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Consistency pays off for Indiana team with new Camaro at Georgia
event
Courtesy of Bruce F. Mehlenbacher
DeMotte, Indiana (April 15, 2009) – Jason Hamstra is a
quiet racer who lets his driving do the talking.
 The 21-year old Indiana native recently won the National Guard American Drag
Racing League’s Pro Extreme class at the ADRL Hardee’s Georgia Drags V in Valdosta,
GA.
It was the first ADRL national event win for Hamstra.
“We just try to run consistent and get off the line quick,” Hamstra said
after the race. “That’s what wins races.”
Up against some fierce competition on the eighth-mile track, including Jason
Scruggs, Frankie Taylor, and Mike Janis, Hamstra qualified number three with a 3.81-second,
196.33-mph pass.
Hamstra qualified number two at the Houston event, their first race with the
ADRL.
For the next four rounds, Hamstra stayed consistent, recording passes of
3.83, 3.79, 3.81, and then a 3.80 in the final over Scruggs, the two-time ADRL Pro Extreme
champion.
A former Pro Modified IHRA racer, Hamstra’s car is a Vanishing Point Race
Cars 1968 Chevrolet Camaro powered by a Brad Anderson (BAE) supercharged Hemi engine.
On top of the engine sits a PSI screw blower, but what’s behind the engine
is unique to this class.
 With a Coan Torque Converter driving a Lenco Drive three-speed transmission,
Hamstra became the first to win an ADRL event with this set-up. He was also the first to
win an IHRA event (Martin, 2007).
“There’s less maintenance with the torque converter,” said Kevin Hamstra,
father of Jason and crew chief on the Camaro. “Not only were we the first to win an IHRA and
ADRL event, we were the first torque converter driven car to run in both the 3.80s and the
3.70s. We took care of that real quick.”
Young Hamstra said there is lots left in the car, but the team wanted to run
a conservative race at Valdosta.
“We wanted to make sure we got down the race track,” he said. “And it worked
out for us today.”
The Hamstras are committed to race in the National Guard American Drag
Racing League in 2009.
“With hundreds of cars and record crowds, it’s a great atmosphere for a
race,” commented Kevin Hamstra. “It’s a real fun day.”
Son Jason agreed with his father.
“It’s great to win one of these,” he said. “It’s a lot of fun. That’s why we
race. We race to have fun.”
Aside from crew chief Kevin Hamstra, the rest of the crew consists of Karen
Hamstra, Jason's Mom and friend Andy Hixson.
The win moved Jason Hamstra into the number three position in the Pro
Extreme Battle for the Belts Points Standings and the $50,000 championship top prize.
The team is sponsored by Coan Engineering Torque Convertors of Kokomo,
Indiana, Lenco Racing Transmissions along with help from Snyder Motorsports of DeMotte,
Indiana.
The next event for the Hamstra Racing Team is the third event of the 10-race
National Guard American Drag Racing League in Millington, Tennessee.
The National Guard American Drag Racing League's Memphis Drags V is
scheduled for May 22-23 at Memphis Motorsports Park.
Based in O’Fallon, Missouri, the National Guard American Drag Racing League
is the nation’s premier sanctioning body for the sport of eighth-mile drag racing.
Now in its fifth year, the National Guard ADRL offers fast-paced racing in
five professional categories: Pro Extreme, Extreme Pro Stock, Extreme 10.5, Pro Nitrous and Pro
Extreme Motorcycle. The Pro Extreme category is the quickest full-bodied class in all of drag
racing.
In 2009, the National Guard ADRL tour schedule will consist of 10 national
events run throughout the United States. Website: www.adrl.us
Photo Credit: Roger Richards
For more information, contact Kevin Hamstra at (317)
370-4919
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