Quain Stott Racing had a very productive outing during the ADRL Hardee's Georgia Drags VI this past weekend at South Georgia Motorsports Park, Stott took his Lee Boy Corvette to the Number 3 Qualifying spot in Pro Extreme. "Consistency is the most important thing in this sport, you have to go down the track to go rounds." Stott went down the track every run, with a string of runs in the 3.7 range.
Stott didn't have a easy time in eliminations matching up against Bubba Stanton the # 14 qualifier in the first round of eliminations Stott took the win running a 3.76 against Stanton's 3.86. In the second round of eliminations Stott found himself matched up with Jason Hamstra the #4 qualifier, Stott moved to the next round after running a 3.76 against Hamstra's 4.35. The third round of eliminations proved to be the nail biter as Stott found himself matched up against Frankie Taylor the #2 qualifier, Stott launched with a great light, and had to peddle it, but took the win running a 3.84, and having his competitor Frankie Taylor breaking a blower belt.
]]> In preparation for the final round of eliminations Stott had to thrash to ready the car, "We popped the burst panel and had to service the car in between rounds." said Stott. "The level of competition out here is absolutely the best of the best, I was a crew guy short this weekend as my long time crew member Dee Bragg was unable to attend this event, I was fortunate to have a couple of guys come out and help me on the car, Rick Blaisdell, and Zeke Wyatt pitched in this weekend along with my other long time crew member Greg Waldrop."In the final round Stott matched up against 2 time Pro Extreme Champion Jason Scruggs. Stott left first with a .023 light to Scruggs .037, but it was not quite enough to hold off Scruggs at the finish line, Stott ran a 3.752 to Scruggs 3.716 losing by just 2 hundredths at the finish line. "I'm pretty happy even though we lost we had a good event and we took the Lee Boy Corvette to the final round, in my book thats a successful weekend."
After the event Stott sat down with Mel Bush car owner of the 69 Camaro Pro Extreme entry of Driver Tommy D'Aprile and reached an agreement to take on tuning duties for Mel Bush Motorsports creating a 2 car team for the rest of the season. "I'm excited about the prospects of having a teammate and I think so highly of Tommy and his driving abilities that I am pretty confident that we can make this work and have both cars in the top 8 going into the Battle of the Belts in Dallas at the end of the season. said Stott. "At this level of competition every little added bit of information helps, and to have another car to tune will be a lot of work, but I am up for the challenge."
Quain Stott Drag Racing partners with high performance companies like, LeeBoy Equipment, Hoosier Racing Tires, NGK Spark Plugs, Auto Meter, Amalie Oil, Santhuff Shocks, Fulton Race Engines and Spartan Crank Shafts.
Photo courtesy of Roger Richards and Competition Plus.
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COLUMBUS, N.C. -- In the midst of what could be the most challenging drag racing season of his career, Quain Stott finds a reason to be optimistic. Stott, the 2006 Pro Modified World Champion and driver of the 1963 LeeBoy Equipment Corvette offers his no nonsense 'straight talk' style approach to the situation.
"I just want to apologize to LeeBoy, our fans, my crew and all of our associate sponsors," Stott said. "I'm not going to make excuses. It's one hundred percent my fault. If the car doesn't run good, it's the tuner's fault. My crew chief, Brandon Howard and Greg Waldrop, Dee Bragg and Cynthia have all done their jobs perfectly. There hasn't been one maintenance issue, not one piece has fallen off this car."
For all the frustration that Stott and his team have endured, specifically over the past five races, which include two DNQs and three first round losses, they have found hope for a brighter future. "I think we've finally pinpointed the problem," Stott said. "Sometimes you just have to slow down to go faster."]]>
Stott spent most of the off-season in research and development mode. Days of work and dedication were finally scrapped on Saturday during the Martin, Michigan race. "Everything on paper says this car should have been faster with the trick parts we put on this car," Stott explained. "We felt sure it was going to work. It just took me this many races to beat it into my head that it wasn't going to work. I couldn't sleep Friday night [at Martin, Michigan] and I woke up and decided to pull all the trick stuff off of the car."
While Stott didn't get his ride into Sunday's show, he did make a marked improvement and got the car to move in the direction he wanted. "We still didn't qualify," Stott explained. "I was so far off on the clutch [from the previous set up], I was just trying to sneak up on the right tune up. I was sitting there Saturday night and got a little nervous about the clutch and I just chickened out."
Stott's final effort on Saturday left his team just two-hundredths from a qualifying position to race on Sunday. "If I would have left the clutch alone, the car would have run an oh-eight (6.08 seconds)," Stott said. "But we're back on track. That's the important part."
With just three races remaining in the Nitro Jam drag racing season, Stott finds himself in unfamiliar territory. He's currently in 12th position, 39 points from being back in the top 10. Stott has finished all 13 season of his professional career with a top 10 or better finish. If Stott is nervous about finishing in the top 10, he's not showing it. "We're headed in the right direction now. I'm confident that we can get the few rounds needed to get into the top 10 before the season is over," he said.
That's reason enough to be optimistic and better than Quain could have hoped for before the Martin event.
The next stop for Quain Stott and his LeeBoy Equipment Corvette is the Skull Shine Sooner Nationals at the Tulsa Raceway Park, August 22-24.
MECHANICSVILLE, Md. - Quain Stott and his LeeBoy Equipment headed into Maryland with high hopes and expectations of winning rounds. The track that gave Stott a win in 2006 in route to his championship wasn't as kind in 2008.
"It was a tough race for us," Stott said. "We got the car qualified and then I just didn't have the right clutch set up to get past the first round."
Stott faced Thomas Patterson in round one, both would peddle their cars and recover to put in respectable runs, but Stott would fall short of beating Patterson to the finish line.
"So far it's been a tough year for us. We've got to figure out how to go a few rounds and get our feet back under us."]]>
MILAN, Mich. - For more than three seasons and 35 straight IHRA races, Quain Stott has qualified his LeeBoy Equipment Pro Modified Corvette. That streak ended Sunday when Stott failed to make the 16 car field at the Motor City Nationals.
"It's been a long time since we've done that," Stott explained on the way back to his Columbus, North Carolina race shop. "It's something that we can never take for granted. We've qualified for every race we go to - if it's IHRA or ADRL or NHRA - it hasn't mattered until now. I just want to apologize to our fans in Milan and our sponsors. This will only make us stronger."
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The loss drops Stott to 10th in points, threatening another long standing streak of top 10 finishes over the past 12 seasons, dating back to his rookie outing in 1995. "I wouldn't bet against us just yet," Stott said. "There's a lot of racing left to do this season and the points are still pretty tight. It will take one good race to bring us back in the thick of the points battle."
The LeeBoy Equipment 1963 split-window Corvette will race again at the Torco Race Fuels President's Cup Nationals, June 13-15, at the Maryland International Raceway
VALDOSTA, Ga. - Quain Stott rolled into the ADRL's 4th Annual Hardee’s Georgia Drags with one thing on his mind - to go rounds. While going rounds is like money in the bank for the Columbus, North Carolina based LeeBoy Paving Equipment team, Stott knows going rounds in elimination is not a given.
"These Pro Mod cars are finicky," Stott explains. "One day you can look like a hero, the next day a chump." Fans of the ADRL and the purple and white LeeBoy Corvette have had a hero more often than not as Stott and his team enjoy a league leading .762 winning percentage at ADRL events. "We really like running these outlaw events," said Stott. "They're action packed, the fans love it and at the end of the night someone has bragging rights."
After a slow qualifying session, Stott began planning for the elimination rounds. "We didn't qualify as well as we wanted," he said. "Once we figured out that we had a blower problem it was really to late to do anything about it. We have 45 minutes between rounds, it's pretty much 'run what you brung' once eliminations start. But we had some old school, poor boy, tuning tricks that we used to compensate for that blower. Normally that blower will make more boost that I can use. We'll just have to dig into it when we get home."]]>
The final round match up would pair Stott against Josh Hernandez. "Josh told me he owed me one," Stott said as Herndez recalled the Valdosta win Stott took two years earlier in another Stott, Hernandez final round. "That weak blower caught me with my pants down," Stott said. "You can bet we'll be back to give him a better run for the money."
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.]]>
"I'm pretty happy with the horsepower we found over the winter in the Fulton Racing engine," Stott said. "We've got 25 more pounds strapped on us this year and we were still able to run within a hundredth of our best time last season (6.040 at the fall Rockingham event). We're OK. Don't count us out just yet."
The next stop for the LeeBoy Equipment team is the Motor City Nationals in Milan, Michigan, May 23-25.]]>
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."
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Photo used with permission © Roger Richards]]>
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."
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For the second season in a row Stott has qualified for every IHRA event and for the 13th season in a row he has finished in the top 10. Seven of the top 10 finishes were top five. Stott completed the 2007 season in the fifth position highlighted with two runner-up finished (Tulsa and Epping) and tow semi-final appearances (San Antonio and Grand Bend).
The season ending event in Rockingham was also an eventful experience for the Columbus, North Carolina based team. LeeBoy Equipment announced that they will remain the primary sponsor on the Corvette fielded by Quain Stott Drag Racing.
Stott would also dedicate the race to Hannah Martin and display a special "Pray for Hannah" decal on the car. Hannah is the sister of McCoy Martin of Central Asphalt and Paving a good friend and loyal LeeBoy customer. Hannah is continuing to recover from auto accident earlier this year.
Quain Stott Drag Racing would also use this race to celebrate the life of long time AMX Racer, Randy McCorkle. McCorkle passed away earlier this year. Stott would take McCorkle's ashes for a ride on Friday. Friday's qualifying attempt put Stott in the fifth position with 6.169 second pass. McCorkle would be remembered again when his ashes were packed into the parachutes of Stott's car during Saturday's afternoon qualifying attempt.
Stott is already planning his 2008 tour. "The 2007 season was good," Stott said. "We've got a lot of testing to do to get ready for next season. While we're planning 2008 we can't help but think about all of our friends and the people that make this all possible. Kelly Majeskie from LeeBoy and Even Knoll from Torco Race Fuels have been by our side for a lot of years and we're looking forward to a lot more with them as our marketing partners."
Quain Stott Drag Racing partners with high performance companies like, LeeBoy Equipment, Torco Race Fuels, Richmond Gear, Mickey Thompson Tires, NGK Spark Plugs, Auto Meter, Stroud Safety, Santhuff Shocks, Fulton Race Engines, Stroupe Race Cars and Spartan Crank Shafts.
ROCKINGHAM, N.C. - Quain Stott has had a good season. The defending Torco Competition Plus Pro Modified World Champion has carried the LeeBoy Paving Equipment, Torco Race Fuels powered Corvette to two semi-final and two runner-up finishes in 2007. While that performance is good, it won't be good enough for Stott to repeat as World Champion.
Stott, who currently sits fifth in points with a chance to finish as high as third an no worse than eighth, will assure his team and sponsors another top 10 finish in Pro Modified, pushing the longest running streak of top 10 finishes to 12.
"We really wanted to come out here this year and do well," Stott said. "So many times you see a team go out one year and win a championship and come back the next year and struggle just to stay in the top 10. It's been a long time since anyone has been able to repeat as champion in Pro Mod. That's just a testament to how tough these teams are out here. Anyone can win it in any given year."]]>
a tribute to Randy McCorkle visit SSAMX.com]]>
BUDDS CREEK, Md. - After scratching his head for a couple of weeks, the 2006 defending World Champion in Torco Comp Plus Pro Modified is smiling again. Quain Stott searched and finally found the problem that kept the Torco Race Fuels powered Lee Boy Corvette from its usual high level of performance.
"It's just one of those things that happen sometimes when you put new parts on a race car," Stott said. "We found it, it's fixed and we're ready to go racing again."
Stott would have a chance to prove his point at this weekends Torco Race Fuels President's Cup Nationals at the Maryland International Raceway in Budds Creek. Stott would make solid qualifying passes with Saturday nights attempt being best (6.096 at 235.06 mph), landing his team in the upper half of the field.
Stott's refound performance edge would be put to the test early during eliminations. In a first round match with former World Champion Mike Castellana, Stott's car would rattle the tires early. A quick twitch of the gas pedal and a touch of the brakes would settle the car down and allow Quain to apply all of the horsepower needed to run down Castellana at the top end of the race track. The win would send Stott to a showdown with the New York based team of Mike Janis.
The Stott-Janis showdown would be a classic drag race with Stott taking the starting line advantage. The side by side duel ended a quarter mile later, both teams over 239 mph and Janis with the bumper and 0.0123 second advantage at the stripe.
"That was a great drag race," Stott said. "I just wish it was our bumper out front. Mike Janis and Scott Cannon have tough cars to beat right now. It will be interesting to see who can win it all at Rockingham."
Stott has defended his 2006 World Championship well, but finds himself mathematically challenged to repeat in 2007. Currently in the top five in points and the only driver to finish in the top 10 for 12 consecutive years, Stott is happy with the teams season. "I was so worried about coming out here this year and not doing well," Stott said as he left the race. "So many times you see where someone wins a championship and then has a tough time the next season. I think we had another quality season of racing and we still have another race to go. LeeBoy, Evan Knoll and Torco Race Fuels and all of our sponsors have been so go to us over the years. I can't thank them enough. I always hope that we can make them proud and represent them well where ever we race."
While Stott was reluctant to pick his the 2007 Pro Modified Champion, he did offer some insight. "Mike Janis is running really hard right now and if the season were a couple of races longer I think he could make a run at Scott," Stott said. "But Scott and Scotty have went out there and dominated the Last Man Standing. They've won 10 of the possible 18 additional five point bonuses. That's going to be hard for anyone to overcome."]]>
Stott's refound performance edge would be put to the test early during eliminations. In a first round match with former World Champion Mike Castellana, Stott's car would rattle the tires early. A quick twitch of the gas pedal and a touch of the brakes would settle the car down and allow Quain to apply all of the horsepower needed to run down Castellana at the top end of the race track. The win would send Stott to a showdown with the New York based team of Mike Janis.
The Stott-Janis showdown would be a classic drag race with Stott taking the starting line advantage. The side by side duel ended a quarter mile later, both teams over 239 mph and Janis with the bumper and 0.0123 second advantage at the stripe.
"That was a great drag race," Stott said. "I just wish it was our bumper out front. Mike Janis and Scott Cannon have tough cars to beat right now. It will be interesting to see who can win it all at Rockingham."
Stott has defended his 2006 World Championship well, but finds himself mathematically challenged to repeat in 2007. Currently in the top five in points and the only driver to finish in the top 10 for 12 consecutive years, Stott is happy with the teams season. "I was so worried about coming out here this year and not doing well," Stott said as he left the race. "So many times you see where someone wins a championship and then has a tough time the next season. I think we had another quality season of racing and we still have another race to go. LeeBoy, Evan Knoll and Torco Race Fuels and all of our sponsors have been so go to us over the years. I can't thank them enough. I always hope that we can make them proud and represent them well where ever we race."
While Stott was reluctant to pick his the 2007 Pro Modified Champion, he did offer some insight. "Mike Janis is running really hard right now and if the season were a couple of races longer I think he could make a run at Scott," Stott said. "But Scott and Scotty have went out there and dominated the Last Man Standing. They've won 10 of the possible 18 additional five point bonuses. That's going to be hard for anyone to overcome."