Justin Lamb, a 21-year-old UNLV student, continued what has been his most successful racing season
to date last weekend with an NHRA National Event victory at the NHRA Mopar Mile High Nationals in
Denver, CO. Lamb kicked off his 2009 season with a victory in Super Gas at the season opening
Winter Nationals in Pomona, CA, then followed that up with a runner-up performance in the same
category at the Summit Racing Equipment Nationals at his home track, The Strip at Las Vegas Motor
Speedway. He has also enjoyed success on the divisional level, charting three final round
appearances between Competition Eliminator and Top Dragster thus far this season.
In Denver, Lamb entered his versatile Chevrolet Cobalt (the same car that he has driven to multiple
Competition Eliminator final rounds and currently sits 9th in NHRA national points with) in Super
Stock, and wheeled through six rounds of tough competition to earn his fifth NHRA national event
crown.
"We've been running Comp most of the season with this car,20and we've had some success. For this
race, we dropped a new Madcap 331 cubic inch engine in the car to run Super Stock. Obviously, the
power plant performed flawlessly. What's even more exciting, however, is that the 304 combination
we've been running all year is back at Madcap. The guys there are working their magic, and we'll
have that motor back in the car at Seattle this weekend with a fresh Hogan's Intake and some head
work. I lost a couple hundredths (of index) early in the year, so I had to lean on the guys at
Madcap to get it back!"
For his Denver triumph, Lamb was solid throughout eliminations. He posted a .017 reaction time in
round one when opponent Jim Cook was unable to make the call. He then bested perennial powerhouse
Tibor Kadar in a double breakout bout in round two. Lamb slipped ever so slightly, posting a .042
reaction time in round three (his worst of eliminations), and narrowly escaped another double
breakout battle with Mike Graham.
"You know, they say that being in the right place at the right time is half the battle at these
races," said Lamb. "That round was huge. I missed the tree, but the car pulled me through. And it
was a big round; the winner got the bye into the semi-finals."
With that hurdle in his rearview mirror, Lamb made his quarterfinal bye before squaring off with
James Caro. There, he pulled out a clutch .006 reaction time20(his best of eliminations) and slowed
to .02-over his 9.60 dial-in to earn a spot in the final round. Awaiting on the other side of the
ladder was Kansas-based Tim Nicholson. After a brief rain delay, Nicholson took a slight .028 to
.031 starting line advantage in the final, but Lamb got the win light when Nicholson broke out with
a 10.807 on his 10.81 target.
"Anytime you can win an NHRA National Event, it's a great feeling," expressed Lamb. "I just want to
thank everyone involved with our team for making it possible and giving me this opportunity. I want
to thank my parents, and our partner V. Gaines for everything they do. I also want to give a huge
thank you to our marketing partners: Goodyear Tires, Madcap Racing Engines, Race Tech Race Cars,
Biondo Racing Products, Mikes Transmissions, Redback Boots, Palmer Electric, Sunstate Companies,
Unlimited Trailers, and Joe Gibbs Oil."
Lamb will continue on NHRA's Western swing with back-to-back outings in Seattle, WA and Sonoma, CA
the next two weeks.
