onefrombills
03-25-2009, 07:02 PM
NHRA Drivers to Compete at USBC Open Championships
Las Vegas, Nev. - 3/25/2009
By: Matt Cannizzaro - USBC Communications
Next week, 15 National Hot Rod Association stars will step out of the fast lane and onto the bowling lanes as they compete in the 2009 United States Bowling Congress Open Championships.
The drivers will be in Las Vegas for the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals being held at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway from April 2-5, but welcomed the opportunity to experience the world's largest participatory sporting event. They will test their bowling skills against the 17,200 teams that will take to the lanes during the 154-day run of the USBC Open Championships.
The group will be split into three teams, provided with custom-drilled bowling balls and treated to the full Open Championships experience from the scale room to the squad room to the traditional march down Center Aisle. They will hit the lanes on Thursday, April 2 at 2:30 p.m.
The first team is the NHRA Floppers and will include Funny Car drivers Robert Hight, Del Worsham, Jeff Arend, Jack Beckman and Matt Hagan, while their companion team, the NHRA Eliminators, will be comprised of Top Fuel's Morgan Lucas, Shawn Langdon, Spencer Massey, Rod Fuller and legendary crew chief Chuck Worsham.
The third team, the NHRA Holeshots, will include Pro Stock stars Tom Hammonds, Allen Johnson, Greg Anderson, Jason Line and Jason Gray.
"I used to bowl on a junior league when I was a kid," said Hight, whose high game is 279. "We lived across the street from a bowling center. I bowled in high school and right up to when I went racing. It is a lot like my other passion, trapshooting, since you have to be focused on every shot and be able to make minor adjustments from game to game. It's like what a crew chief does with changing track conditions."
Hight and Del Worsham actually have been to the Open Championships venue inside Cashman Center once already. The two traveled to Las Vegas in February to watch their friend, Professional Bowlers Association standout Danny Wiseman, on the ESPN-televised finals of the USBC Masters, where he finished second to first-time champion, John Nolen.
"Del introduced me to pro bowlers Danny Wiseman and Jim Tomek, and Danny was just named one of the 50 greatest bowlers in PBA history," Hight said. "He is a huge race fan, and now that I know him, I have attended several PBA tournaments. It is amazing what the pros can do with a bowling ball. Their lane conditions are constantly changing and they have to adjust. They are fun to watch, and having Danny point out what is going on, helps me understand what kind of focus it takes to win."
Construction on the Open Championships venue started on Dec. 15, and it took crews 45 days to finish the one-of-a-kind setting, which includes 60 lanes with state-of-the-art scoreboards, spectator seating, office and vendor space, a concessions area, scale room and squad room.
The Masters was conducted on the tournament lanes from Feb. 9-15, and the Open Championships kicked off the following weekend. The Open Championships will run from Feb. 21 until July 24, and more than 86,000 bowlers will make their way to the second-largest tournament in the event's 106-year history.
The SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals is the fifth stop on the 2009 Full Throttle Drag Racing Series schedule, and the NHRA's first of two trips to Las Vegas this year. They will be back in town from Oct. 29-Nov. 1 for the Las Vegas NHRA Nationals.
"I grew up watching my dad bowl, so I'm excited to bowl with him in Las Vegas," Del Worsham said. "We always loved drag racing together, and bowling is something else we love to do together, so it should be fun."
Presenting sponsors for the 2009 USBC Open Championships are the Coast Casinos in Las Vegas and the Eldorado Hotel Casino, Silver Legacy Resort Casino and Circus Circus in Reno, Nev. Other participating sponsors are Kegel, official lane maintenance provider; Brunswick, capital equipment supplier; Storm Products, Inc.; Binion's Gambling Hall and Hotel and Four Queens Hotel and Casino, the official brackets sponsors; Sapphire Gentleman's Club; Golden Nugget Hotel and Casino; MGM Mirage; Jerry's Nugget Casino and Fitzgerald's Casino and Hotel.
For more information on the USBC Open Championships, visit USBCopen.com.
Las Vegas, Nev. - 3/25/2009
By: Matt Cannizzaro - USBC Communications
Next week, 15 National Hot Rod Association stars will step out of the fast lane and onto the bowling lanes as they compete in the 2009 United States Bowling Congress Open Championships.
The drivers will be in Las Vegas for the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals being held at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway from April 2-5, but welcomed the opportunity to experience the world's largest participatory sporting event. They will test their bowling skills against the 17,200 teams that will take to the lanes during the 154-day run of the USBC Open Championships.
The group will be split into three teams, provided with custom-drilled bowling balls and treated to the full Open Championships experience from the scale room to the squad room to the traditional march down Center Aisle. They will hit the lanes on Thursday, April 2 at 2:30 p.m.
The first team is the NHRA Floppers and will include Funny Car drivers Robert Hight, Del Worsham, Jeff Arend, Jack Beckman and Matt Hagan, while their companion team, the NHRA Eliminators, will be comprised of Top Fuel's Morgan Lucas, Shawn Langdon, Spencer Massey, Rod Fuller and legendary crew chief Chuck Worsham.
The third team, the NHRA Holeshots, will include Pro Stock stars Tom Hammonds, Allen Johnson, Greg Anderson, Jason Line and Jason Gray.
"I used to bowl on a junior league when I was a kid," said Hight, whose high game is 279. "We lived across the street from a bowling center. I bowled in high school and right up to when I went racing. It is a lot like my other passion, trapshooting, since you have to be focused on every shot and be able to make minor adjustments from game to game. It's like what a crew chief does with changing track conditions."
Hight and Del Worsham actually have been to the Open Championships venue inside Cashman Center once already. The two traveled to Las Vegas in February to watch their friend, Professional Bowlers Association standout Danny Wiseman, on the ESPN-televised finals of the USBC Masters, where he finished second to first-time champion, John Nolen.
"Del introduced me to pro bowlers Danny Wiseman and Jim Tomek, and Danny was just named one of the 50 greatest bowlers in PBA history," Hight said. "He is a huge race fan, and now that I know him, I have attended several PBA tournaments. It is amazing what the pros can do with a bowling ball. Their lane conditions are constantly changing and they have to adjust. They are fun to watch, and having Danny point out what is going on, helps me understand what kind of focus it takes to win."
Construction on the Open Championships venue started on Dec. 15, and it took crews 45 days to finish the one-of-a-kind setting, which includes 60 lanes with state-of-the-art scoreboards, spectator seating, office and vendor space, a concessions area, scale room and squad room.
The Masters was conducted on the tournament lanes from Feb. 9-15, and the Open Championships kicked off the following weekend. The Open Championships will run from Feb. 21 until July 24, and more than 86,000 bowlers will make their way to the second-largest tournament in the event's 106-year history.
The SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals is the fifth stop on the 2009 Full Throttle Drag Racing Series schedule, and the NHRA's first of two trips to Las Vegas this year. They will be back in town from Oct. 29-Nov. 1 for the Las Vegas NHRA Nationals.
"I grew up watching my dad bowl, so I'm excited to bowl with him in Las Vegas," Del Worsham said. "We always loved drag racing together, and bowling is something else we love to do together, so it should be fun."
Presenting sponsors for the 2009 USBC Open Championships are the Coast Casinos in Las Vegas and the Eldorado Hotel Casino, Silver Legacy Resort Casino and Circus Circus in Reno, Nev. Other participating sponsors are Kegel, official lane maintenance provider; Brunswick, capital equipment supplier; Storm Products, Inc.; Binion's Gambling Hall and Hotel and Four Queens Hotel and Casino, the official brackets sponsors; Sapphire Gentleman's Club; Golden Nugget Hotel and Casino; MGM Mirage; Jerry's Nugget Casino and Fitzgerald's Casino and Hotel.
For more information on the USBC Open Championships, visit USBCopen.com.