PR - MARTY THACKER - READING NATIONAL WRAP-UP

Submitted by: Shanna Snyder-Bell

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

Thacker Runs Well In Reading
Leaves Just One Point Out of Top 10

Marty Thacker and the Rapid Transit Race Team were in Reading, Pennsylvania this past weekend for the Toyo Tires NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series National event. Thacker was able to make it to the Quarterfinals when a part failure caused the engine to shut down before he crossed the finish line.

Thacker who qualified #4 (5.40 @ 264 mph) for the event commented, “The Maple Grove event was a rollercoaster for the Rapid Transit Racing Team. We unloaded the car and made a smooth pass down the track to begin the weekend. Then things began moving in the wrong direction. During the second qualifying run we hung a clutch finger, broke a new valve spring, and dropped a valve. Since we had one last qualifying shot to come on Saturday morning and we would able to check out the tune-up on the new motor, we decided to use Friday evening to put a fresh clean motor in the car for race day.”

Thacker outran his first round opponent to take the win light with a 5.41 at 265 mph. Then in the second round the TORCO Racing Fuels sponsored dragster fell into some bad luck when the crank trigger broke at around 1100 feet to end their race day early.

After the weekend Thacker sits in 11th place just one point out of the POWERade Top 10.

“Sunday we decided to stick with a conservative tune-up on the car. While we were in the staging lanes for first round, the cloud cover moved in and we saw the adjusted altitude drop 300 to 400 feet. Our set up didn’t take that into consideration and as a result the motor ran through the clutch,” said Thacker.

“This puts us into the 4th quarter of the season. TORCO Race Fuels and Atlantic Scaffolding have been so good to us all year. We really want to finish the year strong. We just can’t keep letting little parts failures put us in the trailer so early on race day. I have a top notch crew working on this car and you can bet we will all fight to the end of the season."

Thacker and the Rapid Transit Race Team will head to Columbus, Ohio September 23rd thru the 25th to compete in the final Lucas Oil Division 3 points meet of the year. During the weekend he will also be finishing the rain delayed Bowling Green event. The event, which was rained out at the end of August, will pick up with semi-final match-ups.

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