PR - MARTY THACKER - COLUMBUS DIVISIONAL PREVIEW

Submitted by: Shanna Snyder-Bell

Contact Person: Marty Thacker
Contact email address: mlthacker@mapllc.com

Thacker Heads into Columbus with High Expectations

Marty Thacker will head into this weekend’s final Division 3 Lucas Oil Divisional Racing Series event with a lot hanging in the balance. The TORCO Racing Fuels sponsored Top Alcohol Dragster will be competing in the rain delayed Bowling Green event which was postponed just before the semi-final round and the Columbus event over the 3 day period.

Coming into the weekend Thacker is 2nd in the 2005 Divisional points standings by just one round of competition. With a good showing in these 2 events Thacker could take over the lead and ultimately earn his 1st Division 3 points championship.

Columbus also marks the final event to claim Spitzer Low Qualifier Series points. The Rapid Transit Race Team currently sits in the number one position by just 1 point. With a strong qualifying effort Thacker would be able to earn the 1st ever Top Alcohol Dragster Spitzer Low Qualifier Series Championship.

The 2003 event champion noted, “This is a huge weekend for us, it has implications in 4 different points battles. First and foremost is the 2005 Divisional Points Championship. We will also be earning points towards the POWERade National points standings, Spitzer Low Qualifier Series, and the 2006 Jeg's All-Star series. Since we will be competing in 2 divisional events this weekend we need to be even more on top of our game. We will be using our final two qualifying shots on Saturday as the conclusion to the Bowling Green race. We are already down to the semi-finals in the Beach Bend event, so hopes are especially high for that one."

"Right now the forecast doesn’t look great, hopefully the weather will cooperate with us this weekend. We'd prefer some nice sunny, 90 degree days."

Thacker will begin qualifying his TORCO Racing Fuels/Atlantic Scaffolding Top Alcohol Dragster on Friday evening at 5 PM. Qualifying on Saturday is set for 1 and 5 PM. This will also be the remaining to rounds of competition for the rain delayed Bowling Green event. Final eliminations will begin at 1 PM on Sunday.

Please visit the official team website www.rapidtransitracing.com.

You can access the full line of innovative products offered by our major sponsor TORCO Racing Fuels including racing gasoline, additives, and TORCO Gear at www.torcoracefuels.com.

Visit the websites of our current associate and product sponsors at the following websites:

Atlantic Scaffolding Company – www.atscaf.com

Valvoline - www.valvoline.com/pages/racing

Hoosier Racing Tire – www.hoosiertire.com