Rodger Brogdon wonders where the time has gone.

Brogdon, of Tomball, Texas, will put the finishing touches on his first full-time NHRA Pro Stock tour in Pomona this weekend.

The season has been one of ups and downs for the driver of Steve Kent’s Pontiac GXP. But most of all, the former Competition eliminator standout largely considers the 23-race run to be about experience.

“It has been an incredible ride and a learning experience,” Brogdon said, as he prepared for his trip to Pomona’s season-ending NHRA Auto Club Finals. “I learned a lot as a driver and we did the same as a team. Headed into this season we had realistic expectations and now those goals are beginning to materialize. They’ve always said it’s not how you start a race that counts, it’s how you finish. I believe we’re closing out the season on a high note.”

Former Comp Eliminator Standout Completes 23-race Season …

Rodger Brogdon wonders where the time has gone.

Brogdon, of Tomball, Texas, will put the finishing touches on his first full-time NHRA Pro Stock tour in Pomona this weekend.

The season has been one of ups and downs for the driver of Steve Kent’s Pontiac GXP. But most of all, the former Competition eliminator standout largely considers the 23-race run to be about experience.

“It has been an incredible ride and a learning experience,” Brogdon said, as he prepared for his trip to Pomona’s season-ending NHRA Auto Club Finals. “I learned a lot as a driver and we did the same as a team. Headed into this season we had realistic expectations and now those goals are beginning to materialize. They’ve always said it’s not how you start a race that counts, it’s how you finish. I believe we’re closing out the season on a high note.”

Brogdon struggled in his first four races after missing Pomona but the team scored a major coup when they signed an engine program with Victor Cagnazzi. The Cagnazzi alliance provided more than just horsepower. It provided key personal additions including Tommy Utt and Brian Class.

Just one year earlier, Utt orchestrated former Cagnazzi driver Dave Connolly to a Countdown to 1 berth after missing the first six races of the season.

Brogdon and Kent didn’t have to wait long to watch the benefits materialize. In their first race together, the NHRA Southern Nationals, Brogdon scored his first career Pro Stock win by beating a quicker-qualified Ron Krisher on a holeshot.

“In Atlanta Tommy was able to get the car dialed in so that we could get the power we had to the ground,” said Brogdon. “After that began the process of finessing literally every component in our Pontiac to be able to extract every last bit of E.T. the car is capable of. Pro Stock requires perfection, as every piece of the car has to work in perfect harmony with every other component, and that includes the driver. As we began to get the car dialed in it became necessary for me to make adjustments in the way I was driving the car. As the car became quicker, I had to adapt as well, and it took seat-time and laps down track to figure out both the physical and the mechanical adjustments we needed to make.”

Brogdon made those adjustments, but along the way a few minor combination changes proved to be a major issue. These issues cropped up during the dreaded NHRA Western Swing.

“Our performance in Denver told us we were making the progress we’d been looking for,” Brogdon said. “Yet a couple of minor changes in our set-up begin to affect the way the car was launching, and it took us too many laps to find our errors and get back on track. Frustrating, yes, but every team out here has done it, it’s just part of the learning process that everyone goes through to find what does and doesn’t work.”

Brogdon didn’t set the class on fire in the ensuing events, but just the feel of the car and the way it reacted to adjustments let him know this was a team capable of pulling off some round wins.

“We knew going into Indy that we were finally on the right track,” said Rodger, “we just needed to start putting it all together.”

Indy proved to be a turning point. Despite early carburetor issues, Brogdon thundered his way to the quarter-finals. His finest moment at the NHRA U.S. Nationals was beating Allen Johnson on a holeshot. He lost to point leader Jeg Coughlin Jr. in round two.

The Kent Racing team advanced to the second round in three of the next four events.

“I think the four race swing late in the season really showed just how much this team had matured,” said Brogdon. “We had some ups and downs earlier during the western swing, yet we were able to qualify well and put some round wins under our belt during the late season marathon of events. Since Indy we’ve won rounds at five of six events, including the last four in a row. Are we where we want to be, no, but we’re continuing to go in the right direction, and that’s what’s most important.”

Brogdon believes fully in the potential of the Kent Racing team to be a key player for 2010, not to mention the rest of this season.

“Vegas was a bit disappointing, we qualified well and with the way we were running we really felt like we could have made at least the semi finals,” Brogdon admitted. “Our goal at the start of the season was to take home a Wally, Vegas was a golden opportunity that we let slip through our fingers. It looks like we’ll just have to try harder at Pomona.”

As for beyond this weekend’s event, Brogdon said he’s got a few surprises up his sleeve. With the Pro Stock landscape expected to be dramatically different, he believes 2010 could be his best opportunity to establish his role as a championship contender.

 “We’ve got a new car being built, our first car that will be built to fit my six feet tall plus frame.” Brogdon said. “Our race shop is done, so we now have a home base for the rig and guys to test and work out of, and we’ve renewed our deal with (Victor) Cagnazzi to supply us with power for at least another season.

“Beyond that we have some discussions ongoing that could enable us to stir up the pot even more for next year, hopefully we’ll know more in the next few weeks. All I can say is stay tuned.”

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