Eric Schweitzer of Canton, Ohio has a lot of autographed drag racing memorabilia, but when he brought out this guitar just for the champs he really scored. From Jeg Coughlin, Jr. through Erica Enders-Stevens, Antron Brown, Angelle Sampay and John Force, he’s got a bunch of ‘em.Three-and-a-half-year old twins Rydin and Zandir Cook of Wylie Ford sported the best coifs at Norwalk!This line (of which we’re only showing a small portion) was for John Force’s autograph at the Chevy pavilion.Harold Martin’s bulbous Corvette is the kind of wild ride that can be found in Pro Mod.Pete Farber’s be-winged Daytona was a first round loser in Pro ModFormer Funny Car driver Von Smith’s ‘Vette carded a 5.941 against Billy Glidden in the second round. Unfortunately for Smith, Glidden had a 5.891.Curt Steinbach’s Florida-based Camaro had a better light than did opponent Jason Line in the first round, but Line had a better elapsed time, and that was that.Jeggie just can’t be happy with the performance of his new Dodge. He’s used to more, but the Elite Motorsports team will get there.Brandon Welch has a way to go to be competitive with the likes of Capps, Johnson, Beckman et.al.Alexis DeJoria and tuner Tommy Delago work well together, but it’s kind of a shame that she ended up against Courtney Force in just the second round.Lanny Maglizzi’s expertise in recognizing what is, and what isn’t the “right place” to put one of the JFR cars is what makes him a valued employee. He can literally make or break a driver’s weekend.
Terry McMillen had a brilliant outing at the Gatornationals but hasn’t fared as well since then. He lost to J.R. Todd in Norwalk’s first round.Yes those are green header flames coming out of Richie Crampton’s engine and no, the photo has not been altered.
Jackie Fricke getting ready to go.
V. Gaines’ Dodge continues to be just a tiny bit behind the leading Chevrolets.Just a small part of the crowd in Norwalk.
Master tuner Jimmy Prock has kept Fast Jack Beckman near the top of the heap all year long.Shooter! Nice to see a young man using a “real” camera as opposed to a cell phone.Doug Kalitta was the qualifying leader, but lost to teammate J.R. Todd in the semis.Matt Hagan’s Dodge made it about 150 feet before it broke the tires loose in eliminations.Cruz Pedregon’s Toyota will be a feature player in the Night Under Fire at Norwalk in August.
Angie Smith’s weekend ended ignominiously in the first round.Tommy Johnson, Jr. has been very competitive this year in a machine that promotes the Make-A-Wish Foundation, but receives no money from it. The car is privately backed.
