CONCORD, NC – Funny Car driver Blake Alexander returns to zMax Dragway this weekend, where just a year ago the young nitro pilot raced to his first-ever Funny Car runner-up finish. Twelve months later, Blake still feels the excitement that came from his final round appearance.

“I’m confident that the Monroe Shocks team will have another strong outing at the Four-Wide race. I feel that I continued to improve as a driver over the last year since we went to the finals here. Combine that with all the data we have compiled with the set-up that was fairly new at this point in last year, and I think we have the potential to win more rounds here this year,” Alexander commented.

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GAINESVILLE, FL  – Blake Alexander will return to the seat of Paul Smith’s Funny Car in 2014, with the duo beginning their quest for a trophy at Auto-Plus Raceway in Gainesville, Florida, March 13-16.  Last season marked young Alexander’s most successful season in the NHRA Mello Yello Series Funny Car class, with a career best runner-up finish in Charlotte and a semi-final showing in Bristol.

“We have been working hard on the business end and at the shop down in South Florida to get things ready for 2014.  I am excited to have great associate sponsors that allow us to be out racing while I work on new primary sponsorship.  We will be poised to show we have a competitive car along with a driver that is up to the task.” Blake stated. “The continual support from Monroe, Exide, Dynomax, Valvoline, Gates, Wix, and Standard have been a catalyst for my professional career and I look forward to promoting their products and solutions to the professional technicians and motorsports enthusiasts rooted in NHRA’s diverse fan base” said Alexander

Plans and event locations are fluid as new sponsorships are developed, however Blake did note that the team is heading to Gainesville and Charlotte to start their 2014 campaign. Blake and Paul will be taking advantage of other opportunities in the NHRA Heritage Series / IHRA throughout the season when not racing the NHRA big show.

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MOHNTON, PA – Auto Service Plus Funny Car driver Blake Alexander will conclude his second full season at the event where his Pro career began, the Auto-Plus NHRA Nationals. The race, contested October 4-6 at Maple Grove Raceway, is an important event for Alexander, who turned 25 last week.

“This race holds a lot of meaning for me. I’ve raced at this event several times, whether it was in my Exide Comp car or the Auto Service Plus Funny Car. The conditions always enable record-setting performances, so everyone gets excited for this race. It’s like the ultimate test before the end of the season,” Blake said.

“I’m proud to be driving the Auto Service Plus powered by Auto-Plus Funny Car for the third consecutive year going into the Auto-Plus NHRA Nationals. Uni-Select and Auto-Plus have been a catalyst for my professional career.”

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NORWALK, OH – Funny Car sophomore Blake Alexander will return to Summit Motorsports Park this Saturday, August 10^th, for the track’s legendary Night Under Fire match race event. Driving his Paul Smith-tuned Auto Service Plus powered by Auto-Plus Funny Car, Alexander is one of four headlining NHRA Mello Yello Series Funny Car drivers set to compete at the largest single-day drag racing event in the world.

Blake will be joined by Funny Car rookie Chad Head, Robert Hight, and fifteen-time champion John Force. On top of the four current nitro-fueled Funny Cars, the scheduled show includes gassers, jet dragsters, monster trucks, several other exhibition vehicles, and the Bader family’s renowned fireworks show.

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NORWALK, OH – Racing in just his second season in the nitro-fueled Funny Car class, Virginia’s Blake Alexander has already reached one semifinal (Bristol) and a runner-up finish (Charlotte). As his Paul Smith-tuned Auto Service Plus powered by Auto-Plus Funny Car races into Norwalk, Ohio for the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals, Alexander and his team will be looking to build on their strong performances of late.

“It was nice to get consecutive round wins at our last two races. Hopefully we continue to make progress with the car. Some of the things we’ve been trying haven’t been working. In our pursuit to go faster, we’ve gone a bit slower. We need to get back to square one to get back to where we were towards the beginning of the season when we were qualifying well and winning rounds,” Blake said.

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BRISTOL, TN – Auto Service Plus Funny Car driver Blake Alexander added another highlight to his strong 2013 season this weekend when he reached the semifinals at the Ford Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway. Despite struggling in qualifying, the 24-year old Virginian turned on two win lights before falling to eventual race winner John Force.

Alexander’s best qualifying run of the weekend, 4.35, came during the Friday night session, but it wasn’t enough to place him in the top twelve to carry over to Saturday. His final pass during Q4 placed him No. 15, setting up a first round match with the reigning NHRA Funny Car champion, Jack Beckman.

“We were trying a few different things in qualifying. Sometimes you need to go slower to go faster, and obviously we went slower before progressing. We knew we were already qualified going into the last session on Saturday, so we just went up there seeing what the track would take with our set-up,” said Alexander.

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BRISTOL, TN – After suffering a streak of first round losses since his runner-up at Charlotte earlier this year, Funny Car driver Blake Alexander is confident that his Auto Service powered by Auto-Plus Funny Car will be back in winning form at this weekend’s Ford Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway. The team is still sorting through their improved parts and pieces and attempting to bring synergy to the new combination.

“We were trying a new clutch package at Atlanta and Englishtown that we thought would work much better. As we made more runs and acquired more data, we realized that it wasn’t going to work the way we anticipated. We’ve made the necessary changes since then to find the consistent car that we left in Charlotte,” said Alexander, racing in just his second season in the NHRA Funny Car class.

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ENGLISHTOWN, NJ – After back-to-back first round exits at Houston and Atlanta, Funny Car driver Blake Alexander is ready to get back to turning on win lights at this weekend’s NHRA Toyota Summernationals at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park. Alexander, who drove the Auto Service Plus powered by Auto-Plus Funny Car to a runner-up finish at Charlotte earlier this spring, is also looking to break into the 4.0-second range this weekend.

“If the conditions allow it, we’d like to run in the 4.0s. Especially on the Friday night qualifying run where the top twelve times carry over into Saturday. The weather forecast is calling for high temps in the nineties during the day so that Friday night run will be crucial,” claimed Alexander, whose career-best E.T. is 4.116, set at this event last season.

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COMMERCE, GA – Young Funny Car driver Blake Alexander suffered another first round loss at the rain-delayed Summit Racing Equipment Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway this weekend. The driver of the Auto Service Plus powered by Auto-Plus Funny Car was unable to qualify in the Top 8, putting him in an unfavorable lane for Saturday’s first round of eliminations.

Rain storms during last weekend’s attempt at race completion prompted NHRA officials to bump back competition to this weekend, beginning with abbreviated two rounds of qualifying on Friday and eliminations on Saturday. Going from four qualifying sessions to two had a noticeable effect on Alexander’s Paul Smith-led team. Though the Auto Service Plus car was consistent, running 4.26 and 4.21, it was only quick enough to rank Blake No. 15, lining him up with Ron Capps first round.

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