Trending upward, Brogdon can't wait to get to Ohio for NHRA weekend

After some early season hiccups, Rodger Brogdon's MAVTV Pontiac GXP has roared to life over the past few races, and the tall Texan hopes that positive trend continues at this weekend's Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals.

"With the strides we have made on the car over the last few weeks, we are all excited to get to Norwalk and show what we have." Brogdon said. "This weekend we have a real chance to solidify our position in the points as we get ready for the Western Swing. The Countdown is just six events away, so the push to stay in the top 10 starts now for sure."

Qualifying is usually a good indicator of just how well a Pro Stock car is performing. Early in the season, Brogdon qualified in the bottom half of the field in five of the first seven races. After making some major strides, Brogdon has landed in the top eight in qualifying four straight races and improved over his previous qualifying effort in three straight races (eighth in Englishtown, sixth in Bristol and fifth in Chicago).

The next step is to turn the Friday and Saturday runs into winning runs on Sundays. Brogdon knows the team doesn’t have much room to stub its toe.

"Unfortunately we just had a miscommunication before that last run in Chicago," he said. "But that is behind us now and we are focused on getting the job done in Norwalk. The car was really good and really fast. Hopefully we will get the same kind of reaction out of our MAVTV Pontiac GXP this weekend."

Brogdon has been hovering around the eighth spot in the points for most of the season, and it's where he sits now. Summit Motorsports Park has a reputation for being a Pro Stock-friendly track, and Brogdon is looking to make a splash in Ohio.

"Last year we were the No. 2 qualifier at Norwalk, but we didn't get the results on Sunday that we wanted, or felt like we deserved," Brogdon said. "We lost on a hole shot in the quarterfinals and that was tough. This year we hope to repeat our success in qualifying and then win more rounds on Sunday."

Biggest part of Brogdon's weekend was honoring Tennessee soldiers

NHRA Pro Stock driver Roger Brogdon was consistent all weekend, but in the end it was not enough to get him past the first round of eliminations on Father's Day.

"We just came up a little short," Brogdon said. "Until I learn how to drive, we ain't gonna beat nobody. We made five good runs, but just came up a little short."

The driver of the MAVTV/Lucas Oil Pontiac GXP made five runs all within a few thousandths of a second of each other – 6.712, 6.678, 6.689, and 6.688, respectively, in qualifying, but it wasn't enough for the sixth seed at the Ford NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals on Sunday at Bristol Dragway.

In what was the best race of the opening round, Brogdon was fastest off the start and made his pass in 6.682 seconds at 205.91 mph, but fell to Erica Enders, who made her run in 6.670 seconds at 206.51 mph.

"The guys did a good job with my car, but it just didn’t work out," Brogdon said.

But despite the early round loss, Brogdon had a good weekend in the car and at the track with the Hot Rod for Heroes program. All weekend, Brogdon carried nine photographs, taped to the dash inside his Pontiac, of Eastern Tennessee soldiers killed in combat.

"That was great," Brogdon said about having the Hot Rod for Heroes program with him at Bristol. "I was just real glad I was able to entertain all those people. It is such a great organization and what they are doing is amazing. I am always happy to be included in stuff like this."

Because of his solid runs, Brogdon will pack it up and get ready to head to Chicago for the O'Reilly Auto Parts Route 66 NHRA Nationals, June 28-July 1, at Route 66 Raceway.

"We don’t have a whole lot to test right now," Brogdon said. "The cars are making good runs. (The crew) is going to stay and work on some tires and stuff. But, we are just going to keep doing what we are doing until they give us something else to work on."