Bob Tasca III
Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford Shelby Mustang
Nitro Funny Car class
NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series
23rd Annual FRAM-Autolite NHRA Nationals
Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, CA
July 16 - 18, 2010
Race 15 of 23
TASCA AND MOTORCRAFT/QUICK LANE RACING REACH SEMIFINALS IN SONOMA
SONOMA, CA – July 18, 2010 – Bob Tasca III and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Racing team entered this weekend’s NHRA race at Sonoma with confidence and looked to earn their first West Coast win. Tasca’s weekend was two inches shy of reaching the finals but improved his position in the points standings.
Tasca opened the weekend by driving to the top of the pack. During the first qualifying session, Tasca posted low ET of the session with a 4.152 second run at 300.73 miles per hour. As a result of his low ET pass, Tasca earned three bonus points.
During the late qualifying session on Friday, Tasca improved on his opening pass with a 4.130 second run at 304.39 miles per hour. Tasca was comfortably in the top half of the field and would head into Saturday’s qualifying sessions in the fifth position. After all four qualifying sessions were complete, Tasca and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Racing team kept their 4.130 second run and locked into the fifth position.
“Our Motorcraft/Quick Lane Shelby Mustang showed amazing performance in every qualifying run,” said Tasca. “The only run we missed was the Friday night run. The Mustang ran weak relative to what we wanted to run because we had some mechanical issues. We came out of the box strong and ended the day in the top five.”
Tasca would face Paul Lee during Sunday’s eliminations. It was the first time Tasca would race Lee in the elimination rounds. Tasca defeated Paul Lee with a solid 4.198 second pass at 301.13 miles per hour.
Tasca had lane choice over Cruz Pedregon in the second round. Tasca was first off the line against Pedregon and would lead the entire race. Tasca’s Motorcraft/Quick Lane Shelby Mustang ran 4.152 seconds at 299.13 miles per hour compared to Pedregon’s 4.17 second run at 300 miles per hour. Tasca’s margin of victory was 0.0268 seconds, approximately 12 feet.
In the semifinals, Tasca faced the Dodge Charger of Jack Beckman. The pair had similar reaction times and Tasca was in the lead until the final few feet. Tasca’s red and black Mustang posted a 4.22 second pass at 296.83 miles per hour but was fractions of a second behind Beckman’s 4.221 second pass at 298.73 miles per hour. Beckman’s margin of victory over Tasca was 0.0004 seconds, approximately two inches.
“That semifinal run must have been one of the closest races in the history of the sport,” said Tasca. “It was so close; I’m not sure how NHRA measured it. I’m so proud of the team and thank them for how hard they worked this weekend to put our Motorcraft/Quick Lane Shelby Mustang in the semifinals.”
From unloading the Mustang on Friday to the elimination rounds on Sunday, the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Racing team was probably the hardest working Funny Car team in Sonoma.
“Our Motorcraft/Quick Lane Shelby Mustang made seven pulls down the race track - all phenomenal runs, but we put five motors in the car since Friday,” said Tasca. “We’ve had all kinds of crazy things happen this weekend to our Mustang. As the owner/driver of this team, I take my hat off to my team. They were working on the race car until 1:30 on Friday night/Saturday morning and changed two motors during eliminations today. The guys did a tremendous job this weekend and did everything they could to make our runs incredible.”
Tasca improved his position in the Funny Car points standings but will have to wait until Denver to clinch his spot in the Countdown to 1 playoffs.
“We moved up to seventh in the points and we’re real close to locking in our spot in the Countdown to 1,” said Tasca. “We gambled by making this switch to the Ford BOSS 500 engine mid-season. Our goal was to make the engine transition and be ready for the Countdown to 1. B we need to make the Countdown first and we look to do that next weekend in Denver.”
Ron Capps defeated teammate Jack Beckman to win the 23rd Annual FRAM-Autolite NHRA Nationals in Sonoma, CA.
NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series Points
1. John Force, 1114; 2. Robert Hight, 1071; 3. Jack Beckman, 1008; 4. Matt Hagan, 994; 5. Ron Capps, 959; 6. Tim Wilkerson, 929; 7. Bob Tasca III, 906; 8. Ashley Force Hood, 905; 9. Del Worsham, 839; 10. Tony Pedregon, 699
Motorcraft/Quick Lane Racing on the Web
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Flickr – http://www.flickr.com/photos/motorcraftquicklaneracing
About Motorcraft
Motorcraft® offers a complete line of replacement parts that are recommended and approved by Ford Motor Company. From routine maintenance to underhood repairs, Motorcraft parts offer exceptional value with the highest quality and right fit at competitive prices. Motorcraft parts are available nationwide at Ford and Lincoln Mercury dealers, independent distributors, and automotive parts retailers and are backed by Ford Motor Company’s Service Parts Limited Warranty. For more information, visit www.motorcraft.com.
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Quick Lane® provides automotive quick services for all makes and models. Quick Lane’s nationwide network will surpass 600 facilities, each providing the convenience of an aftermarket company (no appointment necessary, service while you wait, evening and weekend hours, competitive prices) with the confidence of a major automotive manufacturer (quality parts, factory-trained technicians). Quick Lane® is a registered trademark of Ford Motor Company. For more information, visit www.quicklane.com.
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FordParts.com allows customers to shop online, order and receive original equipment parts, connect to a Ford or Lincoln Mercury dealership of their choice for the parts expertise, personal delivery assistance, and post-sale follow-up associated with a traditional purchase at a parts counter. FordParts.com is designed to support anyone who needs to find and buy original equipment Ford parts. Repair shops, body shops, fleets and do-it-yourselfers will appreciate the speed and convenience of researching and purchasing Ford parts via this online portal, and the flexibility of choosing in-store pick-up or having the parts delivered. For more information, visit www.fordparts.com.
About Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company, a global automotive industry leader based in Dearborn, Mich., manufactures or distributes automobiles across six continents. With about 176,000 employees and about 80 plants worldwide, the company’s brands include Ford, Lincoln, Mercury and, until its sale, Volvo. The company provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company. For more information regarding Ford’s products, please visit www.ford.com.
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