Driver Gary Gardella and Red Bull Air Race Pilot Kirby Chambliss will Face Off @ Atco
06-06-2007, 04:12 PM
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Driver Gary Gardella and Red Bull Air Race Pilot Kirby Chambliss will Face Off @ Atco
Gary Gardella and Red Bull Air Race Pilot Kirby Chambliss will Face Off in Land-Air Competition at Atco Raceway
ATCO, N.J., June 5, 2007 – In what promises to be an extraordinary showcase event pitting a NHRA Pro FWD racecar against a competition airplane, Team Chevy's Gary Gardella and Red Bull Air Race World Series pilot Kirby Chambliss will face-off in a series of specially synchronized eliminator rounds that will feature Gardella's Ecotec-powered Cobalt and Chambliss' EDGE 540. The "Air and Asphalt" media-only event will take place at Atco Raceway on Wednesday and Thursday, June 6 – 7, just days before the running of the NHRA Northeast Sport Compact Nationals. Photos and video of the event can be seen on http://www.gmtunersource.com.
"We'll be shooting down the quarter-mile, going through our normal routine, and it will be a little bit different because we're either going to have the plane ahead of us or behind us," said Gardella. "Once we start doing the burnout, they'll cue for the plane to come in, and as he comes in, he'll start flying straight up in the air. As I move the Red Bull Chevrolet forward into pre-stage the plane will actually start its way down. As soon as I hit stage, he's going to do a maneuver that will take him straight down the track and then I'll launch.
"We'll be running something like five or six times so it should be a pretty good day for both Kirby and myself. It's the first time I've ever done something like this – something out of the ordinary for drag racing to say the least. Atco Raceway takes really good care of us and they have a really great relationship with Red Bull – it's a great facility."
The 28-year-old Gardella, a resident of nearby Howell, N.J., is a six-time NHRA Sport Compact national-event winner and the 2005 NDRA Pro 4 Cylinder champion.
"This is one of those fun things you get to do when you're involved with great sponsors," said Gardella. "It's definitely out of the ordinary but we're pretty excited about it. This is not your everyday drag race and it promises to be something that's a little bit different."
Gardella has driven the Red Bull Chevy Cobalt to a pair of final rounds in 2007 (Atco/NDRA, Budds Creek/NDRA), and in May, he ran a career-best elapsed time (7.367 seconds) and speed (198.55 mph) at the NHRA Spring Nationals in Englishtown, N.J. Gardella is currently in fifth place in the NHRA Pro FWD points standings.
"This is certainly going to be different, but it's definitely something our Red Bull Motorsports fans are going to like," said Gardella. "We'll post a lot of pictures and video to the Red Bull and GM Tuner Source Web site so everyone can see what happens. It's going to be fun."
The easygoing Kirby Chambliss is an unprecedented five-time winner of the U.S. Nationals Aerobatic Championships and was the 2006 Red Bull Air Race World Series champion. His "Arizona Lightning" EDGE 540 captured victories last season at Abu Dhabi (UAE), Berlin (GER), Istanbul (TUR) and San Francisco.
"During an air race, I am about 10 feet above the ground going 250 mph in my plane," commented Chambliss from Istanbul, Turkey (TUR) where he competed in the Red Bull Air Race World Series on June 2. "But I can honestly say this will be the first time I've ever had a competitor racing just feet below me on the ground. I'm looking forward to breaking normal racing parameters and giving Gardella a challenge, he, and our fans, won't forget."
Photos Of Gary Gardella
Photos Of Kirby Chambliss
ATCO, N.J., June 5, 2007 – In what promises to be an extraordinary showcase event pitting a NHRA Pro FWD racecar against a competition airplane, Team Chevy's Gary Gardella and Red Bull Air Race World Series pilot Kirby Chambliss will face-off in a series of specially synchronized eliminator rounds that will feature Gardella's Ecotec-powered Cobalt and Chambliss' EDGE 540. The "Air and Asphalt" media-only event will take place at Atco Raceway on Wednesday and Thursday, June 6 – 7, just days before the running of the NHRA Northeast Sport Compact Nationals. Photos and video of the event can be seen on http://www.gmtunersource.com.
"We'll be shooting down the quarter-mile, going through our normal routine, and it will be a little bit different because we're either going to have the plane ahead of us or behind us," said Gardella. "Once we start doing the burnout, they'll cue for the plane to come in, and as he comes in, he'll start flying straight up in the air. As I move the Red Bull Chevrolet forward into pre-stage the plane will actually start its way down. As soon as I hit stage, he's going to do a maneuver that will take him straight down the track and then I'll launch.
"We'll be running something like five or six times so it should be a pretty good day for both Kirby and myself. It's the first time I've ever done something like this – something out of the ordinary for drag racing to say the least. Atco Raceway takes really good care of us and they have a really great relationship with Red Bull – it's a great facility."
The 28-year-old Gardella, a resident of nearby Howell, N.J., is a six-time NHRA Sport Compact national-event winner and the 2005 NDRA Pro 4 Cylinder champion.
"This is one of those fun things you get to do when you're involved with great sponsors," said Gardella. "It's definitely out of the ordinary but we're pretty excited about it. This is not your everyday drag race and it promises to be something that's a little bit different."
Gardella has driven the Red Bull Chevy Cobalt to a pair of final rounds in 2007 (Atco/NDRA, Budds Creek/NDRA), and in May, he ran a career-best elapsed time (7.367 seconds) and speed (198.55 mph) at the NHRA Spring Nationals in Englishtown, N.J. Gardella is currently in fifth place in the NHRA Pro FWD points standings.
"This is certainly going to be different, but it's definitely something our Red Bull Motorsports fans are going to like," said Gardella. "We'll post a lot of pictures and video to the Red Bull and GM Tuner Source Web site so everyone can see what happens. It's going to be fun."
The easygoing Kirby Chambliss is an unprecedented five-time winner of the U.S. Nationals Aerobatic Championships and was the 2006 Red Bull Air Race World Series champion. His "Arizona Lightning" EDGE 540 captured victories last season at Abu Dhabi (UAE), Berlin (GER), Istanbul (TUR) and San Francisco.
"During an air race, I am about 10 feet above the ground going 250 mph in my plane," commented Chambliss from Istanbul, Turkey (TUR) where he competed in the Red Bull Air Race World Series on June 2. "But I can honestly say this will be the first time I've ever had a competitor racing just feet below me on the ground. I'm looking forward to breaking normal racing parameters and giving Gardella a challenge, he, and our fans, won't forget."
Photos Of Gary Gardella
Photos Of Kirby Chambliss
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