2008 Press Releases
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Improvement Continues for
Patriot Performance Pro Stock Team
6/23/08
After being out of the Pro Stock game for 3 years, Collins Racing is back with sponsorship by Patriot Performance – a high performance cylinder head manufacturer in Rainbow City, Alabama.
During the IHRA President’s Cup Nationals held this past weekend - June 13-15, 2008 - at Budd’s Creek, MD multi-national event winner Jason Collins, driver of the 2007 Patriot Performance Chevrolet Cobalt advanced his way into the final round of competition!
At the first two IHRA national events of the 08 season, it was a struggle for the team to make the field of 16 but they did manage to qualify at each event. Then at the Motor City Nationals - May 23-25, 2008 - held in Milan, MI things began to click; Collins qualified in the #9 position, but fell in the first round of eliminations to the #1 qualifier and eventual event winner Jeff Dobbins.
At Budd’s Creek, MD the Collins Racing team continued to improve and locked in the #5 qualifying position with Collins’ fastest time to date of a 6.389 at 219.79 mph., beating multi time IHRA Pro Stock World Champ Brian Gahm in round #1 with an astounding 0.018 light.
Collins continued to roll by taking out the IHRA Nitro Jam point’s leader and the #1 qualifier Jeff Dobbins in the 2nd round and moved right on to the Semi Finals with lane choice over the #7 qualifier and IHRA Spring Nationals Winner, Elijah Morton!
In the Semi Finals Collins had a big starting line advantage over Morton and the power to hold on for the hole shot win! This sent Collins to his fourth final round in his Pro Stock career!
The final round of the IHRA Pro Stock President’s Cup Nationals paired Collins against the #10 qualifier Frank Gugliotta. Collins had a slight starting line advantage with a 0.034 against Gugliottas 0.036, but Gugliotta made up the difference at the finish line for the win.
Jason Collins is the IHRA Pro Stock runner-up at the President’s Cup Nationals at Maryland International Dragway!
“My dad & crew chief Jack Collins, and the Collins Racing clutch man & sponsor Marty Witt have improved our performance enough that we are contenders! This is the type of race we needed to get some momentum for the rest of the season. Our performance has improved every race, and it was about time that I remembered how to get up on the wheel” said Jason Collins, driver of the 2007 Patriot Performance Chevrolet Cobalt.
The team has moved up into the top 10 in the 2008 IHRA Nitro Jam Points Series and feels that the 1st win of this season is just around the corner!
The Collins Racing team would like to thank Patriot Performance, Alabama Cylinder Head Exchange, Marty and Whitney Witt, and Jon Kasse Racing Engines. When you are looking for high performance at prices that won’t break the bank - look to Patriot Performance Cylinder Heads! They have big block to LS1 small block….. Chevy, Ford, Mopar and more…….
Look to Patriot Performance……”When It’s On The Line”!
This episode will air Saturday August 2, 2008 at 5pm Eastern on the SPEED Channel.
2009 Press Releases
Collins Racing set to test the Patriot Performance Cobalt at SGMP Feb 12/13, 2009!
With the 2009 race season just a couple of weeks away, the Collins Racing Team will head to South Georgia Motorsports Park to do a little T&T! SGMP will open their doors for testing
on February 12 & 13th, 2009.
2/6/09
Jason Collins, laying down the numbers
at South Georgia Motorsports Park!
Feb 12 & 13, 2009
Jason Collins and the Collins Racing Team were out at SGMP this week doing some pre-season testing on the Patriot Performance Pro Stock Cobalt.
After running a few great short times and clicking it off early, Collins stayed in for a full 1/4 mile pass and layed down some astounding numbers...
....60' - .958
330' - 2.664
1/8 mile- 4.062 @ 177.11
1/4 mile - 6.268 @ 222.77
Not only is this a MPH and an ET personal best for driver Jason Collins but it is also only one hundredth off of the current IHRA national 1/4 mile ET record of 6.25 and 1 MPH off of the MPH record of 223.95!
Collins Racing will continue "working out the bugs" at SGMP during tomorrow's test sesson, 2/13/09.
The Collins Racing team would like to thank sponsor Marty Witt, Patriot Performance & Alabama Cylinder Head Exchange for their continuing support.
When you are looking for high performance at prices that won’t break the bank - look to Patriot Performance Cylinder Heads! They have big block to LS1 small block….. Chevy, Ford, Mopar and more…….
Look to Patriot Performance……”When It’s On The Line”!
2/12/09
February 13, 2009........(taken from www.CompetitionPlus.com)
COLLINS FIRES EARLY PRO STOCK SHOT
Written by Bobby Bennett Jr.
Friday, 13 February 2009
Longtime mountain motor Pro Stock racer Jason Collins fired off an early testing shot Friday morning in Valdosta, Ga.
Collins drove his Chevrolet Cobalt to a 6.268, 222.77, which is one hundredth and one mile per hour off of the current record held by Frank Gugliotta.
His incrementals included a .958 - 60' - 2.664 330' and 4.062, 177.11 eighth-mile.
Collins confirmed the car is running in legal IHRA trim with minimal changes since last season.
PATRIOT PERFORMANCE--COLLINS RACING
Pro Stock Team Has One Wild Week!
3/9/09
This story begins on Tuesday March 3rd, 2009 as we roll out of Tuscaloosa, Alabama and head to Belle Rose, Louisiana for testing on Wednesday. We made 3 passes with a best E.T of 6.34 at 219 mph. Then on Thursday morning we made the short trip to Baton Rouge, Louisiana for the IHRA Mardi Gras Nationals. When we got to the track we find that the tongue on our trailer had cracked, so we spent all day Thursday repairing the tongue and getting thru tech.
On Friday we go out to make the 1st qualifying session and had traction issues. Before the 2nd qualifying round the crew made adjustment and we went out and laid down a pass of 6.294 at 222 mph. But we were the 2nd pair out so we were on pins and needles waiting by the scales to see if we would win “The Last Man Standing” award on Friday night. After all cars ran, the 6.29 E.T held up and the whole team was ecstatic!
We then did all of our clutch work, etc to be ready for the ADRL race in Houston, Texas. We left Baton Rouge at approximately 10pm, drove 4 hours to Houston - arriving at 2am. By the time we got parked and settled in it was 3am. Keep in mind that we had to be ready and on the track at 10am.
We are up at 7 am unloading the car and getting ready to run. We are all already dragging a little. We go up to make the 1st qualifying run and after the burn out notice the hiem joint on the wheelie bar is broken so we do not get to make a run at all. Now we are down to one shot with no information on the track. On the last qualifying session the car leaves good but when shifting into 3rd goes into tire shake and we end up qualifying last. From 1st in Baton Rouge to last in Houston what an emotional roller coaster!!
1st round we had to run Brian Gahm, the #1 qualifier. At the 330 ft mark we were over 2 hundredths ahead, and with the winner of this race getting the bye into the final everything looked good - until the transmission broke going into 4th gear. Gahm went by and so did the chance for a double victory weekend. Dejected we all went to work on the transmission, clutch, etc to get ready for round one at Baton Rouge. On a bright note, we remained #1 qualifier after all four rounds at the IHRA race. After loading up, the 4 hour journey back turned into a 5 hour one because of the time change. We arrived at Baton Rouge at 3:45am and got settled in by 4am.
The alarm goes off at 7am. Sleep is at a premium, we are all beat. But we get ready and win round one over Scott Hintz at 6.31 at 222 mph. The next round we get a much needed bye run and the car is on a super lap. We were 2.682 at the 330 foot mark when the transmission tears up once again. Thank goodness we were not racing anyone. In between rounds we have the transmission in a million pieces. No one has an answer for our problem. We replaced sprags, buttons, and shift pods, etc. and barely make the call for the semi finals….. Thanks to Carl Baker. In round 3 we ran Mark Martino, got a big hole shot and then the trans tears up again! Luckily Martino shook and we still won the round, what luck! Back in the pits we are at a loss of what to do to the transmission. We end up borrowing a transmission from Team Aruba. And on top of all this one of our clutch discs blew a chunk out. So we had to put in a new disc. Things were a mad house! We were all tired and just running solely on adrenaline at this point. We make the call to the finals with no time to spare and we take the win from John Montecalvo by one hundredth of a second!
Our team put in immense effort at both races! It just goes to show how you can go from Hero to Zero to Hero in just that fast.
Thanks to Patriot Performance, Jon Kaase Racing Engines, Team Aruba, Mom and Dad, and the Collins Racing Crew..…Marty, Fred and Steve. They deserve this victory! Hard work and perseverance paid off!
It’s a great way to start the season, we will try and keep the ball rolling. But first we have to catch some much needed Zzzzz’s.
We also want to thank the IHRA and ADRL for allowing us to run both events and giving us the opportunity to take home two victories, but hey one out of two isn’t bad.
(3/19/09)
Taken from IHRA.com...)
What a week for Elite Motorsports Pro Stock driver Jason Collins.
From the highest of highs to the lowest of lows, Collins had everything but the kitchen sink thrown his way at the season opening IHRA Summit Racing Equipment Mardi Gras Nationals earlier this month. But at the end of the day Collins was able to push past the obstacles and turn a potentially disappointing weekend into a big victory for the Patriot Performance team as he claimed his first Ironman since 2003 while taking the early points lead after one race on the 2009 IHRA Nitro Jam Tour.
Collins’ saga began on March 3 as the team rolled out of Tuscaloosa, Alabama on its way to Belle Rose, Louisiana for testing the following day. Collins turned in some pretty solid numbers during the session, giving him plenty of confidence as the team packed up and headed south for the short trip to Baton Rouge for the IHRA Summit Racing Equipment Mardi Gras Nationals.
And that is where his turbulent weekend began.
Upon pulling into the track the team found that the tongue of the trailer had cracked, leaving the crew to spend the rest of the day on Thursday trying to repair the tongue and get through tech. Once the trailer was repaired, the Patriot Performance team went to work on fine tuning the car for race day.
Friday’s qualifying sessions produced another set of highs and lows for the Alabama native as his first run of the weekend was scrapped due to traction issues.
But the car troubles didn’t keep Collins down for long as he followed up his disappointing first run with a pass of 6.294 at 222 miles per hour in his second run, good enough to take the top qualifying spot and grab the Last Man Standing award given to the top E.T. during Friday’s qualifying sessions.
“We were the second pair out so we were on pins and needles waiting by the scales to see if we would win the Last Man Standing,” Collins said. “After all the cars ran, the 6.29 held up and the whole team was ecstatic.”
Then the real fun began.
Holding down the No. 1 qualifying spot after two rounds in Baton Rouge, Collins and his team packed up and headed west for another race the following day. After a nearly four hour trip, Collins unloaded and immediately ran into his next obstacle of the weekend – the transmission.
Transmission troubles resulted in a disappointing last place finish for Collins on Saturday as the team packed up and headed back to Baton Rouge for championship Sunday.
“From first to last in two days, it was an emotional roller coaster,” Collins noted.
Despite Saturday’s frustration, Collins received a bit of a consolation as he discovered his 6.294 pass on Friday held up the rest of weekend and he remained the No. 1 qualifier heading into Sunday’s eliminations.
Collins pulled back into the State Capitol Raceway lot around 4 a.m. and the team immediately went to work on the transmission and clutch problems that plagued him the day before.
After a short night, Collins and his team hit the track again early Sunday morning and found that the problems had been fixed – at least temporarily – as Collins edged Scott Hintz at the line in round one with a 6.31 second pass at 222 mph.
But in the second round transmission troubles once again found the team as Collins’ car broke midway through his bye run.
“The next round we got a much needed bye run and the car was on a super lap. We were at 2.682 at the 330 foot mark when the transmission tears up again,” Collins said. “Thank goodness we were not racing anyone.”
Between rounds Collins’ team tore the transmission down and found little in the way of answers.
“We had the transmission in a million pieces. No one had any answer for our problems,” Collins said. “We replaced sprags, buttons, shift pods – everything – and we barely made the call for the semi-finals.”
In the semi-final round Collins found enough to get a hole shot win over Mark Martino, but again the transmission sputtered at the end of the run.
With no answers heading into the finals against John Montecalvo, the Patriot Performance team received a big break when Team Aruba lent a transmission and Collins and his crew made it work, edging Montecalvo by one hundredth of a second at the line to take the win.
“Things were a mad house. We were all tired and running solely on adrenaline at that point,” Collins said. “We made the call to the finals with no time to spare and we took the win.
“Our team put in an immense effort. It just goes to show how you can go from hero to zero in just that fast.”
After a great start to the season, Collins will try to put his wild weekend behind him and carry the momentum into Rockingham for next month’s 38th annual Spring Nationals.
“Thanks to Patriot Performances, Jon Kaase Racing Engines, Team Aruba, mom and dad and the Collins Racing Crew – they deserve this victory,” Collins said. “It is a great way to start the season and we will try to keep the ball rolling.”
3/19/09
Collins - Lead Story on www.IHRA.com
March 19, 2009
Elite Motorsports Pro Stock driver Jason Collins celebrates his win
at the IHRA Summit Racing Equipment Mardi Gras Nationals
"Wild week nets race win, early points lead for Elite Motorsports Pro Stock driver Jason Collins"
Jason Collins
WINS IHRA's 1st National Event of 2009!
Collins Racing
A family tradition........
