CARPENTER WINS, SETS NEW TRACK RECORD

EDDYVILLE, Iowa (August 31, 2003) -- Charles Carpenter, owner and driver of "The World’s Fastest ’55 Chevrolet" proved last night just why he holds this title.

Invited to participate in a match race at Eddyville (Iowa) Raceway, Carpenter made two runs on the 1/8-mile track. On the first he matched the track record with an elapsed time of 4.16-seconds, then broke the mark on his second pass with an improved mark of 4.15-seconds at 177.80 mph.

"Our last few IHRA races have been tough and we either seem to miss qualifying or get eliminated in the first round," said Carpenter. "We were excited to get invited to come here tonight and get back to our ‘old days’ of barnstorming the country doing match racing. It’s a great way to try some new combinations and put some more time into this new three-disc clutch system. The track was really good tonight and that helped us -- this is as good a prep job as I have seen all year, even at the national IHRA events. It would take everything I threw at it, and it was good enough for a new track record."

In his career, Carpenter has set more than 20 track records in nine different states across the country.

Carpenter’s next event will be the September 5-7 IHRA Amalia Oil North American Nationals at Epping, N.H.

"I feel real good about what we found in our combination today," said Carpenter. "I am anxious to get to Epping and test it against the other ‘big boys’ in the IHRA Pro Mod class."

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