For the first time in his 29-race NHRA Pro Stock driving career, Justin Humphreys is going into POWERade Series event with confidence that comes from a good performance in his last outing.
The second-year pro from Monrovia, Md., fought his way into the semifinals at Atlanta Sunday before losing to eventual race winner Jason Line. It was one of Humphreys’ finest outings since the last 2007 race when he marched to his first final round and finished second.
This turnaround was dramatic, with credit going to Frank Gugliotta, an IHRA Pro Stock driver and longtime Humphreys’ family friend. Gugliotta stepped in after veteran crew chief Bob Glidden retired.
Gugliotta is accompanying the RaceRedi Motorsports team to Gateway International Raceway in Madison, Ill., near St. Louis, for this weekend’s O’Reilly Midwest Nationals. Humphreys ran well here a year ago, reaching the semifinals for the first time.
“We are excited and look forward to getting back on the track,” said Humphreys. “Our car is running awfully good. We’d like to repeat what we did in Atlanta and take it one more round. We have a good baseline for the first time this season. That should help us.”
Consistent runs were the hallmark of last weekend’s racing. His best of seven runs was 6.655 seconds and his slowest was 6.694.
“We’ll feel real good if we can continue running the same way this weekend,” Humphreys added. “I have to give a lot of credit to my crew. They’ve all been working hard.”
He moved into ninth place in POWERade points with 276, 31 behind Warren Johnson in eighth and 38 behind No. 7 V Gaines.
| 
|