Jenkins Remains Competitive As Ever In Pro Nitrous

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The competitor in Shannon Jenkins didn’t want to be talking about someone else winning a World Championship in Pro Nitrous.The teammate and friend in the racing legend was at least pleased that it was someone close to him that ended up winning.But the competitor in him seemed to be winning the battle of emotions, even as he congratulated Al-Anabi Racing teammate Burton Auxier’s first world title in the ADRL at the LenMar Motorsports ADRL World Finals VI. “It was a great win for Burton. Of course we wanted to win, but it was a great day for Burton and Al-Anabi,” Jenkins said. “He’s a good friend and it was just a good team win.”Jenkins didn’t say it through gritted teeth, but it didn’t take a face reader to see that Jenkins wanted to be the Al-Anabi Racing driver celebrating.Auxier went 3.89 in the finals to beat his teammate and friend in the finals, and then went out of his way to heap praise on Jenkins.As he celebrated with friends, family and teammates, Auxier constantly came back to Jenkins, crediting him with everything from tuning a car that had struggled just a month ago to even keeping him in the racing game years ago.As Jenkins worked diligently on his PN car in Ennis, Texas, he smiled briefly at Auxier’s glowing words.But frustration soon crept back to Jenkins’ face, as his own car never quite found a groove at Texas Motorplex that could have ended him celebrating in grand fashion.“All day I struggled with the car. We were out there all day trying to figure it out,” Jenkins said. “It was all little things, but little things make for big problems.”It was the one blip in another remarkable year for the “Iceman.”He picked up two wins during the 2010 year - at the Speedtech U.S. Drags III in May and the Hardee’s Gateway Drags III in August - and finished second in the points standings behind Rickie Smith.Minus a small hiccup in Houston in July where he scraped the wall, Jenkins was arguably the most consistent driver in what could have been the ADRL’s deepest class.But Jenkins will look back on that as long as he will rest on his Speedtech “Battle For The Belts” disappointment.In other words, Jenkins, who said in St. Louis that he “lives and breathes” racing, already has his mind on what’s next.His immediate future is a trip to Qatar to race in Pro Nitrous of the Arabian Drag Racing League.As expected, Jenkins is ready to represent Al-Anabi Racing on its home turf.“I can’t wait for it,” Jenkins said. “I can race all year.”The racing in the near future will be done in a new PN car, which is nearing the final stages at RJ Race Cars.That’s just as exciting for Jenkins, who already has plans for breaking the car in.“We’ve got some good info and we’re going to try a lot of different things,” Jenkins said. ““It’s good to have the knowledge around. We’ve got a lot of people looking at the car.“It’s a new car and we’re really excited about it. We’ve already put a lot into this car. It’s going to be very tough. There’s a lot of good teams out there.”With the Al-Anabi Racing backing and Jenkins’ obvious driving talents, he will certainly be one of the favorites heading into the 2011 season.Make no mistake about it, either: Jenkins will remain as hungry as anyone in 2011, hoping he’ll be talking about his own championship next October.“We’re still going to come out and try to kick someone’s butt,” Jenkins said. (Photos by ADRL/Richards)

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