CHRIS POWERS RUNS THE TABLE TO TAKE MMPS WIN AT CHARLOTTE FOUR-WIDE

Written by Lee Montgomery, photo by Roger Richards    Sun, 2019-04-28 14:00

 

Chris Powers raced to victory in the inaugural appearance of Mountain Motor Pro Stock at the Four-Wide Nationals on Sunday at zMAX Dragway.

Powers qualified No. 1 and raced through two quads before beating Todd Hoerner and Steven Boone (Dwayne Rice was a no-show) in the final round.

“I’m really excited and the crew did an awesome job,” Powers said. “Joe Cooper, Chuck Samuels, Rob Bealko, Chris Goforth and the wife, we are really happy. We swapped motors this morning, and this motor has won four races already … we are thrilled with it.”

The engine was built by Sonny Leonard of Sonny's Racing Engines. Interestingly, Hoerner works at Sonny's.

Hoerner actually outran Powers in the final, 6.373 seconds to 6.417, but Powers was much better on the Christmas Tree. Powers had a light of .033 seconds, while Hoerner was .088, and Powers got the win light. Boone trailed with a 6.643-second pass.

Mountain Motor Pro Stock replaced Pro Stock at a handful of NHRA national events this season, and the category made its first appearance at the Four-Wide.

“It was a tough way to race," Powers said. "Last night I rolled in and left when I thought I saw the light flicker. It wasn’t the right flicker. It really takes a lot of patience to do this.”

But clearly Powers adapted quickly.

“I didn’t think we’d get (a win) here; thought we’d get it in Houston,” Powers admitted. “We had a fast hot rod there, and just couldn’t get the track figured out. We came here and ran really strong. We really didn’t think it would be here. It was tricky up there with three other guys, waiting on people to stage."

Powers finished second in his first-round quad, though he advanced to the semifinals. There, he easily won that quad with a 6.353-second run at 222.80 mph.

Powers was grateful for having the chance to run his Chevrolet Camaro at an NHRA event.

“It’s nice to be here," Powers said. "All the guys over here in Top Fuel and Funny Car are very respectful. They have welcomed us in and we are enjoying it. We are having a great time.

“We also have to thank the PDRA for giving us a place to race. We are not going to forget about them either. We are going to participate and put on a show for them.”

 

 

 
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