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JOLIET, Ill. (June 29, 2014) -
It was a milestone day for Don Schumacher Racing in the backyard of its
team owner led by Antron Brown who raced his Matco Tools dragster to
its fourth win of the 2014 NHRA Mello Yello Series season.
Brown, who qualified the Matco rail in the No. 3 spot under the lights at the Route 66 Nationals on Saturday evening, tamed the tricky strip located in the Chicagoland suburbs behind the wheel of his Top Fuel dragster tuned by crew chiefs Brian Corradi and Mark Oswald. "The track got tricky on us," Brown said after earning his 45th career NHRA event title. "We've been trying a new (engine) combination and it dropped a couple (cylinders) this weekend, but we were able to get the round wins. The Matco Tools guys are getting the car where it's happy again and it was happy in that final round. When you get to the final and you know you're racing someone like Brittany (Force) you have to put out your A-plus game because everybody we're racing is bringing their A-plus game. Her (reaction time) lights were good all day. "That was great to put a 3.81 out there in the final. Mark and Brian said we can run a low .80 and they were right. That's special when your crew chiefs say that and the car goes out and does it." Brown, who began racing professionally in 1998, raced to his category-best fourth win of the season by defeating part-time runner Billy Torrence, Australian rookie Richie Crampton, veteran Clay Millican and popular second generation racer Brittany Force in the final round. The semifinal win over Millican was the 500th round win of Brown's decorated multi-category career. He now stands at 501 with 279 coming in Top Fuel. One year ago at Joliet, Brown's DSR teammates Tony Schumacher and Matt Hagan earned the double-up wins for "The Shoe" at his home track. Last Sunday at Epping, N.H., Schumacher and Capps earned the 39th nitro double-up for team DSR. Brown and Hagan made that double-up No. 40 for the only team in NHRA history to earn wins in all four professional classes. "It was so cool to see Matt (Hagan) and those Mopar boys get that monkey off their backs and get that win today," Brown said of his Funny Car teammate's first win since the 2013 season finale in California. "(Crew chief Dickie Venables) and that entire Mopar team has been working so hard, and I'm so proud of our Matco team with Toyota and the U.S. Army to step up to the plate and get the job done. "To send Don home with two more Wally trophies is a special feeling. It's always good to get some brownie points in front of the bossman's friends and family." On the efforts of his 29th career Top Fuel win, Brown now trails first-place driver Doug Kalitta by 102 points in the NHRA Mello Yello Top Fuel standings at the midway point on the 2014 schedule. The NHRA tour next heads to Norwalk, Ohio, July 4-6, for the 13th event and the final of four consecutive races that began in Bristol, Tenn. on June 13. Brown's sponsor, Matco Tools, is headquartered in Stow, Ohio, about an hour from the Norwalk track. "Norwalk is one race we want and we want it really bad," Brown said. "To bring home that Wally trophy in front of all the Matco Tools folks would be awesome. It would be so cool to send the Norwalk Wally back to Stow next Sunday night and our team is up for the challenge." TOP FUEL Event winner: Antron Brown (Don Schumacher Racing) No. 1 Qualifier: Doug Kalitta (Kalitta Motorsports) 3.767 sec., 327.43 mph ANTRON BROWN, Matco Tools Top Fuel Dragster Qualifying Position: No. 3 SUNDAY FIRST ROUND: BROWN (3.803 sec., 319.07 mph) def. Billy Torrence (5.487, 125.40); QUARTERFINALS: BROWN (4.813, 221.85) def. Richie Crampton (5.899, 175.16); SEMIFINALS: BROWN (3.961, 308.64) def. Clay Millican (4.470, 196.30); FINAL: BROWN (3.814, 317.34) def. Brittany Force (3.850, 320.89) QUALIFYING FRIDAY: 3.859 sec., 322.65 mph, (Session 1); 3.808, 319.75, (Session 2) SATURDAY: 3.976 sec., 266.06 mph, (Session 3); 3.783, 312.42, (Session 4) NHRA MELLO YELLO STANDINGS (Unofficial after 12 of 24 events; DSR drivers in CAPS) TOP FUEL driver (wins) points behind 1. Doug Kalitta (1) 1,065 ---- 2. ANTRON BROWN (4) 963 -102 3. Shawn Langdon (1) 835 -230 4. SPENCER MASSEY (2) 74 -318 5. TONY SCHUMACHER (2) 71 -354 6. Steve Torrence 688 -387 8. Brittany Force 638 -427 7. Khalid alBalooshi (1) 620 -445 9. Richie Crampton (1) 600 -465 10. J.R. Todd 557 -508 |
Reviews of some of the "hottest" vehicles across the world with concentration on Detroit Iron and exciting imports impacting the landscape in the US. Plus a few inserts from NHRA drag racing events across the USA. a plus
Monday, June 30, 2014
Antron Brown earns 500th career NHRA round to win fourth title in 2014 at Route 66 Nationals.
Sunday, June 22, 2014
Antron Brown powers Matco Tools dragster to second No. 1 qualifying spot of the season at New England Dragway
The 2012 NHRA Top Fuel champion used a track record elapsed time of 3.770-seconds to earn the 36th top qualifier award of his decorated career. Brown's pole-winning pass came Friday evening under the lights at the Epping, N.H. track.
"We know we have a great race car here with this Matco Tools team at DSR," Brown said after claiming his 25th career No. 1 qualifying award in Top Fuel. "We brought out a new chassis last weekend at Bristol and it was flawless. That credit goes to the DSR fab shop and this Matco team. They give us great equipment and put us in the position to do well.
"We ran good this weekend at Epping and got the green Mello Yello hat for being the No. 1 qualifier and it's always cool to be the last driver introduced during driver intros on Sunday morning.
Brown, who enters the 11th race on the 2014 NHRA Mello Yello Series schedule ranked second in the Top Fuel standings, made three solid runs in qualifying with both of Friday's laps in the 3.7-second range.
"Our goal is to get this Matco car back into the winner's circle and we want to do that tomorrow at Epping," Brown, who has three wins this season, said. "We have eight races before the Countdown (to the Championship) begins and we really want that top spot. We need to go out, take things one round at a time, and chip away at (Doug) Kalitta's lead."
Brown looks to make history on Sunday as he enters race day with 496 career NHRA round wins. If he can walk away from New England Dragway with the coveted Wally trophy, he'll reach the 500 round win milestone.
The following are Brown's qualifying results and other notes for the NHRA New England Nationals:
TOP FUEL
No. 1 Qualifier: Antron Brown (DSR) 3.770 sec.*, 323.58 mph (*track record)
ANTRON BROWN, Matco Tools Top Fuel Dragster
Qualifying Position: No. 1
First round opponent: Todd Paton
QUALIFYING
FRIDAY: 3.790 sec., 315.34 mph (Session 1), 3.770, 323.58 (Session 2)
SATURDAY: 3.844, 312.71 (Session 3), 4.999, 143.46 (Session 4)
Thursday, June 5, 2014
2015 Corvette Z06 Rated at 650 Horsepower
DETROIT – The all-new 2015 Corvette Z06 is the most powerful
production car ever from General Motors and one of a few production cars
available in the United States that delivers more than 600 horsepower.
The Z06’s LT4 supercharged 6.2L V-8 engine is SAE-certified at 650 horsepower (485 kW) at 6,400 rpm and 650 lb-ft of torque (881 Nm) at 3,600 rpm.
“The LT4 Small Block sets a new benchmark for power and torque at GM,” said Steve Kiefer, vice president, GM Powertrain Engineering. “The engine also puts the new Corvette Z06 on par with the most powerful supercars offered in America, while delivering performance with impeccable manners that make it suitable for daily driving.”
Compared with other supercar engines, the LT4 is a veritable fountain of low-end torque, producing 457 lb-ft (619 Nm) just off idle and 625 lb-ft (847 Nm) by only 2,800 rpm. The V-12-powered Ferrari F12 Berlinetta, for example, produces about 28 percent less torque than the Z06, despite offering about 12 percent more horsepower – and its peak torque isn’t achieved until 6,000 rpm. The LT4 maintains 90 percent of its peak torque, or 592 lb-ft (802 Nm), from 2,500 to 5,400 rpm.
The new LT4 engine eclipses the Porsche 911 Turbo S engine’s peak power levels by 90 horsepower (67 kW) and 134 lb-ft of torque (182 Nm).
“Torque is the pulling power of an engine and the LT4’s abundance of it at every rpm in the engine’s speed range helps the 2015 Corvette Z06 accelerate quicker and respond nearly instantaneously,” said Jordan Lee, chief engineer for Small Block engines. “It’s the very definition of power on demand.”
The new Z06 engine produces 40 percent more peak torque (180 lb-ft / 244 Nm) than the previous-generation’s 7.0L LS7 engine – and 7.5 percent more than the supercharged 2013 Corvette ZR1’s 604 lb-ft (819 Nm). At 3,200 rpm, the new LT4 surpasses the LS7 by 208 lb-ft of torque (252 Nm). On the horsepower side of the graph, the LT4’s 650-hp rating is 29 percent greater than the LS7’s 505 horsepower (376 kW), and 12 horses more than the ZR1’s LS9 engine.
“The new LT4 engine builds on the design strengths of our previous supercharged engine and leverages the technologies introduced on the Corvette Stingray – direct injection, cylinder deactivation and continuously variable valve timing – to take Corvette performance to an all-new plateau,” said Lee. “Our new, very compact supercharger also helps the engine make power more quickly, and perhaps more importantly, it helps produce more torque earlier in the rpm band.”
“It’s also worth mentioning that the LT4’s supercar performance numbers are achieved with an engine that is nearly the same size as the very compact LT1 engine introduced in the 2014 Corvette Stingray,” Lee said. “The power density of the LT4 makes it one of the smallest and lightest 650-hp engines in the industry.”
LT4 details
The new LT4 engine is based on the same Gen 5 small block foundation as the Corvette Stingray’s LT1 6.2L naturally aspirated engine, incorporating several unique features designed to support its higher output and the greater cylinder pressures created by forced induction, including:
“The Small Block’s cam-in-block design heritage has always enabled very high performance and responsiveness in a small, compact package – an attribute amplified by the performance of our new supercharger’s design,” said Lee.
The LT4 is assembled at the new Performance Build Center at GM’s Bowling Green Assembly Plant and at GM’s Tonawanda engine plant in New York. It is matched with a standard seven-speed manual transmission or an all-new, paddle-shift eight-speed automatic transmission built in Toledo, Ohio.
Designed to deliver shift responses on par with the world’s best dual-clutch transmissions, it is the first automatic offered in a Z06. It also makes the Z06 one of the few cars this powerful to offer the choice of a conventional manual transmission or an eight-speed automatic.
The 2015 Corvette Z06 goes on sale in the fourth quarter of 2014.
The Z06’s LT4 supercharged 6.2L V-8 engine is SAE-certified at 650 horsepower (485 kW) at 6,400 rpm and 650 lb-ft of torque (881 Nm) at 3,600 rpm.
“The LT4 Small Block sets a new benchmark for power and torque at GM,” said Steve Kiefer, vice president, GM Powertrain Engineering. “The engine also puts the new Corvette Z06 on par with the most powerful supercars offered in America, while delivering performance with impeccable manners that make it suitable for daily driving.”
Compared with other supercar engines, the LT4 is a veritable fountain of low-end torque, producing 457 lb-ft (619 Nm) just off idle and 625 lb-ft (847 Nm) by only 2,800 rpm. The V-12-powered Ferrari F12 Berlinetta, for example, produces about 28 percent less torque than the Z06, despite offering about 12 percent more horsepower – and its peak torque isn’t achieved until 6,000 rpm. The LT4 maintains 90 percent of its peak torque, or 592 lb-ft (802 Nm), from 2,500 to 5,400 rpm.
The new LT4 engine eclipses the Porsche 911 Turbo S engine’s peak power levels by 90 horsepower (67 kW) and 134 lb-ft of torque (182 Nm).
“Torque is the pulling power of an engine and the LT4’s abundance of it at every rpm in the engine’s speed range helps the 2015 Corvette Z06 accelerate quicker and respond nearly instantaneously,” said Jordan Lee, chief engineer for Small Block engines. “It’s the very definition of power on demand.”
The new Z06 engine produces 40 percent more peak torque (180 lb-ft / 244 Nm) than the previous-generation’s 7.0L LS7 engine – and 7.5 percent more than the supercharged 2013 Corvette ZR1’s 604 lb-ft (819 Nm). At 3,200 rpm, the new LT4 surpasses the LS7 by 208 lb-ft of torque (252 Nm). On the horsepower side of the graph, the LT4’s 650-hp rating is 29 percent greater than the LS7’s 505 horsepower (376 kW), and 12 horses more than the ZR1’s LS9 engine.
“The new LT4 engine builds on the design strengths of our previous supercharged engine and leverages the technologies introduced on the Corvette Stingray – direct injection, cylinder deactivation and continuously variable valve timing – to take Corvette performance to an all-new plateau,” said Lee. “Our new, very compact supercharger also helps the engine make power more quickly, and perhaps more importantly, it helps produce more torque earlier in the rpm band.”
“It’s also worth mentioning that the LT4’s supercar performance numbers are achieved with an engine that is nearly the same size as the very compact LT1 engine introduced in the 2014 Corvette Stingray,” Lee said. “The power density of the LT4 makes it one of the smallest and lightest 650-hp engines in the industry.”
LT4 details
The new LT4 engine is based on the same Gen 5 small block foundation as the Corvette Stingray’s LT1 6.2L naturally aspirated engine, incorporating several unique features designed to support its higher output and the greater cylinder pressures created by forced induction, including:
- Rotocast A356T6 aluminum cylinder heads that are stronger and handle heat better than conventional aluminum heads
- Lightweight titanium intake valves
- Machined, forged powder metal steel connecting rods for reduced reciprocating mass
- High 10.0:1 compression ratio – for a forced-induction engine – enhances performance and efficiency and is enabled by direct injection
- Forged aluminum pistons with unique, stronger structure to ensure strength under high cylinder pressures
- Stainless steel exhaust manifolds and an aluminum balancer that are lighter than their LT1 counterparts
- Standard dry-sump oiling system with a dual-pressure-control oil pump.
“The Small Block’s cam-in-block design heritage has always enabled very high performance and responsiveness in a small, compact package – an attribute amplified by the performance of our new supercharger’s design,” said Lee.
The LT4 is assembled at the new Performance Build Center at GM’s Bowling Green Assembly Plant and at GM’s Tonawanda engine plant in New York. It is matched with a standard seven-speed manual transmission or an all-new, paddle-shift eight-speed automatic transmission built in Toledo, Ohio.
Designed to deliver shift responses on par with the world’s best dual-clutch transmissions, it is the first automatic offered in a Z06. It also makes the Z06 one of the few cars this powerful to offer the choice of a conventional manual transmission or an eight-speed automatic.
The 2015 Corvette Z06 goes on sale in the fourth quarter of 2014.
NHRA Story- Minimum age reset For Jr. Dragster Racing League
Minimum age reset for NHRA Summit Racing Jr. Drag Racing League on Saturday, May13, 2014- Effective June 15, the minimum age for kids eligible to participate
NHRA President
Tom Compton, second from left, was joined at the announcement by Old
Bridge Township Raceway Park's David Napp, left, one of the original Jr.
Dragster drivers whose father, Vinny, conceived the idea; former Jr.
Dragster driver/current Top Fuel pilot Leah Pritchett; and NHRA Vice
President-Racing Administration Josh Peterson.
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The announcement was made at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park, the birthplace of the NHRA Summit Racing Jr. Drag Racing League.
The NHRA Summit Racing Jr. Drag Racing League was founded in 1993 by NHRA and Raceway Park founder Vinnie Napp. Napp developed the first small-scale replica dragster for his son in 1991, and the first pair of NHRA Jr. Dragsters launched down the Raceway Park dragstrip in 1992. Today the league has grown dramatically, and the program is offered at most NHRA member tracks across the United States.
In the 5-year-old classification, the Trainee category, participants can begin running a Jr. Dragster with a crate engine from Briggs & Stratton with a slide valve limiting the power output of the engine. Trainee participants will make single passes down the dragstrip to get familiar with the car and track surroundings in a non-pressure environment.
Another separate classification for 6-and-7-year-olds also has been created, the Youth category, which will allow participants to begin competing head to head on the track at the 13.90-second index with a crate engine and slightly increased power output from the Trainee category engine.
“It is important to provide competition opportunities for children in these age groups so they can become exposed much earlier to the NHRA Summit Racing Jr. Drag Racing League and the sport of NHRA Championship Drag Racing,” said Josh Peterson, NHRA vice president of racing administration. “With similar introductory programs available in stick and ball sports for ‘pee-wee’ competitors, we wanted to put an NHRA Drag Racing option into that mix for families to consider.”
NHRA also instituted a new licensing process for all new Summit Racing Jr. Drag Racing League participants that require each driver to complete a cockpit orientation, basic driving test, track orientation, and test passes.
The NHRA Summit Racing Jr. Drag Racing League also offers different categories for age groups up to 17 with speed and elapsed time restrictions for participants based on age and experience. Those categories are novice (8-9), intermediate (10-12), and advanced (13-17).
In addition to the weekly programs offered at NHRA member tracks, the NHRA Summit Racing Jr. Drag Racing League offers two marquee events. The NHRA Jr. Drag Racing League Western Conference Finals is set for July 10-12 at Utah’s scenic Rocky Mountain Raceways, and the NHRA Jr. Drag Racing League Eastern Finals will be held July 24-26 at Tennessee’s famed Thunder Valley, Bristol Dragway. Nearly 1,000 kids compete for individual and team honors at the NHRA Jr. Drag Racing League Eastern and Western Conference Finals, with nearly $50,000 being awarded at each event, including $2,500 and an NHRA Wally champion’s trophy to each individual winner.
The NHRA Summit Racing Jr. Drag Racing League creates family involvement in drag racing at an affordable level. Many of the league’s former participants have gone on to compete in other NHRA classes. Top Fuel racer Shawn Langdon (the 2013 NHRA Mello Yello Top Fuel world champion and a two-time Super Comp national champion in the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series) and current NHRA Pro Stock points leader Erica Enders-Stevens are among the league’s most accomplished graduates.
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