NHRA Sportsman Racing standouts Mark Buehring and Shane Heckel will be stepping
up to the professional ranks as the duo will field a 2007 Chevy Cobalt in the
NHRA Pro Stock class. The Rick Jones built chassis will be powered by a Taylor
Lastor prepared 500 cubic inch DRCE 2 engine. Buehring and Heckel will split
the driving duties at 14 planned events on the NHRA POWERade Series tour this
season. Buehring finished third nationally in the Super Gas (9.90 second
index) category in 2005, while Heckel is a perennial heavy hitter in the
Competition Eliminator category with his family's national-record holding
B/Dragster (a dragster with a Pro Stock legal engine).
After his success in Super Gas, Buehring, from
Houston, stepped up to the Top Sportsman class in his '91 Chevy Lumina that was
capable of running elapsed times in the low seven-second zone at over 190 mph.
With Heckel, from nearby La Porte, Texas, having success with his Pro Stock
style engine and drivetrain in a dragster, what started as casual conversation
in Heckel's race shop, Ballistic Racecraft, is well on it's way to becoming a
reality for the 2008 season.
"I'm very excited about making the move to the professional
ranks," said Buehring. "We have a steep learning curve ahead of us, but I'm
confident we have the right people and equipment in place to get
there."