News & Updates

IHRA Rocky Mountain Nationals

EDMONTON, Alb. – June 23, 2006 - Allen Hartley is no stranger to nitro racing, as he and son Joe have competed in the NHRA for well over a decade with varied success. With the addition of Nitro Coupe to the IHRA, he and wife Rachel though why not add a Nitro Funny Car to the team. They did and the results so far have been encouraging. It is quite a different set-up from Top Fuel. While the engine is the same, having only 125 inches for the wheelbase, and the motor away from the rear tires, makes the clutch set-up completely different. The driver for the team, Gary Cooper, handles the clutch duties, and according to the data this season, they are very close to becoming a threat at every event. Tuner Jim Stallbaummer has the engine making good power, so it is just a matter of time until the Dodge Stratus goes from point "A" to "B" with all candles lit. Hartley Racing, like all the nitro funny car teams, would like to thank the IHRA for re-introducing the Floppers back to the series. For the independent teams, this is a great way to keep, and stay running in a class that has become one for only the very rich in the 'other' sanctioning body. Gary got licensed at the San Antonio event, and has qualified for every event since he received his license. The team is confident they can take the next step this weekend and not only qualify, but go a couple rounds or more as well.

In Friday's lone run, Gary thought is would be a difficult run, due to the sunlight shining right into the Stratus' windshield. That would prove to be fact, when the car dropped a cylinder and moved out of the groove. Gary pedaled it try to move the car back into the groove but the sun shining in his face did not allow him to find the line, so he wisely clicked it off early. The team is hoping the second session on Saturday will be moved from the same start time as Friday's run. "Safety is the main concern in these 7000 hp beasts and when you can't see it is not cool. To move us 30 minutes later would be a wise move on the IHRA's part". Stated team owner Allen Hartley after the run on Friday. The car ran an off the throttle 8.67 but Gary sits # 5 after one round. On Saturday, their were two runs and they moved up the second final run about a half hour so the sun light would not affect the drivers so drastically. In the first run Saturday, The car reacted about the same as the first run on Friday. It went out fairly hard dropped a cylinder and went hard left towards the guard rail. Gary had to tug very hard on the steering wheel to keep it away from the wall. The car then started smoking the tires as he was outside the groove. He got it back to the center of the lane and clicked it off , "That one was a bit exciting for sure, stated Cooper. In the final qualifier at 8:30 pm, the track temp had dropped a bunch and the air was in the mid 70's. The team really wanted a good lap to give them a base line for Sunday. Unfortunately the car smoked the tires just off the starting line and Gary clicked it off early. The final qualifying position was # 7 and he would face Jack Wyatt in round one.

Crewchief Jim Stallbaumer was optimistic that the dropped cylinders problem was fixed, but he and car owner Allen Hartley did not want to throw the first round match-up away with tire smoke. First round was run at 12:30 and the track was hot. TOO HOT!!!! As tire smoke plagued the team again. Wyatt did not suffer the problem and Hartley Racing was done for the weekend. The team picked up 62 points for the first round runner-up and moved closer to seventh place in the standings.

Allen and wife Rachel would like to thank their associate sponsors including IBM iSeries and Red Line Oil for their continued support. The team includes: Allen and Rachel Hartley, driver/clutch guy Gary Cooper, crew chief Jim Stallbaumer, Cylinder head specialist Gayle Chestnut, Mark "Forrest" Lorance, Roger "Orange Crate" Leichtenberg, David Gallegos, Mark Moore, Kenny Cotton and Jess Vinyard. The next event is in two weeks in Milan Michigan.