Championship Drag Racing

O'Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals
Madison, IL
(May 4-6)

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Driver Profile

Tom Hammonds Tom Hammonds Enterprises Chevy Cobalt

St. Louis, prerace: Pro Stock driver Tom Hammonds has made it to three eliminations rounds out of four races this year and currently sits in 20th place, up two spots from last week, maintaining 73 points as he heads into the 11th annual O'Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals at Gateway International Raceway in Madison, Ill., this weekend.

"Getting points to move up in ranking is important," Hammonds said. "But, what is most important is qualifying in a better spot for elimination Sunday to ensure you are in a position to earn points."

In last week's race, Hammonds qualified for elimination Sunday in last place, which automatically set him up to run against the first place spot who happened to be three-time Pro Stock world champion Greg Anderson. Racing against Anderson is like racing against speed that is out of this world, according to Hammonds, but he feels his Chevy Cobalt is up to the challenge this weekend should it arise.

"We were able to do some test runs to work on techniques and do some different things to the engine to get the car to the 330 (foot marker) quicker. We have to apply what we have learned, qualify higher, and come up with a win."

The Cobalt proves to have a good a baseline. Because of this, he must be on top of his shift points to ensure he advances with ease through the qualifying rounds. He believes running in back-to back races allows him to keep his competitive edge. Having run this track a number of years, this weekend's race is early in the schedule, which he also considers a factor in having a competitive edge.  

"As a competitor, I believe that we can win the series as we continue to improve, but it will be very tough to do this year. I do believe that we have a good chance to win a race this year," he said.

Hammonds is aiming for that win this weekend.   

Racing since the age of 16, Hammonds has won 15 Nationals Muscle Car Association events and reached the final round of three NHRA events. Having sat out of racing competition for three years, the Chevy-backed driver feels he has a good chance of winning the series this season.

Drafted ninth overall in the 1989 NBA draft, Hammonds enjoyed his career with the Washington, Denver, Charlotte, and Minnesota, where he completed his career. Before his illustrious NBA career, he played college basketball at Georgia Tech. His jersey was retired after leaving school the fourth all time leading scorer.

The Crestview, Fla. native was inducted into the All Sports Association Hall of Fame of Fort Walton Beach, Fla., in March 2007.

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