The 72nd NHRA Cornwell Tools U.S. Nationals will be a massive event celebrating the 75th anniversary of the NHRA. For Funny Car driver and team owner Chris King the event will mark a return to racing action and an opportunity to etch his name into the drag racing history books. The part-time race team has been making steady improvements on and off the track for the past three years and King feels like more positive results are right around the corner for the Competition Products/Howards Cams Funny Car team. To make the moment even bigger King will be debuting a new look 12,000-horsepower Howards Cams/Competition Products nitro Funny Car.
“The new Funny Car looks amazing, and we can’t wait to start making passes. We have been trying to build this program the right way on a small budget,” said King, who is a fulltime firefighter in Chicago when he is away from the track. “My crew chief Bob Peck has gotten our tune-up moving in the right direction and our crew guys have really stepped up. I think this weekend in Indy could be a big race for us. There will be a ton of Funny Cars trying to qualify and we just want to be in the mix.”
Two years ago King was part of one of the most dramatic final qualifying sessions in recent U.S. Nationals history. Sitting No. 16 going into the final session, King and his team had to watch as several competitors tried to run quicker than his 4.079 second pass. King’s time held up to secure the final spot in one of the quickest fields in U.S. Nationals history. This year there will be 24 Funny Cars vying for 16 spots so the competition during the five qualifying rounds will be intense.
“The car count for the U.S. Nationals this year is awesome,” said King. “A few years ago we had a stressful final session, but we got into the show. This year we want to make the most of the qualifying runs and not have to sweat it out. Bob and I have a plan, and we are excited to show off the work we have done leading up to the race. We also have some new marketing partners that we want to highlight.”
Since King and the Competition Products/Howards Cams Funny Car were last on track at the Gerber Collision and Glass Route 66 Nationals outside of Chicago the team has moved into a new shop and made significant upgrades to the Funny Car. The opportunity to showcase those changes is a big priority for King.
“It’s great to be coming back and honestly it is way overdue,” said King. “We made some big changes to the car, so we are expecting to see results. Moving into our new shop has provided us with the chance to make some other big improvements for us to get work done. Every improvement we make is predicated on making the team stronger for the long run.”
Leading up to the race King will be one of the featured drivers at the Cruz Pedregon Open House and Car Show on Thursday night September 3 from 5:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. The annual free event is one of the biggest driver autograph sessions of the year drawing thousands of fans from across the country.
“Being a part of the Cruz Pedregon Open House before the race starts really gets you into a great mood,” said King. “There are a ton of fans there and the list of drivers and celebrities is huge. You can’t help but get excited for the race and I appreciate all the fans wishing our team good luck.”
Qualifying for the NHRA U.S. Nationals will begin on Friday, September 4, with one session of the Top Fuel and Funny Car categories at 7:30 p.m. On Saturday, fans will be treated to two more qualifying sessions at 1:05 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. The final day of qualifying on Sunday will offer two final opportunities to make the field with runs at 1:00 p.m. and 3:15 p.m. The quickest 16 race cars, dragsters and motorcycles will race for the famed Diamond Wally trophy beginning at 10:00 a.m. on Monday. The race will be broadcast nationally on FOX.
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