The last time Chris King was on track in his Howard Cams/Competition Products Dodge Funny Car he was qualifying for the Toyota U.S. Nationals, the biggest drag race in the country. This week at the NHRA Texas Fall Nationals and the Stampede of Speed King was once again battling to qualify in one of the toughest fields. The fourth race of the NHRA Playoffs featured 19 Funny cars vying for 16 spots. After four qualifying sessions King came up just short of making the field but closer to building a successful Funny Car team.
“We overcame a lot this weekend just to make four qualifying runs,” said King. “Throughout the qualifying rounds we were battling some issues. Every run we made some tweaks, but we were chasing some gremlins. I am very proud of this team and how we got our Funny Car up and running for every session.”
Coming into the race King was a part of numerous pre-race events. He was one of the driver guests at the Champions’ Dinner on Wednesday night to celebrate the 2023 Mission Foods Drag Race Series. King took advantage of his first trip to Texas Motorplex and Stampede of Speed hospitality. On Thursday night he was one of nearly 60 professional drivers spending time with fans at the Pre-Stage Fan Fest in downtown Waxahachie.
“Being able to experience the Stampede of Speed was amazing,” said King. “We would have loved to have been racing on Sunday for all our sponsors but the whole event was a great opportunity to talk with fans for nearly a week. This weekend at the track was busy and we are just working through some issues on our Funny Car. We are going to go back to the shop and look at what we can do to get better for 2025.”
This weekend King added HEAT (Hydraulic Energy Applications and Technology) to his Competition Products/Howards Cams Funny Car as an associate sponsor. HEAT, with headquarters in Itasca, Illinois, provides hydraulic services to the Midwest area. They specialize in both goods and services in the industrial fluid power industry. Owned by Robert Rhode HEAT is a small family company that provides custom solutions and answers to complicated industry problems.
“I want to thank everyone at HEAT who backed us this weekend,” said King. “Everyone who supports us is so critical to our success. This weekend was great for exposure and we will continue to build this program to get better every race.
This story was originally published on October 14, 2024. 
