Reigning world Super Gas champion Mia Tedesco begins defense of D3 title

INDIANAPOLIS (April 26) -- Mia Tedesco made history last year when she became the first woman in 65 years of organized drag racing to claim the Super Gas world championship. A big part of that accomplishment was the work she did in Division 3, where she also won the 2016 title.

For that reason, and many others, this weekend's Division 3 opener at Lucas Oil Raceway in Indianapolis is a race where the 23-year-old Tedesco really hopes to shine. In addition to Super Gas, Tedesco will be competing in Top Alcohol Dragster, where she is the defending North Central Region champion.

"We're really looking for a big weekend," said Tedesco, who hails from Pittsburgh, Pa. "Both cars are running well. We're coming off a runner-up finish in Top Alcohol Dragster down at the Houston national event so that car is good to go. The (Super Gas) Cavalier has been good too, we're just haven’t been on the right side of some super-close races.

"Whenever you're at a home race within your division, especially the first one of the season, you want to have a big weekend to get everything off to a good start. I'm excited for this race."

Tedesco has won Indy in the past, albeit under some dubious circumstances she'd rather not repeat this time through in her CARS Vehicle Service Contracts/Schepel Motors/NGK/Lucas Oil Top Alcohol dragster and CARS Vehicle Service Contracts /VP Racing Fuels Super Gas Chevrolet Cavalier.

"Two years ago we were here and I crashed the Cavalier pretty hard," Tedesco said. "But I climbed out of the car, went and got in the dragster and ended up winning the race, so it was the best of both worlds that weekend. We got a big regional event win but did about $75,000 worth of damage to the Super Gas car."

To make sure she gets the most out if this visit to the Racing Capital of the World, Tedesco and crew chiefs Dave Hirata (Top Alcohol Dragster) and Jason Lynch (Super Gas) plan to get some testing in prior to the race.

"They are opening the track up Thursday for a test and tune and I think we'll take advantage of that time and make some passes," Tedesco said. "That’s how important this race is for us. We're halfway through spring and heading to summer and it's time to make sure we're getting the most out of both cars."

Thursday's open test and tune runs from 12-8 p.m. Time trials and qualifying action in Super Gas will take place from 9 a.m.-6 p.m., Friday, with the first TAD qualifying session slated for 4 p.m., Friday. Super Gas qualifying concludes between 8 a.m.-noon, Saturday, with the first round of eliminations scheduled for 6 p.m., Saturday. TAD qualifying concludes with two more rounds at 1 and 5 p.m., Saturday. Super Gas eliminations continue at 8:30 a.m. Sunday, with TAD eliminations starting at noon.

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Runner-up finish in Top Alcohol Dragster helps Mia Tedesco warm up to Houston

HOUSTON (April 23) -- Mia Tedesco made a name for herself last year by becoming the first female driver in class history to win a world title in Super Gas. But "Miss Mia" also is a talented Top Alcohol Dragster driver, as witnessed by her impressive runner-up finish Sunday at the 30th annual NHRA Spring Nationals.

"Coming in with a new car this year and figuring out the bugs, if they had told me we'd go to a final this early in the season I would have taken that in a heartbeat," Tedesco said. "We are very pleased, especially after making the quickest and fastest pass we've ever had in this particular car. It was just a great weekend. Only one person is happier than we are at this point, and that's Joey (Severence)."

Severance simply had the better racecar this weekend. With the trophy on the line, the event's top qualifier beat No. 2 qualifier Tedesco with a stout 5.203 at 275.39 mph to Tedesco's 5.445 at 264.70 mph.

"Joey made a fantastic run just now that would have been hard to beat under any circumstances," Tedesco said. "After the pedalfest against Megan (Meyer) in the semifinals so we knew we had to back it down a little bit to try to get from A-to-B and take a shot at beating Severence. It was hard to get everything together in time for the finals but we did and we ended up having a good race. He was just too much for us today."

Tedesco started strong in the first round of eliminations Saturday night, easily beating 15th-ranked qualifier Karl Brounkowski with a 5.368 at 267.37 mph to Brounkowski's 5.619 at 241.41 mph.

An overnight cooling trend allowed for Tedesco's CARS Vehicle Service Contracts/Schepel Motors/NGK/Lucas Oil race team to tune up her dragster even more and she responded with a streaking 5.218 at 272.61 mph to beat Alan Bradshaw, who shutoff early and drifted to a 7.284 at 150.85 mph.

"Conditions were really good that round," Tedesco said. "The track also was really good. I heard some of the Top Fuel and Funny Car making record-setting runs so we knew we could go for it. We ended up making the best run on this car since we've had it so we were super pleased with that."

The semifinal wasn't as pretty, but it was definitely entertaining as both Tedesco and Megan Meyer lost traction during the race and had to fight it out to see who could gain control. In the end, it was Tedesco getting to the finish line first with a 6.786 at 257.09 mph to Meyer's 6.912 at 258.81 mph.

"As things got hotter, the track started going away and that race against Megan was just a lot of fun," Tedesco said. "We had stepped it up a little because she'd been running fantastic all weekend and I guess they did too because we both smoked the tires. Being in a fight like that and coming out on top was really awesome, especially since we are so close.

"We're just trying to get better and better every week. We're already excited about going to Indy next week. I'll be running Super Gas and Top Alcohol Dragster there too so we'll stay busy."

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Reigning Super Gas world champ Mia Tedesco honed in on Houston success

HOUSTON (April 19) -- Two years ago, reigning Super Gas world champion Mia Tedesco reinforced her true love for drag racing at the annual NHRA Spring Nationals. Now, with a return to Royal Purple Raceway directly ahead, Tedesco hopes to gain even more love for the Southeast Texas speedplant in the Houston suburb of Baytown.

"I've only been to this track once but it was a really cool weekend because of what happened," said Tedesco, who hails from Pittsburgh, Pa. "Jason (Lynch, crew chief and teammate) was racing Super Gas that weekend and he made it to the third round when his engine blew. We had about 45 minutes before the next round and none of us knew if we could make it back in time.

"I called the guys over from the (Top Alcohol) dragster team and a bunch of our friends and fellow racers saw what had happened and jumped in to help. We all worked together and swapped out that motor faster than I've ever seen before and we had Jason back for the next round. It was just so cool to see everyone help like they did."

Although Lynch couldn't complete the fairytale and win the race, the show of incredible sportsmanship lifted Tedesco and crew. It's something she immediately vowed to uphold should the need every arise among any of her fellow racers.

"It's what drag racing is all about: try to beat each other's brains out on the track but be friends back in the pits," she said. "We're always going to help where we can, even if you're helping the team you're scheduled to run next round. It's always more satisfying to beat people on the track then run a solo pass because they can't answer the call."

As usual, Tedesco will race for two titles at the Houston race, piloting the CARS Vehicle Service Contracts/Schepel Motors/NGK/Lucas Oil dragster in Top Alcohol and the CARS Vehicle Service Contracts /VP Racing Fuels Chevrolet Cavalier in Super Gas.

"We've already run a few NHRA races and we just got done with back-to-back bracket races so we're making a lot of passes," Tedesco said. "So far we haven't registered a win but there's nothing wrong with the cars. Everything is working well and my driving has been pretty good. We just need to get ourselves on the other side of some of these races that are decided by a few fractions of a second.

"I already have a great memory from Houston. Let's make some more this weekend."

Top Alcohol will hold three qualifying rounds at noon and 3 p.m., Friday, and 12:15 p.m., Saturday before beginning eliminations at 6 p.m., Saturday. If he advances, Laughlin will continue eliminations at 12:30 p.m., Sunday. Sportsman qualifying begins at 8 a.m., Friday. (All times listed in CDT).

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