After a winter of building engines, upgrading the car, and testing in recent weeks the Hard Guys nitro funny car is ready for its first true test of the 2015 season at this weekend’s IHRA NItro Jam at Maryland International Raceway. Team owner Dana Hard, a high performance engine builder by trade is excited to get his Mike Smith driven car into competition again. “The IHRA funny car program is great and we know that when we show up in Maryland, the best cars in the country will be there with us. The ability to attend events like this is the reason we field this car. It is exciting stuff!”
The team ran the car in testing a couple of weeks at at New England Dragway in Epping, New Hampshire and ran successfully down into the 5.70 zone, producing impressive speeds as well. “Our test session was productive and sometimes with cars that run on nitro, learning what does not work is even more important than learning what does.”
The Massachusetts based team has developed a solid reputation over the last couple of seasons for being a consistent and clean running car. Last year they qualified solidly in the top half of the field at MIR and they are looking to do that and convert it into round wins. “We’re not chasing the national championship points like some of the teams out there but we know that we have what it takes to compete,” Hard said. “There’s nothing more satisfying to have the attention of these hard running teams. They know that when we come to the races, we show up with the ability to make fast, consistent runs.”
The IHRA NItro Jam President’s Cup Nationals will be contested this weekend at Maryland International Raceway June 19-20. For information on how to attend visit www.nitrojam.com.
