EAKINS KEEPS MOMENTUM WITH SEMIFINAL FINISH
Thu, 2008-04-17 08:56
Two weeks after scoring the first national event win of his career, Randy Eakins
continued to climb the Top Alcohol Dragster championship points standings with a
strong semifinal finish at the 9th annual SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals in Las
Vegas. Eakins, 39, drove the Canidae All Natural Pet Foods/Red line Oil A/Fuel
dragster to six consecutive NHRA round-wins before being halted in the
semifinals.
The Edgecombe Racing team worked hard to battle through electrical issues that plagued their nitromethane-burning dragster throughout the weekend, and they managed to qualify in the top half of the 16-car field and go rounds in eliminations. Eakins posted a 5.63 elapsed time in the first round to defeat a tire-smoking Johnny Ahten. His round two matchup paralleled the one from his Houston win in which he defeated 2007 Top Alcohol Dragster world champion Bill Reichert on a holeshot. This time he raced 2007 Super Comp world champ Shawn Langdon, who qualified No. 1 behind the wheel of Morgan Lucas’ dragster, and again it was decided on the starting line as Eakins cut a superb .011 reaction time and won with a 5.73 over Langdon’s superior 5.69. Back-to-back wins were not in the cards, however, as Eakins’ engine dropped cylinders in the semifinals and he lost to Jeff Isbell, who ran a solid 5.47 and became another first-time winner after defeating Jim Whiteley in the final round. Two weeks after scoring the first national event win of his career, Randy Eakins continued to climb the Top Alcohol Dragster championship points standings with a strong semifinal finish at the 9th annual SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals in Las Vegas. Eakins, 39, drove the Canidae All Natural Pet Foods/Red line Oil A/Fuel dragster to six consecutive NHRA round-wins before being halted in the semifinals.
The Edgecombe Racing team worked hard to battle through electrical issues that plagued their nitromethane-burning dragster throughout the weekend, and they managed to qualify in the top half of the 16-car field and go rounds in eliminations. Eakins posted a 5.63 elapsed time in the first round to defeat a tire-smoking Johnny Ahten. His round two matchup paralleled the one from his Houston win in which he defeated 2007 Top Alcohol Dragster world champion Bill Reichert on a holeshot. This time he raced 2007 Super Comp world champ Shawn Langdon, who qualified No. 1 behind the wheel of Morgan Lucas’ dragster, and again it was decided on the starting line as Eakins cut a superb .011 reaction time and won with a 5.73 over Langdon’s superior 5.69. Back-to-back wins were not in the cards, however, as Eakins’ engine dropped cylinders in the semifinals and he lost to Jeff Isbell, who ran a solid 5.47 and became another first-time winner after defeating Jim Whiteley in the final round.
“We had some ignition trouble that I think was caused by the rain and moisture after the event in Houston, and we weren’t able to get it solved during the race in Vegas,” said Eakins. “All things considered, we’re very happy to go to the semifinals and add to our points total.”
The Edgecombe Racing team, whose first national win came at this event in 2002 with Darren Nicholson as their driver, climbed to seventh in the national points standings and kept their momentum alive after an invigorating win at Houston Raceway Park two weeks earlier.
“We’re still on a high from the win in Houston, and I can’t believe all of the attention it has brought this team,” said Eakins. “As long as we’re in contention for a top 10 finish or a division championship, we’ll keep traveling to chase the points. Right now, we’re focused on getting this car to run high-5.20s and low-5.30s where it needs to be.”
The Edgecombe Racing team worked hard to battle through electrical issues that plagued their nitromethane-burning dragster throughout the weekend, and they managed to qualify in the top half of the 16-car field and go rounds in eliminations. Eakins posted a 5.63 elapsed time in the first round to defeat a tire-smoking Johnny Ahten. His round two matchup paralleled the one from his Houston win in which he defeated 2007 Top Alcohol Dragster world champion Bill Reichert on a holeshot. This time he raced 2007 Super Comp world champ Shawn Langdon, who qualified No. 1 behind the wheel of Morgan Lucas’ dragster, and again it was decided on the starting line as Eakins cut a superb .011 reaction time and won with a 5.73 over Langdon’s superior 5.69. Back-to-back wins were not in the cards, however, as Eakins’ engine dropped cylinders in the semifinals and he lost to Jeff Isbell, who ran a solid 5.47 and became another first-time winner after defeating Jim Whiteley in the final round. Two weeks after scoring the first national event win of his career, Randy Eakins continued to climb the Top Alcohol Dragster championship points standings with a strong semifinal finish at the 9th annual SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals in Las Vegas. Eakins, 39, drove the Canidae All Natural Pet Foods/Red line Oil A/Fuel dragster to six consecutive NHRA round-wins before being halted in the semifinals.
The Edgecombe Racing team worked hard to battle through electrical issues that plagued their nitromethane-burning dragster throughout the weekend, and they managed to qualify in the top half of the 16-car field and go rounds in eliminations. Eakins posted a 5.63 elapsed time in the first round to defeat a tire-smoking Johnny Ahten. His round two matchup paralleled the one from his Houston win in which he defeated 2007 Top Alcohol Dragster world champion Bill Reichert on a holeshot. This time he raced 2007 Super Comp world champ Shawn Langdon, who qualified No. 1 behind the wheel of Morgan Lucas’ dragster, and again it was decided on the starting line as Eakins cut a superb .011 reaction time and won with a 5.73 over Langdon’s superior 5.69. Back-to-back wins were not in the cards, however, as Eakins’ engine dropped cylinders in the semifinals and he lost to Jeff Isbell, who ran a solid 5.47 and became another first-time winner after defeating Jim Whiteley in the final round.
“We had some ignition trouble that I think was caused by the rain and moisture after the event in Houston, and we weren’t able to get it solved during the race in Vegas,” said Eakins. “All things considered, we’re very happy to go to the semifinals and add to our points total.”
The Edgecombe Racing team, whose first national win came at this event in 2002 with Darren Nicholson as their driver, climbed to seventh in the national points standings and kept their momentum alive after an invigorating win at Houston Raceway Park two weeks earlier.
“We’re still on a high from the win in Houston, and I can’t believe all of the attention it has brought this team,” said Eakins. “As long as we’re in contention for a top 10 finish or a division championship, we’ll keep traveling to chase the points. Right now, we’re focused on getting this car to run high-5.20s and low-5.30s where it needs to be.”
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