Bob Tasca III
Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Shelby Mustang
Nitro Funny Car class
NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series
25th Annual O’Reilly Super Start Batteries NHRA Fall Nationals
Texas Motorplex in Dallas, TX
September 24 - 26, 2010
Race 20 of 23
Countdown to 1 - Race 3 of 6
TASCA AND MOTORCRAFT/QUICK LANE RACING QUALIFY FOURTH AT DALLAS
ENNIS, TX – September 25, 2010 – Bob Tasca III and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Racing team headed into Dallas with momentum from Charlotte and continued their success with solid qualifying efforts during two distinctly different days in Texas – a hot and humid Friday and a cool and rainy Saturday.
During the first qualifying session on Friday, with a track temperature of 141 degrees, Tasca posted the fifth quickest pass with a 4.644-second run at 216.03 miles per hour. In the evening session, Tasca dropped a cylinder but still improved on his time with a 4.200-second run at 289.45 miles per hour, placing him fifth overall heading into Saturday.
Rain interrupted the third and final qualifying session on Saturday. Several Funny Car pairs made qualifying runs before rain halted all on-track activity. After a lengthy rain delay the final group of Funny Cars took to the track, where the surface temperature of 88 degrees was more than 50 degrees cooler than Friday’s track temperature.
“We had to weather the storm, literally, because it rained pretty much all day,” said Tasca. “We were in the staging lanes when the rain started during the third session and we wanted to get back on track because we knew our Motorcraft/Quick Lane Shelby Mustang was fast and could move up the ladder. Fortunately, the NHRA worked to get the track dry and we were able to get our last session in today.”
Once the rain cleared, the Funny Car category was the first group of competitors on the track. Tasca posted his best run of the weekend with a 4.126-second pass at 302.89 miles per hour and jumped up into the top half of the field. Once the session was completed, Tasca locked himself in the fourth spot heading into Sunday’s eliminations.
“We started the day off in the fifth position and were bumped down to eighth,” said Tasca. “During that final run of the day, we ran a 4.126 that put us in the fourth spot. Our goal heading into this weekend was to put ourselves in position to win the race. I can’t wait for tomorrow. It is going to be a cool day and conditions should be pretty much optimal like we just saw tonight. ”
Tasca will face Tony Pedregon in the first round of eliminations on Sunday. Tasca has raced Pedregon eight times and has six wins against his fellow 2010 NHRA Countdown to 1 championship contender.
“I’m matched up against my buddy Tony tomorrow morning. It will be a great race against Tony and a monster match-up with John [Force] and Robert [Hight] facing each other in the first round. Heading into this race, I said we needed to do well to be a front-runner for the championship and we’re on our way to doing that on Sunday.”
Tasca credits the 2010 success to crew chiefs Chris Cunningham and Marc Denner for their efforts in transitioning to the Ford BOSS 500 engine package mid-season.
“The big reason why we changed to the Ford BOSS 500 engine platform was to have a car that could compete when conditions were optimal,” said Tasca. “We’ve been working real hard on that tune-up and I think you saw some of it show itself here in the last run. Our Motorcraft/Quick Lane Racing team, under the leadership of Chris, Marc and Tom [Leskovan], has done a flawless job here this weekend. Tomorrow the conditions will be a lot like what we just saw on Saturday. The data from that last run will be a big run for us to look at going into tomorrow.”
NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Funny Car Qualifying Order
1-Tim Wilkerson. 2-Ashley Force Hood. 3-Jeff Arend. 4-Bob Tasca III. 5-Ron Capps. 6-Cruz Pedregon. 7-Jack Beckman. 8-John Force. 9-Robert Hight. 10-Jim Head. 11-Paul Lee. 12-Del Worsham. 13-Tony Pedregon. 14-Matt Hagan. 15-Todd Simpson. 16-Dale Creasy
Motorcraft/Quick Lane Racing on the Web
Twitter – http://www.twitter.com/MQL_Racing
Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/MQLRacing
Flickr – http://www.flickr.com/photos/motorcraftquicklaneracing
Television
Sunday, Sept. 26, ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise qualifying highlights coverage at 1:00 AM – 2:00 AM (ET).
Sunday, Sept. 26, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise NHRA Race Day, at 6:30 p.m. (ET).
Sunday, Sept. 26, ESPN3.com will televise live coverage of eliminations at noon. (ET)
Sunday, Sept. 26, ESPN2 HD will televise three hours of eliminations coverage at 7 p.m. (ET).
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.
About Quick Lane Tire & Auto Centers
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.
About FordParts.com
FordParts.com allows customers to shop online for over 283,000 Genuine Ford and Motorcraft parts. With FordParts.com, repair shops, body shops, fleets and do-it-yourselfers can shop for, order and ultimately receive parts 24/7 via the click of a mouse. It lets each customer remain connected to their Ford or Lincoln Mercury dealership for the parts expertise, personal delivery assistance, and post-sale follow-up associated with a traditional purchase. All customers visiting FordParts.com will benefit from its comprehensive, yet user-friendly nature, perhaps best expressed in the way Ford and Motorcraft parts are shopped for and selected. Customers can enter a Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) and shop with unmatched accuracy for parts uniquely associated with the vehicle or start by entering the year, make and model of the vehicle. Adding to the site’s functionality is the ability to view 22,865 technical illustrations on many of the parts and assemblies. 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 159,000 employees and about 70 plants worldwide, the company’s brands include Ford, Lincoln and Mercury, production of which has been announced by the company to be ending in the fourth quarter of 2010. The company provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company. For more information regarding Ford’s products, please visit www.ford.com.
# # # #
