When Chevy driver Ron Krisher won the NHRA Summer Nationals this past weekend at Topeka, the ultra-competitive Pro Stock

class crowned its eighth different winner in this season's first nine races of the NHRA POWERade Series.  Although he knocked on the door last year with a runner-up finish to Allen Johnson at Denver, Krisher's sixth career victory was the veteran's first in nearly five years.  But there will be no time to celebrate for the Ohio native as the factory hot rods head to Route 66 Raceway for this weekend's 11th annual Torco Racing Fuels Route 66 NHRA Nationals.  

When Chevy driver Ron Krisher won the NHRA Summer Nationals this past weekend at Topeka, the ultra-competitive Pro Stock

class crowned its eighth different winner in this season's first nine races of the NHRA POWERade Series.  Although he knocked on the door last year with a runner-up finish to Allen Johnson at Denver, Krisher's sixth career victory was the veteran's first in nearly five years.  But there will be no time to celebrate for the Ohio native as the factory hot rods head to Route 66 Raceway for this weekend's 11th annual Torco Racing Fuels Route 66 NHRA Nationals.  

"Winning is a hard memory to get out of your mind," Krisher said.  "Every race you win is exciting, believe me.  I don't think there's any one that's more exciting than the next.  When you finally get that win light down at the other end, there's really nothing quite like it.  If I came out here with the thought I was never going to win again, then I wouldn't be out here.  I'd quit.  But we won this one, and we're going to win some more this year, you wait and see.  This Valvoline Cobalt is hauling the mail.

"I can't say enough about the guys on my team.  (Crew chief) Tommy Utt, Tommy Lee, Kenny, just all the guys that work out here.  They're a big part of this thing.  Not everybody understands that they have to get this thing ready to go in 45 minutes every time (during eliminations).  There can't be any mistakes and they don't make any."      

Krisher's win moved him up two positions to eighth in the Pro Stock points standings, and his No. 2 qualifying effort at Topeka leaves him just outside the top eight qualifiers for the K&N Horsepower Challenge bonus event to be competed at Norwalk later this month.

"Believe me, we're watching the points," Krisher said.  "We're watching the points for the Countdown and we're watching the points for the Pro Stock Challenge.  I don't know if we can get into that or not because we had a bad year last year, but we're sneaking up on 'em.  We've got two races left to get in."