JASON COLLINS: DOUBLE DUTY WEEKEND
Sat, 2009-03-07 16:28
Qualifies No. 1 at IHRA Event Then Drives Overnight to ADRL Race …
Jason Collins didn’t get much sleep Friday night.
The Rainbow City, Ala.-based driver was the only racer who accepted the challenge of racing two national events this weekend.
Collins laid down the quickest Pro Stock lap in Friday Pro Stock qualifying at the IHRA Mardi Gras Nationals in Baton Rouge, La., with a 6.294 elapsed time at 222.03 miles per hour and loaded the car into the team’s hauler and towed four hours to Houston Raceway Park in Baytown, Tex., to race Saturday at the ADRL Safety-Kleen Nationals.
“This is the first time I’ve ever attempted something like this,” Collins admitted. “Tonight will tell the story.”
Rumors circulated throughout the HRP pits suggesting the IHRA had parked the Pro Stock cars in such a manner that they couldn’t attend both events. Collins quickly discounted that banter as completely false. Qualifies No. 1 at IHRA Event Then Drives Overnight to ADRL Race …
Jason Collins didn’t get much sleep Friday night.
The Rainbow City, Ala.-based driver was the only racer who accepted the challenge of racing two national events this weekend.
Collins laid down the quickest Pro Stock lap in Friday Pro Stock qualifying at the IHRA Mardi Gras Nationals in Baton Rouge, La., with a 6.294 elapsed time at 222.03 miles per hour and loaded the car into the team’s hauler and towed four hours to Houston Raceway Park in Baytown, Tex., to race Saturday at the ADRL Safety-Kleen Nationals.
“This is the first time I’ve ever attempted something like this,” Collins admitted. “Tonight will tell the story.”
Rumors circulated throughout the HRP pits suggesting the IHRA had parked the Pro Stock cars in such a manner that they couldn’t attend both events. Collins quickly discounted that banter as completely false.
“That was just a rumor,” Collins contended. “We were up front with the IHRA and let them know what we were doing. We were parked in the grass which was outside of the norm but it enabled us to get out. We parked where we could pull right out.
Collins made the Houston Extreme Pro Stock field during the final session on Saturday. Even though only six cars, counting Collins, attended this weekend’s event, he stood a chance of not making the field.
That was just the opposite of his Baton Rouge experience where the most unlikely of runs paced the IHRA Pro Stock field.
“We were the second pair and really didn’t believe the 6.29 would hold,” Collins said. “We crossed our fingers hoping it would stand up.”
His Baton Rogue run stood through the final session on Friday. In Houston, Saturday’s opening qualifying session didn’t work in his favor as a broken wheelie bar and hiem joint caused the team to push back from the starting line.
Collins hopes his Baton Rouge run stands up, but not for the sake of being the No. 1 qualifier. An easy start to Sunday’s final eliminations clearly remains the objective.
“I’m hoping the run will stay on the top and we can get a bye run in the first round,” Collins admitted.
Jason Collins didn’t get much sleep Friday night.
The Rainbow City, Ala.-based driver was the only racer who accepted the challenge of racing two national events this weekend.
Collins laid down the quickest Pro Stock lap in Friday Pro Stock qualifying at the IHRA Mardi Gras Nationals in Baton Rouge, La., with a 6.294 elapsed time at 222.03 miles per hour and loaded the car into the team’s hauler and towed four hours to Houston Raceway Park in Baytown, Tex., to race Saturday at the ADRL Safety-Kleen Nationals.
“This is the first time I’ve ever attempted something like this,” Collins admitted. “Tonight will tell the story.”
Rumors circulated throughout the HRP pits suggesting the IHRA had parked the Pro Stock cars in such a manner that they couldn’t attend both events. Collins quickly discounted that banter as completely false. Qualifies No. 1 at IHRA Event Then Drives Overnight to ADRL Race …
Jason Collins didn’t get much sleep Friday night.
The Rainbow City, Ala.-based driver was the only racer who accepted the challenge of racing two national events this weekend.
Collins laid down the quickest Pro Stock lap in Friday Pro Stock qualifying at the IHRA Mardi Gras Nationals in Baton Rouge, La., with a 6.294 elapsed time at 222.03 miles per hour and loaded the car into the team’s hauler and towed four hours to Houston Raceway Park in Baytown, Tex., to race Saturday at the ADRL Safety-Kleen Nationals.
“This is the first time I’ve ever attempted something like this,” Collins admitted. “Tonight will tell the story.”
Rumors circulated throughout the HRP pits suggesting the IHRA had parked the Pro Stock cars in such a manner that they couldn’t attend both events. Collins quickly discounted that banter as completely false.
“That was just a rumor,” Collins contended. “We were up front with the IHRA and let them know what we were doing. We were parked in the grass which was outside of the norm but it enabled us to get out. We parked where we could pull right out.
Collins made the Houston Extreme Pro Stock field during the final session on Saturday. Even though only six cars, counting Collins, attended this weekend’s event, he stood a chance of not making the field.
That was just the opposite of his Baton Rouge experience where the most unlikely of runs paced the IHRA Pro Stock field.
“We were the second pair and really didn’t believe the 6.29 would hold,” Collins said. “We crossed our fingers hoping it would stand up.”
His Baton Rogue run stood through the final session on Friday. In Houston, Saturday’s opening qualifying session didn’t work in his favor as a broken wheelie bar and hiem joint caused the team to push back from the starting line.
Collins hopes his Baton Rouge run stands up, but not for the sake of being the No. 1 qualifier. An easy start to Sunday’s final eliminations clearly remains the objective.
“I’m hoping the run will stay on the top and we can get a bye run in the first round,” Collins admitted.
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