Danny Gruninger Las Vegas preview

GRUNINGER SEEKS DO-OVER AT "THE STRIP"

LAS VEGAS, NEV - There are no do-over's in NHRA Championship Drag Racing, but if there were, NHRA Pro Stock racer Danny Gruninger would like to have one this weekend as he brings his family's USRECOGNITION.COM PRO STOCK DODGE to compete at the 11th running of the NHRA Summitracing.com Nationals contested on "The Strip" at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

The re-run Gruninger wishes he could have occurred at the last event his team competed in, the ill-fated NHRA Arizona Nationals in Chandler, Az. It was a run which produced career best incremental numbers from the starting line till 660 feet down the quarter-mile drag strip. Then, things went downhill quickly for the graphic designer employed by USRECOGNITION.COM. As the car reached the 'now infamous' bump in the left lane, on board computer ratings showed a unloading of the chassis and severe-drive shaft vibration. This caused the engine's RPM to elevate to levels the high-priced valve-train could not contain. Gruninger ended up lifting off the throttle at 1150 feet into the run, however the damage was done.

"We wound up breaking a few valves and some other internal engine hardware on that pass which I wish we never made," said Gruninger. "In hind-sight we were very fortunate the car did not unload and 'turn turtle' as Gordie Rivera and Vinnie Deceglie both had happen to them. For a team like us who operate on a very tight budget, the damage our engine suffered was almost enough to park us until our home event in July at the Mopar Mile High Nationals. Luckily our engine builder Bob Paella is very efficient and our Hemi-Dodge should be ready to improve this weekend at "The Strip". I hope we can find a way to crack this field. We have been very close at every event this season, and we are improving every time the car makes a run. I think this weekend luck will turn our way."

-source: Danny Gruninger PR