Dragzine » ADRL Coverage

ADRL Kansas National Guard Drags 2011 Same Day Coverage

Sam Martin — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 16:57:41 +0000

The ADRL Returns to Heartland Park Topeka for the ADRL National Guard Independence Drags. KH Al-Thani returns to competition this weekend to defend his Independence Drags event title in the Pro Extreme category. This weekend should continue to provide the great action we’ve come to expect from the ADRL. Stay tuned to DragZine all weekend for the coverage!

Special thanks to our event coverage sponsor Mickey Thompson. You can check our their fine line of wheels and tires at www.mickeythompsontires.com

Jim Laurita's crew stayed busy overnight working on their Reher-Morrison 860 ci power plant. Laurita will be looking to pick up from their 12th place qualifying effort of 4.22 seconds at just 166 mph.

The father and son duo of Mike and Aaron Hodges had a late night as they thrashed on the Hodges & Son Racing '63 Corvette's transmission. The team is qualified 15th going into the final qualifying hit this morning.

Todd Tutterow's crew made some minor changes to the motor last night and will be attempting to improve. The team is qualified fifth currently with a 3.73 second pass

John Montecalvo grabbed the top spot from Cary Goforth in the final qualifying hit for XPS. Montecalvo posted a 4.12 for the top spot and will be your top qualifier for XPS.

Joey "Hero" Martin qualified his '55 Nomad Wagon at the top spot of the Pro Extreme qualifying order. Martin's 3.65 at 204 mph took the top spot away from Gaylen Smith's 3.685. Frankie Taylor qualified his '05 Corvette third.

A very noticeable miss in the qualifying order is Todd Moyer. Moyers '63 Corvette missed the eight car Extreme 10.5 field. The 4.69 qualified Moyer in the tenth and final position in XTF.

Stan Allen's Bankston Boyz '68 Camaro got a bit out of shape during his burnout on his final qualifying attempt.

Also a surprise miss here at Heartland Park Topeka, in the Pro Extreme Eliminator is Von Smith. Smith qualified 24th with a best effort of 5.03, missing the 3.92 second bump.

Larry Jeffers also missed the show in his '70 Camaro. Jeffers posted a quick time of 4.30 seconds in his first outing in the Pro Extreme category. Jeffers struggled early in the weekend with his Camaro lifting the front tires to monster wheel stands, forcing Jeffers to lift.

Though this appeared to be a burnout for John Stanley, it was infact his final qualifying attempt. Though, on this pass it did not appear Stanley broke anything else in his motor, as the team was struggling with motor problems most of yesterday.

Dan Millen reset the track record for XTF in the final round with a 3.92 second pass at 195 mph. Lamar Swindell Jr., however has the fastest pass of the weekend in XTF with a 204 mph pass on his 4.00 second effort.

British Columbia resident, Terry Schweigert, took the top spot in PXM with a 4.16 second lap at nearly 170 mph. Noticeably absent in the 12 bike PXM field is Schweigert's teammate, Ashley Owens.

Both these drivers, David Schorr, near lane, and Ron Miller, photoed left. Schorr has taken the last two years off of racing and returned this weekend near untested. Ron Miller in the forlane just missed the bump by a margin of seven thousandths of a second. Miller's '07 Cobalt featured the first Chevrolet "Wedge" motor in the ADRL XPS field. Miller's goal this weekend, but he should be happy putting together that close of an effort with no testing on the new motor.

Mike Recchia, qualified 8th, in an upset victory defeated JR Todd. Both cars ran into shake and were forced to peddle, but Recchia won with a 4.00 second lap.

Terry Legget had an exciting run in the first round of Pro Extreme as his Ford Mustang darted from the left lane to the right and crossed the centerline. Leggett was able to get the car back under control and only faced disqualification for crossing the centerline with no other consequences.

Todd Martin in a major upset defeated KH AL-Thani. Both cars ran into tire shake, which has been very consistent in the first round of PX eliminations.

Gaylen Smiths motor let go and it appears the car got into its own oil and had a small fire and also made contact with the left wall.

This is where the Jimmy Dean themed '59 Corvette of Smith came to rest. Smith is out of his car under his own power and appears to be OK.

Racing is back under way, and we're into Top Sportsman, after just a few pair we will be moving into the Extreme Pro Stock Eliminator.

Gaylen has confirmed that he is mostly OK, though he did admit to having the wind knocked out of him and that initially it rung his bell. The team is going to evaluate the car when it is back in the shop and is going to evaluate whether or not the car will be ready for the next ADRL race which will be held in Martin, MI.

Trevor Eman with the drive of the weekend! Eman was racing Dean Goforth in round 1 eliminations of XPS, he got a large holeshot, but fought the car from then on. Eman's Mustang shot right towards the centerline, and he muscled the car to keep it from crossing and get it back to the groove. Then the car slide left and crossed the stripe with a 4.29 for a holeshot win over Dean Goforth.

Round one of XPS featured just the one upset of Trevor Eman over Dean Goforth. All of the other pairs of round one were taken by the top qualifier.

The bike field which had initially only qualified 12 motorcycles was drastically shorter by the first round of eliminations. Four bikes were unable to return to competition due to parts breakage. Top qualifier, Terry Schweigert, elected to pass on the first round pass as his competition, Blaine Hale, was among those who were unable to return to first round.

G-Mac Grant McCrary lost round one in XTF, but he can leave with his head held high after posting a 4.07 at 189 mph. Not too bad for the cars first competition passes. McCrary was taken out by Lmar Swindell who posted a 4.02 second pass. Swindell will be joined in round two by the other top four qualifiers, Dan Millen, Frankie Taylor and Billy Glidden. McCrary's Stratus also won the Best Engineered award here in Heartland Park Topeka.

Rickie Jones defeated Aaron Hodges in a peddlefest during round one eliminations. Both cars were off the throttle by the 330 foot marker. Jones got back in the throttle quicker and will advance into round 2.

John Montecalvo advances to the semi-final round in his quest to become the first no. 1 qualifier in XPS to get an event win. Montecalvo defeated Tony Gillig with a 4.155 at 173 mph. Montecalvo will be lined up against Scott Hintz in his next run.

Kim Morrell stepped up again in the second round to run a 4.17 second pass to bring her within a hundredth of a second of Terry Schweigert. Schweigert has a bye to the finals, while MOrrell has to face Carlos Wilkerson in the semis to get to the final round.

Dan Millen squeaked out a win over Billy Glidden (pictured above) in the semi-final round of XTF. Glidden had the holeshot, but with a puff of smoke the motor went silent and Dan Millen took the win with a 4.03 second pass.

Mike Castellana (picuted in the far lane), defeated Jeff Naiser in the second round of Pro Nitrous. Castellana posted a 3.85 to go low for the round. The ultra-competitive Pro Nitrous category had an average winning ET of 3.87 seconds in the second round.

Odessa, TX., resident, Scott Hintz has advanced to his second final round appearance in the ADRL XPS category. Hintz ended John Montecalvo's attempt to win the event from the no. one spot. Hintz will meet Pete Berner in the final round of XPS..

We will see a rematch of the PBIR final round in Pro Extreme as Joey Martin in the "Lomad" take on Jason Hamstra's Plymouth Duster. Hamstra defeated Frankie Taylor, who ran into traction issues, with a 3.74 at a track record speed of 206.20 mph. Joey Martin defeated Mick Snyder in a close race, Martin posted a 3.67 at 203, while Snyder posted a 3.68 at 204.

Mike Castellana will meet Mahana Al-Naemi in the final round of Pro Nitrous. Al-Naemi defeated Burton Auxier on a holeshot with a margin of victory of just six thousdanths of a second, with both drivers posting 3.84 second laps. Auxiers 3.840 was slightly quicker than the 3.846 of Al-Naemi, but Al-Naemi had a .010 advantage on the starting line. Castellana defeated Rickie Jones by an even slimmer margin, two thousandths of a second. Castellana trailed by .028 on the starting line, but ran .030 quicker with a 3.814 second lap to the 3.844 of Jones. We have seen some great races in the semi finals and the finals certainly look promising!

Terry Schwiegert defeated a red lighting Carlos Wilkerson in the final round of PXM. Schweigert lifted to a 5-second pass while Wilkerson posted a 4.27 that was all for naught because of the red light start. Schweigert's win marks his first ADRL win in his 5th ADRL final round.

Scott Hintz defeated Pete Berner in the final round of XPS. Hintz posted a 4.14 while Berner left before the tree was activated. The win marks the first for Hintz.

Dan Millen collected his first ADRL XTF win over Lemar Swindell Jr. Swindell may get the nod for ride of the weekend as the car darted towards the centerline. Down track the car finally overpowered Swindell and quickly crossed the centerline, collecting both 1/8th mile timing cones. Swindell was very close to Millen, but the drivers avoided contact and Millen advances to victory lane with a 3.95 second pass at 195 mph.

Joey Martin defeated Jason Hamstra in a very tight final round in Pro Extreme. Martin's "Lomad" posted a 3.65 second et at 206.98 mph to defeat the 3.736 second lap at 204.94 mph of Hamstra. The result is the same as it was in PBIR for the rematch with Martin taking the win for his second event win this season.

Mike Castellana won the Al-Anabi affair that was the final round of Pro Nitrous. With Shannon Jenkins standing on the guardrail between two cars that are both tuned by him. Castellana was slow out of the gate with just a .133 reaction time, but Muhana Al-Naemi got out of shape down track, but still driving hard and never lifting, ran a 4.05 second elapsed time at 192 mph. It was not enough, however, to defeat the 3.83 second pass at 194 mph posted by Castellana.

Well ADRL's Brian Olsen has moved to the winner's circle (seen here interviewing XTF winner, Dan Millen) so that means we have officially ended this race weekend. It's been a great weekend of close racing and new event champions. ADRL is back on the track in Martin, Michigan July 15 and 16.

ADRL Palm Beach Spring Drags II 2011

Rob Cossack — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 03:12:30 +0000

We are here for day two of the ADRL Safety Clean Spring Drags II at Palm Beach International Raceway with a definite difference in the weather. Yesterdays rainy morning and overcast skies has been replaced with a partly cloudy forecast with highs approaching 90 degrees. The crowd is rolling in early to be here for eliminations. Check back through the day for our same day coverage.

Special thanks to our event coverage sponsor Mickey Thompson. Check out their great line of wheels and tires at www.mickeythompsontires.com.

Morning Pit Notes

This is the unique track drag system designed by the folks that own Bandemiere Speedway. They are bringing it to all the ADRL events to handle the track prep this year.

Team Aruba driver Trevor Eman has a new 2001 Hass Mustang for Extreme Pro Stock. The qualified tenth yesterday with a 4.14 in this car and are fairly pleased to far. the same combo in the old car had been 4.08 so they are just working to figure out what the new car wants. A Kasse 822 Hemi provides the power.

Scott Benham is part of the crew for Goforth Racing and handles the engine maintainance for both cars as well as other duties as necessary. Cary is number one qualifier in Extreme Pro Stock so far. Cary is still running the 08 Hass Cavalier with a new 2011 GXP in the works. Dean Goforth has a new car which Benham calls a "fast hot rod". Cary is coming off a win at the Houston event and is looking for a 4.06 in the final session today.

I caught up with Aaron Wells crew fabricating some brake pad spacers this morning to correct and alignment issue with the calipers.

The Nitro Fish Camaro car owner is Don Carter and the team is based out of Folsom, California. They are new to the ADRL this year with a new Jerry Bickel Camaro and Minor Brothers 526 engine under the hood. Bret Williamson is driving this weekend for Carter, they are currently not qualified with a career best 3.95 @ 195. Sponsors include Don Carter Motorsports, Nitro Fish Apparel, Life Med ID, Network Office Systems and Big O Tires.

Frankie Taylor skipped the third session last night to concentrate on the Pro Extreme car which payed off by moving him up to third spot. Taylor is looking for a low .90 int he final session in Extreme 10.5.

Final Qualifying

Qualifying is in the books today and we have the second quickest field in ADRL history for the Pro Nitrous class with a bump of 3.96 @ 189 for Stan Allen. In Pro Extreme number one qualifier Joey Martin has made every run in the 3.60′s and is the picture of consistency so far this weekend, Dan Millen leads Extreme 10.5 by nearly a tenth over Billy Glidden.

Extreme Pro Stock

Todays heat didn't fare well for many of the XPS entries but series regulars Bert Jackson, Steven Boone and Doug Kirk did use todays session to make it into the field.

The O'Brien brothers are here all the way from Canada with this 2010 Avenger for their first ADRL event. The team normally runs IHRA Pro Stock with Larry doing the driving. One very unique feature of the team is that they manufactured their own heads and block for the Hemi powered Mopar. Photo Marc Wynter

Extreme 10.5

Taylor didn't meet his goal of .80's today but did manage a 4.00 in the final session

Billy Glidden was the only car to get into the 3's in todays Extreme 10.5 final session.

Pro Nitrous

Al-Naemi ran a 3.85 @ 196 in todays final session. Last night's .79 was the best in class for the Tuscaloosa, Alabama racer putting the Al Anabi Camaro in the top spot and best in session here today.

Ed Burnley (near lane) and dan Stevenson launch in the final session today. Burnley sits in thirteenth while Stevenson didn't make the field though he did find some consistancy getting down the track and managed a 4.008 today, his best of the weekend.

Pro Extreme

Joey Martin held on for top qualifier for the Pro Extreme class, today he laid down another 3.65 @ 205 in the heat.

Mansfield, Texas' own Gaylen Smith qualified the Len Mar Motorsports 50 Corvette in ninth spot in Pro Extreme with a 3.72. He gets into some tire shake in the final session and made a move towards the center line.

Frankie Taylor was the last car down in qualifying today, he also shook the tires shortly after the launch.

Quain Stott has struggled a bit here this weekend but made the field at number eleven with a 3.75 @ 200 the final session.

Round One Results

Extreme Pro Stock

Pete Berner got the win over Cale Aronson by default after Aronson got lose early and sideswiped the wall about 120 feet out. Team Aruba's Trevor Eman advanced over O'Brien's -.123 red light start.

Bert Jackson got the win over Doug Kirk with a 4.15 to Kirk's 4.19. jackson was behind by .008 at the start and just got by at the finish.

Tony Gillig ran a nice 4.16 @ 173 against John Montecalvo who slowed to a 4.85 @ 151.

Extreme 10.5

Dan Millen set low ET for the round with a very nice 4.92 @ 198 MPH to take out Manny Cruz.

Taylor had an easy match with "Wild" Bill Devine off pace with a 10.90 after kicking the tires. Taylor put up a 3.99 @ 199.

Pro Nitrous

A giant upset for number one qualifier Al-Naemi with a red light start allowing Stan Allen to advance to round two. He will face off with Pat Stoken who won his match with Jim Halsey after he shoock the tires and shut it down.

John DeCerbo (far lane) left first on Jim Laurita and went on to a 3.89 @ 189 while Laurita shook the tires and clicked it early.

Jeff Naiser got the win over Robert Rahaim on a holeshot .030 light. Naiser's .030 light and 3.99 @ 186 was just enough to stay in front of Rahaim's 3.93 @ 191 MPH run.

Pro Extreme

Joey Martin set low ET with a 3.69 @ 202 for round one in his win over Aaron Wells.

Gaylen Smith came out on the good end of a pedalfest with Todd Tutterow. Smith was able to recover quickly and go on to a 4.15 and will meet Joey Martin in round two.

Alex Hossler got out late with a .107 light against Jason Scruggs who shook the tires early in the run allowing Hossler to get by with a 3.75 @ 204 MPH for the Al Anabi sponsored 70 1/2 Camaro.

Dan Millen lost a blower and the crankshaft was blown out of the bottom end in round two match with Jimmy Marino. He is ok but the car is a little worse for wear due to the fire and Dan scrubbing the wal to kill some speed on the top end of the track.

This video screen capture is courtesy of the ADRL and shows Millen on the top end on fire.

The safety crew was quick on the scene to put out the fire. Dan was out of the car quickly and unhurt besides some minor smoke inhalation. Photo courtesy ADRL.

The aftermath of the fire, we are all just glad Dan is uninjured. Photo Courtesy ADRL.

Round Two Results

Extreme Pro Stock Round Two

Bert Jackson got out first against number one qualifier Cary Goforth with a .048 light. At the stripe it would be Jackson first with a 4.184 @ 173 to Goforth's 4.149 @ 174. Dean Goforth was also just a little late on the tree against Richie Stevens Jr.. he slowed to a 6.13 and Stevens will go on to the semi finals with a 4.166 @ 173.

Pete Berner put up a 4.10 @ 175 to take out Elijah Morton's 2007 Ford ZX2. Trevor Eman goes to the semis by virtue of a red light by Tony Gillig, negating his better 4.148 ET. Berner will have lane chioce.

Extreme 10.5

Jimmy Marino left first on Dan Millen and put up a 4.21 @ 170. However Millen laid down a clean 3.92 @ 198 then lost the blower and crankshaft after the finish line and caught fire. He is ok but is unable to make the call for next round due to the severe damage from the resulting fire. Millen will get round three loser points and money.

Billy Glidden ran a 3.99 @ 183 to take out Jimmy Blackmon's turbocharged Firebird. Blackmon last traction early on the run and shut it off early. Frankie Taylor and Lamar Swindell Jr. faced off with Taylor putting up a 3.933 @ 201 for the win.

Pro Nitrous

Easy come easy go for Stan Allen, after getting the W in round one on a red light he does it himself against Pat Stoken. Stoken coughed going on the transbrake and didn't move out of the beam.

He will face off with 2010 Champion Burton Auxier who ran a 3.89 @ 192 in his match with Rickey Jones.

Decerbo is having a great run in eliminations setting low ET in both rounds and putting up a 3.862 @ 189 to take out Khalid Al- Balooshi's 4.02 @ 183.

Pro Extreme

Joey Martin and Gaylen Smith had a good match in round two of Pro Extreme with Martin away first with a .035 to Smith's .064. On the top end Martin slowed a bit from his earlier runs to a 3.71 @ 200 while Smith put up a 3.724 @ 202.

Von Smith ripped off a 3.78 @ 205 to take out John Stanley, Hamstra got a close win over Alex Hossler with both cars running identical 3.730 ET's and Hamstra just .005 better on the tree.

He will give up lane choice to Mick Snyder after he got by Frankie Taylor who fell off pace to a 4.19 @ 123. Snyder ran a nice 3.712 @ 204.

Semi Final Results

Extreme Pro Stock

Richie Stevens Jr. had a nice .011 light to Bert Jackson's .028 which was enough to stay out front despite a slightly slower ET. Stevens takes the round in the Car Safe/Aronson Motorsports Mustang on a holeshot, 4.155 to 4.145 for Jackson.

Berner and Eman were the other half of the semi finals in Extreme Pro Stock. Eman came out first with a .026 tree but his 4.15 couldn't hold off Berner's 4.079 @ 176 MPH blast earning low ET.

Extreme 10.5

Billy Glidden with get the event win after Frankie Taylor crossed the center line and went through in Glidden's lane lighting the scoreboard with a 4.15 @ 150. Glidden will have to come up and take the tree for the final.

Pro Nitrous

Pat Stoken had trouble in the last round with the car backfiring through the carbs and the problem persisted in the semi with Burton Auxier. Stoken wasn't able to make a burnout so Auxier took the tree alone and ran a 3.891 @ 176.

Mike Castellana and John DeCerbis were up next with Castellana got away first with a very good .010 light and ran a 3.835 @ 195 earning lane choice to DeCerbo's game 3.860 @ 188.

Pro Extreme

Joey Martin was late with a .106 light against Von Smith's .033 but laid down a 3.682 @ 202 earning the win to Smith's 3.770 @ 205 MPH run.

The other pair was Hamstra and Snyder with Hamstra away first with a .042. At the stripe it would be Hamstra's 3.692 @ 207 taking the win to Snyder's 3.707 run.

Final Results

Pete Berner got his first ADRL Extreme Pro Stock win in the Summit Racing Pontiac GXP over Richie Stevens Jr. with a 4.08 @ 175 MPH to Stevens' 4.15 @ 173.

Billy Glidden took the tree and drove down easy in the 2010 Mickey Thompson Mustang. Certainly not the way a great competitior like Billy wants a win but circumstances tonight didn't allow a heads up final in Extreme 10.5.

Pro Nitrous was an all Al Anabi final with Mike Castellana and Burton Auxier. Castellana took a .003 advantage at the tree and held on for the win running a 3.828 @ 195.96 to Auxier's 3.868 @ 193.29 MPH.

In a twist both Pro Extreme finalists had their slowest runs of eliminations with Joey Martin putting the Lowmad in the winners circle here at PBIR. He was away first with a .039 tree and ran a 3.755 @ 200.20 to Hamstra's .049, 3.767 @ only 168 MPH. Hamstra's Duster had a gremlin and shut down part way through the run.

ADRL Baytown 2011 Season Opener Same Day Coverage

Kevin Blalock — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 00:13:48 +0000

Special thanks to our event coverage sponsor Mickey Thompson Tires for allowing us to bring you latest race updates on site from around the country.

Saturday Morning Update

Welcome once again race fans! We are back at the track bright and early to bring you a saturday morning updates. Yesterday was a great day of racing with very little carnage. There were a few motor swaps through the night but other than that, most race teams are just doing routine maintenance.

Greg Lair is in good spirits this morning even though they have yet to qualify. The team reports that they didn't bring a big enough "bullet". None the less, the team says it is good practice and have had a great time.

Steven Boone's team sure looked busy this morning. Boone's racecar is built by Allen Competition along with two other cars that they had brought. We chatted with Steven's father for a few minutes (the nice older gentleman in the right of the photo). He said they had a good night's sleep and are working on all three cars this morning.

Toni Pontieri's team is looking a little tired this morning after swapping motors last night. The team is currently in 15th place and to quite a team member: "We are broke down and hurtin' this morning". By the looks of it, the car is ready, hopefully they are too. They look worn out!

There was much talk going on after Sean Davis blew his motor yesterday in his '57 Chevy Pro Mod aptly named "Big Red". A shop rag shot up into the air, and the rumor was that the motor had sucked the rag through the blower and out the exhaust. We had to find out the truth, and we did. They reported that the shop rag was shoved behind the distributor, and when the motor blew, it shattered the blast panel and shot the rag in the air. A sleeve broke as well as throwing a piston when the motor let loose. A "new bullet" is in the car this morning ready to race!

FRIDAY’S 3RD QUALIFYING ROUND STATS:

Extreme Pro Stock 4TH Qualifying Round

Doug Kirk had a quick launch but ended up running slower than he did yesterday with a time of 4.18 at 174 MPH.

Scott Hintz is the most consistent driver in the class with four runs within .0014 of a second of each other. His lastest pass was a 4.13 at 175 MPH.

Dean Goforth moved up to the number two position with a time of 4.08 at 176 MPH beating his son, Cary Goforth who was alongside him and ran a 5.93 @ 81 MPH.

Pete Berner ran solo and is the number one qualifier heading into eliminations. He ran a 4.07 at 177.95 MPH.

Extreme 10.5 4th Qualifying Round

Eric Stubbs runs a 4.29 at 192 MPH in his 620 cubic inch powered '63 Corvette.

Michael Neal spins off the line from too much tire shake and coasts down the track in his 526 cubic inch '67 Nova.

Frankie Taylor ran a 3.97 at 196 MPH.

Todd Moyer ran a 5.14 at 120+ MPH in his 632 cubic inch powered '63 Corvette.

Pro Nitrous 4th Qualifying Round

Lee Adkins is know for building his own chassis and is staying at the number ten spot. He had his best run of the weekend of 3.95 at 188 MPH.

Terry Housley ran into tire shake, and then got back into it and ended up qualifying in the number fifteen position. He ran a 4.27 at 168 MPH.

Burton Auxier had a fire out of the intake and tire shake out of the hole. He is racing for the new world championship and ran a 5.170 at 98.28 MPH.

John Hall possibly ran his career best of 3.94 at 189 MPH.

Pro Extreme 4th Qualifying Round

Jason Scruggs' blower belt broke about three hundred feet out. He was still capable of putting down a 4.30 at 132 MPH.

Quain Stott shook the tires the entire pass down the track. He moved up from number fourteen to number twelve with a time of 3.76 at 201 MPH.

Bill Windham has not gotten much test time with his car, and ended up not qualifying. He ran a 5.37 at 96 MPH. As you can see in this image, he got squirly and had to let off.

Frankie Taylor had a near miss as he went up on two wheels which forced him into the other lane. His quick thinking saved him as he pulled the shoots just in time before hitting the other racer or the wall. The shutes allowed the car to straighten back out and ease off the track.

Extreme Pro Stock 1st Round Eliminations

Brad Waddle had to shut the car down. It appeared he was not able to go into high gear. He ran a 4.39 at 149 MPH sending Doug Kirk into the next round. Doug ran a 4.14 at 174 MPH.

Dean Goforth ended up redlighting before the tree had even activated. No one is sure why but he still ran wide open.

Pro Nitrous 1st Round Eliminations

Jim Halsey had the best sixty foot time of .966 seconds. He rand a 3.85 at 196 MPH.

Dan Stevenson had a tire shake half way down the track and ran a 5.22 at 102 MPH.

Pro Extreme 1st Round Eliminations

Joey Martin had two consecutive 3.68 runs on the hottest day of the weekend. His run was a 3.68 at 207.5 MPH.

KH Al-Thani ran a solo run of 3.66 at 210.97 MPH.

Extreme Pro Stock Final

Cary Goforth wins the class in his 817 cubic inch powered 2009 Cobalt running a 4.074 at 177.30 MPH.

Extreme 10.5 Final

Lamar Swindell Jr. wins the class with his 620 cubic inch powered 2004 Cavalier with a 4.030 at 201.37 MPH.

Pro Nitrous Final

Khalid Al-Balooshi won the class with his 855 cubic inch 1968 Camaro running a 3.872 at 194.44 MPH.

Pro Extreme Final

Jason Hamstra won the class with his 1970 Duster running a 3.687 at 209.82 MPH.

ADRL Ohio Drags IV Race Recap

Andrew Wolf — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 20:33:19 +0000

Image credit: ADRL.us

Words by ADRL Communications:

Two of the top competitors in the American Drag Racing League (ADRL) showed exactly why they reign atop their respective classes at Saturday’s Summit Racing Equipment Ohio Drags IV.

Extreme Pro Stock driver Cary Goforth and Pro Extreme Motorcycle rider Ashley Owens both won for the second time in two nights to stay No. 1 in their divisions, capping off a memorable double-race weekend at Summit Motorsports Park.

“To get two wins is just really, really awesome,” said Goforth, who won Dragstock VII on Friday. “Awesome won’t even cover it. This is just wonderful. You always dream about something like this, but you don’t always get it.”

Two other drivers got a chance to celebrate for the first time in the ADRL, as Mick Snyder (Pro Extreme) and Jim Laurita (Pro Nitrous) both picked up their first career ADRL wins on Saturday.

Chuck Ulsch picked up his third win of the 2010 season in Extreme 10.5 and Morgan Benfield got the win in Pro Junior Dragster.

Image credit: ADRL.us

Owens won for an unprecedented eighth time this season and also became the first ADRL competitor in its history to win five straight races.
“You never take any of these for granted,” Owens said. “There’s so much that can happen, you just have to enjoy it.”  In getting his second double-win weekend this year, Owens handed more heartache to Terry Schweigert. Owens went 4.03 in the finals, going a PXM-best 178.28 miles per hour to beat Schweigert in the finals for the fourth time in 2010.

“I just can’t say enough about our team,” Owens said. “They scrambled to put that back-up motor in and just did an amazing job, every one of the them. I had total confidence in them that they were going to get everything done.”

Goforth was on point all weekend in Extreme Pro Stock, reclaiming the points lead after winning Dragstock on Friday. He followed it up by going 4.11 to beat John Montecalvo in Saturday’s final. Goforth went as quick as 4.05 and was consistently impressive for the second straight day in picking up his third win this season.

“I’ve got a good crew and that’s the truth,” Goforth said. “We had a consistent car, but it was also consistently faster and quicker than anybody out there this weekend.”

Image credit: ADRL.us

Snyder gave the capacity crowd at Summit Motorsports Park a thrilling show in the Pro Extreme final, as he nearly crossed the center line before blowing a header in an electrifying run against Alex Hossler. Snyder went 3.95, but couldn’t celebrate his first ADRL win until replays showed he didn’t move into the right lane.

“I wasn’t sure if I crossed or not. I knew I was close and I was waiting for someone to let me know,” Snyder said. “If you’re going to win, you might as well do it in spectacular fashion.”

Snyder went 3.66 in the first round and then had back-to-back 3.68s to reach the finals - including a victory against points leader Joshua Hernandez – ending his rookie season in Pro Extreme in thrilling fashion.

“How can you do it any better than this?” Snyder said. “It’s pretty amazing and just caps the year. We’ve been having a lot of fun, but we weren’t winning. This win saves the year, really.”

The win made Laurita’s year, which, like Snyder, is also his first in the ADRL. On a day filled with upsets and the unbelievable – points leader Rickie Smith was one of many top drivers who did not qualify for eliminations - Laurita hung around and went 3.94 to beat Terry Housley in the finals.

“This is overwhelming,” Laurita said. “The Lord just blessed me here today. There was a lot of luck, but I’m just ecstatic. I’ve had a lot of friends help me the last few years and they’ve really stuck with me.”

Laurita did his part as well, going 4.00 in the second round to beat close friend John Decerbo and adding another 4.00 in a semifinal win against Robert Mathis, who upset No. 1 qualifier Pat Stoken in the first round. That was simply par for the course on a wild day in Pro Nitrous, where the top eight in points changed multiple times throughout the day.

“It was just perseverance,” Laurita said. “We shook on every pass, but we were able to get through it.”

Ulsch got a red-light win against Dan Millen in the Extreme 10.5 final, but he wasn’t about to turn it down after his team worked vigorously to repair his car after the semifinals.

“Everybody was down there. There was probably about 20 people thrashing on the car,” Ulsch said. “But you gotta get up (to the starting line) to win it. I’m just pumped.”

He had every right to be after Millen couldn’t finish off his previously amazing day. Millen set a new world E.T. record with a 3.78 and consistently ran in the low 3.80s during eliminations. It was enough to get him into the top eight in the points standings in Extreme 10.5, but Ulsch was the one with the Minuteman trophy afterwards.

“We were off here and Dan is the cream of the crop,” Ulsch said. “You couldn’t mess with it. But we’ve got (3.80s) in us and now we have a month to find it.”

Frankie Taylor’s New Pro Extreme Corvette Goes 3.85 on Third Pass

Chris Taylor — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 20:13:28 +0000

Thanks to torrential downpours that just wouldn’t let up back in March at Dragpalooza VI, this week will be a whirlwind of madness in the ADRL garage with back to back events being run at Houston Raceway Park. We’re going to miss Frankie Taylor’s extremely vibrant, out of this world and flat-out different paint scheme but, flat black is simple, easy, and well, has the potential to look pretty badass.

Checkout the finished product of Jeffers Pro Cars’ hard work at ADRL.us.

Taylor's Sweet New Ride. Photo By ADRL

Fear not, Taylor is still keeping the wild graphics package-equipped Yellow ‘Vette to run in the TOPMA (Texas Outlaw Pro Mod Assoc.) series hoping for continued success with his ADRL record setter. Just like his ‘other’ ’05 Corvette, Taylor’s new black ride is running a Blown BAE Hemi – going with what he knows works in this class. It’s no record-setting 3.60, but in the car’s testing debut at Kennedale Raceway Park this evening, on just his 3rd pass in the car Taylor was able to run a 3.85 despite fighting ignition issues which ended the car’s night early after the run. A little hurdle here and there is expected with a virgin setup, and Taylor is still certain that he’ll be out in this black beast for the ADRL race this upcoming weekend on July 23-24th.

The body looks nearly identical to the yellow car because well, it is, but Taylor says the biggest improvement in this car is in the weight department – thanks to an innovative cage/chassis design this car is a hair over 100 lbs. lighter than his record-setter. Will the ADRL Pro Extreme competition have anything for Frankie “Mad Man” Taylor when they meet at the tree, or will Taylor’s blown-hemi screaming away be all they get to see? Be sure to check back for updates, and follow Taylor’s racing adventures on his website.

Rumors Running Wild – Tony Pedregon And The ADRL

Chris Taylor — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 01:39:42 +0000

The first rendering featuring an ADRL logo on Tony's car. Photos By: ADRL.us

Other than the fact that they’ve got wheels, an engine, and we love to watch ‘em run down the track, NHRA Funny Cars and the world’s most elite Door-slammers in the ADRL have pretty much nothing in common, that is, until we noticed an ADRL decal adorning Pedregon’s Chevy Impala Funny Car. All in all, it’s just a sticker and could be a mere indication that the ADRL is trying to reach out to a similar fan-base, but ADRL’s Agent 660 is hinting pretty heavily that there’s more news to come from the Pedregon camp in regards to envolvement with ADRL. Read more at ADRL.us

What started off as a rendering nabbed off the photocopier at ADRL headquarters in O’Fallon, MO, has quickly turned into a slew of rumors hinting that the past-NHRA Champ Pedregon is seeking a future in driving door-slammers. With car counts slipping in some ADRL classes, some look at this possibility of a new car in the field as something positive, though there seem to be some mixed emotions around the idea.

Given the NHRA’s grueling schedule that Pedregon has to work with, it’s doubtful we’ll see him in a door car this year when most ADRL events overlap NHRA ones with the exception of the August race at Gateway and the finals at the Texas Motorplex. Could the more affordable door-slammer heads up racing be appealing in hard economic times, or is someone just looking for a change? T. Pedregon and the ADRL have kept their lips sealed thus far, but expect some sort of announcement or development soon. The longer the silence, the more our minds wander..

Multiple Violent Accidents Before a Rain Cancelled End to the ADRL Independence Drags VI in Topeka

Andrew Wolf — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 16:22:32 +0000

Image courtesy: ADRL.us

It was a long, trying weekend for the ADRL racers, officials, and safety crews as a plethora of nasty incidents occurred during the postponed Hardee’s Independence Drags VI at Heartland Park Topeka in Topeka, KS. The competition in the ADRL is incredibly tight and the cars and stars of the no-holds-barred series live on the ragged edge of control and unfortunately, accidents are a byproduct of that.

Image credit: Mark Walter/DragStory.com

During Fridays qualifying, Pro Extreme star Bubba Stanton had the throttle hang on his gorgeous 1968 Camaro following a 3.84-second, 192 MPH lap and with the brakes locked up, turned immediate left into the guardrail and flipped onto its roof before sliding to a stop in the HPT shutdown area. The car briefly caught fire but Stanton was able to escape unharmed. “It was a pretty wild ride,” Stanton said “I cut the fuel off to kill the motor, but the brakes locked up. Everything happened at one time.”

Image courtesy: ADRL.us

Jason Hamstra’s recent string of brutal luck continued this weekend, with a nasty impact with the right lane guardrail near half track. His practically brand new ’68 Camaro shook the tires and before Hamstra could reign it in, got up on two wheels and headed straight for the wall, ricocheting and hitting the left side guardrail further downtrack. Hamstra escaped without injury and was done for the weekend, but is reservedly optimistic about making repairs in time for the next event in Houston in three weeks. “I’m sore but I’m okay,” Hamstra said. “My knee hurts a little. I must have hit something in the car.”

Hamstra was making the first pass on the car since replacing the front end after the original was blown off the car at the last race in Martin, MI. He also suffered a violent crash at last years ADRL World Finals in Dallas that destroyed the teams’ ’68 Camaro.

Image courtesy: ADRL.us

On Saturday, Billy Glidden, one of the most renowned and natural drivers in all of drag racing, experienced an incredibly rare incident in his Extreme 10.5 2010 Ford Mustang after an undetermined parts failure sent his car out of control and into the opposite guardrail, overturning on to its roof in front of opponent Dan Saitz. The damage was largely confined to the front end and the cars’ roof and while repairable, is a huge blow to the fan-favorite Glidden team that has made no bones about their tight racing budget. Said Glidden, “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. We don’t have the funding to make up for this.” Glidden nearly got the car stopped before striking the wall around the 300’ marker and turning shiny side down.

During Friday evenings third round of qualifying, Pro Extreme racers Aaron Wells and Jim Roberts made hard contact with one another after Wells’ Mustang made a quick move toward the centerline a couple hundred feet out and collected Roberts’ Mustang, sending Roberts into the wall and causing extensive damage to both cars.

Nobody ever wants to see racers experience unfortunate and devastating incidents such as these, but even moreso in these tough economic times where just getting to the race track is enough is enough of a financial struggle. Luckily however, each of these competitors walked away and will be back to compete another day, which is great news for the ADRL and its legion of fans.

Saturday ended early before eliminations could be completed as the rain rolled through Topeka. The make-up will be at the next ADRL stop.

Coby Rabon’s Wild Pro-Mod Mustang Gets Some Changes At Texas Chassisworks

Chris Taylor — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 17:14:06 +0000

Ever since this big-tire Mustang poked its head outside of Proline’s shop doors, we’ve been pretty impressed with what Coby, tuner Steve Petty and everyone else involved with this ride have pulled off – staying competitive anywhere from the PSCA to the ADRL week in and week out is an impressive feat in itself. After a brief encounter with the wall a couple weeks back, the car was brought over to Texas Chassisworks in Tyler,TX for some light chassis repair and perform some minor repairs to the carbon body.

Checkout Ross from Texas Chassisworks’ post on Modded Mustangs to get a look at what they’ve been changin’ up on Rabon’s car. Be sure to follow along with the Proline team on Prolineracing.net.

Aside from the repair-work, the headers were redesigned to allow the team to move the turbo’s back closer to the firewall instead of the traditional turbos peeking out the grille. While the guys at Texas Chassisworks were successful in getting the car out just in time for last weekend’s NHRA Unleashed event in Atlanta, Rabon struggled to get off a clean pass in the Atlanta heat and didn’t come up with the impressive showing they were hoping for, with engine troubles in the first round of qualifying. It wasn’t a total loss however, as they did bust off a solid 4.13 at 187 MPH lifting on the big end, but unfortunately it didn’t count towards their qualifying effort.

Running high 5′s in the quarter and low 4′s in the eighth is a tall order, but with the help of 670 cubic inches and a pair of monstrous 108mm Precision turbos, these guys are getting it done in style. Keep your eyes peeled for this team at the upcoming ADRL event, though don’t rule out these boys to come in and spoil some Pro-Mod races abroad.

Photo By: Ross at Texas Chassisworks

ADRL Martin 2010 Same Day Coverage

Johnny Huege — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 22:10:11 +0000

Special thanks to our event coverage sponsor Mickey Thompson Tires for allowing us to bring you latest race updates on site from around the country.

We had a brief rain this morning, the track crew is drying and preping the track for Q3 starting with Xtreme Pro Stock. The forecast looks great for the rest of the day.

Saturday Morning Update

John Vergotz had a nasty nitrous explosion around the 330 yesterday due to pedeling the car and trying to get back in it. The team got a new hood scoop and are hoping their 860 ci buck and APD engine will do the trick to qualify in this 3rd session coming up.

Ohio man Brian Gahm seemed to be making some changes in the center section of his pro stock beast. Gahm is running a Jerry Haas Mustang with a massive 820 ci engine and is currently number 2 in XPS.

Jason Scruggs team is waiting to see what the weather has to offer before they make any changes to the car but only plan to make simple changes to the 526 ci BAE engine and the Garret 1968 Camaro. Scruggs team was doing some morning check ups when I passed by as well.

Currently sitting 9th in XPS Doug Kirk is looking to make some adjusments to the gear box, the team is waiting to see what the weather does but is going to make some ratio adjustments and try to make it into the top half of the field.

ROUND 1 of Eliminations

Extreme Pro Stock

Obrien 4.42 over Miller 4.20(RED)

Dobbins 4.17 over Boone 4.16(.005 red)

Berner 4.13 over Goforth 4.16

Kirk 4.20 over Aaronson 4.58

Birch 4.15 over Morton 4.15

Eman 4.15 over Martino 4.16

Gahm 4.14 (.000) rt over Plucchino 4.19

Montecalvo 4.11 over Hintz 4.20

EXTREME 10.5 Round 1

In eXtreme 10.5 Dam Millen went lowof the round with a 4.05in his brand new Bickel built and Tutterow tuned Mustang.

Gary White 5.05 (BYE)

L.J Wood 4.33 over Keith Jackson 4.31

Dan Millen 4.05 192.57 (BYE)

Spiro Pappas 4.07 over David Hance 4.47

Todd Moyer 4.11 over Jeff Naiser 4.28

Billy Glidden 4.07 over Chuck Ulsch 7.18

Kenny Doak 4.12 over Eric STubbs 4.62

Pro Nitrous Round 1

In Pro Nitrous Khalid Balooshi went low for the round with a 3.91 win over Terry Murphy. Other notables were John Decerbo's 3.95 career best and mutliple low 4.00 second passes.

Greg Godwin 4.01 over Dan Stevenson

Khalid Balooshi 3.91 over Terry Murphy
Jim Laurita 4.25 over Burton Auxier

Randy Weatherford 4.00 over Jim Halsey
Pat Stoken 4.28 over Dan Klooster
John Decerbo 3.95 over Stan Allen
Thomas Myers 4.27 over Charles Carpenter

Lee Adkins 4.00 over Steve Vick

Pro Extreme Round 1

Jason Hamstra went 3.73 which was more than enough to move on over a tire shaking Bubba Stanton. The average for all 1st round winners was 3.72!!!!

Gaylen Smith 3.69 over Todd Robertson
Joshua Hernandez 3.69 over Mike Stawicki
John Stanley 3.84 over Wes Johnson
Frankie Taylor 3.702 over Mick Snyder
KH Al-Thani 3.716 over Kirk Wilmes
Jason Hamstra 3.73 over Bubba Stanton
Alex Hossler 3.72 over Duane Rister
Jason Scruggs 3.70 over Todd Tutterow

SECOND ROUND OF ELIMINATIONS

EXTREME PRO STOCK

Brian Gahm has been running consistant times all weekend. Second round was no different when Gahm ran 4.14 to take out Larry O'brien.

Extreme Pro Stock Round 2
John Montecalvo 4.11 over Doug Kirk
Pete Berner 4.15 over Bob Bertsch
Brian Gahm 4.14 over Larry O’brien
Steve Boone 4.17 over Trevor Eman

Extreme 10.5

In Round 2 Todd Moyer had a competition bye but that did not stop him from going for lane choice with a 4.05 at over 190 mph. Gary White set low e.t. of the round with a 3.98.

Extreme 10.5 Round 2
Gary White 3.98 over L.J. Wood
Spiro Pappas 4.35 over Dan Millen
Todd Moyer(BYE) 4..05
Billy Glidden 6.25 over Kenny Doak

Pro Nitrous Round 2 Eliminations

Lee Adkins seems to be running very consist today and progessively getting though rounds. With his 4.01 round win over Thomas Myers he will be paired up with Khalid Balooshi in the semi finals.

Pro Nitrous Round 2
Pat Stoken 3.95 over John Decerbo
Greg Godwin 6.38 over Randy Weatherford
Khalid Balooshi 3.9x over Burton Auxier
Lee Adkins 4.01 over Thomas Myers

Pro Extreme Round 2 of Eliminations

Alex Hossler is here with some new lightweight body components and they seem to be working as he goes through the traps with a 3.70 at nearly 210! to beat Jason Scruggs who shook the tires.

Pro Extreme Round 2
John Stanley 3.83 over Frankie Taylor
Josh Hernandez 3.65 over Gaylen Smith
Jason Hamstra 3.70 over KH Al-Thani
Alex Hossler 3.70 over Jason Scruggs

SEMI FINALS

EXTREME PRO STOCK

In the Semi Finals of Exteme Pro Stock it was the ever so consistant John Montecalvo that took out Pete Berner with another low e.t. of the round with a 4.12. In the next pair it would be Brian Gahm to take out Steven Boone with a 4.153 giving Montecalvo lane choice in the finals.

EXTREME 10.5 SEMI Finals

Gary White is making sure people know he is in the Mickey Thompson 3 second club. With low e.t. nearly every round White continues to the final over Spiro Pappas with a 3.98. Billy Glidden worked his way around Texas Todd Moyer with a 4.05 as well. White has lane choice over Glidden in the final.

PRO NITROUS SEMI FINALS

For the first time in his ADRL career Lee Adkins will be going to the finals with a clean 3.99 pass over Balooshi, who shook the tires hard in the right lane. Pat Stoken who has yet to win an adrl race as well took the win over Greg Godwin with a 3.94 in and out of the groove all the way down. Pat Stoken will have lane choice over Lee Adkins in the final.

PRO EXTREME SEMI FINALS

In our first pair of Pro Extreme Semi Finals Jason Hamstra had a massive explosion right past the stripe, the explosion tore up the front end and caused a massive oil down. In the next pair John Stanley red ligth giving the win to Josh Hernandez, Alex Hossler who took out Hamstras 3.72 with a 3.73 will have lane choice over Josh hernandez.

FINALS

In Extreme Pro Stock it was John Montecalvo all weekend long! With a 4.09 in the final to Brian Gahms 4.11 it was a great drag race. Montecalvo also went 178.87 to set the record but could not back it up in the same event so it will not count in the books.

Gary White and TITAN Motorsports run yet another 3 second pass to take the win but the team comes closer to making it into the 3.8x second range with a 3.93 at 190 to take out Billy Glidden who ran a clean 4.04 in the small block ford mustang.

Pro Nitrous consisted of two drivers who have yet to win an ADRL race, but it was Lee Adkins with the converter driven 1968 Camaro who would run a 3.96 over Pat Stoken who shook hard off the line.

In Pro Extreme two of the most consistent cars of the weekend would meet, Joahua Hernandez and Alex Hossler. Hernandez goes low for the weekend with a 3.66 to take the win against Hossler who went for the ride of his life.( Pictures below)

Dan Millen Testing: On the Verge of ADRL Debut with New Car

Matt Ebaugh — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 23:02:36 +0000

The sound of a Brad Anderson Hemi is like no other. Photos:SuperDugge on YellowBullet.

Dan Millen has been at the game for a long time and has quite the track record for winning races in his career. While he has primarily been a turbo guy while campaigning his Outlaw 10.5 Mustang in the NMRA, there always comes time for change. The Mustang made the trip to Dubai last winter and ultimately stayed after being purchased. This struck a wildfire of chatter as to what he would do next and with being only a few days away from the ADRL event at US131 Dragway which is right in Dan’s neck of the woods.

Check out YellowBullet for more details on the pre-race testing.

A flourish of talk has popped up today and when you see the pictures it is pretty obvious. Millen is out and testing his new XTF Mustang that is sponsored by Al-Anabi Racing. Dan has made the trip to Milan Dragway with Billy Glidden to do some pre-race testing in preparation for this weekend’s event. Early on the track appears to be good as Glidden made a nice hit with a 4.22 @ 171mph. We have yet to hear of any numbers out of the screw blown Mustang of Millen but you can be sure that the crew will get a handle on things and be ready to run with the best of them in the ADRL.

Millen’s new Mustang consists of a flat black finish that has a mean Brad Anderson Hemi settled in between the frame rails. The screw blower has been the most popular way of making power in the XTF ranks over the past year and with the success of Chuck Ulsch it is evident why. Can Millen be the next man in the 3′s? The official 3-second club may be full but there is always records to be broken, and from the looks of this Al-Anabi sponsored machine, things may get shook up a bit.

Blackmon Progressing on ADRL XTF Entry

Andrew Wolf — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 21:46:31 +0000

Images courtesy: Straightline Chassis

As we reported on here at DRAGZINE back in early April, noted doorslammer and small tire chassis builder and Outlaw 10.5 standout Jimmy Blackmon has been making preparations for a step up from the “limited” Outlaw class to the no-holds-barred Extreme 10.5 category in the ADRL, where he will match up with the likes of Spiro Pappas, Chuck Ulsch, and Billy Glidden. Blackmon is the most recent Outlaw 10.5 competitor to try his hand at this ruthless category that stretches the limits of the 10.5W tire.

Blackmon’s Straightline Chassis in Rockmont, GA sent over these images of the progress being made toward Blackmon’s ADRL debut in the latter half of the season. As you can see, the slick, low-profile 1968 Firebird has really taken shape with the chassis completed, the body mounted, and the suspension all mounted up with the car off the jig and rolling on its own. The big block Chevrolet has also been lowered down into its mounts and the twin turbochargers and a gaggle of piping in the engine compartment for the front-mounted intercooler also has been fabricated and mounted.

Based on the progress being made, we could well see Jimmy and crew out testing in the coming weeks before joining the ADRL fray. Thus far, the big block twin turbo combination hasn’t proven to be a contender to the surprisingly smaller, less powerful setups, but if anyone can get the monster horsepower corralled in and competitive, Blackmon is certainly one of them.

Same Day Coverage From ADRL Virginia 2010

Rob Cossack — Sat, 22 May 2010 12:35:57 +0000

Saturday morning here at Virginia Motorsports Park for the ADRL Speedtech Drags III after some insane Pro Extreme qualifying and record setting performance. Several cars are below record for MPH int he class so we are anxious to see if more records will fall today. We have overcast skies that should keep the track cool today it’s just a question if we can get it in before any rain comes. Final Qualifying starts at 9 AM.

Thanks to Mickey Thompson Tires, our event coverage sponsor. Check out Mickey Thompson Tires.com for your performance tires needs.

I have a quick break as there was another oil down on the top end. We are running slow today and are still in the fourth session.

Final Qualifying

In Extreme Pro Stock Bob Bertsch held on to the top qualifier with a 4.06. In the final session Dean Goforth stepped up three hundredths to number two qualifier with a 4.061 @ 177. Mark Martino was right on his heels with a 4.062. Cale Aronson made a nice hit as half of the first pair in the session running a 4.09 @ 176 to stay in the field.

Richard Penland was able to hold on with last nights 4.12 @ 175 to round out the field.

In Extreme 10.5 action Chuch Ulsch struggled in the first two sessions and then last night made it in with a 4.19 and lost the best on the run. Today is a different story however as he rocketed to the top of the field with a 3.95 @ 200 MPH, just three hundredths better than Gary White's turbo Scion who ran right behind him. Billy Glidden stepped it up from a 4.18 to a 40.8 to land fourth position.

Jenkins led early in Pro Nitrous qualifying and stayed on top today. Rickie Smith jumped up to second in the final session with a 3.89 @ 191 and Castellana was able to get by Auxier for third after running an identical ET with a slightly better MPH for the tie breaker. This is the second quickest Pro Nitrous field to date.

Pro Extreme is just flat off the chain this weekend here in Virginia with Frankie Taylor setting the ET record at 3.607 after running a 3.634 @ 207 to back up the record in the final session. Wes Johnston also set a record for MPH with a 211.69 MPH blast in a one two punch for Hanning Racing. Ellis Vial was able to put his band new car in the field with a 3.920 @ 180 on the bump spot.

KH was locked and loaded but he kicked the tires at the hit. He held second spot with his 3.649 @ 210 from last nights session.

Round One Elimination Notes

Bob Bertsch won his round on a hole shot against Richard Penland with a 4.108. Doug Kirk left first against Bert Jackson but shook the tires giving Jackson the go ahead win. Cary Goforth went down smooth with a 4.11 @ 175 for the win over Dobbons who broke on the line. Steven Boone got a bit holeshot on Pete Berner and stayed out font, 4.12 to 4.16. Dean Goforth is also still in running a 4.11 @ 176 over Pluchino after he shook the tires. Brian Gahm took out Cale Aronson with a .015 tree ans 4.11 @ 175 to 4.15 @ 174. Mike Martino drove around Trevor Eman after getting beat by .02 on the tree. Elijah Morton fell of to a 4.11 in his match with John Montecalvo who had low ET for the round by .001 with a 4.107.

: Texans Todd Moyer and Eric Stubbs were the first pair down in Extreme 10.5. Stubbs went red and Moyer ran a 4.26 @ 171. David Hance and LJ Wood Jr. were next out in a pedal fest but Hance was first to recover and got the win with a 4.66 @ 179. Kenny Doak popped the burst panel allowing local racer Donny Thompson to get around for the win. William Brown III had luck on his side after Michael Neal lost the blower belt at the line.

: Billy Glidden took out Mo Halls camaro with an off pace 4.30. Gary White had low ET and the only three second pass of the round to take out Dwayne Wolfe. Chuck Ulsch got into tire shake right along with Sandy Wilkins who was also too early on the tree. 4.73 @ 164 takes the win.

: Charles Carpenter and Jim Halsey left close with Halsey the slight advantage. At the stripe it would be Halsey first with a 3.91 @ 194. Next up were Elijah Rojas from San Juan and Stan Allen for the Bankston Boys representing Lousiana. Allen went red ending the race early and Rojas went on to a 3.97 @ 189. Number eleven qualifier Pat Stoken put up a 3.95 @ 191 to get by the tire shaking Weatherford in a super upset.

: Terry Murphy took out Greg Godwin on the tree and on the top end running a 3.97 @ 187. Burton Auxier and Jim Lauria had a great race with Auxier .018 on the light and 3.94 @ 190 to 3.97 @184. Rickie Smith beat Todd Howard after a red light bhy Howard and 3.93 @ 189. Shannon Jenkins put up a 3.89 to drive by Steve Vick’s 4.00.

: Gaylen Smith runs a 3.76 @ 203 over Quain Stott who made a move towards the center line and lifted. Jason Hamstra shook the tires in a loss to Mick Snyder. KH Al-Thani ran a 3.68 @ 209 against Brian Daniels for the win. Frankie Taylor put down a 3.64 @ 207 for low ET of the round in a win against Ellis Vial. Scruggs ran a 3.69 against Tommy DApril’s 3.87 getting the win without issue. Todd Tutterow got crossed up after shaking the tires and wound up in John Stanley’s lane. He did a great job driving to save the car from hitting anything. Stanley ran a 3.90 @ 196.

: Zack Barklage got the win over Wes Johnston after a red light start, lucky for him as Johnston was way faster running a 3.72 @ 210.

: Round three is in the books with Brian Gahm taking out John Montecalvo with a 4.100. Montecalvo was so close with a 4.108 and better MPH running 176 to Gahm’s 175.

: The other pair in Extreme Pro Stock was Cary Goforth and Bob Bertsch. Goforth had a .019 light to Bertsch’s dead late .160. At the stripe it would be Goforth there first with his 4.12 getting the win over the quicker 4.08.

: Brown did what he could killing the tree with a .006 light against Todd Moyer’s Texas turbo twister. Moyer gets the win with a 4.09 @ 192 to Brown’s 4.40 @ 162

: Gary White and Jeff Naiser were the other half of the remaining Extreme 10.5 cars and another nitrous vs. turbo battle. White left first with a .019 lightto Naiser’s .044. Naiser was on his game running just of his qualifying pace with a 4.07 @ 179 but White was ready for anything, running a 3.956 @ 187 for low ET of the event so far.

: Shannon Jenkins and Burton Auxier were the first pair down in the Pro Nitrous semi finals. Auxier left first with a .025 light to Jenkins .032. Auxier shook the tires and Jenkins ran a 3.885 @ 193.52 for the win.

: Castellana left first but it was too early by a mere .001 throwing away his quicker 3.89 @ 194 to Rickie Smith’s winning 4.004 @ 164, shutting it down early after making a big move towards the center line.

: Hernandez and Taylor were seperated by .002 on the tree, advantage Hernandez. At the finish it would be Hernandez again running a 3.646 @ 208 to Taylor’s 3.654 @ 207 in the quickest side by side match in ADRL history.

: The match with KH Al-Thani and Jason Scruggs was uneventfull after Scruggs started to leak oil on the burnout and was pushed back and to the side. KH Al-Thani shook the tires just after the launch and shut it down. Aftterwards it was discovered that Scruggs had a loose valve cover causing the drip.

Final Results

: Goforth and Gahm had a close run in the Extreme Pro Stock final with Gahm first on the tree and on the top end, 4.10 @ 175,07 to 4.12 @ 175.57. Gahm is the winningest driver in the ADRL.

: Gary White takes out Moyer with a 3.95 @ 186 to 4.04 @ 194 for the Texan.

: Shannon Jenkins gets the win over Rickie Smith with a 3.89 @ 194 to Smith’s losing 3.95 @ 188.

: The Pro Extreme final was KH Al-Thani and Joshua Hernandez with Al-Thani running a 3.65 @ 210 to Hernandez’ off pace 4.00@ 183 after shutting down after half track.

Host of new looks and returning drivers at this weekends ADRL event in Virginia

Andrew Wolf — Thu, 20 May 2010 22:02:10 +0000

Image: Racebarn Motorsports

A host of racers will be back in action or sporting new looks at this weekends ADRL Speedtech U.S. Drags III at Virginia Motorsports Park in Dinwiddie, VA.

Legendary Pro Modified racer Charles Carpenter has repainted his equally legendary 1955 Chevrolet in its signature yellow and purple colors, however, the team chose to swap the colors, with the roof and rear quarters purple. The infamous ’55 was damaged early last season in a top end crash in Houston and had been campaigned since being repaired minus paint.

Image: adrl.us

Former Top Alcohol Funny Car standout Mick Snyder will make his delayed ADRL Pro Extreme debut in the ex-Jason Scruggs 1963 Corvette in Virginia. Snyder, and crew chief and father Larry teamed up with Scruggs in the offseason and were all set to compete in the season-opening event in Houston, before a hard crash during testing in South Georgia Motorsports Park put a damper on the teams plans. Repairs complete, look for this team to make some noise this season.

Cody Barklage, who had a massive impact with the guardrail at the last ADRL event in Valdosta behind the wheel of his 1967 Firebird, will be back in action this weekend at the controls of the Barklage family’s Steve Bruce Race Cars-built 1957 Chevrolet that brother Zach had previously campaigned until 2007 when it received extensive damage in a roadside trailer fire. The ’57 has since been updated by Chris Duncan Race Cars and will be motivated by the supercharged engine pulled from the Firebird. The crashed car wasn’t a total loss, but will need a completely new carbon fiber body before returning to the track.

David Hance headed to ADRL Virginia on a Mission

Andrew Wolf — Thu, 20 May 2010 21:56:51 +0000

David Hance and the New York Motorsports team are headed 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,” David stated emphatically.

The classic Chevrolet, which was heavily damaged upon making hard contact with the National Trail Raceway guardrail last August, will sport an entirely new combination that is virtually untested; an Alan Johnson HEMI with twin 94mm turbochargers out front. Testing was slated for this week before the drive south to VMP, but Mother Nature had the final say. Hance hopes to get a quick feel for the car and sort the combination out to make a little noise in the always-tough Extreme 10.5 category. However, with a 2,650-pound car – 300-400 pounds heavier than the competition – David knows that a distinct disadvantage exists.

Ultimately, the plan is to make the move up to Pro Extreme, along with the Northeast Pro Mod series and the NHRA Get Screened America Pro Mod Challenge.

“We’re really dedicated to getting a turbo Pro Mod 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. We’ve got to run a little better, you know, we’ve got to go 5.95 (quarter mile) or better to play with those boys. Just showing up for the sake of showing up isn’t something we want to do.”

Aside from competing at The Night The Lights Went Out in Georgia in March, Hance has been noticeably absent from the drag radial scene – where he has truly made an indelible name for himself after becoming the first driver in the 6-second zone with his now-famous 1993 Mustang. Hance was quick to point out that sadly, the drag radial car isn’t the teams’ primary focus, as their attention and limited financial resources are divided between the two cars.

“It hurts both programs, because unlike the other guys in the class that are focused on that one platform, we’re all over the place.” Despite that, David has proven time and again that with perseverance he can conquer any challenge he chooses to tackle, and if he sets his mind to making the turbocharged Pro Mod happen, we’d be foolish not to believe in him.

Stavrinos Steps Up to ADRL XTF with Nelson Competition Powered ’68 Camaro

Rob Cossack — Mon, 10 May 2010 22:04:05 +0000

"We are working with our friends from Top Speed Performance from the U.A.E. We have been dealing with them for a little while now and they are great people. They are in the same business as we are and its amazing how much volume they move over there in a country that is nowhere near our size." - Mike Stavrinos

Billet wedge heads have runner designed in house at Nelson Competition.

Outlaw 10.5 racer Mike Stavrinos and Speed and Truck World sold the Corvette last year and are headed to ADRL’s Extreme Ten Five class for 2010 with a 68 Camaro built by Sheppard Race Cars. The Covington, Georgia based shop is well known for quality work and small tire setups. “I have seen plenty of their work and I know we will have one of the baddest cars out there,” said Mike Stavrinos.

Once again Stavrinos Motorsports will go with Nelson Competition for the engine. This one will be a 5.300 bore center billet block from Chuck Nuyten – billet wedge heads, billet runner manifold fabricated in house, split Braswell carbs, Jeff Johnson Billet Fabrication 2 piece oil pan, a Moroso oiling system and five stages of nitrous from Induction Solutions. The latest technology and lightweight parts will be used throughout the build which is expected to be completed in 4-5 weeks.

For 2010 the Stavrinos Motorsports team plans to attend as many races as possible starting with Mike Hill’s $100,000 Automatic Pro Mod race where Mike is slated to drive Jeff Paulk’s recently repaired Camaro. After that, some ADRL events and then compete for the points in XTF next year. The core of the team consists of Mike and Dino Stavrinos, Kris Nelson and Chris Lunsford. Given their past performance they should be a force to be reconed with where ever they go.

Consistency Carries Carpenter to Second Consecutive Runner-Up

Cody Norris — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 18:10:01 +0000

Release from Charles Carpenter Racing:

Just one more round win. That’s all ADRL Pro Nitrous legend Charles Carpenter has needed at the first two races of the 2010 championship season to go from two second-place finishes in a row to two huge wins in a row.

There hasn’t been a Pro Nitrous final round contested thus far in 2010 without Carpenter’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 semifinals 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 and the win.

“As I said, we wanted the win badly but going to two consecutive finals is a great accomplishment for this team,” the Charlotte, NC native 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 ADRL US Drags at Virginia Motorsports Park.

Charles Carpenter Racing would like to thank Paul Albino and Total Induction Tuning Solutions, MagnaFuel, DMP Awnings, Doherty Motorsports, Custom Autosound, WFO Racing & Machine, Santhuff Suspension Specialties, Alan Pittman Race Cars, Terry Murphy Race Cars, Dennis Radford & Tom Hemphill, Fulton Competition, Hairy Glass, Pro Glass, TEK Headers, JAZ Products, Weld Racing, Stroud Safety, Safety Solutions, RJS Safety Equipment, Goodridge Hose & Fittings, Goodyear, Friction Unlimited, Racepak, Bell Helmets, Reed Robbins & East Coast Refinishing, Indocil Art, RH2Way, and VP Racing Fuels for their continued support.

Carpenter is actively seeking primary sponsorship for 2010. For more information about Charles Carpenter Racing and the World’s Fastest ’55 Chevy, or for a copy of the team’s Marketing Partnership Guide, visit www.fastest55.com.

Video: Gary White’s Titan Motorsports Scion goes 3.99 at SGMP

Andrew Wolf — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 18:03:33 +0000

Last weekend, at the ADRL’s SGMP race, the Titan Motorsports Extreme 10.5 team and driver Gary White accomplished a goal that had been a long time coming and was once thought impossible. The Titan team races with the smallest engine in the Extreme 10.5 class with a inline-6 2JZGTE, and traversed the eighth mile in under four seconds. The feat could well be described as one of the greatest single performances we’ve seen in the sport in years. With the run – a 3.99 at 182.45 MPH – White became the fourth member of Mickey Thompson’s exclusive 3-Second Club for Extreme 10.5 cars, joining Chuck Ulsch, Spiro Pappas, and Todd Moyer.

Team Titan’s Scion tC is powered by a factory-based 190 cubic-inch inline inline-6 with a single turbocharger, competing along side massive cubic inch V8’s with screw superchargers, single and twin turbochargers and nitrous oxide. The very same Rick Jones-built car was campaigned on the now defunct NHRA Sport Compact Series and was once piloted by current Pro Modified racer Brad Personett. After the sport compact/import well ran dry, Team Titan bolted the 10.5W’s onto their ride and joined the ADRL fray. The team has steadily shaved away the numbers on the scoreboards since entering the class in 2008, holding the national record on occasion while battling with Billy Glidden for XTF supremacy nearly week in and week out. White and crew had tickled the 3-second mark prior, laying down an oh-so-close 4.009 at Rockingham last fall and a 4.005 during testing.

The Titan Racing Scion is said to weigh in the 2,200-pound region, down from the 2,450 they were required to run at in the NHRA Sport Compact Series. Much like Glidden, they’ve taken full advantage of the no minimum weight rule, allowing both to be competitive with much smaller, less powerful engines than their counterparts. White and crew have become familiar faces and an integral part of the ADRL tour and Extreme 10.5 and their once joked-about “buzzin’ half dozen” Toyota combination has earned the respect of everyone in the sport, and a big congratulations goes out to them for their feat.

Wild Ride for Vial at VMP

Cody Norris — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 23:27:13 +0000

Release from ADRL:

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-injected, 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.

Barklage Racing Returns to Two-Car Team at SGMP

Cody Norris — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 23:23:38 +0000

Release from ADRL:

For the first time in several years, Barklage Racing will field two cars in the ADRL’s Pro Extreme class this weekend at South Georgia Motorsports Park in Cecil, Georgia, as brothers Zach and Cody Barklage compete in the ADRL Hardee’s Georgia Drags VI.

The Barklage boys are on a mission to jump to the top of the qualifying field and take some round wins on race day with oldest brother Zach driving a 1967 Camaro belonging to John and Sara Heath, and Cody driving the Barklage family-owned ‘67 Firebird he steered to a sixth-place finish in Pro Extreme points last year.

“I am excited and ready to be back in the driver’s seat,” Zach (right) said. “This is my first race of the 2010 season. It’s been a long time since I’ve driven in the ADRL; I’m not sure how many years it’s been. I am just very glad to have this opportunity and thankful to John and Sara Heath for allowing me to drive their car. They have been friends of ours for a long time and now they are a great addition to our team.

“We’ve been working hard during the off season to have things in place and ready for the year, so hopefully we can qualify well and go some rounds,” Zach continued. “It’s been a few years since we’ve raced two cars at a national level, so we knew there would be a lot of work involved to be prepared. I am just excited to have our whole team back out on the track and back in competition in the ADRL. Our team has come together nicely and last year was a fantastic season for my brother. Hopefully this season we can double that success and do well with two cars.”

“This is our first race being back as a two-car team. It’s great to have my brother back with us this season,” he said. “I think having two cars on a team is always an asset when you’re running at the level of competition we are at in the ADRL. There are some amazing teams out here.”

Cody also pointed out the team has been busy testing their cars in preparation for the Hardee’s Georgia Drags VI.

“Last weekend we took both cars to Tulsa and made several passes with them. I think between our pre-season testing we’ve done with my Firebird and the additional testing we’ve done since [the ADRL season opener in] Houston, we’re hoping to start off the 2010 season right,” he said.

“Running a second car can add to the pressure of our team not only during an event, but at the shop as well. We’ve had our hands full, but this season we are in the best position ever with our team personnel. We’ve been together for a long time and I think it will show now we have more responsibility

with the second car. My dad and our crew chief, Chad Wilson, have their work cut out for them, but so do our veteran crew guys like Don Itinger and Jason Hennessey.”

With the 2010 ADRL season underway, the Pro Extreme field now has two Barklage drivers to contend with

Berner Bullish on SGMP Potential

Cody Norris — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 23:22:57 +0000

Release from ADRL:

Extreme Pro Stock racer Pete Berner hits the eighth mile at South Georgia Motorsports Park this weekend in the ADRL Hardee’s Georgia Drags VI.

With new motors and a unique setup needed for eighth-mile racing in his Summit GXP, Berner has been on a bit of a learning curve during his time on the ADRL circuit.

“Our newest motors have been showing a huge amount of potential,” Berner said. “Unfortunately, we haven’t gotten the right combination to showcase that potential yet. We’re working with Dave Braswell [of Braswell Carburetors] to solve our fuel distribution issues. Hopefully with our new set of carburetors from Dave we’ll be able to find a solution this weekend and give people something to talk about.”

South Georgia Motorsports Park is a favorite stop for many racers on the tour, including Berner.

“South Georgia is one of my favorite tracks,” he said. “Wade (Rich, SGMP Operations Manager) always does a great job. I know the track will be perfect. I’m really looking forward to getting down there and seeing what this Summit GXP can do!”

Berner said he feels like he’s closer than ever to a win and ready to take home his first ADRL Minuteman trophy.

“I know we have what it takes to win in the ADRL. I know that my team is capable and our motor program is dynamite. We just need to work out that perfect combination,” he declared. “This Summit GXP has a lot of great fans at the ADRL and we want to make them proud.”

ADRL Enjoys Record-Setting History at SGMP

Cody Norris — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 16:39:27 +0000

Release from ADRL:

After rain cut short the opening round of the American Drag Racing League’s (ADRL’s) 2010 season last month at Houston, the eighth-mile drag racing series returns to action Apr. 23-24, with the ADRL Hardee’s Georgia Drags VI at South Georgia Motorsports Park (SGMP), near Valdosta.

Several record-setting runs were recorded during qualifying at Houston Raceway Park before the wet stuff arrived and similar performances are expected at SGMP, known for its fast, all-concrete racing surface and as the only venue remaining on the ADRL tour since the series’ inaugural 2005 schedule.

South Georgia has been the site of several ADRL firsts, including the first three-second pass by a Pro Nitrous entry when Shannon Jenkins turned the trick in 2006 (right), the first official Pro Extreme run below 3.9 seconds by Jason Scruggs, and that same year, the debut of what would become the series’ popular Extreme 10.5 class.

In 2007, Georgia Drags III attracted more than 30,000 fans as the ADRL expanded its revolutionary complimentary ticket program to the south-Georgia/north-Florida market, setting a new standard for attendance at SGMP.

Out on the track, Scruggs (left) struck again with the quickest and fastest pass in ADRL history to that point, covering the 660-foot distance in just 3.8 seconds at 198.67 miles per hour and Ohio’s Steve Drake won the ADRL’s first-ever Pro Extreme Motorcycle event.

The next year, eventual ADRL Pro Nitrous World Champion Billy Harper furthered SGMP’s record-setting reputation as he left with a then-unreal 3.91 elapsed time record set along the way to his career-first ADRL win. Also popular with the partisan Georgia fans were wins by home-state heroes Mike Hill and Coodee Thomas in Extreme 10.5 and Pro Extreme Motorcycle, respectively.

Last year at SGMP, Billy Glidden lowered the Extreme 10.5 ET record to 4.08 seconds in winning his fourth-straight ADRL national event (remarkably, the year would end with the record set at 3.92), while eventual Pro Nitrous champion Khalid Al-Balooshi (below, right) made the quickest pass in class history with a pole-sitting 3.87 qualifying effort and Extreme Pro Stock winner Brian Gahm also took home a 4.05 ET record from SGMP.

For 2010, current Pro Nitrous speed record holder Jim Halsey has declared 200 mph within reach and recently suggested it may happen at SGMP next weekend. Additionally, after making a 3.8-second pass in qualifying at Houston, 2009 Extreme 10.5 World Champ Spiro Pappas will be looking to repeat the feat in Georgia and officially back it up within the required one percent for a new ADRL record.

Both Extreme Pro Stock and Pro Extreme Motorcycle saw performance records rewritten at Houston, too, with Cary Goforth resetting both ET and speed marks for the cars and Ashley Owens becoming the quickest ADRL two-wheeler in history. And of course, the ADRL’s top supercharged Pro Extreme teams are flirting with the 210-mph barrier and the Hardee’s Georgia Drags VI will see the U.S. driving debut of Sheikh Khalid Al-Thani of Qatar, who recently won the Arabian Drag Racing League Pro Extreme championship.

A lot of ADRL history has been written at South Georgia Motorsports Park and the facility enjoys a sterling reputation with competitors and fans alike. Remarkably, each race each year outshines the previous and there’s every reason to believe the ADRL Hardee’s Georgia Drags VI will continue the tradition.

ADRL keeps the envelope in check despite “Outlaw” format

Andrew Wolf — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 23:00:35 +0000

Last week, ADRL Technical Services Representative Tom Grooms issued a reminder to the series’ competitors to be certain to review and understand all current rules for their particular class. In addition, it was mentioned that all new technologies and new body designs or alterations must be accepted by the tech department prior to being allowed to compete at an ADRL event. “We really just want to keep the classes in the ADRL in the direction its going now. The big draw and the excitement of our series is watching ’69 Camaros racing 62’ Corvettes, and Ford Mustangs, and they look like muscle cars that you could’ve bought when you were a kid. What we don’t want to do is run into a situation where people are building big, wild, swoopy looking things that take away from the whole flavor of these muscle car battles

that we’re seeing in our series now,” explained Grooms.

Tom Grooms (image courtesy ADRL)

The ADRL has been very open to fulfilling the very idea of “run whatcha’ brung” style of outlaw racing – more so than any other series or sanctioning body in the sport – and while the ADRL rulebook leaves much to the imagination, there is a general understanding between the series and its competitors on what is truly acceptable. Tom continued “Our rule book is pretty thin; its easier for us to have an open dialogue with the racers so they understand the jist of what we’re trying to do. If you look at our rule book, there is no rule in there that says you must have an internal combustion engine, so what I don’t want is a racer thinking…well, I can just can go ahead and put a jet engine on my Pro Extreme car because the rulebook doesn’t say I can’t do that.”

The ADRL rulebook is more or less intended to outline the various safety aspects that the series feels are necessary to keep its drivers, fans, and track personnel safe. However, when it comes to pushing the envelope on performance, the series is largely open to advancing technology and ideas, so long as it can be proven safe and doesn’t hinder the vision that President Kenny Nowling and his team have set forth.

Last season, Don Wootton showed up at the St. Louis event with an A/Fuel Dragster-sized rear wing bolted to his nitro-burning Camaro, and while it was given the green light to compete, it also threw up some caution flags from the technical department and the drivers in the lane opposite to him as to just how stable it would be downtrack.

In addition, the series welcomed the infiltration of traction control devices over the last two couple of seasons on many of its cars, and this year, there are rumored to be as many as ten Pro Extreme cars running nitrous oxide in addition to the screw blower hanging out of the hood.

“We don’t want to get in a situation where somebody develops a body or some kind of crazy wing that wouldn’t be safe, or that would have such an advantage over the competition that would force everybody to build one. What we don’t want is Funny Cars, because they all look the same,” said Grooms.

Many of the bodies in the doorslammer classes have been altered in varying fashions from one another, including scaling and narrowing. This is evident in the numerous different twists that body and chassis builders have put on the 1968 Camaro. However, thus far, the ADRL has not deemed any body to hold a performance advantage over another, and as such, have all been approved. Grooms states that there are engine developments that the technical staff has kept a keen eye on, including the rapidly expanding cubic inch sizes of Pro Nitrous engines and the platforms to which Pro Extreme Motorcycle racers utilize.

“We pretty much allow anything, except for things that are so far outside of the box that they would totally change the dynamic of the class. Before someone goes out and spends a bunch of money on research and development and brings something to the racetrack that they are trying to explore some gray area in our rules, we kind of prefer them to run that by us first. There are some things that we really want to look at that people are developing, just to keep the organization healthy, the car count up, and the racing close and exciting.”

Brad Brand reportedly headed to XTF

Andrew Wolf — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 20:59:18 +0000

Brad Brand and his gorgeous black 1992 Mustang Coupe have long been a favorite amongst fans of heads up racing and Mustang fanatics for its sleek look with the turbos peeking out from atop the hood, its awesome stance, and wheels up charges. Brand experienced a top end crash during the Shakedown at E-Town at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park last fall. The engine let go as it went through lights and it erupted in a fireball, carrying the car through the sand trap and hard into the catch net when the chutes didn’t deploy. Since that time, everyone has been wondering when we’d see the little black coupe with the monstrous twin turbocharged big block back on the track.
A couple images surfaced today over on the Yellow Bullet forums of a 2007 Pro Stock Ford Mustang that Brand has reportedly acquired, and will become the next Outlaw 10.5 racer to try their hand at ADRL’s Extreme 10.5 class. The Rick Jones-built car originally belonged to John Nobile and campaigned on the IHRA Mountain Motor Pro Stock trail where he piloted it to 6.2 second elapsed times. He later sold it to Bob Yoak and was driven by veteran Frank Gugliotta before Yoak put the entire operation up for sale.

Little is known about Brand’s XTF plans, including whether or not the powerplant from the Coupe or one very similar will find its way in the more aerodynamic and much lighter new Mustang. However, it’s probably a safe bet, given his success in recent years with his combination in Outlaw 10.5, that the new ride will see the hairdryers under the hood in some configuration.

And given that success – which includes runs into the 6.5 second range on 10.5W’s – he should definitely be a threat to the frontrunners in the ADRL. Reportedly, the Coupe is still undergoing repairs from the Englishtown crash and will, much to the delight of race fans everywhere, return to the track at a yet to be determined date.

Sheikh Khalid Offers Free SGMP Test Session to All ADRL Teams

Cody Norris — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 17:30:29 +0000

Press release from ADRL:

In anticipation of another history making event at South Georgia Motorsports Park during the American Drag Racing League (ADRL) Hardee’s Georgia Drags VI, team owner and driver for Al-Anabi Racing, Sheikh Khalid Al Thani (KH) has organized a pre-race test session at the well-known facility that will be open to all ADRL competitors this coming Friday (Apr. 16).

“I would like to extend a personal invitation to all the ADRL racers to join us at South Georgia Motorsports Park this Friday for an open test session,” said KH, who recently arrived in Valdosta from New York where he had been spending time with his crew chief, Frank “Ace” Manzo. “I’m excited to have the opportunity to get some more seat time in my Pro Extreme Camaro, especially here in Valdosta, and I assume my fellow racers would like to have the same opportunity to test their cars and motorcycles on a world-class racing surface prior to a national event.”

Sheikh Khalid reiterated the fact that the test session is open to all ADRL competitors and is entirely free of charge.

“There will be absolutely no charge to any team to test this weekend,” he said. “No fees for parking or crew members, just an opportunity to prepare for the ADRL Georgia Drags.”

A facility widely known for its performance capabilities, South Georgia Motorsports Park will be prepped to national-event standards and will have not only the standard emergency medical staff on hand, but also a Life Flight helicopter in case of any unfortunate situations on-track.

“Again, I want to welcome my fellow competitors and friends to join us on Friday. This should also ensure the ADRL fans an incredible show on April 23-24th.”

For more information on South Georgia Motorsports Park, please log on to www.racesgmp.com or call (229) 896-7000. The facility is located at 2521 Highway 41 North in Adel, Georgia 31627.

Sheikh Khalid Set for ADRL Debut

Cody Norris — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 01:21:02 +0000

Press release from ADRL:

Two months following a decisive victory in the championship-deciding Round 7 of the Arabian Drag Racing League series, Sheikh Khalid Al Thani (KH, center left) is preparing for his next challenge – the American Drag Racing League’s Pro Extreme division.

Al Thani, who earned three wins in his world championship-winning rookie season, will make his American debut Apr. 23-24, in the ADRL Hardee’s Georgia Drags VI at South Georgia Motorsports Park, near Valdosta, Georgia.

“Undoubtedly, the American Drag Racing League is the most competitive doorslammer racing organization in the world,” said KH, checking in from his hotel in New York City. “It will be an honor and a privilege to line up with legendary drivers such as Jason Scruggs, Todd Tutterow, Joshua Hernandez and Bubba Stanton and race against my heroes.”

Perhaps more importantly, though, will be the opportunity for KH and his crew chief, Frank “Ace” Manzo, to test under race day conditions.

“We’re confident that the competition in Qatar and the Arabian Drag Racing League will be far more intense this coming year,” continued Sheikh Khalid, “and Frank wants me to get as much seat time as possible so that we are prepared to defend our title.”

Relentlessly passionate for fast doorslammer style racing, Sheikh Khalid, team owner and also a driver for the Al-Anabi Racing Group, which fields championship-caliber teams in categories ranging from Top Fuel to Pro Modified and Pro Stock Motorcycle, will demonstrate his dedication to the continued prosperity of the ADRL Pro Extreme class by jumping into the fray for the remainder of the 2010 season – pending no scheduling conflicts.

ABOUT AL-ANABI RACING/QATAR

At the forefront of Al-Anabi Racing is His Highness Sheikh Khalid Bin Hamad Al Thani, a member of the ruling family of Qatar, who set a goal of promoting the domestic and international awareness of motorsports in the nation of Qatar. As a result of his efforts, Al-Anabi Racing has emerged as one of the leading drag racing teams in the region. In 2009, Sheikh Khalid launched the inaugural racing season at the Qatar Race Club, a state of the art drag strip outside the nation’s capital city of Doha. Along with his racing efforts in the Arabian Gulf Region, Sheikh Khalid is also the owner of several top-tier professional racing teams that field entries in classes such as NHRA Top Fuel and Nitro Funny Car to Pro Stock Motorycle and Pro Modified.

Qatar is widely known for working with the United States military forces to build one of the premier U.S. air bases in the Arabian Gulf Region at Al-Udeid. The Qatari philosophy was to obtain the best defense by providing the best facilities for U.S. and coalition forces, thus the construction of Al-Udeid Air Base, which cost more than a billion dollars and can house nearly one hundred aircraft.

The state of Qatar sits on a peninsula halfway along the western shoreline of the Arabian Gulf and is almost completely surrounded by sea. It borders Saudi Arabia to the south and is separated by the sea from the United Arab Emirates in the southeast and Bahrain in the northwest. Established in 1850, the state population is rapidly approaching 1 million while the capital city, Doha, is home to over 286,000 people. Through innovative projects such as Education City, a district within the capital city offering its citizens world-class educational opportunities, as well as Motor City and Entertainment City, which are still in the planning stages, Qatar has become a sought-after tourist destination. Along with year-round sunshine and an all-round ideal climate, Qatar also offers a host of five-star hotels, spas, restaurants and resorts.

Jimmy Blackmon headed to ADRL Extreme 10.5

Matt Ebaugh — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 21:09:09 +0000

Blackmon's chassis as it came back from powdercoating. Photos: Archer85 on YellowBullet

Jimmy Blackmon has constructed some of the fastest Outlaw 10.5 cars in the world, which have set numerous records and won many championships. Aside from his famed blue Pontiac Firebird, he also built Tim Lynch’s Mustang that he campaigned for years and it now continues on after the Proline crew sold the car to TJ Kasper. Unfortunately like a lot of cars Blackmon’s Firebird suffered a tragic end when it was crashed and ultimately taken out of service. But don’t count Jimmy out as he has another new car in the works at his Straightline Chassis facility.

Check out Jimmy Blackmon’s Straightline Chassis website for updates on his new car.

Blackmon plans on making his return to the racing circuit in 2010 by jumping into the ranks of ADRL Extreme 10.5. He is currently working on constructing a 1968 Firebird that will help him make that return later this year. The engine that is going into the new Firebird is one that is a very familiar setup to Jimm- it is the big block Chevrolet with twin turbochargers that was in his 10.5 car for so many years. This should make the transition much easier as it is something that he is comfortable with. It is being converted to alcohol which will help Blackmon out quite a bit in the power department.

The chassis most recently has come back from the powder coaters and will start its final transformation to race ready. It has been said that Blackmon sacrificed some weight savings to ensure that he will be safe in the event of an accident. Something that Jimmy hopes will never happen again. Looking at the timeline Blackmon will most likely make his debut in Virginia with the ADRL later this year. We wish Jimmy and his crew all the best in their return to racing and look forward to seeing him back at it again.

Bankston Boyz Meet Mixed Results at Houston

Cody Norris — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 18:12:42 +0000

Press release from ADRL:

The Bankston Boyz Racing team rolled into Houston Raceway Park for the ADRL season opener just over a week ago with new marketing partners onboard for the 2010 race season as a result of aggressive approaches at the Performance Racing Industry’s (PRI) tradeshow in Orlando back in December last year.

Adding to the team’s support from Mississippi Foundation Repair Specialists, TeaCo Geophysical, Speedtech, Reher-Morrison, Goodyear Racing, Jerry Haas Race Cars, Tim McAmis Race Cars, and David Janes Race Cars are new marketing partners Ross Pistons, Jesel Valvetrain Components, Red Line Oil, and Vicci Fashions.

The ADRL Universal Technical Institute Dragpalooza VI presented by Safety-Kleen gave Bankston Boyz Pro Nitrous drivers Stan Allen and John DeFlorian all they could handle as they arrived at the Baytown, Texas, strip with little testing in their respective rides.

Allen (above) had just come off a week of testing in Bradenton, Florida, where his best elapsed time (ET) in the David Janes-built, former “Black Ice” Camaro was in the 3.90 range and low 190s in mph. Meanwhile, DeFlorian came into the race with his ’06 Corvette untested after offseason changes dropped about 70 pounds from the car.

After three rounds of qualifying on Friday, DeFlorian had his car solidly in the top half of the field with a seventh-place 3.99 at 184.19 mph and Allen limped into the 16th and final position with a 5.21 at just 97 mph.

Saturday morning’s lone qualifying session saw Allen out in the first Pro Nitrous pair and he promptly lowered his time to a still-off-the-pace, but more respectable 4.32 at 177.88-mph pass. It was still only good enough for 16th, however, earning Allen a race date with top qualifier Burton Auxier.

Unfortunately, heavy rain arrived at Houston Raceway Park shortly before noon on Saturday, before eliminations could begin, forcing the postponement of the ADRL’s UTI Dragpalooza VI to July 23-24, when it will be completed in its entirety along with an entirely new event added by ADRL President and CEO Kenny Nowling.

Normally the arrival of wet weather is the worst thing that can happen at a race, but considering his on-track struggles in qualifying, Allen said this time it was a lucky break.

“The rain saved our team,” he declared. “I mean, we are struggling to learn this new car and the clutch. Coming into the fourth round of qualifying I was on the bump with three cars in line that could bump me out of the field. Then, after the fourth round I was still on the bump by lowering my own ET to a 4.32. So I got lucky! It’s time to go test and get ready for Valdosta (Georgia, in April).”

DeFlorian (above), on the other hand, shook the tires in his fourth and final qualifying attempt and a couple of other drivers moved up the list, leaving him ninth for raceday, when he will face off against number-eight starter Rickie Smith.

“After the second round of qualifying and having the car go left each time we looked at the video and compared it to our data from the runs and I knew exactly what change needed to be made on the four-link to straighten her out,” DeFlorian explained.

“With qualifier three on Friday night, the car went straight down the groove and I pedaled it to a 3.99 run and boy, did she leave the line—a .980 sixty-foot and if I had not got out and back into it I am sure we would have run a low 3.90! So, I guess you can tell why we are ecstatic coming into 2010.”

Titan Motorsports Shares Some Videos With Us From ADRL Houston

Chris Taylor — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 16:58:04 +0000

We’d all love to make it to every race every weekend, but reality sets in that it’s pretty tough for anyone to do. Fortunately with all the media coverage it almost feels like we are there. Titan Motorsports took it a step further, providing us with some sweet videos of some of their passes at the ADRL Houston event. Titan fields two cars in the ADRL, a screamin’ turbocharged Inline 6 (2JZ) powered Scion in the XTF ranks, as well as a monster motor Cobalt in the Extreme Pro Stock class.

For more on Titan Motorsports, check out their website at TitanMotorsports.com. Titan offers a variety of performance and appearance modifications for many popular import rides, but they also do their fair share of domestic stuff as well.

Check out both cars making some killer runs down the 1/8 mile below-

In their never-ending quest for the 3 second zone, the Titan XTF entry got even closer with a 4.02 at 185 mph, which is their best mph to date. It goes without saying that they’re getting a lot out of a little with this Toyota 2jzgte 6 cylinder engine. If the cards fall in the right places, they could be into the 3′s by their next event.

Mark Martino was able to drive the Cobalt to a healthy 4.10 at over 176 mph in the first run, followed up by an even better 4.09 that was enough to take a round win. As cool as the on-track action always is, we can’t forget about what goes on behind the scenes in the pit area. Check out this little taste of what goes on in the Titan Motorsports’ pit area below-

ADRL Race Team on Display at Atlanta Diabetes Expo

Cody Norris — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 01:12:33 +0000

Press release from ADRL:

O’FALLON, MO (Mar. 25, 2010) — American Drag Racing League (ADRL) star Bennie McDonald Jr. will attend this Saturday’s (Mar. 27) American Diabetes Association (ADA) EXPO Atlanta at the Georgia World Congress Center to greet show goers and sign autographs. The McDonald Family Racing 2,500-horsepower ADRL Pro Extreme ’53 Corvette will also be on static display beside him in the EXPO Atlanta Youth Zone.

McDonald, from nearby Locust Grove, Georgia, said he’s looking forward to the opportunity of sharing his personal experiences with Type 2 diabetes with EXPO Atlanta attendees.

“Diabetes is a terrible disease, there’s no question about that, but I want people to know that managing your diabetes means you can still live a full life and do whatever you like,” he said. “These cars can be a real handful to drive and they demand a lot of work just to keep running, but by taking control of my diabetes and not letting it control me I can stay on top of everything.”

McDonald will next be in action at the ADRL Hardee’s Georgia Drags Apr. 23-24, at South Georgia Motorsports Park, near Valdosta. Joining him in making celebrity appearances at EXPO Atlanta will be Tony Award winner Ben Vereen and former NBA star Dominique Wilkins.

Admittance to EXPO Atlanta is free. With more than 50 exhibitors on site and activities planned for people of all ages, EXPO Atlanta provides the community with a unique opportunity to get a free health screening, participate in cooking and exercise demonstrations, talk to diabetes-related exhibitors and listen to leading experts about diabetes prevention and management.

EXPO Atlanta is open Mar. 27, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Georgia World Congress Center, Building B, Lower Level.

Strong Start for Montecalvo at Houston

Cody Norris — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 20:52:19 +0000

Press Release from ADRL:

BAYTOWN, TX (Mar. 23, 2010)— The American Drag Racing League (ADRL) opened its 2010 season this past weekend with the ADRL Universal Technical Institute Dragpalooza VI presented by Safety-Kleen at Houston Raceway Park.

Unfortunately, the event had to be postponed to July 23, due to rain, but with Extreme Pro Stock qualifying completed, John Montecalvo was very pleased with his team’s performance after placing third with a stout 4.074-seconds pass at 178.50 mph.

“I was thrilled with our results this weekend,” Montecalvo declared. “We were third in ET (elapsed time) and second in speed. The two cars ahead of us in qualifying have had a lot more time to perfect their combination. We’re still working on our eighth-mile set up. I know that we’ve got some left, so sitting third looks pretty good for us right now.”

Even short one crew member, Tommy Sevier, who is recuperating from a snowmobile accident, the team showed a strong presence at Dragpalooza VI, proving once again they will be a force to be reckoned with this season.

“My wife, Lois Anne, and the guys worked hard to fill in without Tommy being able to make it. We hope to have him back soon. Sonny (Leonard) has done a phenomenal job with our engine, as always, and helped us out with more power this season. It’s amazing how he keeps improving the performance of his engines. Pat with Ram Clutches and Doug with Braswell Carburetors are key to this team and I want to thank them for their support.”

The ADRL, always the innovator, made an unusual, but well-received decision concerning the postponing of this past weekend’s event and created an all-new event to be held on the same weekend as the rescheduled date. The ADRL will return to Houston Raceway Park July 23-24 to complete Dragpalooza VI and to run a second complete event.

“I think the ADRL made the correct move in postponing the event,” Montecalvo said. “And they were very gracious to formulate another event to correlate with the rain date. This is a great way to offset our costs as racers. You can tell that the ADRL really has their racers in mind when they make decisions. We captured our first ADRL win during a two-race weekend, so I’m really looking forward to the Houston double-header.”

The next stop on the ADRL tour is a short month away, Apr. 23-24, for the Hardee’s Georgia Drags VI at South Georgia Motorsports Park, near Valdosta, Georgia. Montecalvo and crew are anxious for the return to action.

“We can’t wait to get to Valdosta. We’re ready for the competition!”

Same Day Coverage From the ADRL 2010 Season Opener in Houston

Joseph Mchugh — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 16:49:21 +0000

Saturday Eliminations Coverage

Frankie The Mad Man Taylor is running a Lenco tranny this weekend and crew chief Paul Taylor has a handle on it. They were only on 7 cylinders last night as The Mad Man logged a 3.85 @198.41

Erci Stubbs team found the gremilin that had been making them scratch heads as to why the new turbo charged entry has been struggling. Before the final run last night they had only been running on 1 bank of injectors. Now that they found the power that has been missing a top end charge is not far off.

Dan Stevenson's 70 Camaro blew the tranny in the last run last evening. They have anew installed and ready to hit it again and see if he can improved on his 14th spot at 4.24 @149.98mph.

Ashley Owens held on to the top spot in Pro Extreme Motorcycle. His 4.145 @ 172.12 held on as Scott Gray tried to challenge and stayed in number 2. The field is anchored by Casey Stemper at 4.337 @ 166.25.

Extreme Pro Stock racer Dean Gororth made the field on his last attempt with a 4.356 @ 172.45. is son Carey is at the other end of the spectrum with his world record qualifying effort that rest both ET and speed with a 4.048 @ 179.04. Cary was more concerned this morning about his dad getting in than running the required back up for the ET mark and he got both wishes fulfilled.

The class of the Flowmaster Extreme 10.5 class all weekend had been Spiro Pappas. He all but broke he backs of the other competitors with his 4 th qualifying run with an unearthly 3.883 @196.39. Todd Moyer ran a career number and became the 3rd member of the Mickey Thompson 3 Second club and is still behind Pappas by .085 seconds. Pappas only comment on the world record run was that it was a good one

Jim Halsey currently holds a new world record for speed in Pro Nitrous when his 197.45mph in round 4 of qualifying was close enough to back up his earlier 198.99. The car had the front wheels up almost the whole length of the 1/8 mile. Pat Stoken made a statement with a fine 3.873 @ 198.82.

——

Well, the rains arrived and has resulted in the postponement of the ADRL Dragpalooza VI event at Houston Raceway Park in Baytown, Texas. A cold front has come thru and based on the forecast for the day and that only one pair of Pro Extreme cars were able to run in their final session, the decision was made to reschedule the event and return to Baytown to finish it July 23 and 24. There will also be a second complete points and pay event conducted, on Saturday, in conjunction with the completion of the original Dragpalooza VI Friday. Power issues earlier in the day delayed the final Pro Extreme qualifying session after that first pair long enough for the rain cut it short.

A special drivers meeting was called under the tower at Houston Raceway Park after the rain kept falling with a dim forecast for the rest of the weekend. ADRL President and CEO, Kenny Nowling, announced that he had worked out an agreement shortly before with Houston Raceway Park General manager Seth Angel to reschedule and finish the UTI Dragpalooza event and include another full paid points event to fill the 10th event void left with the departure of the Memphis race. The rescheduled date is July 23 & 24 and will be set up just as the Speedtech Battle for the Belts is run. The eliminations from the UTI Dragpalooza event will count as qualifying runs for the new points paying event that will conclude on Saturday. Kenny stated "It just made the most sense and gives our racers the incentive to want to come back and compete". Only one pair of Pro Extreme cars ran in their final qualifying session so that session will be completed first on the 23rd. Then the eliminations will begin. Credit to Kenny Nowling and Seth Angel for coming up with an innovative solution to satisfy not only the racers but sponsors and fans. Tickets from this weekends event will be honored at the July event and those that paid for parking this Saturday can use their parking pass for either Friday or Saturday of the July event. Additional tickets will be available for the new date and they will as usual, in ADRL style, be free. Until July 23 & 24, 2010 here is how we stand.

Carpenter Aims to Remain Atop Pro Nitrous Standings in Houston

Cody Norris — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 20:25:36 +0000

Press Release from Michael Carpenter:

BAYTOWN, TX – After clawing his way back into contention at the end of 2009, Charles Carpenter is aiming to remain atop the American Drag Racing League Pro Nitrous points standings in 2010. That mission begins at Houston Raceway Park and this weekend’s Universal Technical Institute Dragpalooza VI, where Carpenter will combine his vast experience with an upgraded combination under the hood of his iconic ’55 Chevy to take on the incredibly tough Pro Nitrous division.

After a brief session of preseason testing, Carpenter is ready to get back to racing action.

“I’ve never been one for testing,” admitted the 37-year drag racing veteran. “I’m all about the pressure of the race environment. I’m not even that excited about qualifying usually. But when it comes time for eliminations, my whole mindset changes and I can’t think of anything but winning the next round and winning the race. Winning is everything for me.”

Carpenter hopes more winning is in the cards for 2010. After emerging victorious from his first two ADRL Pro Nitrous final round appearances, Carpenter has come up short in his last three finals, with the most recent runner-up coming at the ADRL World Finals in Dallas last October.

A win would be nice, but just about anything would be better than Carpenter’s experience at this very race a year ago. Carpenter lost control of his car near the finish line during a first round victory, crashing hard into the retaining wall and going airborne before slamming back to the ground just inside the track’s boundaries. Carpenter had a fractured vertebrae and a nearly destroyed race car, but through sheer determination and help from his supporters, he made a thunderous comeback at the end of 2009 that has him poised for a championship run in 2010.

“I’m going to go at it with the same philosophy I always have: be consistently quick and get from A to B each run,” Carpenter said. “Hopefully we can go some rounds and come out of Houston with the points lead. We’ve lead the points at various stages over the past few seasons, but this year we need to be up there when it matters, and that’s going into the Battle for the Belts at the end of the year. We’re not settling for anything less than a spot in the top 8.”

With a new 843 cubic inch powerplant and a finely tuned race car, Carpenter is in better position to compete with the quickest cars in the class than ever before.

“We’ve been underpowered throughout the last couple seasons, but this new engine should solve that issue,” Carpenter continued. “We’ve also got a good handle on what this revamped chassis wants and it’s responding to our tuning adjustments. That’s all you can really ask for. Now it’s up to me to drive the wheels off it and capitalize on the opportunities that present themselves.”

Team Aruba Hosting XPS Party Friday Night in Texas

Cody Norris — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 20:23:41 +0000

Press release from www.ADRL.us

While competing this weekend in the American Drag Racing League’s (ADRL’s) 2010 season-opening ADRL Universal Technical Institute Dragpalooza VI presented by Safety-Kleen, Extreme Pro Stock’s Team Aruba and driver Trevor Eman will also be observing Aruba’s National Anthem and Flag Day.

In a celebration of the ‘status aparte’ of the country of Aruba, which became a sovereign country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands in 1986, businesses and schools in the small island nation are closed, allowing Aruba’s citizens to enjoy the national holiday.

Aruba celebrates National Anthem and Flag Day this year on Mar. 18, the same day Eamon and crew will attempt to qualify their colorful 2006 Ford Escort for Dragpalooza VI before hosting a pitside cookout at Houston Raceway Park.

“We’ll be having a cookout on Friday the 19th, after the last qualifying round of Extreme Pro Stock, to celebrate Aruba’s Flag Day,” Eman said. “We’re inviting all Extreme Pro Stock teams and ADRL officials to our cookout to celebrate this joyful occasion with us.”

Team Aruba also will offer Aruba decals for fellow XPS drivers to sport in support of their country’s heritage.

Eman, currently studying mechanical engineering at the University of Central Florida, plans to make drag racing a full-time career after college graduation.

“Our ultimate goal this year,” he says, “is placing in the top eight—to be contenders at the Battle for the Belts later this year.”

With the sponsorship support of Aruba’s official tourism Web site, www.Aruba.com, and associate sponsor Digicel Aruba, Eman feels confident that 2010 will be a great year for his team.

“We’re all working hard and expecting great results.”

Stott Stoked About Returning to Racing

Cody Norris — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 20:22:15 +0000

Press Release from www.ADRL.us

COLUMBUS, NC (Mar. 16, 2010)— ADRL Pro Extreme star Quain Stott is excited to get back to the track with his Lee Boy Equipment-sponsored ‘63 Corvette this weekend at Houston Raceway Park, where the ADRL begins its 2010 national-event schedule with the Universal Technical Institute Dragpalooza VI presented by Safety-Kleen.

Stott concluded his 2009 ADRL campaign with a runner-up finish last fall in the ADRL World Finals at the Texas Motorplex, near Dallas, which actually served as the first points-paying event toward this year’s ADRL Speedtech Battle for the Belts, the championship-determining shootout for the top eight points earners in each pro class each year.

“We start the season the same weekend we run the Battle for the Belts in Dallas Texas, in October, and then we have a five-month off season before we run again.” Stott explained. “During that time we try to catch up on all the things at home that we don’t get to pay attention to during the race season.”

Based on his finish at the Motorplex, Stott sits in the second-place points spot heading into this weekend’s ADRL event at Baytown, Texas.

“I look forward to returning to the track and running some great numbers,” he said, although it will be with a somewhat unknown tune-up. “Usually in the off season we take the car out and do some testing in late February or early March, (but) unfortunately the weather has been very unpredictable in the Carolinas and we were never able to make it to the track.”

Still, the four-time ADRL event winner enters the 2010 season with a positive attitude.

“This season makes the 14th season with LeeBoy on our car; in motorsports that is a amazing feat, keeping a sponsor happy and willing to continue a partnership,” he stated. “We’re having fun again, Racing is such a fickle roller coaster ride. We’re going to enjoy it while we can.”

In addition to LeeBoy Equipment, Quain Stott Drag Racing partners with high-performance companies that include Hoosier Racing Tires, NGK Spark Plugs, Auto Meter, Amalie Oil, Santhuff Shocks, Fulton Race Engines and Spartan Crank Shafts.

Martino and Titan Motorsports Ready for 2010 XPS Season

Cody Norris — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 20:16:28 +0000

Press Release from www.ADRL.us

(Mar. 16, 2010)—Canada’s Mark Martino and his Martino Motorsports team are committing their resources toward running a full-time schedule within the American Drag Racing League’s Extreme Pro Stock (XPS) division this year, beginning with this weekend’s ADRL Universal Technical Institute Dragapalooza VI presented by Safety-Kleen at Houston Raceway Park, in Baytown, Texas.

Martino entered one ADRL event in 2009, at Columbus, Ohio, but will remain in contention for the series’ Rookie of the Year award as he goes after a spot in the Speedtech Battle for the Belts that will determine the 2010 ADRL Extreme Pro Stock championship.

In an effort to maximize his chances at being an instant contender in the XPS class, Martino has formed a strategic alliance with the veteran ADRL Extreme 10.5 team of Titan Motorsports for the 2010 season. Not only will Martino and Titan share resources in preparing their cars and at the track, they will both look to the experience of Titan crew chief Eric Luzinski to establish them as top contenders on a weekly basis.

During early season testing at Bradenton Motorsports Park in Florida, Martino’s team, including Luzinski, quickly realized the potential of their eighth-mile set-up, ripping off a stout 4.06-seconds, 178-mile-per-hour pass, only fractions of a second away from the current ADRL Extreme Pro Stock record.

“That test session was a great opportunity for us to put some laps on the car in ADRL trim and see what we had to work with going to Houston” Martino said. “It was also a good tune up for me having been out of the seat since October of last year and I feel that as a team we’ll be very competitive right out of the gate.”

Qualifying for the ADRL Universal Technical Institute Dragapalooza VI presented by Safety-Kleen gets underway at 11 a.m. Friday, Mar. 19, with eliminations scheduled to begin the next day at 1 p.m.

Montecalvo Pledges Full-Time XPS Run in 2010

Cody Norris — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 18:56:20 +0000

Press Release from www.ADRL.us

Outside commitments prevented ADRL Extreme Pro Stock driver John Montecalvo from participating in the ADRL’s championship-deciding Speedtech Battle for the Belts in 2009, but this year he plans to strengthen his ADRL presence with a full-season effort to pursue his goal of eighth-mile dominance.

Montecalvo begins his run toward the 2010 Speedtech Battle for the Belts this weekend, Mar. 19-20, in the ADRL Universal Technical Institute Dragpalooza VI presented by Safety-Kleen at Houston Raceway Park in Baytown, Texas.

“We’re excited to get the ADRL season underway,” Montecalvo said. “We’re looking forward to racing in front of the ADRL’s huge number of fans in Houston. This will be our first time competing at Houston Raceway Park, although we’ve tested there before. They have a top-notch facility and do a great job with it. We’re excited to compete there.”

The winner of last year’s rain-delayed Michigan ADRL event at Topeka, Kansas, Montecalvo is looking for more visits to an ADRL Winner’s Circle Party this year.

“Sonny [Leonard, of Sonny’s Racing Engines] found more power for us this year. We tested at Valdosta and put down some good numbers. Now we go to Houston and see how everybody stacks up after the off-season updates have been made,” he said.

“We’re really looking forward to racing the ADRL this year. We had a great year with them last year, winning our first Minuteman (trophy) and we’re optimistic for the 2010 season. Our goal is nothing less than the championship.”

3-second zone no problem for Todd Moyer’s ADRL Entry

James Lawrence — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 16:58:31 +0000

Long time Street Legal racer Todd Moyer stepped it up during a test session for the upcoming ADRL event, ripping a pair of 3 second runs, their first ever. ADRL’s Agent 660 gave us the goods below:

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 Cavalier, 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)

Castellana & Hamstra to Debut New ’69 Camaros at ADRL Opener

James Lawrence — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 22:02:15 +0000

The ’69 Camaro has always been my favorite Hot Rod. In fact, it’s on my bucket list (you know – that list of everything you are supposed to do before you die) to build an absolutely amazing sixty-nine. You know, the kind of car you’d be afraid to drive. Looking at these new sneak peaks of Hamstra’s and Castellana’s 1969 Camaros’s, built for Pro Nitrous and Pro Extreme respectively – I’m filled with the same feeling. Not sure if I’d be taking these works of art down the 1320.

Either way, courtesy of ADRL’s Agent 666, check out them out:

First Look: Hamstra’s New Paint

Fresh out of the paint booth and just in time for final assembly and testing before the ADRL’s season-opening Universal Technical Institute Dragpalooza VI presented by Safety-Kleen, come these exclusive images sent to your Agent of Jason Hamstra’s new Garret Race Cars-built ‘69 Camaro Pro Extreme entry.

Following a design by Larry Williams, Brian Olson (yes, he of the crack ADRL at-the-track announcing team) and his guys at Olson Paint & Body in Peru, IN, laid down the “nine or 10” hues of House of Kolor candy on the eye-catching Camaro.

“My main man, ‘Cougar,’ along with my son Drew Olson, Drew Chilcutt, Brian Jones, Matt Rasmus and pretty much every single person at Olson Body and Paint have worked literally around the clock to get this done,” Olson told your Agent. “I’m pretty proud of them, especially since this is the first Pro Extreme body we’ve ever painted. I think it turned out great!”

Your Agent agrees. Hamstra, the 2009 ADRL Rookie of the Year, was always fast, but if his performance remains even close to how sweet his new ride appears, the candy should be disappearing pretty quick.

(Photos courtesy Olson Paint & Body)

Castellana’s New PN Camaro

These images arrived in your Agent’s in-box early this morning, depicting the brand-new ‘69 Camaro that Mike Castellana will campaign in Pro Nitrous under the Al-Anabi Racing banner this year.

The car was built by Jerry Bickel Race Cars in Moscow Mills, MO, and carries a Reher-Morrison powerplant up front, draped by one of the new, ultra-light Cynergy composite bodies.

Testing with the car should begin this weekend with its ADRL debut scheduled for the Universal Technical Institute Dragpalooza VI presented by Safety-Kleen Mar. 19-20, at Houston Raceway Park.

(Photos courtesy Cynergy Composites)

Dragzine » ADRL Coverage

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We had a brief rain this morning, the track crew is drying and preping the track for Q3 starting with Xtreme Pro Stock. The forecast looks great for the rest of the day.

Saturday Morning Update

John Vergotz had a nasty nitrous explosion around the 330 yesterday due to pedeling the car and trying to get back in it. The team got a new hood scoop and are hoping their 860 ci buck and APD engine will do the trick to qualify in this 3rd session coming up.

Ohio man Brian Gahm seemed to be making some changes in the center section of his pro stock beast. Gahm is running a Jerry Haas Mustang with a massive 820 ci engine and is currently number 2 in XPS.

Jason Scruggs team is waiting to see what the weather has to offer before they make any changes to the car but only plan to make simple changes to the 526 ci BAE engine and the Garret 1968 Camaro. Scruggs team was doing some morning check ups when I passed by as well.

Currently sitting 9th in XPS Doug Kirk is looking to make some adjusments to the gear box, the team is waiting to see what the weather does but is going to make some ratio adjustments and try to make it into the top half of the field. ROUND 1 of Eliminations Extreme Pro Stock

Pro Nitrous Round 1

Pro Extreme Round 1

SECOND ROUND OF ELIMINATIONS

EXTREME PRO STOCK

Extreme 10.5 In Round 2 Todd Moyer had a competition bye but that did not stop him from going for lane choice with a 4.05 at over 190 mph. Gary White set low e.t. of the round with a 3.98.

Pro Nitrous Round 2 Eliminations

Pro Extreme Round 2 of Eliminations

SEMI FINALS

EXTREME PRO STOCK

EXTREME 10.5 SEMI Finals

PRO NITROUS SEMI FINALS

PRO EXTREME SEMI FINALS

Dan Millen Testing: On the Verge of ADRL Debut with New Car

Blackmon Progressing on ADRL XTF Entry

Same Day Coverage From ADRL Virginia 2010

Final Qualifying

Round One Elimination Notes

Final Results

Host of new looks and returning drivers at this weekends ADRL event in Virginia

David Hance headed to ADRL Virginia on a Mission

Stavrinos Steps Up to ADRL XTF with Nelson Competition Powered ’68 Camaro

Consistency Carries Carpenter to Second Consecutive Runner-Up

Video: Gary White’s Titan Motorsports Scion goes 3.99 at SGMP

Wild Ride for Vial at VMP

Barklage Racing Returns to Two-Car Team at SGMP

Berner Bullish on SGMP Potential

ADRL Enjoys Record-Setting History at SGMP

ADRL keeps the envelope in check despite “Outlaw” format

Brad Brand reportedly headed to XTF

Sheikh Khalid Offers Free SGMP Test Session to All ADRL Teams

Sheikh Khalid Set for ADRL Debut

Jimmy Blackmon headed to ADRL Extreme 10.5

Bankston Boyz Meet Mixed Results at Houston

Titan Motorsports Shares Some Videos With Us From ADRL Houston

ADRL Race Team on Display at Atlanta Diabetes Expo

Strong Start for Montecalvo at Houston

Same Day Coverage From the ADRL 2010 Season Opener in Houston

Saturday Eliminations Coverage

Carpenter Aims to Remain Atop Pro Nitrous Standings in Houston

Team Aruba Hosting XPS Party Friday Night in Texas

Stott Stoked About Returning to Racing

Currently sitting 9th in XPS Doug Kirk is looking to make some adjusments to the gear box, the team is waiting to see what the weather does but is going to make some ratio adjustments and try to make it into the top half of the field.

ROUND 1 of Eliminations

Extreme Pro Stock

Extreme 10.5

In Round 2 Todd Moyer had a competition bye but that did not stop him from going for lane choice with a 4.05 at over 190 mph. Gary White set low e.t. of the round with a 3.98.