Simonton Hoping to Follow Crew Chief Anderson with U.S. Nationals Victory
CLERMONT, IN – Top Alcohol Funny Car driver Cassie Simonton will end a two-month break in on-track action when she hops back in 
the Kon Rodz Racing entry at the 59th Annual Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals, August 30-Sept. 2. Though Simonton and the Ontario, Canada-based team last competed at the Summit Racing Equipment Nationals at Norwalk in early July, they have spent weeks preparing for the prestigious “Big Go”.
“A few of the crew members and I have been in Indy for a couple weeks, preparing parts for the weekend. We also installed several new carbon fiber pieces from Aerodine Composites Group. The boys have been back in Canada working on Spiro’s hot rods. I moved to Indy so I’ve been here working out with Cam (team clutch technician and NCAA All-American wrestler) getting myself ready for this race. I’ve been hitting the practice tree, making sure I’m ready after two months out of the car,” Cassie said of the team’s U.S. Nationals preparations.
The young team has experienced a few moments of success at Indy – a first round win over defending event champion Jay Payne in 2011 being the highlight. Cassie and the team hope this will be the year that they break through to the semifinals for the first time at this legendary event.
“We’ve always seemed to have a pretty good car here,” Simonton said. “We struggled last year because we changed a few things after back-to-back finals. We’ve qualified well here, we’ve made it to the second round, but now we need to get past second round, where we’ve struggled all year. We ran some of the big guys first round and beat them, but we want to keep going rounds on Monday as well.”
Numerous factors combine to make this race very special for Kon Rodz Racing.
“The Big Go is the biggest race of the year. There is a lot of history behind the event and it’s the one that everyone wants to win. All of the top cars from around the country show up, hoping to add the U.S. Nationals Wally to their trophy case. This would be a great race for us to get our first win. There have been a lot of drivers who earned their first win here,” Cassie said.
Among those drivers is Kon Rodz crew chief Randy Anderson, who won the 1992 U.S Nationals behind the wheel of father Brad’s Top Alcohol Funny Car. His achievement gives the team additional motivation to earn their first victory this weekend.
“That would be a surreal moment, to share that with Randy, to have the same experience he did to win his first national event. I know this is something he’s been pushing for real hard. He wants to win this race – he wants to win many races. We’re all working very hard and he wants it just as bad as the rest of us on the team,” Simonton noted.
Simonton and Kon Rodz Racing will be highlighting major team sponsors Bell Racing USA and Speedway, Ind.-based Aerodine Composites Group through the course of the weekend. Cassie will be wearing one of her new Bell helmets, painted by Off Axis Custom Paint. Indy is the debut race for the Kon Rodz TAFC’s new Aerodine carbon fiber pieces, including a computer box, fuel tank braces, and tin work.
Top Alcohol Funny Car qualifying at the 59th Annual Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals begins on Friday with two sessions followed by single sessions on Saturday and Sunday. First round of eliminations is set for Sunday night. The balance of eliminations will continue on Monday, Labor Day.
