Knowles Team Moves on To St. Louis after DNQ in Atlanta
April 29, 2008 - Grand Junction, CO – After a DNQ in Houston and in Atlanta Mike Knowles is keeping positive and learning that progress sometimes comes in small doses.
Knowles and his team tested before the 28th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals event with mild success but were unable to carry that success to the event. "We made some great runs testing. She went down every time but once we got to the event things went haywire," said Team Owner and Driver Mike Knowles.
On Knowles' first pass at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals his 68' Camaro nearly went out of control when the wheelie bar broke but an experienced Knowles was able to keep her off the wall. "When the wheelie bar let go there was some other damage to the car including airlines, a battery and some other minor stuff but what worried me was the vibration I felt. We thought that what I felt could have been the broken wheelie bar dragging," said Knowles.
Set for their second qualifying effort Knowles let out the clutch and once again felt a vibration. After aborting the run Knowles crew continued to search for the vibration. After tearing out the driveline the crew found a seized U-Joint. The joint was quickly replaced and focus then turned to getting into the field.
With just one shot at making what turned out to be a record field for the Jegs Pro Mod Challenge Knowles and Page decided to put more clutch in and let her rip. "Dan told me she would be tight but we had to take the chance," said Knowles. "She was set up good but with that much clutch I just couldn't hold it. It was my fault I should have known better." Not being able to hold the car during staging caused Knowles to roll the starting beams prematurely and not record an official time.
"It's a shame. That thing was a rocket. She was on a .0 something pass according to the computer. I let my guys down. They've worked real hard and have overcome a lot in a short period of time. I'm just happy we're on the right track and making progress. We'll keep the same set up in her for St. Louis. I think we're on the right track," said Knowles.
Next up for Mike Knowles and his Knowles racing team is the 28th O'Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals Presented by Castrol. Held just outside of St. Louis in Madison, IL at Gateway Int'l Raceway from the May 2-4 the event hosts the fourth race of the 11 race Jegs Pro Mod Challenge Series.
Pro Modified Qualifying Friday at 2:30 and 7:30 P.M. as well as Saturday at 1:30 P.M. with the first round of eliminations at 4:00 P.M. on Saturday and final eliminations
Knowles Racing consists of:
Driver: Mike Knowles
Crew Chief: Dan Page
Crew: Bart Sunn, Billy Rice, Mike and Justin Reiger, Jeff and Mike Strasburg , and Bobbie Knowles
Knowles Racing Competes on the NHRA circuit in the Jegs ProMod Challenge Series. The 2008 JEGS Pro Mod Challenge will compete at NHRA national events in Gainesville (March 13-16), Houston (March 28-30), Atlanta (April 24-27), St. Louis (May 2-4), Bristol (May 16-18), Englishtown (June 19-22), Indianapolis (Aug. 27-Sept. 1), Dallas (Sept. 18-21), Richmond (Oct. 10-12), and Las Vegas (Oct. 30-Nov. 2).
