Torco Race Fuels IHRA Northern Nationals
Martin, Mich.
by Brian Wood, Bobby Bennett; Photos by Roger Richards, Brian Wood and Bryan Epps

SUNDAY - Millican Back on Track

It has been about a month since Clay Millican suffered the most serious crash of his IHRA Top Fuel career. At the Dukes of Hazzard Motor City Nationals in Milan, Mich. the Drummonds, Tenn. resident experienced a spectacular blowover at over 225 mph, ending his run of five consecutive Hooters IHRA national event victories and putting a challenge in front of him he had never experienced before.coming back from an accident that could have been a lot worse than it actually was. Millican was unhurt in the crash, but mentally a blowover can take some time to overcome.

By defeating Doug Foley (Sewell, N.J.) in the final of the Torco Race Fuels Northern Nationals at US 131 Motorsports Park, Millican served notice to the rest of the IHRA Top Fuel world he is back and as good as ever.

Although the blowover was fodder for numerous highlight films and news blurbs, Millican insists it was not a big deal and he was not really that affected.

"My blowover didn't land nearly as hard as Louie (Allison) did," he said. "I was really lucky. To crash a Top Fuel car, I did it the best way it could be done. Mine just looked cool. I did a long wheelie, that's all."

Much was made of the IHRA debut of long-time IHRA Top Fuel driver T.J. Zizzo as well as Foley making some noise in the points race after winning two weeks ago at Toronto Motorsports Park.

Dale Creasy, Jr. also was driving a Top Fuel car for the second time in IHRA competition this season at US 131.a lot of attention not on the driver who has won four consecutive IHRA World Championships. Millican changed things when he set a track record and grabbed the #1 qualifier honors Saturday night before dispatching Bobby Lagana, Jr. and Bruce Litton on his was to Ironman #6 this season. He cruised to the championship when Foley shook hard off the launch and had to lift.

"I'm not going to complain about coming to Martin any time," Millican said. "This is one of my favorite tracks and I wish we ran here several times a year. It is one of the nicest race tracks in the country, period."

Mike Castellana (Westbury, N.Y.) put a damper on Carl Spiering's big weekend when he defeated the Jordan Station, Ont. resident in the Torco Pro Mod final. Spiering won the Torco Pro Mod Shootout and its $20,000 first prize Saturday evening, but he could not contend with Castellana and his nitrous combination in the final of the Northern Nationals.

Castellana posted a 6.168/231.12 in the final to top Spiering, who lifted out of his run, and move into second place in the Torco Pro Mod points standings this season, just four points behind teammate Shannon Jenkins. He also became the first two-time Torco Pro Mod Ironman winner this season.

"It wasn't easy, but my crew put together a real good car," Castellana said. "The key thing is consistency. You have to have a good car throughout, and that's what the crew and Shannon gave me."

Rob Atchison (London, Ont.) continued his march towards a third consecutive Funny Car World Championship when he defeated Chris Foster in the final Sunday. Atchison's 5.825/240.81 easily handled Foster's 6.242/198.85.

Atchison defeated rival Mark Thomas (Louisville, Ohio) in the semifinals immediately after seeing Jim Sickles, the #2 driver in the points standings, fall to Foster.

"We just keep going rounds," Atchison said. "It was tough and I had to keep that in my head because I had just watched Jim Sickles go out and I had my archrival in the other lane in the semifinals. It can be tough to focus and realize where you have to be because, at that point, I wasn't going to lose any ground in the points."

Steve Spiess (Manhattan, Ill.) backed up his Torco Pro Stock victory in Toronto two weeks ago with a win over Rick Jones (Galesburg, Ill.) in the final. Spiess set the track et and mph record in the process, and extended his points lead over Robert Patrick. Spiess had a 49 point lead heading into the event. He left with a 122 point advantage. To top it off, he had 30 friends and family in attendance at the race.

"It doesn't get a whole lot better than this," Spiess said of his weekend. "We really ran good et's, but we couldn't figure out the miles an hour. We changes the gear ratio a couple of races ago because it felt like there was something holding us back. I'm just thankful for everything because I had all my friends here and was able to do well in front of them."

Spiess ran a 6.443/217.04 in the final to get the victory over Rick Jones in the final. In fact, Jones and his company, Quarter-Max, built both Chevy Cobalts that were in the final.

"Rick is very happy because he wants to see his customers win," Spiess said. "He's a very competitive person and wants to win just like everyone else. Before and after we are buddies, but when we are out there whatever happens, happens."

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Sunday's final results from the 24th annual Torco Racing Fuels Northern Nationals at US 131 Motorsports Park. The $1.1 million race is the eighth of 12 in the 2005 Hooters IHRA Drag Racing Series:

Top Fuel -- Clay Millican, 4.661 seconds, 311.41 mph def. Doug Foley, broke.

Pro Modified -- Mike Castellana, Chevy Cavalier, 6.168, 231.12 def. Carl Spiering, Chevy Corvette, foul.

Funny Car -- Rob Atchison, Pontiac Firebird, 5.825, 240.81 def. Chris Foster, Dodge Avenger, 6.242, 198.85.

Pro Stock -- Steve Spiess, Chevy Cobalt, 6.443, 217.04 def. Rick Jones, Cobalt, 13.237, 65.89.

Pro Modified Shootout (contested Saturday) -- Carl Spiering, Chevy Corvette, 6.192, 230.65 def. Jim Halsey, Chevy Camaro, 6.234, 225.26.

Top Stock (contested Saturday) -- Paul Mercure, Chevy Camaro, 9.843, 135.29 def. Paul Cambria, Pontiac Firebird, 10.186, 131.04.

Top Sportsman -- Gary Wojnowski Jr., Chevy Monte Carlo, 7.196, 175.68 def. Aaron Glaser, Chevy Camaro, broke.

Top Dragster -- Troy Williams Jr., Dragster, 6.843, 173.54 def. Ricky Adkins, Dragster, 7.015, 185.10.

Quick Rod -- Rob Kropfeld, Dragster, 8.912, 157.37 def. Joe Fisher, Dragster, 8.876, 170.64.

Super Rod -- Rusty Cook, Chevy Corvette, 9.893, 162.53 def. Ken Bowers, Corvette, 9.859, 153.13.

Hot Rod -- Paul Richardson, Oldsmobile Firenza, 10.942, 144.04 def. Tim Cmar, Chevy S-10, 10.897, 128.10.

Super Stock -- Todd Matthias, Chevy Camaro, 9.614, 139.34 def. Donn Rhode, Camaro, 9.674, 136.41.

Stock -- Jeremy Mitchell, Chevy Camaro, 11.441, 111.95 def. Jack Zimmerman, Dodge Challenger, 10.608, 123.22.



ET Bracket -- Jon Smith, Chevy Malibu, 10.256, 130.40 def. John Hernandez, Plymouth Barracuda, 9.716, 138.29.

ET Box -- Jon Smith, Chevy Malibu, 10.333, 129.42 def. Larry Townsend, Ford Thunderbird, 9.085, 147.96.

ET No Box -- John Hernandez, Plymouth Barracuda, 9.684, 138.47 def. Mike Austin, Chevy Nova, foul.

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Final round-by-round results from the 24th annual Torco Racing Fuels Northern Nationals at US 131 Motorsports Park, the eighth of 12 events in the 2005 Hooters IHRA Drag Racing Series:

TOP FUEL:

ROUND ONE -- Bruce Litton, 4.766, 307.58 def. Rick Cooper, 4.786, 298.47; Doug Foley, 5.155, 200.44 def. Todd Paton, 11.171, 54.16; T.J. Zizzo, 4.665, 308.35 def. Dale Creasy Jr, 4.846, 260.76; Clay Millican, 4.675, 310.63 def. Bobby Lagana Jr., foul;

SEMIFINALS -- Millican, 4.680, 317.49 def. Litton, 14.518, 49.98; Foley, 4.756, 281.42 def. Zizzo, 4.806, 279.79;

FINAL -- Millican, 4.661, 311.41 def. Foley, broke.

PRO MODIFIED:

ROUND ONE -- Scott Cannon, Studebaker, 6.250, 225.82 def. Pat Moore, Chevy Corvette, 6.314, 222.99; Roy Wasko, Chevy Camaro, 6.313, 216.31 def. Ed Hoover, Corvette, 10.982, 104.34; Jim Halsey, Camaro, 6.289, 224.55 def. Steve Bareman, Corvette, 6.553, 173.49; Dennis Radford, Corvette, 6.277, 223.62 def. Quain Stott, Corvette, 6.308, 228.58; Carl Spiering, Corvette, 6.236, 230.13 def. Harold Martin, Pontiac Grand Am, 6.402, 223.28; Mike Janis, Dodge Stratus,
6.234, 227.80 def. John Russo, Camaro, 8.219, 112.00; Burton Auxier, Corvette, 6.288, 222.99 def. Eddie Ware, Willys, 6.616, 219.33; Mike Castellana, Chevy Cavalier, 6.190, 229.55 def. Charles Carpenter, Chevy Bel Air, 6.332, 221.60;

QUARTERFINALS -- Spiering, 6.187, 231.04 def. Cannon, 6.367, 206.04; Auxier, 6.655, 167.32 def. Halsey, broke; Radford, 6.277, 222.84 def. Janis, 6.327, 220.12; Castellana, 6.186, 225.52 def. Wasko, 6.361, 221.13;

SEMIFINALS -- Spiering, 6.217, 232.11 def. Auxier, 7.240, 136.65; Castellana, 6.179, 230.41 def. Radford, 6.271, 222.69;

FINAL -- Castellana, 6.168, 231.12 def. Spiering, foul.

FUNNY CAR:

ROUND ONE -- Jim Sickles, Chevy Monte Carlo, 5.831, 242.58 def. Thomas Carter, Chevy Camaro, foul; Rob Atchison, Pontiac Firebird, 5.845, 240.51 def. Terry McMillen, Dodge Avenger, 6.030, 232.47; Mark Thomas, Avenger, 5.901, 239.82 def. Tony Bogolo, Ford Mustang, 8.453, 89.03; Chris Foster, Avenger, 6.010, 233.12 def. Terry Munroe, Firebird, 6.018, 231.04;

SEMIFINALS -- Foster, 6.030, 234.41 def. Sickles, 6.076, 238.72; Atchison, 5.807, 241.84 def.
Thomas, 5.874, 243.28;

FINAL -- Atchison, 5.825, 240.81 def. Foster, 6.242, 198.85.

PRO STOCK:

ROUND ONE -- John Montecalvo, Chevy Cobalt, 6.498, 213.77 def. Frank Gugliotta, Ford Escort, 6.862, 172.76; Rick Jones, Cobalt, 6.467, 214.83 def. Ed Machacek, Chevy Cavalier, 6.506, 214.52; Jerry Haas, Cavalier, 6.484, 214.18 def. Doug Kirk, Ford Mustang, 11.467, 75.16; John Nobile, Ford ZX2, 6.508, 214.04 def. Pete Berner, Mustang, 6.504, 211.76; Bert Jackson, Cavalier, 6.797, 207.66 def. Brian Gahm, Mustang, 9.885, 94.84; Larry O'Brien, Dodge Stratus, 6.532, 212.53 def. Robert Patrick, Ford Cobra, 6.590, 215.20; Tony Gillig, Mustang, 6.479, 213.03 def. Daniel Seamon, Escort, 6.537, 214.69; Steve Spiess, Cobalt, 6.450, 214.66 def. Chuck DeMory, Escort, 13.887, 77.44;

QUARTERFINALS -- O'Brien, 6.579, 212.06 def. Nobile, broke; Gillig, 6.499, 213.10 def. Haas, 6.505, 214.25; Jones, 6.503, 215.44 def. Jackson, 6.549, 213.74; Spiess, 6.473, 214.45 def. Montecalvo, 6.510, 213.91;

SEMIFINALS -- Jones, 6.468, 216.34 def. Gillig, 6.477, 213.84; Spiess, 6.428, 217.07 def. O'Brien, foul;

FINAL -- Spiess, 6.443, 217.04 def. Jones, 13.237, 65.89.


PRO MODIFIED SHOOTOUT:

ROUND ONE -- Ed Hoover, Chevy Corvette, 6.293, 227.54 def. Harold Martin, Pontiac Grand Am, 6.367, 224.17; Mike Castellana, Chevy Cavalier, 6.198, 229.90 def. Quain Stott, Corvette, 6.308, 229.31; Jim Halsey, Chevy Camaro, 6.263, 223.73 def. John Russo, Camaro, 6.340, 203.61; Carl Spiering, Corvette, 6.217, 230.10 def. Shannon Jenkins, Camaro, 13.470, 73.60;

QUARTERFINALS -- Spiering, 6.203, 231.04 def. Hoover, 6.336, 218.34; Halsey, 6.277, 223.43 def. Castellana, 8.493, 108.51;

SEMIFINALS -- Spiering, 6.192, 230.65 def. Halsey, 6.234, 225.26.

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SUNDAY NOTES - Oddy Bids New York Farewell, Castellana's Big Adventure and Millican Survives Torco Top Fuel Assault

Bye Bye Buffalo – Upstate New York native Jim Oddy is making a couple of big moves in the next few months. He’ll be selling his performance business, located in Alma, New York, most likely to long-time associate Billy Leverantz. Then he and wife Charlene will be heading south to the heart of circle track racing, Mooresville, North Carolina, where they are currently building a new home and race shop.

“We’ve had enough of those Buffalo winters,” Charlene said with a laugh. “We’re really looking forward to moving to North Carolina – we love it there.” For his part, Jim said, “we’re building ourselves a little retreat – it was time for a change of scenery, and we’re pretty excited about it.”

Billes Hanging It Up? – The latest word from the Summit Pro Mod camp of Jim Oddy is that driver Al Billes, who was recently involved in two serious crashes, may have driven his last race.

Billes faces a long period of recuperation from a number of injuries, and his doctors are very leery of him subjecting himself to the stresses and strains of drag racing in the future. Just suffering through a bout of tire shake could have serious consequences, and may not be worth the risk for the young family man.

If in fact Billes hangs up his helmet, Oddy will carry on for the rest of the season as planned, with Steve Bareman driving the ’54 Corvette the team debuted in Martin this weekend. They will then re-evaluate their program for 2006 and beyond over the winter.

Six go in; three come out – Batting .500 is an excellent average in baseball, and for Torco Race Fuels the same can be said for this weekend’s Top Fuel experience. Three of their six team cars made it past the first round with only one losing to a non-team car. In the history of IHRA Top Fuel, no team has qualified that many cars in one field.

Team Torco is guaranteed at least one car in the final round.

Hammer Don’t Hurt ‘Em – Maybe the nitrous cars need a supercharger overdrive reduction. That was the joke going around the Pro Modified pits as Mike Castellana made up for teammate Shannon Jenkins’ DNQ. As if blasting out a 6.198 to qualify second wasn’t enough, Castellana went on a bracket racing-like tour with a 6.190, 6.186, 6.179 and a low elapsed time of 6.168.

Torco Pro Modified Shootout winner Carl Spiering snagged most of the headlines, but his 6.187 just didn’t have the gusto to crown him “King of the Hill.”

Fending Them Off – “Evan Knoll sent a lot of competition my way.” That was the comment Top Fuel winner Clay Millican uttered upon exiting the car after his 43rd career victory in IHRA Hooters Top Fuel.

“But, I’m not shaving my head this time.”

Millican was refering to his 2003 victory in which he allowed retired IHRA President Bill Bader to shave his head.

Millican executed a performance-oriented weekend as he reeled off a string of elapsed times that included a 4.675, 4.680 and a 4.661 in the final against Doug Foley.

Millican’s raceday tune-up was only bettered by T.J. Zizzo’s 4.665 in the first round of eliminations. Zizzo lost in the semis to Foley.

Michigander – It’s safe to say that Rob Atchison has conquered Michigan. His latest triumph continues a win streak that dates back to the Martin event in 2003. Atchison has won every IHRA national event since, including his forays into Milan Dragway.

His latest victory came with a low elapsed time of 5.807 and victories over Terry McMillen, Mark Thomas and Chris Foster.

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SATURDAY - Millican Saves Best for Last

(8-13-2005) - With all the excitement surrounding T.J. Zizzo's IHRA Top Fuel debut and Doug Foley following up his strong showing in Toronto two weeks ago with a quality Friday evening qualifying session, people seemed to be overlooking someone very important. It isn't often when the four-time defending World Champion is an afterthought, but that is what Clay Millican (Drummonds, Tenn.) was at the Torco Race Fuels Northern Nationals at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park.

It didn't take long for Millican to put himself back squarely in the spotlight.

Breaking both ends of the track record, Millican blasted his way to the #1 qualifier position with a 4.609/318.09 pass during the Saturday afternoon qualifying session. No one in the evening session could better Millican's afternoon run, leaving Millican in his Werner Enterprises '05 Hadman on the top of the heap.

"Let everyone else think about the other teams," Millican's Crew Chief, Mike Kloeber, said. "All we can do is think about ourselves and getting this car down the race track one run at a time. What everyone else thinks is kind of up to them. We just keep our heads down and do good work. If we do that we'll get good results."

Millican is grateful so many quality cars were in Martin for the race.

"I think is it awesome that Evan Knoll has so many good cars out here," Millican said. "Without cars here we won't get fans in the stands and without fans in the stands we won't have a race. That means I don't get to show off. Evan Knoll is out there making things happen and I'm really glad for that."

In fact, six of the eight drivers who qualified for the Top Fuel field, T.J. Zizzo, Doug Foley, Bruce Litton, Rick Cooper, Dale Creasy, Jr. and Bobby Lagana, Jr. receive sponsorship money from Knoll's Torco Race Fuels.

The evening session was not without suspense, however. Lagana, Jr. (Scarsdale, N.Y.) was sitting on the bump with a 4.836 when Chris Karamesines (Chicago, Ill.) and Tim Cullinan (Franklin Park, Ill.) pulled into the staging lanes for the second to last pair of cars before the field was solidified. Both had the chance to bump Lagana out and Karamesines had a solid run.but fell .002
short.

"It's my brother Dom's birthday today so we'll take it," Lagana said. "This is tough, though, because I feel really bad for The Greek. We are such close friends and I root for him all the time, so that makes this really hard. But I've been on his end so many times."

Steve Spiess' '05 Chevy Cobalt continued to be the Torco Pro Stock car the entire field is chasing as he claimed the #1 qualifying position for the second time in as many races. Spiess (Manhattan, Ill.) ran a 6.446/214.48 to sit atop the field heading into Sunday's elimination rounds.

He won the Pro Stock Ironman two weeks ago at Toronto Motorsports Park, in the process barely missing becoming the first Torco Pro Stock driver in IHRA history to card a lap in the 6.30's when he notched a 6.400 pass in Saturday evening qualifying session. He set the track record at U.S. 131 at 6.446.

Jim Sickles (Caledonia, N.Y.) put two-time defending IHRA Funny Car World Champion Rob Atchison in an unfamiliar place when final qualifying was completed - not at the top of the heap. Sickles, in his last shot at the track Saturday evening, posted a 5.829/242.67 to top Atchison's 5.835/240.34 and send Atchison to the #2 spot.

Five-time IHRA Funny Car World Champion Mark Thomas had his fans on edge Saturday evening, as he could not crack the top eight and make the field during the first two qualifying sessions. He came up big in his last chance, however, as his 5.877/241.11 put him in the #3 position and into Sunday's field.

In the Torco Pro Mod class the big story was not who made the field for Sunday's elimination rounds.it was who was on the outside looking in. Shannon Jenkins (Tuscaloosa, Ala.), the #1 ranked Pro Mod driver in the world, could not get down the track under power on his final shot and will not be involved in Sunday's competition.

The #1 qualifier won a little bit more than just lane choice and the chance to race the #16 qualifier in Sunday's first round of eliminations. Carl Spiering (Jordan Station, Ont.) also won the Torco Pro Mod Shootout and the $20,000 prize that went along with it when he defeated Jim Halsey in the final of the competition. The Torco Pro Mod Shootout pitted the top eight Pro Mod cars ranked through a qualifying points system this season.

Spiering is on a roll as he was the national event winner at the ACDelco Canadian Nationals two weeks ago. His 6.192/230.65 put him ahead of Mike Castellana, who also ran in the 6.19's during Saturday afternoon.

The Torco Race Fuels Northern Nationals will continue Sunday with pro eliminations starting at 11 a.m.

First-round pairings for professional eliminations Sunday for the 24th annual Torco Racing Fuels Northern Nationals at US 131 Motorsports Park, the eighth of 12 events in the 2005 Hooters IHRA Drag Racing Series. Pairings based on results in qualifying, which ended Saturday.

Top Fuel -- 1. Clay Millican, 4.609 seconds, 318.09 mph vs. 8. Bobby Lagana Jr., 4.836, 304.19; 2. T.J. Zizzo, 4.710, 292.58 vs. 7. Dale Creasy Jr, 4.795, 291.95; 3. Doug Foley, 4.718, 303.37 vs. 6. Todd Paton, 4.788, 301.87; 4. Bruce Litton, 4.736, 310.20 vs. 5. Rick Cooper, 4.776, 308.92.

Pro Modified -- 1. Carl Spiering, Chevy Corvette, 6.192, 230.65 vs. 16. Harold Martin, Pontiac Grand Am, 6.367, 224.17; 2. Mike Castellana, Chevy Cavalier, 6.198, 229.90 vs. 15. Charles Carpenter, Chevy Bel Air, 6.356, 221.92; 3. Mike Janis, Dodge Stratus, 6.214, 230.80 vs. 14. John Russo, Chevy Camaro, 6.340, 203.61; 4. Jim Halsey, Camaro, 6.234, 225.26 vs. 13. Steve Vick, Corvette, 6.325, 221.02; 5. Burton Auxier, Corvette, 6.273, 223.84 vs. 12. Eddie Ware, Willys, 6.314, 221.82; 6. Quain Stott, Corvette, 6.282, 229.35 vs. 11. Dennis Radford, Corvette, 6.314, 222.03; 7. Ed Hoover, Corvette, 6.293, 227.54 vs. 10. Roy Wasko, Camaro, 6.303, 222.77; 8. Scott Cannon, Studebaker, 6.300, 225.63 vs. 9. Pat Moore, Corvette, 6.301, 222.73.

Funny Car -- 1. Jim Sickles, Chevy Monte Carlo, 5.829, 242.67 vs. 8. Thomas Carter, Chevy Camaro, 6.050, 234.61; 2. Rob Atchison, Pontiac Firebird, 5.835, 240.34 vs. 7. Terry McMillen, Dodge Avenger, 6.019, 233.88; 3. Mark Thomas, Avenger, 5.877, 241.11 vs. 6. Tony Bogolo, Ford Mustang, 6.005, 234.37; 4. Terry Munroe, Firebird, 5.887, 239.57 vs. 5. Chris Foster, Avenger, 5.919, 227.11.

Pro Stock -- 1. Steve Spiess, Chevy Cobalt, 6.446, 214.48 vs. 16. Chuck DeMory, Ford Escort, 6.591, 212.26; 2. Brian Gahm, Ford Mustang, 6.483, 215.93 vs. 15. Bert Jackson, Chevy Cavalier, 6.581, 213.00; 3. Tony Gillig, Mustang, 6.485, 213.16 vs. 14. Daniel Seamon, Escort, 6.573, 214.45; 4. Robert Patrick, Ford Cobra, 6.490, 214.79 vs. 13. Larry O'Brien, Dodge Stratus, 6.540, 213.20; 5. John Nobile, Ford ZX2, 6.491, 213.60 vs. 12. Pete Berner, Mustang, 6.536, 211.83; 6. Jerry Haas, Cavalier, 6.511, 213.91 vs. 11. Doug Kirk, Mustang, 6.520, 213.74; 7. Rick Jones, Cobalt, 6.512, 215.13 vs. 10. Ed Machacek, Cavalier, 6.518, 212.83; 8. John Montecalvo, Cobalt, 6.512, 213.00 vs. 9. Frank Gugliotta, Escort, 6.515, 214.96.

The "Big Dog" Outruns the Underdog, Spiering Wins Torco Race Fuels Pro Modified Shootout

Carl Spiering will head back to Canada with a nice
paycheck in hand. The Eaton Cutler-Hammer-sponsored driver pocketed $20,000 by stopping Jim Halsey in the finals of the $52,000 Torco Race Fuels Pro Modified Shootout.

Spiering, who carries the nickname of "Big Dog," may have started the Torco Race Fuels Pro Modified Shootout as an alternate, but he was far from being the underdog. His opportunity came compliments of fellow Canadian Al Billes, who was not able to race.

"I actually had guys come up and tell me that they wished I hadn't gotten in the field," Spiering laughed. "Four weeks ago we never even thought about the shootout because we had no idea that we could possibly pull it off. I didn't even know there was a possibility until the last race in Toronto."

"The way the car is running is unbelievable. This is thing is a bad, bad, machine," Spiering added. "This is a big deal for us, American money will go further in Canada, but I'll probably end up spending it all on my hot rod. This is like a fairytale."

Spiering began his day by shaking up the field during the first round. Top ranked Shannon Jenkins was the first to fall victim to as Spiering used an overkill 6.217,230.10 to win.

However, it was third ranked Mike Castellana who fired the loudest shot in round one action as he blistered Quain Stott with a 6.198,229.90. Stott's shootout quest came to a screeching halt when he was only able to muster a 6.308, 229.31 run.

The east coast battle between eventual finalist Halsey and John Russo was settled at the finish line. With nearly identical reaction times, Halsey secured victory with a 6.263,223.73.

One of the more interesting victories of the first round came when Ed Hoover left Harold Martin sitting on the line, the victim of a .296 reaction. Hoover left no room for catch up with a 6.293,227.54.

An interesting twist of parity took place in the second round when the two nitrous cars battled it out, as did the supercharged entries. Spiering became the first of the finalists as he beat Hoover on both ends of the track with a winning 6.203,231.04 that more than handled Hoover's 6.336,218.34 run.

Halsey took advantage of Castellana's inability to find the right combination and advanced to the final round with a 6.277,223.43.

The two drivers were familiar with the other, as they had also met once before in 2005 during the final round of the IHRA Rocky Mountain Nationals. Halsey won in that meeting.

"I owed him that one," Spiering said. "I knew if I was with him at half track, I could win it. When I threw it in third gear, I was out of there."

Halsey had the better of the two lights (.029 to a.039), but it wasn't enough to hang with 'the Big Dog' who is unarguably the hottest car in the class. Coming off a No. 1 qualifier and win in Toronto, Spiering blasted to a 6.192,230.65 run, which was good enough for the No. 1 spot tonight as well.

Halsey takes home $9,000 for his runner-up effort of 6.234,225.26.

"What can I say about Evan Knoll and Torco Race Fuels…they are doing an awesome job at promoting this class. For him to come in and show that kind of dedication to Pro Modified, he has my attention," Spiering said. "I have never had the opportunity to run for this much money, and it is certainly the most I have ever won in my racing career. I thank him for giving us this opportunity, and he is number
one in my book."

Taking his new title of Torco Race Fuels Pro Modified Shootout Champion very seriously, Spiering is already looking ahead to next year. Points for the 2006 Torco Race Fuels Shootout began accumulating tonight, and as of right now, Spiering is in the lead.

SATURDAY NOTES - Rain Reprieve, Looking for General Lee and Funny Car Lovefest

The Rain That Never Came - The predictions were dire - all morning long doppler radar coverage for the state of Michigan showed huge areas of severe weather headed right for U.S. 131. By early afternoon the skies opened up, and the second day of the Torco Racing Fuels Northern Nationals seemed to be in serious jeopardy.

Unbelievably, the shower lasted for only 15 minutes, resulting in less than half an hour of total down time. After that, it was smooth sailing all day long, and even though the skies looked dark and threatening at times, all the qualifying sessions for Sunday's elimination rounds were successfully wrapped up.

Much of the rest of the state wasn't as fortunate, however, as storms pounded areas all around Martin for much of the day. Somebody up there must really like drag racing!

In Search of General Lee – Visiting Australian drag racer Victor Bray has quite a shopping list of things he has to buy before he heads back to “Oz.” High on the list of souvenirs, in addition to the typical t-shirts and other knick-knacks, are performance parts and a car. Yeah, that’s right – one authentic, or close to it, bright orange 1969 Dodge Charger R/T, better known as the “General Lee.”

One of his sponsors back home wants to do a promotion to tie in with the recently released “Dukes of Hazzard” movie, and Victor has been asked to locate a version of the famous car to ship back home. The bad news is that the car is to be given away as a contest prize, and the contest is already underway!

“I guess I better start looking around,” Bray said, stating the obvious. “Those cars are pretty hard to find as it is, and with the new movie coming out, I expect the prices for anything decent will be climbing higher all the time. Hopefully we can run one down before we head home at the end of the month. We have to keep the sponsors happy, after all.”

Where’s the Love? – When Rob Atchison’s Funny Car team arrived in Michigan this weekend, the sign reserving their pit space was adorned with a sticker that read “We Hate Les Mellows.” Mellows is the crew chief for the two-time class champion from London, Ontario, and with the team currently leading the points in a quest for title No. 3, it’s not surprising that their fellow competitors are less than enamored with the man who makes the tuning calls.

It turns out to be (mostly) good-natured ribbing, as longtime rival Mark Thomas explained. “Les is quite an instigator, and doesn’t miss a chance to take a shot or two, so we decided it was time to let him know how we all feel,” he said with a laugh. “A bunch of us voted on a design, and one of the guys printed up 100 stickers. I’m not sure we hurt his feelings, and I’m pretty sure it won’t have any impact on how he tunes Rob’s car, but it felt good to let him know what we think!”

Back on His Gahm Again – Former Torco Pro Stock World Champion had to be wondering if his once potent Mustang had turned into a gelding after less than “Gahm”-like caliber qualifying positions. Gahm was the second quickest qualifier at the season-opener in San Antonio, Texas. The quickest he qualified from that point was eighth. This weekend marked a much better fate as Gahm landed in the second spot with a 6.483, 215.93.

Kaase One-Two Step – Veteran Pro Stock engine builder Jon Kaase displayed his considerable strength during qualifying. Kaase, formerly the engine man for Pro Stock legend “Dyno” Don Nicholson, showed his prowess at both Bow-tie and Blue Oval technology. Steve Spiess drove his Chevrolet Cobalt to a 6.446, 214.48 and the Ford of Gahm was second with a 6.483, 215.93. The Kaase tandem secured both low elapsed time and top speed for qualifying.

Stacking the Deck – One way or another Torco Race Fuels hopes the weekend will end with a victory for one of their sponsored Top Fuel dragsters. If not, one might draw the assumption they are trying to stack the deck. Six of the eight qualifiers for Sunday’s eliminations are bearing Torco Race Fuels livery.

Redemption – Of the six Torco cars qualified for Sunday’s show, the one that might have caught Evan Knoll’s eye was his own digger. One year ago Knoll secured a Top Fuel license in three consecutive runs during the same event. An untimely series of non-related mishaps led to the appointment of Dale Creasy, Jr. as driver while Knoll recuperates.

Creasy has struggled at time with bad luck in his bid to bring the Knoll car into competitive status. During this weekend, the bad times became a distant memory as he and crewchief Brian Pfiefer nailed down their quickest run ever with a 4.795, 291.95.

“I am just so happy to deliver this for Evan,” Creasy said. “If anyone deserves it, he does. He’s put a lot of faith in us and it feels great to be able to deliver it.”

In Case You Didn’t Notice – Lost in the shuffle of Carl Spiering’s Torco Pro Modified Shootout triumph, is the fact he went to the number one qualifying position. That pole position provides Spiering with a leg up on a 2006 Pro Modified Shootout seeding as it represented the first time drivers could gain points.

In Case You Didn’t Notice, Part 2 – With all the success surrounding Carl Spiering, one might have mistakenly overlooked the shortcomings of top ranked Torco Pro Modified Shootout combatant Shannon Jenkins. Not only did Jenkins lose in the first round, he also failed to qualify for Sunday’s eliminations.

Intertwined – Parity seems to be alive and well among the nitrous and blower camps in Pro Modified. Seven of the 16 qualifiers were of the supercharged persuasion. The top six qualifiers were three apiece.

Hometown Win – Longtime sportsman drag racer and Michigan fan favorite Paul Mercure commanded a hearty cheer from the standing room crowd at U.S. 131 Dragway as he defeated Paul Cambria for the Top Stock crown.

FRIDAY - Spiess Continues March; Sets track record in Friday qualifying

(8-12-2005) - Steve Spiess is on quite a roll. Two weeks after missing becoming the first Torco Race Fuels Pro Stock driver to run in the 6.30's by a mere thousandth at the ACDelco Canadian Nationals in Toronto, Spiess (Manhattan, Ill.) grabbed the provisional top qualifying spot at the Torco Race Fuels Northern Nationals at U.S. 131 in Martin, Mich.

Spiess, driving a new '05 Chevy Cobalt, ran a 6.470 to erase the previous record of 6.474 set by John Montecalvo. Spiess' time was a full two hundredths faster than provisional #2 qualifier Robert Patrick (Fredericksburg, Va.), who posted a 6.490.

Spiess currently leads Patrick in the Hooters IHRA World Championship points race as well, 640 points to 601.

Rob Atchison (London, Ont.) vaulted to the top of the provisional Funny Car qualifying ladder with a 5.879 run at 239.23 mph. It should be no surprise that Atchison is on top, looking down, as he has been the #1 qualifier in six of the first seven Hooters IHRA national events this season.

Terry Munroe (Beaver, Pa.) is in the provisional #2 position with a 5.965/239.57 pass while Caledonia, N.Y. resident Jim Sickles, the second-ranked Funny Car driver in the world, had problems and could not get down the track under power.

Jim Halsey (Street, Md.) took provisional #1 qualifier honors in the Torco Pro Mod category, registering a 6.254/224.73 mph pass in his '68 Camaro. Defending World Champion Mike Janis (Lancaster, N.Y.) was the #2 provisional driver while Carl Spiering (Jordan Station, Ont.), the champion in Toronto two weeks ago, was third.

Doug Foley (Sewell, N.J.) backed up his first national event victory of the '05 season in Toronto by roaring to the provisional #1 qualifying spot Friday evening. After watching Bruce Litton (Indianapolis, Ind.) run a 4.774/304.67 in the pair before him, Foley posted a 4.718/303.37 to vault into the top spot. T.J. Zizzo (Round Lake, Ill) claimed the provisional #2 qualifying spot with a 4.750/277.03 in the last pair of the evening.

The Torco Race Fuels Northern Nationals continue tomorrow with the first professional qualifying slated to begin at 4 p.m.

Results Friday after qualifying for the 24th annual Torco Racing Fuels Northern Nationals at US 131 Motorsports Park, eighth of 12 events in the 2005 Hooters IHRA Drag Racing Series. Qualifying will continue Saturday for Sunday's final eliminations.

Top Fuel -- 1. Doug Foley, 4.718 seconds, 303.37 mph; 2. T.J. Zizzo, 4.750, 277.03; 3. Clay Millican, 4.763, 311.20; 4. Bruce Litton, 4.774, 304.67; 5. Dale Creasy Jr, 4.795, 291.95; 6. Louie Allison, 4.851, 275.96; 7. Bobby Lagana Jr., 4.904, 304.19; 8. Paul Athey, 4.985, 249.76.

Pro Modified -- 1. Jim Halsey, Chevy Camaro, 6.254, 224.73; 2. Mike Janis, Dodge Stratus, 6.261, 230.80; 3. Carl Spiering, Chevy Corvette, 6.265, 228.73; 4. Burton Auxier, Corvette, 6.273, 223.84; 5. Pat Moore, Corvette, 6.301, 222.51; 6. Steve Vick, Corvette, 6.325, 219.76; 7. Quain Stott, Corvette, 6.336, 228.58; 8. Charles Carpenter, Chevy Bel Air, 6.356, 221.92; 9. Scott Cannon, Studebaker, 6.391, 222.77; 10. Dennis Radford, Corvette, 6.392, 21.42;
11. Kenny Lang, Corvette, 6.417, 219.76; 12. Harold Martin, Pontiac Grand Am, 6.419, 213.57; 13. Milt Decker, Corvette, 6.491, 183.29; 14. Ed Burnley, Corvette, 6.525, 212.69; 15. Keith Baker, Corvette, 6.537, 220.44; 16. Kenny Rucker, Willys, 6.589, 210.21.

Funny Car -- 1. Rob Atchison, Pontiac Firebird, 5.879, 239.23; 2. Terry Munroe, Firebird, 5.965, 239.57; 3. Tony Bogolo, Ford Mustang, 6.029, 231.48; 4. Terry McMillen, Dodge Avenger, 6.048, 233.88; 5. Chris Foster, Avenger, 6.097, 227.11; 6. Thomas Carter, Chevy Camaro,
6.132, 232.67; 7. Jeff Burnett, Firebird, 6.180, 230.06; 8. Joe Comella, Firebird, 6.293, 228.42.

Pro Stock -- 1. Steve Spiess, Chevy Cobalt, 6.470, 213.60; 2. Robert Patrick, Ford Cobra, 6.490, 214.62; 3. Brian Gahm, Ford Mustang, 6.493, 215.34; 4. Jerry Haas, Chevy Cavalier, 6.511, 213.91; 5. John Montecalvo, Cobalt, 6.517, 212.69; 6. Rick Jones, Cobalt, 6.519, 214.76; 7. John Nobile, Ford ZX2, 6.526, 213.33; 8. Larry O'Brien, Dodge Stratus, 6.540, 213.20; 9. Pete Berner, Mustang, 6.540, 211.83; 10. Ed Machacek, Cavalier, 6.553, 212.49; 11. Frank Gugliotta, Ford Escort, 6.602, 214.69; 12. Chuck DeMory, Escort, 6.602, 212.19; 13. Richard Penland, Cobra, 6.603, 211.69; 14. Ron Miller, Cavalier, 6.618, 208.17; 15. Elijah Morton, Mustang, 6.621, 208.04; 16. Doug Kirk, Mustang, 6.684, 212.53.

FRIDAY NOTES - A-board antics, Blowing stuff up and history rewards Top Fuel

Well, it was good in theory – An enterprising IHRA official turned a brainstorm into reality. The plan was to create an A-board design that fit in the middle of the track and resembled Evan Knoll’s Top Fuel dragster. When this plan was presented to the IHRA hierarchy it was immediately approved. In addition to the design, the replica would have had smoking mechanisms and even belch fire from the pipes.

If only the production process would have transpired as easy.

“The only problem is our 14-foot long design expanded to 56,” IHRA President Aaron Polburn said. “That also caused the height to increase to nine feet.”

Polburn added the team had to disassemble the car just to get it into the IHRA equipment transporter.

“It’s going to cost us a lot of money to just transport the thing,” Polburn said.

If we could render a guess as to the fate of this project gone wrong, we believe it will eventually end up in Knoll’s front-yard at Christmas time with lights draped over it.

Why Cremora doesn’t blend with drag racing – Trust us. We couldn’t make up something this good. On two separate occasions, huge firebombs made from Cremora, part of the post-race fireworks display, exploded prematurely, leaving a film on the racing surface which delayed action while the track prep crews cleaned things up.

We couldn’t help but think the mess was small in comparison to that which the drivers in the vicinity of the huge blasts nearly left in their firesuits.

Winner usually takes the spoils – If there’s a betting pool for the 2005 Hooters IHRA Top Fuel championship, chances are one might wait until the completion of this event to cast their wager. Since 1999, the winner of the Torco Race Fuels Northern Nationals has gone on to capture the coveted $200,000 prize at season’s end.

Don Lampus started the trend as he stopped Steve Smith in the final round. With the victory, Lampus managed to overtake the point lead from Bruce Litton. One year later, Paul Romine snatched victory away from Litton’s teammate J.R. Todd and he also went on to claim victory.

Clay Millican has won the event every year including the 2003 triumph in which he shaved his head in celebration of his 25th victory, a feat that enabled him to pass Don Garlits on the all-time winningest list in IHRA Top Fuel.

Welcome to America – The IHRA has a group of distinguished guests on hand in Martin this weekend.
Australian Top Doorslammer legend Victor Bray, his son Ben, wife Maree and three top crew members are on a month-long visit to the U.S., and made this weekend’s event the first stop on their tour.

Victor is a six-time Top Doorslammer champion, and Ben is a two-time and current class champion. The team’s two supercharged ’57 Chevrolets have run record-breaking numbers “down under,” with Ben’s 6.024 the standing elapsed time record. In addition, Victor has run over 245 mph, while Ben isn’t far behind with a blast of 243 and change.

The Bray team will be in Martin all weekend, and in addition to visiting with racers and fans and taking in the competition out on the track, Victor will join IHRA President Aaron Polburn in the booth to provide some color commentary when the Pro Mod cars run on Saturday.

Not Fast, Not Slow – When Polburn, during his announcing chores quizzed the crowd, “If the run wasn’t fast and it wasn’t slow…what was it?”

Without hesitation a tower official mumbled outside of the reach of the microphone, “That would make it half-fast.”

Jim Oddy Returns – After several weeks of long days, longer nights and numerous road trips, Jim Oddy and Steve Bareman are debuting their Summit-sponsored Pro Modified Corvette here in Michigan this weekend.

Bareman, who has campaigned a blown ’63 Corvette for years with sponsorship from family-owned Bareman Dairy, is filling in for driver Al Billes, who is recovering from two recent accidents which forced him to the sidelines for the rest of the season.

The crashes destroyed the team’s NHRA and IHRA-legal cars, leaving Oddy without a driver, not to mention a track-worthy race car. After Billes’ second crash, Oddy was firmly convinced that the season was over, but thanks to the Bareman family and his many sponsors, the team is here and ready to race.

“Thanks to the Bareman brothers, Steve and Mike, we get to finish the last five races in the IHRA this season, and we’re really looking forward to it,” said Oddy. “We’ve put our engine and drivetrain in their Corvette, and our main focus right now is to get these guys up to speed and just have a lot of fun. Thanks to Summit and all the people who helped us out, we’re back!”

For his part Bareman appreciates the opportunity he has to run with such a high-profile team and tuner. “We’re real excited about running with the Oddy team,” he said. “There’s some pressure for us to do well, but hopefully we’ll be able to rise to the occasion. We’ve been doing this on our own for a while, of course, but it’s a real privilege to be able to run with Jim and his guys for the rest of the season.”

Back in Charge – When the 2005 IHRA season kicked off, Oregon-based Pro Mod competitor Dennis Radford’s name was on the windows of Ed Steffey’s nitrous-injected ’63 Corvette. Radford, who owned and drove his own cars for a number of seasons, had decided to hire himself out as a driver and share expenses with a car owner, so he and Steffey struck a deal.

At the last event in Toronto, however, former driver Pat Moore was back in the seat of Steffey’s car, and Radford was again on his own. He purchased the ’63 Corvette formerly campaigned by Rickie Smith and has it here in Martin. Radford is sharing pit space with friend and fellow Pro Mod racer Billy Harper this weekend.

Regarding his decision to control his own destiny, Radford explained how it all came about by saying “I just decided I wanted to go out on my own again, so I bought Rickie Smith’s car and hooked up with Billy. We used to race together, so we decided that it would be beneficial for both of us to work together. We’re Going to help them with their tune-up and They’ll haul our car around. That way I don’t have to haul everything back and forth from Oregon.

“I know this car real well, as I did quite a bit of testing with Rickie, and the Charlie Buck engine in it actually belonged to me, so I’m real familiar with everything," said Radford. "I’m pretty happy to be back out with my own car, because that’s what I did for so many years. Ed and his crew are great people, and I really appreciate the time we were racing together, but this is what I really want to do.”

Hey Cannon, we’re over here – Scotty Cannon hates to admit it, but he got a little lost on the way to the racetrack. Driving this weekend under the Eastern Race Fuels/Torco SKULL GEAR banner, Cannon made a mistake en route to the track – he ended up at the wrong one.

“I called a friend of mine and asked what the name of the track was we were supposed to be racing at,” Cannon said.

Cannon had just rolled to the front gates of Milan Dragway when he noticed that nobody else bothered to show up. There was a good reason no one was there. The race was 2 hours away at U.S. 131 Dragway in Martin, MI.

Cannon could have easily let the matter slip by unnoticed by his peers, but elected to take it all in stride.

“I guess I haven’t raced in so long that I forgot how to get to the track,” Cannon said.

Nice promotion, Just don’t bring the dog – In retrospect, Top Fuel racer Bruce Litton was excited about doing a radio promotion with local FM station WKLQ. The lucky winners would gain a weekend pass to hang out with the soft spoken driver. Litton was unaware of the debacle that transpired the day before the event.

WKLQ disc jockeys Justice and Jim performed a skit the day before that suggested a dog would be drowned on the air. The scenario eventually led to the local 911 lines being clogged with calls of complaint about the impending dog’s death.

The radio’s website issued a statement clarifying that no such dog ever existed. The website pointed out the stunt was created in order to point out the dangers related to youth water safety. Two local youngsters had drowned the previous week.

Preparing for the shootout – Eight of the 29 Pro Modifieds at Martin will have a tough time sleeping tonight. Shannon Jenkins, Jim Halsey, Mike Castellana, Harold Martin, Ed Hoover, Quain Stott, John Russo and Carl Spiering will be battling it out for over $52,000 in purse during the Torco Pro Modified Shootout. Al Billes was one of the eight finalist, whose berths were based on qualifying points, but a crash in Milan, MI., last month put the Canadian Pro Modified driver on the sidelines at the doctors request.

Hoover, one of the first drivers to run Evan Knoll’s Torco Race Fuels MACH Series Fuel, is elated to see the success of the program.

“It’s great for someone to step up and put the money up for us," Hoover said. "It has provided incentive through the year and has been something else to look forward to. It is a race within a race. I’ve known Evan Knoll for 10 years and when I met him he had a vision of all this coming together. To watch it actually come together has been pretty cool. You have to admire someone like Evan that loves drag racing more than we do, and we’re driving the cars.”

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