Goodyear Racing Las Vegas summary

BARTONE, GOODYEAR'S D1022 WINNERS IN LAS VEGAS

LAS VEGAS, Nev. (April 4, 2009) -- Drag racer Tony Bartone and his team came to The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway hoping they had found a solution to their uneven start to the 2009 season.

Sunday, they celebrated the solution in the traditional way, winning their category in the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals. Bartone, a 52-year-old from Long Island City, NY, races in the Top Alcohol Funny Car category of the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series for sportsman racers.

"Basically, it was a storybook weekend," Bartone said. "We had electronic troubles that prevented us from even qualifying (for the previous national event) in Houston. This weekend we rebounded as the number one qualifier."

Not to mention the race winner.

Bartone and his team use Goodyear D1022 rear drive tires on their car. He defeated Roger Bateman in the final round. Bateman also races on Goodyear tires. In the semi-finals, Bartone knocked off TAFC ace Jay Payne. In his four rounds of racing, Bartone's elapsed times varied by only .037 of a second.

"We had the first or second fastest car on each lap down the track and we had a great weekend." Bartone said.

Bartone's team won the NHRA Winternationals at Pomona to start the season, but ran into troubles after that. Following the race in Houston a week ago, the team went back to fundamentals.

"We went back to our baseline setup," Bartone said.

The D1022 is part of the effort. The D1022 measures 34.5 inches tall and 17 inches across the tread. It mounts on a 16-inch wheel and is a staple in Goodyear's sportsman lineup.

-credit: goodyear racing