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SUNDAY NOTEBOOK - WINNER'S CIRCLE CHATTER WITH THE FIRST TIME WINNERS

A NICHE OF HIS OWN - For the first couple months of Del Cox’s Top Fuel career, he was referred to as “the guy driving Spencer Massey’s old ride.”

Not any more.

Cox broke out of Massey’s shadow in a big way Sunday afternoon, blazing past Bruce Litton (Indianapolis, Ind.) in the Top Fuel finals Sunday afternoon to record his first career victory in only his second ever IHRA race in the Mitch King backed dragster.

“It is a dream come true. I can’t believe it has happened,” Cox said. “None of this would have been possible without my whole crew. Paul Smith, Mitch King, grandpa, all of my sponsors, everybody, it is unreal.”

Cox beat Litton to the line with both cars smoking the tires at mid-track, finishing on a 5.049 elapsed time at 284.21 miles per hour, beating out Litton’s 5.365 lap at 253.61 mph.

“Litton is an awesome guy, he is a legend in the IHRA and it is an honor to race with him and it feels awesome to beat him,” Cox said. “That thing was smoking at mid-track. Bruce was out front, probably by half a car and we just started pulling up on him and my heart dropped about five times going down the track. That is when I started screaming and pulled the chutes.”

The victory capped a great weekend for the Downey, Calif. native. Cox put down the fastest lap of the weekend to grab the No. 1 qualifying position, his second straight, and knocked off Terry McMillen and Terry Haddock to reach the finals.

“It is unreal. We had the car to win at Baton Rouge and I don’t want to bite my tongue, but that is what we came here to do. We come to every race to win and we are going to go do it again in Dallas,” Cox added.

Two unbelievable races propelled Litton and Cox into the finals.

Litton was up first, matching up against No. 7 qualifier Mitch King who reached the semis with a stunning upset of Bobby Lagana Jr. in the first round. King was anxious to make it two in a row with a slight jump on the line, but Litton chased him down and beat him to the line on a 4.835 pass at 297.81 mph to King’s 4.885 run at 282.30 mph.

Cox knocked off 2008 Nitro Funny Car champ Terry Haddock in another spectacular race as Cox nipped Haddock at the line with a 4.835 time at 304.53 mph to Haddock’s 4.953 pass at 231.16 mph.

In quarter-final action Cox knocked off Terry McMillen, Haddock blazed past Paul Lee, King defeated Bobby Lagana Jr. and Litton defeated Tim Boychuk.

It was a rough opening round for the Twilight Zone racing team of Lagana and Lee who placed both of their dragsters in the top five in qualifying, but never saw the win light come on during eliminations.

Boychuk and McMillen, combining for three wins and seven final round appearances last season, also struggled over the weekend and have yet to capture a round win so far this year.

With two straight final round appearances, Litton remains on top of the Top Fuel point standings with 204 points. Cox has moved up to second (202) followed by Lagana (132), Haddock (127) and Lee (123).

BEGINNERS LUCK? NOT HARDLY - Talk about making a good first impression.

Tim Tindle of Santa Rosa Beach, Fla. had never raced in IHRA competition before this weekend, but that mattered very little on Sunday as Tindle put down four unbelievably consistent laps to pick up his first victory in IHRA Pro Modified competition Sunday at Rockingham Dragway.

And making his win even more impressive was that Tindle had to knock off defending IHRA Pro Mod champ and No. 1 qualifier Kenny Lang (Grande Pointe, Manitoba) to do so.

“It is just awesome. I red lighted against Kenny the last time we raced in a round where we had the fastest car,” Tindle said. “It was nice to get one back.”

Tindle dominated from start to finish as Lang had some trouble early in his run. Tindle ran a 6.013 at 235.19 mph to pick up the win while Lang coasted across the line on an 8.015 E.T.

“That thing was on a rail. I told Quain (Stott) we should bracket race this thing,” Tindle said.

Tindle had an unbelievably consistent afternoon to take home the win, putting down laps of 5.981, 6.009, 6.013 and 6.028 during Sunday’s eliminations. Lang, on the other hand, saw his great weekend come to an close without even getting a chance to challenge for the victory.

Still, it was a nice turnaround for the Canadian after struggling at the season opening Summit Racing Equipment Mardi Gras Nationals. Lang knocked North Carolina’s own Rickie Smith from the top of the Pro Mod “pole” Saturday night to claim the No. 1 qualifying position for the weekend.

But in the finals, it was all Tindle.

“Running yesterday we pretty much had the track figured out,” Tindle said. “It was a great weekend. Everybody treats you well, it is a nice race track. The proof is in the pudding.”

Tindle made his IHRA debut a memorable one, smoking John Russo in the semi-finals with a 6.013 pass at 235.19 mph as Russo never got going, crossing the line with a 6.466 E.T. at 158.58 mph. Lang reached the finals by knocking off IHRA Pro Mod legend Ed Hoover in a pedal fest at mid-track.

Both cars were near even at half-track when the smoke started to roll from both entries. Lang, however, was able to hang on, pushing forward with a 6.290 run at 231.64 mph to Hoover’s 6.978 pass at 172.76 mph.

In the quarters it was Lang on a bye run, Hoover over Burton Auxier, John Russo over Rickie Smith and Tindle over Ray Commisso.

Despite the early exit, Commisso remains on top of the Pro Mod points with 172 markers, while Hoover moves to second with 146 points. Lang (133), Tindle (114) and Gray (105) round out the top five.

GO FORTH TO THE WINNER'S CIRCLE - Finally.

After years of trying, Goforth finally got the monkey off his back and picked up his first career victory Sunday afternoon at the 38th annual Spring Nationals at Rockingham Dragway.

“Three years of hard work, that is what is going through my head right now. We are living proof that you can buy the best stuff in the world, but if you don’t have the people to help you run it it doesn’t do you any good,” Goforth said. “You have to have the total package. Beating somebody like Pete in the finals, the class that group has, it is incredible. We are trying to get on their level and we aren’t quite their yet, but we are getting there.”

And Goforth couldn’t have picked a better time to pick up his first win, doing so at the oldest and most prestigious event on the IHRA circuit.

“I want to say that the Rockingham experience, for me, has been great. I was telling some guys how good this place has been to me. I qualified for my first national event here, I made my first semi-final round here and it has been great to us,” Goforth said. “I just can’t say enough about the people on my team. I am so proud of my crew; everybody did a fabulous job for me. I could not do any of this if they are not turning the wrenches on the car.”

Goforth, from Holdenville, Okla., came into the 2009 season with the goal of picking up his first career victory and contending for a championship.

He can now check one of those things off of his to-do list.

Goforth knocked off defending world champion Pete Berner (Crete, Ill.) in the Elite Motorsports Pro Stock final Sunday afternoon at “The Rock” in possibly the best drag race of the entire weekend.

Goforth edged Berner at the line by a .0072 margin, running at 6.357 at 219.79 mph to Berner’s 6.359 at 220.01 mph to claim the win.


“Racing Pete is a very intimidating thing. If you can imagine, it would be like going against Tiger Woods in a golf match, it is just crazy,” Goforth said. “You are overwhelmed and you just hope you can do good enough just to stay with him. And to actually get by Pete, that is a big deal for us.”

And even after taking the win light, it took some time for Goforth to realize what he had accomplished.

“I was thinking that the finish line can’t come soon enough. It looked like they added 30 or 40 more feet of finish line,” Goforth said with a laugh. “I didn’t even know I had won. They didn’t tell me until they got around the corner. The rescue team were the ones that were patting me on the back. I thought they were lying to me at first, I had to pinch myself to make sure I was still here.”

The incredible finish was just one of many close battles in the Elite Motorsports Pro Stock division which produced many great races throughout the weekend.

In the semi-finals Berner ended a spectacular weekend for Robert Patrick with a 6.340 pass at 220.22 mph to Patrick’s 6.433 run at 217.74 mph and Goforth ended Frank Gugliotta’s day with a holeshot win on a 6.377 pass to Gugliotta’s 6.345. Goforth nipped him at the start with a .026 light.

Patrick qualified in the No. 16 position and never really had the car where he wanted until Sunday’s eliminations. And once Patrick found the car, he couldn’t be beat.

Patrick knocked off No. 1 qualifier John Montecalvo in the first round and then sent Elite Motorsports entry J.R. Carr packing in round two.

Gugliotta came into Sunday’s eliminations as the No. 2 man on the charts and was nearly unbeatable all weekend long until Goforth ended his day with the holeshot win.

In the quarters it was Patrick over J.R. Carr, Berner over Richard Freeman, Gugliotta over Dean Goforth and Goforth over Bob Bertsch.

A big win wasn’t the only thing Goforth gained at the Spring Nationals, he also took over the Elite Motorsports Pro Stock points lead with 165 points. Baton Rouge winner Jason Collins sits second with 146 points, followed by Gugliotta (134), Berner (133) and Montecalvo (131).

HAPPY WITH THE END RESULT - Don't expect to see Berner pout over losing the final round against Goforth.

“We’re tickled to death for Cary Goforth,” Berner tells. “It was a heck of a race. He had a .024 light to my .029, and then only two thousandths separated us in e.t. He ran really good in that right lane. I had told him at another race that his time was coming. I just didn’t think it was going to be against us, but lo and behold it did, and I’m just as happy for him as if I’d won the race myself.”

Berner was holding to his championship form this weekend, laying down some of the quickest passes in eliminations and doing his job on both ends of the track.

“We had a good weekend all in all. We had a great outing with our new trailer; the car worked great, and the crew worked hard to adjust for the conditions. We’ve got some race wins coming. We’re fortunate to be in the position that we’re in and we’re going to keep our heads held high and keep improving our program and see what we can do at the next race.”

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SATURDAY NOTEBOOK - COX GOES TWO-FOR-TWO; ABSENCE OF FUNNY CARS FELT

CROSSED SIGNALS - Del Cox Jr. was given explicit instructions by veteran crew chief Paul Smith prior to his Saturday night Top Fuel qualifying run during the 38th annual IHRA Spring Nationals at Rockingham Dragway.

“He told me, ‘If you feel anything … lift,” Cox explained to a gathered group of the media in a post-qualifying press conference.

“But the thing is going to be a rocket ship,” Cox explained, quoting Smith.

Knowing their radio transmissions had been spotty all weekend Cox asked his crew chief just to yell if something out of the ordinary happened.

A rookie driver still by his own admission, Cox is still learning the “feel” of the Mitch King-owned Top Fuel dragster.

Cox reiterated, “I told him to scream as loud as he could if something went wrong.”

Cox thundered to a 4.635 elapsed time at 315.64 miles per hour and once he pulled the parachutes, he could hear the broken transmissions of a screaming crew member.

That was his clue that something spectacular had happened. However, his definition of spectacular and that of the crew differed.

The crew’s definition of spectacular was cheering for their second consecutive No. 1 qualifier of the season.

Cox believed he’d driven the motor too far and didn’t lift when he should have.

As soon as he brought the Bexar Waste-sponsored dragster to safe stop, he unstrapped and leaped from the dragster.

“I got out of the car and there was a little fire on the right side,” Cox said. “I just knew I had blown it up and was in trouble. There was nothing wrong with the engine at all.”

“I knew the car was on a good pass to half track.”

Cox replaced Spencer Massey, who drove the car to the 2008 IHRA Top Fuel world championship.

NOTHING FUNNY ABOUT NO FUNNY CARS – Friday evening qualifying marked the first time since 1971 that a Funny Car hasn’t competed at the traditional spring race hosted by Rockingham Dragway.

Terry McMillen, a front-running Top Fuel racer on the IHRA tour who has raced an alcohol Funny Car at Rockingham Dragway, entered the 38th annual Spring Nationals with a regretful sense permeating his mindset. This is the first time in over a decade his alligator-themed, Amalie Oil-sponsored Mopar Funny Car was left behind in Elkart, Ind., while he traveled to the race track.

McMillen admits it was as if he left an old friend behind.

“We’re walking around kind of lost, actually,” McMillen admitted. “The most frustrating part is that we’ve had fan after fan walk up and ask us where the Funny Cars are. I nervously try to explain to them and I don’t think they really understand. They believe they are paying for a full show that’s supposed to include Funny Cars.”

Following a financially disastrous 2008 season, where the sanctioning body lost the major backer who reportedly defaulted on various sponsor programs, the sanctioning body dropped all Funny Car racing citing lack of sponsorship as the driving force behind the decision.

McMillen prefers to tow the IHRA’s company line, volunteering numerous times to participate in their media tour, but the decision to eliminate all Funny Cars, both nitro and alcohol burning has him second-guessing the decision making from the top levels.

“It’s really frustrating when you see the money the teams like Rob Atchison and Mark Thomas had invested as well as the other teams who had supported the IHRA as strongly as we did. They had the best pr people who came from the alcohol class and they [IHRA] has lost all of that. It’s a big void. It’s kind of like losing your best friend.”

McMillen believes the Funny Cars inevitably paid the price for being a team player. But one has to ask is there a team concept with the IHRA.

IHRA President Aaron Polburn recently said in an interview with the Fayetteville Observer that outside of Top Fuel, no class is necessary. He added the only thing that is necessary is the IHRA puts on a good show. His comments were made in reference to the IHRA Rocky Mountain Nationals, an event where only one Pro Stock car showed up for the Edmonton, Alberta event. McMillen and several of the Funny Car teams made the 3.000 mile tow to the event.

“Five years ago they [IHRA] came out and told everyone [Alcohol Funny Car class] to clean up their acts and they did that. They were running closer and faster than anyone. The races went down to the end for the championship and to take it away leaves me thinking that maybe we should have boycotted Edmonton like another class did. Maybe we would have been rewarded by getting to stay this year.”

McMillen throws caution to the wind in pointing out that drag racing needs the IHRA, no matter which directions the tour has taken in the last few seasons.

The first major press release on the 38th annual IHRA Spring National was one which showcased an eighth-mile match race between a monster truck and a jet car, a direction the IHRA appears to be eagerly headed.

That direction is one that has McMillen and other staunch supporters of the series concerned.

“We need IHRA and with Feld Entertainment now involved, that may be some of the learning curve involved,” he explained. “IHRA needs to exist because there are some great people here and we are all family. We’ve been racing with the IHRA forever as well as many of these other teams and hopefully we can work together to find a solution to make the IHRA the kind of racing organization that it was five years ago. “

CHEVROLET CONTINUES DOMINATION - John Montecalvo has a keen sense of memory but Saturday evening’s top qualifying run at the IHRA Spring Nationals threw him a curve.

“I can’t remember the last time we were number one,” Montecalvo said. “We’ve always been a top three runner. We just couldn’t get the No. 1 spot. Tonight we did everything perfect. I didn’t see that there was much we could improve on.”

The Center Moriches, N.Y.-based driver piloted his Chevrolet Cobalt to a 6.325 elapsed time at 219.29 miles per hour.

Montecalvo’s pole position continued the Chevrolet domination in IHRA Pro Stock thus far in 2009. The key to his success had nothing to do with the manufacturer of the car and everything to do with attention to detail paid by the crew.

“It was a combination of engine tuning and then some clutch tuning,” Montecalvo explained. “We even tuned the car too. We worked on all three areas. We had the car apart and did some work on the four-link suspension. We adjusted everything possible on the car.”

DOG AND PONY DETAILS, DAY TWO – Jeremy Fields, driver of the Shockwave jet powered 1957 Ford truck, extended his win record over the Grave Digger truck when Gary Porter fouled.

Super Rod racer Kenny Floyd when a set of Goodyear slicks by emerging as the winner of the IHRA’s sportsman wheelstand competition following professional qualifying.

BEWARE OF THE SUBURBAN – Bruce Litton says he keeps one periwinkle purple colored bolt on his 1956 Suburban tow vehicle as a reminder of how ugly the car used to be when he bought it in Tucson, Az.

The tacky colored bolt doesn’t tell the story of its true ugliness.

One experience behind the wheel or a ride in one of its three bench seats and you’ll quickly understand why a ride in this classic is so ugly it will make a train opt for a dirt road. Litton says the experience is similar.

“It weaves and wobbles, and bobbles a bit,” Litton explained as one of his crew members requested keys for the “death trap”.

“It has a mind of its own,” Litton added.

Litton said the perilous vehicle weighs about 5,000 pounds with a full crew contingent and he’s got the experience to back up the assessment. At one race Litton’s team tested the durability of the track’s scales.

The Suburban, Litton believes, has a way of strengthening one’s spiritual beliefs.

“The more people you put in it the worse it drives,” said Litton, a devout Christian. “It likes to veer left or veer right at a moment’s notice. It makes everyone get closer to God because I’ve seen them scream at one time or another.”

If you think being inside is dangerous you should try being in its path.

Litton points to a dent on the rocker panel. He deems the blemish as a “battle scar” and a lesson learned by a preoccupied golf cart rider.

“We were running in Tulsa and they were coming down the return road to pick me up,” Litton said. “They were riding behind his golf cart and the cart pulled off the side of the road.”

Litton said the crew believed the golf cart rider was aware of the Suburban. Evidently not, because he turned sharp left and crashed right into the side of the classic Chevrolet.

“It scared everyone in the Suburban, but not like it scared that fella. He was pretty shaken up.”

WHIPPING YOUTH AND ENTHUSIASM – George Blanda, age 48, was the oldest known NFL football player.

Satchel Paige was 65 when he pitched his final major league baseball game.

Both were mere  pups when compared to Chris Karamesines.

At 78, the Chicago, Ill.-based Top Fuel legend has plenty of gas left in the tank.

Karamesines is racing at the IHRA Spring Nationals, his 38th season of racing the traditional spring event at Rockingham Dragway. He’s running fulltime on the IHRA tour this season and part-time on the NHRA schedule.

Karamesines is the epitome of laid back at the race track. There’s no huge hauler to tow the car. No fifteen-man crew either.

There’s a just a small gathering of friends having fun at the drag strip.

“I love this sport and really like getting to go fast,” Karamesines said. “That’s about the main thing that keeps bringing me back.”

The amount of races he competes in is directly proportionate to the opportunities he has to make money with the team.

“The biggest thing that keeps me out here is to run a few match races a year and qualify at a few of the national events,” Karamesines admitted. “If you watch your budget close you can get probably get 12 races a year.”

Karamesines isn’t ready to hang up the driver’s suit any time soon but he’s already determined a time when he’ll give up driving and replace himself behind the wheel.

“I guess the biggest factors that dictate when I’ll hang it up are eyesight and how I feel about coming out here,” Karamesines said. “My eyesight is real good and I’m still having a lot of fun.”

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FRIDAY NOTEBOOK -

LEFT OUT LITTON – Bruce Litton straps in his Top Fuel car and he’ll be the first to admit the correspondences between he and tuner Richard Hartman are on a need to know basis.

As Litton describes it, the only thing he needs to know is to keep the car in the groove. He did just that during the first qualifying session at the 38th annual IHRA Spring Nationals in Rockingham, N.C., running  to the provisional No. 1 Top Fuel qualifying position with a 4.721 elapsed time at 290.32 miles per hour.

“He made two adjustments to the car and whenever he makes a change he doesn’t tell me a thing,” Litton said. “I just do what I am told.

No “hold on this one’s going to be fast”, just a simple “keep it in the groove”.

Litton is competing this weekend for a larger cause which transcends elapsed times and series championships.

He is honoring a special little girl named Karsyn Bell. Bell died at four years old from a rare brain tumor. She had battled the illness from the time she was two-and-a-half years old. 

A special decal adorns Litton’s car this weekend bringing awareness to the Riley’s Children’s Hospital in Indianapolis.

“Children are our future and I am honored to bring awareness to this great cause,” Litton said.

THE COMFORT ZONE – Rockingham Dragway has Rickie Smith’s number. He has its number, too.

The seven-time IHRA Pro Stock world champion from King, N.C., was the class of the Pro Modified field as he was the first and only doorslammer driver to dip into the five second zone with a 5.962 elapsed time at 234.37 miles per hour.

“This car has been awesome and the first couple of races we’ve run, the track hasn’t been prepared well – tonight this track is right on,” Smith said. “We know we have the potential to run well with this car … we’ve run fives before … but I have to say thanks to the Sheik. We put that Speedtech Nitrous on this car and it got out of here.”

Smith has history at Rockingham Dragway having become the first driver to eclipse the seven second zone in an IHRA Pro Stocker.

THE FLYING MEATBALL – Frank Gugliotta has a penchant for performing well when the drag races come to Rockingham, N.C.

Gugliotta emerged as the provisional low qualifier for the mountain motor Pro Stockers with a 6.328 elapsed time at 218.23 miles per hour.

“She was rocking at the Rock, that was a good pass,” Gugliotta said. “My team has done a great job. This is a young team. They have only been together for two races now.”

THE DOG AND PONY SHOW– Round one of the highlighted match between the jet-powered vehicle and Grave Digger monster truck  went to Jeremy Field’s ’57 Ford pickup. Field’s won the match by a miniscule .009 of a second by recording an eighth-mile 5.366 elapsed time. Gary Porter drove the monster truck to a 8.961, 68.26

Kevin Martin also succeeded in his attempt to become the first jet motorcycle rider to eclipse 200 miles per hour with a 202.55 speed.

BORROWED TIME – Former IHRA Pro Stock world champion Chris Holbrook doesn’t mind his driving career being on borrowed time. The way the Redford, MI.-based driver sees it, at least he’s racing.

Holbrook has a one race deal to compete at the IHRA Spring Nationals at Rockingham Dragway.

“I just love this sport, it’s my life,” Holbrook said. “I grew up watching my dad drag race and build race engines. I’m here to stay, one way or the other.”

Holbrook hasn’t had much luck since winning the 1999 world championship. The second-generation drag racer lost his father, legendary Super Stock racer Carl Holbrook prior to the first race of his title defense season and weeks later his ride after team owner Stu Evans pulled the plug on the race operation.

“It’s just been a roller coaster after winning this title,” Holbrook admitted. “I raced on and off with a number of teams. I tried my own car and financially I just couldn’t do it.”

This weekend’s excursion back into competition was made possible by Chuck Demory, a Pro Stock racer for whom Holbrook has tuned for the last few seasons. Demory elected to retire from racing at the conclusion of the 2008 season. Holbrook is racing the car this weekend in hopes of helping Demory sell the race team.

Demory was going to leave the team parked until Holbrook pieced together enough sponsorship to compete in this weekend’s event.

“Right now it’s just a one-race deal,” Holbrook said.

Holbrook isn’t about to give up on his driving dream just yet.

“I’m going to keep trying, you have to,” Holbrook said. “Driving a Pro Stock car has always been my dream. I lived it. I did it. I don’t want to let it go. Hopefully I can get something together and come back out here racing full time.”

The former champion warns that Pro Stock racing comes with a high price.

“Racing Pro Stock is the worst drug ever,” Holbrook admitted. “Once you get the needle in your arm, you can’t get it out. You want more and more. In today’s economic climate, it’s even tougher.”

Holbrook is currently unqualified headed into Sunday’s eliminations.

HANG ON SLOOPY! ON SLOOPY!

Pro Stock racer Mark Martino gets slightly out of shape during Friday's first qualifying session.  (Roger Richards Photo)

 
SPACE AGE SHAKEDOWN – At first glimpse his ride may look like a vehicle straight from Orson Wells’ War of the Worlds but that’s not about to deter Pro Modified racer Harold Martin in his quest to make his Martin M-4 a viable Pro Modified race car.

“The car’s progression is coming along well,” Martin said. “The publicity in the early stages actually caused a problem in that racers and fans flock to the car. There’s a part of me that will be glad when the newness wears off so we can get down to racing and figure this thing out.”

Martin is currently qualified 15th provisionally in the Pro Modified field at the IHRA Spring Nationals in Rockingham, N.C.

Of the obstacles Martin, the former General Motors engineer, has faced in the past few weeks learning the nuances of the chassis has proven the toughest challenge.

“We have a new chassis that we wanted and moved a lot of stuff around,” Martin said. “We just wanted to get some laps to better understand what the car wants. The car has been real quick down low but a little inconsistent in the middle. We’ve had some issues with tire shake. That’s just making laps to work it out.

“The thing about having a Pro Modified is it’s not only laps but adjusting to the track conditions you are facing at the time. We are facing a new variable this weekend – a hot track and a new race car. I’m excited each time I come out here because I want us to challenge ourselves as well as other racers. We want to create a combination robust enough that it can get down the track no matter what the conditions are.”

The radical body slices through the air like no other car Martin, a late-model auto specialist, has found. The trick is now to harmonize the sleek piece with the chassis it cloaks.

“It affects you more as a driver because of the different aerodynamics,” Martin explained. “You just don’t have the same vision. It’s no different than jumping in a 1963 Corvette after being behind the wheel of various late model cars. You are still learning where the optimum set up is in conjunction with the aerodynamics. Right now we aren’t worrying so much about the body as we are where the bars go beneath it.”

One might think the engineer in Martin would inspire him to stand back and think to himself the M-4 is an odd-looking body. Not so. He’s enthused to be part of what he feels is history being made.

“I think it’s great to be a part of history … to be a part of something that is different and unique,” Martin said. ‘It’s something that has people from Formula One as well as other forms of motorsports calling. They are calling to compliment on the creativity.

“We’ve even had people from the government calling to say that this car is what we need to see out of Detroit,” Martin concluded. 

EVENT'S PRESTIGE - He was the kid seeking autographs. The son of the owner of a Ford dealership, who would hire race teams to put their cars on display in the days leading up to the IHRA events.

He was the kid who dreamed that would day he would be just like Rickie Smith, Ronnie Sox, Roy Hill and  “General” Lee Edwards.

Robert Patrick never wavered in his belief that a day would come when he would be an IHRA Spring Nationals champion just like them.

Over the years the 38-year old, former IHRA Pro Stock world champion from Fredericksburg, Va., has never let go of the dreams of his youth. This weekend as the IHRA drag racing tour heads to the racing hamlet of Rockingham, N.C., for the 38th annual IHRA Spring Nationals presented by Advance Auto Parts/Castrol GTX, Patrick's youthful desire still burns strong.

“I love coming down and racing with Steve Earwood at Rockingham Dragway,” Patrick said. “I honestly believe the fans are in store for one of the greatest IHRA Pro Stock events they’ve ever witnessed. I hope we can win it all. It’s not going to be easy. Winning this race never is.”

The IHRA Spring Nationals remains a marquee event on the schedule for many of the mountain motor Pro Stock=2 0racers; With a list of event winners that includes the likes of Warren Johnson (1979, 1980, 1981, 1988, 1989), Lee Shepherd (1982, 1984) and Bob Glidden, this is one race  every driver wants to add to his resume as being a winner.

Patrick, who drives the Purvis Ford Shelby Cobra, knows a thing or two about winning an IHRA Spring Nationals title. As a sophomore Pro Stock racer he drove his way to the 1994 crown. Granted, the race was held for many seasons on the revered grounds of Thunder Valley Dragway in Bristol, Tenn., the relocation to the equally hallowed IHRA grounds of Rockingham Dragway has ensured the event has not missed a beat.

“You look at what track defines mountain motor Pro Stock and while Maryland International Raceway is my home track, you can’t mention Rockingham Dragway without visions of Rickie Smith running the first seven second run or Ronnie Sox bringing the crowd to their feet,” Patrick explained. “I love racing here and my car does to. I may not be a full time racer on the IHRA tour but there are events I refuse to miss and this is one of them. I think when the mountain motor cars fire down the drag strip the fans will understand what I am talking about.

“Thirty years ago mountain motor Pro Stocks were running here at Rockingham Dragway and the class would bring the fans to their feet. Some things will never change.”