Rapisarda Autosport International’s 2017 American campaign got of to a flying start when Wayne Newby posted a best run of 3.80/307 mph in pre-event testing for the 63rd annual U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis.
The biggest event on the NHRA calendar has attracted an oversubscribed field of 18 cars for the five day meet that commences on August 30 and runs to Monday September 4.
“The 3.80 came on day one of testing and was a good result considering most of the team only arrived in town a couple of days in advance,” said team owner Santo Rapisarda. “We last raced the car in September 2016 and a lot of work needs to be done to get the car ready before round one of qualifying on Friday.
The U.S.Nationals is the most prestigious event on the calendar, and the one meeting that all the American teams want to win. Summer time in Indy is hot and humid, and five rounds of qualifying over three days there is a lot of pressure on teams to get it right and not make mistakes.
“Leading up to Friday we will be busy building engines, organizing the trailer and stockpiling spare parts. We want to have five engines ready before Friday – the challenge is to be ready in time,” he said.
