It was easily Charles Carpenter's most successful weekend at Rockingham Dragway in recent memory.
Brushing aside years and years of frustration and bad luck at his home track, Carpenter put on a
show for the hometown fans, laying down a series of five consecutive three-second passes en route
to the 8th qualifying position and a second-round exit in eliminations at the National Guard ADRL's
Flowmaster Dragstock VI.
The Charlotte, NC native started the weekend off with a stellar 3.968 pass in the heat of the day,
then followed that up with a career-best-tying 3.958 in Friday's night qualifying session to land
him in the top half of the quickest Pro Nitrous field in history, which was also the first all
three-second field, rounded out by Fredy Scriba's 3.999.
"It's critical to go out and make a good run, or at least get down the track, on your first hit,"
said Carpenter. "That's exactly what we did, and it set us up for a successful weekend. I was able
to match my career-best ET and qualify in the top half of the quickest field in history. We're out
here doing all that with one of the smallest engines in competition, a patched-up, shoebox race
car, and very limited funding, so it makes the type of performance we had this weekend even more
rewarding."
Carpenter would face fellow North Carolinian Dale Brinsfield in the opening matchup of
eliminations. Both veteran drivers were off the line at nearly the same time, but Carpenter was
able to hold off Brinsfield's 3.995 with his 3.977 elapsed time.
"I knew Dale would be tough and we were able to get around him, but unfortunately the engine
damaged a valve right at the finish line," Carpenter continued. "We had a heck of a thrash in the
pits to repair the damage, but everyone chipped in and we made it to the staging lanes just in the
nick of time."
Carpenter's 3.983 wasn't enough to hold off polesitter and eventual winner Mike Castellana's 3.902
in the quarterfinals, putting an end to a stellar weekend for the local favorite.
"I would have liked to go further in eliminations, but those guys are so tough right now,"
Carpenter admitted. "We gave it all we had and still had an incredible weekend. All my friends and
family finally got to see us perform to our potential, and I'm already excited about what's in
store for Dallas and 2010."
Charles Carpenter Racing would like to thank Doherty Motorsports, Total Induction Tuning Solutions,
MagnaFuel, WFO Racing & Machine, Santhuff Suspension Specialties, Dennis Radford & Tom Hemphill,
Custom Autosound, Hairy Glass, Pro Glass, TEK Headers, JAZ Products, Weld Racing, Stroud Safety,
RJS Safety Equipment, Goodridge Hose & Fittings, Goodyear, Friction Unlimited, Lockwood Racing,
Racepak, Bell Helmets, and VP Racing Fuels for their continued support.
Carpenter is actively seeking primary sponsorship for 2010. For more information about Charles
Carpenter Racing and the World's Fastest '55 Chevy, or for a copy of the team's Marketing
Partnership Guide, visit http://www.fastest55.com.
