Foley Lewis Racing Planning Eight-Race 2022 Top Fuel Campaign|

With the first of 2022 preseason testing just ii months away, Doug Foley and his Foley Lewis Racing team announced today their plans for the 2022 NHRA Mello Yello Series season. The Mooresville, North Carolina-based Meridian Fuel team will compete at 8 races, starting with the NHRA Arizona Nationals almost Phoenix in Feb.

First, Foley will make his licensing runs and bring together the stars of NHRA Top Fuel and Funny Auto during preseason testing at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park in Chandler, Ariz., January. 29-Feb. ane. It will be Foley's get-go time back in a Height Fuel seat since 2011, though he raced Top Alcohol Dragster in 2018.

Foley Lewis Racing returned to Acme Fuel with Todd Paton driving at the NTK NHRA Carolina Nationals near Charlotte in Oct.

"Back in June, all we had to go Peak Fuel racing was a saucepan of sockets," Foley said. "We put everything together over the course of a few months, and we didn't get out [the Charlotte race] with a list of a 1000000 things that nosotros needed to do. Information technology was an accomplishment in that sense. In our opinion, we were only a couple runs away from starting to build some momentum."

The Scott Gaddy-organized team went into the Carolina Nationals with the goal of making make clean runs with Paton driving and then everything would be sorted out for Foley to renew his license on Monday. The Foley Lewis Racing dragster made attempts in three of the four qualifying sessions, but none of them were quick enough to authorize in the sixteen-auto prove. A complete rainout on Sun meant Foley was unable to make his licensing runs on Monday.

Given the facts that the car had never been started prior to only a couple hours before the first qualifying session, and that most of the crew members were equally new to the team, Foley was content with how polish it went.

"Considering everything that had gone on and everything that could've gone wrong, it'southward a testament to Scott'south preparation for the event that we accomplished as much as we did," Foley said. "I really don't have any qualms almost how the actual race went. We didn't become there with expectations of any particular performance other than to go out there and go some laps on the car."

Foley spent the final couple months focusing on refining their function inventory and edifice a crew for the 2022 season. Foley is also working with longtime friend and business organization development advisor Guy Pierce to develop a robust sponsorship program to present to potential partners.

"We hope to add together more than viii races," Foley said. "To us, the deviation between viii and x races means nothing. It's how did we do at those eight races? Information technology's the quality of the programme. We're too going to exist working on the financial partnerships. It's important to us to provide value to the companies who make up one's mind to partner with us."

Along with the Arizona Nationals, Foley plans to attend the Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla., the 4-Wide Nationals in Concord, N.C., the Southern Nationals in Commerce, Ga., the Virginia Nationals in Dinwiddie, Va., and the Thunder Valley Nationals in Bristol, Tenn. The team will have a summer pause before continuing the season at the U.S. Nationals in Brownsburg, Ind., the NHRA Nationals in Mohnton, Pa., and the Carolina Nationals in Concord, N.C.

Foley admits he and racing partner Tim Lewis didn't ever accept intentions of going back to Top Fuel after they stopped fielding a auto in the form together in 2009. But the stars aligned, and Foley and Lewis are prepared to go all in on a competitive partial schedule.

"I think it'due south an opportunity for me and Tim to become out and prove that a small team can still be competitive," Foley said. "I remember the field lends to that. We don't have the fields we used to.Yeah, the NHRA at the tiptop is really, really skilful cars, but that's the style it e'er was. So for us, we experience similar if we run our race and focus on our guys and what nosotros have to offering, I recollect we tin can be competitive."

Foley Lewis Racing plans to announce a number of new partnerships over the offseason, including a major associate sponsor ahead of the Performance Racing Industry (PRI) Show in early Dec.