After a summer of racing against Europe's best, Switzerland's Urs Erbacher has returned to America
a little earlier than year's past to rejoin the NHRA tour.
In an effort to shake down his rebuilt Midland Oil/SCS Procurement Services/Johnny Bang's Bang &
Bump Shop Top Fuel dragster before racing in Las Vegas and Pomona, Calif., later this year,
Erbacher and his team have entered this weekend's 24th annual O'Reilly Super Start Batteries NHRA
Fall Nationals at Texas Motorplex.
The Dallas-area track is close to crew chief Wayne Dupuy's home in Jacksboro, Texas, and he thought
it the perfect place to test a the litany of new parts put on the car since it was rebuilt over the
summer. Sections of the chassis have also been replaced since an unfortunate engine explosion in
April at the Houston race.
"It's close, it's fast, it's all concrete," said Dupuy, who tuned the Texas Motorplex ET record of
4.44 seconds in 2005. "Its getting cool this time of year and I have all the confidence in the
world with this track. Racing at Dallas is close to home for me and what a better way to get the
bugs out of all this fresh stuff. So with everything fresh and new once again its time to put all
our hard work to the test."
Erbacher said it's an opportunity to get re-acquainted with his NHRA friends and competitors.
"We've had good luck racing in America in the past," said Erbacher, who reached the semifinals of
last year's season finale at Pomona. "I fit in this car so much better now, and I know Wayne and
the team will have us ready to race further than we ever have before."
Erbacher said that while running a split schedule of the FIA in Europe and the NHRA is a fun
challenge, he'd love an opportunity to race a complete season in the Full Throttle Series.
"The FIA season is very short and it's hard to get into a rhythm with just a few events in the
NHRA," Erbacher said. "Hopefully we'll find the backing to run a full season in 2010 and give a big
sponsor plenty of exciting times to experience with our team."
