Ike Maier qualifies and competes in major NHRA drag racing at Atlanta

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Ike Maier qualifies and competes in

major NHRA drag racing at Atlanta

Good showing for Canadian Top Fuel driver in his second event

Courtesy: Tim Miller

ATLANTA, GA (May 15, 2011) – After obtaining his NHRA Top Fuel license only months ago, Canadian Ike Maier qualified and competed in the NHRA Summit Racing Equipment Southern Nationals, held over the weekend at Atlanta Dragway in Commerce, Georgia.

Maier qualified in his second-ever NHRA Top Fuel event, and was eliminated by NHRA champion Tony Schumacher in the first round.

The Top Fuel Dragster class is the quickest and fastest in all of drag racing, featuring 8000-horsepower cars which travel from zero to over 325 mph in under four seconds.

"It was a lot of hard work, but it all came together pretty quickly," said Maier, who is from Tottenham, Ontario, just north of Toronto. "I stayed pretty calm, but it was a busy and exciting weekend."

Maier qualified the Paton Racing Top Fuel Dragster in 12th spot in the 16-car field, with a 3.931-second, 307.44-mph posting. Leading the qualifying in the class at Atlanta, the sixth event in the 2011 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Race Series, was Spencer Massey with a 3.825, 323.19 attempt. 

Schumacher qualified with the number five spot, and took out Maier in the first round with a 3.852, 319.69 run against Maier's 3.992, 258.57, but Maier felt he could have done better if the rear end in his car had not suffered mechanical woes, forcing him to shut down sooner.

"We came to an abrupt stop," he said about the rear end failure in the car. "But up to that we were neck and neck. We gave them a run for their money and kept them honest."

Schumacher went to the final and was eliminated by number seven qualifier Antron Brown.

Maier was at Atlanta to race his Pro Modified Corvette as well, but was unsuccessful at qualifying. The Atlanta event was the second venue where he has driven both the Top Fueler and the Pro Mod.

Maier said he was pleased with his past few days in the Top Fuel car.

"I did my thing," he said. "I had a good weekend."

Maier was very appreciative to his sponsors, the crew and the exceptional guidance from Crew chief James "Jimbo" Ermalovich, he positively could not have done it without their valuable support.

Next stop for Maier will be the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals June 23-26 at Norwalk, Ohio.

The Top Fuel entry is headed up by Barry Paton of Paton Racing which has employed Todd Paton behind the wheel of the Top Fueler, as well as Alberta's Tim Boychuck in both the NHRA and the IHRA.

In the past few years Maier has raced competitively in the Pro Modified class with his 1963 Corvette in the PMRA, the IHRA, and the NHRA, and will compete in selected NHRA national events in both classes for 2011.

Photo Credit: Roger Richards / CompetitionPlus.com

ADRL Live Internet Streaming Starts at 11am EST from Maple Grove Raceway!

LIVE Internet Streaming Starts at 11:00am EST  Don't miss a second of ADRL action from Maple Grove Raceway  The American Drag Racing League (ADRL) and NeWave Media Productions will stream all of the action from the Penske Inagural North East Drags LIVE on the internet. Starting at 11am EST on Friday May 6th, fans can watch every run, every burn out, and every world record setting run.  The live coverage also includes multiple camera angles, insider interviews, replays, all rounds of racing and recaps with the competitors throughout the event. The live internet stream offers fans the most comprehensive and exciting drag racing coverage that has ever been available. The innovative live coverage will also further enhance the visibility of the ADRL's talented drivers and crews. Coverage starts on Friday May 6th and Saturday May 7th at 11am EST and you can watch it for FREE!  Simply go to www.adrl.us and click onthe link (at the top of the screen) that says WATCH LIVE FEED.  You'll be redirected to America One Broadband Broadcasting.  There, you'll be directed to supply a username and password.  That information is below... Username: media@adrl.us Password: 660    CONTACT US TODAY! NeWave Media Productions is a full service high definition production facility with extensive experience in both television and video production.  We take pride in providing broadcast quality, high definition production services for our productions that have aired on ESPN, SPEED, Versus, HBO PPV, Comcast SportsNet, Fox Sports and MavTV. For more information on NeWave Media Productions, please log onto www.newavetv.com or contact us at 708.598.6900  NeWave Media Productions, Inc. 18635 West Creek Drive, Suite B Tinley Park,  IL   60477 Phone: 708.598.6900    Fax: 708.598.9688 www.NeWaveTV.com

Junior prevails in first father/son Pro Stock Bike race in history

Junior prevails in first father/son Pro Stock Bike race in history
HOUSTON (May 1) – After getting his first taste of NHRA Full Throttle
Series Pro Stock Motorcycle racing at the 24th annual O'Reilly Auto
Parts Spring Nationals, rookie rider Hector Arana Jr. is ready for
more.

"It was great," the 22-year-old Arana said. "I had a blast. It was
good to finally race."

Hector Jr. beat his father Hector Arana Sr. in a historic first-round
race of identical Lucas Oil Buells before getting edged out by Michael
Phillips in the second round. Hector Jr.'s race against his father was
the first of it's kind in class history.

"I'm sorry I beat my dad," Hector Jr. said. "But I guess the best man
won this time. In the second round, I gave it everything I had. We
just didn't have the performance."

Hector Jr. got a slight advantage off the starting line against his
father, and never looked back as his championship-winning father ran
out of power. Hector Jr. crossed the line in 6.999 seconds at 189.73
mph, while the elder Arana coasted across in 9.553 seconds at 102.20
mph.

After the race, Arana Sr. was equal parts proud papa and savvy team owner.
"I devoted a lot of my time this weekend to making sure he was safe,"
Arana Sr. said. "He did an excellent job. He's picked up and getting
more comfortable. I'm very proud of him.

"Now I see with my own eyes that he can handle the bike and knows what
to do. This will allow me to start focusing on my own program. I need
him to let go and let him make more of his own calls on his bike. That
will let my focus shift to what I need to do to pick up my
performance."

In the second round against Phillips, Hector Jr. had a nearly
identical reaction time as his opponent, but Phillips had a little
more horsepower at every incremental timer after that. Phillips
crossed the line with a 6.898 at 196.70 mph to Hector Jr.'s 7.003 at
192.55 mph.

"I want to thank Forrest and Charlotte Lucas for giving me this
opportunity to race," Hector Jr. said. "I also can't say enough about
my dad. I'm addicted now, and I can't wait to get back on the track."
Larry Morgan got the Lucas Oil Ford Mustang Pro Stock car into the
second round for the first time this year and broke a personal 23-race
losing streak to Greg Anderson when Anderson fouled out at the
starting line in the first round.

"We would have liked to settle the race at the finish line, but a win
is a win," Morgan said. "We're excited about the direction this car is
going and we can't wait for the success we have in store for Lucas
Oil, Ford and Summit Racing in the future."

After Anderson left -.005 seconds too early, Morgan ran a 6.672 second
pass at 208.17 mph.

Morgan drew Mike Edwards in the second round. Edwards got the jump off
the start and just pulled away as he ran a 6.620 at 209.49 mph to
Morgan's 7.614 at 134.56 mph.

Up next for the NHRA Full Throttle Series is the Summit Racing
Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals May 13-15 from Atlanta Dragway.

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