Baytown: Darrell Russell preview

Russell revs it up in Houston for Admiral Services.

Top Fuel racer Darrell Russell has inked a special one-race title sponsorship deal with Houston-based Admiral Services for this weekend's 16th annual O'Reilly Spring Nationals presented by Pennzoil at Houston Raceway Park.

The former Rookie of the Year, who hails from the Houston suburb of Hockley, is pleased to be bringing a new sponsor to the sport and hopes their exposure at this event pays enough dividends that they will become more actively involved with his race team, which is owned by five-time series champion Joe Amato.

"It's always nice to be racing in your hometown and now with Admiral Services onboard for this race, fans have a local driver and a local company to cheer for at the same time," said Russell, who is currently ninth in the POWERade points standings. "They're bringing some folks out to the track and we're going to give them the full NHRA experience. Hopefully, that includes some success on Sunday.

"We feel like we're ready for a big move. We unveiled a new body last weekend in Las Vegas that we believe is the next step in Top Fuel aerodynamic development. It certainly gained a lot of attention for our team out there and I know the huge curiosity level we generated with the fans will carry over to this event. It will be great to see the Admiral Services logo flying down the strip on this new car.

"Our goal is always two-fold, to win the race, and to represent our sponsors with integrity and professionalism. If we hold up our end of the deal and get some good, positive exposure for Admiral Services, then it will be a great weekend for all of us."

Admiral Services is a residential and commercial air conditioning company servicing the Greater Houston area.

"We are very proud to be associated with Joe Amato Racing for this event," said John Conley, president of Admiral Services. "It's also nice knowing that we're supporting a local professional driver in Darrell Russell. We really feel that NHRA drag racing is an excellent way for us to gain attention for our company."

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