After a full day of Fords, family and fun John Force Racing car show
manager Craig Hoelzel pronounced the Ken Grody Ford and Auto Club All Ford Car Show held last Sunday, August 9th a huge success.

“It
was a great day. We had over 6,000 fans attend the event and most
importantly those same fans dropped off 2,416 pounds of canned food for
the Orange County Food Bank. There were over 300 Ford and Mercury cars
and trucks on display,” said Hoelzel.

Aeromotive Fuel Systems announced that racecar builder and fabricator
Larry Larson will drive Aeromotive’s twin turbo, Ford Mustang in AA/AT
at the NHRA U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Mac Tools U.S.
Nationals begin September 2 and wraps up on the 7th. “We’re really
excited to have Larry drive the car. After all, he built this car and I
think anytime that he has behind the wheel and on the track will be
invaluable for our racing program down the line,” said Steve Matusek,
Aeromotive President and current driver of the car.

Don Bowles has the prototype car and if he gets his wish, he’ll have a class to race it in.

The vision, according to the former NHRA class racer, focuses on the
late model production vehicles powered by engines purchased directly by
NASCAR engine suppliers.

His 2008 Mustang carries a 358-inch Ford engine built by Roush-Yates
and weighs in the neighborhood of 3,300 pounds. That’s about 100 pounds
lighter than the factory GT model and did we mention that it covers the
quarter-mile in just a tad over nine seconds?

Aussie Top Doorslammer racer John Zappia had a very eventful meeting at the ANDRA Pro Series Top Alcohol Championships over the
weekend,
and ended up on National television all over Australia for the wrong
reasons. After reaching the finals of the Top Doorslammer class to face
off against rival Maurice Fabietti, Zap ended up putting the Striker
Monaro into the concrete wall in a spectacular crash.

"I am counting my blessings at the moment" said a relieved John Zappia,
still at the Willowbank track packing up. "I thought it was going to be
worse than what happened when I was facing the wall ahead at 100 miles
per hour. Fortunately the car was at an angle and on two wheels, so it
was a glancing blow and rode the wall without going over. My body is ok
with no damage apart from some minor pain, and that is the main thing -
I will be back next meeting ready to fight back".

R2B2 Racing is saddened at the loss of teammate and friend Bobby Monacelli who passed away at work this morning after suffering cardiac
arrest. His father, Clem Monacelli, his sister Mary Beth, and his
nephews, Nicholas and Timothy survive the 48-year-old who had recently
relocated to Duluth, Ga. to work with the R2B2 Racing team. Bobby
joined the team in November of last year and worked on both Roger
Burgess and Melanie Troxel's Pro Mods after most recently having worked
with Pro Mod driver Ed Hoover.

Reigning NHRA Funny Car world champion Cruz Pedregon sped to the first
win of his circle-track career, driving his Advance Auto Parts

Thieszen Photo Creations

Dirt
Late Model to victory at Kamp Motor Speedway in Boswell, Ind., Aug. 8.
He qualified fourth out of 21 cars, won the eight-lap heat race, then
started the 20-lap feature on the outside of the front row and charged
to the front.
    
"I trailed for the first five laps," Pedregon said. "The leader was
running close to the wall, and I was right with him. Then he bounced
off the wall, causing a yellow. When the race resumed, I moved
underneath the leader and led the rest of the way. The lateral G's lap
after lap after lap are awesome! A Funny Car pulls a lot more G's, but
not lateral G's. There's a lot of banking, which makes it fast for a
smaller track, and it really suited my driving style. I could feel the
guy in second right behind me, and fatigue was starting to set in, but
I kept doing what I was doing and stayed in front. I was ready for it
to be over there at the end, looking for the white flag, but I held
on."

John Force hopes history is on his side this weekend at the Lucas
Oil Nationals in Brainerd, Minn. He holds a record which could also be the key to turning his 2009 season around.

It’s one of the most impressive records in all of motorsports:
22 consecutive seasons with at least one win—the most in NHRA history.
The closest driver to that mark, Pro Stock’s Kurt Johnson, is still
eight seasons short of matching that mark. Started in 1987 and spanning
through two decades, the NHRA legend Force has never had a season since
that he didn’t collect at least one win.

Top Fuel racer Doug Kalitta will once again carry the banner for Red
Line Oil on his 8,000-horsepower, 300+mph, nitro-fueled dragster at
this weekend’s, Aug. 14-16, NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series
national event in Brainerd, Minn., at Brainerd Int’l Raceway and for
the two following NHRA events.
 
After a successful event for Team Kalitta, Red Line, and their
customers at the previous event in Sonoma, Calif., Red Line decided
that one event was not enough time to display their stunningly sleek
and sharp dragster on the drag strip, so they have extended their
partnership with the Ypsilanti, Michigan-based race team for Brainerd,
Reading, Penn. (Aug. 20-23), and the most prestigious drag racing event
in the world, the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis, Sept. 2-7.
 
“We had a feeling that this car would come off looking great,” said
Cameron Evans, Director of Sales and Marketing for Red Line. “Everyone
at Red Line loves Top Fuel, especially when your car looks that cool
when it first rolls out of the transporter. With the help of Kalitta
Motorsports, we were able to add these three races so we are absolutely
thrilled and look for another strong and consistent run in Minnesota
and further.”

The mere thought is enough to sicken any car enthusiast.

Four musclecar enthusiasts were stranded at their hotels when thieves
stole four rare Hurst/Olds on Friday evening during the 25th annual
Hurst/Olds National Meet at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in
Indianapolis.

Those close to the musclecar scene believe this was a calculated “hit” and not a random crime.

Linda and Orville Hardy were among the victims of this crime.

The Hardy’s told WISHTV.com, a local Indy television station, that they
had woke early in the morning before a car club meet to shine their
1979 Hurst/Olds as they always do before the gatherings.

Chuck DeMory had a little extra pep in his step on Friday afternoon at zMax Dragway in Concord, N.C.

The former IHRA mountain motor Pro Stock racer from Geneva, Ill., has
begun a new chapter in his racing life. There will be no more late
nights thrashing a race car to prepare for the rough and tumble world
of Pro Stock.

DeMory has put away his firesuit and helmet, and now walks to the
starting line in shorts, a team uniform shirt and a headset that
enables him to communicate with his son Chuck DeMory Jr., a racer in
the NMCA’s Nostalgia Pro Street division.