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FRIDAY NOTEBOOK

THE BIGGER PICTURE - Since January 17th, Bahrain's Khalid Abdul Mohammed has been relentless in his obliteration of the Pro Nitrous Eliminator Elapsed Time and Speed records during the five completed events of the 2014 Arabian Drag Racing League series at Doha, Qatar. Now, he must produce yet another record in uncharted territory during this week’s final point-earning series race.
 
Prior to the start of the 2014 series, the Arabian Drag Racing League eighth-mile Pro Nitrous records were held by American superstar Mike Castellana’s Shannon Jenkins-tuned Al Anabi/Western Beef ‘69 Camaro at the best runs ever clocked in the class, 3.721 seconds and 200.83 miles per hour set during the second event of the 2013 Qatar tour. Mohammed and his Pat Musi-powered EKanoo '69 Camaro wasn’t in attendance at the 2014 series opener on January 9-10 but, during qualifying for the second event on January 16-17, he became the third driver in Pro Nitrous history to record a speed over 200 mph with a 3.765 at 200.08 mph. Mohammed then set the new World Record at 201.16 mph en route to winning the race when Castellana, (winner of the first 2014 event), redlighted in the final round.
 
During January 21st testing for the third event, Mohammed drove to the fastest, (and third quickest), run in class history with a brilliant 3.725 at 202.09 and, two days later during qualifying for the third race, confirmed that performance with a 3.743-second, 201.58 mph blast to lead the PN field for the second straight week. However, the semi-final round of eliminations was a disaster for Mohammed; staged against Qatar’s Mahana al Naemi, (who, during qualifying, became the fourth PN driver to break 200 mph), the Bahrainian driver redlighted away any chance at a second victory. Moreover, Castellana went on to win the event while al Naemi came perilously close to stealing Mohammed’s speed record with four consecutive runs over the double-century mark!
 
Prior to the fourth series program on February 6-7, Mohammed and his crew, including engine builder Pat Musi and consultant Shane Tecklenburg, got serious. The team, owned by Bahrain car dealership magnate Ebrahim Kanoo whose family owns one of the country’s largest business conglomerates, took a ruthless approach to the three remaining Qatar events. During a test session on February 5th, the white Jerry Bickel Race Cars EKanoo Camaro stunned the world with an ungodly 3.701 at 202.82 miles per hour to become the quickest and fastest Pro Nitrous entry on the planet.
 
During qualifying for the fourth Arabian Drag Racing League race, Mohammed unleashed consecutive runs of 3.723/202.30 and 3.707 at an astonishing 202.88 mph to set both ends of the World Record and lead the field for the third straight time. In eliminations, the 903 cubic-inch behemoth ripped through the field to take the EKanoo team to the winner’s circle for the second time by beating American champion Steve Jackson’s Al Anabi Camaro in the final round with a 3.716/202.58
 
The fifth race of the six-event season was more of the same from Mohammed. Once again, he led qualifying with 3.718/201.43 and 3.748/201.55 efforts and ripped through the eight-car field with runs of 3.732/201.49 and 3.737/201.70 to again oust Castellana in the final for a third event title in four races.
 
Now, with the last series race only days away, Mohammed must overcome a 224 point deficit to displace point leader Castellana and secure a World Championship for Bahrain. Under Qatar Race Club rules, qualifying position can result in as many as eight points, each elimination round victory is awarded one hundred points and Elapsed Time and Speed records earn fifty points each. In this scenario, Mohammed must outlast Castellana by three rounds, (a win for Mohammed and a first-round loss for Castellana), or set one record and outperform Castellana by two rounds. For all intents and purposes, Hadair Mohammed, Pat Musi, Shane Tecklenburg, Eric Luzinsky and the entire EKanoo team must now attempt to make their Camaro the first Pro Nitrous machine to record an elapsed time under 3.7 seconds
 
“I’m very happy with the performance of the car and, this weekend, we will push to go 3.60s”, said Mohammed after his dominance of the fifth event. However, Mohammed admitted, “The problem we have is we don’t have spare parts and the engine is pushing the car hard”.
 
Musi explained, “Having all the parts is critical because, if you’ve got to get something, it ain’t like you can go get it. You’ve got to make sure you think about it and have parts here. I’m not crying but we have one engine per car. There are some teams here who have six engines per car. That’s okay; we’re doing our deal”.
 
To place in proper perspective the Pro Nitrous performances of the 2014 Arabian Drag Racing League season, a total of nineteen runs have eclipsed Burton Auxier’s 3.745-second United States record, (recorded at Dinwiddie, VA, on August 13, 2011), and ALL of them have been recorded at the Qatar Race Club since January, 2013. Likewise, United Arab Emirates driver Khalid al Balooshi recorded the only two Pro Nitrous passes over 200 mph in the U.S., (200.38 and 200.53 on May 6-7, 2011, at Mohnton, PA), while four other drivers, (Castellana, Mohammed, Mahana al Naemi of Qatar and Yousef al Ali of the UAE), have produced twenty-two 200 mph clockings and ALL of them have been recorded at the Qatar Race Club since January, 2013.
 
Qualifying for the sixth event begins at 6 A.M. EST on Thursday, February 20. The Qatar Race Club’s elevation of 61 feet above sea level, (and weather conditions which remain at a corrected elevation of 1200 feet above sea level to up to 100 feet below sea level each day), combined with expert attention by track preparation masters Cale and Cody Crisp result in a facility capable of producing records every time the gates are opened.
 
Khalid Mohammed and the EKanoo team are banking on it.  

STOP US IF YOU’VE HEARD THIS BEFORE – Alex Hossler and iconic alcohol tuner Frank Manzo ran roughshod over the Pro Extreme field this weekend. After qualifying No. 1, Hossler drove past the turbo entry of Eric Dillard and then Von Smith in the finals.

Hossler also established a new Pro Extreme record with a 3.527 elapsed time.

ALMOST – Mike Castellana is an excellent driver by any and all standards. The veteran doorslammer racer from the United States nearly pulled off a doorslammer double-up by winning one of his two final rounds.

Castellana was not to be denied in Pro Modified as he beat Kuwait’s Bader Khoursheed in the final round. He ran a 3.81 in the final as Khoursheed fouled. The championship marked the third one for Castellana.

Castellana ran a strong 3.77 in the final of Pro Nitrous but fell short to Khalid Mohammed’s 3.73.

THAT’S ALL FOLKS – Round Five was the final legal Pro Modified event for two of the American racers. Round 5 winner Mike Castellana and two-time 2014 winner Von Smith will have their cars loaded on a cargo ship headed for United States in order to race at the NHRA Pro Modified season-opener in Gainesville, Fla., in three weeks.

REELING IN THE COMPETITION? - Eric Dillard and Steve Petty are game-planning to make a turbocharged doorslammer on equal footing as their screw-type supercharger competition. Thanks to a 3.59 in recent QRC testing they are within a tenth of the fastest car in the class.  

Turbocharged cars are rarely known for quick sixty-foot performances but on the historic run, Dillard drove his way to .974, 2.449 incremental clockings.

Throughout the Round 5 QRC competition, the Q80 team appeared mired in the 3.7-second range. The 3.60s and 3.50s, Dillard admits, is a whole new ballgame.  

“Just power application,” he said of the biggest difference. “Trying to figure out what the car wants to do. A turbo car the biggest thing is 60 feet and we’ve got splits everywhere to run with a blower car. We’re running the front split the same; we matched the back split when we were in Houston at the end of the year. The speed was a little different but we went 113 with a nine back half. From 60 feet on if you put an .890 60 foot with us we’re going to go a .52 or .53 but we’ve got to figure out how to take that .950 and start knocking it down. That’s where we’re missing right now. We keep trying to go .930, .920 consistently but we just haven’t found it yet.”

CHASING THE DREAM - Nasser al Sowaidi has a dream. The Qatar native wants to race Top Fuel, but for now he's getting his experience in the Qatar Racing Club's Top Dragster 4.80 dragster division. "I got into drag racing at the Qatar Racing Club in order to get off the streets racing," said al Sowaidi. "Al-Anabi has made great success here and in the States. They have opened the opportunity for young nationals to compete. My dream is to race in the States in one of the biggest classes." Sowaidi currently leads the point standings in the QRC Top Dragster class with one race remaining in the six-race series. "I might be hoping too far but I want to drive a Top Fuel," admitted al Sowaidi.

SUPER STREET 8 PHENOM - Kuwait native Abdullah al Shatti understands he's half of a world away from the main action associated with his style of drag racing. However, if he were closer, he's got a car more than capable of running with the best in the business.

al Shatti has the quickest Super Street 8-Cylinder in the Qatar Racing Club at 4.29 seconds. The Q80 driver recently won an event at the QRC.

"My goal is to run in the low (4).20s and go over, and race in the United States," al Shatti said. "Racing with the other Drag Radial racers would be my dream."

AND THE REST OF THE STORY – The QRC also crowned a score of winners including Fadi Tamour [4.50 Pro Mod], Jaber Al Maghrid [4.80 Dragster], Steve Jackson [Super Street 8 Cylinder], Abdullah Al Soori [Outlaw 10.5], Mohd Haji [Super Street 6 Cylinder], Mohd Al Darwish [Pro Bike] Mashari al Turki [Super Street Bike] and Misfer al Misfer [Street Bike].

THE FINAL QUALIFYING LIST - The fourth and final qualifying session is now complete for the fifth event of the 2014 Arabian Drag Racing League series at Doha, Qatar. With a corrected elevation of nearly 1100 feet above level, the weather conditions were the worst of the 2014 series and a blazingly hot track temperature made track conditions tricky. Surprisingly few teams even bothered to appear in the final qualifying period but there were some impressive runs and a few late entries which made the field on the last shot.

In Pro Extreme Motorcycle, the best efforts in the final session came from Kuwait’s Mishal al Saber, (4.132/171.34), and Qatar’s Mohammed al Darwish, (4.139/168.05). In Pro Modified Eliminator, only Bader Khoursheed in his Kuwait-based, nitrous-injected Drag 965 ‘68 Camaro was able to negotiate the track and a 3.913/195.23 actually improved on the speed record-holder’s 3.927/197.25 from yesterday,

The big news in Pro Modified was the appearance of Khalid al Balooshi of the United Arab Emirates, fresh off his Top Fuel Eliminator victory at the NHRA Winternationals last week, who jumped into the already-qualified Speedtech Nitrous Oxide Solutions ‘68 Camaro of Yousef al Ali and ran the quickest and fastest pass of the final Pro Nitrous Eliminator session at 3.857/196.51 to qualify fourth. Equally surprising was the appearance of American Super Street Six-Cylinder star Chad Morgan who wheeled the Al Anabi 2005 Pontiac Grand Am into the field on his only run.

In Pro Extreme Eliminator, the weather didn’t stop American Alex Hossler from posting his fourth consecutive run under 3.60 seconds, (3.572/214.31), while no other driver has run in the 3.50s. Impressive efforts in the final session were posted by Von Smith’s Al Anabi “Rage” ‘68 Camaro, (3.614/208.75), and Brandon Snider’s ‘63 Stingray, (3.639/210.34).

Eliminations will open under the same hot weather but conditions will improve throughout the race. - Bret Kepner

THURSDAY NOTEBOOK -

AN UPWARD TREND – Alex Hossler secured the top spot during Pro Extreme qualifying when he improved in the final session with a 3.539, 215.44. In his two previous runs, Hossler belted out 3.549 and 3.566 elapsed times behind the wheel of the Frank Manzo-tuned, Al-Anabi Camaro. In addition to securing the event’s low elapsed time, the 215.44 stood as top speed of Friday.

THE NEW NITROUS STANDARD – Bahrain’s Khalid Mohammed has his share of history following Friday’s qualifying. Utilizing a Pat Musi engine, he drove to a 3.718, 201.43 to secure the quickest-ever nitrous car pass in the world.

CASTELLANA CLOSE TO TRACK RECORD – Mike Castellana stepped up in a big way during the final Pro Modified session. Still smarting from a rare first round red-light in the Round 4 event, Castellana came within .006 of Von Smith’s track record when he went to the top with a 3.806 at 196.30 with his Reher-Morrison powered entry.

QRC 101 – Qatar Racing Club competition is very similar to the drag racing in the States. The Pro Extreme, Pro Nitrous, Pro Modified and Outlaw 10.5 divisions mirror their American counterparts. The 4.50 [FF] division, formerly Top Sportsman, division runs on a 4.50-second index and is limited to full bodied cars only. The Al-Anabi Dragster [DG] division is limited to econo-type dragsters on a 4.80 index. The motorcycles have three divisions with Pro Bike as the top of the food chain and essentially is NHRA Pro Stock Bike with power adders. Super Street Bike is for street bikes with power adders. Street bike is for naturally aspirated bikes.

The Super Street divisions, are separated in V-6 and V-8 divisions and are reserved for those cars with a stock type chassis, stock front clips and front suspension, and no wheelie bars

ONE SHOT WONDER – Turki Al Humaidi fired his best shot in the first session of Outlaw 10.5 qualifying. Humaidi laid down a 4.134, 190.59 in his Mustang to grab the top spot early.

SUPER STREET 8 LEADER – Jassim Al Muqahwi led the Super Street 8 Cylinder division as he ran a 4.347, 183.87 in his Corvette to edge Steve Jackson, who was second with a 4.359.

PERFECTION – Kuwait’s Duaij Al Sabah threaded the needle perfect in the Al-Anabi Dragster division as he ran a dead-on the index 4.800. The top eight qualifiers were all 4.818 or better.

ALMOST – Hisham Al Mola nearly nailed the 4.50 index perfectly in the FF division. Mola ran 4.503 in his ’67 Camaro. A close second was Syria’s Fadi Tamour, who turned in a 4.505 performance. Saleem al Temeemi was third with a 4.507.

SUPER SUPRA – American Chad Morgan drove to the top of the Super Street 6-cylinder division during the second session with a 4.744. He improved with a 4.654 in the evening session with his Toyota Supra.

CANADIAN BAKIN’ – Canadian Terry Sweigert laid down an incredible, record-setting run during Friday’s second session. Sweigert blasted out a 4.008 elapsed time and ran a 4.04 in the final session for the required back up.

PROGRESSIVELY BETTER – Mashari Al Turki, a Suzuki Hyabusa rider from Saudi Arabia, improved on all three Friday runs while remaining atop the Super Street Bike ladder with runs of 4.45, 4.39 and a 4.374 in the final session.

KING OF THE STREET – Mohd Bourashid made his initial shot count. Bourashid, of Kuwait, rode his Suzuki to a 5.150 elapsed time at 142.06 to lead all three sessions on Friday.