Simonton Starting 2014 with New Mindset, New Sponsors

Press release and photo courtesy of NVW Motorsports Promotion

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (March 7) – Canadian Top Alcohol Funny Car team Kon Rodz Racing is preparing for its fifth season with fan-favorite driver Cassie Simonton. Also back with the team is veteran crew chief Randy Anderson, who won the 1993 and 1994 TAFC world titles as a driver. Kon Rodz has spent the last month preparing their red, black, and white Monte Carlo, which will hit the track at Valdosta testing next week.

“We've been at the North Carolina shop for the last couple weeks, preparing the car and stocking the trailer full of parts. Randy arrived this week to help make sure everything is ready for testing at the beginning of next week. He also worked on some new ideas for the fuel system over the winter that we're excited to test,” said Simonton, who lives in Brownsburg, Ind.

Cassie and the team will take part in South Georgia Motorsports Park's pre-Gatornationals test session, March 10-11.

“The first couple of passes will basically be shakedown passes to get me back into the routine, as I haven't been in the car in five months. The weather should be cool, which will hopefully help get us into the 5.50s and maybe even our first 5.4 once we get to Gainesville,” Cassie added.

Simonton, a UNOH graduate who started at Kon Rodz as a crew member intern, is starting her fifth season as the driver of the Spiro Kontos-owned alcohol funny car. She's eager to kick off the 2014 season with a new mindset.

“I feel a lot calmer going into this season. I'm going to have fun and not stress over so many things. I think sometimes drivers get caught up in the stress, then they start making mistakes. Maybe that's what started to happen at the end of last season. I know how to drive the car; I just need to go out there, get in the right mindset, have fun, and hopefully success will follow. We would love to get back into the groove we were in in 2012 when we were winning rounds.”

Team president Stefan Kontos has also been busy over the winter, working to maintain sponsor relationships and create new partnerships.

“CRC Industries has signed on as a major associate sponsor to help promote their line of automotive chemical products, including CRC Brakleen ®. The team's Bell Helmets will be painted by new team partner Nick Pastura Motorsports, a leading painter for top NHRA and NASCAR drivers. 2013 supporters Aerodine Composites and Sparco USA will return to become the exclusive carbon composites and firesuit providers, respectively. Goodyear Tire, NGK Spark Plugs, MAHLE/Clevite, Goodson Tools, Hedman Husler Hedders, and CleanBoost Performance Oils round out Kon Rodz Racing's marketing partners,” Kontos commented.

Rat Pack Apparel, Stefan's new retro-themed racing clothing line will also appear on the car as a major associate sponsor.


Kon Rodz Racing is an 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 companies that support their racing program: Rat Pack Apparel, CRC Industries, Aerodine Composites Group, Bell Helmets, CleanBoost Performance Oils, Nick Pastura Motorsports, Sparco USA, Bell Helmets, Goodyear Tire, NGK Spark Plugs, MAHLE/Clevite, Goodson Tools, and Hedman Hedders.

For more information on Kon Rodz Racing, please visit www.konrodzracing.com. Keep up with Cassie on the team on Facebook (www.facebook.com/konrodzracing) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/cassiesimonton and www.twitter.com/konrodzpr).

Lombardo Ready for 2014 with New Car, Team

Courtesy of LuAnn Bishop
Photo courtesy of Bob Johnson Photography

Greetings and welcome to 2014. Much of the country is beyond freezing cold and we would certainly be thankful for a few inches of rain here in Southern California, but a few (perfect) 70 degree days were exactly what we needed to run our brand new NAPA Auto Parts Lucas Oil Ford Mustang through it's paces. The last time I suited up at Famoso, Bakersfield's home of the famed March Meets and Hot Rod Reunion we qualified #1, went low e.t. and top speed, won the race, and set the track record-we like it here!

From the moment we received the first rendering to the day Rick Jackson's Centre Pointe Collision Center color magicians allowed us a few spy photos, the subtle but gorgeous black to blue fade has consistently impressed. Now proudly decked out with our partners logos, countless hours of tinkering yields a special balance of taste and national branding. Set the body and brand new Hadman Chassis in place by it's 80 foot transporter/rolling workshop with matching Gatorwraps graphics, and you're forced to take a moment and let it sink in. It's no wonder folks love to be around these cars.

We budgeted a few days to methodically work through all that has to be just right to be prepared for Pomona. We arrived with a brand new car, all new data logger, ignition, and fuel systems, new driver and crew combination-all of whom have been absent from a drag strip since November. Plain and simple, Rick Jackson, Chris Perl, Lew Larson, Scott Manning, and Jim Adolph made this a successful outing, each new system was sorted out. We will arrive at Pomona next week for the Winternationals with an invaluable familiarity and comfort level with our new program, ready to start 2014 by attacking one of the quickest, fastest, and shortest drag strips in the country.

NAPA Filters, having lead us to back to back Pomona victories here just a year ago, has the car book ended with their rightful place on the hood and (the driver's best friend) parachutes. The anticipation is essentially expiring and the excitement of the new season is ours to enjoy! We hope to see you at an upcoming event and thank you very much for supporting our program on and off the track!

We are so excited to be racing this year with our sponsors: NAPA Auto Parts, Lucas Oil, Centre Pointe Collision Centers, NAPA Batteries, NAPA Filters.com, NAPA Power Supreme, Arvada Excavating, NGK Spark Plugs, NAPA Belts and Hose, CP Carrillo, Carlyle Professional Hand Tools, Mahle, Midtronics, Mechanix Wear, NYNY Hotel and Casino, Gatorwraps, Raymond’s Trophy, and Twin Palms!

www.jacksonlombardoracing.com

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VIDEO: Strong Speed Numbers for Ahten in Famoso Testing

Courtesy of THR5 Communications
Photo and video courtesy of Costabile Productions

 

McFarland, CA. – Johnny Ahten loaded up the new Ahten Racing truck and trailer and headed to the historic Auto Club Famoso Raceway last weekend for some testing and to put on a show for the Saturday Night Nitro event. What the Island Renovations/CleanBoost-801Racing/Fireman’s Brew team left with was even better. Two runs with trap speeds of 266+ mph proved they are moving in the right direction, and they captured some exciting video in the process.

“Since this was not a regular race, we decided to outfit the Stump Puller with a few video cameras,” said Ahten. “A few turned into four, which lead to some great video. My video guy, Chuck Costabile of Costabile Productions, was able to sync them all together and create a four camera angle video that highlighted our 5.53@266.8 run. We have made some changes to the combination and it really showed, added Ahten.

That afternoon blast down the Famoso quarter mile was with a 145° track temp. The elapsed time was not where Johnny would like it to be, but the thinking in the Ahten camp is it needed more fuel. Crew Chief Al Ahten concurred, and for the next run they fattened it up a bit. It shook the tires at the hit and Johnny shut it down. Ahten added, “For the night session we made a few adjustments and ran another 266 mile per hour run with a 5.51 elapsed time.  The plan now is for a bit more compression and we might throw some more fuel at it.  The weekend was a great success, we got down a 145 degree track, and then shook when it got cold, adjusted and got down a cold track, very happy with that. All we need are few more adjustments to get back into the .30s. We were also working the kinks out on our new race rig. I had quite a list going of things we still need or didn’t bring. It was a bit nerve-racking to turn and look for something and it was not there. By the next race we will have everything in place,” concluded Ahten.  

The Stump Puller’s next planned outing is scheduled for the Seattle Pacific Raceways’ Northwest Nationals Aug. Aug. 2-4. By then, Johnny and the crew will have the tune-up in place, the new trailer sorted out, and the desire to blast down the track even faster. For now they will have to wait, but at least they have some great in-car video to enjoy.