ALEXANDER TAKES PRONTO AUTO SERVICES DODGE TO FUNNY CAR FINAL AT READING NATIONALS WITH STRONG RUNS FOR CGM
MOHNTON, PA – Blake Alexander’s return to NHRA Mission Funny Car action two weeks ago was impressive at the U.S. Nationals with a 
semifinals finish in the Chad Green Motorsports Pronto Auto Services Dodge Hellcat.
But Sunday’s performance by Alexander at the NHRA Nationals at the famed Maple Grove Raceway showed that his crew has moved to another level in its first season of competition in the NHRA Mission Drag Racing Series.
Alexander, who qualified eighth in the 16-car lineup before a sellout crowd, took out three of the strongest racers in the Funny Car category to advance to his first final round in 13 months when he captured the Lucas Oil Nationals in Brainerd, Minn.
The Charlotte driver went up against four-time World Champion Matt Hagan in round one and scored the win with a 3.966-second run at 326.40 miles per hour. In the quarterfinals, Alexander survived a “pedal fest” against the fast qualifier Spencer Hyde with a 4.631 to a 4.682 as the track temperature was close to 120 degrees.
Blake had another matchup with the three-time World Champion Ron Capps as he did two weeks ago in Indy, but this race was to advance to the coveted final round and chance to capture the Maple Grove title. With more heat in the track surface, it was a tricky situation, but the Matt Bynum-led CGM crew was able to dial in the clutch just enough to upset Capps again. Alexander ran 4.608 to Capps’ smoking 9.055.
Now, seeking his fifth NHRA national event “Wally” trophy, Alexander took on another former World Champion in veteran Cruz Pedregon in the final round in an all-Dodge matchup. Pedregon was able to nip Blake at the finish line with a 3.969 to Alexander’s 4.020.
“I am very happy with our team’s progress with the semis at Indy and a final round at Reading,” said Alexander, the Radford University graduate. “We are getting win lights with the new team and that showed things are moving in the right direction. Friday’s first qualifying run set the tone with a 3.92. The track is bumpy, and the conditions can be tricky. We thought we had a car to win it all against Cruz, but we lost cylinder about 2.5 seconds into the run. Overall, it was a good weekend. We’ll hope to get to the final again this weekend with Hunter (Green) in the Pronto car for the Four-Wide Nationals at Charlotte.”
Alexander’s CGM teammate, Chad Green, was looking to advance in the opening round of the “Countdown to the Championship” points, but the Midland, Tex., racer lost traction early in the first round of eliminations Sunday in his Bond-Coat Ford Mustang. Veteran Paul Lee was able to get the finish line first over Green.
“I’m extremely happy with the performance of Blake and his crew at Reading,” said C. Green, CGM team owner. “Being a first-year team is not easy, but Blake is driving well, and the crew has really come together to produce a contender at every race. Our Bond-Coat crew is working as hard to get my car to the winner’s circle again like at Gainesville. We’ll be ready for Charlotte with Hunter back in the Pronto car and my Bond-Coat machine.”
Up next for the Chad Green Motorsports squad is the NHRA Carolina Four-Wide Nationals this weekend (Sept. 19-21) as Chad and Hunter Green will be at the wheel of the team’s two nitro-burning Funny Car. Nitro action begins on Friday, Sept. 19, with qualifying set at 4:45 p.m. and 7 p.m. EDT followed by two Saturday qualifying rounds scheduled for 12:30 p.m. and 3 p.m. EDT. The final eliminations at zMAX Dragway in Charlotte will take place on Sunday, Sept. 21, at 11:30 a.m. EDT with the national telecast airing at 12 p.m. EDT on Fox Sports 1.
