NHRA
Phoenix: Bob Tasca III preview
TASCA AND MOTORCRAFT/QUICK LANE FORD SHELBY MUSTANG RETURN TO CONQUER FIREBIRD RACEWAY IN THE SECOND ROUND OF NHRA FULL THROTTLE DRAG RACING Firebird International Raceway holds special meaning Bob Tasca III, since he earned his NHRA Funny Car ...
Published: Jun 19, 2009, 7:36 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
TASCA AND MOTORCRAFT/QUICK LANE FORD SHELBY MUSTANG RETURN TO CONQUER FIREBIRD RACEWAY IN THE SECOND ROUND OF NHRA FULL THROTTLE DRAG RACING
Firebird International Raceway holds special meaning Bob Tasca III, since he earned his NHRA Funny Car competition license at the Phoenix track just three weeks before the start of the 2008 season. With limits on testing and little experience, Tasca was eagerly anticipating the annual stop at Phoenix as a race where he would be able to capitalize on data and first-hand experience. All that went awry as Tasca was unable to qualify his Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Shelby Mustang Funny Car during the 2008 Funny Car qualifying competition.
Fast-forward one year. Tasca comes to Phoenix with a full season under his belt; a technical alliance with Tim Wilkerson, who was the top qualifier one year ago; 24 test runs during the offseason, a third of which were logged at Firebird; and a strong season-opening showing at Pomona. Phoenix is a race that has been circled on the Motorcraft/Quick Lane calendar for several months.
"I'm looking to conquer Phoenix. Last year it was one of only two races [Richmond] that we didn't qualify at, but this year I have a whole different attitude. The Motorcraft/Quick Lane team has a lot more runs under our belts in testing; we had some great runs in Phoenix getting ready for Pomona," said Tasca. "This year it's a whole different deal, we have a lot of data on Phoenix, so out of the gate we're a lot more confident. We have the partnership with Tim Wilkerson, who ran great in Phoenix last year, and will share information this weekend. So I think our whole perspective on racing is different."
Despite having increased experience, Tasca understands the unique characteristics of the Firebird race track.
"Phoenix is known for tire shake. It's one of those tracks that's really funny because some of the quickest runs in history have been put down in Phoenix, but it's also a track during testing, where I think it took 85 percent of the field three days before they could make a full pass."
-credit: tasca/motorcraft
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Series Fan Relief program update 2009-02-18
Next article Phoenix: Ashley Force Hood preview
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Bob Tasca III
Tasca scores first NHRA win in almost seven years
NHRA
NHRA
Bristol
Tasca scores first NHRA win in almost seven years
Good, bad and ugly dominate Gatornationals memories
NHRA
NHRA
Good, bad and ugly dominate Gatornationals memories
Why Tasca's return is good news for all
NHRA
NHRA
Why Tasca's return is good news for all
Latest news
McLaren held fresh talks after Singapore GP clash as Lando Norris promises to "make better decisions"
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
United States GP
4 min
McLaren held fresh talks after Singapore GP clash as Lando Norris promises to "make better decisions"
2026 MotoGP Australian Grand Prix – How to watch, session times & more
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Indonesian GP
2 h
2026 MotoGP Australian Grand Prix – How to watch, session times & more
Zane Smith fined $50,000 by NASCAR for ramming Carson Hocevar after Phoenix Cup race
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Phoenix II
9 h
Zane Smith fined $50,000 by NASCAR for ramming Carson Hocevar after Phoenix Cup race
FIA expects F1 races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi to continue as planned
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
United States GP
14 h
FIA expects F1 races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi to continue as planned
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe