Blake Alexander One of Four Funny Car Drivers Racing at Night Under Fire Match Race
NORWALK, OH – Funny Car sophomore Blake Alexander will return to Summit Motorsports Park this Saturday, August 10th, for the 
track’s legendary Night Under Fire match race event. Driving his Paul Smith-tuned Auto Service Plus powered by Auto-Plus Funny Car, Alexander is one of four headlining NHRA Mello Yello Series Funny Car drivers set to compete at the largest single-day drag racing event in the world.
Blake will be joined by Funny Car rookie Chad Head, Robert Hight, and fifteen-time champion John Force. On top of the four current nitro-fueled Funny Cars, the scheduled show includes gassers, jet dragsters, monster trucks, several other exhibition vehicles, and the Bader family’s renowned fireworks show.
“It’s cool that it’ll be two up and coming drivers versus two seasoned Funny Car champions. It’s really the largest match race in the world, and it’s one of the last ‘old school’ match races. It’s really cool to be involved with that,” said Alexander, who is competing in his second season in the Auto Service Plus-backed Funny Car.
The 24-year old driver was approached by track owner Bill Bader Jr. before the start of the 2013 season. Considering Blake’s rise as a professional driver and his relationship with Auto-Plus, Bader wanted Alexander to be a part of this year’s event – also the track’s 50th Anniversary celebration.
“Bill Bader Jr. called me over the offseason and asked if I wanted to run at the 2013 Uni-Select Auto-Plus Night Under Fire. It’s a legendary event and it’s one of my sponsor’s races, so I jumped at the opportunity. I appreciate the opportunity to put on a good show for Auto-Plus and all of the Ohio fans,” Blake stated.
Though it’s not an NHRA competition, Alexander’s Paul Smith Racing team will be looking for redemption at the popular northern Ohio facility. The team’s last appearance on the NHRA tour was the Summit Nationals last month, where Blake suffered a first round loss to John Force. Blake says his team will take the event seriously, using the two runs to prepare their combination for next weekend’s Brainerd national event.
“We had more areas to figure out when we were at Norwalk last month. We struggled at the national event so this will give us an opportunity to revisit what we were working on before we go to Brainerd.”
Blake Alexander and the Auto Service Plus Funny Car will be a part of the highly-anticipated Auto-Plus Night Under Fire show, beginning with pre-race ceremonies at 5:30 PM, August 10th, at Summit Motorsports Park.
