Courtesy of Elon Werner, Werner Communications
CHICAGO — Throughout the 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Chris King and the Competition Products/Howards Cams Funny Car have been hitting some of the biggest NHRA races on the tour. For the first time King, who owns his team and wheels the 11,000-horsepowered Funny Car tuned by veteran crew chief Bob Peck, will head to Texas Motorplex for the Stampede of Speed and Texas NHRA Fall Nationals, October 9-13. This season King has made career best passes in Chicago and Norwalk as well as qualifying for the prestigious Toyota NHRA U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis. Adding the race at Texas Motorplex is another major step for his Funny Car team.
“I am fired up to be heading to the Texas Motorplex for the Stampede of Speed and the Texas Fall Nationals,” said King. “We were looking at St. Louis but the opportunity to be involved with a mega-event like the Stampede of Speed was too good of an opportunity. We’ll be doing the Fanfest on Thursday night as well as autograph sessions throughout the race. I can’t wait to show off for the Texas fans.”
This weekend King will be adding HEAT (Hydraulic Energy Applications and Technology) to his Competition Products/Howards Cams Funny Car as an associate sponsor. HEAT, with headquarters in Itasca, Illinois, provides hydraulic services to the Midwest area. They specialize in both goods and services in the industrial fluid power industry. Owned by Robert Rhode HEAT is a small family company that provides custom solutions and answers to complicated industry problems.
“We look forward to seeing Chris and his team on their way to greatness,” said Rhodes. “Chris shows the persistence, drive and commitment of the full-time teams and HEAT looks forward to being part of this operation. We are excited to be on his Funny Car for the Texas Fall Nationals.”
This season King and the Competition Products/Howards Cams Funny Car have showed significant performance improvements. Racing on a limited schedule King has made it a point to race smart and steadily improve his performance numbers. Making the 16-car field for the U.S. Nationals was a huge step for his team.
“I was very proud of our team for getting in the show at the U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis,” said King. “It was a nail-biter, but we did it and then we made a good run on race day. I am looking at the Texas Fall Nationals as another chance for us to step up. They offer a big money bonus on Friday night, and you never know what can happen. I love that there are all sorts of cool Texas traditional elements at this race. That was one of the reasons I wanted to bring my team to the race.”
The Competition Products/Howards Cams Funny Car has made big strides this season with the tuning skills of Bob Peck. King has also made improvements on the parts and team operation areas. Since he began racing in 2021 King has focused on building his race team the right way. King has enjoyed long-time support from Competition Products and Howards Cams throughout his career and this year he added Fire Department Coffee to his marketing program, which only makes sense considering he is an active firefighter. The marketing relationships King has fostered combined with his growing status as a fan-favorite continue to motivate him to build a program that aspires to be on tour full-time.
“Every race we attend I try and make new fans and deliver for all our sponsors,” said King. “This team works hard to look professional and compete on the track. We are going to throw down some solid elapsed times and hopefully we will surprise some people. Drag racing is one sport where you really can work your butt off and see results because anything can happen when two 11,000-horsepower Funny Cars line up beside each other.”
Qualifying will begin on Friday, October 11 and teams will have two more qualifying sessions on Saturday. The quickest 16 Funny Cars will square off on Sunday, October 13, looking to turn on four win lights and hoist the iconic Wally trophy and earn a custom fitted Texas Motorplex cowboy hat at the end of the day. The race will be broadcast on FS1. For additional event information visit www.nhra.com.
