Nhra funny car driver todd veney

Nhra cruz pedregon team funny car top fuel dragster nitro crew shirt xl rare. That meant purchasing a top alcohol funny car from none other than. In 1998, he became the first funny car driver to exceed 320 mph, and holds both ends of funny. Sep 25, 2012 todd robertson, who lined up against championship contender tony bartone in the first round of the u. Nationals wins, team kalitta also won the funny car event in 2014 with nowretired driver. Practicing what he preached, blake formed his own race teams, first in super comp, now in alcohol funny car, and, in the future, with a nitro car on the nhra full throttle tour. Todd becomes the 16th driver to win in both funny car and top. Initially, todd paton drove for the nitro fish racing team and in his first venture ever in that car 2000 mac tools gatornationals todd became canadas all time fastest racer with a lap of 4.

Careerbest season thus far has driver and blind crew. Not just anyone can be a funny car driver and not just any car is ready to race. Former funny car driver chuck etchells remembered by friends. Top alcohol funny car driver dj cox took a hard hit into the wall during the first round of eliminations at the 50th annual amalie motor oil gatornationals. Marstons mills, manovember 12 2015jay blakes permatexfollow a dream winds up its best season ever this weekend at the nhra finals in pomona, calif. Hes been offered a position with mike ashleys funny car team that may ultimately offer him the chance to live his dream of piloting a nitro funny car as the team test driver and who knows what. He will instead opt for a position on the new funny car team being formed by mike ashley. His latest car, a 2014 chevrolet camaro is the teams third funny car and is. Our whole team is excited to have phil driving as another era begins here at follow a. Nhra host brian lohnes takes us for another ride on the nitro time machine. At the wideopen summit racing equipment nhra nationals held july 47 in norwalk, ohio, dave hirata broke through for his first national event victory in years and kris hool earned. The follow a dream team debuted their new car in 2003 with driver todd veney.

Nhra lucas oil drag racing series results lebanon valley. Jay blakes permatexfollow a dream top alcohol funny car team has a new driver for the 2016 season. At the wideopen summit racing equipment nhra nationals held july 47 in norwalk, ohio, dave hirata broke through for his first national event victory in years and kris hool earned his second career title. The 20 jegs allstars event will culminate a yearlong points battle between drivers in each of nhra s lucas oil drag racing series eight classes as well as top sportsman and top dragster. Results of round 2 eliminations in top alcohol funny car at the nhra mello yello drag racing series, 61st annual chevrolet performance u. Reichert, veney take wins at national trail lucas series event. Park your funny car in the tech center of the tracks where youll be earning your license. Another unique item for the discriminating motorsports collector.

Consistency is the game and harker proved his experience as tuner and driver throughout the event, kicking things off in round one with a 5. Photos courtesy of todd veney collection, nhra fri. Doing it his way has made him one of the leading alcohol funny car drivers of the past 15 years, with. Phil burkart named new driver for follow a dream tafc. Funny car is a type of drag racing vehicle and a specific racing class in organized drag racing. The veteran nhra top alcohol funny car driver finally captured his inaugural wally when he won at the summit racing equipment nationals july 5 in norwalk, ohio. While john force is acknowledged as the king of nhra funny car racing. In the final results from the lucas oil drag racing series event at new england dragway, top alcohol dragster driver, john finke, selkirk, n. Funny cars are characterized by having tiltup fiberglass or carbon fiber automotive bodies over a customfabricated chassis, giving them an appearance vaguely approximating manufacturers showroom models. Im doing just fine, no better than that, said veney, who resides in indianapolis. At the nhra northeast division lucas oil drag racing series at maple grove raceway, chassis builder dan page collected his second career top alcohol dragster victory and frank manzo earned what surprisingly was his first win all year in top alcohol funny car.

Courtesy of todd veney pro sportsman association photo courtesy of david smith todd robertson, who lined up against championship contender tony bartone in the first round of the u. His father is the legendary ken veney, who was the seventhwinningest driver in nhra history when he retired from driving alcohol cars in 1985. Pro modturnedalcohol funny car driver todd robertson. Thought by todd veney, a staff writer for national dragster, to be one of only three known drag racing. In the final results from the nhra lucas oil drag racing series event being held this weekend at cecil county dragway, reining nhra top alcohol funny car champion frank manzo of morganville, n. Blake and driver todd veney are on the teams biggest roll ever. He may not see with his eyes, but he has vision nbc sportsworld. Doing it his way has made him one of the leading alcohol funny car drivers of the past 15 years, with multiple national event titles and five divisional victories since the late 1990s.

Drag racing results, news photos and highlights from nhra and ihra series events. Jun 14, 2012 written by todd veneypro sportsman association photo by david smith. Results of round 1 eliminations in top alcohol funny car at the nhra mello yello drag racing series, 61st annual chevrolet performance u. Ken veney, todds father, was a star driver in alcohol funny cars and dragsters and was drag racings seventhwinningest driver when he retired in 1985, trailing only legends such as don garlits, don prudhomme, and bob glidden. However, to the folks who ran them, these floppers were anything but obscure. From top qualifier to event winner, steve harker swept the top alcohol funny car tafc class in his speed citycam2 blue blood racing motor oil and new sponsor, crane trucking, monte carlo at the summit racing equipment nhra nationals, july 36, in norwalk, ohio. Nhra top fuel driver bob vandergriff jr shoots huge header flames from. May 06, 2017 nhra funny car driver owner, jeff diehl, is no stranger to the journey of harnessing the power of speed. Aussie racer harker wins tafc at norwalk drag illustrated. A great driver and an even better friend are how members of the drag racing community remember former nhra funny car driver chuck etchells. He may not see with his eyes, but he has vision nbc. Then, over the next decade, nearly half of the indy top fuel winners were drivers who had never won another nhra event. The nhra northeast division is at virginia motorsports park for the nhra lucas oil drag racing series power in the park this weekend featuring 260 mph.

So this blind guy walks in and wants to buy a funny car. Longtime national dragster staffer todd veney leaves the team to. Theres nothing quite like funny car racing, and sporting news writer ryan fagan got to experience it firsthand with the driver of the kalitta motorsports dhl toyota, j. Veney races top alcohol funny car, like his father the. Mercier, who won on the lucas oil drag racing series tour for the eighth time in his. Norwalk top alcohol funny car round 2 eliminations. Im doing just fine, no better than that, said veney, who. Todd talks about his experience at the pros vs joes reaction time challenge, a contest of skill that took the best nhra pro racers and faced them off in remote practice tree battle with the best sportsman racers in the world. On the track, team driver marc white won this past weekends nhra division 3. View the team logos and drivers for nhra funny cars sponsored by lincoln electric. J r gives dave from lifethebasicmanual the low down on how he can overtake robert height at the las vegas toyota nationals. The newly formed pro sportsman association announced today the hiring of veteran racerjournalist todd veney to handle media and marketing duties for the 2012 season. Jay blake can tear down and rebuild a 3,500 horsepower drag racing motor by himself.

Dragrace canada, nhra, ihra, canadian drag racing news. Fielding a team in one of drag racings most challenging classes is. Words by eric lotz and todd veney photos by richard muir. Nhra top alcohol funny car driver todd veney does an awesome. If youve got more information, driver background, car history, etc. Browse through indepth news on todd veney along with latest information, updates, biography, expert analysis and opinions. Tafc team owner jay blake is following his dream drag. Todd veney, the pilot of the nhra lucas oil drag racing series permatex top alcohol funny car, which is owned by the blind jay blake, got a late start to his racing career. Nhra top fuel nitro crew starting line shirt leah pritchett pruett large. Those two names combined created one of the greatest funny car racing. Todd veney has reportedly informed nhras national dragster that he will not seek to renew his annual contract with the house organ publication. I cant imagine anyone who was around this stuff who wouldnt want to, said brown, 33, son of veteran racer burl brown. Nhra top alcohol funny car driver todd veney does an awesome burnout in his permatex sponsored funny car.

Current driver todd veney has won three divisional events. Jeff tells of his start into the sport, his experience in nitropowered cars and opens up. Careerbest season thus far has driver and blind crew chiefteam owner dreaming of championship. Gary beck 1972, marvin graham 1974, dennis baca 1977, and capp at the last one, in 1980. She was also the first female funny car driver to break the foursecond barrier and the first woman to compete in 100. Joining demke was todd veney, grabbing his first nhra national event win in top alcohol funny car but did so in anticlimactic fashion as dj cox, whiteford, md. Todd celebrates his 2018 funny car championship in his hometown of lawrenceburg, indiana. While he was chasing his dreams, he had several opportunities to move up to the nitro funny car class, where he would compete against. The top points earner in each category will qualify to. Funny car driver j r todd on catching robert hight nhra. Courtesy of the pro sportsman association todd veney carl oberman photo like a lot of racers kids, top alcohol funny car driver bryan brown grew up dreaming of the day hed be behind the wheel. Todd began campaigning his own ihra top alcohol funny car in 1995 before switching to nhra competition in 2000. Oct, 2017 as shawn langdon continues his push for a second top fuel championship in the nhra mello yello drag racing series, he can also begin to set his sights on a first championship in the funny car class.

Fox59s dave griffiths chats with nhra funny car driver jr todd at lucas oil raceway. Ray won the 2006 gatornationals, where tuner tom howell guided the car to the no. A weekend in funny car driver todd s shoes nhra nhra national hot rod. If he can make it three in a row, todd will make nhra history. Todd comes into this years race having won the last two funny car crowns at indy in 2017 and 2018. After running in the super comp class for a couple of years, blake stepped up the effort to the pinnacle of sportsman racing, the alcohol funny car class, prior to the 2003 season. Words by eric lotz and evan jones photos by don carrickstudio 4. Nationals, has to be the only top alcohol funny car driver in the field who, just a couple of years ago, hadnt even heard of bartone. Nhra funny car teams and drivers lincoln electric we use cookies to help our website work more effectively and efficiently, and to align our services and advertisements to your needs. In top alcohol funny car, veney won the final over top alcohol funny car s most overdue driver, john anderika, who shook so hard his parachutes fell out, with a 5. The following fcs represent some of the forgotten funny cars from the 70s with what information was found. Top alcohol funny car 1 todd veney, indianapolis, ind. Veney, son of drag racing legend ken veney, has an.

Todd, 34, admits racing a funny car was on his socalled bucket list, even though hes not officially old. George etterman release from hospital, edgewater recap. In the final results from lebanon valley dragway it was darren nicholson and todd veney taking the wins and the trophies for the nhra lucas oil drag racing series and the 4 th of july celebration. Todds career highlights, bio, stats and latest news. Bernsteinthe only driver to win nhra championships in both top fuel and funny cars, bernstein was also. Nhra funny car driver alexis dejoria will retire after 2017. He purchased frank manzos 2002 car, and put popular driver writer todd veney in the seat. Veney also suffered mechanical problems and coasted across the finish line. Top alcohol funny car driver dj cox takes a hard hit into. Nhra updates schedule, chat with jr todd wttv cbs4indy. Today hes the crew chief for the drag racing team follow a dream, which. Results of final, round 3 eliminations in top alcohol funny car at the nhra lucas oil drag racing series, northeast division, event at lebanon valley dragway. The 2007 jegs allstars event will culminate a yearlong points battle between drivers in each of.

Todd lesenko nhra funny car explosion pomona youtube. Norwalk, ohio results of round 2 eliminations in top alcohol funny car at the nhra mello yello drag racing series, eighth annual summit racing equipment nhra nationals. Central indiana motorsports fans will be grateful a new condensed schedule released. Its all new for todd veney drag illustrated drag racing. Continue reading permatexfollow a dream team hits vegas for first time since 2010. Todd talks about his success at las vegas motor speedway heading into the dodge nationals on october 31, 2019. Funny car driver todd lesenko suffers massive explosion during qualifying for the auto club nhra finals. The 11members of the crew including driver todd veney. In the year 2000 paton racing made its much anticipated graduation to nhra s professional nitroburning funny car category. The 2015 jegs allstars event will culminate a yearlong points battle between drivers in each of nhra s lucas oil drag racing series eight. Oct 26, 2016 his father is the legendary ken veney, who was the seventhwinningest driver in nhra history when he retired from driving alcohol cars in 1985. They also have the engine placed in front of the driver. Jul 30, 2012 doing this full time makes me different from other racers. Top alcohol funny cars jay blake is a man on a mission.

Theyve won three of their last five top alcohol funny car races at richmond va. Inside every top fuel driver could be a funny car daredevil just waiting to get out. The win at national trail raceway put reichert, an owosso, mich. Top fuel champion shawn langdon to drive funny car in 2018. Apr 08, 2020 jr todd and joe amato join the nhra insider podcast to talk shop with host brian lohnes.

Paul gill doesnt look around to see how everyone else does things. Nhra todd veney team race worn signed alcohol funny car crew shirt jersey rare. Sixth in the standings with one race to go, driver todd veney looks to improve on a quarterfinal finish last year in his only previous finals appearance. A funny car must meet the nhra s sanctioning rules and guidelines to pass the equipment test for the licensing passes you need to drive. Thats of 40 races, roughly 33% of the races that nhra has won. W hen blake debuted his new ride on the 2003 nhra national circuit with driver todd veney, the sanctioning body was particularly welcoming but thats not surprising, as nhra has long been arguably the most progressive motorsports organization in the u. The permatexfollowadream top alcohol funny car driven by todd veney. To date, only two drivers top fuel greats big daddy don garlits and tony schumacher have won three in a row at indianapolis. Todd veney has reportedly informed nhra s national dragster that he will not seek to renew his annual contract with the house organ publication. Nhra lucas oil drag racing series results summit racing. Mike edwards nhra 2011 auto world 124 nhra pro stock rare 4064. Oct 09, 2017 nhra funny car driver alexis dejoria will retire after end of 2017 season. Davenport, ia to fans, races are won and lost by drivers, but drivers know the real truth.

Sporting news writer ryan fagan spent a weekend with kalitta motorsports driver j. Nhra drivers listing the nhra, the largest auto racing organization in the world. Alcohol funny car distilled to a fitting final between the drivers who tied for no. Thought by todd veney, a staff writer for national dragster, to be one of only three known. New england dragway lucas oil drag racing series results. In the staging area, blake helps driver todd veney with prerace. Veney and the psa will work to increase media exposure and fan awareness of the top alcohol dragster and funny car categories.

He began racing a funny car when he was 30yearsold. Funny car driver, lawrenceburg native more than paid his dues before signing with kalitta motorsports. The teams funny car has a 3500horsepower engine that goes from 0 to 260 miles. Todd powered to his first career funny car victory sunday at the 30th annual toyota nhra sonoma nationals at sonoma raceway. In the top alcohol funny car ranks, todd veney scored his first trophy of the season. Funny car as the team test driver and who knows what else beyond that. In 1989, driving john rossitters alcohol funny car, he became the first, and thus far only. Funny car driver todd lesenko suffers massive explosion during qualifying for the auto club. Jul 10, 2014 proving they hadnt missed a beat, harker took the honor of being numberone qualifier in top alcohol funny car with a 5. Todd veney finally captures coveted wally competition plus.