"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times," once said a 19th century novelist.
However, the man who wrote these words under the pen name "Boz" does not know Dickens about the
experience the Rick Jackson Racing Top Alcohol Funny Car team had this past weekend during the 55th
NHRA Mac Tool's US Nationals presented by Lucas Oil held at O'Reilly Raceway Park in Clermont, Ind.
The top running TAFC team from Santa Clarita, Calif. entered the first round of eliminations after
recording a solid 5.60 second elapsed time run during the final qualifying session, which placed
them in the fifth spot. It set up a first round rematch of sorts versus Division 3's Chris Foster.
The last time Jackson Racing paired up against Foster in Norwalk, Ohio, the Center Pointe Collision
sponsored Ford Mustang Funny Car experienced a mechanical failure which eliminated the team from
competition.
It appears lightning can strike twice.
After constant rain showers plagued the Indianapolis suburbs where ORP is located, the first round
occurred after the sun had set. Lined up in the left lane, Two-time US Nationals championship
driver, Tony Bartone, slapped a 0.058 second advantage in reaction time against his opponent,
Foster. The Steve Boggs tuned TAFC appeared to be on their way to a first round win, when a $20.00
part failure caused the 3,500 horse-powered flopper to slow down considerably. Foster shot past
Bartone to take the round one victory.
"It happens," noted Bartone, who along with his brother Michael are the only siblings to capture US
Nationals victories in the Top Alcohol categories in the 28-years contested at this historic race.
"The car was charging hard through first and second gears but just nosed over as soon as we got to
the 660 foot cones."
"The engine broke a retainer on the number two cylinder head," noted Mike Pavia, Jackson Racing's
team cylinder head specialist. "I believe had we had the final qualifying session and not gotten
behind that old eight ball we would have discovered the problem. That car was on it's way to
running a .50-something on that pass. Boggs had the wick turned up."
The round one loss aside, the weekend could not have been more perfect for the Jackson team. "We
were honored to have Michael and Peter Cordani from GelTech Solutions Inc., along with several of
their partners as our guests this past weekend," commented team owner Rick Jackson. "We had many
family friends here at the event and truly were blessed to be able to race at this historic event.
We will move upwards and onwards from here. We'll get them next year."
The Jackson Racing team of Chris Perl, Pavia, Pat Feely, Lew Larson, Javier Gonzales, lead by Boggs
and followed-up by their driver Bartone will be looking to cook up some 'Cajun Cooking' as they
invade Division 4 in two weeks for a Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event held in Belle Rose, LA.
You can stay up to date with round-by-round results posted on http://www.dragracecentral.com
For more information about the Championship winning team at Rick Jackson Racing visit their website
at http://www.rickjacksonracing.com
