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2012 NHRA: Goodyear-Shod Sportsman Cars Win Three Times At Las Vegas
Steve Apted took his first career NHRA national event victory when he won the Super Gas final round in the Big O Tires Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
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Apted was one of six drivers to win on Goodyear tires at Las Vegas. That total beat all other tiremakers.
Goodyear’s other winners included Jim Whiteley (in Top Alcohol Dragster) and Bo Butner (Competition Eliminator) in the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series for sportsman racers. No tiremaker won in more sportsman categories than Goodyear.
Bob Vandergriff (Top Fuel), Ron Capps (Funny Car) and Allen Johnson (Pro Stock) were the Goodyear-shod winners in the Full Throttle Drag Racing Series for professional teams.
“I won the Wally,” Apted said of his trophy. “It’s the first one in 35 years of racing. I’ve won seven divisionals. This is the first big one.”
Apted, of Medford, Ore., drove a 1967 Corvette equipped with Goodyear’s D2200 tire. The D2200 is the rear tire Goodyear supplies to the Pro Stock teams but Apted said the tire works well for his application.
“I use the bigger tire to keep my wheel speed where I want it,” the Super Gas winner said. He estimated his 1,050 horsepower racer gets as many as 150 passes, about a season’s worth, on a set of D2200s. The tire measures 33.5 inches tall and 17 inches across the tread. It mounts on a 16-inch wheel and the D4A tread compound in included in the construction.
Whiteley, who is on his way to winning the 2012 TAD World Championship, won for the 19th time in 22 national event finals. The Grand Junction, Colo. resident, won on a weekend when his wife, Annie Whiteley, advanced to the final round of Top Alcohol Funny Car eliminations.
Butner won in an all-Goodyear final round, beating Lou Ficco. Butner’s car was equipped with Goodyear’s D4513 radial. The tire measures 31 inches tall and 16 inches across the tread face. It mounts on a 15-inch wheel and includes Goodyear’s D8 tread compound.
PaddockTalk Perspective
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