Get on the Torco's CompetitionPlus.com news update list...

Email:

---

(6-22-2006) - Malcolm Durham, recognized by many as drag racing’s first black superstar and voted No. 48 on the list of NHRA’s Top 50 drivers in 2001, and one of the Lifetime Achievement honors of this year’s National Hot Rod Reunion, passed away June 22 after a battle with lung cancer.

Services info is pending. In lieu of flowers, the family has asked that donations be made to oncology units or to the American Cancer Society.

DeCort grabs Supercharged Warriors victory at Muncie

Mike Ashley will run AMS Pro Modified Challenge competition in St. Louis

(6-22-2006) - Two-time AMS Pro Modified Champion Mike Ashley will run Pro Modified this weekend as the new Evan Knoll Funny Car team prepares for the Denver debut with Don Schumacher Racing. Although Ashley hasn’t raced Pro Modified this season, he is still involved in the class with Tim Tindle in TARE Tindle-Ashley Racing Enterprises.

Ashley will pilot the first official Carroll Shelby- endorsed Shelby Mustang in which he drove to the 2004 crown. Last season Troy Coughlin drove the Tommy Mauney-built Mustang. His championship crew will join him in the venture including past AMS Challenge crewchief of the year Chuck Ford and brothers Mark and Allen Adkins.

Ashley will run as a teammate to Joey Martin, winner of last weekend’s NHRA SuperNationals in Englishtown, NJ. Earlier this week, Ashley announced he was sitting out St. Louis as the driver of the SKULL Gear Funny Car.

“The extra car was just sitting around I talked to Tim and we decided to come out and run for fun,” Ashley said. “This has been a rather taxing week of tough decisions and the idea to run Pro mod this weekend is exciting.

“Even though I focused all of my time and efforts this season on the SKULL Gear Funny Car, I have remained close to the class. I walk to the starting line at every event, sometimes multiple times to watch the class. I never severed my roots because I fully believe it is one of the finest classes in drag racing.”

Ashley is one of several sponsors on the NHRA AMS Staff Leasing Pro Modified Challenge through his Long Island-based Lend-America. Lend-America is also the official mortgage lender for the NHRA.

.“We’re not counting points and we’re not contending for a world championship, but if you think I’m coming out there just to have fun and not go for the win, you’re kidding yourself.”

Ashley is the only AMS Pro Modified driver to win back-to-back world championships and holds six career victories, five of which came last year.

 

Jarvis, Phillips Take Wins--Rollins & Carpenter Score in Jeg’s Sportsman
by DRR staff

(6-22-2006) The DragRaceResults.com Bracket Series made its way to the famed Gainesville Raceway in Gainesville, Fla. for the Gainesville Bracket Nationals, presented by Wheeler Power Products. A strong field of competitors was in attendance at the northern Florida facility, making for some of the best racing in the DragRaceResults.com tour thus far.

In addition to the racing action at Gainesville, the JASCOT Motorsports
trailer also had the new DragRaceResults.com Series Race Tech/Nesbitt
Performance four-link dragster on display for competitors to view.  The
machine, which features a 555 cubic inch Nesbitt Performance Engines, Brodix
all-aluminum powerplant will be awarded to the 2006 BTE Super Pro World
Champion.  The machine is valued at $60,000--quite a prize for eight good
days of racing! For more information on the dragster, log on to
www.DRRSeries.com.

(Saturday) The Barker Trailer Sales/Pace American “Run for the Trailer”
winners were Drew Phillips (BTE Super Pro), Kecia Scigliuto (Jeg’s
Sportsman), and Neil Williams (Race Tech Jr. Dragster).

After the smoke cleared in Saturday’s BTE Super Pro action, Richie Jarvis of
Glen St. Mary, Fla. claimed the $5,000 winner’s check at the wheel of his
beautiful Mullis Chassis by Forrester dragster (the machine formerly
campaigned by Pro Stock competitor Dave Connolly).  Jarvis claimed the final
round triumph over Dave Janus of Largo, Fla. in spite a -.004 foul start, as
Janus left first with a -.016 reaction.  Dave Scigliuto’s semi-final finish
helped him make a jump in the CSR Division Two points.

The Rollins family is no stranger to the Gainesville Raceway winner’s
circle, as the family of local campaigners holds several track championships
and countless event wins at the Gainesville facility.  Saturday’s action saw
Jason Rollins drive his familiar Nova to the Jeg’s Sportsman winner’s circle
with a final round victory over Ocala, Fla. based Jamie Kelley.  Rollins
took the advantage on the starting line, .015 to Kelley’s .045, and held on
for an easy victory after Kelley slowed to a 11.01 on his 9.91 dial-in with
mechanical problems.  B.J. Bianchi and Matt Brewer were the semi-finalists.

Perennial DragRaceResults.com title contender and defending CSR Division Two Race Tech Junior Dragster champion Eric Rodden bolstered his 2006 title
hopes with a Jr. Dragster win.  Rodden, of Cocoa, Fla., used a .031 reaction
and 7.999 on his 7.93 dial-in to hold off Neil Williams’ .043 reaction and
8.988 on an 8.90 dial-in.  The win moved Rodden into fourth place in the
DragRaceResults.com national standings, but his total of 10 points in just
two claims makes him an early favorite for the title.

Kecia Scigliuto drove her Seminole, Fla. based Mustang to the win in Jeg’s
Trophy, defeating Jeff Berrier in the final stanza with a stellar .018
reaction time and 8.579 on her 8.55 dial-in.

(Sunday) Sunday’s action took place under dreary skies, as competitors and
series officials raced to get the event concluded before Mother Nature could
have a say in the outcome.

Sunday’s Barker Trailer Sales/Pace American “Run For The Trailer” winners
were Drew Phillips (BTE Super Pro), Gerald Sessions (Jeg’s Sportsman), and
Timothy Nichols (Race Tech Jr. Dragster).  The MGM Best Engineering Car
award went to John Konnick’s S&W Race Cars built dragster, while Mark
Padgett claimed the MGM Best Appearing Car award with his Mullis Chassis by
Forrester Dragster.

Drew Phillips dominated the competition in BTE Super Pro, driving his
Undercover Chassis Dragster to the Barker Trailer Sales “Run for the
Trailer” win for the second consecutive day, and also had two cars remaining
by the semi-final round.  Phillips, who took advantage of the “double-entry”
rule in effect in the DragRaceResults.com Series events with under 100
participants, had two of the three semi-final entries.  The only man
standing in his way was perennial bracket hitter Luke Bogacki, in his
American Race Cars built dragster.  Bogacki earned the single in the
semi-finals, meaning Phillips was forced to eliminate one of his entries in
the only semi-final pairing.  In the final, both drivers dialed 4.89 for a
tight heads-up matchup, with Phillips taking the win despite a tardy .046
reaction time and 4.900 on his 4.89 dial-in.  Bogacki had the better of two
sub-par reaction times with an .025, but gave it back at the finish line
with a 4.922, giving Phillips the win by a mere .001 seconds!  With the win,
Phillips moved into second place in both the National and CSR Division Two
points standings, trailing Bogacki on both counts.  Bogacki’s runner-up
continued an amazing streak for the 25-year-old Alabama resident, marking
his fifth consecutive week in a $5,000 (or larger)-to-win final round.

Bobby Carpenter of North Fort Myers, Fla. claimed the Sunday victory over
J.R. Hamelink, who red-lighted with a -.006 in the final stanza of Jeg’s
Sportsman.  B.J. Bianchi and Bill Kapke were the semi-finalists, as Bianchi
fell in the semi-final round for the second consecutive day.  None of the
competitors made a big move in Jeg’s Sportsman points at Gainesville,
leaving California resident Chris Vels with a sizeable lead in the national
standings.

Ryan Chason took the Sunday win in Race Tech Jr. Dragster, with a .088
reaction and 7.917 on his 7.90 dial-in, holding off Daniel Young of Palm
Harbor, Fla.  Young had just survived a semi-final matchup with his brother,
Scott, while Chason defeated Neil Williams in his semi-final pairing.

Jeff Berrier of Gainesville, Fla. made his second final round appearance of
the weekend in Jeg’s Trophy, only to concede the final when his Nova sedan
failed to start.  Mitchell Gunter was the Sunday beneficiary, singling to
the title.

 

 

 

NHRA’s Kalitta Motorsports makes change to Nitro Funny Car program; Connie Kalitta to take over tuning duties

(6-21-2006) – Scott Kalitta, driver of the Kalitta Air Funny Car in the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series, and Kalitta Motorsports, based in Ypsilanti, Mich., announced today that team owner and drag racing legend Connie Kalitta will assume the responsibilities of crew chief on their 7,000 horsepower, nitromethane-fueled race car effective immediately.

Also effective immediately, Johnny West has been released from the Kalitta Air Funny Car team.

Scott, a 43-year old resident of Palmetto, Fla., and 25-year drag racing veteran, made the switch from Top Fuel to Funny Car this season. Scott has one NHRA national event win in his career in nitro Funny Car and that was at the Houston event in 1989 while driving with a broken left foot. In Top Fuel, Scott scored two world championships (1994-1995) and 17 NHRA national event wins.

 

(6-21-2006) - Funny Car driver Mike Ashley has elected to sit out this weekend's O'Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals in order to prepare for the debut of Evan Knoll's new Knoll Gas/Torco Race Fuels-sponsored Funny Car team.

"When weighing the benefits of running St. Louis versus getting a head start on preparing the team for Denver, the decision to pass and get to work is clear," Ashley said. "The additional time will provide us a perfect opportunity to work on the details of the new Funny Car program, making sure everything is in place. We'll be back racing in Denver in a just few weeks, ready to compete."

Ashley will drive Knoll's new Dodge Stratus in Denver as the first race under Don Schumacher's management. Two weeks ago, Ashley announced that he and Del Worsham had completed their working agreement.

While some crewmembers will be staying with the Gotham team, Ashley's crew chief, Mark Oswald, will not be joining his driver in the switch.

"Mark Oswald and Del Worsham have been great to work with. Del is as great a person as he is a fierce driver," Ashley said.

"I've made absolutely sure that all of our obligations to Del and the team are completely fulfilled and that there are no hard feelings about the change. Del and I both understand the business and personal sides of this, and we've both gone out of our way to take care of everything and everyone involved.

"Although I'm disappointed not to be racing with Mark at the controls of the car, I completely respect his decision not make the change. He's a highly capable driver, crew chief and team leader, and any team will benefit from his experience and leadership. I think the logistics just didn't work for him. As far as my Funny Car career, we'll begin writing the next chapter in Denver."

Brian Corradi, one of the tuners for Whit Bazemore this season and formerly with Frank Pedregon, was officially named the crew chief in a press conference Saturday at Englishtown.

Ashley said he is looking forward to the resources available to his team after the transition to DSR management.

"It's kind of hard to say what excites me the most," he said. "It's like being a kid in a candy store -- you go in and you have to figure out which candy you want.

"I've always liked a challenge, but this time the preparation part and the opportunity part is really there.  I think Don's like me with our team - we both have an absolutely clear commitment to compete for a championship.  It's going to be up to us to really make it happen, and that's a great position to be in," Ashley said.

Ashley's new car and new look will debut July 14 at the Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals in Denver.

 

No Fan of Danica Patrick

(6-21-2006) – Please forgive Angelle Sampey if she’s not caught up in the Danica Patrick fanfare. One of her crewmembers made mention of how much he liked the IRL driver and almost immediately Angelle expressed her dislike of the way the media plays up her gender more than her being a racer.

Leave it to a crewmember with too much time on his hands to exploit the situation.

“There she is in my leathers,” Sampey said, when showing a picture of the good-natured fun with a Danica life size cut-out. “Here’s a picture of her posted in my locker and it says ‘this is my locker now, get your s*** out biotch.’

“Here’s another picture of her holding a bottle of Cajun whoop ass.”

The crewmember, who shall remain anonymous, is infatuated with Danica even though Sampey contends he’s truly in love with her. A poster, which has since been defaced [allegedly by Sampey], hangs in the trailer.

“They know I hate this whole female racer angle,” Sampey said. “I hate being asked about it and I hate being referred to as a female racer. It’s on my website but not by my doing. I don’t like the whole topic. I like to be noticed for the attributes of my team and not my gender.”

Sampey says she made comments in the shop and that set it all off. Angelle’s leathers on the cut-out started it all. The crew even set up a camera for Sampey reaction.

It wasn’t pretty.

“I went in the restroom and there was a life-sized picture of Danica from the neck up taped to the toilet seat. I had chewed up some M&Ms and smeared them on her mouth. That ended it all.”

At least that’s what Sampey thought. Her NHRA POWERade sign outside of her pit area was replaced with Danica’s likeness from the chest up.

 

Capps and Scelzi going dirt racing

(6-21-2006) - In advance of this weekend's O'Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals at Gateway International Raceway (Madison, Ill.), Round 12 of the 23-event NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series, Don Schumacher Racing Funny Car drivers Ron Capps and Gary Scelzi will compete with eight other celebrity drivers in IMCA Modifieds in the Celebrity Modified Race at Sedalia State Fair Speedway, a half-mile dirt track in Sedalia, Mo.

Proceeds from this event, held Wednesday, June 21, will benefit the Michael Ross Memorial Foundation, founded in honor of the son of Tony and Kathy Ross from American Compressed Steel, Inc., following Michael¹s passing due to
complications from Tay-Sachs disease. The MRMF is a non-profit charity organization supporting Bay Cliff Health Camp in Big Bay, Mich.

Drivers currently scheduled to appear include Capps, Scelzi, Clint Bowyer, Cory McClenathan, Doug Kalitta, Jim Head, Bubba the Love Sponge and Speed Freak¹s Kenny Sargent. 

"It's something that we've done every year for about four years," said Capps, who drives the Brut Dodge Charger Funny Car and is the current Funny Car points leader. "It's part of the National Sprint Tour and it's a huge race.

"They put us in dirt modifieds and it's a crazy mess, because you usually get some guys who haven't driven a dirt car before, and it gets to be quite exciting. Some day I'd like to not race in it and just go up in the stands and watch. It's a competitive race. The first year we did it, Steve Kinser drove in it, so did Scelzi, Tony Stewart, Danny Lasoski. It's a lot of fun.

"Gary is always the emcee of the auction Tuesday night and it raises a lot of money and goes to a great cause. It's really the only time that Gary and I get to go and hang out with the sprint-car guys in an atmosphere that's fun.

"Right after the celebrity race, the best sprint-car guys in the world race on the half-mile dirt track. And if you've never seen sprint cars on a half-mile track you've never seen anything. It's almost as crazy as driving a Funny Car.

"I ended up winning the race last year," Capps said meekly, "and I took my little plastic trophy they gave me and put it in our pit area and we went on to win the St. Louis race. Ever since then that trophy has been in our trailer, so I'm hoping to repeat."

It's been reported that Scelzi, the reigning NHRA Funny Car champion who drives the Mopar/Oakley Dodge Charger, found a local dirt track on which to secretly practice Monday night, but no sightings have been confirmed.

Last year, this event raised $190,000, which brought the total to over $700,000 raised since the inception of the MRMF. 

 

 

PMRA kicks off new season at TMP KC Auto Family Day Thunder Fest

(6-21-2006) - The Pro Modified Racing Association (PMRA) begins its second season this weekend at Toronto Motorsports Park’s KC Auto Family Day Thunder Fest in Cayuga, Ontario sponsored by KC Auto Parts Saturday, June 24.

Joe Lilienthal will be on hand to defend his 2005 title with other PMRA teams in the 225-mph cars, known as “the world’s fastest door slammers.”

“I’m looking forward to getting back to the PMRA racing,” said the Kenmore, NY, racer. “This is a good series for guys like me, and we can all compete on a level playing field.”

Joining Lilienthal and his popular yellow Jeep-bodied Pro Modified will be the PMRA teams of Ralph Andreacchi of Maple, Bruce Boland of Hamilton, Joe Boniferro of Niagara Falls, Terry Brown of Caledonia, Dave Earhart of Strathroy, Kasey Janzen of St. Catharines, Mark Nielsen of Brantford, Ontario and from New York state the Grainy Brothers of North Tonawanda, Freddy Jacobs of Utica and Mark Mitchell of East Otto.

The Toronto Motorsports Park’s KC Auto Family Day Thunder Fest race is the first of five PMRA events for 2006.

PMRA qualifying is scheduled at 1:00 p.m., 3:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, June 24, with eliminations to start at 7:00 p.m. for the quickest eight entries. The semis are scheduled at 8:15 p.m., and the final at 9:30 p.m.

The PMRA Pro Modifieds will be part of the KC Auto Family Day Thunder Fest at the drag strip, which will also include a Wheel Standing Bus, a Jet Ambulance, Jet Dragsters, the CAN-AM Stock/Super Stock Series the Summit ET Program along with a fireworks show. Showtime is 7 p.m. Saturday night. For more information, go to www.promodifiedracing.com, or www.torontomotorsportspark.com

The KC Auto Family Day Thunder Fest at TMP will be the first stop for the PMRA's season. Other races for 2006 are at Lancaster Raceway Park in Clarence, NY on September 15 and the Pro Modified Racing Association is pleased to be running inaugural events at St. Thomas Dragway in Sparta, ON, August 5 and 6, the Eaton PMRA Challenge at Sanair near Montreal scheduled for Saturday, August 19, and at the Grand Bend Motorplex, over the Labor Day weekend.

Joining the PMRA Pro Modified at the KC Auto Family Day Thunder Fest will be the CAN-AM Stock/Super Stock Series. This popular grass-roots drag series which features competitors from Ontario and Michigan, was formed in 1996, and continues to grow each season. The participants, known for their awesome wheelies, are fan favorites wherever they appear.

 

 

Arend will drive Funny car for Worsham in St. Louis

(6-20-2006) --  Worsham Racing's popular Murray's Discount Auto-sponsored "Madman Murray" car will make a surprise appearance at this weekend's O'Reilly Midwest Nationals near St. Louis, with veteran Funny Car driver Jeff Arend at the controls.   The Worsham organization will operate the additional car at the event, while Del Worsham and Phil Burkart will drive their standard red and blue Checker, Schuck's, Kragen Monte Carlos, respectively.   The Murray's car is also scheduled to appear in both Memphis and Indianapolis later in the year, with Burkart driving.

"We have the equipment, we had a good driver at our disposal, and we
have enough additional crew guys to do this for one race without a lot
of extra effort," Worsham said.  "So, we got with CSK and discussed the
idea with them, and the consensus was to do this with the Murray's body
on the car.  This way, we're able to give the latest addition to the
CSK family of stores some additional exposure, while we also get to
provide the St. Louis fans with a chance see this great car.  With our
midwestern shop in Auburn, Ind. being right on the way from
Englishtown, it wasn't that difficult of a project to take on.  We just
stopped here on the way, and got to work on it."

Arend, a long-time competitor and one-time winner on the NHRA tour, has
been friends with Worsham since he made his debut in 1995, though this
will mark the first time he has driven a Worsham-owned car.   For
Worsham, finding a driver for this project was the easy part.  Knowing
his hard working team would all contribute to making it happen was the
clincher.

"I've known Jeff for a lot of years, and he's turned himself into a
very good Funny Car driver," Worsham said.   "We were talking in
Englishtown and formulated this entire idea in less than an hour, from
Jeff driving the car, to who would work on it, and how we would set it
up at the track.   All of the guys have pitched in to make this happen,
because we're going to run the Murray's team out of what is normally
our hospitality and parts trailer.  It's a former blue team trailer, so
it was originally designed to run a car out of, we just hadn't been
using it for that lately.   We had to remove all the hospitality stuff,
which included huge rolls of plastic flooring, as well as a bunch of
tables, chairs, and umbrellas, and when we were done removing all of
that, we put a race car and extra parts back in.  Instant racing rig,
ready to go.

"A project like this is one that really makes me proud of quickly we
can react around here, and how great the people are who work for us.  
On very short notice, every crew guy immediately jumped in on this
project and it was impressive to watch.  All of the guys got involved,
worked together on it, and made it happen.  After the race in St.
Louis, we'll do it all again in reverse, since this trailer has to go
back to being the anchor for our hospitality area throughout the
western swing."

Arend is known as a dedicated racer who works hard to consistently find
a way to get on the race track, so he should have no problem fitting in
with Worsham and Burkart, two drivers who have set a standard for hard
work and perseverance.

"Del and Phil are just like me, they love to race and they'll do
whatever it takes," Arend said.  " To me, this was a complete
no-brainer.   When Del Worsham calls and asks if you want to drive one
of his cars, you don't hesitate, you don't think about it overnight,
you just say yes, as fast as you can.  This will be great for me, great
for CSK Auto, and great for Murray's Discount Auto.   If we can go out
there and win some rounds, I think this will be a pretty nice story.

"Another part of the natural fit for me is just how much I like these
guys.  I've had the utmost respect for Del, Phil, and everyone on the
Worsham team for a long time, and it will be both a pleasure and an
honor to be their teammate in St. Louis.   Del and I don't live too far
apart, and our families get together from time to time.  We go way back
and we've been friends for a long time.  Phil is also a great guy and a
real friend.   We email each other almost every day.  To me, this will
be like joining up with a couple of good buddies, to drive a fast car
with a big 'Madman' on the hood.  What more could you want?"

 

Eckman more than ready for the opportunity to drive a Pro Stocker again

(6-20-2006) – Jerry Eckman misses the home he knew for almost three decades. To him, driving a Pro Stocker was the place he had lived since 1955. He’s still involved in the sport but a fine related to a controversial situation in the mid-1990s keeps him from returning to active competition.

Eckman is a crewmember on Kenny Koretsky’s Pro Stocker driven by Mike Thomas. The gig with Koretsky represents his first full-time racing gig since the infamous nitrous explosion at Columbus in 1994. The controversial incident took place in the pit area before Eckman had even turned a tire under power in competition.

Eckman actually came back and raced for three races in 1999 with former car owner Dave Beli and had reached an agreement with the NHRA to settle up the fine stemming from the accident. As luck would have it, Beli sold the car the following winter.

“I miss driving, there’s no doubt about it,” Eckman said. “It’s all I ever did since 1955. I’m still holding out that I will one day drive again.”

That incident, in which Eckman maintains his innocence, tarnished a reputation he’d worked hard to develop.

“It’s certainly a disappointment to have a black cloud hovering over what you poured your heart and soul into,” Eckman said. “It’s a terrible way to have to live the rest of your life.

“The day is coming when I will be able to clear my name from this mess.”

 

 

Jeg cashes $20,000 paycheck after Top Gun win

 

TOMMY JOHNSON JR. AND SKOAL RACING FUNNY CAR TEAM TO BE FEATURED ON MODERN MARVELS

(6-20-2006) – Veteran Funny Car pilot Tommy Johnson Jr. and Don “the Snake” Prudhomme’s Skoal Racing Funny Car team will be featured on the popular History Channel series Modern Marvels during a 60-minute episode dedicated to horsepower. Modern Marvels is for an audience eager to dig a little deeper, explore a little further, and get a little closer to the knowledge that shapes our everyday lives.

Johnson, a seven-time NHRA winner, will be prominently featured in the first segment of the hour-long program that will air on Wednesday, June 21 at 10 p.m. (ET). The Modern Marvels production team attended the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series event at Houston Raceway Park in late March to gather b-roll footage and interviews for the Modern Marvels: Horsepower piece. Johnson’s wife and Top Fuel driver Melanie Troxel also will be featured during the segment.

“Being a big fan of the show, it’s very cool to be featured on Modern Marvels” Johnson said. “The show will provide some prime television exposure for our sport and the awesome horsepower that these race cars produce. I hope that some of the novice fans get a look at what real horsepower is all about and what NHRA drag racing has to offer. I’m proud that our team was chosen to be a part of such a popular program.”

In addition to the world’s fastest motor sport, the Horsepower episode will define what horsepower is and how it is calculated. Then, it will show an engine on a dynamometer at General Motors, hydroplane boats, a diesel engine on a large container ship, a Waukesha generator engine that produces electricity, the turbines at Hoover Dam, a water-pumping plant in California, and a Lexus hybrid motor.

Modern Marvels presents the stories behind scientific, engineering and architectural innovations, great and small, that have altered the face of earth. From the monumental to the microscopic, from the life-saving to the deadly, Modern Marvels profiles the technologies that define the modern world, and the people who create them.

 

 

 

Holley National Hot Rod Reunion concludes with rain

(6-20-2006) - It’s the clarion call for racing fans as they listen to the radio, “Sunday, Sunday, Sunday.”  It’s the day for eliminations at the drag races and this Sunday was no different in that respect.  The 4th Annual Holley NHRA National Hot Rod Reunion finished with a bang at Beech Bend Raceway Park.

Unfortunately, that "bang" came from a thunderstorm that ended the racing activities at Bowling Green a bit earlier than expected.  NHRA officials determined results based on elimination runs that had been completed before the rains came, and on best qualifying time for those classes that had not yet run an elimination round.

After the race had been called, the two Top Fuel semi-final winners, Sean Bellemeur and Adam Sorokin, suited up anyway and raced down the track in golf carts.  Bellemeur won, but the timing lights had already been shut down, so there was no record of the run.

Earlier in the day, Bellemeur defeated Ernest S. McClain and Howard Haight along the way to the finals. Sorokin defeated Brendan Murry and Roger Lechtenberg.  The drivers each was presented with half of the combined $7,500 purse for winner and runner-up.  The match will be settled during the 15th Annual NHRA California Hot Rod Reunion, presented by the Automobile Club of Southern California, at Auto Club Famoso Raceway in Bakersfield, Calif., Oct. 6-8.

The day began with two special presentations from DuPont Hot Hues Custom Finishes.  Jerry and Pat Baltes of Richmond, Va., were presented with the “Most Accurate Restoration” award for the Croshier-Baltes-Lavato dragster.  Mike and Kathy Hill of Villa Ridge, Mo., were presented with the “Hot Color Award” for their 53 Studebaker.  The awards were presented by Tom Mellis of DuPont.

The 5th annual Holley NHRA National Hot Rod Reunion, presented by DuPont, will be held June 15-17, 2007. 

 

FULLER ENDS DIXON'S FATHER'S DAY WINNING STREAK AT FIVE WITH HIS THIRD CAREER WIN; Ron Capps, Jason Line and Matt Smith round out Father's Day winners at K&N Filters Supernationals

(6-19-2006) - Top Fuel driver Rod Fuller managed to stop Larry Dixon's streak of five consecutive Father's Day victories Sunday by beating Dixon in the final of the $1.8 million K&N Filters NHRA Supernationals.

Fuller's Valvoline rail went straight down a hot and greasy quarter-mile in 4.692 seconds at 314.24 mph to beat Dixon's tire-hazing 4.825 at 299.73 mph. Fuller was joined by Funny Car's Ron Capps, Pro Stock's Jason Line, and Pro Stock Motorcycle's Matt Smith in Old Bridge Township Raceway Park's winner's circle.

"I knew Dixon had that Father's Day thing going but our car was running great all weekend and I knew we had a chance if we stayed within ourselves," Fuller said. "This one's for my dad. He's a racer and he's the reason I love racing. He's my best friend."

Season-long points leader Melanie Troxel's first-round loss to Dixon combined with her 11th-place qualifying effort helped Doug Kalitta trim her lead in the POWERade standings from 71 to 48 points.

The Funny Car final was close as Capps got a big headstart with a .079- to .133-second reaction time advantage only to barely hold off hard-charging reigning champion Gary Scelzi. The final numbers had Capps winning with a 5.025 at 299.46 mph in his Brut Dodge Charger to Scelzi's quicker but losing 5.012 at 301.81 mph in the Oakley machine.

Read the complete Englishtown Coverage.

NHRA Points After Englishtown

(6-19-2006) - Point standings (top 10) for NHRA professional categories following the 37th annual K&N Filters SuperNationals presented by Strauss Auto at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park, the 11th of 23 events in the $50 million NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series -

Top Fuel

1. Melanie Troxel, 872; 2. Doug Kalitta, 824; 3. Brandon Bernstein, 717; 4. Rod Fuller, 651; 5. Larry Dixon, 635; 6. David Grubnic, 623; 7. (tie) Morgan Lucas, 560; Tony Schumacher, 560; 9. Cory McClenathan, 547; 10. Doug Herbert, 487.

Funny Car

1. Ron Capps, 944; 2. John Force, 838; 3. Robert Hight, 684; 4. Eric Medlen, 638; 5. Tony Pedregon, 616; 6. Tommy Johnson Jr., 608; 7. Gary Scelzi, 568; 8. Whit Bazemore, 535; 9. Del Worsham, 502; 10. Cruz Pedregon, 498.

Pro Stock

1. Greg Anderson, 763; 2. Jason Line, 726; 3. Jim Yates, 672; 4. Dave Connolly, 657; 5. Kurt Johnson, 639; 6. Mike Edwards, 569; 7. Erica Enders, 560; 8. Allen Johnson, 506; 9. Warren Johnson, 503; 10. Larry Morgan, 498.

Pro Stock Motorcycle

1. Angelle Sampey, 463; 2. Andrew Hines, 451; 3. Antron Brown, 412; 4. Karen Stoffer, 358; 5. Matt Smith, 346; 6. (tie) Chip Ellis, 338; Ryan Schnitz, 338; 8. Matt Guidera, 275; 9. Tom Bradford, 256; 10. Geno Scali, 255.

 

Smith wins Pro Stock Bike in Englishtown; Classic Question asked of NHRA officials - "Are you sure?"

(6-19-2006) – Matt Smith didn’t dare celebrate after beating Karen Stoffer in the final round. It’s easy to understand why. Last year in Indy, he was on the losing end of a reversal when ESPN2 cameras showed that Steve Johnson actually crossed the finish line first. Last month, he met with the same fate in the second round of a race between he and Michael Philips in Columbus.

Smith wasn’t taking any chances.

“The first thing I asked them after I took off my helmet is, ‘Are you sure?” Smith said. “I am a bit gun-shy. I saw where they overturned one race. I was just being careful.”

The son of legendary Pro Stock figure Rickie Smith, who cannot give a speech without turning on the tears met his son at the finish line.

“I told him Happy Father’s Day,” Matt said. “We had a great day and no, he didn’t cry.”

 

Callaway in and Steve Torrence out in Tom Conway

(6-19-2006) - Defending World Champion Steve Torrence was dismissed as the driver of the Top Conway Top Alcohol Dragster just moments before the NHRA divisional event in Rusk, Texas. The interim driver will be Lee Callaway for the Knoll Gas - Torco Race Fuels-sponsored entry.

 

Baca's Fundraising Efforts Beyond Expectation

(6-19-2006) - David Baca's weekend in New Jersey was a huge success before his Top Fuel dragster ever hit the quarter-mile at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park. Baca helped local racer Frank Cicerale Jr., raise more money in the first weekend of his 9/11 tribute helmet raffle than he raised in six months last year.

"David and Mach 1's help has been unbelievable," said Cicerale, who donates 100-percent of the proceeds from his yearly raffle to the Mark Hindy Charitable Foundation. "We haven't had a chance to make an exact count yet but as of Saturday night we had already equaled what we raised last year. Combined with the crowd we're dealing with on race day, we're over the top. The response from the drivers and fans has been incredible. We couldn't have done this well at all without David and Mach 1's help."

The Mark Hindy Charitable Foundation, a 501c entity, raises funds for area children's hospitals and charitable entities in the name of Hindy, who lost his life in the Sept. 11th attacks on the 104th floor of the World Trade Center. Mark's father George competes locally in Super Gas.

"I'm happy to help," said Baca, who joined half of the championship contenders in this year's championship chase in being upset in the first round. "We didn't have the luck on the track today, but when you compare racing to the 9/11 tragedy and doing things to help these causes, it pales in comparison.

 

Corradi moves to Ashley team

(6-19-2006) – Mike Ashley and Don Schumacher held a press conference in Englishtown to discuss the details of their forthcoming union together with an Evan Knoll-owned Funny Car. One of the topics discussed was a significant change to take place in Denver.

Current crewchief Mark Oswald has declined to join Ashley with the team at DSR.

“Corradi is going to be running the show,” explained Ashley. “To tell you a little bit about Brian, he right now is the co-crew chief on Whit Bazemore’s car, and it’s hard to argue that Whit is not doing absolutely excellent.  He went a .67 in Chicago and just missed the No. 1 qualifying spot.  He went to the final in Columbus.  I’ve been tracking what they have been doing. 

“Brian is a bright guy, he’s got good experience, he beat me pretty good last year; I race against Frankie Pedregon when he was tuning Frankie Pedregon, so I think he’ll be a good guy to race for.  I was fortunate enough to have a meeting with him at Don’s shop, and we’ve got absolutely a great outlook on things.  I love the way he’s positive about everything, I like his experience level, and I like his approach.  His approach is to win, but I think he’s got the right balance.  He’s not going to go for the throat every time, he’s going to balance off to make sure we go rounds.  I like that kind of philosophy.”

Adding Corradi is just one of many resources that will be available for Ashley once the transition takes place in Denver.

“It’s like being a kid in a candy store, you go in and it’s which candy do you want,” said Ashley. “I think I’m excited about, I’ve always liked the challenge, but I think this time the preparation part and the opportunity part is really there.  I think Don’s like me with our team - absolute clear opportunity to compete for a championship.  It’s going to be up to us to really make it happen and that’s good to be in that position.”

Schumacher is excited as well.

“I was very fortunate to have Evan Knoll come on board and bring this team to me and say here go out and buy the parts and pieces necessary to go out and do the job, and to have a talented personality like Mike Ashley come aboard,” Schumacher said. “He may talk  about he’s new driving these Funny Cars, but boy, from the Pro Mod operation to come over here, I think he made that transition real, real well and real easy. We’re just going to work real, real hard and put a great car underneath him.”

Schumacher said the new Evan Knoll team will take over a shop he had planned to rent out.

“Just to put this team together in the short few weeks that we have where they don’t have a nut or a bolt.  Fortunately, Mike’s got a couple of tractors and trailers that we’ll roll into, but beyond then that we have to purchase everything brand new.  That’s a good situation, we’ve got two chassis coming from Murf McKinney, we’ll have one of the new cars ready for Denver, we’ve got two bodies out at the paint shop getting painted right now, and it will be a good operation in a short period of time.”

 

 

The Perfect Father's Day Gift

(6-17-2006) – Larry Morgan has never been one to mince words when it comes to a controversial topic. That is why when asked for a solution to the NHRA’s timing situation in an article written by Torco’s CompetitionPlus.com writer Susan Wade two weeks ago, the veteran driver uttered without hesitation, “You can’t fix stupid.”

Always the opportunist, Morgan’s apparel trailer had a new shirt for sale with the phrase, “You can’t fix stupid.”

When asked for comment, Morgan declined comment citing only, “I’ve already tempted fate once. That’s enough for me.

We bought a few of them because you never know when someone might see them and they become instant collector's items.

 

Australian Winternationals photo gallery online

(6-15-2006) - Torco's CompetitionPlus.com editor Brian Wood just returned from his annual trip to Australia, where he spent last weekend at the Castrol Edge Winternationals at Willowbank Dragway in Brisbane. He brought back lots of photos of race cars, and a few of the local "hotties" as well.

The Photo Gallery is available here

 

Another successful Quick Eight in the books for Milan Dragway

Results -

Holbrook Racing Engines                         ALL MOTOR           Winner Kirk Ferris	.390	8.68 160.07	Randy Muchler
Holbrook Racing Engines                         ALL MOTOR            Runner Up Andrew Dart	.043	9.35 148.63	Dennis Kowalski
VP Fuels                      DRAG RADIAL Winner Chad Doyle	.273	8.27 173.54	Mike Brown
VP Fuels                       DRAG RADIAL Runner Up Jay Trisel	N/A	N/A N/A	Dave Hopper
C&H Enterprises   XTREME STREET BIKES                       Winner Tim O'Niel	.101	7.70 166.17	Ronnie Mitchell
C&H Enterprises    XTREME STREET   BIKES                      Runner Up Lonnie Angel	.131	13.35 71.79	Mike Bayes
Wheel 2 Wheel             10.5 OUTLAW        Winner Dan Millen	.105	7.20 207.67	Ron Stang
Wheel 2 Wheel           10.5 OUTLAW         Runner-Up Mike Farrell	.418	N/A N/A	Brad Tyson
Dynoserve RUN WHAT YA BRUNG Winner Barry Ballard	.234	7.20 193.89	Bye
Dynoserve RUN WHAT YA BRUNG Runner-Up Keith Jackson	N/A	N/A N/A	Dan Pichla

 

The Skinny Kid Race Car's Heads-Up Race at Milan Dragway was another great show and played out before a packed house to witness some of the baddest Hot Rods in the Midwest. Former IHRA Pro Stock Champion Chris Holbrook was the #1 qualifier in the DynoServe Run What Ya Brung class with a 6.51 at 220.99. In the Wheel to Wheel Powertrain Outlaw 10.5 Dan Millen finally got his car to run consistently after months of struggling to take the #1 spot with a 7.26 at 211.21.

There plenty of photos of all the action here. The next race will be June 30th. Tickets are only $12. Ladies and kids get in free! (Photo courtesy of Milan Dragway).

 

We salute you - the U.S. Military

(6-15-2006) - Thanks to our friend Master Sargeant Lee McKinney on sending us these pics of our troops in Iraq. If you are interested in sending gifts to our brave soldiers overseas, email Lee McKinney for the troops.

 

Festive Cruise-in Kicks-off 4th NHRA Holley National Hot Rod Reunion, Thurs.,
June 15; 150-plus Cool Cars on Display at Holiday Inn to Start Father's Day Weekend
Event

  
(6-15-2006) - The convention center parking lot at the Holiday Inn University Plaza will be transformed into a giant car show on Thursday to help kickoff the 4th annual Holley NHRA National Hot Rod Reunion, presented by DuPont Automotive Finishes. The "Holley Pre-event Cruise-in" will feature more than 150 colorful hot rods and muscle cars, and serve as the opening ceremonies for the popular Reunion, set for June 16-18 at Beech Bend.
      
The Cruise-in, where the traditional ribbon-cutting ceremony will take place,
is open to all cars registered for the Reunion. Festivities begin at 4 p.m. City
officials, along with representatives from event sponsor Holley will be there to
cut the tape and choose their favorite cars for awards. A DJ will provide
entertainment. The event is set to end at 10 p.m.
      
"There will be lots of excitement and great cars," said Bob Daniels, Reunion
event director. "It'll be great family fun."
      
Daniels is encouraging residents of Bowling Green to "Come on down to the
Holiday Inn and check out the hot rods. Bring the kids for a great night out
and be part of the kick-off festivities of the NHRA Holley National Hot Rod
Reunion. There's nothing else like it."
      
The Cruise-in is sponsored by Bowling Green Area Convention and Visitor's
Bureau, Daniels said. Vicki Hawkins-Fitch, director of the Bureau, will be on
hand to choose one of the evening's top vehicles. The winners will receive
their trophies during the Friday night Reunion reception at the Holiday Inn.
       
"I urge all those who registered vehicles to bring out your pride and joy and
show it off," said Daniels. "Why else did you build it? We all want to see what
you've got."
      
The 4th annual Holley NHRA National Hot Rod Reunion, presented by DuPont
Automotive Finishes, June 16-18 at Beech Bend Park in Bowling Green, Ky., is
a 3-day festival of speed, hot rods and American automotive enthusiasm. 
Produced by the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum, presented by the
Automobile Club of Southern California and located in Pomona, Calif., the
Reunion is part of the museum's "living history" philosophy, which works to
bring to life the sights, sounds and people who made history in the early days
of drag racing, land speed racing and the golden age of American car
culture. 
      
Unique among motorsports events, the Reunion honors some of the top
names in hot rodding from the past and features a fabulous array of cool drag
cars, street rods and customs of the historic and present-day hot rod eras.
      
General admission/pit pass, per person: Friday, $10; Saturday, $20; Sunday,
$20.  Children 15 and under are free when accompanied by an adult.
      
This year's honorees are Malcolm Durham, Bobby Langley, Gene and Ron
Logghe, Jim Farr and Bill Roell  known as "Short Round and Dauber"  and
Mike Spitzer.  The Justice Brothers Reunion Spotlight award will shine on Top
Fuel Pioneer Motorcycles.  Those honored will be feted at a reception open at
no charge to the general public. 
      
The Reunion features a wide variety of activities and events, including:

* Hot Heads Eliminator NHRA vintage drag racing, featuring some the sport's
most famous and historic cars and drivers, racing in such classes at Top Fuel,
Supercharged Gassers, classic Funny Cars and Super Stocks

* Street rod "show and shine," presented by SoffSeal, with more than a
thousand gleaming pre-1972 hot rods, custom cars, classics and muscle
cars.  "Memory Lane" will have a display of nostalgic race cars.

* National Hot Rod Reunion Reception, held at the Holiday Inn University
Plaza's Bowling Green Convention Center ballroom on Friday evening, June
16.  Open to everyone at no charge, it's a tribute to the Reunion's Grand
Marshal and Honorees and a chance for fans to meet some of drag racing's
heroes.

* Parish Heacock Pit Pass Barbeque on Saturday afternoon, June 17, in a
special tent.

* Cacklefest on Saturday evening, where nitro-burning historic, front-engine
top-fuel dragsters and other classic race cars are push started just like in
the "old days."

* The Swap meet and Reunion Midway filled with manufacturer exhibits and
demonstrations

* A separate amusement park with rides and games for all ages, including a
brand-new roller coaster, adjacent to the park.
      
Information, including a full activities schedule at http://museum.nhra.com.

 

Mo-Pod.com Showcases video podcasts of the Mopar Nation

(6-15-2006) — Mopar enthusiasts now have a chance to show the world what fuels their passion with the launch of www.mo-pod.com, a new Web site and Podcast dedicated to playing videos of the Mopar faithful.

The new Web site empowers Mopar enthusiasts to showcase their lifestyle, passion and interest in all things Mopar. Videos of cool cars, decked out garages, car club events, professional and grassroots racing action—and much more—will be premiered on Mo-Pod.com. The videos can be viewed on the Web site and popular Podcast subscription services, such as Apple iTunes and Podcast Alley.

Visitors to www.mo-pod.com can view clips from a library of Mopar videos. Clips can be downloaded free of charge to desktop computers and iPods. The site features six categories: Racing, Mopar Life, MoRides, Xtreme, Spotlight and Heritage. Enthusiasts whose submissions are chosen for the Mo-Pod.com Podcast will receive a free one-year subscription to Mopar Magazine.

“The way people are finding entertainment and getting their information is rapidly changing,” said Kevin Miller, Senior Manager, Mopar Brand, Performance & Motorsports. “The new Podcast format gives Mopar enthusiasts a forum on which to show the world their spirit, using the hot new Podcast communications medium.”

Check out the new Web site by logging on to www.mo-pod.com. Mopar enthusiasts who would like to submit their videos for consideration should send them to: Mopar Podcasts, P.O. Box 2117, Farmington Hills, MI, 48333-9903.

 

 

West Coast Pro Modified Association prepares for Salt Lake City

(6-15-2006) - The WCPMA is ready to put on a huge show in Salt Lake City this Saturday night as the main feature of the annual Rocky Mountain Raceway “Fuel and Fire” Drag Race Show.   The 1st of 3 rounds of Qualifying begins Saturday afternoon at 1:00 pm with eliminations for the eight-car field set for 6:30 pm Saturday night. The WCPMA has confirmed that a record amount of entries will be competing for the race purse of over $16,000.00. The winner will receive $3,500.00 to win and the runner up will receive $2,500.00. The WCPMA also would like to thank “ProMod Source” for sponsoring a $500.00 bonus to the number one qualifier.

The WCPMA drivers have also agreed to run as an added bonus to the fans that come out to this event a Chicago Style shootout for the cars that don’t qualify for the eight-car field. “We want to put on the best entertainment possible to express our appreciation to the thousands of fans and friends who support this event every year. Most WCPMA  events only the top eight qualified cars run in eliminations, but this year we decided to give something back to our fans of Salt Lake and run this Chicago Style shootout after each round of eliminations, making a race within a race”.

As for track records this track is always prepared to National Event standards and with the calibre of teams and fast cars competing this year, expect to see track records reset. Last years WCPMA event winner Ross Hogenson said “We are really excited and looking forward to defending our title Saturday night, it is a drivers race track and we intend on throwing everything we have at this track to stay on top Saturday night. Also Salt Lake marks the return of 2005 WCPMA series champion “Lee Smith” with his wicked blown hemi corvette. Lee said, “After missing the first event due to family matters , Im counting the days leading up tpo Saturday to get out and make some quick runs down the Salt Lake race track, its one of  my favorite tracks we race at each year 

For more information on drivers, cars and future event schedule check the WCPMA web site http://www.westcoastpromods.com/

 

 

It's all about the night before when it comes to John Force

(6-14-2006) - The night before the race and the pills you take makes all the difference in the world to John Force.

"It's all about what I eat and what I drink and whether I coffee up or not," said Force. "It's all about what I do to get back in fighting mode. I just had to change a few pills I was taking because they made me mentally lazy. I had to take them because they make me stay alive. If I can't win a race I might as well be dead anyway.

"I might drink a few beers with Scelzi the night before and let's get it on."

It just so happened that he had quite an interesting night a few days before Sunday's Chicago final eliminations with Gary Scelzi at Hooters.

"It was me Scelzi and Capps and I was rooting for him to qualify," Force said. "He's a good kid. The three of us were there and man...we power drank. Capps went out early, Scelzi in the semis and I won...so there.

'You can drink too much POWERade and too much coffee and spark your brain out. Then you can go the other way and fase your brain. You have to watch your medication. Then you can take Viagara and instead of looking at the tree, you're looking at the grandstands."

 

Jeg's All-Stars extended through 2011

(6-14-2006) – JEG’S Automotive, Inc., has extended its agreement with the NHRA as title sponsor of the NHRA JEG’S Allstars event, it was announced today.  The extension will keep the JEG’S name on the race-within-a-race bonus program for 64 of the best NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series competitors through 2011.

“We’re very excited to extend our relationship with JEG’S Automotive through the year 2011,” said Tom Compton, president, NHRA.  “Since their initial involvement in the Jeg’s Allstars in 2002, Jeg’s has increased the event’s prestige which continues to be one of the most anticipated NHRA sportsman events during the season where individual and team bragging rights are at stake.”

The JEG’S Allstars event pits the top points earners from NHRA’s seven geographic divisions against each other in the culmination of a year-long points battle.  Competitors in Top Alcohol Dragster (TAD), Top Alcohol Funny Car (TAFC), Comp Eliminator, Super Stock, Stock Eliminator, Super Comp, Super Gas, and Super Street vie for team and individual honors and a share of the $100,000 purse. 

Next year will mark the 23rd anniversary of the JEG’S Allstars event, which is contested at the CARQUEST Auto Parts NHRA Nationals at Route 66 Raceway near Chicago.   The event is televised on ESPN2 as part of the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series show.  The winning team splits $20,000 and the winners in the Top Alcohol Dragster and Top Alcohol Funny Car categories earn $7,000 each, while the winners in Competition Eliminator and Super Stock earn $6,000 each. Super Comp, Super Gas and Super Street winners earn $4,500. Runners-up in all categories get $2,000.

“We're very proud to extend our title sponsor of such a prestigious bonus event where NHRA Sportsman racers are the stars of the show,” said Scott Woodruff, director of media and motorsports for JEG’S Automotive.  At the conclusion of the newly signed extension, JEG’S will have retained title sponsorship of the JEG’S Allstars event for 10 consecutive years.  “While our roots run deep in all levels of NHRA Drag Racing, the JEG’S name has become synonymous with sportsman racing over the years and our participation solidifies our support with the entire sportsman community.”

Former Pro Stock driver Jeg Coughlin Jr. has been an Allstars representative six times, winning the Super Gas class twice.  Other NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series professional drivers who have competed in the Jeg’s Allstars event include Cory McClenathan, Morgan Lucas, Rod Fuller, Gary Scelzi, Tony Bartone and Greg Stanfield.

 

Troy Buff is now a Top Fuel driver

(6-14-2006) - Troy Buff debuted on Monday during testing to upgrade his license to Top Fuel. His performance was very impressive after his half pass shut off run, he came back and ran 4.61, 316.80mph.  The next pass was a definite back up with elapsed time of 4.64, 325.30mph.  The team is owned by Tim and Renee Coghlan.  Old River Volvo, Volvo Trucks,and K & K Trucking are very pleased with the team that Tim has developed.  They should be aiming for competition at St. Louis in 2 weeks.

 

Cleveland Native Chris Streeter Wins Pro Fuel Harley Second Year in a Row

(6-14-2006) - Cleveland's Chris Streeter found his groove and ran it all the way to the finals in Pro Fuel at AHDRA's Roeder Harley Davidson Buckeye Nationals this evening at Norwalk Raceway Park.  AHDRA (All Harley Drag Racing Association) welcomed a record crowd to Norwalk, who stood cheering from the time Streeter was introduced to the moment the win light illuminated in his lane.

Streeter navigated through the competition with great effort both on the starting line and at the finish, clocking in at 6.949 at 191 miles an hour in the final to defeat John Breckenridge of Sultan, Washington who ran 7.096 at 193 miles an hour.

Streeter was jubilant at the Winner's Circle, remarking how the crowd reacted when the announcer introduced the "Hometown boy, Chris Streeter." 

"I loved that!" Streeter said, as handshakes and hugs came from all directions from his ecstatic crew and adoring fans.  This is Streeter's second win at Norwalk in a row.

In action in Top Fuel, Mike Romine defeated the number one qualifier Takeshi Shigematsu with a 6.460 at 214 miles an hour.  Romine, from Sturgis, Michigan, recorded the top speed of Sunday with a 217 mile an hour pass to defeat Mike Lehman of West Palm Beach, Florida in the first round.

Norwalk Raceway Park spends the next three weeks gearing up for the Fourth of July Super Bowl of Drag Racing, Night Under Fire on July 1.  For more information, visit www.norwalkraceway.com.  For more information on AHDRA, visit www.ahdra.com.

 

Adler Survives New Car Blues to Take Virginia Super Chevy Nitro Coupe Win

(6-14-2006) - Former Super Chevy Nitro Coupe World Champion Randy Adler scored his first win in his new hot rod Sunday (6/11) at the Super Chevy Show's Virginia Motorsports Park event.

Adler's new ride is a slick 2006 Pontiac GTO and it swept the table, taking
low qualifier honors Saturday and eliminations on Sunday.  In the finals,
Adler, who hails from Tinley Park, Illinois, ran a 6.494 at 216.48 to defeat
Nitro Coupe veteran Bruce Boland of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.  Boland's '33
Willy's had traction issues in the final and ran a 6.992 at 151.70.

Nitro Coupe qualifying on Saturday was marred when defending Nitro Coupe
World Champ Wayne Torkelson went into tire shake in his new '59 Corvette
Nitro Coupe and smacked the Virginia Motorsports Park wall.  Torkelson was
slightly injured but is reported to be doing OK.  His team tells AutoStar
Productions that damage to the car was relatively minor and that Wayne will
be back to the Super Chevy Show series as soon as the car is fixed.

A large field participated in the Virginia Super Chevy Bracket Racing
program, now open to all GM brands (Bracket Racing results follow).  After a
weekend off for Father's Day, the Super Chevy Show heads to Thunder Valley
for a  June 23-25 event.

 

Doug Moody Services set for Wednesday

6-13-2006) - Memorial Services for Doug Moody will be held at :

 

Indianapolis Raceway Park to name O'Reilly Auto Parts as title rights sponsor

(6-13-2006) - The NHRA is expected to name O'Reilly Auto Parts as the title rights sponsor for Indianapolis Raceway Park on Wednesday during a press conference. This is what is being reported by the Indianapolis Star.

The full article can be accessed at IRP News.

“Thunder by the River” PM Shootout!              

(6-13-2006) - Calm ripples may turn to serious swells on the nearby Fraser River this week when scenic Mission Raceway Park plays host to some of the highest quality Pro Modified cars in the business.

The Eaton Cutler-Hammer “Thunder By The River” Pro Modified Shootout (June 17-18th) has an impressive pre-entered list that includes but is not limited to: Carl “Big Dog” Spiering, Scott Cannon, Rick DiStefano, Glen Kerunsky, Trevor Lowe and Kirk Kuhns. 

The independent event which is open to all competitors may be perceived by some as a nice warm-up prior to the IHRA Rocky Mountain Nationals at Edmonton the next weekend.  In fact it is much more then that.  Racers will be afforded the opportunity to try out the reputed Mission Raceway track surface for themselves and while doing so compete for some serious prize money.   

The official payout for the 8-car qualified Eaton Cutler-Hammer Pro Modified Shootout  field will be as follows:

Winner :           $5600.00 + $500.00 in tools from JET Tools
R/UP:               $2500.00 + $500.00 in tools from JET Tools
Semi Finals:      $1600.00
1st Round:         $1100.00

In addition there will be some bonus $$ during each round of the 3 qualifying rounds on Saturday.  The low ET recorded during each round will receive $500.00 – for a potential total of $1500.00.   The low ET recorded during Sunday’s final eliminations will also earn a racer an additional $500.00.

The cost for a team to enter is $250.00.  But if you happen to be a DNQ – that fee will be refunded!

The schedule (subject to change) will look like this:

Friday June 16 – Open test and tune between 10:00 AM and 4:00 PM
Saturday June 17 – Pro Mod qualifying sessions at : Noon, 2:00 PM and 5:00 PM
Sunday June 18 – Pro Mod eliminations rounds at : Noon, 2.00 PM and 4:00 PM

 

Victor Bray Bags Winternationals With Sensational Comeback; Ben Bray Seals First Top Alcohol Title

(6-13-2006) - The king is back! Six-time Top Doorslammer champion Victor Bray blew away the doubters and the cream of Doorslammer competition last Sunday to win the prestigious season-ending Castrol Edge Winternationals at Willowbank Raceway, in Queensland.

Team Bray has dominated the Winternationals this century and last Sunday's win was Victor's fourth 'Winters' crown, with son Ben Bray winning in 2003 in an all-Bray final.

After uncharacteristically failing to qualify for his last two events - only the second and third times in his long career - Victor had his back against the wall but it was only a matter of time before the wily champion got to grips with a tricky new lock-up clutch system that had been the major cause of the recent DNQs.

Victor backed up an encouraging pre-event test by top qualifying on Friday night with a 6.095sec @ 239.23mph (384.99kmh), and it was to be crucial run, as the second and third rounds of qualifying, to be held the following day, were rained out and a number of big names failed to qualify.

In his first elimination race Victor knocked out Brett Stevens with an identical 'six-oh', a 6.095sec @ 238.73mph (384.19kmh.

"After to seeing a 6.09 in the first round, it was great to lay another one down and know that we had a combination that we could count on," Victor smiled. "The run was so smooth I could tell it was fast and the car really behaved itself, which it hasn't been doing lately. But I never underestimate Brett; he might have been in a new car but he's always dangerous."

The win set up a semi-final against Robin Judd, and again Victor's legendary '57 Chev left like a rocket and ran ramrod straight down the strip to record a 6.030sec (low ET for the round) @ 241.55mph (388.73kmh) and advance to his first final since the Winternationals last year.

"We had a goal to win the Winters again and it was nice to actually make a final at the most important race of the year. We've spent a year trying to get these lock-up clutches firing and now it looks like we have," Victor said.

The final was run in near perfect conditions. It was a chilly night, with the 'air' (barometric pressure) almost at sea level, although the low ambient temperature meant the track had lost much of the heat burned into it during a sunny day.

Victor was up against Maurice Fabietti, who was contesting his first Top Doorslammer final. Fabietti had upset some big names, including Ben in round two, to get to the final but the smart money was on the driver in the Castrol Edge Chevy.

Victor's tune-up was spot on and the Chev again left hard and recorded a 6.059, 237.72 (382.57kmh) to down Fabietti (6.221,228.43/367.62). "Maurice is a long time campaigner and he has been running really well, so we weren't taking him lightly," Victor said, "but the track had cooled off to 15C, which isn't conducive to fast times, so we decided to be conservative with the tune-up, even though there was a temptation to go for a 'five'.

The huge Winternationals crowd was ecstatic that their hometown hero had done it again, and Victor's trusty Chev was the only car to run 'six-ohs' all weekend, showing that he is back doing what he is famous for, running consistently quick and fast. The champ says he can't wait for the 2006/2007 season to start.

"It's good for the family and the team and my friends and sponsors and we think we've got something strong to start the next season with," Victor said.

Team Bray is very close to getting Ben Bray's groundbreaking Monaro CV8Z to a Doorslammer final. Ben qualified sixth with a 6.307sec @ 233.88mph (376.38kmh) to make the eight-car field after also failing to qualify for his last event.

In the first round of eliminations, Ben took out danger man Gary Phillips with a 6.6.252sec @ 232.32mph (373.88kmh) to record the Monaro's first race win, but the car still wasn't in the quarter mile sweet spot with Ben fighting tyre shake and he lost to Fabietti in round two.

"I thought we were going to have a good meeting after we won the first round," Ben said. "The first round is always the nervous round, and we felt a lot easier after that. We're not really sure what happened in the second round; the car shook and I pedalled it, but it never really got going again and I had to sit there and watch Maurice drive away. But dad got revenge in the final!

"It's going be a slow road to get the Monaro as consistent as dad's Chev, which is a really tried and true package; we're still learning the new chassis and the lock-up clutch and how to set it up so it's driveable. But we'll be there next season."

He had a consolation prize, though, wrapping up the Top Alcohol bracket in his Mack Trucks/Castrol Firebird Funny Car and setting a new ET record of 5.52 seconds. It was the third quickest Funny Car pass in world Top Alcohol history. It was only Ben's first full season of Top Alcohol after finishing second in the 2004/2005 season, despite only joining the category half way through that season.

"It means a lot to the team to finish the season on a high and to steal what would have been Gary's thirteenth championship, because he is without a doubt Mr Top Alcohol," Ben said. "Gary and his team were the first to congratulate me, which shows what a class act he is, considering he's won the last 11 titles.

"The Funny has been an amazing car since the day we rolled it out of the container. We used it as a bench for 12 months before we found time to put it together! It would have been good to win the final but we got greedy chasing a 5.40sec, which would have been the world's first 5.40 in an Alcohol Funny Car. As it is, it was the third quickest pass ever, so we we're rapt."

 

 

Doug Kalitta drives nitro Funny Car

(6-12-2006) - So what does a drag racer do on the day after winning a fourth consecutive NHRA Top Fuel national event victory? If you're Doug Kalitta you climb behind the wheel of your cousin's nitro Funny Car and take it or a spin.

"It was different," said Kalitta. "The coolest thing is when you do the burnout and have all the smoke in the car with you. I spent much of the time trying to figure out how to get the roof latch open. I finally gave up and left it down.

Kalitta is scheduled to drive during the forthcoming Norwalk Raceway Night of Fire event which features eight Funny Cars. When Scott Kalitta had a scheduling conflict, the opportunity presented itself for Kalitta to drive. Today's outing at Route 66 Raceway provided an opportunity for him to familiarize himself with the car.

"We just went up there with our with our normal tune-up and looking over the injector was a different angle than I am accustomed to. It left good. I was just hoping it would go so I could see how it felt. It smoked pretty early."

One has to wonder, "Why would Kalitta do it?"

"It's a different kind of car and something different to try," Kalitta said. "You watch all of these guys and hear their stories. I felt it would be good to get it down the track and have a few stories of my own. I was planning on making a few runs and then letting Scott get the car back."

Doug Kalitta - future Funny Car driver?

"Not as long as our Top Fuel car is running as good as it has been," Kalitta said. "It is cool though."

Kalitta went 0 for 2 on his test runs, smoking the tires both times out.

 

Woe is Moe? Spokane Raceway ready for sale?

(6-12-2006) - Torco's CompetitionPlus.com has learned that Orville Moe, general manager of Spokane Raceway, was fired by a judge who determined that he disobeyed a court-appointed overseer of finanacial operations. According to the report by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News, Judge Robert Austin also ruled last week that receiver Barry Davidson, appointed one year ago to take over track operations, can begin the process of finding a real estate firm to appraise the square-mile racing complex and market it for potential sale. The intereting part of the scenario is that Austin appointed businessman Jim Tice, 56, of Spokane, a longtime drag racing enthusiast and businessman, to become the new general manager who will work with the receiver.

Tice is the son of the late Jim Tice, founder and president of the American Hot Rod Association. The second-generation Tice has worked with Moe since the AHRA (later renamed ADRA) folded in the early-1980s.

The case has gotten personal for those involved, said the report. Moe's wife Deonne ran from the courtroom shouting at the judge: "Your honor, in your heart, how can you do this?"

Carl Oreskovich, Moe's attorney, contended that his client hasn't taken a dime from the operation in 40 years although it was alleged that he'd set up a new bank account and was privately leasing the track for races after he was instructed to turn over operations to the court-ordered receiver Barry Davidson. Davidson had sought a contempt of court order against Moe for his actions. This motion was denied by the judge.

In his defense, Moe testified that he opened the account because he was getting bills with no money to pay them.

Davidson's appointment came in June 2005 as a means of protecting the assets of 500 limited partners. They contend they haven't seen a return on the $2 million investment during the 1970s.

Moe's vision for the track was noted by the judge who pointed out the defendant refused to recognize or co-operate with Davidson.

Moe was ordered to turn over a check for $8,300 that he received for rental of the track in March as well as the titles and keys to all vehicles owned by the track. One of those included a truck that Moe used as his personal vehicle. He's also barred from the property as well.

Moe's reponse, according to the report, was a simple "Congratulations."

 

Getting Ready For Prime Time

(6-12-2006) - Ashley Force continues her training for the day she becomes a NHRA POWERade Funny Car driver.

She was testing the day after the CARQUEST NHRA Nationals in Joliet, Ill. Could her national event debut come before the end of the season. Speculations continue to fly.

 

 

 

 

 

Not Ready for Prime Time Players

(6-12-2006) - Some photos are just better uncaptioned.

 

Force wins 120th Funny Car race; Kalitta wins fourth in a row

(6-11-2006) - Drag racing legend John Force won his record 120th Funny Car race Sunday at Route 66 Raceway to close to within 48 points of the championship lead.

One for the highlight reel

(6-11-2006) - Melanie Troxel had quite the entertaining ride in the final round.

"We had been running so good all day long that I really expected the Skull
Shine dragster to go right down the groove," she said of the final. "It
started shaking going into smoking the tires, and I tried to pedal it, but
unfortunately the car was already turning a little bit when it smoked the
tires the first time. When I put my foot down it smoked the tires again and
let the back end break loose and turn hard towards the centerline.

"The car got sideways, and that is one of the more bizarre things to happen.
But, I actually got the front end of the car back into our lane. It was the
back tires that clipped (the center line and the cone). That was a pretty
wild ride in the car.

"It's unfortunate, but they (Kalitta and team) went out and ran a 4.50, so
we would have had to go straight down the track without pedaling it to beat
that. So, really crossing the centerline didn't really matter at that point.

"The Skull Shine guys did a great job this weekend, and we did everything we needed to do, except (win) the final round.

"Still a good weekend considering how we struggled to get qualified. We made a great rebound from qualifying. We lost 20 points to Doug, but we still
hold the lead, and I feel really good about how the car ran today up to the
final."

Said crew chief Richard Hogan: "We were trying to run a .45 or .46, but it
didn't get that far. The sad part of it is it happened so soon and it didn't
have anything to do with any of the adjustments we made. We did everything
routine on the car before the run. It just went up there and smoked the
tires. Melanie tried to pedal it, and she did a good job saving it when it
got squirrelly.

"After yesterday's deal (making it into the field in the final qualifying
session), it's great to be in the final," added Hogan. "But, obviously we
need to beat those guys (Kalitta), or somebody does. We can run as good as
they can, it's not an issue of that, especially at this point. Melanie is
driving well and the car is running good, so we can definitely out-run
them." (Motel 6 Vision/ESPN2)

Doug Moody passes

(6-12-2006) - Northwest drag racer Doug Moody passed away this weekend. He was 59 years old.

Moody, as you may recall, ran an Alcohol Funny Car with partner Steve Clark. he was confined to a wheelchair following a crash during the 1976 NHRA World Finals in Ontario, California. He refused to accept his condition as a handicap and later returned to school to acquire an electronics degree and was most recently in charge of Edelbrock's Electronic division in Torrence, Ca.

 

NHRA Points after Chicago

(6-11-2006) - Point standings (top 10) for NHRA professional categories following the Ninth annual CARQUEST Auto Parts NHRA Nationals at Route 66 Raceway, the tenth of 23 events in the $50 million NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series

Top Fuel

1.  Melanie Troxel, 840; 2.  Doug Kalitta, 769; 3.  Brandon Bernstein, 639; 4.  David Grubnic, 592; 5.  Larry Dixon, 541; 6.  Rod Fuller, 537; 7.  Morgan Lucas, 529; 8.  Tony Schumacher, 504; 9.  Cory McClenathan, 495; 10.  Doug Herbert, 454.

Funny Car

1.  Ron Capps, 833; 2.  John Force, 785; 3.  Robert Hight, 647; 4. Eric Medlen, 604; 5.  Tony Pedregon, 562; 6.  Tommy Johnson Jr. 536; 7.  Whit Bazemore, 503; 8.  Gary Scelzi, 473; 9.  Del Worsham, 469; 10.  Cruz Pedregon, 467.

Pro Stock

1.  Greg Anderson, 726; 2.  Jim Yates, 616; 3.  Jason Line, 612; 4.  Kurt Johnson, 565; 5.  Dave Connolly, 564; 6.  Erica Enders, 550; 7.  Mike Edwards, 534; 8.  Larry Morgan, 466; 9.  Warren Johnson, 452; 10.  V. Gaines, 449.

Pro Stock Motorcycle

1.  Angelle Sampey, 432; 2.  Andrew Hines, 418; 3.  Antron Brown, 358; 4.  Chip Ellis, 300; 5.  Ryan Schnitz, 286; 6.  Karen Stoffer, 267; 7.  Matt Smith, 231; 8.  Matt Guidera, 221; 9.  (tie) Geno Scali, 218; GT Tonglet, 218.

 

 

Keep up with this weekend's action in Chicago and Huntsville

(6-12-2006) - Torco's CompetitionPlus.com will have a crew in Chicago for this weekend's NHRA CARQUEST Nationals as well as the ADRL Summer Drags in Huntsville, Ala. If you like the roundy-round stuff, CircleTrackPlus is running coverage from all three major NASCAR series, the NEXTEL Cup in Pocono, Busch Series in Nashville and Craftsman Truck.

 

Pro Modified Teams to compete in 2006 PMRA season

(6-12-2006) – Entering its second year of operation, The Pro Modified Racing Association is excited to announce the following PMRA series teams who will be competing in 2006:

Driver	Home Town	Team	Car
Ralph Andreacchi	Maple, ON	Skull Motorsports	'53 Studebaker
Bruce Boland	Hamilton, ON	B&B Racing	’33 Willys
Joe Boniferro	Niagara Falls, ON	Smokin Joe's	'99 Avenger
Terry Brown	Caledonia, ON	Terry Brown Racing	‘71 Dodge Charger R/T
Raymond Commisso	Toronto, ON	P&R Racing	'67 Camaro
Dave Earhart	Strathroy, ON	Earhart Racing	'02 Camaro
Jack Grainy	N. Tonawanda, NY	Grainy Brothers Racing	'90 Beretta
Fred Jacobs	Utica, NY	Jacobs Motorsports	‘94 Chrysler Lebaron
Kasey Janzen	St. Catharines, ON	KC Auto Parts	'93 Lumina
Rob Laperriere	Oshawa, ON	Prohotrodz	‘72 Vega
Joe Lilienthal	Kenmore, NY	Lilienthal Racing	'68 Jeep
Mark Mitchell	East Otto, NY	Rude Stude Racing	‘53 Studebaker
Mark Nielsen	Brantford, ON	Nielsen Motorsports	'00 Camaro
Carl Spiering	Jordan Station, ON	Carl Spiering Motorsports- Eaton Electrical	'67 Camaro
Mike Stawicki	Medina, NY	G-Force Race Cars	'67 Camaro

The Pro Modified Racing Association  has five events confirmed for the 2006 season, the KC Auto Family Day Thunder Fest at Toronto Motorsports Park in Cayuga, ON, Saturday, June 24, at Lancaster Raceway Park in Clarence, NY on September 15 and the Pro Modified Racing Association is pleased to be running inaugural events at St. Thomas Dragway in Sparta, ON, August 5 and 6, the Eaton PMRA Challenge at Sanair near Montreal scheduled for Saturday, August 19, and at the Grand Bend Motorplex, over the Labor Day weekend.

The PMRA ran five events in 2005 at four Ontario, Quebec, and New York locations, with a different winner at each track. The PMRA provides drag race fans the opportunity see, hear and to experience the popular Pro Modifieds, known as "the world's fastest door slammers".

The Pro Modified Racing Association, http://www.promodifiedracing.com/, PMRA is a self-governing organization with its own set of technical and safety rules based on the International Hot Rod Association (IHRA) Pro Modified division. Cars in the PMRA capture the true spirit of hot rodding, and the class is one of drag racing’s most exciting and volatile classes, capturing the true spirit of hot rodding and offering a wildly diverse group of racecars with different types of 2,000-horsepower engines. Combining classic body styles and modern equipment, constructors are permitted to extensively modify and enhance both appearance and performance. The cars burn gasoline or methanol, propelling them down the quarter-mile in low six-second times at over 225 miles per hour. The PMRA Pro Modified field is composed of the eight quickest teams from the qualifying rounds.

 

 

Milking it for all it's worth

(6-10-2006) – This week has been one of the best of Dale Creasy’s career since he began professional drag racing in 1997. Creasy drove the Knoll Gas – Torco Race Fuels Funny Car to his first career national event less than a week ago.

Creasy defeated Bob Gilbertson to win the IHRA Mopar Canadian Nationals in Grand Bend, Ont.

Since acquiring the trophy in the shutdown area last Sunday, the trophy has never left his possession or that of his crew. In fact, perched atop his tool box in the Route 66 Raceway pit area, Creasy displays his first “Iron Man.”

“I got to keep it the first night,” Creasy said. “Each one of the crewmembers took a turn keeping it. We’re proud of it. Everyone is proud of it. We even took it to dinner last night.”

 

 

Get a Ronnie Sox diecast and Support Charity

To view more pictures of the car, click HERE.

Points Battles Take Center Stage as ADRL Makes First Huntsville Visit

(6-8-2006) - For drivers looking to make an upward move in the FLOWMASTER American Drag Racing League points standings, this weekend's AMS Staff Leasing Summer Drags presented by Ambrose Printing Co. will be the last chance in quite a while to make some positive headway.

The Summer Drags, the ADRL's first-ever event at Hunstville Dragway, 
is the fifth of seven events on the 2006 schedule, but will be the 
final ADRL event before the series takes the entire summer off. The 
next event on the ADRL schedule - which will also be the final chance 
to earn points for the ADRL Battle for the Belts championship 
eliminators - does not roll around until Sept. 15-16, 14 weeks after 
the Summer Drags.

With the Summer Drags being the second-to-last chance to earn points 
toward qualifying for the Battle for the Belts, with large fields 
expected in both the Pro Extreme and Pro Nitrous classes, and with a 
favorable weather report for the weekend, the racing action is 
expected to be fierce once qualifying gets under way Friday evening 
at 8:30 p.m. local time. Two more qualifying chances are schedule for 
Saturday (noon and 2 p.m.) before the 16-car eliminators in both 
classes begin at 4 p.m.

In Pro Extreme, a number of drivers could lock up reservations for 
the Battle of the Belts - which will be held Oct. 13 in Kennedale, 
Texas - by qualifying and perhaps winning one or two rounds. That 
group includes Bil Clanton, John Lynam, Jason Scruggs, and Quain 
Stott, the top four points-earners entering the Summer Drags and a 
group that has combined to win eight of the 11 ADRL Pro Extreme 
events ever contested. A struggle has also developed lower down in 
the standings, where drivers such as Todd Tutterow (eighth, 735 
points), AMS Staff Leasing-sponsored Troy Critchley and Thomas 
Patterson (tied for ninth with 612 points), and Chip King (10th, 524 
points) are fighting for a spot in the top eight of the final points 
standings and a guaranteed place in the Battle for the Belts.

Scruggs is also expected to garner a large share of the spotlight, 
regardless of his final result in Huntsville. Despite not yet winning 
an event this season, Scruggs has consistently shown a noticeable 
performance edge over his peers - including three No. 1 qualifying 
finishes in four appearances this year - and has soundly thrashed the 
Pro Extreme record book. He holds both ends of the ADRL Pro Extreme 
record with 3.872 and 194.63 numbers from the St. Louis event earlier 
this season.

Nothing appears clear-cut in Pro Nitrous, which has featured eight 
different finalists in the four events contested in 2006. Three 
drivers - Burton Auxier, Johnny Pilcher, and Keith Baker - have 
opened up a points gap on the rest of the class and could secure 
places in the Battle for the Belts with anything approaching a 
respectable performance at the Summer Drags. Beyond that, the current 
points standings are a jumble, including near the pivotal eighth 
spot, where James Hancock is holding off Shannon Jenkins by a mere 
four points. The gap between fifth-place Harold Martin (728 points) 
and 13th-place Steve Vick (515) is the equivalent of just over two 
round-wins.

ADRL Battle for the Belts points standings
(through 5 of 7 events;
top eight qualify)

PRO EXTREME
1.    Bil Clanton    1,360
2.    John Lynam    1,324
3.    Jason Scruggs    1,260
4.    Quain Stott    1,244
5.    Mike Neal    1,148
6.    Josh Hernandez    939
7.    Joey Martin    937
8.    Todd Tutterow    735
9.    Troy Critchley    612
    Thomas Patterson    612
11.    Chip King    524
12.    Eddie Ware    421
13.    Todd Bauknecht    417
14.    Toney Russell    314
15.    Herman Sheppard    306
16.    Phil Osborne    226
17.    Bennie McDonald    219
    Frankie Taylor    219
19.    Danny Rowe    210
20.    Zach Barklage    209

PRO NITROUS
1.    Burton Auxier    1,258
2.    Johnny Pilcher    1,150
3.    Keith Baker    1,146
4.    Terry Housley    931
5.    Harold Martin    728
6.    Ken Thomas    715
7.    Mike Castellana    631
8.    James Hancock    630
9.    Shannon Jenkins    626
10.    Randy Weatherford    542
11.    Rex Kelley    541
12.    Todd Tutterow    527
13.    Steve Vick    515
14.    Aaron Hodges    427
15.    Rickie Smith    409
16.    Billy Harper    404
17.    Dan Parker    311
18.    John Deflorian    310
    Thomas Meyers    310
20.    Stan Allen    308

 

 

Patrick sings praises for the newest Mustang

With the lack of corporate support from Ford in Pro Stock for either major drag racing sanctioning body, there's a good chance the IHRA side might be the only opportunity to see one of these sleek machines.

 

DSR Pro Stock engine building operation headed to Texas

(6-7-2006) - After nearly two years of operating out of a separate building in Indianapolis, the Don Schumacher Racing Pro Stock operation is in the process of moving to the 100,000-sq.-ft. DSR facility in Brownsburg, Ind., with the engine-building operation going to David Nickens' shop in Texas.

Constructed in 2004 and opened in February of 2005, the Brownsburg, Ind.,
compound will now house all nine DSR Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock
Motorcycle and Pro Stock car teams, as well as the Even Knoll-owned Funny
Car team managed by DSR, which will move in at the end of the month.

The Team Mopar/Valspar and Team Mopar/SRT Dodge Stratus engine
program will be guided by DSR Pro Stock crew chief and longtime engine
builder David Nickens out of his Conroe, Texas, shop.

"I think this is a very efficient move to consolidate all the teams in one
location," says Don Schumacher. "It brings all of my teams under one roof,
where they can take advantage of the fabrication shop, machine shop and the
other assets and equipment all of the teams benefit from on an everyday
basis.

"And having the Pro Stock engines maintained and developed at Nickens'
Texas shop allows for David to use his time more effectively to continue to
improve the power of these strong Mopar engines."

Adds Nickens, "I think it will give us a lot better handle on the engine
program, having it function in one place, which will make a huge difference
for us. We're excited about that. We just have to get to working on finding
some power and get into a position to be on top and looking down at the
other teams.

"The Team Mopar guys in the Brownsburg shop will do a great job over there.
We talk to them every day, several times. We'll keep them posted on the
things that need to get done, and I don't think we'll miss a beat by doing
that."

Assistant crew chief Terry Adams, who will continue to commute to Brownsburg
and the events from North Wilksboro, N.C., agrees. "David will be able to
keep his eye on everything, and put so much more of his time into it. A Pro
Stock engine program is a 24/7 thing, and now that he will be able to do
that, he'll take it to the next level."

 

 

 

5th annual York U.S. Musclecar Madness

(6-7-2006) - Momentous days of racing will be relived on July 7-8th at the York Expo Center, York Fairgrounds when Cloister Wash & Lube presents the Fifth
Annual York US 30 Musclecar Madness.
 
Don Garlits "The King of the Dragsters" returns to York for the first time since York US 30 Dragway was closed in 1979. Garlits' accomplishments would take countless pages to list. He will have his famous Swamp Rat 1B dragster and will be available for the weekend to sign autographs and chat with
his many fans.
 
Debuting at this year's show will be the beautiful and famous "Tin Indian" '66 Pontiac GTO of Arlen Vanke that ran out of Knafel Pontiac in Akron, Ohio.  The car was recently completed as a complete restoration per the specs from Akron Arlen.
 
Another car to debut at York is the altered wheelbase Plymouth of Lee Smith who likewise assisted Jim Welch of Bartlett, Illinois in resurrecting this '65 Mopar that competed at the Woodstock of Drag Racing the '65 Super Stock Nationals at York US 30 Dragway.
 
An action packed weekend includes Legion of Honor awards to twelve deserving recipients whose contributions to our performance heritage will be recognized with an individual award and their names placed on a perpetual award that will be placed on display in the Eastern Museum of Motor Racing at York Springs, PA in perpetuity.This year's recipients are Frank LeSueur, Pee Wee Wallace, Bill Stiles, Paul Blevins, Dan Jesel, Wayne Jesel, "Rapid Red" Lang, Tom Raley, Pat Bilbow (posthumous), Don Garlits, Dick Belfatti, Charlie Hill (posthumous).
 
The show has become the annual reunion for the Legends of Drag Racing a group that includes Joe Jacono, Bernie Agaman, Paul Mayo, George Cureton, Jerry Baltes, Charlie Seabrook, Jack Werst, Bill "Grumpy" Jenkins, Jungle Pam, Bud Faubel, Tom Sneden, Sam Auxier, Jr., Dick Brannan, Al Joniec,
Roger Lindamood, Ed Miller, Ed Hedrick, Bruce Larson, Wally Bell, Jim & Alison Lee, and the list goes on.
 
Outside "Cruisin Into Summer" will include expanded activities for the giant two day cruise in on the West Plaza with a DJ for both days and contests and prizes.  The York County Corvette Club will have their Fun Show with over 100 of
the East's finest Corvettes.
 
America's First and Only 100% portable AWD Chassis Dyno will be on hand to take all the horsepower that any of the entrants can dish out.
 
Admission to this over 800 vehicle extravaganza is only $20.00 for a special discount two day ticket or $12.00 for a single day. Children under 12 are free and free parking.
 
The charity of choice for the show is the York County SPCA who recently opened their new facilities in York.  Proceeds from People's Choice voting, 50-50's, and a live auction at 6 p.m. Saturday anticipating a record contribution by the show.
 
Show Information:
Darwin Doll 717.755.5849, e-mail info@yorkus30.com or
website www.yorkus30.com

Australian Drag Racing and Western Sydney International Dragway loses friend

(6-7-2006) - It is with deep regret that WSID records the passing of its marketing manager, Ian Kleeman.

Ian would be well known to many fans of drag racing around Australia, and with good reason. He was without doubt the best corporate friend that drag racing in Australia has ever had.

As the newly appointed Sponsorship Manager for the Rothmans tobacco brands in 1978, when he took over the management of the sponsorship of Jim Read's Top Fuel dragster. He'd come down to Sydney from Brisbane, where he'd served Rothmans in similar positions, and first become acquainted with drag racing.

His career with Rothmans saw him oversee the creation of the Winfield Cup NRL competition, and most notably for drag racing, the Winfield Triple Challenge, which had such a short lived but revolutionary impact on motorsport in Australia.

When the Federal Government ban on tobacco advertising and sponsorship hit at the end of 1995 he was head hunted by CUB as their national Sponsorship Manager, and moved his base of operations to Melbourne, but he never lost his love for drag racing and drag racers.

When WSID became a reality he was appointed as the track's Marketing Manager, and was also assigned to a sim ilar role for ANDRA's Drag Racing Australia organisation.

Ian was never short of a good idea, or astute advice on how to present a professional image. His network of contacts in the corporate world was seemingly endless, and he had much to do with the early success of WSID.

Ian Kleeman was 59 years of age at the time of his passing, on May 31, 2006. He left behind Lee, his partner of many years.

Ian's smiling face in the corridors of the WSID control tower is a great loss to us all. His wise council will be sorely missed. - David Cook

 

Kalitta and Foose team up in Chicago

(6-6-2006) – Winning three NHRA Top Fuel events in a season has its perks, or it least it does for Doug Kalitta. Chip Foose, world-renowned custom auto builder and TV celebrity, and Mac Tools have teamed up with Kalitta and Kalitta Motorsports again on a special paint scheme on Kalitta’s 8,000 horsepower, 330-mph race car.

This weekend, June 8-11, at the CARQUEST Auto Parts NHRA Nationals at Route 66 Raceway in Joliet, Ill., just south of downtown Chicago, Kalitta and his Mac Tools team will forgo their normally bright red racing rail in exchange for a predominantly black decorated dragster to promote the Mac CardTM Ride to Remember Sweepstakes that gives Mac CardTM holders a chance to win a custom designed and built Chip Foose 2006 Ford Mustang that will be given away on the starting line at Indianapolis Raceway Park during the most prestigious drag racing event in the world, the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals, Aug. 30-Sept. 4.

From March until July, Mac Tools customers who use their Mac CardTM to make purchases from their Mac Tools distributors, get one entry per transaction into the Ride to Remember Sweepstakes. Each month one winner receives a Chip Foose tool box exclusively created by Mac Tools and a trip for four to the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals. All five monthly winners will then be eligible to win the Foose-designed ’06 Mustang when each will be given a key to potentially start the one-of-a-kind ride. The winning key holder will get to take a victory lap down the famed quarter-mile at IRP and then take their new custom Mustang home.

The Mac CardTM is an industry leading private label credit card that is specific to Mac Tools. The Mac CardTM program began in Sept. 2004, and gives Mac Tools customers free online account services and promotions plus a range of other benefits.

Kalitta, who is currently in second place in POWERade championship points and who has won three of the last four NHRA national events, is eager to get his specially adorned Top Fueler on the track at Route 66 Raceway.

 “It’s always fun to run a special scheme for Mac Tools. They always have some great promotions and we like to do what we can to help them get the word out,” Kalitta said.

Kalitta and the Mac Tools Top Fuel team also ran a special paint scheme for Chip Foose at the NHRA national event in Las Vegas in early April. 

 

Worsham Reacts to Ashley's Departure

(6-6-2006) - Roughly one year ago, Del Worsham and Mike Ashley announced a business partnership that would bring the Pro Mod star into the NHRA Funny Car realm.  Driving a third Funny Car for Worsham Racing, Ashley and his Torco Race Fuels / Skull Gear sponsorship joined with the two Checker, Schuck's, Kragen teams under the Worsham umbrella, and the New York driver quickly established himself as a future star in the class.

Ashley announced yesterday his eventual departure from Worsham Racing,
effective after the St. Louis race at the end of June.  At that time,
he will join forces with sponsor Evan Knoll, as the Funny Car driver on
a new multi-car team.  Knoll Gas - Torco Race Fuels will remain the major associate sponsor on Worsham's red Checker, Schuck's, Kragen Monte Carlo for the remainder of 2006, and potentially into future years.

After Ashley's announcement,  Del Worsham reflected on the past year,
the agreement to part ways, and the future.

"When Mike came to us with the concept of joining the Funny Car ranks
in a third car we would own and operate, I listened intently and with
great interest," Worsham said.  "He's a guy who says what he means, and
he does what he says he's going to do.   Our job was to give him a
safe, competitive, car and a professional crew, and we did that and
more.  Between Mike and his group, and all of us at Worsham Racing, we
put the program together very quickly, and I'm proud of how well
everyone meshed and how competitive they were in such a short time
span.   It's not easy to be a Funny Car driver, and it's likewise not
easy to put a whole team together, but Mike proved to be a quick
learner and the team we created performed very well, right out of the
box.

"Our personal relationship has been a great one, and Mike and I have
become real friends, so I expect that relationship to continue.  This
new program is something Evan Knoll really wants to do, and therefore I
completely understand that Mike needs to do it, and wants to do it.   I
respect Evan enormously for all he's done for the sport, and for our
team, and it will be good for everyone to have him involved on the
ownership side.  It's been a pleasure to work with Mike and his people,
and it's also been gratifying to see him develop as a driver.  He's
been a terrific student, a very serious learner who absorbs everything
you tell him, and he respects the car, which is important.   I wish him
the best of luck.

"On the track, I've always raced Mike heads-up and we've managed to
come out on top in our three match-ups this season.   Once Mike moves
over to the other program, nothing will really change.  He'll be an
opponent, just like he's always been, and we'll do our best to beat
him, just like we always have.   It will be the Checker, Schuck's,
Kragen car against the Torco/Skull Gear car, and that's racing, pure
and simple.   We might get a little more excited about winning those
laps in the future than we have been about beating him, as a teammate,
in the past, but it won't be anything personal towards Mike.  We'll
just be out there trying to beat a car from the DSR camp, which we've
always enjoyed doing."

As reported, Ashley's tenure as a Worsham Racing driver will continue
throughout the next three races, in Chicago, Englishtown, and St.
Louis.

 

Western Beef Showdown Will Add $5,000 to SuperNationals Purse

(6-6-2006) - The AMS Staff Leasing Pro Mod Challenge 
presented by RPM Depot drivers who are invited to take part in the 
K&N Filters SuperNationals in Englishtown from June 16-18 will find 
themselves in the happy position of racing for some bonus money, 
thanks to series regular Mike Castellana and his Western Beef business.

Castellana, who races out of Westbury, N.Y., has agreed to add $5,000 
to the SuperNationals Pro Mod Challenge purse as part of a "Western 
Beef Showdown." Plans call for $3,000 in bonus money for the event 
winner, with an additional $1,000 apiece for the runner-up and the 
No. 1 Pro Mod qualifier, according to series administrator Matthew 
Brammer.

"We're excited that Mike and Western Beef wanted to help make our 
Englishtown event even better," Brammer said. "Obviously, I would 
have been happy just to have Mike and Shannon [teammate and crew 
chief Shannon Jenkins] race at the event, but this is even better. 
For Mike to want to reach into his pocket to add to the purse just 
shows a real love for the class and a commitment to the AMS Staff 
Leasing Pro Mod Challenge."

Along with Jenkins, Castellana is one of the most highly regarded 
drivers of a nitrous-oxide-injected entry in all of Pro Modified 
racing. He is one of the Pro Mod Challenge's most experienced 
drivers, having competed in 33 career races and recorded three event 
wins (St. Louis in 2003, and Chicago and Memphis in 2004) and two 
top-10 points finishes (2003 and 2004). Castellana is also the 
defending IHRA Pro Mod points champion.

Pro Mod competition at the K&N Filters SuperNationals begins on 
Friday, June 16 with two qualifying rounds. The event is the fourth 
of 10 on the 2006 Pro Mod Challenge schedule.

AMS Staff Leasing Pro Mod Challenge points standings
(through 3 of 10 events)

1.    Jay Payne      1,143
2.    Danny Rowe    839
3.    Joshua Hernandez     836
4.    Shelly Payne     735
5.    Matt Hagan    618
6.    Mike Castellana    530
7.    Joey Martin    522
8.    Troy Critchley     430
9.    Cody Barklage     429
10.    Chip King    420
11.    Rick Stivers     414
12.    Glen Kerunsky    408
13.    Eddie Ware    323
14.    Thomas Patterson     304
15.    Rick Distefano    216
16.    Steve Engel    212
17.    Brandon Pesz    208
18.    Scott Cannon    205
19.    Harold Laird    104
20.    Scott Ray    103
    Frankie Taylor    103
    Mike Janis     103
23.    Shannon Jenkins    102
24.    Burton Auxier    101

 

Frank Pedregon Announces a Brief Break from Racing to Re-group; Sponsors Remain Solidly Supportive

(6-6-2006) - The Von Dutch/TOYO Tires Funny Car owned and driven by veteran drag racer Frank Pedregon will be temporarily parked for the next few races of the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series, pending car and crew changes aimed at running a more competitive team.
 
"Things are just fine at Frank Pedregon Racing - we're just sitting out a couple of races to make some changes and re-group," Pedregon said.
 
"In addition to parking the car, I've made the difficult decision to release my crew chief, Scott Graham, along with a couple of key crew members," he said. "It's never easy to make changes like this, but it's part of owning your own team and running it like a business."
 
Pedregon joined the ranks of team owners in late 2004 and ran a limited schedule in 2005. Although he planned to run the full 23 race series this year, he said he felt this was the best decision for his team.
 
"With the Funny Car class being so competitive, it's vital that our entire team be on the top of its game in order to go rounds against the stables of multi-car teams. I feel that it's better to take a break for a few races than to keep trudging along and not qualifying."
 
According to Pedregon, his title sponsors, Von Dutch and TOYO Tires, remain completely supportive of his decisions and efforts both on and off the track.
 
"My sponsors are a part of the team as well, and, in several discussions, they agreed completely with my decision and remain in full support of Frank Pedregon Racing," he said.
 
"Even with the support of Von Dutch and TOYO, I'm still seeking additional funds to increase our power and positioning. I know that with the growth of the NHRA and motorsports in general, we definitely have a lot to offer to a wide variety of fans and demographics," Pedregon added.
 
"I also want to squash the rumors about the ownership of my equipment," he explained. "Let me assure all my fans that this entire operation is completely and solely owned by me, and is in no way in any sort of jeopardy."
 
Pedregon said he will announce his revised crew roster shortly and hopes to be back on the quarter-mile for the “Western Swing” beginning July 14-16 at the Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals in Denver, Colorado.

---

They call him "The King", We call him Hot!

(6-6-2006) - Ronnie Davis' actions over the last few weeks elevates the former IHRA Top Sportsman World Champion into blazing hot status.

Consider this, Davis who answers to the nickname The King, not only won the May 20th Automatic Pro Mods Association South Georgia Motorsports Park, May 28th IHRA Div.2 Top Sportsman at Douglas Motorsports Park, June 1st at Carolina Drayway TNT (Thrusday night Thunder) Quick 8 race, June 4th Quick 8 Outlaws at Macon National Dragway

Davis has also been in 3 of 4 finals rds in NHRA Div.2 TS and leading the
points there. In addition, Davis has been in 2 of 3 finals of the Automatic Pro Mods Association races as well.

---

Cool Hand Luke becomes Hot Hand Luke

 

 

SANDMAN SANDBAGS FIELD AT ATLANTA SUPER CHEVY SHOW

(6-6-2006) - Tony Williams of Millington, Tennessee goes by "Sandman."  On race day, he was the class of the Nitro Coupe field at the O"Reilly Auto Parts Super Chevy Show held June 2-4 at Atlanta Dragway.

Williams drove his '69 Camaro to a win over New Jersey racer Chris Russo in
the Nitro Coupe finals.  Williams and Russo had qualified 3rd and 4th on
Saturday, with former world Champ Randy Adler taking the Trim Parts Low
Qualifier honors with a 6.478 at 220.96 miles per hour in his brand new 2006
Pontiac GTO Nitro Coupe.

On race day, though, it was the Sandman's turn.  In the finals, he turned in
a 6.741 at 199.97 miles per hour; Russo had his '63 Corvette Nitro Coupe
humming in earlier rounds, but lost traction and couldn't make a race of it.

in the Super Chevy Bracket racing program, great reaction times everywhere.
Bracket Two (Footbrake) winner Toby Barnes of Palmetto, Georgia is no
stranger to big bucks racing, but the four thousandths package he threw at
Jacob Rutledge of Braselton, GA in the finals probably surprised even Toby.
Barnes, a former runner-up in the Million Dollar Drag Race, was .002 on the
tree and ran a 7.532 at 91.18 miles per hour on his 7.53 dial-in.   Junior
Dragster winner Morgan Wood of Hoschton, Georgia continued the great tree
times as she logged an .006 bulb in her championship run. (Complete bracket
race results follow) 

In the Super Chevy jet wars, 25 year old Jessie Harris could have bracket
raced her "Queen of Diamonds" jet dragster with four passes over two days
within a few hundredths of each other to take a clean sweep of Lou Pereira
and "The Terminator." 

The Super Chevy Show's 26th Annual Tour travels to Virginia Motorsports Park
this weekend (June 9-11) and then takes a couple of weeks off before
invading Thunder Valley at Bristol Dragway June 23-25.

 

Supercharged Warriors invade Beaver Springs

(6-6-2006) - Beaver Springs Dragway Memorial Day weekend was the latest stop on the Warriors 2006 tour. After 3 rounds of qualifying, Marty Beno took home the #1 spot with a near perfect 7.801. Scott Hohensee was right behind at 7.83 in the Visionary Fiat. Micky Hale in the Warlock Coupe, Mike Himes in the Danger Zone Camaro and John DeCort in his Prowler rounded out the top 5 spots.

First round had Himes over Joe Veschusio in the Thriller Fiat, Micky Hale getting a win when Jerry Streb had a mechanical failure on his Camaro, John Perrello won over a red lighting Scott Hohensee, and Perrello also took home the Mickey Thompson burnout contest award for his smokefest. A great race between Marty Beno and John DeCort had Beno coming out on top with a holeshot victory and the Enderle reaction time award. Beno's 7.81 took out DeCorts 7.80 Putting Marty in the Final against Mike Himes.

In the Final both drives had good close lights with a .067 and a .064 respectively but Himes got to the stripe first and won with a 7.88 to Marty's 7.89. Thanks to Beaver Bob and staff who kept the track in perfect condition all weekend. Thanks also to Mickey Thompson, Enderle, Rossler Transmissions, SCE Gaskets, and Titan Engineering. Next race coming up at Muncie Dragway June 17th

Evan Knoll names Mike Ashley driver for new team to be managed by DSR

(6-5-2006) - Just one year ago, Evan Knoll debuted a new Top Fuel team driven by Melanie Troxel at Denver's NHRA Mile High Nationals. One year later, she leads the NHRA POWERade points.

Knoll is hoping that lightning will strike twice as he will debut a new nitro Funny Car team in Denver with Mike Ashley driving.

Knoll, who also owns an NHRA Pro Stocker driven by Dave Connolly as well as an IHRA Top Fuel dragster, will begin assembling the properties needed to establish top tier contender status within the nitro Funny Car division. Knoll’s Torco Race Fuels’ increased presence as a team owner joins the recent announcement of title rights sponsorship for the Knoll Gas - Torco Racing Fuels NHRA Nationals at Virginia Motorsports Park, October 6-8.
 
“I have all the faith in the world in Mike Ashley,” said Knoll, of Decatur, Michigan. “I feel this provides an excellent opportunity for him to challenge for the world championship in 2007 and create a larger branding effort for our companies. This is going to be fun and I can’t wait until Denver. We will make a serious run for a mid top 10 points finish this year.”
 
The team will be operated under the already proven Don Schumacher Racing umbrella. “I chose Don Schumacher because of the efficient infrastructure he's built and his first class operation in Indianapolis,” Knoll continued. “He has all the pieces in place to assist us in managing a championship contending program.”

Schumacher is enthused with the opportunity to add another championship caliber team to his line-up. "The opportunity to be involved with a driver and personality of Mike Ashley's caliber is thrilling," Schumacher said. "I know what kind of business man Evan is and being able to expand my involvement with him is exciting."

For Ashley, this move brings a close to a successful working relationship with Del Worsham. The program began last year on the Monday following the St. Louis national event.

“We made one of the wisest choices we could have ever made getting involved with Del and Chuck Worsham,” Ashley said. “One year later, as this chapter of our relationship comes to a close, I reflect back with much appreciation on all I have learned from the Worshams.

“Del was instrumental in helping me learn how to drive and provided a first rate car. Just the fact a driver in my position was able to qualify for 11 of 15 events is a reflection of what a great teacher and person he is.

“I began working with Evan in winning the Pro Modified championship and I look forward to writing this new chapter in our success story. Evan Knoll is a man who makes things happen and to race for a person that is that dedicated to success means a lot to me. The bottom line is that I wouldn’t be here if it hadn’t been for Evan.”

With the move, Ashley will forego his Chevrolet Monte Carlo Funny Car and begin driving a new Dodge Stratus.

Pittman fulfills promise; Shows Pro Mod competition "More than a pretty red race car" in Canada

(6-5-2006) - Heading into this past weekend's IHRA MOPAR Canadian Nationals at Ontario's Grand Bend Motorplex, returning Pro Modified veteran Alan Pittman had promised that the competition would see "more than a pretty red race car,' and late Sunday afternoon the chassis builder from Greenville, South Carolina, made good on his prediction.

He was referring to the unique 1962 Chevrolet Bel Air "bubble top" that he and his crew had constructed last winter. The car sported a stealthy coat of black primer at the first two races of the season, but during the recent month-long competitive layoff it was treated to a bright red paint job.

At Grand Bend, Pittman placed the supercharged hot rod into ninth place on the grid with a best pass of 6.217, 227.56. Rain on Saturday cut the preliminary rounds from the customary three to two due, but by then Pittman was securely in the tough 16-car field and looking ahead to the elimination rounds.

Waiting for him in the first stanza was No. 1 qualifier Tommy D'Aprile, who had taken the top spot on the strength of a 6.084-second pass. Knowing that he didn't have enough car to take on the top runner, Pittman consulted with engine builder Carl Spiering and the two decided that wholesale changes to the engine's tune-up were in order.

"I said that I wasn't going to give it to Tommy, he was top qualifier with a 6.08, and that's real impressive, but we were going to go down fighting," Pittman said. "Me and my team decided that if it blew the tires off in the first round, then so be it. We knew we had to do something."

In the first round, that "something" turned out to be Pittman's driving skill, his .053 to .072-second advantage at the starting line enough to send D'Aprile to the sidelines despite the fact that his 6.283, 225.84 pass was quicker and faster than Pittman's mark of 6.293, 225.39. With that huge win under his belt, Pittman set about fine-tuning his combination for the remaining rounds of competition.

'We needed a couple of passes to get the set-up the way we wanted it, and we were fortunate enough to get them," Pittman said. He took out Carl Spiering, his consultant from the night before, when he left too early in the second round, and then advanced to the final by way of the holeshot once again, his .022 to .119 jump at the light more than covering Quain Stott's 6.231, 23.85 to 6.307, 227.27 advantage at the top end of the track.

In the last Torco Pro Modified race of the weekend, Pittman capped his comeback to competition after a two-year layoff when he got past Canadian Glen Kerunsky, who fought handling problems at half-track. Pittman posted his best numbers of the elimination rounds, 6.243, 227.10, to easily handle Kerunsky's 6.849, 210.77 effort.

"We needed that win so bad," Pittman said. "We have had such a tough time since (car owner) Mel (Bush) and I decided to build this car last fall. It's just been one thing after another. We've fought dozens of gremlins in the car, the truck, the trailer, you name it. We knew we had to keep our chins up and have faith in the man upstairs and we'd get the monkey off our back. He fell off today, I promise you."

"I have always said that if you can make the field for one of these races then you have a chance to win, and we proved that here this weekend," Pittman said. "We weren't the quickest car out there, but we combined some luck with a positive approach and we ended up with the big trophy."

 

Hope he throws better than Michael Waltrip

(6-5-2006) - Two-time NHRA Top Fuel champion Larry Dixon will throw out the ceremonial first pitch at U.S. Cellular Field on Wednesday, June 7, prior to the start of the Chicago White Sox home game. Dixon also threw out the first pitch for the defending World Series champions last June.

Dixon, the winningest active Top Fuel driver with 38 career victories, will take the mound at U.S. Cellular Field prior to the start of the 7:05 p.m. game between the Detroit Tigers and the White Sox. The White Sox currently trail the Tigers by 2.5 games in the American League Central division standings. This is the third time in two seasons that the 1995 NHRA Rookie of the Year has thrown out the first pitch before a Major League Baseball game.

“Once again, I’m honored to get the opportunity to do this,” Dixon said. “This is the third time for me in a Major League ballpark and I think it’s a big deal. I feel fortunate to have the opportunity. And, as it turns out, it’s a big game between two of the top teams in the league. I promise everybody that this won’t count towards community service hours.”

 

West Coast Pro Modified Association names new race co-ordinator

(6-5-2006) - The West Coast Pro Mod Association is excited to announce the appointment of "Amanda Boehler" to the position of  "Race Coordinator" . Amanda is no stranger to Pro Mod racing as she held the position of "Race Coordinator Assistant" with the WCPMA in 2004.

Amanda will attend and be the liaison between racers and tracks officials at all West Coast Pro Mod events. As well as organizing event pairings lane assignments and run orders.

Next up on the WCPMA circuit is Salt Lake City Utah, June 17 when the bad boys of pro mod return to rip up the quarter mile. Check out the WCPMA web site for event information http://www.westcoastpromods.com/

 

 

---

Been away from your computer for a while ?  Visit our News Archive .

Return to Contents  

 

---