AllStar Rug Doctor Dodge Challenger Advances to Finals in St Louis

Madison, IL – The second race of the season was filled with a complete spectrum of challenges, successes, frustration and elation.   Coming off a solid performance and a stack of lessons in San Antonio, Jake’s confidence was high that qualifying for the 6 car field would be within reach.  The goal for qualifying was to put a set of high 5 sec passes in the books without hurting the motor.  Based on the experiences in San Antonio where each of qualifying rounds caused cylinder damage, adjustments were made to settle the two most vulnerable cylinders down by lowering compression and adding more fuel.  But before the first pass was made an unexpected  problem arose during the warm-up.

The motor’s idle was much higher than normal with the throttle completely closed.  An indication of a lean fuel mixture likely caused by an air leak on the intake side or a problem with the fuel delivery system.  No obvious issue was discovered after a complete top end tear down and reassembly looking at each most likely cause.  We were able to determine the problem was associated with the left bank of cylinders only.  In this condition a qualifying run was too risky so the decision was made to forego the first round of qualifying and focus on solving the problem.  Determined to make the field with a single qualifying pass, the team went to work to locate the cause of the problem.

A real head scratcher…but persistence paid off.  After consultation with one of the sport’s most knowledgeable, Mr Jerry Newman, a detailed look at the left side head revealed the culprit…missing nozzle port plugs which allowed each cylinder on that side to take in ambient air during the intake stroke which leaned out the fuel mixture.  With the ports plugged, the motor ran normally and the team was ready for the next round of qualifying.

Everything was normal during startup and launch.   Jake was off to a strong run when at approximately half track, the left parachute accidentally deployed and literally put the brakes on the run.  Even though the pass resulted in a 7+ sec ET, it was good enough to make the field.  Time to regroup and get ready of Saturday’s elimination rounds.

The first round paired us up with the second fastest qualifier, Mark Sanders in the Mr Explosive Mustang.  Jake put up one the best runs this season 5.98 at 242 mph but it wasn’t good enough to trip the win light…a loss in the first round.  When a promoter opts for a six-car qualified event the format of a six-car race brings the quickest loser in the first round of eliminations back in order to have a full three-round elimination race.  As the quickest loser, the AllStar Rug Doctor Dodge Challenger was back in the hunt.

Post run inspection revealed a weakened number 2 cylinder requiring a between round tear down to replace the piston.  The team is getting better at this process and had the car ready for the next round with some time to spare.  Up against the Down Under Thunder 69 Camaro driven by Barie “ Bazz” Young, Jake left the line first and never looked back tripping the win light with a modest 6.09 second pass at 237 mph.

That’s right…from the fastest loser in round one of eliminations to making it to the finals.  The team was pumped.   The semi-finals run resulted in no damage to the motor so with an easy turn Jake was ready for the finals.  The final run paired us up with the respectable Violator Trans Am driven by Shawn Bowen.  A solid pass at 6.34 sec but one where Jake had to drive the car slightly out of the groove slowing the time some. It was not good enough to take the win.

“Although a win at our hometown track would have put icing on the cake this weekend, I’m very pleased with this second place finish.  It was a great showing for the AllStar Rug Doctor Team.  This kind of finish at the initial DRO Challenge Series provides indication of the strength in our race program and sitting in 2nd place in points really helps builds our confidence as we head to our next race in the IHRA Nitro Jam Series at Maryland International Raceway in June.”

“We got better as the weekend evolved and eliminated the damage on subsequent runs through some tune-up adjustments.  My crew (Vince, Curt, Mark, Glen, Jay and Chris) really busted their butts to get it done and I owe the success we had to them.  Going to the finals at our home track and in front of our local fans is awesome.  We hope they enjoyed the racing as much as we did”

Thanks to Dennis Mothershed, photos from this weekend can be viewed at the following link (you may have to copy it to your browser):

“I want to thank to Jerry Newman for the continued tuning and clutch advice as we conquer the challenges of tuning a nitro funny car.  Special thanks to all our sponsors for returning this year and to the DRO AA/FC Challenge Racing Series for the opportunity to race this weekend.”  Our sponsors: AllStar Dodge Chrysler Jeep RAM, Rug Doctor, AMT Racing Engines, HotShots Bar and Grill, Vital Signs, Kodiak Equipment, Vinyl Images,  NU Way Construction, Reese Kittle, and David Zientara Racecraft.  I also want to welcome and thank Dennis Mothershed from Victory Performance Parts who joined the team this weekend as one of our associate sponsors. Without you, all this would not be possible.”