Compiled by SEMA Editors
 Lucas Oil NHRA Southern Nationals winners, from left, Steve Torrence, Ron Capps, Bo Butner and LE Tonglet. |
Torrence, Capps, Butner and Tonglet Take Home Wally Trophies at the Lucas Oil NHRA Southern Nationals
Ron Capps raced his NAPA Auto Parts Dodge Charger R/T to his third consecutive Funny Car victory this season last Sunday at the 37th annual Lucas Oil NHRA Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway. Steve Torrence (Top Fuel), Bo Butner (Pro Stock) and LE Tonglet (Pro Stock Motorcycle) were also winners in their respective categories at the seventh event of 24 on the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing series schedule. Defending world-champion Capps raced a 3.991-second pass at 317.79 mph to defeat Tim Wilkerson in his Levi, Ray & Shoup Ford Shelby Mustang. This is Capps’ second victory at Atlanta Dragway and 52nd of his Top Fuel career. Top Fuel driver Torrence piloted his Capco Contractors dragster to the winners circle in back-to-back races after a 3.745 pass at 320.81 to defeat U.S. Army driver Tony Schumacher. This is Torrence’s third consecutive final-round appearance. Butner, who made his Pro Stock debut at Atlanta in 2015, powered his Jim Butner’s Auto Chevy Camaro to the second victory of his career after a 6.569 pass at 211.26 that bettered two-time world champion Erica Enders, who raced her Elite Motorsports Chevy Camaro to a 6.593 pass at 210.97 in her first final round appearance since Las Vegas 2 in 2015. In Pro Stock Motorcycle, Tonglet raced to back-to-back wins this season after he rode his Nitro Fish Racing Suzuki to a 6.843 pass at 194.35 defeating teammate and defending world champion Jerry Savoie. This is Tonglet’s 12th career win and second at Atlanta Dragway. The 2017 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season continues at the 29th annual Menards NHRA Heartland Nationals presented by Minties, May 19–21 at Heartland Park Topeka.
Atturo Kicks Off 2017 TORC Race Season with Expanded Team in Pro-lite and Pro 2 Classes
Atturo Tire has announced its lineup for 2017’s The Off Road Championship (TORC) series. Kicking off May 13, in Joliet, Illinois, with the Chicagoland Slam, this TORC series will feature Atturo tires racing in two classes of off-road competition—the Pro Lite and Pro 2. Atturo has been a major player in the Pro Lite class of the TORC series, having sponsored 2016’s series and nabbing 11 podium finishes with veteran drivers Andrew Carlson #151 and Travis Dinsmore #43.
MAHLE Motorsports Provides Technical Assistance on Measuring Piston to Bore Clearances
MAHLE Motorsports has been active providing important technical information with its Technical Tuesday’s Facebook video posts. One of the company’s more popular videos is measuring piston-to-bore clearance. The first thing customers need to do is access MAHLE Motorsports’ 2017 Application Guide, which can be found online, with a link to download the pdf. Once the specific application is located, the part numbers are on the far-right side of the page, and just to the left of the part number is the measuring point, indicating where to measure on the piston. Using the proper measuring point is vital to ensure accuracy as each MAHLE Motorsports piston has a unique profile, designed so that the piston is at the optimal size under operating temperatures. Measuring above or below the measuring point will provide an inaccurate reading that does not represent the piston’s maximum diameter. View the complete video.