IHRA North American Nationals
Epping, NH
by Brian Lohnes, Bobby Bennett; Photos by Roger Richards, Bryan Epps

SUNDAY FINAL - Top Fuel racer Foley wins from the pole position in Epping; Radford, Sickles and Gugliotta score victories

(9-11-2005) – Doug Foley was determined to show everyone at the Amalie Oil IHRA North American Nationals that Clay Millican wasn’t the only Top Fuel driver capable of winning an event using total domination as his game plan.

Joining in the winner’s circle celebration were the professional teams of Dennis Radford (Torco Race Fuels Pro Modified), Jim Sickles (Funny Car) and Frank Gugliotta (Torco Race Fuels Pro Stock).

Foley left no doubt in the final round as he drove around a quicker-reacting Clay Millican to score his second IHRA Hooters Top Fuel victory of 2005. His winning lap was a 4.835, 288.89 that quickly overtook Millican’s troubled 5.223, 203.68. Ironically, both of Foley’s wins have come from the top qualifying position.

“We wanted to run for consistency this weekend and we achieved that,” Foley said. “It was important the car repeated and it did. It did what it was supposed to. This weekend should show how serious we are about winning a championship.”

The Torco Race Fuels-sponsored Foley narrowed the point deficit between himself and the defending world champion to 199 points with two races left. The maximum points one can accrue in a national event is 136.

Foley was the picture of Top Fuel performance with a 4.703, 283.43 to take the measure of Chris Karamesines and a 4.798, 264.39 to get by teammate Rick Cooper.

Millican’s ride to the final round wasn’t exactly a trend of dominance as he battled ignition problems much of that day. When Paul Athey couldn’t make the first round call, the Drummonds, Tenn.-based driver singled to a shut-off 6.682 victory. One round later Millican had to pedal and maneuver his way to a holeshot 5.016, 277.26 victory over Louie Allison’s 4.960.

Totally opposite of Foley’s Top Fuel win was the Torco Race Fuels Pro Modified division which entertained the #15 qualifier winning it all. Radford, a decided underdog himself, ended the Cinderella bid of Steve Bareman by winning on a red-light. Bareman pushed the tree too hard with a -.001 foul and wasted a 6.222, 235.39. Radford had the good fortunes of being in the right place at the right time all day and continued with a winning 6.321, 221.92. The victory marked the first IHRA Torco Race Fuels Pro Modified victory for Radford.

“We came in with the mindset that we were going to 6.30 them to death and we did just that,” Radford said. “I really don’t know what to say about how incredible this day was. We had a tough time in blowing our scoop off and nearly blew off our borrowed one. We needed some luck and we definitely got it here today.”

Radford, a Trucking Company CEO from Baker City, Oregon, traveled over 3,000 miles to New England Dragway to win in his initial appearance. Over the course of the weekend, Radford destroyed the scoop on his ProModSource.com-sponsored ’63 Corvette during Saturday qualifying.

Getting in as an alternate for Ed Hoover, Bareman made the most of his alternate status by knocking off Quain Stott in the first round and simultaneously securing the speed record with a 236.46. He scored a monumental victory in the second round as his .05 starting line advantage negated the low elapsed time of the meet posted by Carl Spiering with a 6.107, 234.61. Bareman won with a 6.151 but his 235.60 mile per hour backed up the record. To advance into the final round, he ran a 6.121, 234.86 to eliminate points leader Mike Castellana.

Radford’s storyline wasn’t far off of the of Bareman as he entered eliminations as the 15th qualifier. He began with a victory over the #2 seeded Cannon and then extended his good fortunes with a victory over Milt Decker. Radford outreacted and outperformed Shannon Jenkins to reach the final round.

The first round of eliminations in Torco Race Fuels Pro Modified was particularly brutal on top half of the field as Cannon shook the tires opposite Radford, No. 3 John Russo shook against Steve Vick and No.4 Mike Janis failed to fire against Billy Harper. The only survivor was Spiering, who shook the tires, but advanced when Sal Passarelli fouled with a -.008 reaction.

Funny Car provided less of a surprise in the final round. Sickles successfully defended his Amalie North American Nationals Funny Car crown by driving his Meyer’s RV-sponsored Monte Carlo to victory in the final round with a 5.730, 248.43 to defeat Mark Thomas. Thomas lost with a 5.829, 241.76.

“This is a simple case of this Meyer’s RV car being a high-horsepower bracket car,” Sickles said. “When you push a car to the limit of what a track can hold like we did, you can’t beat it. (Crew chief) Tom Anderson and the crew did an awesome job.

“The secret to our success this weekend was in the supercharger department. Darren Mayer did a great job.”

Just as was the case in the first round of Torco Race Fuels Pro Modified, the Funny Car division proved that no top echelon qualifier was safe. Case in point, newly christened record holder and low qualifier Fred Tigges fouled opposite Parker. Terry McMillen also scored a monumental win by taking out points leader Rob Atchison.

Sickles was admittedly concerned when his fellow top qualifiers fell by the wayside, but he showed no signs of paranoia as he ran a 5.742, 247.07 to eliminate Tom Carter and continued his consistent fortunes with another 5.742 to end McMillen’s day.

Thomas launched a few burst panels over the course of the weekend, but that didn’t deter the No.4 qualifier from scoring decisive victories over Terry Munroe and Parker.

Torco Race Fuels Pro Stock was captured by Gugliotta, a driver who has endured more than his share of struggles this season.

“We’ve got it back,” Gugliotta said. “We missed out on being the first 6.30 last night by breaking a transmission. Winning this event is the only thing that could make up for it. The car ran absolutely great today.”

Gugliotta was on a mission to win Torco Race Fuels Pro Stock in Epping, and he sealed the deal with a quicker reaction and elapsed time opposite of Rick Jones in the final round. The Mt. Airy, Md.-based driver for Steve Thodos scored his second victory of the season with a 6.442, 219.33 effort. Jones lost with a respectable 6.481, 216.86.

Not to be overshadowed by his record runs, in addition to his victory over Nobile, Gugliotta also became the third 6.3-second driver with a victory over John Bartunek and a second round triumph over Larry O’Brien.

Jones lived up to the role of giant killer by knocking off points leader Steve Spiess in the semifinals with a pass of 6.455, 216.65 as Spiess had mechanical problems and fell off the pace. To get to that point, Jones was able to beat Elijah Morton and Pete Berner.

During preliminary eliminations, the Torco Race Fuels Pro Stock division was nothing short of a high horsepower tennis match, with the speed record being volleyed back and forth. On Saturday evening, Spiess grabbed the record with a 218.09. He snagged another one in a first round win with a 220.04 blast. That provided a momentary high until Gugliotta snagged the record with a 220.26. He later backed it up in a semifinal win over John Nobile with a 219.26 speed.

The next event on the Hooters IHRA Drag Racing tour is at Maryland International Raceway in two weeks for the Torco Race Fuels President’s Cup Nationals.

Final Rounds

Richard Desjardins - Winner - ET Bracket

Final round-by-round results from the Tenth annual Amalie Oil North American Nationals at New England Dragway, the tenth of 12 events in the 2005 Hooters IHRA Drag Racing Series:


TOP FUEL:

ROUND ONE -- Rick Cooper, 4.790, 314.97 def. Bobby Lagana Jr., 8.688, 84.48; Louie Allison, 5.349, 183.54 def. Bruce Litton, 6.394, 130.32; Clay Millican, 6.682, 121.00 def. Paul Athey, broke; Doug Foley, 4.703, 283.43 def. Chris Karamesines, 13.159, 74.82;

SEMIFINALS -- Millican, 5.016, 277.26 def. Allison, 4.960, 246.93; Foley, 4.798, 264.39 def. Cooper, 4.970, 246.44;

FINAL -- Foley, 4.835, 288.89 def. Millican, 5.223, 203.68.


PRO MODIFIED:

ROUND ONE -- Steve Bareman, Chevy Corvette, 6.167, 236.46 def. Quain Stott, Corvette, 6.208, 232.23; Dennis Radford, Corvette, 6.300, 221.71 def. Scott Cannon, Studebaker, 13.372, 59.67; Steve Vick, Corvette, 6.436, 221.31 def. John Russo, Chevy Camaro, 7.211, 183.32; Carl Spiering, Corvette, 6.653, 229.24 def. Sal Passarelli, Corvette, foul; Billy Harper, Dodge Viper, 6.549, 171.16 def. Mike Janis, Dodge Stratus, broke; Milt Decker, Corvette, 6.460, 186.85 def. Harold Martin, Pontiac Grand Am, broke; Shannon Jenkins, Camaro, 6.213, 228.42 def. Burton Auxier,
Corvette, foul; Mike Castellana, Chevy Cavalier, 7.446, 132.79 def. Jim Halsey, Camaro, foul;

QUARTERFINALS -- Castellana, 6.187, 230.92 def. Harper, 6.254, 224.77; Radford, 6.266, 223.17 def. Decker, 7.233, 149.28; Jenkins, 6.188, 228.42 def. Vick, 6.297, 223.14; Bareman, 6.151, 235.60 def. Spiering, 6.107, 234.61;

SEMIFINALS -- Radford, 6.305, 221.92 def. Jenkins, 9.773, 88.12; Bareman, 6.121, 234.86 def. Castellana, 9.184, 99.79;

FINAL -- Radford, 6.321, 221.92 def. Bareman, foul.


FUNNY CAR:

ROUND ONE -- Neal Parker, Chevy Monte Carlo, 5.840, 232.79 def. Frederick Tigges, Chevy Camaro, foul; Jim Sickles, Monte Carlo, 5.742, 247.07 def. Thomas Carter, Camaro, 5.863, 239.27; Terry McMillen, Dodge Avenger, 5.856, 240.34 def. Rob Atchison, Pontiac Firebird, 13.493, 58.80; Mark Thomas, Avenger, 5.921, 210.01 def. Terry Munroe, Monte Carlo, 5.979, 239.19;

SEMIFINALS -- Thomas, 5.923, 237.59 def. Parker, 5.887, 226.77; Sickles, 5.742, 248.20 def. McMillen, 5.929, 238.47;

FINAL -- Sickles, 5.730, 248.43 def. Thomas, 5.829, 241.76.


PRO STOCK:

ROUND ONE -- John Montecalvo, Chevy Cobalt, 6.478, 216.58 def. Chuck DeMory, Ford Escort, foul; John Nobile, Ford ZX2, 6.412, 217.49 def. Tony Gillig, Ford Mustang, 6.444, 215.44; Larry O'Brien, Dodge Stratus, 6.500, 216.27 def. Daniel Seamon, Escort, 9.904, 97.51; Rick Jones, Cobalt, 6.425, 218.48 def. Elijah Morton, Escort, 6.440, 217.70; Pete Berner, Mustang, 6.432, 216.51 def. Jerry Haas, Chevy Cavalier, 18.280, 42.16; Frank Gugliotta, Escort, 6.398, 220.26 def. John Bartunek, Cobalt, 6.506, 215.72; Brian Gahm, Mustang, 6.429, 219.36 def. Michael Bruno, Cavalier, 6.510, 214.42; Steve Spiess, Cobalt, 6.385, 220.04 def. Robert Patrick, Ford
Cobra, 6.450, 218.44;

QUARTERFINALS -- Jones, 6.423, 218.44 def. Berner, 12.036, 70.16; Nobile, 6.431, 217.49 def. Gahm, 8.829, 99.49; Gugliotta, 6.405, 209.65 def. O'Brien, 6.484, 215.20; Spiess, 6.395, 220.04 def. Montecalvo, foul;

SEMIFINALS -- Gugliotta, 6.423, 219.26 def. Nobile, 6.454, 216.00; Jones, 6.455, 216.65 def. Spiess, 6.854, 165.99;

FINAL -- Gugliotta, 6.442, 219.33 def. Jones, 6.481, 216.86.

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SUNDAY NOTES - Fun, Asphalt, and the Milk Man Cometh

(9-11-2005) - Does the fun ever stop? – Drivers in the Pro Stock division continued to rewrite the record book all weekend long.

The biggest runs of round one came from Steve Spiess and Frank Gugliotta. Gugliotta became the first-ever IHRA Pro Stock driver to run 220 mph in the class and he was very happy about it.

“I knew that we were on a great pass last night and the car broke,” Gugliotta said. “To run the first 220 mph pass kind of makes up for it. It feels really good for our whole team.”

Spiess was the second man to lay the hammer down with a 220 mph pass. Then Gugliotta came along and ran 219 in the semi-finals, which provided the backup for his 220.26 mph run from round one. He stole the speed record back for himself.

Spiess has been the bridesmaid this weekend. The second to run into the 6.30s and the second to run 220.

He has made three straight 6.30 passes and has run exactly 220.04 two times in a row as well.

“We are having the time of our lives this weekend,” Spiess said. “This is the best place we have had to race all year long and we are having a blast, it just doesn’t get better than this.”

Another plot twist – We have learned that New England Dragway is about to undergo a multi-million dollar upgrade in the hopes of attracting an NHRA national event.

“The upgrade process is going to take a couple of years and several million dollars,” a ranking member of the track management said. “We are under contract with the IHRA until 2007 so nothing will happen before that time.”

The talk around the pits at races in both the IHRA and NHRA has been that New England was looking to make the big switch.

If this transpires, we suspect the first thing to go will be the classic and unique timing tower at this track. One thing is certain; a major league pit expansion has to be on the list to handle the volume of cars at an NHRA event.

“The North American Nationals has been a successful event for ten seasons running," the track official said. "The reason for that is a great partnership with the IHRA. We look forward to working with them in the future.”

It’s gotta be the asphalt – While we have been spending a lot of time talking about the great atmospheric conditions this weekend, it should be noted that the race surface here at NED is very new.

“We really love this new surface. We extended the concrete down to 700 feet and then we repaved the back half of the drag strip in early June,” track manager Joe Lombardo said.

“We have gotten lots of great feedback from both our local racers and the touring pros that come into town. Our goal was to have the quickest, fastest strip in the region and we have definitely achieved that this weekend.”

Screaming Steve – Just a month ago Steve Bareman had never qualified his supercharged 1953 Corvette for an IHRA national event.

What a difference a few weeks can make.

Since teaming with Jim Oddy, Bareman and his team have been running very strong indeed, and in the first round they managed to run 6.16 at 236 mph.

They backed up that titanic speed in the next round with a 235.60 mph run. The Jim Oddy, Steve Bareman team now has the new IHRA Pro Modified speed record.

“This is one wild ride. I have to thank Jim Oddy and the Summit Racing Equipment team for preparing our equipment,” Bareman said.

It should be noted that Bareman was the first alternate and managed to get inserted into the field when Ed Hoover and team broke their backup motor and left the grounds.

Bareman’s 6.16 blast was the best run by two tenths of a second in the first round. Oddy is ringing lots of horsepower out of the Summit car.

“Who would of thought an old 1953 Corvette would run 236 mph,” Bareman said.

Man Versus Nature – New England Dragway’s marketing director Cliff Jacques made a strange request on Friday night.

Jacques sent employees out on a hunt for fake owls.

The owls were found and mounted inside the pavilion that NED uses to display new Dodge cars and trucks. The problem is that birds have made themselves a home under the roof and when the birds’ digestive process is concluded, the results are unpleasant.

The plastic Owls apparently scare the offending birds away. So did they work?

“I’m not sure if they worked or not, but they had the church service in there this morning so I hope everything was ok,” Jacques said.

Where’d he go? – A strange series of events in round one of Pro Mod raised eyebrows around New England Dragway.

Mike Janis could not get his car started after an oildown and Billy Harper was left with a break single.

We were faced with the same situation in the next pair, as Harold Martin could not answer the call to run John Decker’s screaming yellow Corvette. Unlike Janis, Martin did not even have his car up at the starting line.

It is rare to have one break single in a first round let alone two. Add to that they that were involving consecutive pairs of cars and the chances are very, very slim of seeing that circumstance happen again.

Return customers – While spending time in the pits here at New England Dragway we have spoken to many fans and racers that have been attending this event for several years.

“I have been coming to new England Dragway since the early 1970’s when they use to have the funny car nationals,” Bill Roberts of South Boston said. “This is the biggest drag racing weekend in all of New England. We really like this race and seeing all of the top fuel cars here is the best part for us.”

This is the 10th annual running of the Amalie Oil North American Nationals making it one of the longest running events on the IHRA tour.

New England Dragway is the biggest drag racing plant north of the New Jersey/ Pennsylvania area.

Dude, where’s my car? The Remake – One of the most entertaining stories to come out of the 2004 running of the North American Nationals was that of IHRA President Aaron Polburn announcing and subsequently having his own car towed away.

As a tribute to that humorous moment, the NED management decided to play a prank on Polburn this year, but he knew what they were up to. During the pre-race ceremony, a tow truck drove to the starting line with what appeared to be Polburn’s car riding atop the back.

The words “Two-time tow champ” were scrawled on the window and track manager Joe Lombardo was riding atop the truck with the rental.

There was a small catch though, it wasn’t Polburn’s car. He had craftily hid his own car as to escape any pranks.

“Boy, that’s too funny. This is a real good group of people here at New England Dragway,” Polburn said.

He almost spilled the beans on the location of his car,

“It’s down there, wait a second. I’m not telling anyone where that thing is. Leave me alone!” he laughed.

Off with their heads – The IHRA tech department has notified Steve Spiess, Frank Gugliotta, and Brian Gahm that their motors will be torn down at the conclusion of racing this afternoon.

“They are going to remove a head and they can do that with the motor in the car so it’s no big deal,” Speiss said. “When you’re this far into the weekend, what’s another hour or two. It really doesn’t bother us at all.”

The teardown inspection of these three cars is not much of a surprise to them or us as they have been the three quickest by a significant margin. Pro Stock teams continue to raise the performance bar every year here in Epping.

Why the people love Pro Mod – In the world of Pro Modified there are Mad Men, Ice Men, Mohawks and now there’s another nom de plume to add to the lexicon.

Enter the Milk Man. Steve Bareman, the dairy farmer from Michigan, has burst onto the scene in Epping as the man to beat. The team that picked up for Al Billes and is led by Jim Oddy, has tuned its way down into the six ‘teens and lower.

We visited Bareman in his pit spot and immediately diagnosed him with a case of perma-grin.

“All the credit goes to Jim Oddy and the team,” Bareman said. “All I have to do is hit my shifts and leave the line well. These guys are just awesome to learn from and there is a lot to learn about these cars.”

There’s plenty of room for Bareman in this class of unique individuals.

SPY vs SPY - post-Epping report - All of the agents of the two opposing forces (except the missing in action of Doug Kirk) were able to qualify for the field at the Amalie Oil North American Nationals.

FBI Files:
- Steve Spiess qualified # 1 and was defeated in the semi finals by fellow FBI agent Rick Jones.
- Rick Jones qualified # 5 and met Frank Gugliotta in the final round. Jones was the runner-up.
- Mike Bruno qualified # 15 losing to the CIA’s Brian Gahm in the first round.
- Pete Berner qualified # 4 and also had to face FBI agent Rick Jones who won the match.
- Chuck Demory qualified # 9 and faced John Montecalvo in round #1 and lost to the non-affiliated team.
- Tony Gillig qualified # 10 and lost a first round head to head match with the CIA’s John Nobile.

CIA Report:
- Doug Kirk did not attend
- Dan Seamon qualified # 6 and ended his mission in round one against Larry Obrien.
- John Nobile qualified # 7 and won a match against the FBI in round one before bowing out against Frank Gugliotta in the semi finals.
- Brian Gahm qualified # 2 and was the victim of the fellow CIA team of John Nobile in round two.

In head to head agency matches, the CIA is 2 – 0 after one session of the burgeoning rivalry.
Brian Gahm(CIA) defeated Mike Bruno(FBI)
John Nobile(CIA) defeated Tony Gillig(FBI)

The FBI (Fast Boys from Illinois) vs CIA (Champions In Action) will continue their next mission in Budds Creek, Maryland at the President’s Cup Nationals.

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SATURDAY - Records Topple as Amalie Oil IHRA North American Nationals qualifying ends; Foley, Spiering, Tigges and Spiess lead fields

(9-10-2005) – No one could have envisioned the record-setting performances that transpired during the final day of qualifying at the Amalie Oil North American Nationals except the drivers entered for the event. With atmospheric conditions relative to those normally found in paradise, the professional contingent established four out of eight world records and set six new track records. Not only that, a pair of Torco Race Fuels Pro Stockers became the first in their class to run in the 6.3-second range.

Doug Foley (Top Fuel), Carl Spiering (Torco Race Fuels Pro Modified), Fred Tigges (Funny Car) and Steve Spiess (Torco Race Fuels Pro Stock)

The quickest side-by-side run in Torco Race Fuels Pro Stock history was attained during the final pair of qualifying. While it has always been suggested that reaction time means nothing in qualifying, on this evening it made all the difference. Spiess may have acquired a new elapsed time record with a 6.380 and the top qualifying position but it was Gahm who secured rights as the first driver into the 6.30s with a 6.395 by capturing the win light.

Earlier in the day, Spiess backed up his Friday evening 218.09 speed record with a 217.91 during Saturday’s opening session. However, on their monumental run, Gahm snagged the speed record with a 219.44 blast.

Frank Gugliotta, who was third, flirted with the 6.30s by running a 6.401, 210.77. He did that despite killing a transmission during the run.

Racers in the Torco Race Fuels Pro Modified division failed to set any national records, but that didn’t prevent track records from entering a free fall. Spiering reigned supreme with a 6.125, 234.57 during the final pair. Slipping into second was second-generation Pro Modified driver Scott Cannon, Jr., with a 6.138, 229.55. Friday’s pace-setting John Russo was third with a 6.157, 230.53 that edged out the 6.163, 234.45 of Mike Janis.

The first Saturday session for the Torco Pro Modified division set the stage for an incredible final session. Spiering’s 6.134 led a trio of six-teen runners that included Scott Cannon (6.166) and John Russo (6.173).

Number eight qualifier Ed Hoover withdrew from competition enabling Steve Bareman to re-enter the field after getting bumped out during the final session.

In Top Fuel, Foley saved his best effort for the last day as he overtook Millican for the top position with a 4.649, 311.59 earlier in the day. The only downside is that the Torco Race Fuels-sponsored driver accrued a black flag penalty in the process. Millican also improved in that session as well with a 4.661. Four black flag penalties were doled out in the first two sessions of qualifying.

Louie Allison was the third quickest with a 4.724, 303.84.

Chris Karamesines was on the bubble with a 4.885.

Funny Car more than exhibited its performance prowess on the final day. Leading the charge was Tigges as he established a new Funny Car record with his 5.702 elapsed time at 245.94 miles per hour. How ironic it was that run came in the opening pair opposite of a 5.742, 243.99 from World Champion and point leader Rob Atchison.

Earlier in the day, Terry McMillen’s 5.82 elapsed time solidified the quickest field in the history of IHRA Funny Car since the conversion to an eight-car field. It took a 5.917 at that point to gain a spot in the provisional field. That session took a positive turn from the onset as local hero Tigges ran a 5.742, a lap just .002 off of the national record. Sickles, Friday’s pacesetter, established a new speed record of 248.02 miles per hour.

The bump spot eventually dropped to a 5.864 from Neil Parker.

Final eliminations begin on Sunday at 11 AM.

First-round pairings for professional eliminations Sunday for the Tenth annual Amalie Oil North American Nationals at New England Dragway, the tenth of 12 events in the 2005 Hooters IHRA Drag Racing Series. Pairings based on results in qualifying, which ended Saturday.


Top Fuel -- 1. Doug Foley, 4.649 seconds, 311.56 mph vs. 8. Chris Karamesines, 4.885, 296.50; 2. Clay Millican, 4.661, 286.62 vs. 7. Paul Athey, 4.841, 280.66; 3. Louie Allison, 4.724, 303.84 vs. 6. Bruce Litton, 4.817, 306.74; 4. Bobby Lagana Jr., 4.771, 313.73 vs. 5. Rick Cooper, 4.780, 284.03.


Pro Modified -- 1. Carl Spiering, Chevy Corvette, 6.125, 234.57 vs. 16. Sal Passarelli, Corvette, 6.334, 214.79; 2. Scott Cannon, Studebaker, 6.138, 229.55 vs. 15. Dennis Radford, Corvette, 6.310, 222.58; 3. John Russo, Chevy Camaro, 6.157, 231.04 vs. 14. Steve Vick, Corvette, 6.305, 222.62; 4. Mike Janis, Dodge Stratus, 6.163, 234.45 vs. 13. Billy Harper, Dodge Viper, 6.288, 223.69; 5. Mike Castellana, Chevy Cavalier, 6.206, 230.29 vs. 12. Jim
Halsey, Camaro, 6.269, 225.60; 6. Shannon Jenkins, Camaro, 6.211, 228.96 vs. 11. Burton Auxier, Corvette, 6.261, 222.84; 7. Harold Martin, Pontiac Grand Am, 6.220, 224.73 vs. 10. Milt Decker, Corvette, 6.261, 224.47; 8. Ed Hoover, Corvette, 6.230, 230.17 vs. 9. Quain Stott, Corvette, 6.254, 231.56.


Funny Car -- 1. Frederick Tigges, Chevy Camaro, 5.702, 246.39 vs. 8. Neal Parker, Chevy Monte Carlo, 5.864, 239.14; 2. Jim Sickles, Monte Carlo, 5.732, 248.75 vs. 7. Thomas Carter, Camaro, 5.848, 242.10; 3. Rob Atchison, Pontiac Firebird, 5.742, 245.49 vs. 6. Terry McMillen, Dodge Avenger, 5.825, 241.97; 4. Mark Thomas, Avenger, 5.768, 241.50 vs. 5. Terry Munroe, Monte Carlo, 5.787, 242.02.


Pro Stock -- 1. Steve Spiess, Chevy Cobalt, 6.380, 219.33 vs. 16. Robert Patrick, Ford Cobra, 6.505, 217.11; 2. Brian Gahm, Ford Mustang, 6.395, 219.44 vs. 15. Michael Bruno, Chevy Cavalier, 6.504, 214.31; 3. Frank Gugliotta, Ford Escort, 6.401, 213.33 vs. 14. John Bartunek, Cobalt, 6.503, 215.62; 4. Pete Berner, Mustang, 6.421, 216.38 vs. 13. Jerry Haas, Cavalier, 6.500, 216.20; 5. Rick Jones, Cobalt, 6.427, 217.84 vs. 12. Elijah Morton, Escort, 6.500, 215.96; 6. Daniel Seamon, Escort, 6.437, 217.74 vs. 11. Larry O'Brien, Dodge Stratus, 6.472, 216.38; 7. John Nobile, Ford ZX2, 6.438, 215.93 vs. 10. Tony Gillig, Mustang, 6.471, 215.44; 8. John Montecalvo, Cobalt, 6.449, 216.90 vs. 9. Chuck DeMory, Escort, 6.469, 216.34.

SATURDAY EVENING POST - A record-filled day, comings, goings and the importance of aerodynamics

(9-10-2005) - The first 30 times 2 – It was a moment that will live in IHRA history. The first ever 6.30 Pro Stock pass was run by Brian Gahm with a 6.395, 219.44 pass. That happened exactly 12 one thousandths of a second before Steve Spiess ran the quickest ever 6.380 at 219.33.

The cars were towed back up to the starting line for a quick ceremony. Gahm said, “We thought the car could do it and we decided to go for it. We said ‘do it to it’ and we did. This is great.”

Spiess was also interviewed, “We were pretty sure that we could do it. During the run it felt like it was going to do it.”

While Spiess is quickest driver in IHRA history, Gahm will go down in the books as the first man to hit the 6.30s

It should be noted that Frank Gugliotta nearly became “the man” and was headed into the 6.30s with room to spare when his transmission broke at 1000 feet. He managed a 6.401, knocking on the door, but not getting in.

Trussell and Rector part ways – Rumors floating around the Pro Mod pits indicated that Jimmy Rector’s name was being peeled from the trailer of the Paul Trussell-owned, Ed Hoover-driven 1963 Corvette.

The rumor later proved to be fact. According to the team, Rector is not going to tune the Corvette any longer. The split was an amicable one, considering the awkward situation.

“We’ve just broken too much stuff,” Hoover said.

“We have spent an awful lot of money this year to get the car to run and we have not performed to where we needed to be. In the last six races we have broken a couple of motors and the car has just not been there.”

Hoover will resume tuning the car and admits he’s comfortable with that role.

“At first it was a relief to have a crew chief, but in that situation you need to work as a team,” Hoover said. “I have been doing this for 25 years so I know a little bit about running these cars.”

The team plans on getting their motors some dyno time and developing a tune up that will give them a window to work with in terms of the car’s performance.

“In the past, when we made good passes the car's setup had to be perfect,” Hoover said. “Ideally, we would be able to have a tune up that was able to put a good strong number up so if we missed something in the first 60 feet or I was a little off time on a shift, we could still make it up.”

The team wasted no time in loading their car into the hauler for an early trip home on Sunday morning. No. 17 qualifier Steve Bareman will be inserted into the show as the alternate.

Thrash and bang – Often times we hear great war stories from the professional ranks. Motors changed with seconds to spare, seemingly terminal damage is magically fixed and the car goes on to win an event.

Rich Dispirito is not going to pull off the event win, but the memories of this weekend will last him a long time. It was all hands on deck after dark in Dispirito’s pit space.

After ventilating an engine block last evening, the Whitman, Massachusetts racer had two choices. He had to call it quits for the weekend or find a way to get it fixed. Being a drag racer he took option number two. Dispirito drove to his house just shy of 7 PM last night, returned to the track around 11 and completed the thrash in the wee hours of the morning.

With support from just about every local racer in the pits, the car was up and running Saturday morning. With the motor swap done and one time trial left, Dispirito had one shot to get dial-in information on a brand new combination.

The fairy tale ended abruptly as Dispirito was eliminated in the first round of E.T. No Box class eliminations. He didn’t earn an Iron Man trophy, but he earned the respect of all the racers here at NED by doing whatever to took to make the call for round 1.

World beaters – New England Dragway owns four IHRA records after tonight.

Steve Spiess was the first racer to etch his name into the IHRA record book at Epping and he did it twice. His 219 mph run was good enough to back up his 217 mph lap from last night. His 6.380 pass was a new record as well.

“We’re just so happy to be here,” Spiess said. “The IHRA is doing such a great job we just love coming to these races. We have a couple of races left to go this season and we’re looking forward to all of them,”

Jim Sickles was the next racer to break into “the book” with a 248 mph blast that enabled him to secure the Funny Car speed record.

“Boy - it’s really cool to be the fastest guy out here,” Sickles said. “I have to thank Tom Anderson and all of the guys that work on this car. We’ll take the mph for now, we are going to try and run an E.T. number tonight.”

Fred Tigges of Holbrook, Mass., is the new record holder in Funny Car with a 5.702.

We're not slick, but we're slow – It has been interesting to look at how the different bodies deal with air management at the top end of the track this weekend in Pro Mod.

A comparison of the eithth-mile and quarter-mile times of Carl Spiering and Scotty Cannon Jr. are a case in point Spiering runs a 1963 Corvette and Cannon Jr. drives a 1953 Studebaker.

Spiering went 4.032 in the eighth-mile and and 6.134 in the quarter-mile at 234 mph. Cannon Jr. went 4.037 in the eighth-mile and and 6.166 at 229 in the quarter-mile

All things being equa,l it would appear that the Corvette is "slipperier" than the Studebaker.

Cannon knows his car leaves a lot to be desired in the wind-tunnel department.

“She won’t leave the line and she won’t top end,” Cannon said. “But she’ll run the hell out of the middle of the track. We know this old girl is tired and we are just trying to get her nursed through the season. I plan to have a new car for next year.”

World has it that a new GTO is at the top of his wish list.

Longtime Cannon fans will recall this is the same car he won Epping with in 1998. He set the E.T. record that weekend and went on to re-establish the mark twice more in three days. Coincidently, shortly after that weekend amajor rule change was implimented which was aimed at slowing down his car.

Broken stuff is cool – Drag racing fans are not into the whole crash and burn scene like the circle track people are, but we do love to see stuff blow up.

The most brutal failure of the weekend came from a local E.T. racer in a pristine early 1960’s Ford Falcon. It was a four-speed car, was being the operative word as the car ripped the pinion gear out of the 9-inch rear end.

A close second on the brutality scale, but definitely a winner on the most expensive stuff chart would go to Paul Athey and Grant Flowers who destroyed a Keith Black Hemi block. The block is on display for fans to see and they are, in droves. With a beefy aluminum rod hanging out the side of the KB block, it will be the inspiration for many photos and stories.

Of course there the hole in the oil pan of the Trussell Corvette that enabled one to see the inner workings of a supercharged Pro Modified engine or the automotive equivalent of a train wreck.

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SATURDAY EARLY NOTES - It’s a spy thing, It’s a Top Sportsman thing and You know you’re in trouble when…

(9-10-2005) - SPY versus SPY -- The FBI (Fast Boys from Illinois Steve Spiess, Rick Jones, Mike Bruno, Pete Berner, Chuck Demory, Tony Gillig) gang, after one round of qualifying at the Amalie Oil Northern Nationals, have agents in the top two spots. The remaining agents are scattered strategically throughout the field. Spiess is No.1 with a 6.414 followed closely by Pete Berner’s 6.421. Jones is 6th at 6.453. Demory’s 6.469 puts him at No.7. Gillig and Bruno are 10th and 14th respectively.

Tired of hearing about the efforts of the FBI, four previous IHRA Pro Stock champions, Doug Kirk, Dan Seamon, John Nobile and Brian Gahm were having a meal with their families recently and decided that a counter agency was needed to thwart the exploits of the FBI. Kirk’s 11-year-old son, Justin, coined the name CIA – “Champions in Action” adding to the Spy versus Spy power struggle.

The CIA Report held ground following the first round of qualifying. Brian Gahm has infiltrated the upper ranks of the FBI with a 3rd place effort of 6.429. Nobile lends great support in 4th place with his 6.438 while Seamon anchors the rival camp in 5th position at 6.452. Kirk is missing in action and reportedly on an undisclosed clandestine mission. Kirk is expected back in action during the next scheduled attack at Maryland International Raceway.

Top Sportsman madness – When it comes to classes with personality, Top Sportsman is beyond compare. We have actually seen supercharged Dodge trucks, a blown 1934 Ford, multiple and varied nitrous entries and just about everything else one can imagine.

The number one qualifier is currently Terry Hall with a 6.41-second blast.

Hall is driving a 1936 Chevrolet panel wagon with a blown Arias motor.

Hall has been running the unique machine for roughly five years and it has done time as both a Pro Modified and a Top Sportsman entry. With a career best 6.32 second pass coming this year at the Super Chevy Show, the car is better suited for Top Sportsman racing at this point.

While 6.30’s are nothing to shake a stick at, that’s not a number that can be considered competitive at an IHRA national event in Pro Mod.

The gang’s all here – The crowd at Epping should be extremely large tonight. At roughly noontime the stands on the right side of the track were already quite full and the left hand spectator side was beginning to see some action.

The fact that New England is doing its best impression of San Diego with cloud free skies and temperatures in the low 70’s does not hurt matters either.

Track manager Joe Lombardo said, “This weekend’s weather is some of the best we have had in the 10 year history of this event. We had a tough opening half of the season. At one point we were at a 60% rainout rate. Things have really gotten better for us since July and this weekend is the perfect crescendo for our season.”

In the past we have seen upwards of 15,000 people here for the Saturday night qualifying sessions. The fact that we have already blown out track records for performance may serve as an indication of what we can do with track records for the crowd.

Vehicle of the decade – Peter Farber is the man here at Epping this weekend. Farber is the pilot of a 1972 Dodge D-100 pickup truck running in Top Sportsman. The truck is an ultimate fan favorite every time it shows up to the track.

Farber said, “We’re out here just having a blast. Sometimes we’re not sure we know what we’re doing but we have fun. This truck is an evolution it started out as a street vehicle and has changed into what you see now.”

The truck is a lot more complex than it looks to be on the surface.

“The fenders, doors and bed are all custom made from carbon fiber. We’re running a blown alcohol hemi in it now. We are not legal for Pro Mod because of the motor. The heads we have on the truck are basically funny car heads. They have a 2.600 inch intake valve and that’s too big by Pro Mod rules.

The truck has run into the 6.80’s at over 200mph. We want to find one of the original engineers that designed the 1972 Dodge truck line and tell them one of their designs is running 200mph plus.

You know it’s been a rough day when – When the track scrubber breaks from overuse then you know you’ve seen better days. Yesterday officials contemplating renaming this event the Amalie Oil-down Nationals as it seemed like every category brought more and ever slicker levels of breakage.

The track crew logged an estimated 200 miles on the track scrubber tractor as it trolled up and down the track.

The last cleanup of the night, during a marathon Top Fuel session was done sans scrubber, adding to an already long evening.

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FRIDAY - Local Favorite Wows New England Crowd, Spiess creeps close to 6.30s

(9-9-2005) - When John Russo exited his car following his qualifying run at the Amalie Oil IHRA North American Nationals, he had no idea of the personal milestone he’d just achieved. The Torco Race Fuels Pro Modified driver from Middleton, Massachusetts, gave the hometown crowd something to cheer about as he covered the New England Dragway quarter-mile in 6.154 seconds at 230.53 miles per hour.

Joining Russo atop the top qualifiers perch were Steve Spiess (Torco Race Fuels Pro Stock), Doug Foley (Top Fuel) and Jim Sickles (Funny Car).

Russo’s supercharged Camaro has long been a sleeper throughout the 2005 season. Getting this early lead in qualifying is something that excites Russo.

“This is so unbelievable,” Russo said. “This is my home track and this absolutely floors me. I really have to give credit to my team.”

This marked the first time in his career that Russo had ever held down the top spot in any category in his career.

The Northeastern domination continued as Lancaster, NY.-based Mike Janis was the second quickest with a 6.164, 233.76. Janis’ speed secured the track record. Claiming the third spot was Scott Cannon with a 6.200, 226.89.

Eddie Ware was the 16th qualifier in a field that does not include two-time 2005 winner and point leader Mike Castellana.

A familiar blue Chevrolet Cobalt continued its dominating ways during the first session of Torco Race Fuels Pro Stock qualifications. Spiess continued the domination with a 6.414 elapsed time and a world record speed of 218.09. He was left with a feeling that his Chevrolet Cobalt had more performance left.

“I really thought we could have gone even faster,” Spiess said. “We missed on the clutch because we really underestimated the track. We were really too conservative.

“When you add in the fact we were running new tires and we don’t usually do that, it makes it even more apparent that we could have run quicker.”

Slipping into second was Pete Berner (6.421) with Brian Gahm (6.429) in third.

Robert Patrick is currently on the bump spot.

This event marks the last opportunity for the Torco Race Fuels Pro Stock drivers to gain points for the Torco Race Fuels Pro Stock Showdown. Rick Jones holds onto the eighth spot with Gahm looking to break in.

Even a rash of parts attrition and oildowns couldn’t hold back Clay Millican from snagging the top spot in Top Fuel on Friday evening. Millican thundered to an early-lifting 4.663, 269.19.

Falling into second was Louie Allison (4.724, 303.84) and Rick Cooper (4.780, 284.03) was third.

Bruce Litton anchored the eight-car field among 11 entries.

Funny Car proved to be a continuation of one driver’s momentum. Hot off of his Norwalk victory, Sickles continued his good fortunes in Funny Car. He blasted out the quickest time of the first session with a 5.732, 247.27. That impressive baseline pass awarded him the speed end of the track record.

“We slowed the blower down some,” Sickles said. “We even eased the car off of the line and it responded well. The car went right down the track. I think the last three races have yielded a measure of consistency that we really like. We even shook the tires a bit on that run.”

Multi-time world champion Mark Thomas was second with a 5.768, 241.50 just ahead of Norwalk low qualifier Terry Munroe’s 5.787, 242.02.

George McNeill rounded out the Funny Car field with a 5.983, 230.45.

Qualifying continues on Saturday with two sessions starting at 3 PM.

Results Friday after qualifying for the Tenth annual Amalie Oil North American Nationals at New England Dragway, tenth of 12 events in the 2005 Hooters IHRA Drag Racing Series. Qualifying will continue Saturday for Sunday's final eliminations.


Top Fuel -- 1. Clay Millican, 4.663 seconds, 269.19 mph; 2. Louie Allison, 4.724, 303.84; 3. Rick Cooper, 4.780, 284.03; 4. Doug Foley, 4.864, 226.62; 5. Chris Karamesines, 4.885, 296.50; 6. Mitch King, 5.045, 294.37; 7. Paul Athey, 5.189, 207.11; 8. Bruce Litton, 8.903, 86.09.


Pro Modified -- 1. John Russo, Chevy Camaro, 6.157, 230.53; 2. Mike Janis, Dodge Stratus, 6.164, 233.76; 3. Scott Cannon, Studebaker, 6.200, 226.89; 4. Shannon Jenkins, Camaro, 6.220, 226.77; 5. Harold Martin, Pontiac Grand Am, 6.220, 224.73; 6. Ed Hoover, Chevy Corvette,
6.230, 230.17; 7. Quain Stott, Corvette, 6.254, 231.56; 8. Burton Auxier, Corvette, 6.261, 222.84; 9. Billy Harper, Dodge Viper, 6.372, 222.25; 10. Sal Passarelli, Chevy Nova, 6.441, 214.01; 11. Carl Spiering, Corvette, 6.915, 148.43; 12. Dennis Radford, Corvette, 7.274, 130.72; 13. Jim Halsey, Camaro, 8.878, 158.07; 14. Steve Bareman, Corvette, 9.774, 88.33; 15. Charles Carpenter, Chevy Bel Air, 10.445, 91.74; 16. Eddie Ware, Willys, 10.963, 85.22.


Funny Car -- 1. Jim Sickles, Chevy Monte Carlo, 5.732, 247.29; 2. Mark Thomas, Dodge Avenger, 5.768, 241.50; 3. Terry Munroe, Monte Carlo, 5.787, 242.02; 4. Rob Atchison, Pontiac Firebird, 5.826, 245.49; 5. Frederick Tigges, Chevy Camaro, 5.861, 244.12; 6. Thomas Carter, Camaro, 5.954, 238.85; 7. Terry McMillen, Avenger, 5.958, 221.42; 8. George McNeil, Chevy
Corvette, 5.983, 230.45.


Pro Stock -- 1. Steve Spiess, Chevy Cobalt, 6.414, 218.09; 2. Pete Berner, Ford Mustang, 6.421, 216.31; 3. Brian Gahm, Mustang, 6.429, 216.20; 4. John Nobile, Ford ZX2, 6.438, 215.93; 5. Daniel Seamon, Ford Escort, 6.452, 216.55; 6. Rick Jones, Cobalt, 6.453, 216.79; 7. Chuck DeMory, Escort, 6.469, 216.34; 8. Frank Gugliotta, Escort, 6.490, 213.33; 9. Jerry Haas, Chevy Cavalier, 6.500, 215.27; 10. Tony Gillig, Mustang, 6.516, 212.06; 11. Elijah Morton, Escort, 6.518, 215.41; 12. Larry O'Brien, Dodge Stratus, 10.061, 157.23; 13. John Montecalvo, Cobalt, 11.740, 92.63; 14. Michael Bruno, Cavalier, 12.849, 68.19; 15. Robert Patrick, Ford Cobra,
21.035, 34.39.

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BOOM - Friday night lights

(9-9-2005) - Mike Lockwood suffers a backfire during Friday night qualifying at the IHRA North American Nationals.

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FRIDAY NOTES - Hands, Heads and Liquid - They all come together

(9-9-2005) - Talk to the hand – We nabbed these photos of Clay Millican’s hands earlier today. The numbers scribed into his hands are unknown to us and if you inspect the bottom of said hand you will see the words, “Top Secret” scrawled on it.

One more ought to do her – Doug Foley and Rick Cooper came into the pressroom to do a radio interview on ESPN Radio. Foley mentioned that the headset he was given was far too large to fit his head.

A wise guy in the back popped up and said, “Yeah, if he wins one more event those things should fit perfectly!”

In the interest of fair reporting, Foley is a modest, cool, guy and he did a nice job on his radio interview.

Pro Stocks Rock – Steve Spiess is at it again. He currently leads all qualifiers after one session with a blistering 6.414 218 mph lap.

That 218 mph run needs to be backed up tomorrow to become the new national standard for speed in IHRA Mountain Motor Pro Stock.

During the first session the track E.T. record was set and reset twice, the speed record was tied to the hundredth, broken, broken again and then throttled by Spiess.

The cars are off to a flying start this weekend and we should see more record performances tomorrow evening during what promises to be an even cooler session.

Funny Car Summer – We told you it was going to be a nasty weekend for record performances.

Jim Sickles set the track record with a tremendous 5.73, 247mph run. That run is the fastest single pass by any IHRA Alky car, ever. The 5.73 is just one hundredth of a second slower than the national record and it stands as a new track record. The mph will have to be backed up tomorrow

Rob Atchison is surprisingly not on the pole after one round of alcohol qualifying here in Epping.

Mark Thomas opened a 55 gallon drum of you-know-what on the field with a near track record 5.768 at 241mph. Thomas is one of the few drivers able to brag that he drove straight away from Atchison in an head to head match up. It’s not often that the quiet Canadian gets flat outrun.

The bump spot is currently 5.983 for Alcohol making it one of the quicker fields in IHRA history.

Pro Mods live up to reputation – On the first pass for the Pro Mods, Pat Moore was wrestling his nitrous injected Corvette down the right lane of the New England Dragway and almost made it down without incident.

We did say almost. Moore side swiped the wall at the traps doing better than 170mph, but was uninjured in the incident. The Corvette has seen better days though.

Local dude John Russo showed the hometown crowd that he was serious by running a career best 6.157 at 230mph. The Middletown, Ma native sits on top of the Pro Mod field.

“This is unbelievable and it feels really good. Of course we hope to run good every time out, but that was an impressive number. It really didn’t even feel like that good of a run because it was so smooth out there. We are on the right track and we hope to build on this tomorrow,” Russo said.

Harold Martin with his EFI/Nitrous combo was the first nitrous car to lay down a competitive number for the nitrous contingent, a 6.22 224mph pass. Shannon Jenkins tied Martin’s 6.22 for quickest Nitrous honors.

Mike Janis set the track mph record and is half way to a world speed record with a 233.76mph pass here in the first Pro Mod session.

Feelin’ fuelish – Roger Richards is very proud. The senior geezer, heck, the premier geezer in all of drag racing (and we say that with love and respect), Chris Karamesines ripped off a 4.88 to open the Top Fuel session.

Warren Johnson coined the phrase, “oil derricks with wheels” and the field tonight was trying desperately to validate his words.

Todd Paton, Paul Athey, Roger Dean and Bobby Lagana all left some dead dinosaurs on the asphalt tonight in Epping.

The round was capped by Clay Millican’s 4.66, 269mph pass.

Track Records Tattooed – Well as predicted records have begun falling. The track records for Pro Stock MPH, Pro Stock ET, Pro Mod MPH, and Funny Car ET have been reset.

Potential world records are pending in Pro Stock and Funny Car. Steve Spiess has the mph and E.T. to back up tomorrow as well as Sickles’ with the E.T. and mph to boot.

FRIDAY EARLY NOTES - Chambah of Commerce weather, Happy Birthday NED and the Greek returns

(9-8-2005) - The land of cahs and dragstas – We here at eRacefuels Competition Plus.com certainly know when we are at the Amalie Oil North American Nationals here at New England Dragway, in Epping, NH.

The weather is supposed to be perfect for the race this weekend and if history is a guide, the record books in several of the professional classes could be rewritten before we are finished on Sunday.

Track manager Joe Lombardo said, “This is the big race of the year for us and for all of the New England area. We have been really excited since we saw the weather forecast at the beginning of the week. Normally, we have very strong numbers in the Pro Stock category for performance, this year should be no exception.”

The track in Epping has a physical elevation of just 90 feet above sea level, so if the cool dry air makes its way over the seacoast region of New Hampshire like weather gurus say it should, records will be broken.

Give me fuel – The Top Fuel pits are more populated in Epping than they have been in recent years. All of the top ten points runners in the IHRA series are here. Mitch King is a bit of a surprise guest as is Chris Karamesines, he was at Indy last week but he is not normally spotted this far north.

The Mohegan Sun Top Fuel team of Grant Flowers and Paul Athey consider Epping to be their home track. They have run match races here at New England Dragway and have a close connection with many of the local fans. Athey’s younger brother Tim, runs in the local bracket series here at NED with a big block Chevy powered dragster.

Local boy done good – Chick Ross is a New Hampshire native and a racer of some frequency here at New England Dragway. He ventured out to Indy last weekend for the U.S. Nationals and made the semi-final round in Super Gas competition.

Ross said, “We had a great weekend and got a lot of support from the racers back home in New England. They were really pulling for us and it meant a lot. That was my round win of the year in Super Gas and I had to go all the way to Indy to get it!”

Ross will be pulling the throttle stop off and competing in Top Sportsman this weekend. He has a beautiful Rick Jones build Chevrolet Caviler powered by a Reher and Morrison big block. The car has won a Top Sportsman shootout style match race at this track earlier this season.

A lesson in geography – If the IRP pits were a sprawling mass on the theme of Houston, Texas, then the New England Dragway pits are filled with the efficiency of Tokyo, Japan.

Not jammed in by any means, but it is a more “cozy” existence than Indy was, just because of the differential in size between the two facilities.

Cliff Jacques, the marketing director of New England Dragway said, “We do a lot of planning on the best way to get the racers in and parked to make sure that we use all of our space efficiently. It makes a better experience for the racers and the fans when we get everything done in an orderly and organized manner.”

A strong contingent of Pro Modifieds have filled the pits for this first day of qualifying and they range from the current series point leaders like Castellana, Halsey, and Jenkins, as well as New England racers like Terry Hall and his fan favorite 1936 panel wagon.

Mitch King’s new deal – Although we cannot reveal Mitch’s new sponsor today we’ll clue you in tomorrow. Mitch inked a three-race deal (Epping, Maple Grove and Dallas) with a mystery company.

Out of respect for his new backer Mitch will tell us when the deal is revealed tomorrow. It is always good to see a hands-dirty, busted knuckle racer like King get support from corporate America.

Happy birthday NED – New England Dragway will celebrate its birthday this weekend. The track opened its gates on September 11, 1966. Doing some quick math, the track turns 39 years old on Sunday. New England Dragway is the longest continually operating drag strip in New England.

The track formed and initiated by “The New England Hot Rod Council”, a group of hot rod clubs that had been racing in Sanford, Maine on an airstrip. The clubs sold stock in New England Dragway Inc. to raise money to purchase the land and build the facility.

Many of the original stockholders are still involved and a board of directors continues to be the source of governance for the racetrack. Dave Reily, the original president of New England Dragway Inc. continues to hold that position today. He was inducted into the New England Hot Rod Hall of Fame last year.

Welcome back Kotter – Well it’s actually “Welcome back Greek” as Chris Karamesines is making his first return to New England Dragway since an AHRA Grand American race in 1971.

We asked him to verify that fact and he said, “Oh, I don’t remember. I might have been, but I was pretty old back then too!”

It is neat to see “The Golden Greek” here at NED and many long time drag racing fans from the New England area have already begun to inundate him with, “remember when” stories.

The oil down from Hell – A local bracket racer here at NED was the source of what has been described as the, “Oil down from hell” by IHRA officials, and it pretty much was.

We’re thinking that the driver had filled the crankcase with oil products from the SS Enterprise. We were unable to reach Dr. Zulu at the time of these notes to learn specifics of this potent lubricant.

What we do know is that it stinks to clean up the mess.

Touch it and I’ll kill ya – We stumbled across Bobby Lagana Jr. and Grant Flowers chatting in Lagana’s pit area. Flowers was pawing Lagana’s new carbon fiber three hole blower hat.

“You better lock your stuff up good tonight,” Flowers said.

Lagana gave him the “are you kidding me” Italian look and that just about settled that.

Event Schedule

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2005
Gates Open 8:00am
God Speed ‘Church Service’ 8:15am
Special Awards 9:00am
Sportsman Elimination’s 10:00am
Run Order: ET, TD, TS, HR, ST, SR, SS, TD, TS, QR, ET
PRO Eliminations: (Rd 1) 11:00am
Run Order: PS, Sleds, PM, Sportsman continue
Pre-Race Ceremony 12:30pm
PRO Eliminations: (Rd 2): TF, PS, Sleds, FC, PM, Sptsmn 1:00pm
Hooters Girls Autograph Session After Pro Round
PRO Semi-Finals: PS, FC, PM, TF, Sportsman 3:00pm
Finals: Sportsman, PS, Sleds, FC, PM, TF, Cool Bus, Motz 4:30pm

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