September 5, 2010

ADRL Simpson Dragstock VII Fact Sheet

ROCKINGHAM, NC (September 5, 2010) - The American Drag Racing League (ADRL) returns to Rockingham Dragway for its biggest and most prestigious race on the 2010 ADRL Tour.
Simpson Dragstock VII takes place on Sept. 10-11 and will surely bring another capacity crowd to the record-setting facility in Rockingham, NC.
This year marks the fifth straight year the ADRL has staged Dragstock at Rockingham Dragway, and each race has attracted standing room only crowds.
A year ago, numerous world records were set at Dragstock VI, including the fastest Pro Extreme field in ADRL history, the first all 3-second field in Pro Nitrous and a new E.T. record in Pro Extreme Motorcycle. The fast times and exciting action are major reasons why Dragstock is annually the most anticipated event of the ADRL season.
Dragstock VII is the eighth of 10 national events this season. By the end of the weekend, only one race will remain before the LenMar Motorsports ADRL World Finals VI, which takes place at Texas Motorplex on Oct. 22-23.
In 2009, winners at Dragstock VI included Doug Kirk (Extreme Pro Stock), Eric McKinney (Pro Extreme Motorcycle), Chuck Ulsch (Extreme 10.5), Mike Castellana (Pro Nitrous) and Jason Hamstra (Pro Extreme). The memorable two days of racing was all done in front of another overflow crowd.
This year, the ADRL is expecting even more excitement in each of the five (Extreme Pro Stock, Pro Extreme Motorcycle, Extreme 10.5, Pro Nitrous and Pro Extreme) professional eighth-mile drag racing classes plus the Pro Junior Dragsters.
With only one race remaining before the World Finals, drivers will leave everything on the line to try to position themselves or make one last effort to move into the top eight to race for the Speedtech “Battle For The Belts.”
The spectator gates open at 9 a.m. Friday, with the first round of qualifying set to begin at 11 a.m. A special jet-car and monster truck pass concludes the evening session.

On Saturday, the racing will begin at 11 a.m. with the fourth and final qualifying session of Dragstock VII. The first round of eliminations starts at 3 p.m., with a special jet-car and monster truck pass concluding the evening.

WHAT: ADRL Simpson Dragstock VII, the eighth of 10 national events this calendar year for the American Drag Racing League (ADRL), but the ninth points-paying event toward the 2010 championship-deciding Speedtech Battle for the Belts.
Series includes five all-professional, eighth-mile drag racing classes: Pro Extreme Motorcycle, Extreme Pro Stock, Extreme 10.5, Pro Nitrous and Pro Extreme, the quickest and fastest full-bodied, doorslammer class in the world.
Pro Jr. Dragsters also compete at each ADRL event, along with exhibition runs by a Police Interceptor jet car and the legendary Summit Motorsports “Bigfoot” monster truck.

WHEN: Friday and Saturday, September 10-11, 2010

WHERE: 2153 US Hwy 1 North, Rockingham, NC 28379

CONTACT: For directions, contact Rockingham Raceway at               (910) 582-3400         (910) 582-3400 or www.RockinghamDragway.com. For media requests, please contact Josh Hachat with ADRL Communications at               (636) 272-2375         (636) 272-2375 or josh@adrl.us

SCHEDULE (Subject to change; all times local)

FRIDAY: Qualifying Round 1 at 11 a.m. (Run order: XPS, PXM, XTF, PN, PX, PJD) Qualifying Round 2 at 2:30 p.m. (Run order: XPS, PXM, XTF, PN, PX, PJD) Pre-Qualifying Ceremonies at 6 p.m. Qualifying Round 3 at 6:15 p.m. (Run order: XPS, PJD, PXM, XTF, PN, PX) Jet Car and Monster Truck run 9:45 p.m. Secure Track 10 p.m.

SATURDAY: Qualifying Round 4 at 11 a.m. (Run order: XPS, PXM, XTF, PN, PX, PJD); Pre-Race Ceremonies 2:30 p.m. Eliminations Round 1 at 3 p.m.  (Run order: XPS, PXM, XTF, PN, PX, PJD) Jet Car and Monster Truck run 6 p.m. ADRL Winner’s Circle Party 6:15 p.m. Secure Event 7 p.m.

TICKETS: Complimentary in-advance general admission tickets distributed locally. Tickets on sale both days at track. Friday Adult $20; Kids 6-12 $5; Saturday Adult $30; Kids 6-12 $5; Full Event Pass Adult $50; Kids 6-12 $10; All Kids Under 6 Free; General Parking $20; RV Parking Weekend $150. All tickets include ADRL VIP pit pass.

(ADRL File Photos)

September 4, 2010

State Of The Class Address: Extreme Pro Stock

Only one month and two races remain in Extreme Pro Stock before the LenMar Motorsports ADRL World Finals VI in October.
Eight spots are still up for grabs heading into “The Battle For The Belts,” making this a perfect time to see what has happened up to this point and what the future holds.
Call it the State of the Class Address or call it whatever you like.
Either way, these final two races before the world finals - Simpson Dragstock VII at Rockingham Dragway (Sept. 10-11) and the Summit Racing Equipment Ohio Drags IV (Sept. 24-25) - have plenty on the line.
For the final part in this weeklong series, we take a look at Extreme Pro Stock and get a glimpse of what’s in store for this wild finish.

TODAY: Extreme Pro Stock
FRIDAY: Pro Extreme Motorcycle
THURSDAY: Extreme 10.5
WEDNESDAY: Pro Nitrous
TUESDAY: Pro Extreme

HOW IT GOT HERE
The season started with the first-timers taking center stage, but the last six races have been dominated by a couple of XPS veterans.
Cary Goforth and Steven Boone started the 2010 points season with the first wins of their ADRL careers, but John Montecalvo (pictured) and Brian Gahm (pictured) have hogged the spotlight since then.
The duo has combined for six straight wins dating back to May, with Montecalvo becoming the first driver in XPS history - and only the second driver in ADRL history - to win four straight races.
That hot stretch came during a three-month span in the summer heat, which is notable since Montecalvo has never particularly enjoyed driving in the warm air.
That didn’t slow him down this year and he’s in the points lead because of it.
But it’s certainly not a runaway lead, thanks in part to Gahm’s consistency and, of course, a host of other talented drivers fighting for position.
Gahm won in May and also at the Gateway Drags in August, but even the Ohio resident doesn’t have a firm grip on second.
Goforth is just a point behind in the third spot, partly because he has gone rounds at nearly every race this season. He hasn’t won during the 2010 calendar year, but he did set the E.T. (4.04) and speed (179.04) records at Houston.
To the surprise of nobody, this class goes 12 deep as far as potential top eight world championship qualifiers.
Bob Bertsch, Mark Martino and Elijah Morton occupy spots 4-6, while Boone sits in seventh.
Boone (pictured, bottom) hasn’t made major noise since winning in Valdosta in April, but that weekend proved he’s capable of beating anyone.
Pete Berner has dropped to eighth with some hard-luck turn of events, which simply means others are ready to pounce.
Jeff Dobbins (pictured) is only 94 points behind Berner in ninth, while Cale Aronson, Dean Goforth and Doug Kirk trail Dobbins. All still have thoughts of making major moves and, at some point this year, they’ve shown those thoughts aren’t pipe dreams.
So much for the theory that this class belongs only to Montecalvo and Gahm.

WHAT LIES AHEAD
If Kirk plans to make a move from that No. 12 position into the top eight, Rockingham might be the place to do it.
He won last year at Dragstock VI and a repeat performance would send another shockwave through the class.
Of course, Kirk won the Ohio Drags last year as well, marking his first ADRL win since it preceded Rockingham in 2009.
A double-win month would vault him from being an outsider to a favorite, but it’s not going to be easy.
Gahm is one of many XPS drivers with a wealth of experience at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, which is the site of the Ohio Drags IV.
He has relied on consistency for success this year, but he openly said he is expecting a little more out of his car over these final few races.
The cooler air will allow for that on its own, but Gahm will have a few tricks up his sleeve as well.
Morton, meanwhile, has already called out his friend, Montecalvo, and predicted a win at his home track in Rockingham.
Montecalvo would like to respond with his fifth win of the year, but it will be interesting to see how he reacts after his four-race winning streak was snapped in St. Louis.
Aronson was the one who knocked him out, and Aronson has also stated there’s plenty more power that his Mustang can produce.
Martino is still looking for his first final, but like several other XPS drivers, he’s capable of going rounds and running solid times. Bertsch has shown that capability as well, while Berner has been near the top of the points standings all year before a forgettable double-race weekend in St. Louis.
Where does that leave us heading into the home stretch?
Well, for one thing, there should be some fantastic times at two tracks built for awesome XPS racing this time of year.
Gahm said he wasn’t sure if a 3-second pass would be possible, but he did know plenty of great racing remains in Extreme Pro Stock.
With a field where not much is set in stone this late in September that might be a no-brainer.

(Photos by ADRL/Richards)

September 1, 2010

Ticket Info For October LenMar Motorsports ADRL World Finals VI

O’FALLON, MO (September 1, 2010) - The American Drag Racing League (ADRL) announced that e-tickets are now currently available on its website for the final race of the 2010 season, the LenMar Motorsports ADRL World Finals VI, which take place on Oct. 22-23 from Texas Motorplex in Ennis, TX.
The convenient e-ticketing process allows fans an opportunity to print their own complimentary tickets off the ADRL website - www.ADRL.us - thanks in part to the generous support from ADRL sponsors.

The World Finals are annually one of the most anticipated events of the ADRL season, as world championships and the Speedtech “Battle For The Belts” will be on the line in all six ADRL classes.
By clicking on the LenMar Motorsports ADRL World Finals VI event icon on the ADRL website, fans and interested attendees will have the chance to print out an e-ticket by following the simple steps. Upon doing that, the ticket will then be good for admission to the final race of what has been a memorable 2010 season.

Currently, tickets are available on the ADRL website for its final three races of the 2010 season. The e-ticketing process gives fans an easy and ideal way to get their tickets to attend their favorite ADRL races and watch their favorite ADRL drivers.
Tickets are also available for ADRL Simpson Dragstock VII at Rockingham Dragway in Rockingham, NC on Sept. 10-11, and the ADRL Summit Racing Equipment Ohio Drags IV, which take place from Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, OH on Sept. 24-25.
Those two events lead into the LenMar Motorsports ADRL World Finals, where the top eight drivers from each class will lay it all on the line in the prestigious Speedtech “Battle For The Belts.”

The World Finals have quickly become a must-see event in drag racing and this year will be no different as the ADRL continues to offer the most exciting and explosive doorslammer action.
With its new innovative e-ticketing process, fans can quickly get their hands on tickets for this event as well.
Tickets can be printed off immediately and ticketholders simply need to fill out the back of the ticket before they attend the event.
From there, ticketholders will instantly be set up for an incredible racing experience.
By entering their name and address on the back of the ticket forms, it also makes them instantly eligible for all the great benefits of the ADRL experience.

September 1, 2010

MAVTV Gearing Up For ADRL Debut

Your agent found more great promotion for the ADRL’s new television show on MAVTV, which stars a week from Thursday at 10 p.m., by the way.

On MAVTV’s website (www.mavtv.com), your agent found the 2010 ADRL Tour logo on the front page, as it promotes MAVTV’s newest show.

Further clicking on the ADRL Tour takes you to the 2010 ADRL Tour show homepage, which details the show schedule, pictures, episode info, links and more info that is surely on the way. There is also a detailed replay schedule so you can make sure you catch all the exciting ADRL action on MAVTV.

Your agent continues to be impressed with the build-up for the premier of the ADRL show on MAVTV. He is surely one of many excited for the debut broadcast on the high-definition network on Thursday, Sept. 9 at 10 p.m.

Check out the show homepage: http://www.mavtv.com/shows/adrl-tour-2010

August 31, 2010

Great ADRL YouTube Highlight Video

Your agent came across a brilliant ADRL highlight video on YouTube that nobody should miss.
Along with showing some incredible ADRL racing highlights from the past two seasons, this clip showed some of the biggest crashes in ADRL history as well.
Your agent was blown away re-watching some of these highlights, though he would also like to remind you that none of these drivers were seriously hurt during these crashes.
Your agent highly recommends checking this one out.
To watch all the great action, click on the following link - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JX6VDb4lUXo or see below

August 31, 2010

State Of The Class Address: Pro Extreme

One month, two races and eight places up for grabs.
That’s what the 2010 ADRL season has come down to after a season filled with world records, runs of dominance and spectacular racing.
With only two races before the LenMar Motorsports World Finals VI in October, it’s a perfect time to take a look at each of the ADRL classes and how they stack up heading into “The Battle For The Belts.”
Call it the State of the Class Address or call it whatever you like.
Either way, these final two races before the world finals - Simpson Dragstock VII at Rockingham Dragway (Sept. 10-11) and the Summit Racing Equipment Ohio Drags IV (Sept. 24-25) - present golden opportunities for drivers to make one final move.
It’s the stretch run before one last race decides who are the best drivers in the world.
Here’s a glimpse of what’s in store for what surely will be a wild finish.

TODAY: Pro Extreme

HOW IT GOT HERE

With only 34 points separating the top three drivers, it’s perhaps the best way to show just how close this loaded class has been this year.
Joshua Hernandez leads and has two wins this year, but is by no means the overwhelming favorite, mostly of because who is close behind.
Alex Hossler is right behind - and has two wins as well - but, well, he’s not the overwhelming favorite, either.
Actually, nobody can be considered such, which is why just getting into the top eight is reason enough to be considered at least somewhat of a favorite.
Considering all that is at stake in such a talented field, it might also be wise to predict the eventual victor will be an experienced driver who will know how to handle themselves in pressure situations.
But KH Al-Thani has proven impressive in every pressure situation in his still young and burgeoning racing career. He’s already won twice in just six ADRL events, and he talked calmly after his win at the Hardee’s Independence Drags IV about how well he races under pressure.
So, there goes that theory.
In truth, there are no theories or predictions that can be viewed as ironclad in a class this talented, this deep and this diverse.
Gaylen Smith, Jason Scruggs and Quain Stott are currently in spots five, six and seven, respectively. Smith has rapidly improved this year and advanced to two finals, while Scruggs will surely get better as he gets more comfortable in his new ‘63 Corvette.
Todd Tutterow rounds out the current top eight, though it doesn’t necessarily mean it will be the final eight.
Even at the eighth spot Tutterow can’t be taken lightly. He is the reigning PX World Champion after all and, clearly, he knows how to win on the big stage.
So who is looking to crack into the top eight for their shot at glory?
Wes Johnston (9th), John Stanley (10th) and Bubba Stanton (11th) remain the best bets, but good luck stealing a spot from such incredible drivers.
If this were a fantasy draft, everyone would end up happy and there would be no bad decisions.
Unfortunately, this is an eight-driver field, meaning somebody - or several talented drivers - will be left as spectators for the World Championship.

WHAT LIES AHEAD

Rockingham will surely yield some amazing times, but will it be kinder to others?
A year ago, Jason Hamstra won at the track, but he’s fallen out of the top 10 in 2010 after his big crash in Topeka, which caused him to miss the last two race weekends.
In 2008, Stanton won in Rockingham and he has performed well over the past two months despite his own nasty crash in Topeka.
Scruggs was the first ADRL driver to top 200 mph, doing it in 2007, but everyone in the class, including Scruggs, has now left that in the dust. It wouldn’t be surprising to see drivers hit 210-plus mph at the quick track.
One thing is for certain - we will quickly find out which drivers have the mettle for a stressful September.
Just two weeks after Rockingham is a trip - or perhaps a sprint - to Norwalk, OH, where it will be the last chance for a final move.
The last time racers were at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk was 2008, and much has changed in the class since then.
That year, Frankie Taylor won his first ADRL title, so maybe things aren’t that drastically different.
But a repeat performance there would put the PX E.T. record-holder in the driver’s seat heading into “The Battle For The Belts,” where Taylor would be looking for his first world championship.
The late September date will also unveil a series of new challenges for the class. Only one race - the Hardee’s Georgia Drags - was completed in cooler conditions this year, while a total of four events were completed during a scorching two-week stretch in late July and early August.
The cooler northern Ohio temperatures in late September will require a different combination to be successful, which adds one more monkey wrench into the Pro Extreme equation.
It will be interesting, it will be memorable and it will be exciting - just what everyone has come to expect from Pro Extreme.

Tomorrow: A look at Pro Nitrous heading into the final stretch of the 2010 season

(Photos by ADRL/Richards)

August 30, 2010

All Wins Much-Needed For Hungry White

From the surface, it hardly seemed like a must-win situation for Extreme 10.5 points leader Gary White.
Thanks to a red-hot late spring and early summer, White had bolted to the top of the points standings, where he appeared comfortable enough that nothing could unseat him.
Behind the scenes, though, White’s win at the completion of the Hardee’s Independence Drags at Gateway International Raceway in early August came at just the right time to start the Titan Motorsports’ late-season push.
White and his Scion went through a three-month stretch where nothing appeared to go wrong as he won two races and seemed untouchable in a fast-rising class.
But trouble hit at the end of July in Houston when White had his first hiccup in a nearly flawless 2010.
A first-round loss at UTI Dragpalooza presented by Safety-Kleen coupled with a double-win weekend by driver Billy Glidden didn’t shake up the top of the standings, but it did give momentum a new home and it no longer had a White (pictured) mailing address.
So, yes, upon further review, White was indeed pleased with picking up his third win of the year considering the circumstances.
“We needed this,” White said. “That makeup race in Houston, we went out in the first round and blew our motor. That hurt, so we absolutely needed this.”
The blown motor was the second part of the must-win equation, which made coming back and winning in St. Louis that much sweeter.
It also gave White and his team some piece of mind heading into the final two months of the season.
“That was tough to recover from,” White said. “It took a little doing to get it back and going to where we wanted.”
There were still some minor issues to be corrected at Gateway thanks to some fuel issues with the car.
White’s team had to back up on the tuneup because of that, but White still delivered a 4.00 at 185 miles per hour in the finals to beat Jeff Naiser.
White gladly took that after the troubles in Houston. After the motor blowup on the first day - which led to the surprising first-round exit - White red-lighted in the finals of the UTI Texas Drags the next night, handing the victory to Glidden, who managed two wins in two nights.
He immediately shot to second in the points race behind White, which added yet another layer to the importance of the win at Gateway.
“This are the top of top guys,” White said. “It isn’t like this is a class that’s not well known and bringing good guys in here. Every win you get in this class is a quality win.
“There’s a lot of guys doing an awesome job, but our guys have been doing an awesome job, too.”
White fell to Chuck Ulsch at the Hardee’s Gateway Drags the night after his Independence Drags win, the latest sign in how fickle the class is becoming down the stretch of the 2010 season.
Ulsch ended up winning the race, jumping right back into the mix in XTF.
But White could see this coming. Even as he was dominating in picking up wins at the Speedtech U.S. Drags in May and the Ford Drive One Summer Drags in June, he predicted everyone else would have their say at some point.
White rode out that hot string for as long as he could, but he made need one more to put the finishing touches on what has been an incredible year thus far.
“There’s a lot of fast cars,” White said. “It’s going to take 3.90 to win these races the rest of the year.”

(Photos by ADRL/Richards)

August 24, 2010

Stott and Co. Ready to Reap Benefits of 3-Car PX Team

In the long run, Quain Stott envisions the multiple benefits of tuning a 3-car Pro Extreme team that pairs him with Tommy D’Aprile and Terry Leggett in arguably the ADRL’s most loaded class.
As for right now, well, Stott couldn’t imagine being much busier.
Not only has Stott and his new team reached the homestretch of the 2010 season, Stott is still working towards getting every car on the same page.
The exhausted look on Stott’s face indicates just how much of a work in progress that remains to be.
“The goal is to get everyone the same,” Stott said. “The three cars are so different right now it’s like we’re making three different decisions. It’s like three different worlds. It’s total insanity tuning three cars.”
Insanity now, payoff later, or at least that’s the hope.
Leggett and his 2009 Mustang GT signed on with Stott (pictured, top) for the rest of the 2010 season.
He replaced his ‘41 Ford from the beginning of the season and while a “Battle For The Belts” position is out of reach - Leggett (pictured, right) is 20th in the star-studded field - he hopes to make significant progress the rest of the year.
“I am very excited about the possibilities that adding (Stott) to the team offers,” Leggett said. “I feel like it just makes us better to have two teammates that are being tuned by the same person. Quain is one of the best guys out there on and off the track, and I’m just really excited to see what this Ford Mustang is capable of.”

D’Aprile hopes his up-and-down season finishes with a flourish with help from Stott.
D’Aprile injured his elbow in a crash in Valdosta, an injury that required surgery and has hampered him along the way.
Since then, D’Aprile (pictured, left) has been searching for consistency out of a car owned by Mel Bush Motorsports.
“Having two teammates can only help us. I have faith in my crew and in Quain’s tuning abilities,” Mel Bush said.
Bush sees the potential for a car that can go in the 3.7s, which will be needed for D’Aprile to make a last-ditch run towards the top eight.
He is currently in 13th place and needs to jump some big names with some productive showings to advance to the LenMar Motorsports World Finals VI in October.
The addition of Stott has D’Aprile thinking he still has a chance.
“The car has undergone some updates that should make it easier for me to drive, and will help us ultimately go faster and be more competitive,” D’Aprile said. “The addition of Quain Stott has already made an impact, we saw that in Topeka.”
D’Aprile qualified ninth with a 3.80 in his ‘71 Camaro at the Hardee’s Independence Drags, showing the potential to be a top competitor.
Along with all the tuning, Stott has his own aspirations as well.
He’s struggled to advance deep in eliminations at the past couple races, but Stott still remains in seventh in Pro Extreme.
With the plan of the 3-car team to eventually end up where each of the cars have a similar setup, Stott hopes that day is coming soon.
The days and race weekends might be long at the moment, but Stott sees the light at the end of the tunnel.
“Everybody is going to be helping each other and that’s good for the team,” Stott said.

(Photos by ADRL/Richards)

August 23, 2010

Family Keeps Smith Focused in Pro Nitrous

Performing in adverse conditions has seemed to bring the best out in Pro Nitrous driver Rickie Smith.
None of those adverse conditions, however, had anything to do with track temperature or car set-up.
Even while dealing with his father’s illness, Smith managed to win two ADRL races in Texas in late July, dedicating both victories to his father who traveled with him through many of his racing triumphs in the 70s and 80s.
Less than two weeks later, Smith raced while overcoming the sudden passing of his father, who died the day before the Hardee’s Independence Drags were completed in St. Louis.
Smith somehow kept it all together, picking up yet another emotional win.
Like he did in Houston, Smith looked to his father for motivation and inspiration, getting a hole-shot win in the finals against Jim Halsey, going a 3.89 to continue his incredible run.
In an emotional scene in the winner’s circle, Smith (pictured) was gracious for the support from his family.
“It’s been tough because my dad has always supported me,” Smith said. “I’m just so thankful to win these. To win those at Houston and this one, it’s been all about family.”
Smith cut a .035 light to win by .007 of a second against Halsey in the finals, showing razor-sharp focus despite all that was going on in his life away from the track.
His resolve was apparent in his consistency on that Friday as well. His ‘68 Camaro never went slower than a 3.94, and he went 3.91 to beat Dan Stevenson in the semifinals.
“It’s pretty incredible, in this day and age, to make all these runs,” Smith said. “That’s pretty tough. We’ve won a lot of races, but to do it when these cars are going this fast, it’s fooling me. The car is working really good.”
Smith still believed that a day later when he couldn’t make it four straight wins after a stunning first-round upset at the hands of Doug Reisterer, who went 3.96 in the win at Gateway International Raceway.
Smith took the blame for his surprising first-round exit and made no excuses with what happened.
“It’s nobody’s fault but my own,” Smith said. “I kept going left in the left-hand lane and everybody in the right-hand lane kept going right.
“I made some adjustments for the car to go right, but I wasn’t expecting to go that hard right. I just made the wrong adjustments.”
It prevented him from two straight double-win weekends, but it hardly put a damper on what the last three wins have meant.
To add to it, Smith remains in a comfortable lead atop PN thanks to his recent hot streak, all of which was made even more memorable considering the circumstances.
“We’re running real good,” Smith said. “I think we’ve made 17 of 20 runs in a row. We’ll be fine.”
Smith’s 500-plus point lead gives him plenty of security heading into the two races in September, but he also doesn’t want to lose that consistency heading into the LenMar Motorsports World Finals VI in October.
After a litany of engine troubles early in the year, those difficulties seem to be behind Smith, who is focused in on the final three races.
“If we do our deal, we’ll be leading heading into Dallas. With the way we started this year, I’m happy with that,” Smith said. “We knew what wrong earlier this year, it was just getting it fixed.”

(Photos by ADRL/Richards)

August 20, 2010

PX’s Smith Pushing Towards First Win

Month-by-month, Gaylen Smith seems to be nearing his first ADRL victory.
In a talent-laden Pro Extreme field, that’s been enough for Smith to steadily move up the field.
Currently fifth in the highly-contested points race, Smith is the only driver in the top six without a win, but it doesn’t mean the Dallas-area native has disappointed.
Instead, it’s been the opposite, as Smith and his “Bounty Hunter” PX car has been as consistent as any in the field. Sooner or later, Smith figures that approach will lead to his first win.
“Like we do at any other race, we’re always looking for more,” Smith said. “We just have to keep working.”
Smith appears to be do something right, even if he can’t quite get over the hump in the final round.
He was the No. 1 qualifier at the Ford Drive One Summer Drags VI in June before Joshua Hernandez sent him home with a spectacular pass. Smith went 3.71, but Hernandez topped him with a 3.65 en route to a dominating winning weekend.
A month later in Houston, Smith edged Hernandez in one of the closest finishes in ADRL history to advance to his first finals at UTI Dragpalooza VI presented by Safety-Kleen. Winning by a mere seven inches, Smith earned every part of his first finals appearance in a classic drag race.
Frankie Taylor got the win a round later, though Smith and his LenMar Motorsports team were encouraged by the improvements they had made.
That momentum carried over to St. Louis, where Smith made the finals once more, this time at the Hardee’s Gateway Drags III.
Smith was again denied his first ADRL win, but it took another spectacular run to do it. Alex Hossler went 3.69 at 203.89 miles per hour, which gave him a victory margin of 14 feet against Smith, who went 3.71 at 204.85 mph.
Smith has seemingly brought out the best in his opponents, leading to some tough-luck losses in the process.
In addition to the loss to Hernandez in June, Smith lost in the Hardee’s Independence Drags semis - which were finished in St. Louis - after his 3.75 wasn’t enough against eventual winner KH Al-Thani, who went 3.69.
It might be heart-breaking to most, but Smith insists these neck-and-neck races are always enjoyable.
“All these close races, it’s always better to be on top, but it’s always fun to be involved in those,” said Smith (pictured with LenMar Motorsports co-owner Mark Eddins, left.)

“I hate getting those bye runs. These are very fun. When you can get up there and drag race and make a race out of it, that’s fun.”
It’s also a nod to how top-heavy the Pro Extreme class has become.
“It’s been crazy,” Smith said. “These hot rods are incredible. If you don’t have the total package from top to bottom, you’re going to be in trouble.”
Smith has felt good with his combination, in part because he has made his ‘57 Bel-Air lighter.
It’s made a significant difference and it should keep Smith as one of the PX favorites heading into the final two months of the 2010 season.
“We put on a carbon-fiber wheelie bar on the car and it took 30 pounds

MAVTV Ready to Roll With ADRL

The ADRL’s debut on MAVTV is still more than two weeks away, but your agent is pleased to report that the station is already busy in getting the word out about its new relationship with the ADRL.

The promotion has already been strong and your agent has been impressed with all the publicity. Your agent has also been hearing that MAVTV is just as excited about its programming with the ADRL and is ready to pull out all the stops to make it a huge success.

Your agent found out some details about how MAVTV plans to do so as well. The first part is showing off a cool logo that you see above.

Secondly, the show will be featured in a great slot on the Thursday motorsports block and the debut show is a full 2 hours long! That’s great news for the Sept. 9 debut and your agent hopes each show gets the 120-minute treatment. The show will run every Thursday starting Sept. 9, concluding with the season-recap show on December 2.

To read more about the upcoming ADRL show on MAVTV, click on the following link: http://www.mavtv.com/blog/sports/2010/august/4/new-show-focus-adrl-events

Your agent can’t wait!

August 5, 2010

Good Memories Greet XTF’s Ulsch at Gateway Drags

Your agent talked to Chuck Ulsch today and the Maryland-based Extreme 10.5 driver spoke excitedly about returning to Gateway International Raceway.
If you remember - and your agent certainly does - Ulsch became the first XTF drive to reach the 3-second mark, doing it at the ADRL Hardee’s Gateway Drags II last year.
Your agent could tell he was ready to return to St. Louis this weekend for the Hardee’s Gateway Drags III.
“It was real exciting, but that’s what we planned on doing, setting records and winning races,” Ulsch said.
Since then, your agent has been amazed with how competitive XTF has gotten.
Ulsch, who sits in eighth in the points race, has noticed it as well.
“You can’t sit idle because everybody is doing something,” Ulsch said. “They’re all working and there’s a lot of good people with good equipment.”
But your agent got the feeling Ulsch feels good about his chances at Gateway.
“I’m pretty confident and I feel pretty good with what we have set up,” Ulsch said. “We’ve seen some numbers we liked, but we want to step our program up.”

August 5, 2010

Special Racers Gathering Benefits a Good Cause

Your agent was pleased to find out about a special racers gathering the night before the ADRL Hardee’s Gateway Drags III at Gateway International Raceway.
Garret Livingston of Garret Race Cars along with Jeff Hoskins Custom Paint are holding a racers appreciation BBQ in the pit area of Pro Extreme driver Jason Scruggs.
Your agent also found out the gathering will be in remembrance of good friend and racer, Mike Walker, who passed away in April.
To make it even better, your agent discovered any charitable contributions would be donated to DRAW (the Drag Racing Association of Women), which helps injured racers and their families.
Sounds like a great gathering before what will be a great ADRL race.

August 4, 2010

More ADRL Pre-Race Parties!

Your agent has been made aware of another exciting pre-race party in St. Louis on Thursday in preparation for the ADRL Hardee’s Gateway Drags III.
This one starts at 4 p.m. at Upper Deck Sports Bar in the All-American Sports Complex Building. Look below for full agent-approved directions.
The best news in all of this is that your agent found out that ADRL drivers Frankie Taylor (pictured) and Jerry Hunt will be appearing, as well as two more ADRL driver standouts.
Cars will be on display and a full BBQ will take place outside, which meets your agent’s approval. Food and drinks will also be available in the bar - provided by lovely bikini bartenders, of course - and the Upper Deck is ready for a pre-reace party that lasts until the morning hours.

For those interested, your agent will see you at 4 p.m. at the following location:

Upper Deck Sports Bar
11133 Lindbergh Business Center
Directions: Take I-55 to Lindbergh. Turn left and then take a right at St. John’s Church Rd. The bar and complex is located at the bottom of the hill.

July 27, 2010

Five Impressions Following the ADRL UTI Inaugural Texas Drags

After a memorable two-day stretch that saw both the ADRL UTI Dragpalooza VI presented by Safety-Kleen and the UTI Inaugural Texas Drags get completed, there was plenty that left an impression.
But there was also plenty that we learned along the way as the ADRL reached the midway point of its season.

Here’s The Top Five Things We Learned at Houston Raceway Park in preparation for the ADRL Hardee’s Gateway Drags III from Gateway International Raceway on August 6-7:

Joshua Hernandez Might Be The One To Beat In Pro Extreme

This is hardly breaking news, since he’s the winningest driver in the class.
But of all the talented drivers in arguably the ADRL’s deepest class, Hernandez has made the most noise in the past two months.
In that four-race span, Hernandez has won two races, finished runner-up in another and advanced to the semifinals in the fourth.
His performance on Saturday was a site to behold, running near-perfect races on a memorable day, including going a 3.72 in the finals in front of his hometown crowd.

Pro Nitrous Is Up For Grabs:

Rickie Smith made a big move with two wins in two days, but only one other driver - Mike Castallana - has a win in the top eight.
Shannon Jenkins and Lee Adkins, who have the other two wins since May, sit 10th and 12th, respectively, meaning nobody has taken control of the class.
Smith did his part in Houston, posting a 3.90 in the finals on Saturday, but there’s an entire host of names that could be in that position in two weeks in St. Louis.

Billy Glidden Is As Resilient As They Come

A question was posed to the standout Extreme 10.5 driver as he tried to wipe the smile off his face in the winner’s circle:
If someone had told you in three weeks that, after a crash that had you pondering your immediate racing future, you would win two races in two days, what would have been your response?
“Not very likely,” Glidden said bluntly. “These are some serious programs we’re going against.”
It seemed almost unfathomable that Glidden would return so soon, but those that doubt Glidden, who now has 11 career XTF wins, should know better.
As last weekend proved, he always seems to find a way.

Ashley Owens Might Be Beatable, But He’s Still Pretty Good

Ashley Owens finally lost in Pro Extreme Motorcycle.
But if it takes losing two transmissions in three passes to do it, well Owens might still be looked at as untouchable.
Even after all the mishaps, Owens came back to post incredible numbers in an incredible PXM field in Houston.
It was the second-fastest field in ADRL history, yet Owens seemed in total control on Saturday, running consecutive times of 4.13 to deny Travis Davis of two wins in two days.
Even after all that, Owens remained as stoic as ever in describing the early troubles. But Fast by Gast owner Paul Gast didn’t hold back.
“It’s awesome,” Gast said. “My hats off to him.”

Montecalvo Winning Under Any Circumstances

The track temperature approached 155 degrees on Saturday, which isn’t the most ideal in the eyes of Extreme Pro Stock driver John Montecalvo. 
It didn’t seem to bother him, though, as he won twice, was the top qualifier and extended his winning streak to three.
“Although I don’t always enjoy racing in hot weather, it sure worked out well for us this weekend,” Montecalvo said. “If the next double header turns out anything like this one, we won’t complain a bit.”
The most impressive part of this?
Montecalvo’s ability to get better as the day goes on. It happened in Michigan and again in Houston.
As eliminations progressed, Montecalvo and his team were more unbeatable. They were spot on with every call and Montecalvo ended up going a weekend-best 4.11 in the finals on Saturday.

July 25, 2010

Double-Win Weekend for Three ADRL Drivers; Hernandez, Owens also win at UTI Texas Drags

BAYTOWN, TX (July 24, 2010) - For three American Drag Racing League (ADRL) drivers, winning once this weekend at Houston Raceway Park (HRP) wasn’t enough.
For Pro Extreme driver Joshua Hernandez, one rousing victory in front of a boisterous hometown crowd proved to be plenty.
After winning the ADRL Universal Technical Institute Dragpalooza VI presented by Safety-Kleen, which was completed at HRP on Friday after being postponed in March, Pro Nitrous driver Rickie Smith, Extreme 10.5 standout Billy Glidden and Extreme Pro Stock’s John Montecalvo all made it a two-win weekend by coming up victorious at Saturday’s ADRL UTI Inaugural Texas Drags.
Hernandez and Ashley Owens (Pro Extreme Motorcycle) pulled out the other two class wins on Saturday, with Hernandez and his ‘57 Fight Me MMA Chevy bringing the crowd to its feet on several occasions.
The last came in the final, when the Houston-area native went 3.72 - the low round of the weekend - at 204.91 miles per hour to knock off Steve Wiley that set off a memorable celebration in front of plenty of friends and family.
“This was just incredible. The show of support for a hometown boy was just amazing,” Hernandez said. “To hold that trophy at the end of the night in front of the fans, that’s what it’s all about.”
Hernandez had the Texas heat figured out all weekend and was the most consistent PX driver by far on Saturday.
In the process, he treated fans to spectacular races on both days, but none were more entertaining than his semifinal duel with KH Al-Thani.
The Al-Anabi racing member went 3.76 in a great run, but Hernandez went 3.74 in an epic battle that captured everyone’s attention. Hernandez followed with another spectacular performance in the final, which was simply par for the course for the weekend.
“We changed a lot of stuff and the track was the great equalizer this weekend,” said Hernandez, who was also the top qualifier and became the new points leader.
“Everyone was struggling in the same areas and it was just a matter of who figured it out the fastest.”
The victory double-dip proved especially rewarding for Smith, who dedicated both victories to his ill father.
He teared up after the win on Friday and his father served as motivation a day later as well.
“I wanted to dedicate this race to him and it was on my mind,” Smith said. “I didn’t want to try too hard and mess up, but it’s so unbelievable to do two in a row. It’s a tremendous lift for me.”
Smith was impressive on Friday in running the best times in the class, but he was dynamite a day later, reaching 3.90 in both the semifinals and finals.
After qualifying in the top spot, Smith went 3.90 to defeat Shannon Jenkins in the semifinals, before knocking off Johnny Pilcher on a red-light win in the finals.
Pilcher surprised many by running well while debuting a new Camaro, but Smith had far too much power and consistency to be denied on this weekend.
“We’ve been fighting the engine all year and I’m just so tickled with this car right now,” Smith said. “The car is just working great.”

Glidden weaved his own memorable tale at HRP, winning for a second straight night just weeks after a devastating crash in Topeka.
The XTF standout returned quicker than expected to the track and the payoff was his best weekend in more than a year.
“We’re really happy and at least something appeared for us after all the work we’ve been doing,” said Glidden, who has a class-best 11 career victories. “Everything in me is cramping up.”
Glidden also extracted revenge on Gary White after losing to the Titan Motorsports driver at Michigan in June.
This time, White red-lighted and handed the victory to Glidden, who managed to come up victorious despite plenty of struggles in his 2010 Mustang on Saturday.
“Today, we didn’t do a very good job. In the first and second run, the car just took off,” Glidden said. “It was tough to maneuver today. For the semis, we changed the shocks, the transmission and the tires. We changed everything but the car, the motor and me.
“But if we continue progressing, we can be a contender again.”

Montecalvo shot to the top of XPS after a weekend the New York native will never forget.
Nearly overcome by emotion in the winner’s circle, Montecalvo didn’t hold back when describing what the double-win weekend meant to him.
“It is by far one of the best weeks I’ve ever had in drag racing,” Montecalvo said. “I’ve never doubled up before and we just came through. I’m just so pumped right now. My adrenaline is through the roof.”
Montecalvo was nearly flawless on Saturday, again saving his best for last in the final. After knocking off Elijah Morton - whom he beat in the finals on Friday - to advance, Montecalvo turned in a class-best 4.11 in the finals, knocking off Brian Gahm for the second straight race.
Montecalvo also has three straight wins to his credit, making him the hottest current driver in the ADRL.
“Today, we were on fire,” Montecalvo said. “It went picture perfect and I have to thank my crew for making this possible.”

After Owens had his streak of dominance snapped on Friday, the thought of it not being his weekend seemed to apply after he also broke two transmissions in three passes.
But Owens and his team kept at it and the payoff proved to be a trophy that the entire Fast by Gast team enjoyed.
His performance on Saturday was also an indication there might not be any chinks in his armor in PXM.
“We just kept working all weekend,” Owens said. “I had never broke a transmission before and then I did two in three passes. I still don’t know what happened. The guys just kept working hard.”
That was evident, as Owens ripped off two eye-popping times in the semifinals and finals.
After going 4.13 to advance to the finals, Owens denied Travis Davis a double-win weekend by running another 4.13 that smashed any other elapsed time for any competitor in PXM.
That those times and the win came in the second-fastest PXM field in ADRL history added even more gratification for Owens, who maintains a massive lead in points.
“It is satisfying,” Owens said. “It’s a great group of guys and we came through.”

In Pro Junior Dragster, Corey Tankersley beat Cole Burk after a holeshot win. Tankersley had a reaction time of .002 to get the win.
The ADRL returns to action on August 7-8 for the ADRL Hardee’s Gateway Drags III at Gateway International Raceway in Madison, Ill., just outside of St. Louis.
Like the weekend in Houston, it will also be a double-race weekend.
The completion of the ADRL Hardee’s Independence Drags at Heartland Park Topeka will take place on Friday, with the Gateway Drags to be completed the next day.

July 24, 2010

Taylor Takes Hometown Race, One of Five Winners at ADRL’s Dragpalooza VI

July 19, 2010

Hyped Hernandez Hopes to Finish the Job

Joshua Hernandez will take plenty of good feelings into Houston Raceway Park (HRP) for a variety of reasons for this weekend’s ADRL Inaugural Texas Drags.
For one, it’s the Houston native’s home track, which is pleasant enough in its own right, high temperatures and all.
Secondly, the Pro Extreme standout started strong in 2010, jumping to the top spot in qualifying in the opening race, the ADRL Universal Technical Institute (UTI) Dragpalooza VI presented by Safety-Kleen, before the rain postponed the event in March.
The completion of that race will take place Friday, and Hernandez hopes to finish what he started.
“You have to put your gameface on a little earlier,” Hernandez said of the double-race weekend.
“It can be exhausting and you have to get up for it mentally every time. That trophy adds a little more pressure and you can’t waste any time to step it up.”
Hernandez will also bring a different look to HRP this time around.
His ‘57 Chevy sported ADRL trim in marching to the top of the ladder with a 3.68 at 208 miles per hour in March.
Now, the Pro Extreme car looks totally different, decked out with the striking Fight Me MMA logos after they became major sponsors in May.
Hernandez has won a race and went to another championship round in another with the new look, jumping to third in the points in the process. 
“The boys at the shop worked all winter on making the car quicker and more consistent, and the results are amazing,” Hernandez said.
Hernandez was also the top qualifier in Topeka earlier this month before rain postponed that event.
Setting the car up for what Houston will present in mid-July will be a totally different story, however.
“Speaking for Houston, it’s going to be the worst conditions we see all year,” Hernandez said. “The track will be slippery, the air will be hot and the moisture will be high. All of these factors mean less horsepower and less traction.
“You won’t have a lot of those crazy numbers.”
Hernandez has put plenty of those up all year, but isn’t banking doing anything like that at HRP with track temperatures approaching 150 degrees.
Still, it will be difficult terrain for everyone.
Hernandez just hopes his team figures it out enough to finish the job he started in March.
“Every time you go down the track, you’re racing that racetrack,” Hernandez said. “It’s guys like Jim (Oddy) and the rest of the team who are looking at those conditions and trying to get everything to match up.
“It is sure to be exciting and entertaining.”

July 18, 2010

Scruggs Ready For Two Races, Extreme Weather

Jason Scruggs has been through enough of these situations to know what to expect when the ADRL Inaugural Texas Drags takes place at Houston Raceway Park (HRP) on July 23-24 in Baytown, TX.
Of course, that doesn’t mean anything will be easy, but the experienced and talented Pro Extreme driver is ready for the challenge.
Or, should we say, challenges.
The fact is, there are plenty of obvious ones heading into this new ADRL race, the first of which is the double-race weekend.

The ADRL Universal Technical Institute (UTI) Dragpalooza VI presented by Safety-Kleen will be completed on Friday and the Texas Drags will be completed the next day. 

It’s a great opportunity to turn the weekend into a massive success, but Scruggs also knows the challenges that having two races in one weekend presents.
“Really, the only difference is you don’t have runs to get things perfected,” Scruggs said. “You’ve got to have your act together and be ready to race right from the start. You can’t take a while to get going.”
Scruggs and his ‘68 Camaro have seemingly had their act together all year. In workmanlike fashion and away from the limelight, Scruggs currently sits seconds in the points standings in a loaded division.
He narrowly trails Alex Hossler, though Joshua Hernandez is nipping at his heels.
That’s the theme for the class, which brings us to the second major challenge for the race at HRP.
The extreme heat - the track registered nearly 150 degrees earlier this week - will make proper set-up a must for an extended stay.
After all, a lost weekend doesn’t make for good news in a class this tightly-congested at the halfway point of the season.
“It’s going to be hot and there’s going to be a lot of racing in hot conditions,” Scruggs said. “It’s going to be hot and nasty, but we’ll try to get through it. Everyone is going to have to deal with it.”
Scruggs has been consistent all year, winning the Georgia Drags and racing well in Richmond and Michigan.
He’ll also shrug off the Texas heat because, after all, “Somebody’s got to win,” Scruggs says with a smile.



Round three of PMRA Pro Modified racing goes to Mike Stawicki, New Yorker unstoppable during IHRA Nitro Jam Nationals at Grand Bend



(7-18-2010) GRAND BEND, ON – Mike Stawicki has made it known that he is the force in Pro Modified racing this season.

The veteran driver of the G-Force Race Cars 1968 Firebird from Medina, New York, qualified number one for race three in the 2010 Pro Modified Racing Association tour, and went the distance to win his first PMRA event of the year and the first IHRA Ironman of his career.

Stawicki beat former Alcohol Funny Car driver Paul Noakes of London, Ontario in the final. Noakes, who has settled nicely behind the wheel of the Noakes and Martin Racing 1963 Corvette, qualified seventh, and ran a stout 6.293, 223.28 final but it was no match for Stawicki’s 5.820, 253.28 victory run.

While Stawicki qualified number one, to win the Marydel Homes Qualifying Bonus with a 5.881, 252.05 lap, it was the New Yorker’s final run that set low ET and top speed during the IHRA Nitro Jam Nationals held at the Grand Bend Motorplex. Stawicki has been running in the five-second range since he set the PMRA record with a 5.803 at 255.15 during the previous event last month at the Cayuga Dragway.

Noakes took out number three qualifier Bruce Boland of Hamilton, Ontario in the semi round and in the other semi, PMRA season opener winner Eric Latino of Port Perry, Ontario had suffered some engine troubles in his 1938 Chevy, and was unable to get to the line for his next run, giving a solo run and the win to Stawicki. Latino had qualified fourth.

Winner of the previous PMRA event, Derek Hawker of Corbyville, Ontario, suffered a fuel leak during his burnout in the first round, so he and his 1963 Corvette watched as Boland, also in a 1963 Corvette, made a 6.290, 228.15 solo pass.

In other first round action, Noakes won over Gary Irving of Toronto, who qualified number two in the Al Hinds 2004 Corvette. Latino took out PMRA rookie driver Vito Montesano of Maple, Ontario, with his 1968 Camaro, and Stawicki shut down Jack Brohman of Jarvis, Ontario, who qualified number eight with his 1969 Camaro.

With his victory, Stawicki leads the Pro Modified Racing Association 2010 Championship Point Award Series presented by Magnum Auto Parts and Patio Passport with 828 points. Hawker is second with 812 points, and Latino has 806 points for third spot.

Fourth in the standings at present is Boland with 760 points, while Irving rounds out the top five with 759 points.

The next event on the 2010 PMRA tour is the Stratford Spectacular Hot August Nationals presented by Ideal Supply & NAPA Auto Parts, to be held at Grand Bend August 6-8.

July 16, 2010

ADRL Set For Double-Race Weekend In Houston

BAYTOWN TX, (July 16, 2010) - The American Drag Racing League (ADRL) has been to Houston Raceway Park every year since 2006.
On July 23-24, however, the ADRL will make its second trip to the track in Baytown, TX in 2010 for the Inaugural Texas Drags, marking the first time it has been to HRP two times in one year.
After rain forced the postponement of the ADRL Universal Technical Institute (UTI) Dragpalooza VI presented by Safety-Kleen in March, the ADRL responded by creating another race at HRP.
Dragpalooza VI will be completed on Friday, with the Inaugural Texas Drags slated to be completed the next day, making it a double-race weekend.
That will make it a heated two-day stretch, featuring two races with the world’s fastest 1/8th mile doorslammers.
The Texas Drags are the sixth of 10 national events this season, though only three ADRL events have been completed this year due to weather. By the end of the weekend at HRP, five races will have been completed in front of an always energetic crowd that will surely pack the grandstands like it has done in previous years.
The final qualifying session was completed in four of the five classes at Dragpalooza in March, meaning only Pro Extreme will have one last qualifying session on Friday. From there, final eliminations will follow, giving fans non-stop action throughout the weekend.
In 2009, winners at Dragpalooza V included Todd Tutterow in Pro Extreme, Stan Allen in Pro Nitrous, Billy Glidden in Extreme 10.5, Charlie Prophit in Pro Extreme Motorcycle and Doug Kirk in Extreme Pro Stock.
This year, the ADRL is expecting even more excitement in each of the five (Pro Extreme Motorcycle, Extreme Pro Stock, Extreme 10.5, Pro Nitrous and Pro Extreme) professional eighth-mile drag racing classes plus the Pro-Junior dragsters.
The spectator gates open at 9 a.m. Friday, with racing set to begin at 11 a.m. Friday will feature the conclusion of the ADRL UTI Dragpalooza VI presented by Safety-Kleen, with a special jet-car and monster truck pass concluding the evening session.
On Saturday, the racing will begin at 11 a.m. Final eliminations for the Inaugural Texas Drags start at 3 p.m., with a special jet-car and monster truck pass concluding the evening.
WHAT: ADRL Hardee’s Independence Drags IV, the sixth of 10 national events this calendar year for the American Drag Racing League (ADRL), but the seventh points-paying event toward the 2010 championship-deciding Speedtech Battle for the Belts.
Series includes five all-professional, eighth-mile drag racing classes: Pro Extreme Motorcycle, Extreme Pro Stock, Extreme 10.5, Pro Nitrous and Pro Extreme, the quickest and fastest full-bodied, doorslammer class in the world.
Pro Jr. Dragsters also compete at each ADRL event, along with exhibition runs by a Police Interceptor jet car and the legendary Summit Motorsports “Bigfoot” monster truck.
WHEN: Friday and Saturday, July 23-24, 2010
WHERE: Houston Raceway Park, 2525 FM 565, Baytown, Texas 77523
CONTACT: For directions, contact Houston Raceway Park at               (281) 383-7223         (281) 383-7223 or www.HoustonRaceway.com. For media requests please contact Josh Hachat with ADRL Communications               (636) 272-2375         (636) 272-2375
TICKETS: Complimentary in-advance general admission tickets distributed locally. Tickets on sale both days at track. Friday Adult $20; Kids 6-12 $5; Saturday Adult $30; Kids 6-12 $5; Full Event Pass Adult $50; Kids 6-12 $10; All Kids Under 6 Free; General Parking $20; RV Parking Weekend $150. All tickets include ADRL VIP pit pass.

July 15, 2010

Housley/Walker Team Happy To Get Back To Racing

Nothing about returning to the track was easy for the Housley/Walker Pro Nitrous team, but just getting back in the car and on the dragstrip proved to be the most cathartic thing for everyone.
It was certainly an emotional trip back to the track for the team, who raced at the ADRL Hardee’s Independence Drags IV at Heartland Park Topeka after missing two straight races following the tragic loss of crew member Mike Walker in April.
That tragic incident still weighs heavily on everyone’s mind, but Housley felt good about returning to the track to honor Walker.
“It’s a lot different not having Mike around, but we’re working through it,” Housley said.
“The only thing we’re here for is to honor Mike. That first run was a little emotional, but the car is going good so that helped a lot.”
Housley ran a 4.02 to qualify for final eliminations, but was eliminated in the first round by Pro Nitrous standout Shannon Jenkins.
Housley had hoped to break the 3-second barrier for the first time in his career in Topeka, but that will have to wait until the ADRL Inaugural Texas Drags, which takes place next week at Houston Raceway Park.
Getting that goal in Houston would be a major deal for a team and a perfect tribute to Mike and the Walker family.
“Everything is working great on the car. We would really like to get in the 3s and a win would be awesome,” Housley said. “It just feels good to drive again after everything. It’s been hard, but it feels good to be back here.”
Part of that was the response he got from the ADRL family. Housley said he was nearly overwhelmed with the support and kind words he received from various drivers and crew members.
It was just one more reason why Housley and his team were glad they returned to the track.
“Everyone here has just been amazing,” Housley said. “We had so many teams just come over and say that they were glad we were back and just offering their support. It was great to see and it really meant a lot.”

July 14, 2010

Taylor Set to Debut New Black Corvette

Your agent has some big news about a new car Pro Extreme standout Frankie Taylor will be debuting at his hometown track for the ADRL Inaugural Texas Drags at Houston Raceway Park on July 23-24.

A new ‘05 Corvette was recently finished for the “Mad Man” at Jeffers Pro Cars and, as you can tell from Frankie’s beaming smile, he’s quite pleased with the finished product. 

Unlike his previous, colorful ride, this new Corvette is jet black. Your agent isn’t the only one who thinks the look of this new car is pretty slick.

The car is much lighter than his previous Pro Extreme world-record holder and count your agent as one of many who is excited to see this new Corvette in action at Baytown.

July 14, 2010

Titan Motorsports Teaming Up with Fragola

A good team might be getting even better after your agent found out this bit of information.

Titan Motorsports and Extreme 10.5 driver Gary White told your agent it is teaming up with Fragola Performance Hose and Fittings. Fragola has dedicated years of research and testing to perfect its performance hose fittings and is now teaming up with Team Titan.

Titan expressed their excitement in working with Fragola and it could make a standout team even more impressive. White has won the last two XTF races and was the No. 1 qualifier in Topeka before rain postponed the completion of the event.

July 8, 2010

Big Things Await at Houston Raceway Park

Your agent isn’t sure that everything is bigger in Texas, but the weekend of July 23-24 promises to be huge. The ADRL returns to Texas for the second time this year as part of the Inaugural Texas Drags at Houston Raceway Park. Fans also get the pleasure of seeing two races completed in one big-time weekend. The conclusion of the ADRL Universal Technical Institute (UTI) Dragpalooza VI presented by Safety-Kleen will be completed on Friday with another set of eliminations for the Texas Drags coming the next day.

If that isn’t enough, your agent talked to HRP General Manager Seth Angel on Wednesday and he shared some big news about a pre-race party that everyone is invited to and is taking place at the track the night before the racing begins. It will feature live music, food and drinks, making it the perfect way to kick off the weekend in your agent’s eyes.

Check back soon for full details on this, as well as where to get your free tickets for what is sure to be an incredible weekend. It looks like your agent has some snooping to do.

July 7, 2010

New Date For Topeka Race in 2011?

Your agent can’t confirm anything as of yet, but he heard more than a few whispers last weekend at the ADRL Hardee’s Independence Drags IV at Heartland Park Topeka that the race may have a new date in 2011.

There are possible plans - at least that is what your agent is hearing - to move up the race in Topeka one week, putting it the weekend before Independence Day. Nothing is concrete, but the new date may be more accommodating for the tremendous number of race fans in the area who won’t have to worry about the race happening over a holiday weekend.

Keep your ears and eyes ready and your agent will keep you posted. 

July 6, 2010

ADRL Gets T.V. Time in Topeka

Your agent got the pleasure of talking with a couple of different television stations in Topeka last weekend as they were on the scene to cover the ADRL Hardee’s Indpendence Drags IV.

Your agent is delighted to report that the stations had a strong interest in the ADRL and came away impressed with the fanfare, the racing and the entire scene. The Topeka ABC station, KTKA 49 News, had two good pieces on the ADRL and its impact on the drag-racing scene.

If you watch closely, ADRL President and CEO Kenny Nowling also offered some insights on what might happen at next year’s race in Topeka.

Follow this link to watch both videos: http://www.ktka.com/news/2010/jul/05/despite-rain-strong-crowds-turn-american-drag-raci/?sports

July 8, 2010

Glidden Unsure of Next Move

Extreme 10.5 driver Billy Glidden isn’t used to these type of situations. The 2008 ADRL World Champion, Glidden is an unsure of what is next after a crash at last weekend’s ADRL Hardee’s Independence Drags IV at Heartland Park Topeka.

The exasperation was evident on the face of Glidden after the crash during his fourth qualifying run on Saturday.

It wasn’t just because the weekend was prematurely done for the winningest driver in XTF history, but because of what the crash might mean for the near-future of one of the top drivers in the class.

“We’re in the same boat as a lot of people. This is a setback and it is not something we can easily recover from,” Glidden said. “We don’t have the funding to make up for this.”
Glidden, a Whiteland, IN native, and his team started discussing what will happen next after leaving Topeka, but there was clearly discouragement and disappointment in his words in the moments after the crash. It was understandable considering the unfortunate circumstances of what happened.

Glidden’s car lost control early on, drifted and hit the right wall at about the 300-feet mark. It flipped shortly after, sending his team flying down the track to make sure Glidden wasn’t injured.

Glidden nearly got the car stopped but he couldn’t quite regain control and it ended up flipping anyway. Glidden was quickly removed from the ‘10 Mustang and appeared to be fine. The car, however, is another matter, putting plenty of question marks on the future.
“When you’re sliding, you’re just along for the ride,” Glidden said.

It has been a difficult year for the 9-time event winner, as he’s struggled to find a rhythm with the ‘10 Mustang. He had seemed to find momentum at the Summer Drags VI in June, advancing to the final, before the unfortunate turn of events in Topeka.

Glidden knew where things went wrong on the pass, too. Glidden pointed to the rear tire on the driver’s side as the cause of the crash. Something broke there, setting the stage for the crash.
“I’m sure it was something there, whatever it was. That created the whole deal,” Glidden said.

Now, Glidden must wait to see what the future holds. 

July 3, 2010

Rain Postpones Completion of ADRL Hardee’s Independence Drags IV

TOPEKA, KS (July 3, 2010) - Inclement weather forced the postponement of the American Drag Racing League (ADRL) Hardee’s Independence Drags IV at Heartland Park Topeka on Saturday.

After several rain delays throughout the day, ADRL President and CEO Kenny Nowling called for a postponement near the end of the first round of final eliminations.

“Mother Nature frowned on us and we felt the better option was to get the racers and fans home safely,” Nowling said. “Safety is paramount and unfortunately we can’t complete this event today.”
The event will be completed at the ADRL Hardee’s Gateway Drags III on August 7-8 at Gateway International Raceway in Madison, Ill, just outside of St. Louis.
The completion of final eliminations of the Independence Drags will take place on Friday, with the Gateway Drags to be completed the next day.
Rain halted the action after four classes - Pro Nitrous, Extreme 10.5, Pro Extreme Motorcycle and Extreme Pro Stock - had completed their first round of eliminations.
Two races were finished in Pro Extreme in the first round before the steady rain ended the event in Topeka.
Before that, the final round of qualifications on Saturday and the first round of eliminations featured plenty of highlights.
The biggest surprise may have come from Doug Riesterer in Pro Nitrous. The Victoria, TX native shot to the top spot in qualifying, going 3.894 at 186.69 miles per hour in his final qualifying run on Saturday.

He followed that up by winning his first round matchup, giving him a quarterfinal berth and a top qualifying spot that not many saw coming.
“After we went .89, we could have gone home right then,” Riesterer said. “That made our whole year. We’ve been struggling all year and we didn’t expect a run like that. Needless to say, we were on top of the world.”
Riesterer and his ‘68 Camaro will try to take that momentum into the next ADRL race, the ADRL Inaugural Texas Drags, which takes place July 23-24 at Houston Raceway Park in Baytown, TX.
He won’t be alone, either.

Joshua Hernandez ran a blistering 3.69 in Pro Extreme, taking the top qualifying spot away from Frankie Taylor, who had nabbed it from Hernandez on the final pass on Friday.
Hernandez also won his first-round matchup and will be a likely favorite heading to his hometown track in three weeks.

In Extreme 10.5, Gary White claimed the top qualifying spot for the second straight race, running a 3.98 to slip past Todd Moyer’s 3.99.
Both White and Moyer won their first-round matchups, though No. 3 and No. 4 qualifiers Spiro Pappas and Dan Millen were knocked off by Dustin Miller and David Janes, respectively.
“This place is awesome. It’s one of my favorites,” White said. “It was great to get that .98; we’ve been chasing Todd all weekend.
“The first two runs, we had some problems with the boost control valve. But we got it fixed and it did good.”
Cary Goforth may have been wondering if the move to switch cars was worth it, but the Extreme Pro Stock driver got his payoff in the final qualifying session on Saturday.
Goforth was the No. 15 and last qualifier after Friday, but made up for it in one pass Saturday morning, going 4.13 at 173.49 mph to shoot to the top qualifying spot.

With his father, Dean, nursing an injury suffered in Michigan, Cary switched cars, a move he may have debated until that final run.
“We felt like dad’s car was better, so we switched,” Goforth said. “Our last run on Friday was too aggressive, but it felt good. We knew we could get a good number if we drove it right.
“The number surprised us but we’ll take it. The jump from last to first feels really good.”
Goforth received a bye to the semifinals and the top six qualifiers in XPS won their first-round races.
Ashley Owens didn’t make a final qualifying run, but he stayed the top qualifier and then went a weekend-best 4.15 in PXM to move to the semifinals in the eight-bike field.
The conclusion of the ADRL Universal Technical Institute (UTI) Dragpalooza VI presented by Safety-Kleen will be completed on Friday, July 23 at Houston Raceway Park, with the Inaugural Texas Drags to be completed the next day.

July 3, 2010

Castellana One of Five Leaders at ADRL Hardee’s Independence Drags IV

May 29, 2010

Open Test Session US 131 Martin, MI

Attention in the pits; your agent just learned that a select few spots remain available for an open test session Wednesday June 2^nd. at US 131 Motorsports park in Martin, MI. This session will start at 10:00 am and will continue throughout the evening. Interested parties should contact Alex Hossler at               (309) 678-9151         (309) 678-9151. If the recent performance of the ADRL entries in Virginia is any indication, your agent is quite certain these spots will fill quickly.

May 20, 2010

Fight Me Revealed as Major Sponsor for ADRL’s Hernandez

PETERSBURG, VA (May 20, 2010) — The recently formed Fight Me MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) league was introduced today as the new major, multi-year sponsor of American Drag Racing League (ADRL) competitor Joshua Hernandez and his supercharged Pro Extreme 1957 Chevy.

Hernandez, last year’s championship runner-up and winningest driver in Pro Extreme history with six career race titles, will debut his new Fight Me look in this weekend’s ADRL Speedtech U.S. Drags III at Virginia Motorsports Park.

“It is so exciting for me to help introduce Fight Me to the ADRL audience,” the Conroe, Texas-based driver said. “I’m also looking forward to attending Fight Me events later this year and introducing the ADRL’s unique brand of eighth-mile drag racing to the millions of MMA fans around the world. It’s a knockout combination.”

The race rig of ADRL Pro Extreme star Joshua Hernandez received the full Fight Me MMA treatment at Craftsmen Industries in St. Charles, MO, as part of a major sponsorship announced May 20, just prior to the ADRL Speedtech U.S. Drags III at Virginia Motorsports Park.

Fight Me was established by the same principals behind the ADRL, Dave Wood, Tommy Lipar and Kenny Nowling, who serves as president and CEO for both sports organizations.

“One of the first objectives in launching Fight Me MMA is to create brand awareness and Dave, Tommy and I know very well what ADRL can do in that regard for its major sponsors, especially when associated with proven winners like Josh and his team,” Nowling said.

In addition to being located in the same office building as ADRL headquarters in O’Fallon, Missouri, Fight Me MMA will feature a very similar business model to the one that has been so successful for the ADRL, including complimentary tickets provided by Fight Me sponsors. Additionally, pre-event vouchers for Fight Me tickets will soon be available in market for several weeks leading up to each Fight Me event, directing fans to go online and visit www.fightmemma.com to print their free tickets.

“Mixed martial arts is arguably the fastest-growing sport in the world and tremendous synergy exists between fans who attend ADRL national events and fans that will attend Fight Me events, beginning with the inaugural event July 17th at the Family Arena in St. Charles, Missouri,” Nowling added. “The ADRL has firmly established itself as an innovator in the drag racing world and I fully expect Fight Me to do the same in mixed martial arts.”

Fight Me MMA is the new, multi-year major backer on the Pro Extreme ’57 Chevy driven by Joshua Hernandez and tuned by legendary crew chief Jim Oddy in the American Drag Racing League (ADRL).  

Following the ADRL Speedtech U.S. Drags III, Hernandez will attend a press conference in St. Louis, May 27, to officially announce the Fight Me MMA league and the fight card for the Fight Me 1 event.

“I’m really happy about Fight Me coming on board, but I also recognize this as a tremendous opportunity for our race team, the ADRL and drag racing in general to increase its profile,” Hernandez said. “I’m ready to get it on in 2010 with Fight Me!”

Check out more photos of the all-new Fight Me MMA ‘57 Chevy driven by Joshua Hernandez here.

(Photos courtesy Fight Me MMA)

ABOUT FIGHT ME
Based in O’Fallon, Missouri, Fight Me MMA is an exciting, new mixed martial arts league. In addition to featuring some of the best mixed martial arts fighters in the world and the Fight Me Knockout Dancers™, Fight Me MMA brings its unique brand of world-class entertainment free of charge to its fans, who can visit the official Web site at www.FightMeMMA.com to print complimentary tickets.

May 20, 2010

Carpenter’s ’55 Chevy Finally Has Paint to Match its Performance

PETERSBURG, VA (May 20, 2010) – Dating back to the ADRL World Finals held in Dallas, Texas, last October, Charles Carpenter’s performance has been nearly unparalleled. However, after a serious crash at the 2009 season opener in Houston, the patchwork appearance of his legendary Pro Nitrous ’55 Chevy left much to be desired.

After racing in various stages of repair for almost a year, Carpenter will debut a brand-new paint scheme at this weekend’s ADRL Speedtech U.S. Drags III at Virginia Motorsports Park in Petersburg, Virginia.

“I’m thrilled about debuting our new look this weekend,” Carpenter said. “We decided to stay within our traditional purple and yellow color scheme, but we switched it up by reversing the location of the colors and having yellow as the main color. I think it’s a great way to get a different look while retaining our identity, and it brings back memories because my very first ’55 Chevy that I had when I was 15 years old was this same shade of yellow.

“Reed and Chandler Robbins at East Coast Refinishing & Fiberglass in Manassas, Virginia, truly exceeded my expectations with the quality of this paint job. The fact that they were able to even complete the job in such a tight time frame is amazing in itself, but the quality of the work and level of detail on top of that is unreal.”

After racing to his second consecutive ADRL final-round appearance at last month’s Georgia Drags VI in Valdosta, Carpenter and crew immediately disassembled the car and hauled it to East Coast Refinishing on Tuesday following the race. Carpenter then picked up the car on Tuesday of this week and the thrash was on to have the car put back together for this weekend’s all-important race.

“We’re running on very little sleep, but we got it done,” the Charlotte, NC auto repair center owner said. “Thankfully, we’ve assembled and disassembled the car for what is hopefully the last time for a while. It’s all worth it though, and I’m extremely excited about our total appearance makeover.”

In addition to the fresh paint, the team will also be sporting brand-new, custom-sublimated crew shirts and will have all-new Charles Carpenter Racing T-shirts available for purchase for the first time in several seasons.

“Thanks to Scott Bathurst and Classic Graphix, we’re going to be looking as good off the track as we do on it,” said Carpenter. “Fans have been asking for T-shirts for years now, so Scott and his team were able to put together awesome artwork featuring the car’s new paint scheme and we’re excited to begin offering them for purchase this weekend.”

All the cosmetic stuff is nice, but the Pro Nitrous pioneer’s performance hasn’t been forgotten.

“We’ve got this ’55 running better than it ever has, and the best part is we feel like we haven’t scratched the surface with our new engine combination,” Carpenter said. “It shows a ton of potential, and I look forward to being able to tune on it and tackle the stellar VMP racing surface. We’re going to creep up on what it wants and try to go rounds again. We’re just 15 points out of first place, and we need to be consistent and keep doing what we know to stay there or move up to the top spot.”

(ADRL/Tocher photos)

May 20, 2010

Hance Heads to Virginia with High Hopes

INWOOD, NY (May 20, 2010)—David Hance and his New York Motorsports team are heading to Virginia Motorsports Park for this weekend’s ADRL Speedtech U.S. Drags III with their repaired 1957 Chevrolet in tow.

And they are on a mission.

“We’ve got some unfinished business with the 10.5 stuff,” Hance stated.

The classic Chevrolet, which was heavily damaged last August upon making hard contact with the left guardwall at National Trail Raceway in Ohio, will sport an entirely new engine combination in Virginia that is virtually untested: an Alan Johnson Hemi with twin 94-mm turbochargers out front. Testing was slated for this week before the drive south to VMP, but Mother Nature had the final say.

Regardless, Hance hopes to get a quick feel for the car and sort the combination out to make a little noise in the always-tough ADRL Extreme 10.5 category. However, with a 2,650-pound car—roughly 300 to 400 pounds heavier than the competition—he knows he remains at a distinct disadvantage.

“We’re really dedicated to getting a turbo to work out. Brad Personett has been doing well with it, but we need a couple more cars that run good and consistent with the blower and nitrous cars.” 

Ultimately, Hance’s plan is to make the move up to Pro Extreme with the turbo combo, but not until he’s confident of being competitive. 

“We’ve got to run a little better, you know ... just showing up for the sake of showing up isn’t something we want to do.”

May 19, 2010

May 20, 2010

Another New XTF Entry

Your Agent received word today that Drag Radial racer and ex-NSCA World Champion Randy Lambert will make his ADRL Extreme 10.5 (XTF) debut in this weekend’s Speedtech U.S. Drags III behind the wheel of Harold Caldwell’s late-model Mustang.

After less than 25 runs on the Fulton 728-equipped Stang, they have reportedly gone 4.40s in testing with a mild tune up, but will be looking for more at Virginia Motorsports Park with several pounds of weight eliminated from the car.

(Photo courtesy Tim Lewis)

May 20, 2010

May 17, 2010

Scruggs Sees 3.50s Coming Soon

Your Agent was speaking this morning with former two-time ADRL Pro Extreme World Champion Jason Scruggs, who said he wouldn’t be surprised to see records fall this weekend at Virginia Motorsports Park during the ADRL Speedtech U.S. Drags III.

“There are a whole bunch of cars capable of 3.60s and low 3.70s and I’ve said all along that we’ll see these cars go into the 3.50s soon,” Scruggs told your Agent.

Though stopping short of predicting such an epic run in Virginia, Scruggs, who holds the official class records of 3.66 seconds and 207.43 mph with his Garret Race Cars-built ‘68 Camaro, says if the weather cooperates it’s certainly a possibility.

“I’ve never raced at Virginia in May, it was July when we were there last year,” he pointed out, “but if a front moves in, especially for the night session on Friday, and it brings cooler but dry air with it, then yeah, I think it could happen. I certainly think it’s more possible there in May than at some of the other tracks we run at.”

(ADRL/Tocher file photo)

May 17, 2010

Snyder Sets Sight on VMP Debut

The last time your Agent saw Mick Snyder’s ‘63 Corvette, it was lying in a smoking heap alongside the right guardwall at South Georgia Motorsports Park after an early-March testing crash.

Repairs forced the ADRL rookie and his crew-chief father, Larry, to miss the first two events this year, but your Agent hears they’ll be making their ADRL debut with the ex-Jason Scruggs Vette this weekend in the ADRL Speedtech U.S. Drags III at Virginia Motorsports Park.

Look for this team to make an impact—of the more positive and less destructive variety—once they get their Pro Extreme tune-up figured out.

(Photo courtesy Snyder Racing)

May 15, 2010

May 14, 2010

Carpenter Dressed to a ‘T’

Your Agent doesn’t have much to say about this one beyond, “Wow!”

The boys at Classic Graphix did a great job on Charles Carpenter’s new T-shirts. Your Agent just hopes the team has enough on hand at Virginia Motorsports Park to handle the demand next weekend (May 21-22) during the ADRL Speedtech U.S. Drags III.

May 13, 2010

May 5, 2010

New Mystery Sponsor for Hernandez

Joshua Hernandez, last year’s runner-up in the Speedtech Battle for the Belts and the ADRL’s Pro Extreme wins leader with six national event titles, showed up for the 2010 season with a striking black-and-white ADRL motif adorning his AMS Racing ‘57 Chevy, but word reached your Agent today that a new major sponsor will be in place just in time for the May 21-22, Speedtech U.S. Drags III at Virginia Motorsports Park.

In fact, your Agent hears the car and its race hauler are already at Craftsmen Industries in St. Charles, MO, getting a new wrap installed for unveiling at a press conference May 17, in nearby St. Louis.

Your Agent is not yet at liberty to divulge the new team backer, but he can confirm it to be a company making its first entry into motorsports marketing.

Of course, your Agent has operatives on the scene and hopes to secure a spy pic or two in the very near future.

(ADRL/Martin file photo)

April 29, 2010

Speedtech Named New Title Sponsor for ADRL U.S. Drags III

O’FALLON, MO (Apr. 29, 2010) — The American Drag Racing League (ADRL) is proud to announce Speedtech as the title sponsor of the next event on its 2010 tour, the ADRL Speedtech U.S. Drags III at Virginia Motorsports Park (VMP), May 21-22, in Petersburg, Virginia.

The ADRL has enjoyed a long, mutually beneficial relationship with Speedtech, beginning with the Speedtech Winter Drags, the first official ADRL event in 2005 at Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Also, last season Speedtech became the title sponsor of the ADRL’s unique Speedtech Battle for the Belts, which pits the top eight points earners in each ADRL professional class against each other in an end-of-year, championship-deciding showdown.  

“We’ve also been involved with several top teams in the ADRL since its inception and feel the time is right to step up our presence in the series by becoming an official event sponsor,” Speedtech General Manager of Sales and Marketing Wayne Davis said. “We dramatically increased our involvement with the ADRL last year as the series’ official nitrous company and when the opportunity presented itself to become the title sponsor for the Speedtech U.S. Drags III it was an easy decision to say yes.”

Last year at Virginia Motorsports Park, over its two-day, national-event schedule the ADRL exceeded 100,000 spectators for the first time and expects the Speedtech U.S. Drags III will draw even more fans next month.

“The ADRL race is by far our largest and most prestigious event of the year and having the Speedtech name attached to it makes it that much more significant,” VMP General Manager Bryan Pierce stated. “I commend and congratulate the folks at Speedtech and at the ADRL for putting this partnership together and helping to bring VMP fans a truly world-class drag racing event.”  

Speedtech enjoyed success on the ADRL circuit as recently as this past weekend at South Georgia Motorsports Park, where former back-to-back ADRL World Champion Jason Scruggs drove his Speedtech-sponsored ’68 Camaro to the Pro Extreme win and his teammate, Mike Castellana, earned the Pro Nitrous win in his Speedtech-equipped ’69 Camaro.

The Speedtech brand will be prominently featured at the Speedtech U.S. Drags III, with several special promotions currently being planned.

“The U.S. Drags is without a doubt one of our top events and with Speedtech coming on board we will be able to continue making it even bigger and better,” ADRL President and CEO Kenny Nowling declared.

Fresh off a win last weekend at Valdosta, Georgia, former back-to-back ADRL Pro Extreme World Champion Jason Scruggs will be proudly carrying the Speedtech name May 21-22, in the ADRL Speedtech U.S. Drags III at Virginia Motorsports Park, near Richmond.

(ADRL/Tocher file photo)

April 29, 2010

Carpenter Comes Close—Again

CHARLOTTE, NC (Apr. 29, 2010) – Just one more round win. That’s all ADRL Pro Nitrous legend Charles Carpenter (left) was looking for last Saturday night in the ADRL Hardee’s Georgia Drags VI at South Georgia Motorsports Park.

In fact, that’s all he’s needed at the first two races of the 2010 ADRL championship season to go from two second-place finishes in a row to two huge wins.

There hasn’t been a Pro Nitrous final round contested thus far in 2010 without the Charlotte, North Carolina native’s unmistakable ’55 Chevy Bel Air in one of the lanes, and while a win would be nice, Carpenter is thrilled to be going rounds and consistently going down the track.

“I really want a Minuteman trophy to go with my two Iron Eagles, but we’re getting closer and closer,” Carpenter said. “It feels good to just go rounds. We went from the cool, crisp conditions in Houston to the hot temperatures in Valdosta and ended up in the finals at both. That’s a testament to the consistency of the car and the focus and determination of everyone on our team.”

Carpenter ran a 4.014 at 187.03 mph in Friday’s second qualifying session that would end up locking him into the eighth qualifying position after rain on Saturday morning cut qualifying short.

“We made what we thought was the right call for Friday’s night session to try to move up the ladder, but it backfired on us,” Carpenter admitted. “That track gets so incredibly tight at night, and we struggled to get wheel speed off the line and ended up shaking the tires pretty hard.”

On Saturday, a rainy raceday began with one of the most stunning tragedies Carpenter has ever witnessed in his 37 years of racing with the loss of Blake Housley’s Pro Nitrous team co-owner Mike Walker.

“Mike was as nice and as humble of a man as you will ever meet,” Carpenter said. “I got to know him when our car was under construction at his good friend Terry Murphy’s shop, and we’re all deeply saddened by his passing.

“As a result of the incident, we are going to take it upon ourselves to re-examine our nitrous handling procedures and equipment, and make whatever changes we deem necessary to prevent something like this from happening again. My son and crew chief, Mike, had a nitrous bottle incident in 2008 and escaped with only minor bruising, but this tragic accident shows the true risk we take when working with pressurized nitrous bottles and we have to make sure nothing like this ever happens to anyone again. At the very least, we all owe that to Mike Walker and his family.”

Once the rain cleared and the SGMP crew had the track ready to race, Carpenter and his team hit the lanes with heavy hearts and began their journey to the finals.

Up first was fellow North Carolinian Steve Vick. Carpenter jumped out to a wide margin off the line and never looked back, taking the win with a 3.957 to Vick’s 4.004.

“That first round is so tough,” said Carpenter. “It’s your first run of the day, and there are so many unknowns. It’s easily the most nerve-racking part of the race, because once we get past that round, it seems like we get on a roll and get more and more comfortable with each round.”

Round two saw Carpenter matched up with the original builder of his ’55 Chevy, Terry Murphy. The two were out of the gate nearly even, but Carpenter’s 3.97 at almost 190 mph was too much for Murphy, who ran into nitrous problems down track.

While the thrash in John DeFlorian Jr.’s pit to repair a damaged piston before the semi-finals seemed as if it would allow Carpenter a single run to the championship round, Carpenter waited a few extra minutes behind the waterbox when he got word DeFlorian was on his way to the lanes so they could race for it instead of taking the easy way out. The end result was still in Carpenter’s favor, as Deflorian was uncharacteristically late off the starting line and his 3.996 had no chance of catching Carpenter’s 3.957.

The final round would feature a showdown between Carpenter and another veteran nitrous pilot, Mike Castellana. While Carpenter had gotten down the track consistently all day, the unreal nighttime traction of South Georgia Motorsports park bit him once again in the finals, sending his car into violent tire shake while Castellana nailed the tree with a .009 reaction time and drove to a 3.934-seconds win.

“As I said, we wanted the win badly, but going to two consecutive finals is a great accomplishment for this team,” Carpenter said. “It’s got us just 15 points out of the points lead, and if we can continue to do this all year long we’ll be right where we want to be when it comes time for the Battle for the Belts in Dallas.”

After the race, Carpenter disassembled his car once again in preparation for delivery to East Coast Refinishing where it will finally receive a new coat of paint in time for next month’s (May 21-22) ADRL US Drags at Virginia Motorsports Park.

(ADRL/Tocher photos)

April 29, 2010

Stanley & Weiss Make ‘Luck Bank’ Withdrawals at SGMP

HAGERSTOWN, MD (Apr. 29, 2010)—Our return to the fantastically prepared and well-run ADRL Hardee’s Georgia Drags VI at South Georgia Motorsports Park was quite the exercise in futility for our Appalachia on Steroids Pro Extreme Camaro. And that, my friends, is a classic understatement!

What we thought was a very successful test session at Maryland International Raceway the Saturday before the Easter Bunny arrived, we found out to be a major misconception.

The ADRL draws the first two pairs out of the hat for each class in the first round of eliminations which eliminates the “I ain’t going up first, are you? NOPE!” syndrome. So as our luck would have it John Stanley was the first car drawn first round. And this as well is not usually good for us! At the hit of the throttle for the first qualifier John’s usually able steed went about 20 feet and blazed the tires.

Luck Bank draw, NEGATIVE number one.

Then on the second qualifier young Cody Barklage came out of the right lane across the center line on two wheels (right) and missed the back and/or the driver’s door of John’s Camaro by a bit. The fact that Cody missed John at all put us even more in the Luck Bank at that point!

So it was on to the third qualifier on Friday night and our time to shine! Not a snowball’s chance in Hades’ on this day! John left with a lazy car under him and no power to do anything except to pedal it and try to get to the other end. And when it was all said and done we were left number 16 on the ladder of sixteen!

We called that one a wash at the Luck Bank.

Saturday morning dawned and we prepared in anticipation of our fourth and last qualifier and our last attempt to make a stout field. BUT Mother Nature had other ideas. The thunder boomers that were to arrive Saturday evening arrived bright and early in the a.m., thereby nullifying the last qualifying session with our not on the mark we had hoped for 4.044 @ 189.02.

This meant we were seeded in the field and we had “made the show”! Hooray to be us!!! Then we realized we had to run the number ONE qualifier, the very potent Al-Anabi Racing Camaro driven by Sheik Khalid Bin Hamad Al-Thani his own self! During the last qualifier on Saturday he made the quickest and fastest run in eighth-mile history with a 3.637 at 212.49 mph and he was our first draw.

Luck Bank withdrawal number four was most definitely not in our favor at that point!

But as I always tell the drivers I mentor “Races are won on the starting line, not on paper and most definitely not on a message board in cyberspace! You MUST be in the other lane to win! And this was our turn to finally have a positive return from the Luck Bank.

Sheik Khalid made a slight error by double bulbing John (VERY, VERY unintentional, I might add, but more on that later) allowing John to do his normal deal and not get flustered. You have to imagine how John felt at that time! It was the classic David Rednecks vs. the Goliath team from Fort Knox!

At the flash of yellow Sheik Khalid left a -.002 red-light on the tree running 3.760 at 207.50 and handing the win over to John with his 3.971 at 185.77-mph pass. 

John would fall in the next round of eliminations, however, by way of shutting off early after getting loose from trailing oil and giving the win to Wes Johnson.

Now on to the double-bulbing scenario.

At the top end of the track, John said that Sheik Khalid was one of the most professional racers he has ever met. He was gentleman enough to come over to John and congratulate him on the win and apologized over and over for double bulbing him. That young man showed an awful lot of class on that day!

So if any of you read some of the message board “BS” about him, take it with a grain of salt. He is a very sincere young man that can only do good things for our sport.

So with no more to say I will quote what the age old Mr. Paul Harvey said for oh those many years: “And now you know The Rest of the Story!”

—Camp Stanley

(ADRL/Bunsold/McVay photos)

April 28, 2010

Mike Walker Memorial Services

James Michael Walker, age 55 of Lee’s Summit, Missouri, passed away in Adel, Georgia, Saturday, April 24th.

Mike was born in Kansas City, Missouri, to John and Mary Walker on March 7th, 1955. He attended Raytown High School and graduated in 1973. From an early age, Mike had a passion for cars. He began his career in the automotive industry at Cable Chevrolet in 1975. After 27 years with the dealership, he accepted a partner position at Dahmer Powertrain, Inc. in 2002 where he served as Executive Vice President with a focus in purchasing and inventory control.

Mike’s passion away from work was drag racing. He was part owner of a Pro Modified racing team with Blake and Terry Housley. The blended family team was a fulfillment of his dreams. Mike was also a musician, had a great love for aviation and made the best spaghetti sauce in the world. Mike made a quiet but strong impression on more people than he will ever know. He was a loving husband, a dedicated father and a mentor to many.

He leaves behind his wife of 19 years, Melanie; daughter Sara and her boyfriend Blake Housley; mother, Mary Walker; sister, Barbara Sandy; brother John Walker and wife Lillie; in laws Mary and Richard Bennett; several nieces and nephews and a host of extended family and friends. He was preceded in death by his father, John in 1991.

A visitation will be from 1-3:00 PM Saturday, May 1 at Speaks Suburban Chapel, and services will begin at 3:00 PM. Private family burial services.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to the Drag Racing Association of Women (DRAW) whose sole mission is providing financial and emotional support to qualified individuals involved in a drag racing accident at a track, or to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

Online condolences may be expressed to the family through Speaks Chapel.

April 19, 2010

Sheikh Khalid Leads SGMP Test Session

With “super” crew chiefs Frank Manzo and Tim and Kim Richards on site at South Georgia Motorsports Park for a test session late last week, Sheikh Khalid Al Thani (above) left with the best elapsed times, including a near-track-record 3.68 at more than 206 mph over the SGMP eighth mile. 

On Friday, Al-Anabi Racing teammate and 2009 ADRL Pro Extreme World Champion Todd Tutterow was second quickest with a 3.73 at 206.86 mph, followed by current ADRL Pro Extreme points leader Alex Hossler at 3.74 seconds and at 204.26 mph,

Khalid Al-Balooshi, another Al-Anabi teammate and 2009 ADRL Pro Nitrous world champion, went 3.96 at 189 mph, while Shannon “Iceman” Jenkins ran 4.06 at 178 and Robert Mathis posted a 4.11 run at 178 mph. ADRL Pro Nitrous star Burton Auxier also was on hand Friday, but had problems with his car and never managed a solid pass.

Three Pro Mod Motorcycle teams also took Sheikh Khalid up on his generous offer of free testing for all ADRL participants, with Travis Davis and Star Racing rookie Anne Hansen both dipping into the 4.20s on their Suzukis.

(Marvin T. Smith photo)

April 19, 2010

Wild Ride for Vial at VMP

ADRL Pro Extreme racer Ellis Vial finally got his brand-new, K&K Precision-built ‘68 Firebird out for its initial outing this past weekend during an event at Virginia Motorsports Park and it didn’t take long for him to put its handling characteristics to a fittingly extreme test.

“A lot of people gave me credit for doing a great driving job to save it,” Vial told your Agent, “but I think it was just God took pity on me and set it back down.”

Vial explained he had the nitrous-njected, supercharged Hemi “all hopped up” for his inaugural pass in the car on Friday, but it immediately blew the tires off, so he and crew chief Scott Filkins backed the power down considerably for a second attempt.

“We left way too much clutch in it, though, and it just hooked left right off the start. Thank God I started from the right lane,” Vial said.

After that, fellow Pro Extreme competitor Quain Stott wandered by with a little new-car advice and Donnie Sykes, crew chief for Bubba Stanton, called in with a few words of his own.

“I love those guys,” Vial said. “They really helped us out.”

A third hit resulted in a solid .960 60-foot time, but Vial admitted he was “just waiting for something else to happen” and he clicked it off just 1.72 seconds into the run. He still ran 2.80 to the 330-foot cone, though, convincing him that “the car’s definitely got it!”

After suffering a supercharger explosion in his first attempt on Saturday, Vial judiciously called it quits and headed home to Hayes, VA, where he’s taken the motor completely apart and unfortunately will miss the ADRL Hardee’s Georgia Drags VI this coming weekend at South Georgia Motorsports Park.

“I hate having to miss the Valdosta (GA) race, but when you bang the blower that hard you don’t know what it might’ve done to the rods and I can’t afford to scatter them all over the place,” Vial said. “I’m like Barney Fife; I’ve only got one good bullet, so I have to be careful where I fire it.”

Vial assured your Agent that after a little more testing he’ll be ready for the next race on the 2010 ADRL tour, when the series visits Virginia Motorsports Park May 21-22, for the ADRL U.S. Drags III.

(Photos courtesy Kim Vial)

March 16, 2010

Sign of the Season

One of your Agent’s operatives in the Baytown, TX, area snapped this cell-phone pic to show how the local traffic authorities are preparing motorists for this weekend’s ADRL season opener at Houston Raceway Park.

Your Agent hears several race rigs are already waiting for the pit gates to open at 10 a.m., Thursday, Mar. 18, to park for the Universal Technical Institute Dragpalooza VI presented by Safety-Kleen.

He’s also been asked to remind all ADRL race teams and vendors that no one will be permitted to enter the facility to park prior to 10 a.m. or after 10 p.m. local time—no exceptions. So plan accordingly!

The pit gates will reopen at 7 a.m. on both Friday and Saturday.

It’s time, folks. Let’s get ready to race!

March 15, 2010

Scruggs and Taylor on Radio Nitro Tonight

You know your Agent will be tuned in at 8 p.m. Eastern tonight when former back-to-back ADRL Pro Extreme World Champion Jason Scruggs (left) and Pro Extreme rival Frankie “Mad Man” Taylor (right) are among the featured guests on Radio Nitro with Will Hanna and the Harker Twins at www.RaceFanRadio.com.

The supercharged ADRL duo will help to preview this weekend’s ADRL season opener, the Universal Technical Institute Dragpalooza VI presented by Safety-Kleen at Houston Raceway Park.

Make sure to listen in at 8 p.m. here.

But all is not lost if you miss the original airing of the show because all past episodes of Radio Nitro remain available on-demand at www.RaceFanRadio.com.

(ADRL/Tocher file photos)

March 15, 2010

Stanton Steps Up in Testing

Your Agent deserves 50 lashes with a wet noodle for missing this one early last week!

Seems 2006 ADRL Pro Extreme champ Bubba Stanton was down at South Georgia Motorsports Park for a little pre-season testing in his new Henson Motorsports ‘68 Camaro built by Garret Race Cars.

It all began last Monday with a blown supercharger as soon as Stanton dumped the clutch that took most of the day to fix. The team got it back together just in time for one more try, but on the second hit the car barely moved off the line before a driveshaft problem sent the engine RPMs sky high, breaking the blower belt and cutting a line to oil the track down.

Tuesday opened with a tire-spinning effort that prompted chassis builder Garret Livingston to make a few adjustments. Effort number-two also resulted in tire spin and Livingston went back to work, trying to decipher exactly what the car liked and didn’t like and on the third pass it left straight and hard, resulting in a .943 60-foot time, 2.47 to half-track and finishing with a 3.673 at 206 mph. 

“We really need some more runs on the car but I am happy with our start,” Stanton said. “(Team owner) Roger Henson and I would like to thank Garret Livingston for his help on Monday and Tuesday and for building an awesome race car. And always thanks to (crew chief) Donnie (Sykes) and all our crew.”

(ADRL/Richards photo)

March 9, 2010

‘Glass Doctor’ Sets XTF Track Record

Your Agent received these pics of Tom Ashley’s “Glass Doctor” ‘67 Chevy II down at Emerald Coast Dragway in the Florida panhandle over the weekend, where driver Michael Neal was shaking it down in Flowmaster Extreme 10.5 trim in preparation for the ADRL’s season-opening Universal Technical Institute Dragpalooza VI presented by Safety-Kleen Mar. 19-20, at Houston Raceway Park.

On what was described to your Agent as “a real tricky racetrack surface,” the Ashley-led team had to back down their prodigious power a little, but Neal still managed to set a new track record for 10.5W-equipped cars at 4.13 seconds while qualifying second for the track’s 2010 heads-up opener.

Going up against the “big tire” cars, Neal fell to “Big Money” Bil Clanton in the semis, leaving his father, Mike Neal in Don Stroud’s ‘53 Studebaker, to take on Clanton in the final round between the two former ADRL Pro Extreme multiple-event winners.

After leaving with identical .050 lights, Neal Sr. took the win in 3.91 seconds to Clanton’s 3.93 in the closest match of the day.

The next order of business for Neal, Ashley and the rest of the Glass Doctor gang will be trying to join the Mickey Thompson 3-Second Club for Flowmaster Extreme 10.5 teams once they get to Houston.

(Photos courtesy Jody Hatcher)

March 8, 2010

Another Barklage PX Entry?

After winning his first ADRL event (Columbus, OH) and making it into the Speedtech Battle for the Belts last year, it looked like young Cody Barklage was really coming into his own as a Pro Extreme (PX) pilot and could be a force to be reckoned with this year.

But fair’s fair, and after the Barklage Racing Team suffered a couple of devastating setbacks (including a freak, all-consuming roadside trailer fire), Cody and his brother Zach had apparently agreed to share the driver’s seat of the family’s potent Lucas Oil-backed ‘67 Firebird on a season-by-season basis.

So your Agent understands it was supposed to be Zach behind the wheel when they showed up for a tune-up race at Dallas Raceway this past weekend, prior to the start of the 2010 ADRL season at Houston Raceway Park in a couple of weeks. But apparently it was Cody who ended up making a career-best 3.71-seconds pass at just over 200 mph in qualifying while Zach remained an overqualified spectator.

However, your Agent heard a promising rumor from one of his most highly trusted operatives that Zach Barklage managed to pick up his own ride for this ADRL season, so it will be interesting to watch the Barklage pits when they arrive at HRP for the Mar. 19-20, Universal Technical Institute Dragpalooza VI presented by Safety-Kleen.

UPDATE (11:45 a.m.): Within minutes of your Agent’s posting, the rumor of Zach joining the team as a second driver was confirmed by a Barklage Racing press release. 

(ADRL/Graves file photo)     

March 8, 2010

Moyer Makes it Into 3s in HRP Testing

It was a happy Todd Moyer (top left) and team after making a pair of three-second passes yesterday—their first ever in the “threes”—during Houston Raceway Park’s DragRaceHose.com Spring Warm-up Test Session.

Moyer and his Flowmaster Extreme 10.5 twin-turboed ‘04 Caavalier, fresh from some updating work at Terry Murphy’s chassis shop, first turned the trick with a 3.983 at 196.59-mph blast, then came back with the 3.96 at 197.74 shown above.

With the ADRL season-opening Universal Technical Institute Dragpalooza VI presented by Safety-Kleen scheduled for Mar. 19-20, at Houston Raceway Park, it looks like Moyer’s a real contender to join the exclusive Mickey Thompson 3-Second Club for the XTF racers.

(Scott Singleton photos)

March 5, 2010

March 7, 2010

Carpenter 5th in CompPlus.com Top-20 Drivers

Your Agent couldn’t agree more with the top-5 inclusion of Pro Nitrous pioneer Charles Carpenter in CompetitionPlus.com’s All-Time Top 20 Drivers list for the Pro Extreme/Pro Nitrous class.

One of the nicest guys in the ADRL pits, Carpenter also is a master of getting the most out of his machine, always a ‘55 Chevy and always a fan favorite.

Carpenter slotted in at fifth on the CompPlus list, with one more driver to be revealed each Monday and Friday until culminating with the number-one reveal at the season-opening ADRL Universal Technical Institute Dragpalooza VI presented by Safety-Kleen Mar. 19-20, at Houston Raceway Park.

(ADRL/Tocher file photo)

March 6, 2010

First Look: Snyder’s New PX Corvette

Photos of new ADRL cars are practically falling out of the woodwork at your Agent’s secret lair.

The latest to waft across his desk are of the former-Jason Scruggs ‘63 Corvette to be campaigned this year by Pro Extreme (PX) rookie Mick Snyder, who said after a test session this coming week at South Georgia Motorsports Park, he’ll be ready to make his—and the car’s—ADRL debut Mar. 19-20, in the Universal Technical Institute Dragpalooza VI presented by Safety-Kleen at Houston Raceway Park.

As teammates to former back-to-back PX champion Scruggs and his father, Mitchell, your Agent expects the father-and-son tandem of Larry and Mick Snyder to be season-long players in the points chase toward inclusion in the Speedtech Battle for the Belts.

(Photos courtesy Snyder Motorsports)

March 6, 2010

March 2, 2010

No Titanium Studs; ‘Full Floater’ Rule; PXM Engine Containment

Your Agent was up early this morning and noticed a “News” item on ADRL.us about the banning of titanium wheel studs from all professional classes.

There’s also mention there of a one-race exemption for the 2010 requirement for full-floating rear axles in Pro Extreme and Pro Nitrous (left) at the season-opening Universal Technical Institute Dragpalooza VI presented by Safety-Kleen Mar. 19-20, at Houston Raceway Park. It’s clear to your Agent, however, that the powers that be here at ADRL worldwide headquarters are adamant about their use beginning at the next event Apr. 23-24, in the Hardee’s Georgia Drags VI at Valdosta, GA.

Finally, your Agent strongly suggests that Pro Extreme Motorcycle teams take notice of the requirement for “ADRL-accepted” engine containment systems on all PXM bikes beginning with the Houston event later this month.

Don’t disappoint your Agent; make sure you know all the rules pertaining to your class and follow them carefully. He wants to see all of you making laps at Houston Raceway Park.

(ADRL/Richards file photo)

March 1, 2010

New Hargett PN Entry at Dragzine.com

Your Agent was alerted today to a brief interview by Andrew Wolf with Ryan Hargett over at the new www.Dragzine.com, where he describes the build progress on his brand-new, Bickel-built ‘70 Camaro that’s destined for the ADRL Pro Nitrous wars.

Hargett makes no promises, but says he hopes to have the car ready for its ADRL debut Apr. 23-24, in the Hardee’s Georgia Drags VI at South Georgia Motorspots Park.

That’s okay, from the look of these pictures, your Agent figures it’ll be worth the wait no matter how long it takes.

(Photos courtesy Dragzine.com) 

March 1, 2010

February 25, 2010

Free ADRL Test Session at San Antonio Raceway

“Free” is pretty much always a good word to hear.

So your Agent is appreciative of the efforts by ADRL Extreme Pro Stock racer Cale Aronson, along with RGV Racing Fuels, Mickey Thompson (official tire of the ADRL), and Aronson Motorsports, to provide ADRL competitors with the opportunity for a free test session Mar. 16-17, at San Antonio Raceway.

The track is approximately 180 miles west of Baytown, TX, home of the Mar. 19-20, ADRL Universal Technical Institute Dragpalooza VI presented by Safety-Kleen at Houston Raceway Park.

San Antonio Raceway’s Freddy Cruz will be administering track operations during the testing session, and can be contacted at               (210) 849-3225         (210) 849-3225 or protreefreddy@yahoo.com. To pre-register, visit Aronson Motorsports online by Mar. 10, or contact Aronson at cale@gofastquick.com or               (660) 646-4553         (660) 646-4553.

Aronson also is holding a Mickey Thompson sale for the test session, but tire orders must be placed through him by Mar. 10 to ensure delivery to the track for when the test session begins. Orders placed after that date will incur additional handling charges, he said.

Oh, and spectator passes will be available at the gate for $10 bucks apiece.

If your Agent wasn’t already booked, he might just be tempted to get a head start on the 2010 season in San Antone, too.

(Photo courtesy Aronson Motorsports)

February 25, 2010

February 24, 2010

Getting Dressed with Stanley & Weiss

 Your Agent got a sneak peek tonight at the artwork for the 2010 T-shirts for the “Appalachia on Steroids” ‘68 Camaro that John Stanley drives for the Stanley & Weiss Pro extreme team out of Hagerstown, MD.

Put your Agent down for a double-XL. He’ll pick it up Mar. 19-20, at the Universal Technical Institute Dragpalooza VI presented by Safety-Kleen, when he stops by the Stanley & Weiss trailer Thursday night for one of Camp Stanley’s famous libations.

February 23, 2010

February 25, 2010

‘Fun’ for Smith to Defend Arabian PX Championship

DOHA, QATAR (Feb. 25, 2010)—Rolling into the seventh and final round of the 2009-10 Arabian Drag Racing League series at the Qatar Race Club, Von Smith and his Barwa Racing Pro Extreme ’68 Chevy Camaro have earned the number-one spot in the Pro Extreme championship points standings by way of two wins and five-straight final round appearances.

Their margin over Al-Anabi Racing teammate Sheikh Khalid Al Thani in second place, though, amounts to less than one competition round win.

In the two-year history of the Qatar Race Club, this will be the second straight Pro Extreme championship that may come down to the final round of the final race, and while the pressure mounts, veteran driver Smith (far left) and legendary crew chief Howard Moon know this stressful situation all too well.

“We’ve been here before,” says Smith, the defending series champion, representing the Barwa Real Estate Company in the State of Qatar.

“The key, at least in my eyes, is to treat Round 7 just like we would any other. We can’t let the championship chase change the way we would act going into any race, and our goal needs to be simply qualifying well and winning every race we’re in. Winning the race is how we’re going to win this championship, so we’ve got to take it one step at a time.

“I think that is a very attainable goal for this team,” he continues. “It’s hard to even describe how hard this team has been working since the last race. It’s been a round-the-clock effort from the guys, making sure I’ve got a car that is consistent and fast.”

After a successful day of testing earlier this week, Smith and his Barwa teammates are all smiles going into today’s qualifying rounds.

“I think we’re back,” he says. “Like I said, we’ve got to go out here and do what we know we can do, qualify at the top of the sheets and take it round by round, but having a car that will run the number—that makes a lot of difference in our confidence. So, I’m excited. We’ve got an incredible opportunity here to win a first championship for Barwa Real Estate and a second for Al-Anabi Racing.

“I can’t deny that it’d be nice to go into the last race of the season with the championship already locked up,” he adds with a laugh, “but what fun would that be?”

(ADRL/Al Anabi/Grooms file photos)

February 24, 2010

ADRL Offering Printable Tickets Online

O’FALLON, MO (Feb. 24, 2010) – Beginning today, the American Drag Racing League (ADRL) is providing race fans the ability to print tickets to its national events from the comfort and convenience of their own computer.

“This new online service will ensure that anyone with a computer and printer will be able to obtain tickets to our events. We have thousands of fans who travel to see each of our events and they don’t want to wait until they get near the track to pick up their tickets. It will also be easier for teams and sponsors to get tickets without having to track them down in-market,” Executive Vice President Jeff Fortune explained.

“Basically, this program is being offered as a convenience for our fans and track partners and we’re confident it will make things easier for everyone involved.”

To print tickets, ADRL fans will simply visit the official ADRL Web site (www.ADRL.us) where they will be able to order and print up to 10 personalized, bar-coded tickets. In addition to being prominently featured on the official ADRL site, links to the printable ticket program will appear on several official ADRL sponsor sites.

All printed tickets will also have the option of upgrading to reserved seating status and pre-purchasing premium parking at a discounted rate.

“This is another service our fans have been clamoring for,” Fortune stated. “With our new reserved seating option they won’t have to worry about losing their seats or not having a seat and advance premium parking will make it easier and faster to get in and out of each venue.

“ADRL is all about grass roots racing and grass roots marketing,” he continued. “We are now taking it to the next level by using the Internet to provide easy access for our fans, teams and sponsors. We want to make sure everyone has the opportunity to comfortably enjoy the ADRL and the fantastic show our racers put on at every event.”

The ADRL’s new online ticket service arrives just in time for the 2010 season-opening ADRL Universal Technical Institute Dragpalooza VI presented by Safety-Kleen Mar. 19-20, at Houston Raceway Park in Baytown, Texas.

February 24, 2010

February 22, 2010

Speedtech Recruits Scruggs for New Venture

DOHA, QATAR (Feb. 22, 2010) – Having established itself over the course of the last six years as a dominant force in nitrous-oxide technology, most recently helping Khalid Al-Balooshi win the 2009 American Drag Racing League Pro Nitrous championship, Speedtech looks to widen its footprint on the high-performance industry by partnering this year with legendary two-time ADRL Pro Extreme World Champion Jason Scruggs.

As the trend-setting company’s multi-stage nitrous systems and accessories have already become a choice of champions far and wide, Speedtech will now offer the same cutting-edge technology and precision machining capabilities to racers of all kinds.

“It is our goal with this partnership to introduce Speedtech not only as racer’s nitrous oxide solution, but also as a world leader in high-performance machining and fabrication,” Speedtech owner Sheikh Khalid Al Thani said.

“As the need grows for one-off, custom fabricated parts, not only in the ultra-competitive ADRL Pro Extreme and Pro Nitrous ranks, but the aftermarket high-performance industry as a whole, we want to move forward in offering Speedtech’s abilities to anyone looking for more power.”

Leading the charge for Speedtech’s new endeavor will be Scruggs, driver of the quickest-and-fastest doorslammer on the planet.

“We’re excited to introduce Speedtech to the drag racing community as more than just a nitrous company” says Scruggs, a native of Satilla, Mississippi. “Along with all the great companies that have offered their support to us for years—Brad Anderson Engineering, Simpson, and Hoosier—we hope to make a run at a third ADRL world championship this season with Speedtech.”

For more information on Speedtech Innovative Nitrous Solutions, visit them online at www.SPEEDTECHnitrous.com.

February 18, 2010

ADRL and House of Hot Rods Present ‘Eye Candy’ at Dallas Show

O’FALLON, MO (Feb. 18, 2010)—The House of Hot Rods “Eye Candy” display at this weekend’s O’Reilly Auto Parts Autorama Car Show in downtown Dallas, Texas, will feature sweet rides and sweet treats, courtesy of the American Drag Racing League (ADRL), which will be providing complimentary candy to Dallas Autorama fans. 

“The street rods and muscle cars that the House of Hot Rods creates have to be seen to be believed; each one is a true piece of automotive art,” ADRL President and CEO Kenny Nowling said. “We’ve been fortunate enough to have their cars on display at a few of our races and they’re always real attention getters, so when Mark (Eddins, owner of House of Hot Rods) called to tell me about the Eye Candy show, I knew we had to get involved.” 

Eddins, who also co-owns LenMar Motorsports with ADRL Pro Extreme competitor Gaylen Smith, will have his brand-new, House of Hot Rods-built ‘55 Chevy street machine, “Disturbed,” on display at the show, as well as the “Anger Management” Fuel Altered he’ll be racing at drag strips across Texas this year. 

Smith also has a new street ride recently completed by House of Hot Rods in the Autorama show, a 1969 Camaro dubbed “Black Diamond” that features an LS6 Corvette engine pumped up to 750 horsepower by a Magnacharger supercharger under its hood.

Smith’s LenMar Motorsports Pro Extreme ’57 Chevy will also be on the show floor, along with the 1970 Cuda he previously raced with the ADRL. The LenMar Motorsports Pro Mod drag boat and outlaw dirt car will complete the Eye Candy roster.   

“We’re all looking forward to this show,” said John Paynter, general manager at the House of Hot Rods compound in Mansfield, Texas.

“It gives us a chance to show off what we do to all our friends and families in the Dallas area and really offers a showcase for the talents of Chad ‘Critter’ Mahone, who does all the design work for House of Hot Rods.” 

House of Hot Rods Eye Candy at the Dallas Autorama runs Feb. 19-21, at Dallas Market Hall, 2200 Stemmons Freeway, Dallas, Texas 75207.

(Photos courtesy House of Hot Rods)

February 17, 2010

February 19, 2010

Hernandez: 3.66 @ 206 MPH

After learning Joshua Hernandez (left) laid down a solid 3.74 run yesterday at Palm Beach International Raceway (PBIR), your Agent finally caught up with him today after he stuck around for an extra day of testing in Dave Wood’s ADRL Pro Extreme ‘57 Chevy.

How does a stunning .929 60-foot time, 2.45 to half track and a career-best 3.662 at 206.23 mph sound?

“Yeah, we threw a bunch at it today and it all stuck,” Hernandez said. “The air was perfect and the track was really good, but I think it could’ve been even better if more cars were on it. We were the only ones out there today.”

He credited the hard work of his Jim Oddy-led crew over the off season, citing the efforts of Troy Critchley, Ray Williams and Charlie Taylor for getting the job done.

“It’s so fun to get out there and drive again,” said Hernandez, whose last trip down the eighth mile came in a runner-up finish to Todd Tutterow in last October’s ADRL Speedtech Battle for the Belts. “It’s running 3.6 seconds and it’s still a very driveable car; a high-speed Cadillac.”

Unlike fellow Pro Extreme pilot Jason Scruggs, who ran an unofficial record 3.64/210 on experimental Hoosier tires a couple of days earlier at PBIR, Hernandez was riding on off-the-shelf Hoosiers today.

And though he told your Agent he wanted to make one more hit this evening, Hernandez said he think’s his team’s pre-season testing is done and they’re all looking forward to racing Mar. 19-20, at Houston Raceway Park, their home track, in the ADRL’s 2010 season-opening Universal Technical Institute Dragpalooza VI presented by Safety-Kleen. 

“I’m real confident with what we have right now,” he told your Agent. “We’ve still got a little work to do on the car, but I’m real happy and really looking forward to Houston.”

As is your Agent and the rest of the ADRL faithful.

(ADRL/Richards file photo)

February 17, 2010

Scruggs Breaks 210-MPH Barrier!

Your Agent had to just shake his head in awe when the news arrived that former back-to-back ADRL Pro Extreme World Champion Jason Scruggs went 3.645 seconds at a whopping 210.90 mph yesterday during a tire test for Hoosier Racing Tires down at Palm Beach International Raceway in Florida.

Though unofficial, that’s the quickest and fastest pass ever made worldwide over the eighth mile by a full-bodied doorslammer.

Mississippi Missile, indeed!

UPDATE 5 p.m. EST: Your Agent just got off the phone with Scruggs, who revealed the incrementals on yesterday’s monster run were .934 to the 60-foot mark, 2.469 to half track and of course 3.645 at the 660-foot finish line. He also mentioned a 3.67 blast today with incrementals of .943 60-foot time, 2.495 to the 330 and 3.677 at 210.57 mph to stop the clocks. A 3.77 at 198 with a cylinder missing closed out his day and the team is currently packing up their Garret Race Cars-built ‘68 Camaro for the tow back to Saltillo, MS.

Those two 210-mph passes came on different Hoosier tire compounds, Scruggs said, and he’ll be back testing more tires for them in a couple of weeks at South Georgia Motorsports Park, prior to the season-opening ADRL Universal Technical Institute Dragpalooza VI presented by Safety-Kleen Mar. 19-20 at Houston Raceway Park, where “more than likely we’ll be running one of the new tires,” he added.

(Chris Simmons photo courtesy of CompetitionPlus.com)

February 16, 2010

February 16, 2010

Snap-on Enters ADRL Arena with Vial

HAYES, VA (Feb. 16, 2010) — After growing up working in his dad’s auto repair shop, then spending 38 years as a professional yacht technician, Ellis Vial Jr. likes to joke he’s spent his life with a Snap-on wrench in one hand and a payment book in the other.

This year, his life-long dedication to the brand is being rewarded with major sponsorship from Snap-on Franchised Dealers for an all-out assault on the American Drag Racing League’s (ADRL’s) Pro Extreme class.

“This is it, I’m showing all my cards this year; I’m all in,” Ellis declared from his Hayes, Virginia, race shop as he watched Billy Smith of Auto Ink Designs applying the bright red-and-black Snap-on wrap to his brand-new K&K Precision-built ’68 Firebird. “I’m not coming out to the races just to qualify; I’ll be there to win.

“And that’s not being cocky,” Vial insists. “I’m just confident, and a lot of that has to do with Snap-on being behind us this year.”

Vial’s new car will be riding on Mickey Thompson tires with Penske shock absorbers helping to smooth out the bumps on 3.7-second passes at over 200 mph down the ADRL eighth mile. The CAM’s Racing Engines 526-cubic-inch Hemi up front will be burning Renegade Racing Fuels with a PSI screw-type supercharger providing the boost on top of a Wilson Manifolds intake.

“Without all those names on the side of the car I couldn’t even think of doing this and I want to thank all of them for their support as well as the folks at Boninfante Performance Clutch, Victory 1, Titanium Joe, Braille Battery, PAC Springs, REM Chemical and DJ Safety,” Vial says. “I plan on making all of them proud to be associated with us this year.”

Vial will also take an experimental route toward adding even more power via the injection of nitrous oxide into the fuel mix this season.

“Scott Filkins is my crew chief and we’ve been working with the guys at Motec and Steve Johnson at Induction Solutions to make that work,” Vial says, though he declines to say just how much nitrous he’ll be spraying. “All I can say is, it’ll be a lot!”

Vial plans to make his debut with the new Snap-on Pro Extreme team at the ADRL Hardee’s Georgia Drags VI on Apr. 23-24, at South Georgia Motorsports Park.

“We’ll be testing the wheels off the car in these next few weeks,” Vial says. “When we get to Georgia I want to come out swinging!”

Billy Smith of Auto Ink Designs in Yorktown, Virginia, visited Ellis Vial’s shop to apply the Snap-on Franchised Dealers wrap to Vial’s new Pro Extreme ‘68 Firebird. Ellis’ race rig and golf cart will be receiving the full Snap-on wrap treatment, too.

(Photos courtesy Ellis Vial Racing)

February 13, 2010

February 12, 2010

First Look: Hamstra’s New ‘69 Camaro

No one who was there last October will ever forget the horrendous moment of Jason Hamstra’s ‘68 Camaro violently disintegrating against the left guardwall of the Texas Motorplex.

Fortunately, the young Pro Extreme star escaped serious injury from the accident and now your Agent can happily report the replacement for his two-time-ADRL-race-winning ride is nearly ready for delivery.

As these exclusive spy pics from one of your Agent’s most trusted and stealthy Midwest operatives depict, this Cynergy-bodied ‘69 Camaro is in its final stages of assembly at Garret Race Cars in Marble Hill, MO, and reportedly will be turned over to Hamstra’s father, Kevin, as early as tomorrow night (Feb. 13).

The operative says the car’s chassis construction is “nearly identical” to that of the ‘06 Stratus that Garret built and Jason Scruggs drove to the second of his back-to-back PX championships in 2008.

Your Agent also hears the Hamstra family team is still debating what color to paint their new entry, but from the look of that detail work in the firewall, flames will remain part of the scheme.

Regardless, they’re said to be confident of being ready for the ADRL season opener Mar. 19-20, at Houston Raceway Park in Baytown, TX, and that’s good news all around. 

February 12, 2010

February 12, 2010

Stott Named Number 11 on CompPlus List

No one is happier than your Agent to see Pro Extreme racer Quain Stott as the latest ADRL star named to the Top-20 Drivers List over at www.CompetitionPlus.com.

Always ready with a clever quip or honest quote, Stott is a pretty stout talker on the race track, too; a very worthy addition.

The countdown to number one continues with a new driver added to the honor roll each Monday and Friday until CompPlus publisher and editor Bobby Bennett reveals his judges’ pick at the season-opening ADRL Safety-Kleen Dragpalooza VI at Houston Raceway Park.

(ADRL/Richards file photo)

February 12, 2010

Sheikh Khalid Goes Record 3.66 @ 209.46 MPH!

Wow! Race after race, your Agent has been impressed with the numbers coming out of the Arabian Drag Racing League way overseas at the Qatar Race Club and the hits just keep on coming!

Word just reached these American shores that Sheikh Khalid Al Thani just reset the Arabian ET record to 3.669 seconds at a worldwide speed record of 209.46 miles per hour in a second round win over Bader Ahli.

Like your Agent said; Wow!

(Photo courtesy Al-Anabi Racing)

February 11, 2010

Pro Nitrous Presence at Chicago Auto Show

The last time your Agent saw Dan Stevenson’s beautiful, Jerry Bickel-built, Pro Nitrous ‘70 Camaro it received the Illusions Custom Paint and Body Best Paint award in its first ADRL appearance at last October’s LenMar Motorsports ADRL World Finals V in Ennis, TX.

This time it’s front and center in the Chicagoland Speedway display at the 102nd edition of the Chicago Auto Show, running Feb. 11-21, at the 1.2 million-square-feet McCormick Place in Chicago.

Stevenson admitted to your Agent he didn’t relish the thought of tying the car up for so long just before the start of the 2010 ADRL season Mar. 19-20, at Baytown, TX, but the opportunity to put it in front of nearly one million show goers was just too important to pass up.

He also confirmed plans to run in Pro Nitrous at all nine ADRL events this year with Mark Niebes calling the shots as crew chief.

Your Agent already knows his vote for Best of Show!

(Photo courtesy Stevenson Racing)

February 11, 2010

February 12, 2010

Hossler Beats Sheikh With Holeshot

DOHA, QATAR (Feb. 12, 2010)—Just as he did in his first Arabian Drag Racing League appearance, Alex Hossler (left) employed a holeshot in the Pro Extreme final to win Round 6 of the Arabian 2009-10 season over Sheikh Khalid Al Thani in the right lane at the Qatar Race Club.

Despite learning to drive the unpredictable, supercharged Pro Extreme cars just a few months ago, Al Thani already has earned a reputation as a great “leaver” and he posted another solid .036 reaction time against Hossler, but an unreal .004 reaction in the Illinois racer’s lane spelled victory 3.72 seconds later at 206.32 mph as he nipped the quicker and faster 3.70 at 209.30 put together by the Sheikh.

“Man did we ever earn that one,” an excited Hossler stated later. “I have the best bunch of people surrounding me on this team. It’s all about the perseverance. We tore up a lot of parts during the last race here, but to get it all back together and run like we did says everything.”

Hossler then took care to thank everyone involved in helping him reach the winner’s circle.  

“Chris and Len Duncan, first of all, without these guys I’m just a guy with a dream. Mike Stawicki from MSR Performance for the horsepower, Jon Salemi from DMPE for the tune-up advice and supercharger work, and all of the employees at the Art Hossler Auto Group. All of these people are instrumental in our success,” he said.

After qualifying his Chris Duncan-built and -tuned ‘70 Camaro in second place behind Al Thani, Hossler made a nice, solo 3.74 pass at 205.41 mph in the opening round of eliminations and followed it up with another 3.74 at 205.63 to easily defeat defending Arabian series champ Von Smith, who made a tire-shaking 6.31 run at just over 72 mph in his Barwa-backed ‘68 Camaro. 

“I just kept picking away at the tune up today,” Duncan (far right behind car) said. “It is a happy race car and Alex really drives the wheels off of this thing. I’m looking forward to coming back in two weeks to try to make it three wins over here in Doha.”

The Sheikh also enjoyed a bye to begin eliminations and ran 3.97 at just 189.02 mph in his ‘68 Camaro, but in round two he and crew chief Frank Manzo stepped up against Bader Ali, going 3.66 at 209.46 mph to set a new Arabian elapsed time record and a new worldwide speed record for door cars in the eighth mile.

Al Thani’s Al-Anabi Racing teammate Mike Castellana went up against Khalil Al Ansari in an off-the-pace Pro Nitrous final, with the local taking the win in 4.38 seconds at 164.19 mph over Castellana’s early shutdown 4.41/126.55 run.

The seventh and final event in the Arabian Drag Racing League’s 2009-10 season is scheduled for Feb. 25-26, again at the Qatar Race Club.

February 12, 2010

February 11, 2010

Stanley Getting Gassed?

Your Agent has to admit he thought it was all just a big joke when his ol’ pal Camp Stanley sent out pics a few days ago of Nitrous Express (NX) bottles sitting inside the Stanley & Weiss Pro Extreme Camaro driven by his son, John.

But now he’s more than a little intrigued by this photo of what appears to be NX nitrous controllers attached to the screw blower capping off the team’s AJ Olds Wedge motor. 

“We are embarking off on a new area of additional power adders,” the Campster said. “OTG Racing is contributing to this new effort as well with some new storage vessels Brian has been in the process of creating, all attached in the car by some trick Pat Bennett Race Cars pieces.” 

“Just don’t stand to close when John swaps feet in Houston!” he warned your Agent. “Who knows what could happen?”

February 10, 2010

January 25, 2010

January 28, 2010

Scruggs Confirms New Car Coming

Watch for two-time Pro Extreme champion Jason Scruggs to soon be back behind the wheel of a ‘63 Corvette.

Scruggs confirmed to your Agent that Garret Livingston and his crew at Garret Race Cars have “pretty much finished” the chassis for his new ride, but the project is currently “on the back burner until (Jason) Hamstra’s car is ready.”

“Mine will be the next one out the door,” Scruggs said. “We’re shooting to have it out there by Valdosta (Apr. 23-24).”

Meanwhile, the Garret-built ‘68 Camaro that Scruggs drove last year and set both ends of the official ADRL Pro Extreme records with (3.66/207.43) has been updated for this season and currently is at Jeff Hoskins’ shop in Hillsboro, MO, getting repainted.

“We plan on doing some heavy testing in February, either at South Georgia Motorsports Park or south Florida, depending on the weather,” Scruggs said.

He also revealed he’ll be trying out a Lencodrive transmission for the first time during testing.

“I haven’t had a torque converter in about 15 years,” Scruggs told your Agent, adding he’d planned the test even before teaming up for 2010 with Larry and Mick Snyder, noted Lenco experts from their Alky Funny Car days and new owners of the ‘63 Vette that Scruggs broke the eighth-mile 200-mph barrier with at the ADRL’s Dragstock IV in 2007.

“I’ve always been kind of a loner and never really thought about having a teammate before,” Scruggs said. “But me and my dad agree two heads are better than one and Larry makes good power and they have a lot of experience, so I think it can be a real asset for us.”

Looks to your Agent like the Mississippi Missile is getting ready for launch in 2010.

(ADRL/Burwell file photo)

January 26, 2010

January 25, 2010

Snyder Joins Scruggs as Pro Extreme Teammate

DEMOTTE, IN (Jan. 25, 2010)—It has been a busy off season for former Top Alcohol Funny Car standout Mick Snyder as he is taking on a new challenge this year in the American Drag Racing League’s hyper-competitive Pro Extreme arena.

The-second generation racer and his father, Larry, have been working hard to get a beautiful ‘63 split-window Corvette ready for the ADRL season-opening Safety-Kleen Dragpalooza VI, Mar. 19-20, at Houston Raceway Park in Baytown, Texas.

The Demotte, Indiana-based duo are teaming up with current ADRL world record holder and former back-to-back Pro Extreme champion Jason Scruggs and his father, Mitchell, for the 2010 season and will continue to be sponsored by Powersource Transportation.

While the Snyder team and associate sponsorship will remain primarily the same, Snyder Motorsports will be returning to its roots by putting a Coan converter and Lencodrive transmission in the car, a combination they ran successfully on the Funny Car circuits for years.

“Dad and I have thought and talked about racing in Pro Extreme for years,” the 28-year-old driver said. “We discussed it at the beginning of the off season and decided if we could put the right deal together we would make the switch. Shortly after, things started to fall into place. It has already been a lot of work, but we are having fun getting everything ready and I can’t wait to get behind the wheel and see what she can do.”

January 22, 2010

January 22, 2010

Smith Smashes World Speed Record in Qatar

DOHA, QATAR (Jan. 22, 2010) – In what easily could be considered the biggest news ever to come out of the Arabian Drag Racing League, Oak Ridge, Tennessee’s Von Smith once more earned a spot in the history books en route to a runner-up finish during Round 5 at the Qatar Race Club with a shot-heard-round-the-world 209.43-mph lap – the fastest standing-start eighth-mile speed ever recorded by a full-bodied drag racing car.

History wasn’t confined to Smith’s right lane only, however, as the final round resulted in the quickest and fastest side-by-side race in the history of doorslammer drag racing, which also represented the first 3.60s pairing in the history of the sport. Smith’s 209.43-mph blast in his Barwa Racing ’68 Camaro came in just 3.684-seconds; just not quite enough to beat His Highness Sheikh Khalid bin Hamad Al-Thani’s stunning 3.679-seconds at 207.59-mph effort.

Despite falling to his Al-Anabi Racing teammate in the final, Smith maintained his lead in the Arabian Drag Racing League’s Pro Extreme points standings, a mere two rounds ahead of Al-Thani.

“I can’t think of too many occasions where it felt okay to be runner-up, but this is definitely one of them,” Smith said later. “To be in another final alongside Sheikh Khalid, to be in the quickest and fastest side-by-side drag race in history – you just can’t ask for anything better.”

In regard to the record-setting speed, Smith steered all the credit to his crew members who just completed a marathon three consecutive race weekends and delivered a win last week, plus a pair of runner-up finishes.

“(Crew chief) Howard Moon (above right, with Smith) has this thing making big power – really big power,” he said. “I can’t say enough about him and this entire Barwa Racing team, and I think all the hard work has been showing through these last few weeks. It’s been a pretty intense stretch, but it’s been a non-stop team effort. The support from Barwa Real Estate, Al-Anabi Racing and Sheikh Khalid has been incredible and we’re just honored to be able to represent them in fine fashion at the drag strip.”

With only two races remaining in the Arabian Drag Racing League’s 2009-10 season, there’s no doubt a battle between the two Al-Anabi entries will be waged to the very end.

“We know we’ve got our work cut out for us, but I’ve got all the faith in the world in Howard and the rest of this team. So long as I do my job behind the wheel I think we’ve got a shot at doubling up,” Smith declared, referring to his 2008-09 championship. “You can’t take anything for granted in heads-up drag racing, but we’re going to be working round the clock here in Doha to make sure we bring home a championship for Barwa.”

The Al-Anabi Racing ‘68 Camaros of driver Von Smith with crew chief Howard Moon (left) and team owner Sheikh Khalid bin Hamad Al-Thani with crew chief Frank Manzo are currently one-two, respectively, in Pro Extreme points and appear destined to settle the 2009-10 Arabian Drag Racing League championship between them over the next few weeks in the series’ final two events. 

(ADRL/Grooms file photos)

January 22, 2010

January 19, 2010

ADRL Confirms Georgia Drags VI Date

O’FALLON, MO (Jan. 19, 2010) — The American Drag Racing League (ADRL) is pleased to confirm its ADRL Hardee’s Georgia Drags VI will be held Apr. 23-24, at South Georgia Motorsports Park in Cecil, Georgia. The two week move from the original date creates an ideal balance in the schedule for the 2010 ADRL tour.

“With this date change we now have only one race per month this year and at least three weeks between events, with only one exception in September when Dragstock VII at Rockingham (NC) Dragway is followed two weeks later by our return to Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio,” ADRL Executive Vice President Jeff Fortune said. “We greatly appreciate all of our track partners working with us to create the best possible scheduling for ADRL race teams and fans.”

As the ADRL enters its sixth season, its 2010 schedule is comprised of nine national events in eight states.

(ADRL/Tocher/Richards file photos)

January 18, 2010

ADRL Updates 2010 Schedule

O’FALLON, MO (Jan. 18, 2010) — Today, the American Drag Racing League (ADRL) released an updated 2010 schedule featuring a return to familiar territory and some date changes for established races.

“Creating a season schedule is one of the most challenging tasks we face every year as there are so many variables and individuals to consider,” ADRL President and CEO Kenny Nowling said. “Ultimately, every scheduling decision is reached based on how it affects our racers and track partners and our ability to put on the best show possible for ADRL fans. I think the scheduling changes we’re announcing today reflect that process well and will result in a stronger 2010 ADRL season all around.”  

In order to allow ADRL race teams additional testing opportunities, this year’s season-opening event, the ADRL Safety-Kleen Dragpalooza VI at Houston Raceway Park, will be held Mar. 19-20, one week later than originally planned. Also still to be settled is a date in April for the ADRL Hardee’s Georgia Drags VI at South Georgia Motorsports Park (SGMP), previously set for Apr. 9-10, but now possibly moving to later in the month.

“The South Georgia fans are among our most knowledgeable and enthusiastic supporters and we apologize for not yet having a final date set for them,” ADRL Executive Vice President Jeff Fortune said. “However, reconsidering the SGMP date is all part of creating a balanced and improved schedule and we thought it only fair to get the rest of the dates established and announced so ADRL race teams and fans can begin making their travel plans.”

Also moving from July to May 21-22, will be the ADRL U.S. Drags III at Virginia Motorsports Park in Petersburg, Virginia.

“We visited Virginia Motorsports Park for the first time last year and it was one of our most successful events,” Fortune said. “Moving the date forward, though, helps open up the schedule in what was a tight second half of the year. Plus, VMP in the spring should provide some great weather at a track that is capable of producing some incredible runs.”

This year also will mark the return of the ADRL to Summit Motorsports Park, as the ADRL Ohio Drags IV will be contested Sep. 24-25, representing the third time in four years the race will be held at the Norwalk, Ohio, facility, as well as the final opportunity for racers to earn points toward qualifying for the ADRL’s championship-deciding Speedtech Battle for the Belts the next month in Ennis, Texas.

“We repeatedly heard from our race teams that they loved racing at Summit Motorsports Park and wanted to return as soon as possible,” Fortune said. “It took some serious negotiations, but we’re very pleased to announce we were able to come to a multi-year agreement with the Bader family and are already looking forward to again sampling some of their famous $1 ice creams.”

The rest of the ADRL’s previously scheduled events remain intact on their original dates, creating a nine-event 2010 schedule for the ADRL’s sixth season.

(ADRL/Richards file photos)

2010 ADRL National Event Schedule

Mar. 19-20 ADRL Safety-Kleen Dragpalooza VI; Houston Raceway Park; Baytown, Texas 

Apr. 23-24 ADRL Hardee’s Georgia Drags VI; South Georgia Motorsports Park; Cecil, Georgia 

May 21-22 ADRL U.S. Drags III; Virginia Motorsports Park; Petersburg, Virginia 

June 11-12 ADRL Ford Drive One Summer Drags VI; U.S. 131 Motorsports Park; Martin, Michigan 

July 2-3 ADRL Hardee’s Independence Drags IV; Heartland Park Topeka; Topeka, Kansas 

Aug. 6-7 ADRL Hardee’s Gateway Drags III; Gateway International Raceway; Madison, Illinois

Sep. 10-11 ADRL Flowmaster Dragstock VII; Rockingham Dragway; Rockingham, North Carolina

Sep. 24-25 ADRL Ohio Drags IV; Summit Motorsports Park; Norwalk, Ohio 

Oct. 22-23 LenMar Motorsports ADRL World Finals VI; Texas Motorplex; Ennis, Texas

January 15, 2010

January 16, 2010

January 15, 2010

January 14, 2010

Sheikh Rises to the Top in Qatar Qualifying

DOHA, QATAR (Jan. 14, 2010) – When the clutch dust had finally settled at the Qatar Race Club after three sessions of qualifying for Round 4 of the Arabian Drag Racing League, His Highness Sheikh Khalid bin Hamad Al-Thani found himself at the top of the Pro Extreme list, right where the rookie driver wants to be going into tomorrow’s elimination rounds.

Led by 12-time NHRA Top Alcohol Funny Car champion Frank “Ace” Manzo and chassis specialist Tim McAmis, Al Thani drove his way to the number-one spot with a 3.71-seconds pass at 207.59 mph in Thursday’s final session.

“We’re happy with that,” Al-Thani (below) said. “We’ve got a race car that will go consistently in the low 3.70s and high 3.60s, and that is going to make us pretty hard to beat on race day. Tomorrow we’ll get one more shot at the track and then it’ll be time to get after it.”

Taking the number-two position in the qualifying order is Canton, Illinois’ Alex Hossler, winner of Round 3 at the QRC, who posted a strong 3.75 at 203.71 mph, followed by Tennessee’s Von Smith at 3.76 and 207.62 mph, backing up his earlier 207.66 mph speed, the fastest ever recorded by a doorslammer. The Todd Tutterow-tuned entry of Bader Alhi took the fourth-place spot at 3.78-seconds with Ali Aryan rounding out the field with an off-the-pace 4.78 seconds pass.

Hossler summed up the intense competition in saying, “There are no chumps over here. They say in poker, if you sit down at the table and don’t know who the sucker is in 20 minutes – it’s probably you. It’s kind of corny, but that’s kind of how we feel. Every round is like the final round and every car over here is capable of running well enough to win the race, and probably set a record in the process.”

Final qualifying for Round 4 of the Arabian Drag Racing League series at the Qatar Race Club begins at 5 p.m. AST Jan 15, with eliminations getting underway at 7 p.m. local time.

(ADRL/Grooms photo)

January 14, 20101

January 13, 2010

Janis Heading South for the Summer

ELMA, NY (Jan. 13, 2009) – The resume for ADRL Pro Extreme pilot Mike Janis, a two-time event winner in 2009, could arguably place him near the top of anyone’s all-time drivers list, but its his prowess as an engine builder that gained him notoriety around the world. 

In recent years Janis’ family business, Jan-Cen Motorsports, based near Buffalo, New York, has become proficient at shipping Janis-prepped racing engines around the globe. The Jan-Cen team has customers in the U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico, Sweden, Switzerland, England, and New Zealand, but nowhere has the impact of a Jan-Cen powerplant been more noticeable than in Australia.

For several seasons, Sean Mifsud has been one of Janis’ premier Australian customers, proudly displaying a Jan-Cen engine protruding through the hood of his “Wild Willy” Top Doorslammer entry. After a recent trip to the States, Mifsud convinced Janis to come across the pond and meet some of his homeland customers face to face and take a ride in the seat of Mifsud’s 1941 Willys coupe.

“Sean’s been after me for a while to come over there and experience Top Doorslammer racing,” Janis said. “To this point I’ve had no reason to go since Camp (Stanley) has been our unofficial ambassador outside of the States. I’m not much for sightseeing or vacations, so traveling outside of going to a race has never been big with me, but when Sean offered the ride and a chance to possibly compete against some of Australia’s best it really got me thinking. 

“So, after a few conversations with everyone at the shop and Mike Rasnick from Eaton, it looks like I’m going to be stuck on a plane for quite a while,” he laughed.

Mifsud said Janis he will receive a warm, enthusiastic welcome.

“Mike’s trip couldn’t have come at a better time especially with Croaker (Adam Croker) trying to stake claim to our record,” Mifsud said. “Adam put out a release staking claim to the record of quickest and fastest roots-powered car in the country, but that’s only partially correct. See, we’ve done pretty well over here using Mike’s fuel system and engine program. We’re actually the quickest roots-blown car in the country and if not for a faulty magneto we’d be the fastest too”.

Janis will arrive in Australia a week prior to the 2010 Summernationals (summer down under when it’s winter up here) to make some test hits behind the wheel of Mifsud’s Willys. If things go well and Janis feels confident behind the wheel, he’ll enter the Top Doorslammer class for the 2010 Summernationals. If the unfamiliar confines of the Willys are not to Janis’ liking, he will assist Mifsud at attempting to lower his own Australian roots-supercharged record of 6.022 seconds.

The ANDRA Pro Series Drag Racing Sumernationals will be held Feb. 12-13, at Western Sydney International Dragway, near Sydney.

January 12, 20101

December 21, 2009

Stanley & Weiss Updating for 2010

Your Agent received a missive from none other than the original Wild Buncher hisself, Camp Stanley, of the Stanley & Weiss Pro Extreme team.

Seems their “Appalachia on Steroids” McAmis-built ‘68 Camaro is “in a bazillion pieces” at driver John Stanley’s race shop in Hagerstown, MD, with the AJ 526 Olds on its way to Jan-Cen Racing Engines in Buffalo, NY, for a thorough check up.

“We are not changing much of anything for the new season,” the Campster told your Agent. “We just want to correct the few anomalies we had at the end of the year. You cannot do well going out first round time after time! BUT our plan for 2010 is to go rounds and to make our way to a final and win a race if the racing gods decide to smile upon us!”

Sounds like a plan.

(Photo courtesy StanleyandWeissRacing.com)

December 19, 2009