ALLSTAR DODGE CHALLENGER PROSTALGIA Nitro Funny Car

ST LOUIS, IL – If asked, I’ll bet a majority of you would agree that this winter season can’t be over with soon enough. I can assure you Jake and the AllStar Dodge Challenger racing team is anxiously waiting for spring’s warmer weather and our first event of the 2015 season. During the off-season, Jake and the team have been up to our traditional activities of car disassembly, inspection, reconditioning and rebuild. In addition, we’ve been busy on the business side as well securing sponsorship and scheduling events. We are proud to announce that AllStar Dodge Chrysler Jeep in Bridgeton, Missouri has stepped up as our primary sponsor for the 2015 season. Vince Capatosta and AllStar Dodge Chrysler Jeep is no stranger to this team.

Jake has had the privilege and honor of a 15 plus year sponsor relationship with Vince but it hasn’t stopped there….Vince is also a welcome and beneficial crew member who simply loves to be involved in racing this car. With the loss of Rug Doctor in 2014, Vince and AllStar Dodge Chrysler Jeep have stepped up at a critical time allowing us to remain competitive in the IHRA’s NitroJam Racing Series and our other endeavors. “There no hard feelings about the Rug Doctor deal…we’ll miss them as they were a strong supporter of the team over the past 4 years and we understand why they made the decisions they did. With them we were able to continually improve our performance on the track and represent them well. They are always welcome back”, said Jake.

Reflecting back on the 2014 season there are high points and not so high points. Out of the gate during our first qualifying run in San Antonio we set a team best ET running a 5.91s 242 mph pass and won our match in the first round of elimination only to be eliminated in the semi final round….not a bad start to the season. Throughout the season we never topped that ET (but came close) and had many battles with Mother Nature who seemed to always wait until qualifying or just before eliminations to “wash” the racetrack for us. Races in Maryland, Pittsburgh, and Memphis were impacted by weather causing scheduling changes and changes in track conditions which we struggled to get a handle on. For the first time in our racing career, we experienced DNQ’s or failure to qualify for the events. DNQ’s are not fun and are experienced by all race teams so we picked up the pieces and focused on “fixing” the problem and the next event.

Still most races saw us make it into the field of 8 qualified and in pursuit of the Iron Man. We closed last season with the car making good horsepower without major engine damage but struggling to get connected with the track….the dreaded tire shake phenomenon. The offseason has provided plenty of problem solving opportunities and we plan to hit the racetrack this season attempting to eliminate that problem early.

Here’s our 2015 race schedule. At this point all events are tentative but should firm up in the next month. Keep an eye out for future updates in our press releases.

1 DRO or May 8-9 Fri-Sat Paducah, Ky

St.Louis Match Race Sat Gateway

2 IHRA Nitro Jam May 29-30 Fri-Sat Cordova, IL

3 IHRA Nitro Jam June 26-28 Fri-Sat Grand Bend, ON

4 Night of Fire Match Race Jul 18 Sat Cedar Falls, IA

5 IHRA Nitro Jam Aug 7-8 Fri-Sat Martin, Mi

6 DRO Aug 14-15 Fri-Sat Paducah, Ky

7 DRO Aug 28-29 Fri-Sat Cordova, IL

8 DRO or Sept 11-12 Fri-Sat Martin, Mi

IHRA Nitro Jam Fri-Sat Dragway 42, OH

9 DRO Sept 18-19 Fri-Sat Tulsa, Ok

10 IHRA Nitro Jam Oct 9-10 Fri-Sat Memphis, TN

We want to extend special thanks to all our sponsors for hanging in there with us and to the IHRA for the opportunity to race again this year. Our sponsors: All Star Dodge Chrysler Jeep, AMT Racing Engines, HotShots Bar and Grill, Vital Signs, Kodiak Equipment, Vinyl Images, Nu-Way Construction, Reese Kittle, Victory Performance Parts , and David Zientara Racecraft.