Matt Rose Racing Wins Super Comp Shootout at Heartland Park

The Rose Racing team built a 1972 Plymouth Duster dragster to race in the Stock Eliminator division.

Matt Rose won the Super Comp Shootout in his 2006 Undercover dragster, backed by K&N Filters, at the National Open at Heartland Park in Topeka, Kansas. He had to overcome a faulty water pump that caused his car to overheat before the final. After a quick repair, Rose drove his K&N Filters dragster to the shootout championship.

The Rose Racing team took its new 1972 Plymouth Duster to Heartland Park in Topeka, Kansas, for the 2016 National Open.

“The water pump wasn’t working,” said Matt Rose, who drives one of three cars for the Rose Racing team, which uses K&N air and oil filters in its cars. “The car was overheating. We got that problem fixed. Thankfully, our competitor waited for me. It was nice of him to do that for the finals. I got a better light than the other guy.”

Matt won his first two rounds when his opponents crossed the starting line too soon and were eliminated for red light violations. Matt won his third-round race and advanced to the semifinals. He won his semifinal race despite having a slower reaction time. His car started overheating after the semifinal race and his team worked furiously to fix the problem. A wire was severed on the water pump. His team had to fuse the wire back together for the water pump to work properly. It took about 30 minutes to repair the pump and it cost Matt lane choice for the final race.

“He asked if he waited for me if I would give him lane of choice,” Matt Rose said. “I said yeah, absolutely, take the lane you want. That’s drag racing. Most people out here are pretty good folks. It was just one of those races where we both thought the other guy was holding up and let the other guy take the finish line and I just ended up taking it. Fortunately both of us were a little slow. It worked out to my advantage.

After winning the Super Comp Shootout final he lost in the first round of the National Open eliminations the following day. He said winning the shootout was a great way to build confidence. “I know what I got to do when I get out there,” he said. “The other guy is going to have to be that much better to beat me. I have a good feeling. At the same time, I don’t want to be overconfident either.”

Chuck Rose drove the team’s new 1972 Plymouth Duster in the Stock Eliminator division at the National Open portion of the event. He made two test runs and qualified the new car 27 out of 50 cars that were entered in the event. Chuck lost his first-round race in eliminations.

Chuck Rose drives the Rose Racing 1972 Plymouth Duster in the Stock Eliminator races. He lost in the first round at the National Open at Heartland Park in Topeka, Kansas.

“I was getting faster every pass,” Chuck Rose said. “It was a pleasure to drive. First time out it went straight down the track. In the first round I made a mistake. I was ahead and I let up. I had a better reaction time than him too. I thought I was far enough ahead but I wasn’t.”

Chuck sold his 1971 Dodge Challenger that he raced in the Super Gas division. He said the new car is easier to maintain and easier for him to drive in competition. The team returned to Heartland Park in Topeka for the Kansas Nationals, an NHRA sanctioned event, from May 20-22.

“My expectation is to win whole thing,” Matt Rose said. “At the same time I am going to go out there and race my race and do the best I can. A lot of things are out of our control to some degree when it comes to that. It’s nice to win our first race of the year. It gives us a lot of confidence going into the season.”

Matt Rose said having the K&N products in his cars are great. The oil and air filters are critical components, especially in super class racing. The filters offer stability when preparing the cars for races. “It’s one less thing we have to worry about, having quality products likes that,” he said.