DENVER MOUNTAIN EXPERIENCE TOUGH CLIMB FOR CAMRIE CARUSO
DENVER, CO – Camrie Caruso and the Tequila Comisario Chevrolet Camaro battled a learning curve at famed Bandimere Speedway, the 
NHRA track carved into the side of the mountains outside of Denver. The rookie team spent three days last week in advance of the NHRA Mile High Nationals to compile data to make a run at their first victory of the season. This weekend after two full days of qualifying, including four more passes, the Tequila Comisario Chevrolet Camaro Pro Stock race car was still playing catch-up coming into race day.
“We had a lot of hurdles this weekend,” said Caruso, who entered the race seventh in points. “We came up and tested for three days last week and then we got four runs in qualifying. You really need a lot of data and we are building our program. This was a tough weekend for sure but there are positives we can take away. We qualified and got a bonus point. We will keep working to improve.”
The bright spot of the weekend was the team’s first pass on Friday when they unveiled the Tequila Comisario Chevrolet Camaro on the starting line in front of a packed house of fans. Caruso then posted a strong run of 6.985 seconds at 191.46 mph which was third quickest and earned the front-runner for NHRA rookie of the year a qualifying bonus point. Racing on the mountain continued and Caruso focused on her performance and the overall team effort.
“I got used to the altitude last week when we were testing so I felt good all weekend driving,” said Caruso.
By the end of qualifying Caruso had bettered her Friday qualifying run with a 6.982 second pass at 194.30 mph in the final qualifying session but that was only quick enough to qualify her No. 11. This was just the second time the rookie started a race from the bottom half of the field.
In her opening round race against Fernando Cuadra Jr., Caruso knew she would have to be at the top of her game off the starting line and she would need a clean run from her Tequila Comisario Chevrolet Camaro. Both cars took their time staging and just before the tree flashed Caruso hit the throttle jumping the gun for her first competition red-light. It was a disappointing conclusion to a frustrating weekend.
“You just have to put this race behind you as quickly as possible,” said Caruso, who has a No. 1 qualifier earlier this season. “You hate to lose first round and we just have to move past this race. That is really all there is to it. No one is hanging their heads in our pits.”
The team will be back in competition next weekend at the Sonoma Nationals, the second leg of the Western Swing. This will be another new track for the 24-year-old driver who makes her home in Denver, North Carolina. The team will regroup and look at how they can continue to battle for the Camping World Pro Stock world championship.
“We are going to go into Sonoma with a positive attitude and try and do our best again,” said Caruso. “We have some catching up to do and I am glad we will be back at the track in a few days.”
Tequila Comisario will adorn Caruso’s race car for four more races along with NGK’s Shop Squad program for professional technicians. Both new additions to the Caruso Family Racing program join a strong list of marketing partners that includes GESI, Powerbuilt Tools, VP Racing Lubricants and Sand Haulers of America.
Qualifying Results
Q1: 6.985 sec, 191.46 mph; Qual. 3
Q2: 6.976 sec, 192.80 mph; Qual. 9
Q3: 7.035 sec, 193.77 mph; Qual. 9
Q4: 6.982 sec, 194.30 mph; Qual. 11
Bonus Points: +1 (3rd quickest of Q1)
Race Results
First Round
Fernando Cuadra Jr., Leon, Mexico, Corral Boots Ford Mustang, 7.002, 196.04 mph def. Camrie Caruso, Denver, NC, Tequila Comisario Chevrolet Camaro, DQ – redlight
photo by Auto Imagery
