The drag racing gods haven’t been smiling on Justin Humphreys during his first year of NHRA Pro Stock racing. They have, in fact, been rather cruel.
How else do you explain missing the starting lineup by one- or two-thousandths of a second? On several occasions?
If anything, the close encounters with Sunday race dates have made Humphreys and his RaceRedi Motorsports/Knoll Gas Energy Pontiac GTO team more determined to shake off the mille-second disappointments. They begin that quest in the Summit Racing Equipment Nationals at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park, Friday through Sunday. This is the first time the POWERade Series has been to the former Norwalk Motorsports Park
It doesn’t take Humphreys long to point out one reason why he’s come so close but yet been so far away. “We’ve run well in the wrong sessions, ” he said, noting that the good session is usually on Friday nights. Saturday in the SuperNationals at Englishtown, N.J., the blue GTO posted the eighth-quickest time which, on most occasions, would be enough to claim to a top 16 start. Alas, it was a hot day and the track was hot and slippery.
The result: A 6.645-second elapsed time was 10th quickest for the session and 17th overall . .. just two-thousandths of a second shy of the goal.
“It’s just one of those racing deals, ” added Humphreys, who got his first taste of drag racing competition in the Sport Compact and Nopi Series. “It’s not a power issue. The motors Richard Maskin and his crew are building have a lot of steam. Now it’s up to us – me, crew chief Eric Luzinski and the crew – to get in there and make the good runs. We’ll get there. We definitely aren’t giving up. ”
Humphreys, of Monrovia, Md., qualified three times in the first 10 races, in 16th, 15th and 14th positions. He and the team displayed their potential at St. Louis last month when he drove into the semifinals.
The all-important qualifying sessions are scheduled for 5 and 8 p. m. Friday and 1 and 3:30 p. m. Saturday. Eliminations get underway Sunday at 11 a. m.
Evan Knoll, founder of Knoll Gas-Torco Racing Fuels and a major sponsor of motorsports, has dedicated himself to bringing high quality racing fuel to every aspect of motorsports. When Evan is not spending time with his daughters you will find him following one of his many-sponsored race teams. Evan is a loyal family man and an avid drag racing fan.
The company also offers commercial and racing oils and lubes; SKULL Shine, a complete line of car care products; SKULL Gear, a complete line of apparel, traction compound, and racing-related accessories.
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