Story By: ELON WERNER / NITRO FUNNY CAR 343 – INDIANAPOLIS, IN – Chris King and the Howard Cams/Competition Products Dodge Funny Car team were looking to the 70th Toyota NHRA U.S. Nationals as an opportunity to continue to chase their Funny Car dream.
Through three days of qualifying leading up to race day King rode an emotional roller coaster. Their perseverance and support from the racing community provided them the chance to compete with the best of the best.
King opened the first qualifying round posting his career best elapsed time, 4.079 seconds and his career best speed of 302.21 mph. The pass fired up King’s team and added momentum to the part-time team’s efforts.
“It’s been a weekend of ups and downs and a roller coaster for sure,” said King. “We came in with expectations to try to run our best numbers, and we did. We were very excited after running a 4.07 and going 300 miles an hour. That’s two big check marks off my list.”
Entering the weekend King’s luck took a turn as his supercharger backfired during the second qualifying session and severely damaged his Funny Car. The team was able to work around the clock including travelling to Chicago for a new windshield to be ready for the final day of qualifying on Sunday. Their Friday night qualifying run had them clinging to the fringes of the qualifying field made up of 18 Funny Cars. They ran in the fourth of five qualifying sessions lighting up the scoreboard with a respectable 4.131 second, 295.72 mph pass.
“On Saturday we banged the blower, and it wrecked a lot of stuff, that kind of set us back,” said King. “We were starting to panic because we didn’t have parts. Miraculously, things started happening. People came together and made it work, and we got the car back out there and made a pretty much repeat run. It slowed down a tick, but the weather conditions weren’t there, but it showed people that our first run wasn’t a fluke.”
The team opted to sit out the final qualifying session and King was on the starting line watching to see if his 4.079 second pass would stay as the No. 16 bump spot. The waiting and watching was agonizing for the Chicago firefighter but at the end of the session he was safely in the top 16 and earned a spot in the U.S. Nationals field.
“Qualifying was a huge accomplishment for the hard work and dedication that the guys put into this Funny Car,” said King. “We will have our hands full in the first round, but this is Indy and anything can happen.”
Racing the No. 1 qualifier Austin Prock provided King the chance to be introduced by himself to a crowd of thousands of fans during the pre-race ceremony. King threw hats into the crowd and soaked in the applause and recognition for his team’s efforts.
“I went through over 1,000 hero cards and we had to go get more printed,” said King. “It’s great. I am here and I have qualified for the U.S. Nationals, which is huge. There’s multi-million-dollar teams that didn’t qualify, and it’s tough. This drag racing series is insanely tough. It’s full of highs and lows. Walking out on the opening ceremonies stage and seeing those fans, and how receptive and supportive they are to us little guys, it just brings you up a notch and makes you want to do it more.”
When King pulled up beside Prock he knew on some level he was already a winner. When the tree flashed green King’s Howard Cams/Competition Products Dodge Funny Car took off. It was flying down the track, but it began to mix up cylinder and misfire which led to Crew Chief Bob Peck remotely shutting off King’s motor. Prock was on a near record run posting a 3.85 second pass at over 320 mph to advance to the quarterfinals.
“We were running Prock and I wanted to beat him but, realistically, the guy is a potential world champion and they went 3.85,” said King. “There’s no way we could have beat that right now. I wanted to make a respectable run, but my crew chief said he saw cylinders out right away, and to save motor damage and not destroy things he wisely shut me off from the starting line. That was the right thing to do. It was an amazing weekend overall.”
Prock would go on to win the 70th annual Toyota NHRA U.S. Nationals. King will be back on track later this season possibly competing in St. Louis or Dallas.