It’s true that Phoenix tires have won the NHRA Super Stock title for the past 2 seasons, numerous national and regional events, and even an outlaw race or two….but the true litmus test came this past weekend as the newest members of our product development team, Taylor, Benjamin and Joseph Cunningham put a well-used Phoenix tire through its paces. Although the tire was repeatedly beaten like a drum…we’re happy to report that it adhered to the aforementioned crews high standards of big fun!

Taylor, Benjamin and Joseph Cunningham hard at work!

First of all, as of May 8th, I’m now a married man! My beautiful bride Amber and I decided to get it done Tennessee style, so we ran off to the mountains and eloped. We’ve been together for a little over a year, and I truly believe that our marriage is a testimony to the abundant life that God intends for all of us to have. Married life really is the good life, and nothing makes me happier than to know that I have a lifetime commitment to my sweet heart.

Just married, shell toe sneakers, bare feet and all!

So after a couple of days up in the hills, it was time to come back down to reality and get on with the business of working and racing.

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With our Phoenix Race Tires brand, which are born from Firestone heritage, we have a great number of supporters on the track. One such supporter is Mike Crutchfield–he campaigns a Pontiac G5 in the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, running in the Super Stock class. Oh, and we should probably mention that Mike is our Vice President of Performance Brands!

Photo by www.dragracecentral.com

Mike works hard to dial his car in and he does an awesome job of waving the flag for Phoenix Race Tires and DragRaceTires.com. Last weekend, he competed at the NHRA Southern Nationals, held at Atlanta Dragway in Commerce, Georgia. The Super Stock class is one of the most competitive divisions of drag racing, and Mike battled his way through several rounds of racing, into the final round. The key to making this happen is consistency, and a large part of the recipe is the tires. Mike can only do so much to control what’s going to happen during a run down the quarter mile, but good tires go a long way with driver confidence.

Photo by www.dragracecentral.com

In order to take home the victory, Mike had to knock down some of Super Stock’s heavy hitters, which included Peter Biondo, the current national points leader. In the finals, Mike outran James Caro, who drives the Sonny Stancil factory-prepped 2011 Dodge Challenger, which also relies on Phoenix Race Tires! It was a great victory for the DragRaceTires.com Pontiac and you can bet Mike was glad to hoist the “Wally” in the Winner’s Circle! Great job Mike!

As of November 2010, Project 5.30’s first season was officially on the books…and magazines. Below is a link to RPM magazine which ran a three part series on the Outlaw 6.0 class to Outlaw 5.30 class metamorphosis that took place last season. The official tally was 9 races total with; 3 wins and 4 semi-final appearances. Not bad for someone who gets accused (unfairly) of putt-ing around town like an old lady in my pick-up truck…

http://www.rpm-mag.com/emag.html

Scroll down to “E-Tech”, and you’ll see the “It’s 5.30 Somewhere” articles written by Tommy Lee Byrd, which hit the highlights of what it took to put rubber on the road last season. Click each cover and enjoy.

So, what’s been going on this winter? So far, a lot of this…

Birds fly south for this???

8 inches of snow + 2 wheel drive = No work today!

…and a lot of funny car homework. Army Armstrong is up in frozen PA at the Funny Factory putting the final touches on our ’69 Nova, while further south the game plan is being finalized to run a big block Chevy on nitro methane. This is without a doubt, one of those situations where the more you learn…the more you realize how little you know. It’s humbling to say the least and it’s a good thing that there are good people willing to help out. Jack McInnis at Dart Machinery turned us onto Sean Belt, who has successfully run a BBC/Nitro combo and been more than willing to share tips of the trade. Also huge on the help list is Chris Douglas and Dean Harvey of Comp Cams, who selected the perfect cam/valve train combination for our unique needs.

There will be MUCH more to follow on this build…but for now just know that there’s a “It’s 4.30 Somewhere”…project in the works.

Project 4.30 - 3.90???

Stay warm and God Bless,

EG

Doc Riley of Fox TV’s “Inside Drag Racing,” came by the RPM/Holeshot wheels both at the PRI show in Orlando to talk about the 2010 racing season and our plans for 2011. Check it out and stay tuned to the blog for updates on the new car and the 2011 racing season.

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.” 1 Corinthians 9:24

Seems like just last week I was sitting on the floor in Steven’s shop with a bucket of bondo and some black spray paint trying to repair the self-inflicted damage from our first ORSCA race of the year. Back then I doubt that few people attending that early race would’ve put their early money on us to be in title contention after witnessing an 11th place qualifying effort with a 5.43 E.T….and for a brief period of time I was inclined to agree with them. I basically wrecked a couple of times that day…I just didn’t hit anything. However, adversity doesn’t last forever and neither does success. Seasons will always change – the key is to press forward when most are tempted to give up. (more…)