Driving the Randy Meyer Racing (RMR) Nitro Funny Car with support from Lucas Oil, Right Trailers, Waterman, NGK, and Gunk, Julie Nataas qualified No. 3 and made a semifinal appearance in her first Funny Car Chaos event at the Texas Motorplex located just outside Dallas.
Nataas landed her No. 3 spot with a 3.60-second pass at 221 mph after a quick pedal during her final qualifying attempt on Saturday. Matched up against Keith Simmerer in the A-Field, Nataas would take the first-round win with a 3.68-second run at 218 mph after another pedal job.
In the semifinals, Nataas would go for a wild ride pedaling the RMR Funny Car before it took a hard turn to the left bringing Nataas’s weekend to an end against the “War Wagon” Funny Car driven by Kebin Kinsley. Kinsley would go onto win the event.
“Funny Car Chaos this year is a complete 360 for us from where we were at with the car last year. We made it down the track and won our first round in a Funny Car. We had some issues with shaking the tires, so I got to really drive and pedal this thing quite a bit. It was a learning experience,” Nataas said. “In the semifinals Randy had the car tuned up more than ever to run against the War Wagon because we needed every bit of horsepower to beat him. We hit another tire shake, I pedaled it, and it took a hard left over into the other lane. I never saw the other car, so I really thought I was going to hit him but thank god I didn’t.
“It was just another learning experience for me as a driver and for the tuner. I understand why, what, and how it happened,” Nataas continued. “I’m glad we still have a race car at the end of the day, and we can go home to work on what to do next. I’m ready for more Funny Car.”
Switching back into the seat of the RMR Oslo Tapet & Gulvbelegg (OTG) Top Alcohol Dragster, Nataas will be back in competition at the Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals at the newly named In-N-Out Burger Pomona Drag Strip in Pomona, California March 30-April 02.
