Wed, 19 Feb 2014, 09:02 AM
Southeastern Hose Re-Signs Spradlin Motorsports for 2014
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Courtesy of Spradlin Motorsports
Photo copyright 2014 Spradlin Motorsports
Qualifies #1 in Top Dragster and Races to Final Round of NHRA LODRS Orlando Event
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ORLANDO, Fla. --
Casey Spradlin
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Spradlin Motorsports, multi-time division champion Top Dragster and Top Sportsman team, recently
announced the re-signing of their primary marketing partner, Southeastern Hose. Casey Spradlin, team
driver, exclaimed "We are thrilled to continue our relationship with Southeastern Hose and we are
very blessed that they continue to support our team. We truly appreciate their support in this tough
economic climate and I believe it shows the value our team brings to their marketing and employee
relations efforts."
The re-signing of Southeastern Hose, leaders in the hose assembly and expansion joint industry, is
not the only exciting news the team has to report. The off season has been a very busy one for the
team as they have replaced the nitrous injected power plant in the '37 Chevy Coupe Top Sportsman
entry with a supercharged methanol burning engine that will bump the power levels from 1300 to 2200
horsepower!
"It turned out to be quite an undertaking as we have been working in the shop constantly since
Thanksgiving," says Casey.
Casey Spradlin
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All of the hard work paid dividends when the team finally got on the track at the recent rain soaked
NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event in Orlando, Florida. The team unloaded two untested
combinations and proceeded to click off 200+ MPH passes in easy fashion. In Top Dragster Casey picked
up his second pole position with an E.T. of 6.41 at a speed of 210 MPH! The team's beautiful '37
Chevy Coupe Top Sportsman entry was almost equally as impressive while qualifying 3rd with a 6.74 at
204 MPH. The event was shortened from three days to one with one round of qualifying on Sunday
morning and then eliminations immediately following because of persistent rain showers throughout the
weekend. A three thousandths from perfect foul start dashed Casey's hopes of moving out of the first
round in the Coupe, but gave him additional determination to make something happen with the dragster.
"The new combination in the Coupe, while fast, is still very new and will take some laps to get my
routine down, but I couldn't be happier with the performance and stability of the car at those
speeds", says Spradlin.
After surveying his side of the ladder in Top Dragster, Casey saw other former champions Steve Furr,
Dylan Stott, and Anthony Bertozzi in his path to hoisting a "Wally". Casey ended up in a quarter
final pairing against multi-time world champion Bertozzi and was able to win by a meager thirteen
thousandths of a second, about 3 feet, win margin! "That was a big round not only because of the
opponent but also because I decided to take a trip to the beach while I was in Florida so we had to
go back to the trailer and strip the car down and clean it from front to back," Casey jokes while
referring to his visit into the sand trap. "It was totally my fault as I was trying to save time by
not having to pack the chutes during the short turn around between rounds." The race continued well
into the evening and the dew started to move in and settle onto the track and with fewer cars making
laps this made for less than ideal track conditions.
Casey Spradlin
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The semifinal race against the formidable Jimmy Shaw was also a close win margin made even more
interesting by the track conditions in both lanes. "We were both sliding around down track and Jimmy
actually said he had to crack the throttle to straighten his car out." This set up the final round
battle between Casey and renowned chassis builder Kurt Damron Sr., number one qualifier against
number twenty-four qualifier respectively. Spradlin got the hole-shot with an eight thousandths from
perfect reaction time after waiting on the 1.2 second handicapped start and blasted off after Damron
but the deteriorating track conditions made it impossible for the 1950 horsepower dragster to
complete the run. "It left fine and then I was looking at the wall and then the center-line, so I
had to throw in the towel and coast to the finish," says a very disappointed Spradlin after the
final. "I am very appreciative to have gotten this far though with the new combination and zero test
time."
Increasing the power and speed of the Top Sportsman entry before the season started, in addition to
the Top Dragster entry already making laps down the quarter-mile in excess of 210 MPH, meant the team
needed to take a second look at the safety of its driver. Spradlin Motorsports is pleased to
announce that S.T.T. Safety Equipment of Atlanta, Georgia will be making sure Casey's focus remains
on winning. "Tiffany and Paul at S.T.T. are the best people in the safety business to work with and
their products speak for themselves," Spradlin says. "Driving the stripe at 200+ is enough to worry
about, so not having to worry about stopping is just weight off my shoulders. Talk about product R&D,
one of the owners drives a jet dragster for goodness sake.I think that's speaks for itself," laughs
Casey.
Spradlin Motorsports intends to chase the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series Southeast division
championship in both Top Sportsman and Top Dragster for the 2014 season. The team also intends to
participate in several national events starting with the prestigious NHRA Gatornationals in
Gainesville, FL March 14-16. That makes for many opportunities for Spradlin Motorsports fans to get
out and see the 200 MPH action in person!
Spradlin Motorsports is grateful for the support of great marketing partners like Southeastern Hose,
Smith Brothers Push Rods, Jet Hot Performance Coatings, Tim Gaines Performance, TCI Transmissions,
and S.T.T Safety Equipment. For more information about the team please visit our website at spradlinmotorsports.com and also our
facebook page at facebook.com/spradlinmotorsports.
LODRS: 10 Most Recent Entries [ top ]
Apr 20- LODRS 1-1 - Stock Eliminator presented by ATI Qualifying, Friday Order
Apr 20- LODRS 1-1 - MXI/Magnaflux Top Sportsman presented by Select Performance Qualifying, Friday Order
Apr 20- LODRS 1-1 - MXI/Magnaflux Top Dragster presented by Select Performance Qualifying, Friday Order
Apr 20- LODRS 1-1 - Super Stock presented by ATI Qualifying, Friday Order
Apr 20- LODRS 1-1 - Competition Eliminator Qualifying, Friday Order
Apr 20- LODRS 1-1 - Top Alcohol Funny Car Qualifying, Friday Final Order
Apr 20- LODRS 1-1 - Top Alcohol Funny Car Eliminations Ladder
Apr 20- LODRS 1-1 - Top Alcohol Dragster Eliminations Ladder
Apr 20- LODRS 1-1 - Top Alcohol Dragster Qualifying, Friday Final Order
Apr 18- LODRS 1-1 - Event Preview
