Simonton Going After First Win at Four-Wide Nationals

Simonton Going After First Win at Four-Wide Nationals

CONCORD, N.C. (April 10) – Fan favorite Top Alcohol Funny Car driver Cassie Simonton is back at zMax Dragway for the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals this weekend to continue her quest for her first Wally. The immaculate Charlotte-area track has been good to the Kon Rodz Racing driver in the past, as the Minnesotan has run career-best elapsed times and speeds here. Simonton is hopeful to continue that trend after a disappointing Gatornationals outing that ended with a first round meeting with the retaining wall.

“We're confident coming into this race. We know the car has a lot of power. We struggled a little bit in Gainesville, when I hit the wall. I'm glad to be back at Charlotte. We've always run our best performances here. I'm excited to get on the track on Friday and see what the car can run,” Simonton says.

Cassie and her Spiro Kontos-owned team have optimistic goals for the Four-Wide race, eager to improve the team's best numbers.

“We're trying to push it to go faster,” Simonton claimed. “We're still trying to break into the forties; I'm not sure that the weather will permit that this weekend. The potential is there during our earlier runs in the morning. Our goal is to improve on each pass, get our consistency down, and maybe change our luck. We're usually fast in qualifying, we just need a little more luck in eliminations.”

The Randy Anderson-tuned Kon Rodz Racing entry is completely back in race-ready form after its brush with the guardwall at the team's season-opening NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla., last month.

“We immediately had the body at the paint shop and it is one hundred percent fixed now. We also had Hedman Hedders build a new set of custom headers for the car,” said team president Stefan Kontos.

Charlotte will mark the first race for a brand-new helmet for Simonton meant to show appreciation for one of the team's major associate sponsors.

“Cassie is debuting her new CRC Automotive-themed Bell Helmet painted by Nick Pastura Motorsports out of Ohio. Working with CRC has been tremendous and this is a great way to continue to build our relationship and highlight their various products that we use. Fans can check out our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/konrodzracing) to learn how to enter to win the helmet at the end of the season,” Kontos added.

“Gainesville was less than stellar, however we're coming into this race with the same mindset that we want to win. We have all of the right parts and pieces. Although I won't be present this weekend to watch, I'm hoping to see this CRC Automotive car go rounds and get Cassie and the team our first win.”

Cassie Simonton and the Kon Rodz Racing Top Alcohol Funny Car team will get three qualifying shots at the zMax Dragway quarter-mile, April 11-13; Friday at noon and 3:30 PM and Saturday at 11:30 AM. First round of eliminations will begin at 3:30 PM on Saturday.

Kon Rodz Racing is an NHRA Top Alcohol Funny Car team owned by Canadian businessman Spiro Kontos. Minnesota native Cassie Simonton drives the team's KonRodzRacing.com Monte Carlo Alcohol Funny Car in the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series. Spiro, Cassie, and the entire Kon Rodz team are grateful to the companies who support their racing program: Rat Pack Apparel, CRC Industries, Aerodine Composites Group, Bell Helmets, CleanBoost Performance Oils, Nick Pastura Motorsports, Sparco USA, Goodyear Tire, NGK Spark Plugs, MAHLE/Clevite, Goodson Tools, and Hedman Hedders.

For more information on Kon Rodz Racing, please visit www.KonRodzRacing.com. Keep up with Cassie and the team on Facebook (www.facebook.com/konrodzracing) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/cassiesimonton and www.twitter.com/konrodzpr).