Veney first round later that night. I kept myself busy in-between rounds by using my practice tree to keep me on top of the game for first round. Unfortunately, our luck didn't change first round and we smoked the tires again.

I really want to thank my guys for all the late nights and hard work they put in the last few weeks. I couldn't do it without them and I can't wait to get back out there with them in a few weeks at the Four-Wide Nationals in Charlotte.


Cassie Simonton is the driver of the Kon Rodz Racing Top Alcohol Funny Car. Like the team on Facebook or follow Cassie on Twitter at @CassieSimonton.

Photos courtesy of Cassie Simonton/Kon Rodz Racing

Foster wins second Division 3 Championship

Courtesy of Will Hanna/Pro Race Communications

DAVENPORT, Iowa -- While there were definitely some up's and down's along the way, Chris Foster and the Foster Racing Top Alcohol Funny Car team were able to score their second NHRA Division 3 Championship in 2011. A strong scorecard of three wins and two runner-ups were able to place the team 9th in national points standings, their second top-ten finish in NHRA competition.

In contrast to their 2009 Championship where they won by winning their last race of the year in late October to clinch the championship, Foster and his Will Hanna led team wrapped up the title in August this season.

The team debuted a new 2011 Mustang body on their Brad Hadman chassis and started the year with a win at the Division 4 event in Houston. After their strong debut, the team struggled to find traction at the Division 3 opener in Indianapolis, smoking the tires on each run in qualifying and failing to make the show. The team bounced back by reaching the final of their next three Division 3 events. They posted a runner-up finish at the Joliet event, won the Norwalk event, and another runner-up at the Columbus event. The team clinched the championship with a semifinal finish in Bowling Green, but traveled to the final Division 4 event in Houston due to sponsor commitment, and book-ended the year with another win.

"This year really was a team effort," said Foster, the Davenport, Iowa, native. "There were a couple of races where Will had to be in Europe and was tuning the car over the phone. I normally focus on servicing the car between rounds and Will concentrates on the tune-up. We had to shuffle some responsibilities around so I could be his eyes and ears, going over computer data, reading plugs, bearings and things. We all stepped up and got the job done again.

"Needless to say this was a great year for the team," Foster continued. "We finished second in Division 4 last year. While that's not a terrible year, once you win the Championship; you're not satisfied with anything else. We bounced back big time this year. We figured out our problems last year towards the end of the year and started going in the right direction. We started the year out with a win in Houston. Just like in a football game, we scored first and put the pressure on the rest of the field."

As good as the year was Hanna feels changes made at the final race of the season will give Foster a more consisten race car in 2012.

"We had the car going in the right direction towards the end of last season," stated Hanna. "As we developed the combination, it was just more and more of an animal early in the run. If we hit it right and got it hooked up or got on a good starting line, it would fly down low. As the tracks got warmer, we struggled at times to find the right set up to get it off the line without smoking the tires.

"Once we had the championship clinched, we tried a few new things at the last race of the year," explained Hanna. "Without going into great detail, we are very excited about hitting the track again next year."

Foster and team will be displaying the car in the Goodridge Hoses & Fittings booth at the upcoming International Motorsports Industry Show in Indianapolis, Dec. 8-10. The NHRA Division 3 Awards Banquet will cap off the weekend that Saturday night.

"We're honored that Goodridge invited us to display our car at such a big event," said Foster. "It's a nice way to end a great season. I'm really proud of what we achieved as a team this year; I had a great crew behind me all year. My dad John, my step-dad Dwight Baxter, Will, David McDermott, JB Hudson, Kevin Newburgh, Chad Baker, Rick Hanna and Bruce Meyer all performed flawlessly, no matter what the situation was. I also had a great group of sponsors behind us this season in Goodridge Hose and Fittings, DragRaceHose.com, Motorsports Unlimited, Noonan Race Engineering X-1 Cylinder Heads, RBS Superchargers, Morel Lifters, Manton Rockerarms, Red Line Oil, Victory Valves, Ace Clutch Discs, Flatout Gaskets, InsideTopAlcohol.com, GRP Connecting Rods, Hoosier Racing Tires and Track Tamer Engines. Racing at this level wouldn't be possible without their support."

While it's been over a month since their last race and there is still a couple of months left before their first outing, Foster is quick to point out the word 'offseason' is a misnomer.

"We have been very busy since the last race," cited Foster. "Between getting parts on the car recertified and getting the car shined up for the show, it's been a busy few weeks. Once we're done with the show and we can tear the car down to a bare chassis, there will be plenty more work to do. There's never much of a break over the winter. Usually you work until late on the night before you're heading out for the first race.

Find out more about Foster Racing's group of marketing partners at these website below:

Goodridge.net - Push the Limits with Goodridge Hoses & Fittings
DragRaceHose.com - Sportsman drag racer Will Hanna's DragRaceHose.com is your one stop shop for all your hose and fittings needs "Crimpin' ain't Easy"

NoonanRaceEngineering.com.au - Find out more about the cylinder head champions like Chris Foster and Frankie Taylor use - the X-1.

RBSSuperchargers.com - Check out RBS' complete line of new and used supercharger, fuel injection and blower drive accessories.

MantonRockerarms.com - Stiffer valve train and improved geometry equals more horsepower.

RedLineOil.com - Champions like Chris Foster rely on Red Line Oil. Find out more about their complete line of synthetic lubricants for your racing and street applications.

TitaniumValve.com - Performance and reliability in the valvetrain are a must to win championships, that's why Chris Foster relies on Victory Valves.

GRPConRods.com Find out more about GRP's complete line of high-quality aluminum rods.

Ace-Mfg.com - For performance and consistency, turn to Ace Clutch Discs.

HoosierRacingTire.com - Champions like Chris Foster trust Hoosier Racing Tires to get their horsepower to the ground!

Flatoutgroup.com - Foster Racing trust Flatout Gaskets for all of their engine sealing needs!

TrackTamerEngines.com - Foster Racing trusts "The Professor" Larry Goldbeck of Track Tamer Engines for all of their automotive machining needs.

Courtesy of Robert Grice, Extreme Photography



Vote for Divisional "Driver of the Year" Awards

Voting is now open to decide special award winners for Divisions 1 and 3. Categories include Pro/Sportsman Driver of the Year, Mechanic/Wrench of the Year, Track of the Year, and many more depending on divisions. Below are the links to each division's voting page.

NHRA Division 1 (Northeast)
NHRA Division 3 (North Central)

Booher Caps off Career-Best Season with Semifinal Appearance

Courtesy of NVW Motorsports Promotion

Champaign, IL – Brandon Booher entered the recent Reynolds NHRA Division 2 race with one goal in mind: move up in national and divisional points. Thanks to a semifinal finish, he did just that.

“The overall goal was obviously to win the race, but we knew there would be a lot of heavy hitters there, so a runner-up finish would suffice. That would’ve moved us up to 9^th in national points and 3^rd in Division 3. If the car would’ve started in the semi’s, I think there was a good chance that we could win the round and go to the finals,” claimed Booher.

Something as simple as dead starter batteries ended Brandon’s chances of making the finals.

“We started the car 45 minutes before the run and it started just fine. The crew went to start the car (for the run) and it wouldn’t turn over. It hurt the starter, because it wasn’t getting enough power from the battery pack on the cart. Duane (Shields) had already fired and began his burnout, so there wasn’t enough time to find another power source. It’s just another thing that we’ll improve on for next year. We’ll have two battery packs and two starters on the cart next year so that doesn’t happen again,” Brandon said.

The 2011 season had its ups and downs, as Brandon explains. “There were a few races where I suffered first round losses, but we’ve learned from the little mistakes that caused those. Collectively, they cost us a few spots in points. It has been a great season however, with runner-up finishes at the Norwalk national event and Cordova divisional. As of right now, I’m sitting in 10^th in national points. We’re working on a few things already to try to improve that position next year. Now all I can do is wait and see how Chase Copeland does out west; that will ultimately decide where I finish in national points at the end of the year,”

Brandon would like to thank the crew members that helped at the Reynolds race; Aaron Booher, Phil and J.P. Gutierrez, and Rocky and Vanessa Flannigan. They join Shannon Pappas, Brian Booher, Pete Brady, Drew Fluehr, Ed Russell, John Halloran, and Nate Van Wagnen; the rest of the Booher Racing crew in 2011. Several companies assist the team with parts and equipment, including Goodson Tools, Victory Valves, Coan, Lenco, Total Flow Cylinder Heads, Spitzer Race Cars, and Ken at Motorsports Unlimited.

Fans can follow Brandon Booher and the AB Construction Top Alcohol Dragster team on Facebook (www.facebook.com/booherracing) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/booherracing). For results and press releases, visit http://www.dragracecentral.com/ and http://www.topalcoholnews.com/.

About Booher Racing-The NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster team led by Brandon and Aaron Booher competes at national events across the United States, all of which are televised nationally on ESPN2. To become a sponsor with Booher Racing, contact NVW Motorsports Promotion (http://www.nitronate.com/).