Tasca And Motorsports Reach Semis In Charlotte

CONCORD, September 20, 2010: Bob Tasca III and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Racing team hoped to perform well in Concord this weekend for several reasons. In addition to calling Concord the home of Tasca Racing, this race marked the second of the Countdown to 1. Tasca entered the weekend sitting in the seventh points position. The goal for the weekend was to perform well, move up the ladder and one step closer to the 2010 NHRA Funny Car championship title.

Tasca started his weekend by qualifying in the third position with a 4.109 second run at 304.39 miles per hour. Following four qualifying sessions, Tasca locked himself in the third spot heading into Sunday’s eliminations. By order of the ladder, Tasca faced Bob Bode during the first round.

Tasca had the starting line advantage against Bode and never looked back. Tasca’s 4.221-second pass at 301.40 miles per hour defeated Bode’s 4.805-second pass at 242.89 miles per hour.

In the second round, Tasca faced fellow Ford Racing Mustang driver Ashley Force Hood. Tasca was first off the line and led the entire race against Force Hood. Tasca reached the finish line in 4.483 seconds at 250.78 miles per hour compared to Force Hood’s 5.314-second pass at 152.73 miles per hour.

“We had a valve spring retainer break in the second round,” said Tasca. “These fuel cars are rough on the parts and we try to stay ahead of the curve as much as we can. But things break and that’s just the way it is. We got lucky against Ashley. I hung on, I knew the motor was wounded but we made it through and got the win.”

During the semifinal match-up, Tasca raced against the Dodge of Jack Beckman. Tasca was in the less preferred left lane against Beckman. Tasca smoked the tires and was unable to catch Beckman at the finish line. Tasca’s Mustang posted a 4.949-second run at 160.86 miles per hour compared to Beckman’s 4.199-second run at 301.13 miles per hour.

“That left lane was suspect all day because it was a very difficult lane to go down,” said Tasca. “We pushed a little harder than what the track could handle and it smoked the tires.”

Despite the semifinal loss, Tasca was pleased with the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Racing team’s performance. Tasca moved into fifth in points standings with four races remaining in the 2010 Countdown to 1, just 85 points out of first place.

“It was a great day for our team because we did exactly what we needed to do and that was move up in the points,” said Tasca. “There’s a lot of racing left this season with four races and more than 400 points on the table. We’re in a place right now to win a championship and we’ve got a hot rod that certainly has the performance to do that. The pressure was on this weekend and will be on again next weekend in Dallas. I’m confident that we’ll carry some momentum into Dallas.”

Cruz Pedregon won Sunday’s Third Annual O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Nationals in Concord, NC.

The third race in the Countdown to 1 takes place next weekend, September 24-26, at Texas Motorplex in Ennis, TX.

NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series Points 1. John Force, 2245; 2. Jack Beckman, 2241; 3. Matt Hagan, 2203; 4. Ashley Force Hood, 2192; 5. Bob Tasca III, 2160; 6. Robert Hight, 2157; 7. Ron Capps, 2123; 8. Tony Pedregon, 2085; 9. Tim Wilkerson, 2082; 10. Del Worsham, 2077