Sonoma Regional gives Ahten Racing a new perspective

Courtesy of Athen Family Racing

Sonoma, CA – The Ahten Racing Team picked up something special from last weekend’s Regional race. It was not a trophy, but it is still valuable. They now have their confidence back.  The new engine combination has been figured out, and they are now looking forward to their next race.

“Sonoma was like a re-birth of our race team,” said driver Johnny Ahten. “Trying to get a handle on a whole new set-up is sometimes a tricky thing to do, but now we know what we have. I feel confident with the car. If we had a few more runs to fine tune the top end, I think we could have done very well.”

Qualifying started out with the Island Renovations / 801 Racing / Fireman’s Brew Team running a planned early shut-off 5.595/245.45 run. This was a big step forward because the last outing resulted in multiple tire-melting launches. Getting the car to launch and hook to the track gave them a set of data to work with.

They came back on Saturday and laid out a 5.532/244.60. Spirits were up in the Ahten Racing camp. In Saturday’s final session, a 5.532/244.60 was put up on the board. The top end charge was the next project that needed attention. The Ahten Racing Team ended up in the number six position going into eliminations.

Sunday’s first round opponent was Ray Martin. Ahten did his job at the tree by getting a big staring line advantage over Martin and was leading the charge to the thousand foot mark. Martin came around Ahten at that point, and ran him down with a 5.384/266.90 to Ahten’s 5.418/248.25.

“It was a good close race, and a real treat for the fans,” added Ahten. “It showed our potential and gave us some juicy bits on the computer. The whole team worked really hard this weekend, as we were a bit shorthanded.  Chuck Costabile really stepped up. I also want to thank Nick Kruger, for helping out on the bottom end and right side of the motor. My Dad and Crew Chief Al Ahten, along with Howard Katano, and Bob Ahten were amazing.”

The Ahten Racing Team are back home now, with a new attitude, valuable data, and the spirit of a teenager with a brand new hot rod. They will rebuild, refresh, and wait. The waiting will be the toughest part, because with a re-birth comes anticipation. The cure will come when the Nitromethane Injected beast comes to life, and rockets down the track.