ENGLISHTOWN, NJ – The new engine program Rodger Brogdon installed three races ago in Atlanta continues to bear fruit for the veteran drag racer as the tall Texan posted the quickest and fastest pass of his professional career in qualifying a season-best fifth on the Pro Stock ladder.

Brogdon’s 6.488 at 214.42 mph in his ProtectTheHarvest.com Chevrolet Camaro sets up a first-round date with veteran Larry Morgan in Sunday’s opening round of eliminations. Morgan, a teammate of Brogdon’s under the Lucas Oil banner, qualified his Lucas Oil Mustang 12th with a 6.611 at 208.46 mph.

“We’ve run great every round and that’s exciting,” Brogdon said. “We only had three qualifying rounds this weekend, so it’s important that we performed so well in every session.

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ENGLISHTOWN, NJ – His soothing Southern drawl may seem a tad out of place this close to New York City, but Friday at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park Texan Rodger Brogdon let his ProtectTheHarvest.com Chevrolet Camaro do the talking with a stellar 6.508-second quarter-mile pass at 213.00 mph.

The run, the only one of the day after the first session was lost due to extensive track repairs, placed Brogdon second in a near-record field. It also put smiles on the faces of all of his crewmen, plus the gang from Elite Motorsports, who are supplying Brogdon engines for the third race in a row.

“That was a good run but there was more in it,” Brogdon said. “I got to the other end and knew I had short-shifted a couple of gears. I was probably 150 rpm short on at least a few shift points. If the conditions are right we can go .48 or .49 tomorrow morning. If that happens we will stay top three and we will be in great shape for race day.”

Although the first round was called off, Brogdon and crew decided not to play it safe with the tune-up, electing instead to turn up the wick and see what their 1,300-horsepower beast would do.

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ENGLISHTOWN, NJ – For ProtectTheHarvest.com Pro Stock driver Rodger Brogdon, a quick start is essential to a good finish, so when he lines up his Chevrolet Camaro for the first qualifying session of the Toyota NHRA Summernationals this weekend at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park, he’s hoping for a good pass.

“Hopefully, you can get out of the trailer with a good, solid first run and get some good information,” Brogdon said. “We didn’t get to do that in Topeka and it really set us back.”

Brogdon struggled last weekend after an engine problem beset the team during Q1. He and his crew fought from behind all weekend but were not able to repeat their success from Atlanta, where they came out swinging with an engine from Elite Motorsports, qualified No. 5, and won the first round.

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TOPEKA, KS – ProtectTheHarvest.com Pro Stock driver Rodger Brogdon accomplished one goal at the NHRA Kansas Nationals this weekend at Heartland Park Topeka. Unfortunately for him and his team, it did not involve anything on the racetrack.

Brogdon lost in the first round to defending NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series champion Jeg Coughlin Jr., ending a frustrating weekend on the track, but he did accomplish one goal: reaching 100 followers on his Twitter (https://twitter.com/Rodger_Brogdon) account, which he started last week.

Brogdon said he’d wear leather pants in Englishtown, N.J., next weekend if he reached that goal, but he changed his mind.

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TOPEKA, KS – Rodger Brogdon is confident he and his ProtectTheHarvest.com Pro Stock team can shake off the bad luck that has plagued them in time for final eliminations at this weekend’s NHRA Kansas Nationals at Heartland Park Topeka.

Brogdon qualified No. 5 and won in the first round Monday in Atlanta for his best showing of the season. Continuing to use engines from powerhouse Elite Motorsports, Brogdon hoped to continue that momentum this weekend, but luck hasn’t been on his side.

“We just haven’t been able to put together a good run yet,” Brogdon said. “What’s that saying, ‘If we didn’t have bad luck, we’d have no luck at all?’ Yeah, that’s about right this weekend.

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TOPEKA, KS – The widest smile in the Pro Stock pit area likely belongs to ProtectTheHarvest.com driver Rodger Brogdon.

That’s because Brogdon knows he is competitive again in the cutthroat class, where hundredths of a second mark the difference between first and last, and he knows he has a chance at getting to Victory Lane at the NHRA Kansas Nationals this weekend at Heartland Park Topeka.

Brogdon and business partner Steve Kent invested heavily into their race team, moving into a sparkling new shop in Houston before the 2013 season. Brogdon won in Bristol, Tenn., last year for his first career victory, but Pro Stock is anything but easy.

Last weekend, using an Elite Motorsports engine, Brogdon qualified No. 5 and won in the first round. He hopes that momentum continues in Topeka.

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ATLANTA, GA – The confidence of ProtectTheHarvest.com Pro Stock driver Rodger Brogdon is growing after a successful weekend at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway.

Brogdon scored his first round-win in 22 races Monday, following a No. 5 qualifying effort that put him among Pro Stock’s elite. A second-round defeat to Jason Line was disappointing, but Brogdon’s smile is still wide.

“We did have a good weekend,” Brogdon said. “We struggled for so long, but we finally had something we felt we could win with. To lose it like that, it spoils it some. If that doesn’t bother, you better quit, but it’s a good thing that it stings like that.”

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ATLANTA, GA – ProtectTheHarvest.com Pro Stock driver Rodger Brogdon posted his best qualifying effort in nearly two years by grabbing the No. 5 position for eliminations at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway.

Brogdon last qualified fifth in Chicago in 2012, and the last time he was higher than fifth was at the second Pomona race in 2011. The performance has the Pro Stock veteran feeling good heading into eliminations on Sunday.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve felt this confident going into Sunday,” Brogdon said. “I’m all about numbers. Sometimes it’s good and sometimes it’s bad. When you’re down there in the 13th or 14th hole, it’s tough, but being where we are I really feel like I can win the race tomorrow.

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ATLANTA, GA – Making his debut at Atlanta Dragway, Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Adam Arana has showed nothing but composure throughout the first two days at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals.

Putting together four competitive runs over Friday and Saturday, Q4 proved to be the most ideal for Arana, who made a pass of 6.908 seconds at 195.14 mph, good enough for the No. 9 position. His ProtectTheHarvest.com/MAVTV Buell will be pitted against Matt Smith’s Buell in round one of final eliminations Sunday.

“I was able to pick up throughout all the qualifying sessions but not enough in the end,” Arana said. “Being No. 9 means I don’t have lane choice Sunday. At least both lanes at Atlanta Dragway are pretty good, so I can’t be too upset about that.

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ATLANTA, GA – With a season that hasn’t started the way he had hoped, ProtectTheHarvest.com driver Rodger Brogdon’s first day of qualifying at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals may be the turning point of his 2014 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season.

Brogdon’s Chevrolet Camaro bulleted down Atlanta Dragway in both qualifying rounds, but it was during Q2 that the team really made a statement. With a pass of 6.530 seconds at 212.59 mph, Brogdon not only qualified in the second position but set the track speed record in the process.

“We knew we had a chance of going fast in Q1,” Brogdon said. “I was thinking we would be around midfield by the end of the day. With having a different engine this weekend, we had to run a different combination all the way through the entire car.

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