Blake Alexander Takes Second in First Career FC Final

CONCORD, NC – Gates Auto Funny Car driver Blake Alexander anticipated a successful weekend at the Dollar General Four-Wide Nationals, however his expectations were exceeded when he became runner up of the whole Four-Wide event. Young Alexander, in just his second season in the 320 MPH Funny Car class, earned his first round win and his first final round appearance this weekend at zMax Dragway. He came up short to fellow Virginian Matt Hagan.

“It felt good to go rounds and make three consistent runs in a row. I knew that if we kept going up there positive things would happen because of the results we’ve been seeing in qualifying. With the small margins we were losing by – we just needed a little racing luck. The car performed well. Paul (Smith) and Johnny (West) have been getting it down the track consistently this year,” said 24-year old Alexander.

The weekend was off to a shaky start after persistent rain storms forced officials to cancel Friday’s two qualifying sessions. Blake made a decent 4.26 run during Saturday’s first qualifying session but the run was thrown out after the car was under regulation weight. In a last-ditch effort to get in the show, Alexander drove the Gates Auto/Auto Service Plus Funny Car to a consistent 4.28 to qualify tenth and match up with Bob Tasca and past champions John Force and Tony Pedregon in the first round quad.

Blake Alexander earned the first round win of his early Funny Car career when he crossed the finish line second out of the four cars, 4.19 to Tasca’s 4.15. He beat Tasca and 2012 champion Jack Beckman next round, following Matt Hagan’s 4.07 with a 4.14. The Paul Smith Racing entry was consistent again in the finals, running 4.15 to Hagan’s 4.07. The car showed promise to run even better, Alexander says.

“We had a header break in the semifinals, which shot me over towards the finish line. I almost crossed it so I lifted a little early and it still ran 4.14 at 303. We were trying to run a 4.07 or 4.08 in the finals but it put a cylinder out down-track and sent me over towards the center once again. Overall it was a great weekend but there’s always room for improvement, for me as a driver and the team. Hagan had the best car all day and he had the better light in the finals so he deserved to win the race.

“The further away I get from the track, the happier I am about how the weekend turned out,” Blake said after the race. “I was disappointed right after the finals but I was excited to have a good showing for all of the people and companies who have supported me. It wasn’t a bad weekend for our second outing of the year.”

Blake Alexander and the Paul Smith-lead Gates Auto/Auto Service Plus Funny Car team will get the chance to build upon their recent success in just a few days when they compete at the NHRA Spring Nationals in Houston, Texas, April 25-28.