For Alex Hossler and the rest of his Canton, Illinois based team, things could have hardly came together any better, especially considering the third event on the Arabian Drag Racing League marked his debut, and it’s location in the Doha being some 8,000 miles from his home in the United States. After the dust settled from two full days of heads up drag racing action at the state-of-the-art Qatar Race Club, Alex Hossler met 2009 Arabian Drag Racing League world champion, Von Smith, in an extraordinary final showdown.

Utilizing a considerable starting line advantage, Hossler was able to stay out in front during the entire trip down the QRC’s all-concrete eighth-mile, taking the win with a 3.77-second, 204.38mph to Smith’s quicker, but losing 3.76-second effort.

For Alex Hossler and the rest of his Canton, Illinois based team, things could have hardly came together any better, especially considering the third event on the Arabian Drag Racing League marked his debut, and it’s location in the Doha being some 8,000 miles from his home in the United States. After the dust settled from two full days of heads up drag racing action at the state-of-the-art Qatar Race Club, Alex Hossler met 2009 Arabian Drag Racing League world champion, Von Smith, in an extraordinary final showdown.

Utilizing a considerable starting line advantage, Hossler was able to stay out in front during the entire trip down the QRC’s all-concrete eighth-mile, taking the win with a 3.77-second, 204.38mph to Smith’s quicker, but losing 3.76-second effort.

“Honestly, I don’t think we could have asked for anything better than this,” Hossler said as he climbed out of his Duncan Race Cars-sponsored ’70.5 Chevy Camaro. “We’ve really had our work cut out for us over here, trying to get our tune-up happy in these incredible conditions, but we were able to put it together when we needed to, and do exactly what we came here to do.”

The Pro Extreme standout, who earned his first American Drag Racing League victory late in 2009 at the season ending event in Dallas, Texas, continued, “This whole experience has been incredible and I can’t say enough about Sheikh Khalid and the hospitality he has displayed the entire time we’ve been here. The Qatar Race Club is easily one of the best tracks in the world, and we’re looking forward to the next two events with similar expectations. I have to say thanks to my crew chief and chassis builder, Chris Duncan, for calling the shots on this Art Hossler Auto Plaza hot rod and providing the platform for us to see success such as this.”

Despite qualifying number one, Sheikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Thani, who was the early favorite for the Pro Extreme win, fell to the Barwa Racing ’68 Camaro driven by Von Smith and tuned by Howard Moon in the semifinal round.

“It’s going to be a long three weeks, but we’re staying positive and will continue to test prior to the next event,” reported Sheikh Khalid as he made his way back to the Palace. “We found a few things today that should help our program, but Frank [Manzo] and Tim [McAmis] are all over the tune-up and will continue trying to build on what we have already accomplished.”

The ADRL Pro Extreme competition continues to heat up at the Qatar Race Club, and the next two events will likely prove to be equally exciting.

For more information on the Qatar Race Club and the Arabian Drag Racing League’s season-opener and to see the schedule for the rest of the season, log onto www.qrczone.com

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