ATLANTA, GA – ProtectTheHarvest.com Pro Stock driver Rodger Brogdon hopes all of his questions are answered this weekend during the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway.

After a difficult start to the season, Brogdon has wondered what is wrong, whether it’s his race car or the in-house engines that power his Chevrolet.

This weekend, though, Brogdon should get some answers because his Camaro will be powered by an engine from another competitive Pro Stock organization.

“We should be faster this weekend, for sure,” Brogdon said. “We think that about 90 percent of our issues have been engine related, basic horsepower, and maybe 10 percent car management. This weekend should finalize any decisions we make. I expect to go fast and be in the top five or six.”

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ATLANTA, GA – Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Adam Arana may be in his sophomore season, but this weekend’s May 16-18 Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals will mark his first start at Atlanta Dragway.

While the ProtectTheHarvest.com/MAVTV Buell rider may have never seen the Atlanta track before, Arana will have the same knowledge as everyone else thanks to his team, which will make his learning curve a little easier.

“Heading to Atlanta this weekend kind of reminds me of how I felt last year as a rookie racing at a track for the first time, but I’m not as anxious about my chances there, ” Arana said. “Both my dad and brother have raced there before, so I know they can help fill me in on what to expect.

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HOUSTON, TX – Usually, a race between the No. 3 and the No. 14 qualifiers is a lopsided affair because one car is much quicker, but that wasn’t the case when No. 3 Dave Connolly squared off against No. 14 Rodger Brogdon and his ProtectTheHarvest.com Pro Stock team.

The margin of victory was about 11 feet, as Brogdon kept it close for the quarter-mile race with an official separation of .0356-second.

“After the way qualifying went, I’m happy with what we had today,” Brogdon said. “We made a pretty good run that time. It wasn’t perfect, of course, and we want to win, for sure, but we made some progress and we’re pretty happy about that.”

Connolly’s pass was 6.614 seconds at 201.08 mph with Brogdon right there with a run of 6.640 seconds at 208.88 mph.

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HOUSTON, TX – ProtectTheHarvest.com Pro Stock driver Rodger Brogdon and his team overcame some adversity on Saturday and qualified No. 14 for the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA SpringNationals.

Brogdon was outside the top 12 after Friday and needed to make a good pass in either of the two Saturday sessions to make it into his hometown race.

But after misfortune with the staging beams in Q3, Brogdon was still not qualified. The team dug deep, though, and Brogdon drove to a pass of 6.634 seconds at 209.46 mph that got him in the show.

“We just focused on getting from A to B on that run,” Brogdon said. “With all the weird luck in these last few runs, we got to that point where you just need to get down the track. We should have something to show tomorrow that we can be proud of for this hometown crowd.”

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HOUSTON, TX – ProtectTheHarvest.com Pro Stock driver Rodger Brogdon will arrive at his hometown track this weekend with a few extra special guests. In fact, one lucky winner and her guests scored the trip of a lifetime to the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA SpringNationals thanks to the Tomball, Texas, native.

Numerous fans entered for a chance to win a VIP experience as an honorary crew person on Brogdon’s race car through his Facebook page and/or by calling into The Rod Ryan Show, the No. 1 local radio station in Houston, throughout last week.

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HOUSTON, TX – A wide smile crosses the face of ProtectTheHarvest.com Pro Stock driver Rodger Brogdon at the prospects of doing well at this weekend’s O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA SpringNationals. That’s because Royal Purple Raceway in Houston is his hometown track; Brogdon lives in Tomball, Texas, north of the city, and his race shop is housed in Houston.

“It would be fantastic for me and the whole team to win,” Brogdon said. “We’ve struggled since we won in Bristol [Tenn.], and we haven’t been able to take advantage of the few opportunities we’ve had since then.

“We’ve got to qualify in the top half of the field. That’s one goal at a time.”

That’s the first goal, with other more lofty goals also on his mind. But first Brogdon knows small, incremental improvements are the only way to get where he wants with his race team.

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CHARLOTTE, NC – There is rarely consolation in a first-round loss in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series, but ProtectTheHarvest.com Pro Stock driver Rodger Brogdon can take some solace from his first round at the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals on Sunday.

For one, Brogdon overcame a bizarre starting-line procedure to contend for the round-win. Then, he was in position to advance to the second round at the eighth-mile mark, and finally, Brogdon can be pleased that he brought back an intact Chevrolet Camaro after it danced wildly toward the finish line.

“Dadgum, that was a wild one,” Brogdon said. “First off, we were all dead late because (Robert) Patrick got timed out, but once we got going the car ran pretty decent, and we were right there but then it went all crazy.”

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CHARLOTTE, NC – In only his second NHRA Four-Wide Nationals start, Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Adam Arana fell in the first round, yet he is still excited to keep his 2014 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season going.

The ProtectTheHarvest.com/MAVTV Buell rider had a phenomenal reaction time, but it just wasn’t enough to overcome a slight driving mistake. Arana lost in the first round of eliminations to Scotty Pollacheck, John Hall, and Jerry Savoie after making a pass of 6.943 seconds at 192.08 mph.

“The motor was good Sunday, the loss was a complete driver error,” Arana said. “When I shifted into third gear, the front end came down and washed out. Because of that, my thumb was too close to the shifter and the clutch. I then had to short-shift, which just completely eliminated one gear. The short-shift was really hard on the motor and made it pull real hard.

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CHARLOTTE, NC – In only his second NHRA Four-Wide Nationals start, Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Adam Arana is looking like an NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series veteran after making a solid qualifying attempt in Charlotte.

The ProtectTheHarvest.com/MAVTV Buell was one of only a few bikes to make more than two consistent qualifying passes throughout the entire weekend. With a pass of 6.900 seconds at 193.18 mph in Q2, Arana will start final eliminations from the No. 12 position and will face No. 4 Scotty Pollacheck, No. 5 John Hall, and No. 13 Jerry Savoie in the first round.

“Unfortunately, we broke a motor in Q3 and had to bring out a brand-new motor for Q4,” Arana said. “Because of that, I really wasn’t able to make a good pass for my last run. This isn’t what we wanted to deal with at all this weekend. Now we’re at a point where we don’t know the potential of this motor.

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CHARLOTTE, NC – With Las Vegas behind him, ProtectTheHarvest.com Pro Stock driver Rodger Brogdon is ready to see what the rest of the 2014 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season holds for him beginning with this weekend’s NHRA Four-Wide Nationals.

The same season goal will apply when his Camaro pulls up to the starting line this weekend: Go home with the win. Brogdon doesn’t care how many people he is up against because he knows his success is dependent on himself alone.

“The Four-Wide Nationals is always an interesting event for any racer,” Brogdon said. “It’s not very often that you have to worry about three other guys lined up next to you in the staging area. You can’t worry about that though. You can’t let the extra lights on the tree affect your thinking. The key is to focus on your lane and your light only. Once you start worrying about everyone else that’s when you start to have problems.”

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