Clutch Problems Send Critchley Home Early in Houston
HOUSTON - Troy Critchley, driver of the AMS Staff Leasing '93 Corvette Pro Modified, blew through his clutch and was defeated in the first round of eliminations at the ADRL RacingJunk.com Dragpalooza III at Houston Motorsports Park last weekend.
With nearly identical reaction times (.088 to .089), Critchley's 4.00/178.64 was just shy of Bubba Stanton's 3.93/178.64, sending him to the trailer early at the first event of the season.
"We qualified No. 7 with a 3.95 which was equally as good as we did in testing, and we were confident heading into eliminations, thinking we had things finally figured out," Critchley said.
"Unfortunately, we tripped up on our clutch program, we didn't have our numbers down as well as we thought, and it bit us. The track got really good very fast, and we just went through the clutch really hard.
"It was a good race, we ran a four flat, and I couldn't see Bubba until a car-length before the finish line, but then he just went 'zoom' and drove past me. That was it. I thought I had him, but eighth-mile racing is real fast, and you've really got to pay attention.
"It was a really good weekend for us as a team, though. We had all three of our cars qualified, and we put on a really good show for [team sponsors] Dave Wood, Tommy Lipar, and the fans. There were so many people there - and there were still people coming through the gates at 11 p.m.! It was awesome," Critchley said.
"I know it will be a great year, and now we're going to go do some testing on the 'Cuda to get it ready for Gainesville," he said.
Critchley and the AMS/Rage team head into competition next March 15-18 at the ACDelco NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla.
About our sponsor -AMS Staff Leasing is one of the nation's largest Professional Employer Organization (PEO) serving the construction industry. AMS specializes in providing integrated and cost effective services by contractually assuming substantial employer rights, responsibilities, and risks with employees assigned to our clients.
Founded in 1991 in Dallas, Texas, AMS currently assists thousands of clients and more than 40,000 employees through our specialized PEO program. AMS helps contractors outsource non-revenue-producing tasks, saving their clients time and money.
PHOTO COURTESY OF COMPETITIONPLUS.COM
