NHRA
Spencer Massey Shreveport notes
Massey scores first win in Shreveport GILLIAM, La. - After scoring two runner-up finishes earlier in the year, rookie NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster driver Spencer Massey broke through for his first win behind the wheel of Gene Snow's A/Fuel Dragster ...
Published: May 24, 2006, 5:26 AM
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Massey scores first win in Shreveport
GILLIAM, La. - After scoring two runner-up finishes earlier in the year, rookie NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster driver Spencer Massey broke through for his first win behind the wheel of Gene Snow's A/Fuel Dragster during this past weekend's Division 4 Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event at Red River Raceway just outside of Shreveport, La. Massey defeated defending World Champion Steve Torrence for the win, but encountered a moment of drama when his parachutes failed to deploy and ran into the sand pit at the end of the track at a high rate of speed.
Massey, 23, of Ft. Worth, Texas, qualified the Snow owned/tuned entry third with a pass of 5.452 seconds at 260.21 mph. In round one, he took out Brandon Pierce with a 5.395 at 266.42 mph, which was good for top speed of the meet. In the semifinals, he defeated former Division 4 Champion Lee Callaway with a 5.492 at 263.77 mph to set up the final round duel with Torrence.
Massey, who trailed Torrence by two rounds going into the event, slashed that lead to one round in the final when he took the starting line advantage and never looked back, taking the win with a 5.427 at 264.70 mph to Torrence's right-there 5.434 at 259.81 mph.
After taking the win, Massey was faced with the challenge of stopping his mount when the parachutes failed to deploy. Massey attempted to stop the car with only the brakes, but the extra heat generated caused the fluid to boil out of the master cylinder, leaving Massey helpless. Massey hit the sand trap at the end of the track at approximately 60 mph, damaging the nose and front wing of the car.
"I was pretty upset about running off the end of the track," Massey said. "Then when we got to the winner's circle and started taking pictures, it started setting in what I had just done. It's an awesome feeling to win."
"The car left wheels up and was charging pretty good," Massey continued. "I ran it out the back door a little bit, but the first chute never hit. Apparently, when I threw the second chute, it got tangled with the first in the wheelie bar. I got on the brakes, then after a bit, the brake handle just went to nothing. I started trying to pump the brakes to build them back up, but I was just running out of room. I hit the sand trap pretty hard, and sand went everywhere. We think we have a handle on the problem with the parachutes and will definitely get it fixed for Topeka next weekend."
Following the win, the team will return home to Ft. Worth for a brief stay, then head north to Topeka, Kan., for this weekend's O'Reilly Summer Nationals at Heartland Park. There Massey and Snow will be looking for their first national win in TAD.
"We would really like to go win one in Topeka," stated Massey. "The car is running good right now, but it will be a tough field."
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