Championship Drag Racing

Sears Craftsman
Nationals
Madison, Ill.
(June 26-29)

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Ron Krisher Valvoline Chevrolet Cavalier Pro Stocker

Reports: Sunday

St. Louis, Sunday: Chevrolet's Ron Krisher earned his first win of the season, and his second career victory at Gateway International Raceway, driving his Valvoline Cavalier past Allen Johnson in the final round of the Sears Craftsman Nationals. Krisher's win tonight also gave Chevrolet its 115th all-time NHRA Pro Stock victory.

"That was exciting," said Krisher. "Winning in St. Louis at night – there's nothing better. We have a new set-up for our Chevrolet. We're coming around with it and can run about as good as anyone out here. We did well during qualifying and did well today, and that's what it takes in this class."

The 55-year-old Warren, Ohio, native came into today's 16-car eliminator with the Valvoline Chevrolet qualified in the No. 3 position, Krisher's best start of the season. He defeated Terry Adams in round one, Jeg Coughlin in round two, and Taylor Lastor in round three before meeting up with Johnson in the finals.

Krisher's winning advantage came at the starting line where his Chevrolet beat Johnson out of the blocks with a .026 reaction time. The Valvoline Cavalier streaked across the finish line with an elapsed time of 6.843 seconds at 201.64 mph. Johnson's Dodge followed in 6.840 seconds at 201.73 mph. The margin of victory for the Krisher Chevrolet was .025 of a second.

"We've been running different set-ups lately with the car, and when you do that you can't consistently do well at the starting line," said Krisher. "We had a lot of consistency today with the car which allowed me to cut good lights all day. This Chevrolet is a new car that we brought out in Englishtown (N.J.). We brought it here, made a lot of changes and it's starting to work out. It isn't as fast as I want it to be but we'll get it there."

The win marks Krisher's fifth career victory and moves him from seventh place to fifth place in the POWERade Pro Stock points standings. Krisher also becomes just the fourth different driver to win in the Pro Stock category this season. He also extends GM Racing's Pro Stock winning streak to 20 consecutive events, a run that started last year with Jeg Coughlin's victory at Brainerd, Minn., on August 18.