Culture|Garage

Atlanta Dragway- Ashley Force was the winner this weekend in Atlanta, taking down her father, John Force, in the final round. It was an all-around good weekend for Castrol/ John Force Racing, with the patriarch coming in second, and Ford-linked Bob Tasca III going down in the semis to Force. It was a historic day in Funny Car, where if senior Force were to win, it would have been his one-bazillionth career win, and having Ashley win gave her both her first overall victory, and the first victory by a female in Funny Car, one of the most hotly contested categories in the PowerADE drag racing series. On that note, “Full Throttle,” a Coca-Cola brand, will be sponsoring the series beginning next year, with a contract to do so until 2013. In Pro Stock, Mike Edwards took home the overall win, and in Top Fuel, rookie driver Antron Brown beat out odds-on favorite Tony “The Sarge” Schumacher, making a huge impact in the ranks. “In the final round, we were racing Alan Johnson, Tony Schumacher, and the whole Army team over there, and they’re five-time world champions, so you have to give it everything you’ve got. As soon as I saw that thing just flicker yellow, I hit the pedal as quick as I could, and that thing took off and was going down Broadway; I didn’t feel any hiccups on the racetrack, so I knew it was on a good pass. I didn’t see Tony, but I heard him, so I knew he was right there. I was like, ‘Man, come on, come on.’ I went through the traps, saw that win light on, and I just went ecstatic. I couldn’t get out of that car quick enough. It just felt fantastic.” said Brown. In Pro Stock Motorcycle, Andrew Hines ruled the day, defeating Chip Ellis in the final. Without a doubt, this was a momentous weekend in drag racing, especially considering the timeliness of Danica Patrick’s IRL win last week. Congratulations to Ashley and the rest of John Force Racing, as well as Antron Brown and the Matco Tools team for jobs well done.

Talladega, AL- Will Farrell fans, keep yuh yaps shut- Talladega was, without a doubt, the place to be this weekend, as high-speed racing rocked the world of NASCAR. A restrictor plate race, the Aaron’s 499 is run at speeds approaching 200 MPH- although without the plates, stock cars can move MUCH faster at a superspeedway of this size. Because of the nature of the racing at ‘Dega, “bump-drafting” is a popular strategy used to advance in place during the race. To “bump-draft,” drivers simply align with one another, and the rear driver mashes the throttle, giving both a boost of speed, allowing for some serious gains in traffic. The racing was two, three and four cars wide, and came to a head when a glut of collisions characterized the end of the race, granting Toyota driver Kyle Busch the win under the white-flag caution rule. In a race where the lead changed as often as the government of a former Soviet-bloc country, winning was quite the feat to pull off-congratulations to Busch and his crew.

via: NHRA, NASCAR, canoe.ca, LA Times

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