Perkinson Charlotte II final report

Buddy Perkinson Qualifies for Second Consecutive NHRA Pro Stock Eliminations at O'Reilly Auto Parts Nationals

Buddy Perkinson

Photo by: Ted Rossino

Kansas City, MO, September 19, 2011 – Proving that his qualifying effort at the Indy U.S. Nationals was no fluke, Prince George, VA NHRA Pro Stock racer, Buddy Perkinson, raced his way into eliminations at the O'Reilly Auto Parts Nationals at zMAX Dragway at Charlotte, NC. Perkinson ran his personal best NHRA Pro Stock time in route to securing the 11th qualifying position in the fourth and final round of qualifying, improving from his number 16 spot after round three.

“We unloaded the car and made a few changes to the car based on track conditions,” says Perkinson. “After the first pass down the track, we again had to settle the car down a bit after still fighting wheel spin early in the run.” By the conclusion of the third round of qualifying, Perkinson and the Brent Koch AXA Advisors / Wealth management Strategies Ford Mustang once again found himself in the number sixteen spot. “We knew we had more in the car and after talking it over with Larry Morgan and his crew, we decided to make an engine change before the final round of qualifying,” explains Perkinson. “Hats off to my crew, making a complete engine change between qualifying runs and then going out and picking up almost three-one hundredths was a great team effort.

Perkinson's fourth round qualifying run was a 6.567 at 210.47 mph – a personal best for the young driver in NHRA Pro Stock competition and solidly placing him into eliminations in the number 11 position. “That felt so good,” says Perkinson, “We were sixth fastest car during final qualifying. I was so pumped up, not only for myself but for my team and the Larry Morgan Racing guys helping us out. It was also cool to race our way into the show along with Larry racing his way in to the number seven spot.” Perkinson's matchup in the first round of eliminations would be against the number six qualifier, Kurt Johnson. “Getting into the show is one thing,” says Perkinson, “Then it's time to go up against some of the greatest Pro Stock drivers out there and of course, Kurt Johnson is just that.” In his first round matchup, Perkinson's recently freshened Mustang shook the tires. “As soon as I dropped the hammer, the car shook the tires and started to move around quite a bit,” notes Perkinson. “By the time I got it all straightened out, I had scrubbed off too much speed and it was pretty much all over.” The first round loss to Johnson marked the second event in a row where Perkinson went down to the eventual race winner. At Indy, Perkinson went out against Jason Line. “We have the car, we have the team and we have the power,” says Perkinson. “Now it's just a matter of putting it all together and winning some elimination rounds.”

“I want to thank Larry Morgan and the Larry Morgan Racing team for all their support and help – we couldn't have qualified for these last two races without them and their awesome power their engines make,” adds Perkinson. “Brent Koch AXA Advisors and Wealth Management Strategies have been outstanding partners for the last two races and I hope we can do more with them in the future. But most of all, I want to thank my parents, Mark and Terri Perkinson for all their support and encouragement – I couldn't have done any of this without them.”

“Buddy is great young driver,” says Brent Koch of AXA Advisors. “It's been a pleasure helping him out and seeing how hard he and his team work to qualifying for these NHRA Pro Stock races. There is some very tough competition out there and we think Buddy has what it takes to be a outstanding competitor for years to come.”

Koch was introduced to Buddy Perkinson Racing and NHRA through Forward Sports Marketing. For more information about AXA Advisors / Wealth Management Strategies, visit their website at: www.wmstrat.com.

Perkinson's NHRA Pro Stock plans are to try to run at least one more race in 2011. “Given our recent results, I think we have a nice little program and would love to secure some additional sponsorship for the Reading race,” says Perkinson. “We've shown what we can do and I'd like to find some additional sponsors for a run at Reading before the NHRA makes it's final west coast swing.”