91����

91���� Funny Car driver Blake Alexander is eager to embark on a new racing season amid a flurry of changes this offseason. He will pull into Gainesville Raceway for the Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals on March 6-9 with familiar Pronto Auto Service colors adorning a newly formed outfit. Entering his 10th season of partnership with The Pronto Network, Alexander has worked nonstop this winter since making the decision to align with Chad Green Motorsports and lead the formation of a new Funny Car team.

"We have worked incredibly hard for the last 16 weeks,” said Alexander. “Since the 91���� Finals, I have been on the phone, working on proposals, contracts, design, content, etc. I have flown to Indy over and over again and spent time collaborating with Chad on the best way to start this team. We have assembled a group of men I am proud to work with, and I am thankful to be in a position to show up to Gainesville to shake our car down."

“We will also celebrate 10 years of racing with The Pronto Network and their members this season. Every weekend, it lights me up when I get the opportunity to converse with these Pronto Auto Service Center customers. I truly enjoy having them at the racetrack with me. I respect that our Pronto Auto Service Center customers use similar parts and processes in their daily grind."

“The passion and work ethic Blake has shown mirrors the passion our Pronto Network Members have for their customers who have interacted with Blake and his team at each event the last 10 years,” added Kerri Gulick, director of Marketing and Communications at The Pronto Network. “We are excited to keep building upon a successful partnership this season.”

Alexander will drive the car at 15 events this season, with Hunter Green scheduled to make his Professional debut in the car at four of the events. Hunter is a national event winner in the Top Alcohol Dragster category, notably sharing the winner’s circle with his�� father, Chad, at the 2023 91���� Finals.

“It made sense to expand CGM with a second team if the right person was in place to spearhead the operation, and Blake shares a vision of what it will take to make our program successful on and off the track,” said Chad Green, whose Bond-Coat entry finished in the top 10 the past two seasons including a fifth-place finish in the 2023 standings. “We are looking forward to a great year with both teams. It will be exciting to see Hunter work with them and take the next steps in his racing career. He has already completed his licensing, and we are continuing to get him laps."

Alexander’s team will work closely with Chad Green Motorsports crew chiefs Dean Marinis and Joe Serena. Alexander selected Matt Bynum as his crew chief. It is Bynum’s first opportunity as lead tuner at the Professional level. The fast-rising 33-year-old was a crewmember during Del Worsham’s 2015 championship season and was mentored by Worsham and Nick Boninfante Jr. in the car chief position at Kalitta Motorsports and DC Motorsports. He has also earned a Funny Car competition license and has tuned and driven a Nostalgia Funny Car to an event victory at the fabled March Meet.

Bynum is working with crewmember Scott Siesing and a crew that has been assembled over the winter. Siesing, 42, is a pupil of 17-time Top Alcohol Funny Car champion Frank Manzo and has crewed for winning programs in the nitro ranks, including John Force Racing and Josh Hart Racing.

“It’s great to have a platform to put some of the young talent in the pits in leadership roles that they have been preparing for,” said Alexander. “The collaboration between the two teams is going to play a key role in their success. I feel good about the people who have been put in place to execute the team’s goals."

Coming off a career-high No. 6 finish in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Funny Car championship standings, Alexander is one of only 19 drivers in NHRA history to win national events in both the Top Fuel and Funny Car categories. Following his recent stint behind the wheel of the Funny Car owned by recent International Drag Racing Hall of Fame inductee Jim Head during which he scored two national event wins, Alexander embraces his new challenge.

"We have raced with various teams, families, and personnel, and I am thankful for each one who has supported my wife, Leah, and me,” said Alexander. “This will be a cool experience for me, to be more involved in the operations of the car and race team along with Dean Marinis, Joe Serena, and Matt Bynum. Simultaneously, as much as I have a passion for driving, I am also going to enjoy seeing Hunter’s experience in getting his feet wet in this car we put together. I truly appreciate everyone's kind nature within Chad's team and family and am excited to work with them."

Alexander will start the season running with Pronto Auto Service Center livery on his Dodge Charger in Gainesville and Phoenix and then will switch to Schaeffler colors in Pomona.��

“It is an honor to display the colors and brands of Schaeffler, LUK, and INA automotive parts in a primary fashion again for the fourth season this year,” said Alexander. “I also would be remiss if we didn't mention an expanded partnership with Schaeffler, who supports us each weekend on tour with their quality parts and people. It is also exciting that we are expanding the partnership with DRiV for 2025. We will be featuring their brands in a larger fashion in multiple markets this season and have other new partnerships that CGM will be announcing shortly.”

The new team came to fruition this winter from an empty building in Brownsburg, Ind., to a complete operation that will field an 11,000-horsepower Funny Car at the season opener. In addition to highlighting a crew that put in long hours, Chad Green Motorsports also wished to share gratitude for their fellow race teams who were supportive of the effort.

"It all started with Josh Hart and Ron Douglas helping us a lot right at the beginning, getting us things we needed to begin the process,” said Chad Green. “Jimmy Prock and John Force Racing were helpful as well. Matt Bynum and Logan Beebe moved into the shop in a camper. There was nothing in there at one point, but now we have made the building feel like home. Our crew has been working tirelessly upgrading my car, and we are pleased to begin the new season with new partnerships with Logan Industries, Flying H Dragstrip, Gates, Champion, Fel-Pro, Red Line Oil, and Mahle."