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VIPSports.com Dodge Atlanta summary

VIPsports.com Dodge Stratus NHRA Top Alcohol Funny Car Storming Atlanta-- Milford, Michigan -- The VIPsports.com Dodge Stratus Top Alcohol Funny Car team went to Atlanta, Georgia with a battle plan to take the 25th Annual NHRA Summit Racing ...

Published: May 19, 2005, 9:59 PM

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VIPsports.com Dodge Stratus
NHRA Top Alcohol Funny Car

Storming Atlanta--

Milford, Michigan -- The VIPsports.com Dodge Stratus Top Alcohol Funny Car team went to Atlanta, Georgia with a battle plan to take the 25th Annual NHRA Summit Racing Equipment Southern Nationals by storm. Three weeks earlier, ParkerTech Racing Services had tuned the car to a stellar performance at the Indianapolis Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event, posting top qualifier, top eliminator and all top honors in between.

The qualifying sessions, at Atlanta Dragway, seemed to indicate that their plan was working. Driver Danny Townsend's typically consistent driving laid down back-to-back qualifying passes only .001 second and .81 mph apart. While driver consistency is highly desired, the team's actual desire was more output from the car. Townsend's two impressive runs put the VIPsports.com Stratus as high as third, but let it slip to the fifth, and final, qualifying spot. With the car comfortably in the field, team owner Frank Parker set his crew to preparing for the first round of eliminations.

While the Stratus was being groomed to take Atlanta by storm, Mother Nature stepped in, with a battle plan of her own, and stormed Atlanta, instead. Heavy rains caused delays in the race schedule but, fortunately, no cancelled runs. Instead of the anticipated 4:30 p.m. Saturday first round, the VIPsports.com Stratus didn't get called until 9:30 that night -- with atmospheric and track conditions totally different from qualifying. The groove had become very narrow and getting out of it meant getting into trouble. Townsend had no problems and took the win at 253.14 mph with a 5.772 ET. However, his opponent, Todd Veney, moved off the groove and found the wall -- twice -- damaging his Camaro but not himself.

Sunday morning started out much the same, weather-wise. After a prolonged rain delay, the very first pair of TAFC cars ran a dry race, but popped their chutes in yet another shower. Two hours later, the VIPsports.com Stratus staged against Jay Payne's Camaro. Townsend was away first, with a .041 reaction time to Payne's .060. The hole shot should have been the story's end, but Payne found a bunch of speed off the line. Townsend's early advantage disappeared and, even though his Stratus was 5 mph faster at the end, the race went to Payne by sixteen feet.

Frank Parker described the results as "Disappointing. Losing with a .041 light and 5.762 ET is disappointing. Especially after the great race we had at Indy. The car is telling Danny that it wants to do better, but it's only telling him a little bit at a time about what it needs."

In spite of the results, team sponsor, VIPsports.com, was delighted with the event. Fredrik Wadstein, of the Curacao, Netherlands Antilles-based online sportsbook, said "We've had a great time with our sponsorship. ParkerTech Racing Services has demonstrated that a quality team, with a quality car, can deliver its promises." Wadstein went on to describe his pleasure with the Atlanta debut of their new team uniforms, the Competition Graphics trailer mural of the VIPsports.com win at Indy and their brand new hero cards.

The Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series will present the 25th Annual NHRA Summit Racing Equipment Southern Nationals NHRA Sportsman final elimination rounds (including TAFC) on ESPN2. Watch for the broadcasts on June 5th, from 1 -- 2 p.m. (eastern time), and on June 12th, from 2:30 -- 3:30 a.m. (eastern time).

VIPsports.com provides sports enthusiasts, around the globe, up-to-the-minute sports news, statistical information and safe, reliable sports betting, casino games, horse racing and poker. Learn more about VIPsports.com, "Where the World Wagers," at www.vipsports.com. Click on the VIPsports.com Dodge Stratus image for NHRA race action shots, crew photos, pit activities and more.

The next race for the VIPsports.com Dodge Stratus Top Alcohol Funny Car will be May 27th -- 29th, at Topeka's Heartland Park and the O'Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals. Mark Saturday, August 20th on your calendars. That's the date for the Detroit area's 11th Annual Woodward Avenue Dream Cruise -- a sixteen mile-long moving display of horsepower, high octane and just about anything automotive you can imagine (as well as a few things you could never imagine). The VIPsports.com Dodge Stratus will be found right in the heart of the fun!

-www.challengerconsultingllc.com

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