National Guard ADRL Racers Gear Up for Flowmaster Dragstock VI
O’FALLON, MO (September 9, 2009) — It takes time for any sporting event to develop historic and sentimental importance for competitors and fans, but the National Guard American Drag Racing League’s (ADRL’s) annual Flowmaster Dragstock is well on its way to achieving legendary status. This year’s Flowmaster Dragstock VI takes over Rockingham (NC) Dragway Sep. 11-12, and with record-setting car counts and spectator attendance expected, it promises to expand the event’s reputation and prestige.
As the literal jumping off point for the National Guard ADRL in 2004, Dragstock has played a pivotal role in shaping the series and already has become the one race every racer wants to see his or her name written beside in the win column.
“Winning any ADRL race is like hitting a home run, but if I could win at Dragstock, that would be my grand slam,” 36-year Pro Nitrous veteran Charles Carpenter said. “Rockingham is my home track and we expect literally hundreds of our fans, friends and customers to show up, so it would just be such a huge accomplishment for us to win there.”
As the final points-earning opportunity toward the championship-deciding Speedtech Battle for the Belts, Dragstock also can play a huge role in a team’s assessment of its year. With only the top eight in points in each of the National Guard ADRL’s five professional classes getting to race each other for the 2009 world championships this October in Ennis, Texas, each point gained or missed at Dragstock carries added meaning for certain drivers and teams.
For instance, with 100 points granted for each round win and bonuses offered for qualifying well and setting records, Pro Extreme racer Jason Hamstra enters Flowmaster Dragstock VI just over one round behind Frankie Taylor in eighth place, while in Pro Nitrous, Pat Stoken is in a similar position behind Steve Vick.
The eight-car Flowmaster Extreme 10.5 Speedtech Battle for the Belts field is already set, though plenty of room remains for contenders to shuffle their starting positions for the Battle in Texas. Pro Extreme Motorcycle remains wide open, however, again with the opportunity for current Belts contenders to improve their position and with no less than five non-qualifiers well within striking distance to break into the field.
And just four points behind Dragstock V winner Cary Goforth in the final Extreme Pro Stock Belts position is Robert Patrick Jr., with Jeff Dobbins also less than two rounds from inclusion.
“It’s always a tough race,” said Bubba Stanton, winner of Flowmaster Dragstock V’s Pro Extreme event and currently seventh in points. “It’s a big race and I’d love to defend our title, but I’m going in there this year just trying to be consistent and making sure we stay in the top eight.”
Flowmaster Dragstock at Rockingham Dragway also is known for offering record-setting conditions and was the site of the National Guard ADRL’s first 200-mile-per-hour pass over the eighth mile when reigning two-time Pro Extreme champ Jason Scruggs turned the trick during qualifying in 2007 before eventually leaving with both official elapsed time and speed records.
Last year’s Flowmaster Dragstock V also produced memorable on-track results, highlighted by Billy Glidden running a then-record 4.14 in the Flowmaster Extreme 10.5 final and Andy Jensen upsetting the Pro Nitrous world by seizing the E.T. record in what turned out to be the swan song appearance for turbocharged entries in the class.
Additionally, the debut of Puerto Rico’s Raymond Matos and Qatar’s Khalid Al-Balooshi in the Pro Nitrous ranks gave the 2008 event an international flair, with Matos even scoring the surprise win to write himself a storybook ending.
The fans, too, arrived in force for Flowmaster Dragstock V, with some 31,000 passing through the Rockingham Dragway gates on Saturday alone.
It all added up to an exciting, over-the-top event that prompted Extreme Pro Stock’s Patrick telling National Guard ADRL President and CEO Kenny Nowling, “I’ve raced a long time and I’ve been in a lot of important races, but I don’t get ‘goosebumps’ much anymore. At this event I get them every time I come to the line.”
