V. Gaines isn’t hard to notice in the Pro Stock pits lately. He’s the guy who looks as if he found his best friend.

That’s a somewhat accurate description, although the lost friend was
his crew chief Clyde West, who was away for nearly a month on medical
leave.

West suffered a ruptured colon in the days before the NHRA O’Reilly
Midwest Nationals at Gateway International Raceway across the river
from St. Louis, Mo. The determined tuner returned to action on a
limited basis in Chicago guiding Gaines to a solid semi-final finish.

“You can definitely tell he’s back,” Gaines said. “Tom Martino has been
absolutely marvelous in keeping our ship sailing. Clyde knows the team
and knows the operation and his influence has shown in the past two
weekends.”

 

Funny Car racer Tony Pedregon was a bit apprehensive about bringing an
unproven chassis into competition after destroying his trusted unit
during the final qualifying session at the NHRA Route 66 Nationals in
Chicago. He was likely wondering why he hadn’t made the switch sooner
when he crossed the finish line ahead of Robert Hight in the final
round of the NHRA Summit Racing Equipment Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio.

Pedregon drove to his second victory since pressing the new chassis into service.

“I think people are probably thinking that it’s the chassis and I’ve
always felt that a brand new chassis is much better than one that’s
been run all over it,” Pedregon said. “It’s been put through the
fatigue of the track and you think about the fatigue going down the
road. But I believe that we were one or two adjustments away from
having the same kind of performance with our old car but I think it was
just a coincidence but it just shows the new rules that we implemented
with this new compliant car. It drastically improves the safety and you
really don’t compromise any performance so from that perspective most
of the racers are happy about that.”

Pedregon was all smiles as he drove his way to a career 39th victory
and vaulted his Q-Power team into second place in the Funny Car point
standings behind Tim Wilkerson. Understandably the defending Funny Car
world champion has experienced easier winning weekends.

Hector Arana scored his first win since entering the Pro Stock Bike ranks in 1990.

Hector Arana has competed in so many races since 1990 with a minimal
amount of success, so when the day finally arrived, he didn’t exactly
know how to react.

The veteran Pro Stock Motorcycle rider, running in only his fourth
final round appearance in 18 years, rode his Buell to victory at the
expense of Craig Treble.

“It’s awesome, awesome feeling,” Arana said. “It hasn't sunk in yet,
but it feels great to accomplish what I have been working for all these
years.”

Arana defeated a score of heavy hitters such as Gatornationals winner
Matt Guidera, defending POWERade champ Matt Smith and No. 1 qualifier
Eddie Krawiec, before beating veteran Treble in the final.

Roger Richards Photos

The tears flowed freely as Doug Herbert exited his Top Fuel dragster.

Doug Herbert and daughter Jessie celebrate his first Top Fuel victory of 2008.

He had finally won one for his boys, his two young sons Jon and James, who died in February in an automobile accident.

Their loving father provided the one tribute he knew would be shared by millions of race fans all over the world.

Herbert delivered a victory during the NHRA Summit Racing Equipment
Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio, through sheer determination, the hard work
of his crew and, as he put it, the good luck provided by his 10-year
old daughter Jessica and girlfriend Ginger.

The Canadian fans that pack Castrol Raceway in Edmonton for the Rocky
Mountain Nationals keep upping the ante. For the third consecutive
season the advance ticket sales are off the charts, setting records for
duckets sold. The Rocky Mountain Nationals have come to the forefront
as the premiere event on the IHRA Knoll Gas Nitro Jam schedule due to a
variety of factors…the rabid passion of the fans, the hard work and
forward thinking of track operators Rob and Kim Reeves and the
commitment IHRA has made to making the Rocky Mountain Nationals
something special.

“NHRA has the U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis and the rest of their
events kind of lead up to that one,” IHRA president Aaron Polburn said.
“We have the Rocky Mountain Nationals. While our other national event
venues are strong with great fans, there is just a different kind of
feeling when you walk into Castrol Raceway on race day. Rob Reeves and
his entire team put on a great show but, honestly, you can find the
major difference in the stands. Those fans are unbelievable.”

Case and point, Dr. Tom Carter has a memory of Castrol Raceway he will never forget.

Ace photographer Jim Garahan represented CompetitionPlus.com at the recent All Harley Drag Racing Association event in Cecil County, Md.

AHDRA PHOTO GALLERY 

Vis Viva Top Fuel dragster crew chief Tony Shortall just can't get a break.
 
The veteran tuner has been accused of compromising safety for former
driver Alan Bradshaw, a claim which he refutes. He’s also blamed for
instigating a shoving match in the team's hauler which led to the
driver’s dismissal.
 
Now, many of the other drivers and crew members are flipping him off as he walks by. You know, giving him the bird.
 
Their obscene gestures are not out of anger, but rather in jest. The
hottest rumor circulating the pits suggests part of the altercation
between he and his former driver stems from that same gesture from
inside the car as they stood on the starting line.
 
“I’m not going to comment on that,” Shortall said.

Dave Connolly defeated Warren Johnson in Sunday’s first round of the
Summit Racing Equipment Nationals and moved closer to 10th place in
NHRA’s Pro Stock top 10, but his five-round win streak at his hometown
track ended in the quarterfinals.
 
Connolly never trailed against Johnson and drove to the win in 6.701 seconds – his quickest run of the weekend – to a 6.715. 
 
But Justin Humphreys threw a roadblock into Connolly’s plans with a
time of 6.716 at 204.54 to a 6.729 at 205.79 for the Cagnazzi Racing
Charter Communications/LifeLock Chevy Cobalt.

Cory McCenathan has drawn impatient in his recovery time from Lasik eye
surgery. He cited the after-effects of the corrective procedure as a
factor in his semi-finals loss at Englishtown. A week later the situation
was the same in a semi-final loss to Brandon Bernstein, except this
time he was too quick off the line.

"I'm trying to rebound from last weekend," said McClenathan, referring
to his holeshot loss in Englishtown. "Sometimes when you get beat on a
holeshot like that it sets you back and it's not something that you fix
overnight. I realize now that after having my eyes done (Lasik eye
surgery prior to Englishtown) it takes some time for them to come back
to where I want them to be. Everyone I've talked to about it, including
my doctor and people who have had it done, have told me to be patient,
but I'm not a very patient person.