Hunter Capping Off TAD Rookie Season in Pomona

Courtesy of Kenny Gilmour Motorsports

POMONA, CA – Even after a full season of racing in the fastest “Sportsman” category in the NHRA, Top Alcohol Dragster driver Greg Hunter enters the NHRA Finals just as enthusiastic as ever. He’s going into the race with his ExactAir car running at its best. Racing in the area where the American hot rodding scene started just adds to the excitement.

“We’re excited about racing in Southern California. SoCal is where hot rodding and drag racing itself began. This is also where I went to watch my first race, the 1994 World Finals. Going to that race changed my life. Now we’re going into 2012 World Finals with a car capable of qualifying well and winning rounds. Looking at the entry list, we’ll be racing with a lot of great cars, but we’re up for the challenge,” said Hunter, a TAD rookie who formerly drove a family-owned Alcohol Funny Car.

The ExactAir team is coming off of a pair of races in Las Vegas, where they ran career-bests and improved their combination. The most recent of those races, the final Lucas Oil Series regional event of the year, saw Greg qualify #6 with a 5.40 at 266 mph. He used a .016 holeshot and 5.46 run to eliminate Sidnei Frigo first round. He pushed the tree too hard second round, giving the win to eventual race winner Ray Martin.

“The first run was good enough to keep me qualified at 6th. It kicked the blower belt off on the second run. The last run was good but not as good as the first. We were happy to get the first round win. I just got too amped up before the second round and red-lit. I was disappointed in that, but it’s something that’s going to happen when you push the tree. I definitely learned from it,” Greg said.

Perhaps the largest reward of the weekend didn’t come in the form of points or race winnings. The team is finally seeing their gradual improvements start to pay off.

“We’re really starting to see things come together,” claimed Hunter. “Kenny (Gilmour, crew chief) and the team have been working to improve the parts over the season, and their efforts are being rewarded by the performance and consistency that we’re seeing. The car is making it all the way down the track. Our between-round routine has also been improving. I cannot wait to see what happens in Pomona.”

Top Alcohol Dragster qualifying at the Auto Club of Southern California NHRA Finals, November 8-11, on Thursday afternoon at 3:30. Two more qualifying sessions follow on Friday at 11:45 am and 3 pm. First round of eliminations will be at 1:30 Saturday afternoon. Eliminations continue on Sunday morning.

ExactAir Compliance Systems is a company that supplies compliance, maintenance and control systems for the Natural Gas Compression industry. For more information on ExactAir’s state of the art technology, visit them on the web at: http://www.exactairsystems.com

Greg Hunter and Kenny Gilmour Motorsports partner with some of the finest companies in their industries, including ExactAir Compliance Systems, Omega 2000 Cribbing, Goodyear Tire, NGK Spark Plugs, Lucas Oil, Dark Side Racing, Oasis Emission Consultants, Mopac Auto Supply, Rock Bit Industries, GRP Connecting Rods, Winberg Crankshafts, National Transmission, Paron Paint & Body, Mechanix Wear, Berube Custom Tanks, Peter Vaughn Custom Glass, Koolsville Golf Carts & Accessories, VP Fuels USA, and Top Gun Coatings.

For more information on Greg Hunter and the Kenny Gilmour Motorsports team, please visit www.kennygilmourmotorsports.com