Qualifying in Houston.
Big Crowds in Houston.
Completing a Burnout.
Jason Line goes red in Round 2.
The Thrill of Victory.
The Celebration Begins.
The Winner's Circle.
The Mitsos and Nobile Families Celebrate.
Priceless!
Sunday in Review.
The Mountain View Tire 2011.
Preparing to launch in qualifying at Pomona.
About to be towed to the staging lanes.
Vincent in the staging lanes at Pomona.
Vincent and Allan Johnson complete their burnout.
The scoreboard tells the story.
Vincent acknowledges the crowd.
Thrilling Round win in Pomona.
Heading towards staging lanes
Signing autographs with V, Allan and Kurt Bush
Qualifying in Gainesville
Driver Introductions
Mountain View team looks to build on 2011 success
RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif – In 2011, Mountain View Racing team owner Nick Mitsos took an admitted gamble when he put young unknown driver Vincent Nobile behind the wheel of his 212-mph Dodge Avenger Pro Stock car. It didn't take look for Mitsos to look like a genius as the 19-year old Nobile put together a memorable first season that included three victories and a very solid fifth place finish in the battle for the NHRA Full Throttle Pro stock championship.
"Two years ago, Vincent's father, John, told me, 'You have to take a look at my son. He's a natural. He can really drive one of these cars,'" Mitsos recalled. "Once I saw Vincent drive for the first time, I knew that John wasn't just bragging. It was obvious that Vincent had a lot of talent and I figured he'd be a perfect fit four our team."
Nobile reached the final round in his third career start in Las Vegas and scored the first of his three wins two races later in Houston, Texas. He also scored wins in Norwalk, Ohio and Phoenix, Ariz. Nobile qualified for every race, was ranked among the top five drivers in the class for 19 of the 22 events in 2009 and compiled a very respectable 31-19 record in elimination rounds.
His impressive rookie season behind him, the 20-year old Nobile now must deal with increased expectations as he heads into the 2012 season. Pro Stock remains the most competitive of all drag racing classes with most races decided by just a few thousandths of a second and this year, Nobile realizes that he'll no longer have the element of surprise on his side.
"People have seen what our team is capable of so I'm sure no one will take us lightly," said Nobile, who continues his studies at Adelphia University near his hometown of Dix Hills, N.Y. "For me personally, I feel like I've grown a lot as a driver in the last 12 months. I know I still have a lot to learn but I'm very comfortable now."
Functioning as a cohesive unit, the Mountain View team will again be under the guidance of Mitsos, who also serves as the team's crew chief. The award winning crew from 2011 remains unchanged as Nobile's father, John, will be joined by crewmembers Ryan Priddy, Kenny Sevier, Matt Sevier, and Mitsos' sons, Paul and Chris.
The Mountain View Racing Dodge Avenger will once again be powered by Hemi engines from J&J Racing and the team will continue to use Jerry Haas Race Cars.
"A year ago, we started with a new driver with almost no experience and to be honest, we were happy just to qualify for every race," said Mitsos. "Now, we've had success so we expect more from ourselves. We know we can win races and that's exactly what we intend to do 2012."
