WATSON RACING TEAMS WITH CHRIS HOLBROOK AND THE WORLD’S QUICKEST PRODUCTION CAR!
Written by Bret Kepner
Livonia, MI – It has already been a season of shattered records and stunning achievement for Redford, Michigan, drag racer Chris 
Holbrook. At the wheel of his Varsity Ford dealership-sponsored 2013 Ford Mustang Cobra Jet, the past World Champion began his 2013 racing campaign by clocking a quarter-mile run of 8.504 seconds at a speed of 160.68 miles per hour at the opening event of National Mustang Racers Association in Bradenton, Florida. The effort was more than a quarter-second quicker than any previous performance by a production automobile in factory trim and Holbrook became the first driver to break 160 mph in a stock drag racing vehicle.
One week later, Holbrook entered the National Hot Rod Association’s Amalie Oil Gatornationals in Gainesville, Florida, and won the AAA/SA class championship while producing the quickest elapsed time in the history of the NHRA’s Stock Eliminator division at 8.68 seconds. Then, as owner of Holbrook Racing Engines, Chris beamed with pride when the overall Stock championship found two HRE customers battling for the title. Bo Butner, another previous World Champion, defeated Charley Downing in a race which featured two Ford Mustang Cobra Jets powered by engines personally prepared by Holbrook.
In April, Holbrook attended the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event in Clermont, Indiana, and again posted the quickest and fastest quarter-mile in NHRA Stock Eliminator history at 8.58/158.33 mph. Although the event was postponed by rain, Chris was elated with his season to date. Now, Holbrook is even more excited by the prospects of future success with the addition of an intriguing new sponsor offering unlimited possibilities in the form of resources and new technology. Holbrook has joined forces with Watson Racing of Brownstown Township, Michigan…the same company which works closely with the Ford Motor Company in the construction of the amazing Ford Mustang Cobra Jets for sale through Ford Racing!
“It’s hard to describe the importance of this sponsorship”, said Holbrook from his Livonia, Michigan, shop. “Watson Racing is the new division of Watson Engineering, a massive corporation with some of the most brilliant technical minds on their staff. They’re a global company which designs and builds an incredible array of products for hundreds of applications. Now, with Watson Racing developing their own brand of competition components and offering their own services, there’s no telling the advances we can make with the Mustang Cobra Jet. The other great aspect of this new sponsorship is the fact I have a personal relationship with the people involved”.
Indeed, Holbrook has a strong family connection to the founders of Watson Racing. Holbrook was introduced to racing almost at birth by his late father, Carl, whose long relationship with the Ford Motor Company resulted in decades of drag racing records and National Event victories. However, when Carl Holbrook began his racing career in 1963, he was befriended by fellow racer Chuck Watson, Sr., who later founded Watson Engineering. Still active in the industry, Watson, Sr., now operates both Watson Engineering and Watson Racing with his son, Chuck II. “My family has been close with the Watson family for most of my life”, said Holbrook. “For decades, the Watsons have played a huge role in Detroit area racing and their support is still evident all over the area. Their facility is located only two thousand feet north of the starting line of the legendary Detroit Dragway on the Dix-Toledo Highway!”.
When the team at Watson Engineering was offered an opportunity to work with the Ford Mustang Cobra Jet, they gained valuable information concerning the most powerful vehicle in United States production car history. With the help of the skill and expertise of the Watson Engineering staff, the Mustangs became the dominant machine in the NHRA’s new Factory Stock Showdown category which debuted in September, 2012. Only recently, however, did the Watson family decide to make their secrets available to the public. The creation of Watson Racing allows every racer access to this wealth of racing knowledge.
“We fabricate the roll cages for the Cobra Jets and assist Ford with the unique chassis parts needed for the construction of the Cobra Jet”, explained John Phillips, the Business Development Manager for Watson Racing. “We work very closely with the engineers at the Ford Motor Company’s Flat Rock (Michigan) plant who build the body assemblies, chassis sub-assemblies and painted the cars. Watson also supplies many parts used to build the Ford Mustang Boss 302S and 302R models used in road racing competition. Therefore, we have a broad range of talent in our shop”. It is that talent with which the new Watson Racing enterprise will serve far more than just Ford customers.
“We are designing our own brand of products in cooperation with Ford Racing and we are an official Ford Racing Performance Parts dealer”, continued Phillips, “but Watson Racing offers nearly every aspect of vehicle services for almost every application. We build cars from the ground up beginning with chassis construction. We produce our own line of chassis and suspension components. We build and install roll cages and safety systems. We offer chassis tuning services and we’ve expanded our site to include a new DynoJet chassis dynamometer. Our goal is to offer parts and services to everybody from the hardcore racers to folks who just want their street vehicles set up properly. Also, we’re easily accessible through our e-commerce website center, (watsonracing.com), and our FaceBook page, (watsonracingllc)”.
Added Holbrook, “Watson Racing knows everything about my Mustang Cobra Jet. Between their understanding of the vehicle and my ability to get over one thousand horsepower from the new supercharged 5.0-liter Coyote engine, the knowledge we can share will result in even more incredible performance. Of course, my silver Mustang will still be sponsored by Lou Stanford and the Varsity Ford dealership in Ann Arbor, Michigan, but, with the addition of Watson Racing to the team, this is a win-win-win situation for all of us. After all, we’re all in this to WIN!”
With new graphics, the Varsity Ford/Watson Racing Mustang made its debut at the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio, on May 17-19. In fresh livery, the formidable Ford earned a cash bonus as the quickest and fastest production car on the grounds. However, Chris Holbrook has his sights set on the next event for the Varsity Ford/Watson Racing team at which he will enter the 2013 Ford Mustang Cobra Jet in the season’s first Factory Stock Showdown at the NHRA Toyota Summernationals at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in Englishtown, New Jersey, to be held May 30 through June 2. “Our goal is nothing short of a victory”, insisted Holbrook. “Our main objective is to win the Factory Stock Showdown but we’ll be gunning for the Summernationals Stock Eliminator title, as well. It’s going to be a long, hard weekend but we’re going into the race as the quickest and fastest production car in the world. We don’t plan to give up that title!”.
Stay tuned for results!
For more information, contact:
Chris Holbrook
Holbrook Racing Engines
31831 Schoolcraft Road
Livonia, MI 48150
(734)-762-4315
Watson Racing
18703 Dix-Toledo Highway
Brownstown Township, MI 48193
(734)-759-0555
http://www.facebook.com/watsonracingllc
Photography credit: Roger Richards, (Action photo; head shot), and Chuck Clark, (Watson Racing graphics images)
Release issued by Bret Kepner
(314)-740-3453
