Horsepower helps Stott in Rockingham
COLUMBUS, N.C. -- Quain Stott found some additional horsepower on his LeeBoy Equipment 1963 split-widow Corvette this past week during the IHRA Spring Nationals in Rockingham. The additional boost would give Stott an needed edge to propel the former World Champion into the top half of the field.
"There was five of us all packed together with 6.11s going into the final round of qualifying," Stott said. "I knew we were going to have to turn it up a notch if we were going to qualify well."
The 6.095 that Stott's LeeBoy team registered Saturday night would be good enough to place them in the number eight position. "With the Sportsman ladder that we run over here in IHRA the #8 spot is not a bad place to be," Stott continued.
Stott celebrates 34 seasons of racing - 12th season with LeeBoy Equipment
COLUMBUS, NC - Every season when Quain Stott rolls into the Rockingham Dragway, it's like a homecoming. Stott, a North Carolina native calls the drag strip situated in the sand hills of eastern Carolina home. Thirty-four season later, Stott will again make the trip this week for the IHRA Spring Nationals April 18-20.
"I started racing a '67 Camaro when I was 15-years-old," Stott explains. "I don't want people thinking I'm too old."
While Stott may have started young, he's been around long enough to see many changes in the sport. One of the biggest changes that Stott sees is the effect money has had on the sport. "When I started it took a lot of talent to drag race. Now it seems money out-weighs talent. It's a long way from where I started."
Stott's Championship defense ends in Rockingham
ROCKINGHAM, N.C. The Knoll-Gas Motorsports Nitro Jam Drag Racing Series wound down to the final race this past weekend, the IHRA World Finals at the famed Rockingham Dragway. Just before the semi-final round Quain Stott walked over to his Torco Race Fuels powered 1963 LeeBoy Equipment Corvette. He quietly signed and then peeled the number one decal from the windshield that he worked so hard for the previous year and walked towards Scott Cannon. After placing the well deserved decal on Scott Cannon's car, Stott talked and joked with the younger Cannon about next season.
"I told Scott that he and his team did a great job this season," Stott said. "I put that number one on his windshield and told him to put his boxing gloves on because I was coming back for it next year," he joked.
Defending his 2006 Championship was something that Stott stayed concerned about all season long. "It could be football or baseball or racing, you see a team come out after a championship and not perform very well." Stott added. "We were aware of that and wanted to make sure that we came out and represented our championship well for LeeBoy, Torco and our fans. I think we did a pretty good job."
