RJ Race Cars, Quartermax Enjoying Highly Successful ADRL Season In 2012

It continues to be a standout year for RJ Race Cars and Quartermax during the 2012 American Drag Racing League (ADRL) season and the latest example of that came during the recent Dragstock IX at zMAX Dragway.

Thanks to wins by Shannon Jenkins in Pro Nitrous and Brad Brand in Mickey Thompson Extreme 10.5, the total number of winning cars in the ADRL built by RJ Race Cars moved to 11.

In just the company’s second year working with ADRL customers in the Pro Nitrous and Aeromotive Fuel Systems Pro Modified ranks, RJ Race Cars has quickly proven to be an industry leader.

After Jenkins’ win in a 2012 Camaro, RJ Race Cars has had seven victories from a 2012 Camaro in the Pro Nitrous or Pro Modified classes.

“I truly love the Pro Nitrous cars and racing them has been really cool,” RJ Race Cars and Quartermax President Rick Jones said. “But we have a lot of interest in all of the ADRL classes, too.

“These Nitrous cars are extremely difficult to get down the track. It’s been a challenge, but it’s been a lot of fun. If we race the cars we build, we can understand more and build a better race car. It’s been a lot of fun and we really like it.”

Thanks to some rigorous testing and a meticulous attention to detail, the 2012 Camaro from RJ Race Cars has already had incredible success in a variety of classes. It is the choice of Mike Castellana, the 2011 world champion in Pro Nitrous who has four 2012 wins and is the points leader in Pro Modified, Jenkins and Rickie Jones, the son of Rick Jones and the winner of two events in Pro Nitrous.

Extreme Pro Stock drivers John Montecalvo and Pete Berner have also impressed in 2012 Camaros, while a new 2012 Camaro is now available for Top Sportsman racers as well.

“That car has been great. Everything happened very quickly and to see it turn out the way I envisioned it and to have it winning races, it’s been great,” Jones said. “It’s a really, really good race car and it looks like a real Camaro. We worked real hard to make it look like a real Camaro and it’s exciting to see something new out there.”

Driving an eye-catching Mustang, Brand has won twice in Extreme 10.5, while other ADRL victors driving cars from RJ Race Cars include John Pluchino in Extreme Pro Stock and Bruce Thrift in Top Sportsman.

Pro Nitrous driver Pat Stoken has advanced to a final, with the total body of work exemplifying RJ Race Cars’ commitment to excellence out of its 30,000 square foot facility in Galesburg, Ill.

“Last year was definitely a learning year, but we learned a lot,” Jones said. “We’ve tried a lot of new stuff and developed a lot of new stuff. All the guys are constantly working to make things better, and they all do a great job.”

Of course, one of the top moments for Jones was watching his son, Rickie, win for the first time in his professional career.

Rickie Jones started the 2012 season with back-to-back wins and he is currently in second in the Pro Nitrous points race.

“That was the best time of my life to see him win,” Jones said. “To come out the first race and win, I was very proud. I was just happy for him. He’s done a great job this year.”

For more information on RJ Race Cars and Quartermax, visit www.rjracecars.com or call (877) 702-7575.

The Memphis Drags III at Memphis International Raceway is the eighth stop on the 10-race 2012 ADRL Tour and takes place on Sept. 7-8. For ticket information, visit www.adrl.us/tickets.

(Photos by ADRL/Richards)