Vick’s Persistence Pays Off With Battle For The Belts Spot

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Steve Vick admitted there were times early this season where it crossed his mind that it might be best to skip an ADRL event to fix the problems in his Pro Nitrous car.But through all of the frustration, Vick stayed persistent in one of the ADRL’s deepest classes.It took a while to find the reward for that persistence, but it finally delivered at the perfect time.Vick did end up going to all 10 ADRL races this season and those participation points were enough to push him into eighth place in Pro Nitrous, making him the last car to get into the Speedtech “Battle For The Belts” field at Friday’s LenMar Motorsports ADRL World Finals at Texas Motorplex.“That’s part of all of this. Going to all the races means a lot,” Vick said. “It’s kind of the way I see racing. If you do it the best you can do it and do it right, there will be some type of reward.“Going to all of the races is part of it. We enjoy the ADRL and we’ve been dedicated to the ADRL the whole time. I’ve always been dedicated to the series I’m running and the ADRL is a great, family-type deal.”But Vick, a North Carolina native, nearly sat out his longest trip of the year to Topeka, KS for the Hardee’s Independence Drags.Part of it would have been to fix the nagging clutch issues that hindered his progress early in the 2010, but Vick was ultimately convinced to race in Topeka after a conversation with ADRL President and CEO Kenny Nowling.“Kenny said we had to come and he knew we wanted to come,” Vick said. “Obviously, I’m glad we did go and when we did qualify (for the ‘Battle For The Belts’), Kenny brought up that conversation.“We certainly like going to all of the races.”Even with Vick’s perseverance, it was a photo finish for his team to get into the top eight.As part of a record-setting field at Simpson Dragstock VII, Vick squeaked into the field on his last qualifying pass, running a 3.93 to qualify No. 15 in the quickest PN field in ADRL history.It was an impressive pass under pressure and it paid off, as Vick advanced to the semifinals.Two weeks later, Vick was among the numerous drivers who shuffled all over the points standings on a wild day at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, OH.Ultimately, after not qualifying for the Summit Racing Equipment Ohio Drags IV, Vick dropped out of the top eight. Moments later, though, he remembered the participation points he earned after attending every ADRL race and it was enough to move him back into the field, summing up an unbelievable day.“You’re just sitting there trying to look at every scenario,” Vick said. “We thought we were bumped out and then we got back in. It was crazy.”Vick now plans to make the most of his opportunity with a strong showing at the LenMar Motorsports ADRL World Finals VI.He’s also confident that will happen after solving his early-season riddles. Vick and his team swapped out the clutch in his ‘68 Camaro and the PN car quickly got back to where Vick had expected it all year.“I feel real good about things. The car has been getting better and better all the time,” Vick said. “At Norwalk we just made a mistakes, but I feel very good about things.“Whoever we’re racing, they better go down the track because I certainly plan on it. I don’t even look at who I’m racing anymore. That’s the biggest mistake I used to make. We have a competitive car and if we go down the track well, we’re going to go rounds.”Vick admitted there’s a little more tension and intensity in the air with all that is on the line at the World Finals.But it doesn’t appear as though it will bother Vick, who has been in must-win mode for months.“We’ve always been fairly fortunate in the points. We’ve never won the title, but we’ve been real close,” Vick said.Vick hopes his persistence pays off with a title this time.(Photos by ADRL/Richards)

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