Carpenter Trying for a Texas Two-Step in Houston
Courtesy of Carpenter Racing
Photo by Roger Richards
BAYTOWN, TX – With a rough couple of months of competition that included three consecutive first round losses hopefully in the rearview mirror, Charles Carpenter is looking for a turnaround, beginning with this weekend’s inaugural ADRL Texas Drags at Houston Raceway Park in Baytown, TX.
“We’ve got a lot riding on this weekend,” Carpenter said. “Not only are we here to attempt to qualify for and race in the inaugural Texas Drags, but we’ve also got the eliminations from the rained out Dragpalooza event to be contested during Friday’s qualifying. What better place to try to right the ship than where we set new career bests in E.T. and speed last time we were here? We’re shooting to double up and bring two trophies home in one weekend.”
Carpenter is hoping getting back on familiar grounds will help him find the edge that has been missing over the last three events.
“I know it’s going to be much hotter and it’s a whole new ballgame compared to when we were here in March, but we’re hoping we can look back at some of our past data and get a good reference point,” Carpenter continued. “We’ve really struggled over the past few races; we’re not out in left field, but we haven’t been where we needed to be with our setup. I’ve gone through everything and found some places where we were off base and by correcting those I hope we start heading back in the right direction.”
Carpenter will face Lee Adkins, the most recent Pro Nitrous winner, in the opening round of eliminations from Dragpalooza VI. Carpenter qualified 5th with a 3.929 at 192.82 MPH, and Adkins’ 4.035 clocked in at 12th.
“Lee has stepped up since then, running in the 3’s consistently and scoring a win,” Carpenter said. “But it’s going to be a tricky deal for everyone since they’re not giving us any shots at the track and putting us into eliminations right away. That combined with the heat makes it anybody’s game, and we’re looking forward to seeing how it all plays out.”
Charles Carpenter Racing would like to thank Paul Albino and Total Induction Tuning Solutions, MagnaFuel, Reed Robbins, Steve Smarr, and Chandler Robbins at East Coast Refinishing & Fiberglass, DMP Awnings, Doherty Motorsports, Custom Autosound, WFO Racing & Machine, Santhuff Suspension Specialties, Alan Pittman Race Cars, Terry Murphy Race Cars, Dennis Radford & Tom Hemphill, Fulton Competition, Hairy Glass, Pro Glass, TEK Headers, JAZ Products, Weld Racing, Stroud Safety, Safety Solutions, RJS Safety Equipment, Goodridge Hose & Fittings, Goodyear, Friction Unlimited, Racepak, Bell Helmets, Ryan Young & Indocil Art, Justin Spencer & CompetitionDesigns.com, Scott Bathurst & Classic Graphix, RH2Way, and VP Racing Fuels for their continued support.
Carpenter is actively seeking primary sponsorship for 2011. For more information about Charles Carpenter Racing and the World’s Fastest ’55 Chevy, or for a copy of the team’s Marketing Partnership Guide, visit www.fastest55.com.
