Welcome to the second edition of “On The Road with Kenny Racing,” the
bi-weekly newsletter featuring the Landa Pressure Washers Super Comp
Dragsters of Al and Jason Kenny.
After the completion of the Mac Tools Thunder Valley Nationals, we decided
to spend the night at the track, and head to Atlanta Monday morning.
Atlanta was only a few short hours from Bristol, so we weren’t in a hurry.
Congratulations go out to Lincoln Morehead, who won the Super Stock title
at Bristol. Prior to the rain-delayed final, the Morehead’s moved their rig
to higher ground, which in this case was right beside our pit. After Lincoln
won the event, we got a taste of their new (trailer) sound system, as did
everyone within about a two-mile radius. I’ve never seen an un-hitched
trailer shake so much. With good music roaring all night, the Morehead’s
are definitely welcome neighbours !!!
Monday morning comes, bright and sunny. We hitched up, filled the water
tanks, and dumped our holding tanks right at the Bristol track. Special
thanks to Bruton Smith for this added feature … racers really appreciate it.
The drive to Atlanta was somewhat eventful, with a couple hills featuring
9% downgrades that stretch for miles at a time. Who knew you could do really
awesome burnouts with the trailer brakes? We arrived at Atlanta Monday
evening, 34th in line. That night, I think I heard thirty-three different
people describe why they think the route they took from Bristol to Atlanta
was the worst.
We got a great parking spot Wednesday morning. However, we held off on
teching the cars until the rain stopped. More on that “rain” word later.
Thursday’s time trials went well … we got the cars close to each other,
and I looked like a hero running 8.91, 8.90, and 8.91 on the 8.90 index.
Friday’s first round was cancelled, due to rain. In fact, they only
managed to get in one professional qualifying round. Saturday called for us to
run two rounds of eliminations. Once again, rain hit, and they cancelled all
sportsman classes for Saturday. So, they needed to start Sportsman at
8:00am Sunday morning, and guess who was first on the list. You got it …
Super Comp!
While I am not a fan of waking up at 6:45am, I heard several local racers
say that running late at night at Atlanta is dangerous. Plus, it's always
easier to “get up” for first round. Scheduled for 8:00am, I was ready to
head to the staging lanes at 7:55am. Dad and I usually separate as much
as possible for first round, to avoid racing each other. So, when I was
about to hop in the car, Dad (who was warming his car) yelled and pointed.
What was he pointing at? You got it … rain! A constant mist kept us off the
racetrack for a while. Eventually it did stop … my first round ET slip
reads 9:31am. I was fortunate to win first round, defeating Richard
Peurtas. Rich is currently second overall in the national points standings.
Dad fell victim to Mary Ann Jackson on a double breakout.
Round two came a short eight hours and twenty-six minutes later, right
after the Top Fuel and Funny Car finals. I defeated Dave Connolly (round two)
and Brian Forrester (round three) in what DragRaceCanada’s Bruce Biegler
called “a couple of interesting starting line burndowns.” Round four was fun, as
I took out former NFL Head Coach and Fox Analyst Jerry Glanville in a double breakout.
However, in round five, I tapped the brakes a little too early
into the run, and ended up losing the stripe to Ray Connolly.
As I mentioned last week, Atlanta was the site of Dad’s first-ever
National Event win. Atlanta is also the track that has now seen my best national
event results. I’ve only gotten past the second round (at a national
event) twice in my four years of racing. Both have come at Atlanta. A round
three loss in 1999, and a round five loss this year. Having both Dad and I’s
best finish at the same track may force us to return here next year.
And next year we’ll definitely have twice the fun. Why? As mentioned in
the previous edition of this newsletter, we spent a couple days at S&W
Race Cars before the Bristol race. Most of Monday was spent sitting down with
Scott Weney, going over the parts and pieces of our brand new 2002 Super
Gas Corvette Roadsters !!! S&W will build both cars, with D&D Performance
providing the new powerplants.
How we get the new cars to and from the track is still being discussed,
but they will definitely be towed in a T&E-built race trailer. The trailer
will feature left side doors, enabling us to have all the cars together, in one
pit area. We are currently leaning towards a 38’ Monaco Windsor Motorhome
as the choice of tow vehicle, but that is not finalized as of yet.
This week, we’re off to Englishtown for the Matco Tools Supernationals. This race is always fun as we rent a tower suite, and sell tickets to
family and friends. It’s our version of a family reunion. If you think the peanut
gallery at the 1000’ grandstand is bad, you should hear this bunch during an
alcohol qualifying session. You’d be surprised at how many of these guys could out-tune Frank Manzo !!! Tower tune-ups always seem to work!
Even my cousins Austin and Owen Kenny usually make a few bucks wagering on a race or two. Always a good time, even if my career record at this race is 0-2.
E-Town is also fun because it’s the first race of the year for many of the
Division 1 racers, who also hit the Lucas Oil race at Maple Grove the
weekend after. At press time, I am currently ranked 42nd nationally, and
4th in the division. Here’s hoping I can improve on both after the next two
races, and I suppose I should say the same for Dad too! Dad is not
currently in the top 50 nationally, but is ranked 3rd divisionally.
Tentative 2002 Schedule
May 16-19 = NHRA National Event @ Englishtown, New Jersey.
May 23-26 = NHRA Divisional Event @ Reading, Pennsylvania.
May 30-June 2 = NHRA National Event @ Chicago, Illinois.
June 7-9 = IHRA National Event @ Grand Bend, Ontario.
June 20-23 = NHRA Divisional Event @ Atco, New Jersey.
July 4-7 = NHRA Divisional Event @ West Lebanon, New York.
July 12-14 = IHRA National Event @ Rochester, New York.
July 20-21 = Bracket Race @ Grand Bend, Ontario.
July 26-28 = NHRA Divisional Event @ Numidia, Pennsylvania.
August 3-4 = Bracket Race @ Grand Bend, Ontario.
August 9-11 = NHRA Divisional Event @ Englishtown, New Jersey.
August 17-18 = Bracket Race @ Grand Bend, Ontario.
August 22-25 = NHRA Divisional Event @ Rising Sun, Maryland.
August 31-September 1 = Bracket Race @ Grand Bend, Ontario.
September 12-15 = NHRA National Event @ Reading, Pennsylvania.
September 26-29 = NHRA National Event @ Chicago, Illinois.
October 10-13 = NHRA National Open @ Reading, Pennsylvania.
October 24-27 = NHRA National Event @ Las Vegas, Nevada.
October 31-November 3 = NHRA Divisional Event @ Las Vegas, Nevada.
November 7-10 = NHRA National Event @ Pomona, California.
November 13-17 = Bracket Race @ Bradenton, Florida.
November 20-24 = Bracket Race @ West Palm Beach, Florida.
