September 29th - October 2nd, Ameriquest Nationals, Chicago, ILL. Number of entries: 26 Final Qualifying position: #18 - 5.455et. at 259.56mph. Finish: DNQ ESPN2 coverage of this race on 10-9 / 1:00pm - 2:00pm. & 10-15 / 7:00pm. - 8:00pm. After winning a race and going to the semi-finals the weekend before the Team had high hopes for the final race of the season the Ameriquest Mortgage Nationals in Chicago, IL. What unfolded, goes to show just how fast circumstances can change and how competitive NHRA drag racing is. On our first qualifying run we shook the tires a little and ended up breaking our #1 engine that had been so fast for the last several races. The team quickly changed back to an engine combination that we had run earlier in the season that was clearly not a fast. The plan was, if we could get qualified we had plenty of time to repair the damaged engine before first round. Unfortunately we could only squeeze a 5.455et @ 259.56mph effort out of our backup which only put us into the 18th spot, 2 spots short of the field. As it turned out, this was the only field we missed the entire season and, as disappointing as that was it is an accomplishment for the Bar's Leaks Team to qualify at 14 of 15 NHRA races.
September 23rd - 25th, Lucas Oil Series, Colombus, OH. Number of entries: 19 Final Qualifying position: #5 - 5.427et. at 263.92mph. Finish: Semi Finals The Lucas Oil Series Race in Columbus, OH. was a unique challenge for the Bar's Leaks Team. At the same time the 19 cars were qualifying for this 8-car race, we were busy racing the finals from the rain delayed Bowling Green race. That meant we needed to be a little more conservative than we like on the runs that also counted for our qualifying. As it turned out we qualified in the 5th spot with a 5.427et @ 263.92 that placed us as the top supercharged car in the field for the third race in a row. In the first round we got a little pay-back on a team that had beat us earlier in the season, and moved onto the next round. In the semi finals we were paired with our Bar’s Leaks teammate Bill Reichert, and what ensued was one of the best drag races of the season. We improved a little from our last run with a 5.430et @ 264.34mph run that ended up just .014 seconds short of a win (About 6 inches at the finish line).
August 12th - 14th, Lucas Oil Series, Bowling Green, KY. Number of entries: 8 Final Qualifying position: #1 - 5.588et. at 255.73mph. Finish: WIN At the rain delayed Lucas Oil Series race from Bowling Green, Ky. the Bar's Leaks Team clearly had the performance advantage over the 4 cars left in competition. Not only did we win the event but also qualified #1, and set low e.t. and fast mph for the entire event with a 5.427et @ 263.92mph. This win was long overdue and should be credited to a long list of sponsors and parts suppliers that truly provide us with cutting edge components.
September 15th - 19th, Toyo Tires Nationals, Reading, PA. Number of entries: 19 Final Qualifying position: #3 - 5.351et. at 265.22mph. Finish: Quarter Finals ESPN2 coverage of this race on 9-25 / 1:00pm - 2:00pm. & 10-2 / 3:00pm. - 4:00pm. Going into the Toyo Tires Nationals the Bar's Leaks Team was committed to testing some new components that had been in the development phase for some time. On the first 2 runs we tested a new cylinder head – camshaft combination with mixed results, then decided to test a new supercharger – manifold combination for the final qualifying run. WOW…5.351et @ 265.22mph. It was clearly obvious to everyone watching that we had discovered a performance improvement. That run was almost seven hundreds of a second and 3 miles per hour faster than our career best which put us in the 3rd spot, and the only supercharged car in the 5.30s. We ran even faster in the first round, easily winning with a 5.337et @ 266.32mph. That run was the second quickest run of the year by a supercharged car and was getting close to uncharted territory, so much so that we became the Lead-In story on the ESPN2 Coverage of the event. In the Semi Finals we again had our opponent covered and broke a blower belt, which ended our day. The Bar's Leaks car defiantly made some news at this event.
August 31st - September 5th, Mac Tools U.S. Nationals, Indianapolis, IN. Number of entries: 22 Final Qualifying position: #11 - 5.456et. at 259.41mph. Finish: First Round Loss ESPN2 coverage of this race on 9-10 / 3:00pm - 4:00pm. & 9-17 / 9:00pm. - 10:00pm. The U.S. Nationals is clearly “The Race” and draws the best of the best. The Bar's Leaks Team went into this race knowing we had to make perfect runs to make this field, as there were 22 quality cars on the grounds. The Bar’s Leaks Team executed the plan exactly, and qualified in the 4th spot right out of the box with a 5.466et @ 259.41mph run that earned us the top spot for the supercharged cars. We stayed in the 4th position until the last qualifying session when the track and weather conditions developed into one of those potential “record setting sessions”. Unfortunately we swung not only for the fence but the 10th row, overpowered the track a tick, and when it was over moved back to the 11th spot. We made another perfect run in the first round running a 5.459et @ 259.76mph. and ended up on the short end again by nine thousands of a second.
August 26th - 28th, Lucas Oil Series, Bowling Green, KY. Number of entries: 8 Final Qualifying position: #1 - 5.588et. at 255.73mph. Finish: Rained Out after first round Bowling Green, KY. is another one of those Tricky, Hot, Lucas Oil Series races that test our tuning skills. The Bar's Leaks Team felt good coming into this race as we had qualified well here last year. We qualified #1 right out of the box, and improved in the last session running a 5.588et @ 254.28mph to stay in the #1 spot. The challenge in the first round was make a solid run and not “give it away” which is exactly what Jeff did for an easy win. Before we could get to the second round it started to rain and was still raining on Monday morning, so NHRA rescheduled the remaining eliminations for the Lucas Oil Series Race in Columbus OH.
August 11th - 14th, Lucas Oil Nationals, Brainerd, MN. Number of entries: 18 Final Qualifying position: #11 - 5.444et. at 262.44mph. Finish: First Round Loss ESPN2 coverage of this race on 8-20 / 1:00pm - 2:00pm. & 8-27 / 3:00pm. - 4:00pm. The Lucas Oil Nationals in Brainerd Minnesota has the greatest fans of any race on our schedule, in fact large numbers of those fans begin descending on the campground at Brainerd Intermational Raceway the weekend prior to the race. The Bar's Leaks Team was looking to rebound in Brainerd after stumbling the week before in Cincinnati, and had a solid qualifying effort running 5.444et @ 262.44mph. The team made a coulpe of adjustments for the first round race and ran a 5.418et @ 262.74mph that matched our career best numbers but was not enough for the win. Despite a loosing effort the team successfully rebounded and is looking forward to Bowling Green in 2 weeks.
August 5th - 7th, Lucas Oil Series, Cincinnati, OH. Number of entries: 9 Final Qualifying position: #8 - 6.924et. at 133.70mph. Finish: First Round Loss Today's motorsports is a competition where Hi-pertormance, incredibly complex cars compete, and a sport where the failure of a .35 cent part can bring the whole thing to a grinding halt. Our game-plan at the Lucas Oil Series race in Cincinnati, Ohio was to make consistent runs. At an event like this the way to the final is by making consistent runs on race day. In qualifying the 3 normally scheduled runs were shortened to just one due to rain. The ugly side of a one run qualifying session is that any meahanical malfunction normally results in a DNQ (did not qualify). The Bar's Leaks Team proved that theroy, almost, by loosing a blower belt and coasting through with a 6.924et @ 133.70mph. run. Luckily there were other teams that met a similar fate and we qualified in the eigth spot. Even though the Bar's Leaks dragster had not yet made a full run, we were confidant in our abilities to run well in eliminations. During the burnout for the first round, one of those .35 cent parts inside the ignition system failed and shut the car off which ended our day on the spot. Hopefully we can change our luck at the Lucas Oil Nationals in Brainerd, Minnesota this comming weekend.
July 22nd - 23rd, Lucas Oil Series, Bristol, TN. Number of entries: 9 Final Qualifying position: #4 - 5.643et. at 253.28mph. Finish: First Round Loss NHRA Drag Racing is a sport of unimaginable horsepower, incredible speeds, and where your performance is measured in thousands of a second. The Lucas Oil Series race in Bristol, TN. will be remembered as a reallllllly close one. The Bar's Leaks Team did a good job in qualifying, finishing in the 4th spot, but lost in the first round by .0044 seconds! (that's about 16 inches, while traveling at 253mph). On the positive side; With 7 races completed and 6 left on the schedule we have moved into the 2nd sopt in the Lucas Oil Divisional points chase, and into yhe 18th position in the NHRA National points standings. The Bar's Leaks team will get a well-deserved weekend off before beginning a 6 race, 9-week swing.
July 15th - 17th, Lucas Oil Series, Joilet, IL. Number of entries: 23 Final Qualifying position: #4 - 5.453et. at 259.06mph. Finish: First Round Loss The Lucas Oil Series race in Joilet, IL (just outside Chicago) was not originally on our schedule, but was added because this race was shaping up to be the first big showdown of championship quality cars, at a good track, in summertime conditions. It was those ingredients that drew 23 cars for just an 8-car field. The track conditions at Route 66 Raceway are by far the best we race on the entire year, and required major changes from the tune-up that we ran at our last race in Stanton, MI. The Bar's Leaks Team did a great job of adjusting and was never qualified lower than 6th throughout the three qualifying sessions, concluding with a great 5.453et at 259.06mph run that put us in the 4th spot. That set up a first round race with our Bar's Leaks teammate Bill Reichert who qualified 5th. Even though we seemed to have a handle on those "Summertime Conditions" in qualifying, we unexpectedly overpowered the hot track and smoked the tires resulting in a first round loss. The loss was the first time that we had lost in the first round this year, and as disappointing as that is we are very excited about our strong performance in qualifying. The Bar's Leaks Team continues to improve and we are looking forward to testing some new components at our next race in Bristol, TN.
The Bar's Leaks Team was selected as the "Best Appearing Crew" at the Lucas Oil Series race in Joilet, IL. This marks the second such award in 2005 (one in each recing series). Our primary sponsors, Bar's Leaks, Magnaflux and Goodson all deserve a big thank you again for their contributions on the crew uniforms. The number one goal was to attract media attention, and I think we hit it dead on. .
July 1st - 3rd, Lucas Oil Series, Stanton, MI. Number of entries: 12 Final Qualifying position: #7 - 5.610et. at 247.52mph. Finish: Semi Finals The track surface at the Mid Michigan Motorplex is always a challenge to negotiate, especially in the Hot summer months. Not only is the surface slippery when it's hot, but also has a number of bumps and a short shutdown area to contend with. The short shutdown is a significant concern, as any hiccup in the shutdown area almost guarantees you a trip into the sand trap. In the first session of Top Alcohol Funny Car not one, but two funny cars found their way into the sand and substained enough damage to end their weekend. The Bar's Leaks Team struggled with the conditions a little in qualifying, running a 5.610et @ 247.32mph run that put us into the 7th spot. After learning what didn't work in qualifying, we made the right calls on race day by defeating the number two qualifier in the first round. With the track temperature exceeding 135o in the semi finals we again detuned the car in fear of shaking the tires and lost a great drag race by 22 thousands of a second (about 4 feet). The good news is that Jeff did a great job with less than safe conditions for a 250 mph + car. The bad news is that there are a couple of more races like this one left on our schedule.
June 18th - 20th, K&N Filters Supernationals, Englishtown NJ. Number of entries: 23 Final Qualifying position: #5 - 5.453et. at 260.76mph. Finish: Quarter Finals ESPN2 coverage of this race on 7-3 / 1:00pm - 2:00pm. & 7-7 / 3:00pm. - 4:00pm. Our fourth stop on the schedule was the K&N Filters Supernationals in Englishtown, NJ. on Fathers Day weekend. Fathers Day has been good to us over the last couple of years with a win and a runner up finish at the Spring Nationals, and we were looking to continue that streak. With 23 entries we new that we needed to qualify well and did with a 5.453et. @ 260.76mph run that put us in the 5th spot. We matched that performance in a first round win with a 5.454et @ 261.17mph pass. Going into the Quarter finals we set the car up to run in the low 5.40s and just overpowered the track a tick, and ran 5.547et @ 260.01 in a loosing effort.
In addition to another solid performance the Bar's Leaks Team received the "Brute" Best Appearing Crew Award. The credit for this award goes to our primary sponsors Bar's Leaks, Magnaflux and Goodson for their contributions on the crew shirts. Attracting media attention is defiantly not a problem. .
May 27th - 29th, Lucas Oil Series, Reading, PA. Number of entries: 14 Final Qualifying position: #1 - 5.450et. at 258.62mph. Finish: Semi Finals Momentum is one of those great-unexplained forces of nature, and something the Bar's Leaks team is building with every race. The Lucas Oil Series race in Reading, PA, was another memorable step for our team, marking our first race as the Number 1 Qualifier with a solid 5.450et @ 258.62mph run. Our Spitzer Race Cars Top Alcohol Dragster made picture perfect runs the entire weekend, culminating with a career best 5.418et @ 262.03mph run in the semi finals. Our opponent in the semi finals also ran career best numbers in a great side-by-side race, and we ended up on the loosing side by fifteen-thousands of a second (about 2 feet).
May 13th - 15th , Summit Racing - Southern Nationals Number of entries: 18 Final Qualifying position: #2 - 5.435et. at 260.31mph. Finish: Quarter Finals ESPN2 coverage of this race on 5-22 / 12:00 noon - 1:00pm. and 5-29 / 3:30am. - 4:30am. The Summit Racing - Southern Nationals will be remembered as a race of firsts for the Bar's Leaks team. The 2005 Southern Nationals marks our first trip to this event, the first National Event that the Bar's Leaks team has led in qualifying only to loose the number one spot by a tie breaker, and the first time in our 25 years that we have been beat by the sun. From the time that we unloaded the car on Friday we felt that we had one of the fastest cars in the field, and that showed in qualifying with a great 5.435et. - 260.31mph. run. The rain delay on Sunday pushed our second round race to 8:00pm. and, at that exact time of day, at that track, in the right lane, the sun ends up directly behind the christmas tree making it impossable to even see the tree itself, not to mention the color of the lights? Looking directly into the sun made it impossable for Jeff to do his job, and even blinded him enough that he couldn't see the track well after he left the starting line. Shutting the car off before half-track was disappointing, but the smart move.
April 15th - 17th, Lucas Oil Series, Indianapolis. Number of entries: 21 Final Qualifying position: #4 - 5.490et. at 252.52mph. Finish: Semi Finals Our opening race this year was the Division 3 Lucas Oil Race in Indianapolis Indiana. The Lucas Oil Series races have an 8 car qualified field and the first race always draws a large number of quality cars. This years race was no different, having 21 cars trying to squeeze into those 8 spots. The Bar's Leaks team qualified in the 4th spot with a solid 5.490et at 252.52mph run. That position paired us against Jeff Wilson and the Torco Fuels team in the first round, and we won a great side-by-side race with a 5.487et at 259.21mph run. In the semi finals we had Dave Hirata covered in weekend performance and should have easily won the round but an engine gremlin slowed our performance and let him around us at the finish line. As disappointing as loosing with 4 cars left is, we had a strong weekend and are excited about the statment we made at our first race of the season.
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