2010: New Car, New Sponsor
RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif. – Armed with a new Dodge Avenger race car, a new marketing partnership with NAPA Auto Parts and the optimistic enthusiasm that greets every new season, the Mountain View Tires NHRA Pro Stock team is primed to make 2010 their best season yet.
Since their last appearance at the season-ending Auto Club Finals in Pomona, Calif., team owner Nick Mitsos, driver Vinnie Deceglie, and the rest of the Mountain View crew have been steadily working towards 2010, where they once again plan to compete in 15 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series events. At their core of their effort is a 2010 Dodge Avenger that was recently completed by Rick Jones Race Cars in Galesburg, Ill. Building on the strength of last year's program, the new car will be powered by a 500-cubic inch engine built by veteran Pro Stock racers Roy and Allen Johnson. The Mountain View team took delivery of the new car in mid-January and a very successful pre-season test session only helped to build anticipation for the new season.
"After three runs, we could already tell this car was going to be better than the Stratus we raced last year," said Deceglie. "On the first run, I shut the engine off before the finish line and it still ran 6.70. On the third pass, I ran a 6.58, which is the best elapsed time I've ever run in Pro Stock. There were a lot of other top teams there and none of them were significantly quicker than we were. The production version of a Dodge Avenger is actually a four-door so it took a little time to get used to the layout of the driver's compartment, but I'm already very comfortable. This is just what we needed to stay competitive in this class and I believe that we are more prepared than we've ever been to start a season."
Last season, Deceglie was limited to just six events due to a family emergency, but he qualified for all of them. Interim driver Dave Beckley also did well, qualifying for eight of nine races. This year, the team will begin the season near their home base in Southern California, with the prestigious 50th annual Kragen O'Reilly Winternationals at Auto Club Dragway at the Pomona Fairplex.
When Mountain View Avenger car rolls out of the transporter for its first official runs in Pomona, the fans will immediately notice the NAPA Auto Parts logo that is prominently featured on the 200-mph racer. The support of NAPA Auto Parts, which is also the primary sponsor of Funny Car contender Ron Capps, figures to be the final component that will enable the team to accomplish their long-stated goal of winning elimination rounds.
"When we got into Pro Stock, our eyes were wide open," said team owner Nick Mitsos. "We knew there would be a learning curve but we've gained a lot of knowledge in the last two years and we are now prepared to take the next step, which is to have success on race day. We have a new race car that we already know is very competitive, an experienced driver that knows what it takes to win, and we now have NAPA Auto Parts, a sponsor that stands behind our program 100 percent. We have everything we need. Now it is just up to us to go out and make it happen."
