Post by daj on May 18, 2005 22:12:25 GMT -5
Arend beginning to hit his stride as the CMKXtreme Machine team heads to historic Columbus
Courtesy of Bill Walters
CMKXtreme Racing
COLUMBUS, pre-race: CMKXtreme Machine Funny Car driver Jeff Arend is eager to return to National Trail Raceway this weekend for the 41st annual Pontiac Performance NHRA Nationals. Arend began a 14-race qualifying streak at the famous Ohio facility last season and the CMKX team is looking to improve on that number with a strong performance at the third oldest national event on the NHRA tour.
Arend has been advancing steadily toward the top 10 in the POWERade Funny Car point standings on the strength of his consistent qualifying, which helped earn the Canadian native a runner-up finish in Bristol three weeks ago. Veteran crew chief Paul Smith has the CMKXtreme Machine Monte Carlo running solid 4.80 elapsed times and coupled with Arend’s superb reaction times, the team is confident every time they go to the starting line.
“We are really looking forward to going to National Trail Raceway again,” said Arend enthusiastically. “It’s the kind of race track where Paul Smith’s years of experience really pay off. He has always excelled at the tracks where the racing surface tends to get tricky and it’s a real asset to have him in our corner.
“The CMKX team left Atlanta with our heads held high despite losing early. We had the third best elapsed time in the left lane and we were one of only three cars to make it down that side of the track in the first round. We lost by less than a car length but that’s the way it goes in drag racing. Next time it will go our way. We’re starting to hit our stride just as the summer months approach and we’ll continue to work on our consistency as our performance improves.”
Arend will join CMKX teammate Connie Cohen, and members of the GM Racing team on a visit to the Columbus Children’s Hospital on Thursday, May 19. The group will visit with patients for several hours, signing autographs, posing for photos and donating racing merchandise to the hospital.
Courtesy of Bill Walters
CMKXtreme Racing
COLUMBUS, pre-race: CMKXtreme Machine Funny Car driver Jeff Arend is eager to return to National Trail Raceway this weekend for the 41st annual Pontiac Performance NHRA Nationals. Arend began a 14-race qualifying streak at the famous Ohio facility last season and the CMKX team is looking to improve on that number with a strong performance at the third oldest national event on the NHRA tour.
Arend has been advancing steadily toward the top 10 in the POWERade Funny Car point standings on the strength of his consistent qualifying, which helped earn the Canadian native a runner-up finish in Bristol three weeks ago. Veteran crew chief Paul Smith has the CMKXtreme Machine Monte Carlo running solid 4.80 elapsed times and coupled with Arend’s superb reaction times, the team is confident every time they go to the starting line.
“We are really looking forward to going to National Trail Raceway again,” said Arend enthusiastically. “It’s the kind of race track where Paul Smith’s years of experience really pay off. He has always excelled at the tracks where the racing surface tends to get tricky and it’s a real asset to have him in our corner.
“The CMKX team left Atlanta with our heads held high despite losing early. We had the third best elapsed time in the left lane and we were one of only three cars to make it down that side of the track in the first round. We lost by less than a car length but that’s the way it goes in drag racing. Next time it will go our way. We’re starting to hit our stride just as the summer months approach and we’ll continue to work on our consistency as our performance improves.”
Arend will join CMKX teammate Connie Cohen, and members of the GM Racing team on a visit to the Columbus Children’s Hospital on Thursday, May 19. The group will visit with patients for several hours, signing autographs, posing for photos and donating racing merchandise to the hospital.