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CMKXtreme Machine --
Route 66 Pre-Race Report
May 18,
2004
Bill Walters Jeff Arend, driver
of the CMKXtreme Machine Corvette Funny Car, heads to the Windy City of Chicago
this weekend for the 7th annual NHRA Route 66 Nationals. With only 15 runs under
his belt with the new CMKX team, Arend will be looking to establish consistent
performance as he thunders down the Route 66 quarter-mile for the first time in
his career.  The
Route 66 Nationals is Arend's fifth start on the 2004 POWERade Drag Racing Series
tour. The 41-year-old Canadian native renewed his Funny Car license in Houston
with a spectacular 4.878 to qualify in the No. 3 position. The former NHRA Funny
Car national event champion moved on to the next event in Bristol and put the
CMKXtreme Machine into the show in the No. 15 spot. After struggling in Atlanta
and failing to qualify last weekend, Arend is eager to compete at the Route 66
Nationals and earn his first round win of the season."We've been working
hard to get everything we need to field a competitive car," said Arend as he prepared
for the Chicago event. "We spent Sunday in Atlanta moving all our equipment into
a new transporter and that will give us more room to work in and store parts.
I'm confident we'll be able to get a handle on things soon. We're a new team,
but I have a great sponsor in CMKX and a capable crew chief with Paul Smith, it
won't be long before we're giving these other guys a run for their money."On
Wednesday prior to the event, Arend will be visiting some of the patients at the
Shriners Hospitals for Children, Chicago. CMKX Diamonds founder and Chairman of
the Board, Urban Casavant, will also join the CMKXtreme Machine team at Route
66 Raceway. For more information on Jeff Arend and the CMKXtreme Machine team,
visit them on the Internet at www.cmkxtreme.com
or www.jeffarend.com. Arend
to visit Shriners Hospitals for Children, Chicago prior to Route 66 Nationals
NHRA POWERade Funny Car driver, Jeff Arend, will be
making a visit to the Shriners Hospitals for Children, Chicago, on Wednesday at
6 p.m., prior to competing at this weekend's Route 66 Nationals. Arend, a former
Funny Car national event champion, will be taking time to visit with some of the
children and their parents, distributing CMKXtreme Machine souvenirs and signing
autographs. "We want to try and help bring a little feeling of being at
the races to those who don't have a chance to make it out to Route 66 Raceway,"
said Arend. "The Shriners Hospitals for Children is a great organization and we
are extremely proud to represent both CMKX Diamonds and the NHRA."The Chicago
Shriners Hospital is a leading Midwest children's hospital providing high quality
pediatric orthopaedic surgery, plastic, reconstructive and craniofacial surgery
and spinal cord injury care. The 60-bed short-term facility provides quality medical
care with innovative education and research. The hospital is one of 22 Shriners
hospitals operating in the United States, Canada and Mexico. It is located at
2211 N. Oak Park Avenue, Chicago, four miles north of Eisenhower Expressway (I-290)
just east of Harlem Avenue.(PHOTO by BILL WALTERS)CONTACT:Bill
Walters
CMKXtreme Machine Racing
561-632-5713
plus320@aol.com
www.cmkxtreme.com |
