Keep up with this weekend's ADRL U.S. Drags by reading our event notebook. We bring you the stories behind the numbers and win-lights throughout the course of the weekend. Tune in daily for the latest news from the pits. 

 

		EVENT RESULTS EVENT NOTEBOOK RUN-BY-RUN RESULTS LIVE AUDIO LIVE TIMING			THURSDAY GALLERY FRIDAY GALLERY SATURDAY GALLERY

 

SATURDAY EVENING NOTEBOOK - FINAL ROUNDS THAT DIDN'T DISAPPOINT

NITROUS RACING PERSONIFIED – If there was a defining race for the ADRL U.S. Drags II in Dinwiddie, Va., Jim Halsey and Khalid Al-Balooshi made sure they earned the title.

As burnout smoke lingered in the air above their potent Pro Nitrous doorslammers the finalists provided those in attendance, the majority of whom entered on a free ticket, with enough excitement that they’d have willingly paid $100 apiece to see the run.

“I was telling my guys that it was 10:30 P.M., and there wasn’t an empty seat in house,” Halsey said. “It was the coolest thing to race in front of that many people. I’ve never raced in front of that large of a crowd.”

Halsey strapped a .05 holeshot on Balooshi and never looked back en route to a 3.900 to 3.908 victory.

There was as much magic as there was smoke in the air for this run. A lot was on the line in terms of bragging rights for the winner where the two drivers appeared to be nothing more than pawns in a high-stakes chess games between engine builders Gene Fulton [Halsey] and David Reher [Balooshi].

“Sometimes you just do what you have to do and you don’t want to go out there and set the world on fire and shake the tires,” Halsey said of the run. “We make every run count and turn up the wick when we have to.”

Halsey turned up the wick in the finals with his quickest run of the event, beating the third quickest of the Al Anabi Awesome Motorsports team which had claimed the top three qualifying spots.

Halsey entered eliminations as the fourth qualifier.

He admitted the pressure level was surprisingly low considering the challenge he faced in that final round.

“We have a pretty good points lead and with Shannon losing in the semis, it didn’t bother me too bad,” Halsey said. “We just went out there and tried to run a low 3.90. We made him have to beat us.”

THERE WILL BE ANOTHER DAY – Chuck Ulsch stuck to his guns throughout the weekend and the decision netted Gil Mobley’s Extreme 10.5 driver his first win of the season. Friday, after coming hundredths of a second away from being the first driver in the class to record a three second run in competition, the hired gun and his team opted to focus on winning a race and contending for a championship over the chance to be a part of drag racing history.

“This was mission accomplished,” Ulsch said following his win over Gary White, the super quick Inline Six racer who remains a contender for the same three second milestone.

“We would have liked to have had that three-second run but we qualified No. 1 and won the race. That was 516 points. That’s the most you can get. I like that.”

That was Ulsch’s goal, win the race and improve his chances for a berth in October’s Battle of the Belts championship during the season finale in Dallas, Tex.

Ulsch ran a 4.04 in the semi-finals to beat heavy hitter Jeff Naiser while White was within striking distance with a 4.07 elapsed time to eliminate an upset-minded Joel Bayless.

Throughout qualifying White was the driver who provided the closest challenge with a 4.056 from his Scion. Ulsch had a 4.010 in qualifying but knew his opponent would be gunning for him during the finals in more than one way.

Ulsch knew he’s better wield a big stick opposite of White.

“I think they did as well as we did because they spun the tires all the way down the track. He was fighting it and we were fighting it. That big ‘ole Brad Anderson combination came around.”

Even with a Brad Anderson combination which proved above and beyond extreme potency, there was still the tendency to overthink the final round. A strong core group kept everything in check for the team in determining the combination.

“There’s the tendency to over-think yourself but we have a good group that keeps us in check,” Ulsch said. “We all knew what we wanted to do and I can tell you that it doesn’t hurt to have Todd Tutterow in your corner helping to call the shots.”

Tutterow’s inspiration was enough to convince them the milestone would come in due time.

“We wanted to go for the win and if we were going to get a three-second run, it was going to have to come to us,” Ulsch said. “I just didn’t think the track would have held that kind of a run. The car is capable of running well into the threes. We will see.

“I don’t think anyone left anything on the table tonight.”

 

 

THROW OUT THE EXPERIENCE - Brian Gahm has previous experience  racing a mountain motor Pro Stocker at Virginia Motorsports Park in Dinwiddie, Va. At the ADRL U.S. Drags II, all of that experience went out the window.

Faced with a track heated to a boiling point and abbreviated qualifying, Gahm did what he knew to win his third ADRL Minuteman trophy of the season. He beat second-generation Pro Stock driver Cary Goforth in the finals.

And, it was a close one … eighteen inches to be exact.

“The race track was different than what I had faced in the past … the temperature was up there about 140 degrees,” said Gahm in a post-race interview. “The team at VMP and the ADRL did one helluva job on the race track.”

Gahm admitted that he and the team led by Jon Kaase and ace engine man Cliff Moore were behind the eight-ball all weekend. Losing the final qualifying session on Saturday didn’t help his cause.

“We were leery of the race track but we kept stepping up on it,” Gahm explained. “We tried not to get too crazy and I managed to drive pretty well all day.”

Gahm qualified fourth in the sixteen-car field. He worked his way to the final round by stopping Ned Katyran, John Montecalvo and Steve Boone.

 

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SATURDAY NOTEBOOK -CRASHES, MAYHEM AND SOME FAST RACING

CUT TIME – Friday evening’s single session of qualifying for all divisions took three hours, 40 minutes to complete due to an extreme amount of carnage and healthy car count.

ADRL management made a quick decision by 11 am, Saturday morning, to cut qualifying from the scheduled two down to one session.

Virginia Motorsports Park has an 11 P.M. curfew.

 

BRIGHT AND EARLY – Jason Scruggs took delivery of his spare race car just a few minutes after 4 am Saturday morning, the final

day of the ADRL U.S. Drags II in Dinwiddie, Va.

Ten hours later he was leading the Pro Extreme division.

The defending ADRL Pro Extreme champion crashed his primary race car, a new 1967 Camaro from Garrett Race Cars during Friday practice, and after discussions with his crew, called a fellow farming friend Matt Hutchison to deliver his championship-winning Dodge Stratus.

Hutcheson was working on the farm and dropped what he was doing to not only load the car but drive all night and deliver in the wee hours of the morning.

“We started on the car right then,” said Scruggs discussing what he did when the car rolled out of the trailer.

Truth be known, Scruggs said the team was ready to hit the strip before 9 am and they could have been ready to go even earlier.

“We had a little trouble with the engine but that had nothing to do with the car,” Scruggs said prior to making his qualifying run. “We hope we are ready but we haven’t run this car in a long time and we changed some stuff around since we don’t run that car with our combination and we had a one-shot deal.”

Having just once chance to make the field fit the team's “grab the jugular” attidue.

“We really don’t know how to race soft,” Scruggs admitted. “These cars are so good and fast, that you really can’t back the car down too much. We just hoped for the best and it worked out for us.”

The best equated to a 3.765 elapsed time at 202.45 miles per hour.

Scruggs said the Camaro will return to competition at the ADRL Gateway Drags in St. Louis, Mo.

NO WONDER HE WAS SMILING – David Reher didn’t even try to suppress his smile Friday evening.

The former Pro Stock engine building icon, who has reinvented himself in Pro Modified, was overjoyed with three of his clients atop the sixteen-car provisional field.

Mike Castellana, Shannon Jenkins and Khalid Al-Balooshi ran within .02 from first to third, and .03 from the next closest competitor.

“We are working hard at the shop and I have to give Brad Morgan a lot of the credit,” said Reher, as he stood outside of the Al Anabi Awesome Motorsports pit area. “He’s working really hard on this program and we are privileged to work with Shannon Jenkins and together we are able to combine the engine and nitrous expertise.”

Don’t think for a moment the early Richmond success provide any breathing room for his Reher-Morrison team to relax. 

“They’re coming after us,” said Reher, referring to the multitude of Pro Nitrous teams competing in the sixth stop on the ten-race series. Thirty-two teams attempted to shoehorn their way into the sixteen car field.

“It seems like the more you work hard, the more you inspire people. Nobody lets you sit out there by yourself. You have to enjoy [the opportunities such as this] but you also have to keep it in perspective.”

The funny thing about Reher’s perspective is that he speaks from experience. Thirty years ago when Reher and the late Buddy Morrison fielded a Pro Stocker driven by Lee Shepherd, Bob Glidden dominated mercilessly.

Glidden’s dominance inspired the Reher & Morrison team.

“It’s fun [to run at the top] but you know you can’t back off,” said Reher, whose team eventually caught and passed Glidden. “It comes down to working with good people and we had a lot of experience in working with the core engine, cylinder heads and valvetrain. We had the opportunity to combine experience with Shannon Jenkins, a man with extensive experience in nitrous oxide.

“Right now it’s a lot of fun and that tends to put a smile on everyone’s face.”

Everyone and that definitely includes Reher.

HOME SWEET HOME – John Bartunek qualified seventh in Pro Nitrous for the ADRL U.S. Drags II in Dinwiddie, Va., and the experience left him with a feeling of déjà vu.

Bartunek has returned to Pro Modified style racing with a new Jerry Haas-built Camaro powered by a Gene Fulton engine.

Suddenly Bartunek was back in Bristol 1997, a virtual unknown, and knocking off the hitters behind the wheel of his ex-Rickie Smith 1963 Corvette.

“We got back into this style of racing because there were more opportunities for us to race in this area,” said Bartunek, who has raced a mountain motor Pro Stock entry for the last decade. “I can run 23 times a year and never tow more than six hours.”

Bartunek made only his third pass in the Camaro Friday evening and jumped into the quickest Pro Nitrous field in the history of the ADRL. His 3.992 elapsed time at 185.23 confirmed the return was destiny.

“I’m a real Pro Mod guy at heart and love this stuff,” Bartunek exclaimed.

Leaving Pro Modified to run Pro Stock was a gut-wrenching decision for Bartunek, but one he believed to be the best option at the time. The IHRA’s Pro Modified program was the only game in time and the Pearl River, N.J.-based driver felt his combination had been rendered uncompetitive with the influx of supercharged entries.

“It was just hard to keep up,” Bartunek said. “We were tearing up motors every race just trying to keep up. We decided to go Pro Stock racing and while it is fun, we wanted to give this a whirl again.”

PRIORITIES – Quain Stott was not overly concerned about what the oildown delays and the adverse conditions he faced were doing to his Pro Extreme combination on Friday. The provisional No. 1 qualifier had a more pressing situation.

The extensive delays were cutting into his end of the day beer time.

The delays started during professional testing when he was next in line to run when fellow Pro Extreme racer Jason Scruggs crashed into the retaining wall, his Camaro spewing oil on the racing surface. A 90 minute clean-up ensued and Stott was unfazed, making a 3.782 elapsed time at 200.65 miles per hour run, in the heat of the day. It was also the quickest run of the day.

“I was when they first started cleaning the track,” Stott said, when asked if he had any concerns before making his run. “I monitored it the whole time they were cleaning and made adjustments to the clutch as they went along. The track actually got better after the clean up. That’s a pat on the back for the ADRL and VMP track crews.”

Stott went to the top Friday on the strength of a 3.793, 200.02 run, which presented its challenges. Stott and opponent Frankie Taylor completed their burnouts. As Stott was backing up to stage, Taylor was dead in the water at the 330 mark. Stott was forced to shut down and wait for Taylor's car to be towed away.

“It really wasn’t anyone’s fault,” said Stott, who had the option to move to the back of the lanes and instead fired and ran as soon as Taylor’s car was cleared from the track. “You know me, I wanted to get back to the pits and have a beer. I gotta have my beer.”

Stott, you’re on the record.

“I don’t care, it’s the truth,” Stott said with a smile. 

 

 

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FRIDAY NOTEBOOK – RACE TO THE EXTREME THREES; GLIDDEN ROLLS IN

THREE-SECOND WATCH – Extreme 10.5 driver Chuck Ulsch came to Virginia with one mission in mind. He wanted to be the first to run a 3-second lap in ADRL competition. He came closer Friday night to the historic run than any one of the other sixteen contestants competing at the ADRL U.S. Drags II in Dinwiddie, Va.

Ulsch drove Gil Mobley’s brand new Vanishing Point Race Cars 1968 Camaro to a 4.010 elapsed time at 195.73 miles per hour to claim the provisional No. 1 qualifying position. He will have two more sessions to improve his position in less advantageous conditions on Saturday.

“That felt great and it was a long time coming,” said Ulsch following Friday’s single qualifying session. “There was just a lot of work that went into this and all I have to say is that Vanishing Point builds a heck of a race car.”

Then there’s Todd Tutterow, a gentleman Ulsch believes was instrumental in the monumental run. Tutterow assists in tuning the car when not driving his Pro Extreme mount.

“He is probably the smartest man in drag racing that I know,” added Ulsch.

Combine the knowledge input with a purpose built car such as the one Mobley has supplied Ulsch and you have created a buzz before the car ran its first lap on the track.

“This car was built to the specs of Extreme 10.5,” said Mobley of the untested car. “We could have bought an old Pro Stock or a Pro Modified but by the time you do all of that and fight all of the problems. This is a safe car with a lot of titanium. It’s the first of the lightweight cars from Vanishing Point Race Cars.”

Friday was Ulsch’s shot at the three-second barrier but winning will be Saturday’s objective. Ulsch has an outside shot to get into the top eight in the point standings. He is currently 293 points behind 2007 champion Steve Gorman.

“I want to win the race but I want to go a 3.99 or quicker,” Ulsch explained. “Everything changed on Friday when we didn’t get our two practice runs. We came to Virginia banking on those two runs. We might have been able to get that 3.99 or quicker. We'll probably go into race mode and not shoot for the three. I really want to get one of those Minuteman trophies.”

TESTING UPDATE – Extreme 10.5 hitter Billy Glidden participated in last weekend’s NMRA/NMCA Super Bowl of Street Legal drag racing and his main purpose was to exorcise some of the combination demons that have tormented his combination for most of 2009.

Did the testing work in a favorable manner for Glidden?

“Don’t know yet,” Glidden said. “I don’t have a new rod or piston in either of my engines. I usually take a drain pan full of them and throw them in a barrel. I dumped the barrel and picked through them to come up with the pistons for these engines.

The same holds true for rods and rings.

“We just trying to learn and a whole new curve has been thrown into the mix,” Glidden said. “We’ll try to get it sorted out. This thing acts different.”

Glidden wouldn’t specify how the car acts different.

“We’ll have to make several runs in a row before I can make a guesstimate of where we are at.”

Glidden has competed for much of the last few events with used parts while he sorts through what he deems to be learning curve issues associated with elevating his combination to the next level.

“We used to run new parts,” Glidden said. “We were beating up those new parts and it has gotten to the point that I cannot waste any more new parts trying to figure this out.”

BIGGER IS BETTER - Sonny Leonard admits that building bigger and larger engine displacements became an obsession early in his career. That’s why after starting off with 400 cubic inches in the early stages of his career, his engines are now in excess of 900 cubic inches; he’s got 1000 on his mind.

“I worked my way though a 390 to a 427 and then a 454, then when you get that large, you always want to go a little larger,” said Leonard, as he and the Sonny’s Racing Engines team unloaded their midway display at the ADRL U.S. Drags II in Dinwiddie, Va.

Leonard has built efficient and championship winning motors since getting into the race engine business in the late 1970s. Today he’s one of the leading suppliers of engines in the Extreme Pro Stock division.

The two keys to building the large displacement engines and making them efficient were fabricating a sturdy crank and a block that could house all of the massive internal mayhem. He credits development programs with Sonny Bryant with the crank upgrades and the P & S Foundry for delivering a block which could accept the taller deck heights. He’s since forged a working relationship with Donovan to produce blocks capable of displacing the engines in excess of 700 inches.

Leonard credits a 1983 trip out west with Bryant as a turning point in what he describes as an obsession to build bigger and bigger engines. 

“We used to take 454 cranks and offset the journals like 90 thousandths and use a smaller bearing to get that extra stroke,” Leonard recalled of the early days of mountain motors. “Those ran a little quicker and to take it to the next step was to call a crankshaft company and they would weld up the existing journals and make it a four inch stroker. I went out west with Sonny Bryant and he helped out a lot.”

Leonard has built engines for the best of the best in applications where large displacement engines are part of the show. At the end of the day, he believes he made the right decision traveling the path of larger displacement.

“It takes a lot of time money and desire but I think we’ve done well at achieving that,” Leonard admits.

NO LUCK AT ALL – Pro Nitrous racer Tim Savell hasn’t had the easiest season thus far in 2009. He’s crashed two race cars and en route to the event in Dinwiddie, Va., battled with a gang of tough fighters.

“We had broken an air line and I pulled off on the side of the highway to crawl underneath to fix it,” Savell explained. “I had just finished up when I wondered why the grass was so sticky.”

The grass wasn’t the problem. Embedded in the grass was a mound of fire ants. They left Savell with an estimated 70 to 80 bites.

“I was actually going to pull over and sleep but my arm began to swell and I was afraid to go to sleep after that,” Savell added. “I never realized what it was when I was getting bit, it was about 2 A.M.”

HOME DOWN THE STREET – Robert Patrick lost and gained when the ADRL U.S. Drags II moved from Budds Creek, Md., to Dinwiddie, Va., for 2008.

Patrick, who drives the Purvis Ford-sponsored Shelby Cobra, lives in nearby Fredericksburg, Va., a town actually closer to Maryland International Raceway in Budds Creek, Md.

He considers this ADRL event to be his new hometown event, just a little further down the street.

“We have a lot of family, friends and employees from our dealership who usually come to our close events,” Patrick said.

Traditionally when hometown superstars race a venue, there are always those ticket-seekers. The ADRL’s free ticket program comes in handy in this instance.

Last Saturday Patrick staged an open house at his Purvis Ford dealership and he managed to give away over 700 tickets.

“That was a big hit at the car show,” Patrick said. “Everyone loves free tickets and we made sure plenty of our customers and Purvis employees had a ticket to come this weekend. That’s our way of packing in a partial crowd.”

Patrick left the hometown contingent with a good experience the first day as he landed in the seventh spot with a 4.165 elapsed time at 173.87 miles per hour. That was a good run considering the former Extreme Pro Stock winner experienced a handful of problems inside of the cockpit.

“We were right on the mark with the clutch and the tune-up,” Patrick explained. “I notice the water temperature wasn’t heating up the way it should have. It wasn’t circulating through the engine and we traced it to a faulty water pump.”

A CAR COUNT TO BRAG ABOUT – ADRL Director of Competition Bubba Corzine found it hard to mask his smile when looking over the pits at Virginia Motorsports Park. Thursday’s preliminary car count for the ADRL U.S. Drags II listed 112 entries, a new record for parking day by over 30 entries.

That number increased to 148 entries by the start of the first session.

“My guys have been parking all morning,” said Corzine. “That may not sound like a lot of cars to other associations but to our program that is huge.”

The previous record for participation was 142, a number that has been smashed and even more are expected by Saturday.

“We keep hearing about doom and gloom. We hear all the stuff we’re supposedly not doing right. Obviously we must be doing something right. We just respect the guys and they show up. They take care of us. They are the show and that’s how we treat them.”

Why would this particular venue draw so many entries?

“I think VMP is in a good area,” Corzine admitted. “Obviously you are going to lose some of the southern cars [Alabama, Mississippi and Texas] but the East Coast is a hotbed. We normally don’t get to draw cars from the New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania area. Rockingham has always been their closest venue. I’d be willing to venture that we have 20 cars here this weekend that have never raced with us before.”

And that really makes Corzine smile.
 

SCRUGGS UPDATE - Jason Scruggs has dispatched a crew from Mississippi to make the 14-hour trek (including time change) to Virginia Motorsports Park with last year’s championship-winning Dodge Stratus in the hauler.

“It should get here about 5 A.M.,” Scruggs told CompetitionPlus.com. “We’ll start working on it as soon as it gets here and have it ready for qualifying on Saturday.”

With the weekend already a financial disaster, why would Scruggs want to add to the expense of the weekend?

“We don’t do this for the money, we do this for the fun and the thrill of the competition,” Scruggs said. “We’re here and we hate to even miss a qualifying session. The Stratus is a good car and we went 3.70s earlier in the year. It’s competitive and we could even win this race.”
 

HOW’S THAT FOR A CLEAN UP? – The very first car to run in the left lane following the Scruggs’ clean up was Quain Stott. The Inman, S.C.-based driver lowered his personal best with a 3.782 at 200.65.

 

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THURSDAY NOTEBOOK -SETTING THE STAGE FOR THE BATTLE

TOO ALLURING TO PASS UP - Standout Top Sportsman racer Sandy Wilkins plans to compete in the Extreme 10.5 class at the ADRL U.S. Drags. This will mark his first ADRL competition appearance.

"We've been working on a new small block Chevrolet combination non-stop for the last 3 months, and we're ready to debut it in Virginia this weekend," said Wilkins.

Wilkins regularly competes in various Big Dog style events around North Carolina and does so with a potent small block combination. Much of that small block knowledge can be attributed to experience as a NASCAR engine builder.

"I'm known for my small block engine program, but I seem to have a difficult time conveying to many of my customers that I build big engines also," says Wilkins, adding that he'll be delivering a 738 engine to a customer in Virginia this weekend.

Wilkins believes the ADRL provides a perfect arena to unveil his new program in front of a large audience.

"I view the ADRL series as a massive opportunity for exposure for my business, and as far as racing goes, I've always believed that you don't get better by beating your sister," Wilkins said, with a laugh. "These are the best racers in the world, and I'll consider it a success if I can qualify during my first ADRL outing."

Wilkins is a six-time IHRA National Event winner with 21 final round appearances to his credit.

STILL REFINING – Charles Carpenter feels much more comfortable about the logistics facing his Charlotte, NC based team this
weekend. It was months ago that his ageless 1955 Chevy was nearly turning cartwheels in the shutdown area of Houston Raceway Park. A rebuilt car, and recent trip to Topeka, the drag racing icon is ready to mix it up with the Pro Nitrous contingent.

Carpenter and crew are headed into this weekend’s ADRL NATIONALGUARD.com U.S. Drags II with much more confidence and far less travel time as they make the short trip north to Virginia Motorsports Park in Dinwiddie, VA, located just outside Richmond.

“We got some more hits on this rebuilt chassis a couple weeks ago during a Quick 8 at Farmington Motorsports Park in Winston-Salem, NC,” said Carpenter. “After the rains cleared out, we went out for the last qualifying session and laid down a 3.987 to take the number one qualifying spot before the race was called due to curfew. Needless to say, we were really happy to get back in the 3’s and hope to apply what we learned to this weekend’s race.”

Carpenter will need to apply that knowledge as soon as he hits the track VMP to keep up with the torrid pace being set in the Pro Nitrous category and maintain his long shot hopes of a Speedtech Battle for the Belts championship run.

“After missing three races, our chances for the Pro Nitrous belt are slim-to-none, but if you do the math we theoretically still have a chance,” said the doorslammer icon. “We’re only six elimination rounds out of eighth place, so with some luck we can make up ground on those guys that are right above us in the standings. We went to the finals at this race last year, so we’ll see what happens.”

WELCOME BACK – Pro Nitrous racer Josh Chester has his Charlie Buck engine repaired and ready to contend this weekend.

"We’re glad to be back racing. It’s not been any fun having to sit at home or being a spectator, and we’re not very good at that," Chester said.

The Morganton, N.C.-based team put in some test time two weeks ago at Farmington Dragway with their Wally Stroupe-built 1968 Camaro. 

"We had both Wally Stroupe and Charlie Buck at Farmington to see if we needed to make any adjustments,” said crew chief Owen Chester. “The weather didn’t cooperate with us but we got some much needed information. I think that we’ll be ok though."

Owen, Josh’s dad, believes the weekend provides a perfect opportunity for a breakout.

"We’re really excited about returning to ADRL competition this weekend,” said the elder Chester. “We’re going to turn up and turn it loose so we’re expecting big numbers out of the car. We feel that we’ll be contenders at VMP. Charlie Buck has supplied us with some great horsepower so we’re looking forward to hitting the track. Since Tom Branch has taken over the crew chief position it has taken a load off Josh and me. He has made some good calls and we really appreciate everything that he does for us. "

KEEPING MOMENTUM ALIVE – There was something about finishing runner-up in Pro Extreme at the ADRL Independence Drags early this month in Topeka that has inspired to come back for more. Momentum will do that to a drag racer.

Barklage brings plenty of momentum to this weekend’s ADRL U.S. Drags at Virginia Motorsports Park in Dinwiddie, Va.
 
“Our team has had a lot of success at Virginia Motorsports Park,” said Barklage.  “My brother Zach set a speed record there several years ago, and in 2007 I won a Nitro Coupe race.  We’ve raced here a lot in the past and we’ve been doing well recently, so I’m feeling very optimistic.  I’m really looking forward to racing in Richmond again.”

The runner-up finish worked well for Barklage, thrusting him into the championship-contending top eight in Pro Extreme points. 

“We’ve made it to the top 8 in points, which is important in ADRL competition,” Barklage said.  “Our goal now is to stay there.  The ADRL always attracts the best Pro Mod teams in the country, so I know we have a big job ahead.  We’ve had a very consistent car and I feel we need to continue in our current direction.  With our final round appearance during the last race, we proved we still have what it takes to be a winning team.  Hopefully this weekend reflects what we’re trying to accomplish.”

PRIDE OVER PRESSURE - Jim Oddy, crew chief for Joshua Hernandez and his National Guard-sponsored 1957 Chevy ADRL Pro Extreme entry, obviously wants to

 

win the July 24-25, ADRL NATIONALGUARD.com U.S. Drags II for his sponsor, his team owner and his crew. But there’s a measure of personal pride involved, too.

That’s because Oddy, now in his 50th year as a drag racer, also was a National Guard Soldier in the mid- through late-1960s, and to win the National Guard race with the National Guard team would be “unbelievable,” he says.

“When I go to the races and see all the Guardsmen there it certainly brings back the memories of the time I spent with those guys,” he says. “As you can imagine, it’s really special. Knowing you were once a part of it and knowing what those guys give to us; I still get goose bumps when I see those young men and women and see what they do, and to still be a part of it I can honestly say this is probably the best time I’ve ever had. Between the crew and the car and being hooked up with the National Guard, I don’t think it gets any better than this, is what I’m trying to say.”

Still, Oddy admits to feeling the need to perform this weekend.

“The more people talk about it, the more pressure I feel, that’s kind of how it is,” he says. “But we went through the car from front to back, replaced everything that even looked like it might give us a problem. From bumper to bumper it’ll be all new. We really want to win this race.”

Oddy and the National Guard team will be looking to build on their success from just three weeks earlier at Topeka, Kansas, where they won a National Guard ADRL race that also saw them debut a new camouflage-themed vinyl wrap on their car.

“I hope we keep it for the rest of the year. Everybody loves it, the National Guard guys and gals are just tickled when they see that wrap on the car. I think it gives it a great stealth look,” Oddy says. “And if it wins again looking like that I’m going take the car and hide it. They’re not going to get to rewrap it.”

DAVIS BACKS JANIS - Shannon Davis, chief designer and owner of Davis Technologies, has agreed to increase his involvement with Mike Janis Racing Inc. by entering into a one-race associate sponsorship with Janis for next weekend’s ADRL NATIONALGUARD.com U.S. Drags II at Virginia Motorsports Park.

“We couldn’t be happier to have Davis Technologies joining our family of sponsors,” said team owner and driver Mike Janis. “One of the first things we did when we decided to run ADRL was call Davis Technologies. We knew we would be allowed to use one of Davis Technologies’ devices in the ADRL, but had no idea how it worked or how to use it. Shannon came to our test sessions and walked us through the ins and outs of his units and he has been a great help all season. You couldn’t ask for better product support from a performance company.”

Davis, a true innovator in the field of motorsports electronics, has been at the forefront of traction control design for over a decade. Davis Technologies has grown from the meager confines of a road racer’s garage in 1997 to one of the most talked about racing components in every form of motorsports. His sponsorship of Mike Janis Racing brings Davis Technologies out from being a “dirty little secret” and into the spotlight.

“Working with Mike and his team has been nothing but a pleasure. These guys get it. Mike has a very intelligent brain trust on his side. From our first meeting I have been totally impressed with Mike and his entire crew. They are nothing but professional,” Davis stated. “It’ll be an honor for our logo to be displayed on Mike’s car in Virginia.”

 

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a d v e r t i s e m e n t

Click to visit our sponsor's website

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a d v e r t i s e m e n t

Click to visit our sponsor's website

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a d v e r t i s e m e n t

Click to visit our sponsor's website

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