NHRA drivers throttle up during off weekends

May 21, 5:57 PMNHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing ExaminerDwight Drum

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Full Throttle appearances -- that is. Top Fuel driver Brandon Bernstein, Funny car driver Jack Beckman and Pro Stock Motorcycle racer Eddie Krawiec may not be on the throttles that cause their race vehicles to blast down the straight track every weekend, but they often attend appearances and events promoting their sport.

Bernstein, Beckman and Krawiec have a fan meet-and-greet in downtown Charlotte, N.C., before participating in the pre-race driver’s meeting prior to the 50th running of NASCAR’S Coca-Cola 600 on May 23, followed by a press conference in the media center of Lowe’s Motor Speedway.

It’s not all about NASCAR. The speedy threesome will be promoting the upcoming NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event at zMAX Dragway, across the street from LMS in Concord, N.C., Sept. 17-20.

Thirteen drivers donated their time and energy this week to the first-year “Bowling for Riley” event hosted by NAPA and Don Schumacher Racing at Brownsburg (Ind.) Bowl in support of Indiana’s only comprehensive hospital dedicated exclusively to the care of children, Riley Hospital for Children. 

“This is just another great event that DSR and Riley Hospital have put together,” said Ron Capps, pilot of the NAPA Funny Car. “Our team owner, Don Schumacher, is very supportive of these kinds of events, and it was great to see all of the NHRA drivers and teams behind it as well.”

DSR team members Capps, Schumacher, McClenathan and Smith and fellow NHRA stars, Brown, Lucas, Langdon, Pedregon brothers, Johnson, Troxel, Hines and Krawiec joined 22 teams of four bowlers. Drivers bowled with two teams on adjoining lanes and rotated to new lanes for each game, giving fans an opportunity to bowl with three different NHRA stars.

Also in Brownsburg, Ind., during nearby Indianapolis 500 festivities, John Force Racing will host an open house for fans to tour its spacious race shop, JFR East, the Midwest headquarters. The race facility with separate machine shop, fabricating shop and paint shop will be open to the public Saturday, May 23rd, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. as part of the 3rd annual Brownsburg Motorsports Network Open House.

John Force’s Castrol GTX High Mileage Ford Mustang, Ashley Force Hood’s Castrol GTX Ford Mustang, Robert Hight’s Auto Club Ford Mustang, Mike Neff’s Ford Drive One Mustang and Eric Medlen’s Castrol Syntec Ford Mustang will be on display in the shop for fans to view and snap photos.

“We are pleased to open our doors and let race fans from across Indiana see our race shop,” said Kelly Antonelli, JFR Marketing Director and Brownsburg resident. “Last year we saw tremendous interest in our shop and we have made some improvements to the fan experience including a number of Sanyo flat screen TVs throughout our complex showing highlights and behind the scenes footage.”

Real throttles may be idle during breaks in the race schedule, but drivers often have hectic but fun routines. 

Photo credit: Gary Larsen @ Racetake.com