Massey Hungry For First Top Fuel Victory At Texas Motorplex

ENNIS, Texas — Spencer Massey, who grew up in nearby Fort Worth, Texas, and continues to call the famed steer city home today, is feeling no pressure as he heads to the Texas Motorplex as a top contender in round two of the Full Throttle Countdown to the Championship, NHRA’s postseason playoffs.

With lots of family and friends watching and an overwhelming desire to do well at his home track, one would think that Massey might be feeling a little stressed to try to get the job done and claim the Top Fuel win so he could celebrate Texas style in what many say is by far the rowdiest winner’s circle on the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series circuit.

As far as Massey is concerned, there is no extra pressure because he’s already claimed a few trophies at the famed all-concrete Motorplex, drag racing’s first supertrack. When he started his driving career — in 1998 — he raced to victory in the NHRA Jr. Drag Racing League at the track and claimed the Jr. championship there.

So when Massey hits the Texas Motorplex for the AAA Texas NHRA Fall Nationals, Sept. 22-25, he’ll have plenty of confidence that he knows how to perform on the ultrafast drag strip. Tony Schumacher (Top Fuel), Matt Hagan (Funny Car), Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) and LE Tonglet (Pro Stock Motorcycle) are the defending winners of the event, which will be televised on ESPN2HD.

However, that’s not to say that Massey will be so relaxed that he won’t be giving it his all. He doesn’t know how to race any other way. His patented aggressive “stab and steer” style is what led him to three victories in six final rounds and at one point during the season an amazing stretch when he reeled off more than 40 consecutive error-free runs down the track in his FRAM/Prestone dragster.

Massey hopes he can use his years of experience racing at the Motorplex in the Jr. category and then as a top NHRA sportsman competitor to his advantage. He is one of a few drivers on the circuit who will have a home-track advantage during the playoffs. In his two Top Fuel starts at the Motorplex, Massey has posted a first-round loss (2008) and a semifinal finish (2009). He hopes to take it one round further this time around.

“I saw my first national event at this track, the first track at which I saw a Top Fuel dragster,” Massey said. “It was THE Motorplex from when I was a kid, and I’ve been going there since it opened in 1986. Winning there would be huge. Of course, my family and friends will be there, so winning in front of them would be awesome, and we have this thing called the Countdown, so winning in Dallas would be a huge boost to our championship effort.”

After starting his Top Fuel driving career late in 2008 with Don Prudhomme, Massey went on to score two victories in five final rounds and earn top rookie honors in the series in 2009 and finish sixth in the point standings. However, after that season, Prudhomme parked his racing operation due to lack of sponsorship, and Massey found himself on the sidelines. After sitting out the 2010 season, Massey was hired by Don Schumacher to drive the FRAM/Prestone dragster this season, and the results have been impressive.

“If you work at something hard enough, you have a chance to achieve your dreams,” Massey said. “I still find it hard to believe I’m in this position, driving this car for Don (Schumacher, team owner) and the folks at FRAM/Prestone. It’s also unbelievable I’m sitting ahead of the likes of Tony Schumacher and Larry Dixon, the guys who have won every Top Fuel championship for the last 10 years. I don’t want to be pinched and wake up from this dream.”

After finishing third in the regular season, then posting a runner-up finish at the opening race of the Countdown to the Championship, the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Nationals in Charlotte, N.C., Massey is in prime position to continue living the dream.

“This is what it’s all about — going for the championship,” Massey said. “Sure you want to win races, and we’ve won three, but the title as champion is the ultimate prize.”
Massey has a strategy for the Countdown and for racing at the Texas Motorplex, which will be a very busy race for the Texas native.

“We have to approach this as just another race,” Massey said. “We need to qualify well for the points, for lane choice on Sunday and to get data for race day. And I have to go to the starting line concentrating on my job and not worrying about who’s in the other lane or what the outcome means. I have to get a good light and then stab (the throttle) and steer because I’m confident Todd (Okuhara) and Phil (Shuler, co-crew chiefs) will give me a great car. Yes, the pressure is on because this is the Countdown. I just have to go up there and run my race, go rounds and do well. I really think we have a good shot at that championship.”

Massey’s competition includes Schumacher, who has dominated at this event recently behind the wheel of his U.S. Army dragster, winning the race five times since 1999, including the last two seasons. Red-hot Antron Brown, the point leader and winner of the last three races, also is among the favorites, as well as two-time event winner and defending world champ Dixon. Dixon’s teammate, Del Worsham, will be trying to join featured NHRA Legend Kenny Bernstein, Mike Dunn, Prudhomme and Ed McCulloch as the only drivers to win in both nitro categories at the Motorplex. Dallas native Brandon Bernstein, who won here in 2006, ’02 winner Doug Kalitta, Morgan Lucas and Shawn Langdon will also be looking for playoff victories.

In Funny Car, 15-time world champ John Force is the most prolific winner at the Texas Motorplex with seven victories, his last in 2005. Last season, Hagan powered his DieHard Dodge Charger to the win over Force in a dramatic final round and hopes to follow up his record-setting three-second pass in Charlotte and race win with a second Countdown victory in Dallas. The 2009 world champ, Robert Hight, is a two-time winner at the Motorplex in his Auto Club Ford Mustang, and several other Countdown favorites have also won at the sport’s first stadium supertrack, including Cruz Pedregon, Ron Capps and Tim Wilkerson. Regular-season point leader Mike Neff is looking for his first visit to one of the Full Throttle Series circuit’s wildest winner’s circles.

Defending Pro Stock world champ Anderson gained the momentum necessary to win his series crown with a victory here last year, his fourth at the Motorplex. Once again, he is in championship contention in the 200-mph category and will be working hard to hold off a strong group of Countdown challengers, including his teammate and point leader Jason Line, ’98 winner Mike Edwards, ’08 winner Greg Stanfield, rookie phenom Vincent Nobile, Houston native Erica Enders and the always-tough Team Mopar driver Allen Johnson.

In Pro Stock Motorcycle, defending winner and world champ Tonglet is back in the Countdown playoffs mix on his Nitro Fish Suzuki. He will be trying to hold off the strong Screamin’ Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson team of point leader and Charlotte winner Eddie Krawiec and three-time world champ Andrew Hines, who posted a runner-up finish here last season. Others to watch in the two-wheel category are rookie Hector Arana Jr., who claimed his first victory at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals presented by Lucas Oil, along with past world champs Hector Arana Sr., who won this race in 2009, and Matt Smith. Karen Stoffer, Indy runner-up Jerry Savoie, Michael Phillips and Jim Underdahl are also hungry for a win at the Texas Motorplex.

* SCHEDULE: Full Throttle Drag Racing Series qualifying sessions are scheduled for 2:15 and 5:15 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 23, and for 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 24. Final eliminations will begin at 11 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 25.

* TICKETS: Tickets are available for the AAA Texas NHRA Fall Nationals. Please call the Texas Motorplex at (800) MOTORPLEX (668-6775) or visit www.texasmotorplex.com.

* ON TV: ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise 45 minutes of qualifying coverage at 1:15 a.m. (ET) on Sunday, Sept. 25. ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise a one-hour re-air of qualifying coverage later that day at 2 p.m. (ET). A three-hour eliminations show will follow at 7 p.m. (ET) on Sept. 25 on ESPN2 and ESPN2HD.

* LUCAS OIL SERIES: The AAA Texas NHRA Fall Nationals also will feature competition in seven categories in the NHRA Lucas Oil Series, where the future stars of the NHRA Full Throttle Series are born. Lucas Oil Series qualifying begins at 10 a.m. on Sept. 22. Lucas Oil Series eliminations begin at 8:30 a.m. on Sept. 23 and continue through Sept. 25.

* ON THE WEB: Get live timing, scoring, multimedia and the latest news updates from every NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event on the Internet at www.nhra.com. Visit the official NHRA pages on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.