Marty Thacker Joliet summary

Thacker Earns Second Final Round Appearance in Two Weeks
Moves into Top 10 in National Standings

Last weekend, the Rapid Transit Race Team reached the final round of the Lucas Oil Divisional series event in Joliet, Illinois. With 17 cars trying to make it into the field, The Knoll Gas - Torco Racing Fuels sponsored blown alcohol dragster qualified #5 with a 5.44 at 264 MPH. It was the second time in 2 weeks driver Marty Thacker and the Team had reached the final round at this race track.

"We really struggled to find the right tune-up for this weekend. The air was bad and the track was a little tricky. The injected nitro cars had a performance advantage, so we had no choice other than to try and out drive them," said Thacker.

Thacker used two good runs and two great lights to make it to the final round. In the first round, he ran a 5.49 at 263 MPH and cut a .011 light to take the hole shot victory. Thacker used another hole shot during the semi-finals when he cut a perfect .000 light and ran a 5.47 at 263 MPH to earn his way into the finals. In the finals, the Team was unable to come away with the win when the car ran a 5.54 at 260 MPH.

"I was seeing the tree really well on Sunday. After the perfect light in the semi-finals, I worried about going red in the finals. I kept it green, but it just wasn't enough this time. This Team is really starting to gel. We have had a couple semi-final finishes, a couple runner-ups, now it is time to get a couple wins."

For their next event, the Team will head to Norwalk, Ohio, June 28th thru July 1st for the Summit Racing Equipment Nationals.

-credit: rtrt