Massey, Red Fuel team produce 330-mph run at Las Vegas to earn No. 2 spot Sunday’s NHRA championship eliminations

LAS VEGAS – The Red Fuel Powered by Schumacher team entered the NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with a brand new Don Schumacher Racing-built chassis with hopes of gaining some precious momentum before the season concludes in two weeks near Pomona, Cali.

With four qualifying sessions complete, spirits are high in the Red Fuel pit after making their best run of the 2014 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season that resulted in their best qualifying effort of the year.

Spencer’s elapsed time of 3.744 seconds at 330.39 mph placed them second for Sunday’s 16-car eliminations at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

“We ran the fastest lap we’ve made all year long,” said Spencer. “We’re trying to work out the new car blues, at least you call it that, but it’s been going down the track all four runs and we just hope that it does that tomorrow. I have to give a shout out to the guys back at the shop who built this brand new chassis. We haven’t missed a beat with it and they did an outstanding job.

“We’re trying to do what we’ve done the last few years and that’s win four races in a season and we have two races left and we’ve only won two this year so we have some work to do.”

The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway has been kind to Spencer in the past. It is important for the team led by crew chiefs Phil Shuler and Todd Okuhara to get some momentum going to close out the season and carry into the 2015 NHRA season.

“We’ve won this race before, I’ve actually won this race twice in my career. When you finish with some momentum at the end of the year, it keeps your hopes up for the next year.

“We have all winter, testing, a couple of months to focus on what you’re doing with the racecar and to end this season on a high note it makes it that much sweeter of an off season and it gives you some good confidence for the 2015 season.

“But right now our goal is to get as high as we can in points and pick up the last two Wally’s and we’ll do our best on Sunday.”