John Haley IRP preview

Haley looking to become first back to back winner at Indy

CLERMONT, Ind. - One year after winning the biggest race in all of drag racing in his rookie year, the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals at Indianapolis Raceway Park, Top Alcohol Dragster pilot John Haley will be looking to do it again during at this weekend's "Big Go" as the event is called. If Haley is able to accomplish the feat, he would be the first back to back winner in Top Alcohol Dragster at the event.

Haley, from Wayzata, Minn., has experienced the highs and lows of the sport over the past year. He went from winning the U.S. Nationals and finishing tenth nationally last year to a devastating crash at the Gainesville, Fla., Division 2 opener in February. The team battled back by rebuilding a new car, but then fought problems in the motor department. Success appears to be heading back in Haley's direction as he recently clinched the Division 2 Jegs Sportsman All-Stars spot with a Division 2 win in Atlanta and ran solid 5.40's en route to a semifinal finish two weeks ago at the Lucas Oil Nationals in Brainerd, Minn. Haley hopes that trend continues in Indy.

"We've been working hard to get this new car running like the old one did," said Haley. "My crew chief Mike Cooper and Denny Savage have really busted their tails to get the new car to come around, and it finally has. Indy is going to be a tough event; there will be a lot of tough cars. A lot of those tough cars will be A/Fuel cars, and they have been flying lately, so you're going to have to get through them to win. We definitely feel like we can run with any blown car in the country right now, so we'll just try to do the best we can do."

Haley also hopes to do well at the event to bolster his points standings.

"We got off to a rough start with the crash," stated Haley. "But we still have enough races left to claim that we can really make a run at the points, we just need to win races. That sounds kind of obvious, but that's what we're trying to do."

Qualifying will begin on Thursday for the alcohol cars and final eliminations will be ran on Monday. Stay tuned to InsideTopAlcohol.com for the latest news in alcohol racing.

-jhm-