ATLANTA, Ga. (May 4, 2012) – The first day of qualifying at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals wasn’t exactly smooth sailing for Johnny Gray and the NTB/Service Central Dodge Charger, but there were definite signs of improvement that have the team feeling positive about day two of the event. Gray wheeled the NTB/Service Central Funny Car down the blazing racing surface with a 4.327, 286.74 mph in session one, and in the second round of qualifying, things got a little wild as a cylinder went out in Gray's Dodge, pulling the car left and across the centerline and kicking a timing block out of its path in the process. At the end of the day, Gray was 17th quickest, and the NTB Service Central team will have two more chances to get into the show on Saturday. Before the first session, crew chief Rob Wendland said that what was determined during testing on Monday following the race in Houston last weekend opened a giant window of opportunity, and predicted that they would be starting out slow and gaining ground as this weekend at Atlanta Dragway progressed. As Wendland thought, the incremental and overall times in the first session were a bit slow, but in their second take, the incremental times showed significant improvement and a clear return to the speedy hot rod that they have known in the past. “We definitely feel like we made a lot of progress with the NTB/Service Central car,” said Wendland. “It stuck the tire a little bit when it left, but it recovered and in between 60-feet and 330-feet, we were the quickest of the session – which shows that we are back on schedule. “We knew this weekend we would be on a learning curve, but we’re making progress. We have to be patient. Tomorrow looks good.” Day two of the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals is scheduled to begin at 11:30 am on Saturday with another qualifying shot slated for 2:00 pm. From: Kelly Wade
