Unfortunately mother nature got the best of us here at the Hardee’s Georgia Drags VII and the call to cancel the event was made just a few minutes ago at 11:30 AM.
Special thanks to our event coverage sponsor Mickey Thompson Tires. Check out their fine line of wheels and tires at www.mickeythompsontires.com.
I spoke with Extreme Pro Stock number one qualifier Trevor Eman this morning to catch up what’s new for Team Aruba for the 2013 season. He is still running the same car and engine as last year with some new developments implemented into the Kaase Hemi when it was freshened last month. Trevor made it to the semi finals at Rockingham so they are off to a good start for the year. Some new crew members have come on board for this year as well to compliment Bobby Hicks, John Peterson, Trevor and his father Ven. Pat Norcia from RAM Clutches, Doug Schriefer from Braswell Carburetion and Greg Brown from John Kaase Racing Engines. The team is based out of Union, South Carolina here in the United States with Trevor and other team members flying in from Aruba for assorted races. “We are certainly happy with the number one qualifier position at Hardee’s Georgia Drags VII. It’s certainly been a long time since we have been able to grab a top qualified or a win so to achieve that this weekend has been very rewarding and encouraging.” – Trevor Eman.
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Plattinum Product’s LLC is displaying here at their first ADRL race and has also just started promoting on the road this year. The company does aluminum and steel fabrication, trailer/garage accessories and fishing rod holders based out of Cocoa, Florida. Owner John Platt has been in business for five years after starting up from a hobby. Unfortunately weather got the best of us this weekend forcing a cancellation of the event. Bad weather doesn’t stop die hard fans from showing up early though. Appropriate attire is required of course as you can see the folks up in the stands came prepared with rain slickers to wait out the rain.
Friday’s mostly cloudy skies have given way to sunshine and cooler temps for today’s qualifying here in Cecil, Georgia. Stay tuned in to Dragzine for the latest updates from the track and in the pits.
Special thanks to our event coverage sponsor Mickey Thompson Tires. Check out their fine line of wheels and tires at www.mickeythompsontires.com.
I caught up with Danny Lowery this morning to check out their 2013 plans. They have made a lot of changes in the off season but still running the same combo. George Voit was just finishing up installing a new set of tires on their new Delta 1 Weld Racing wheels.
Bubba Stanton is running a new paint scheme this year with the Yenko striped Camaro owned by Roger Henson. Henson Motorsports has teamed up with Mitchell and Jason Scruggs for 2013 and it’s working out well so far according to owner Roger Henson.Jay Fisher is running ADRL for the first time this season with a new bike built by former ADRL Champion Dan Parker to George Bryce’s specs. The Star Racing Suzuki is powered by number 001 MonStar 4 valve billet head 1795 cc engine making about 600 horsepower. They have been developing this combo last year testing and running a few local races. Sponsors include Star Racing, VP Fuels, Speedtech Nitrous and Jay’s own Fisher and Associates.Steve George is here running exhibition with the Gatewaypdtraining.com Dent School sponsored Bad Bus out of St Louis, Missouri. The crew from left to right is Will Sachs, Chad McCoy, Steve George and Ed Briggs.Former co owner of Stroud Racing Carl White is here with a booth for his new venture White Safety Equipment. He was bought out 5 years ago from Stroud and started this up last December after racer demand and many phone calls asking him to come back into the industry. White has a full line of safety gear from apparel to parachutes and fire systems available.
Round One Qualifying Results
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Trevor Eman came out hard in Extreme Pro Stock putting the Team Aruba 2011 Mustang on the pole with a 4.063 @ 177.44.Richard Penland also runs a big Hemi and put up a 4.079 @ 177.25,good from second spot so far for the Gastonia, North Carolina racer.Brian Gahm left hard but made a hard move left towards the center line and shut it down early. They have been struggling some with keeping the car launching straight, hopefully they can get it straightened out and make a good run later.Steve Jackson put himself and Al Anabi Racing in the top Pro Nitrous spot with a clean 3.866 @ 195.11.John Hall sits in third after one session, he earned top MPH for the round with a 195.25 MPH blast in his Pat Musi Racing powered 68 Camaro.Alex Hossler had a great run in this session with a record setting pace 3.567 @ 212 MPH, he will need to back it up this weekend, look for him to give it a shot in the third session of Pro Extreme.Danny Lowery completed his burnout but was found to be leaking oil while backing up and pushed off. There was some downtime for cleanup, he should be back later today for another attempt.Frankie Taylor ran hard enough for fourth this session with an easy 3.697 @ 206 MPH.Michael Neal has a new ride this year purchased from Mike Ashley. They won at Montgomery Southern Outlaws two weeks ago, this is his first ADRL race this year. The Niceville, Florida based team plans to run mostly outlaw races this year and ADRL events when it fits their schedule. He kicked the tires at the hit on his first run today in Pro Extreme.
Round 2 Qualifying Results
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Final Qualifying Results
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There is big news in Pro Extreme this weekend as both end of the record fell during today’s qualifying. Alex Hossler laid down a 3.567 @ 212.29 in the first session going fast enough to grab both ends if he managed to back it up this weekend. In the final session today he managed a 3.586 @ 211.06 while paired with Al Anabi teammate Von Smith, earning both ends on the Pro Extreme record for all of 5 minutes until Jason Scruggs made a statement of his own running a 3.57 @ 213.54 and capturing the mile per hour record just three pairs later.Tommy D’April had a good day improving every round from a 3.73 @ 205 to a 3.63 @ 208 in the final session while paired up with Joey Martin in the Lowmad. Martin struggled to get hold of the track but went A to B on the run landing tenth with a 3.698 @ 202.Steve Jackson (near lane) led the Pro Nitrous field all day and improved every round finishing the day with a 3.841 @ 196.39, also earning high mile per hour in qualifying on the run. Jackson won the Rockingham event in his first ADRL appearance and looks to be on track this weekend as well.Robert Mathis (near lane) is qualified second with a 3.875 from his second round run where he had high mph for the round with a195.62. Mathis runs a Reher Morrison big Chevy prepped at Nelson Competition. Mike Valerio has come on board to get the car set up and race ready and Mathis is also running the new MVM carbon fiber wheelie bars.Tim Savel made the field by bumping Mike Hill out with a 3.931, he sits seventh, just ahead of Mike Castellena’s 3.938.Trevor Eman (far lane) earned top qualifier in Extreme Pro Stock in today’s first session running a 4.063 @ 177.40. He paired up with number two qualifier Richard Penland in the final session taking the stripe with a 4.12 after Penland clicked it early after getting into tire shake.Pete Berner took top mile per hour in his Summit racing Equipment 2013 Camaro with a 177.58 MPH pass in the final session.Number four qualifier in Extreme Pro Stock John DeFlorian runs a 2012 Black Diamond sponsored Camaro from Jerry Haas and qualified fourth in the final session after struggling with the track on earlier attempts today. The St Louis based team is happy so far this season with two wins including the ADRL season opener in Rockingham.
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Ashley Ownes, teammate Eric McKinney and Canadian racer Terry Schweigert took the top three spots in the first session of Pro Extreme Motorcycle and help on to them all day with McKinney improving slightly from his 4.083 to a 4.079 in the final session. Pictured from left to right, Eric McKinney, Terry Schweigert and Ashley Owens. Paul Gast struggled today but got it right in the final session as the last bike down the track running a 4.187 @ 170.13 to jump in the field in tenth position.Jimmy Keen put the Parish, Florida based 63 Corvette on the pole in round one pro Modified qualifying with a 3.916 @ 190.97. Longtime racer and friend Tony Christian assists in tuning the car which is powered by an 855 cubic inch Reher Morrison big block Chevy.Clint Satterfield (left) runs this 1968 Camaro in Pro Modified with an NHRA legal Pro Mod running a Brad 8 with twin 88 mm Precision turbos. Clint and crew chief Bob Gardener have been working on the car since January of 2012 and made some changes over the winter looking to improve the performance for 2013. Originally a Tim McAmis car with updates by Jerry Bickel Race Cars they ran ADRL and NHRA last year setting the MPH record at 198 at the Dallas ADRL event. Sponsors include BAC Enterprises; a general contractor based in Albuquerque owned by Clint and his father, Dan Saitz’ Hyperformance Motorsports and Yearwood Performance Center.
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Trey Butler is number one qualifier in Top Jr. Dragster with a .025 reaction time. The Butlers run a two car team with Trey’s sister Mackenzie running Pro Jr. Dragster, she qualified fourth, just .006 behind the number one car of Bethany Crick. Trey is eleven years old and has been racing four years with two track championships under his belt with his 2006 Half Scale built car tuned by Steve Waller. Mackenzie runs a 2006 MX2 car also tuned by Steve Waller with three track championships in her five year racing career. This is the families’ first ADRL event and they are having a great time here this weekend.
It’s time for the second race of the newly-reorganized 2013 ADRL tour as the racers head to South Georgia Motorsports Park. Keep it tuned to DragZine Friday through Sunday as we will be bringing you all the action from both on and off the track.
Special thanks to our event coverage sponsor Mickey Thompson Tires. Check out their fine line of wheels and tires at www.mickeythompsontires.com.
Mike Castellana is running Pro Mod this year in NHRA and is here testing a new Jerry Bickel Camaro. It’s maiden voyage down the track was on Thursday and today he put up a nice 3.89 @ 194 MPH. The team is happy with that and will concentrate the rest of the weekend on the Pro Nitrous car which Mike is running in competition this weekend.Team Goforth is here with it’s two car team running Extreme Pro Stock. I spoke with Brian Self about what’s going on for 2013. Cary Goforth is wearing the number one after winning the 2012 class championship making it two in a row for him. They have a pair of cars at Jerry Hass’s shop with are about six to eight weeks out which will be fitted with the new Camaro body from 5 Star.Pete Berner has Jeff Perley on hand this weekend consulting on the Summit Racing Extreme Pro Stock Camaro, he is the crew chief for Jason Line and Greg Anderson who run NHRA Pro Stock. The Summit Racing Equipmet, Car Safe sponsored Camaro runs and 830 cubic inch Chevy built in house by Pete Berner. They had yet to make a hit today when I stopped by the pit.Cale Aronson is back after ten months off after loosing an engine last year at Budds Creek. Aronson is sponsored by Shelby Performance Parts and picked up Vengance Racing as an associate sponsor this year along with Pro Stock Communications. He is just shaking the car down after the time off so far with the new engine. Cale has been doing some consulting with Jer Gervasi, VP of Shelby American Inc. in Las Vegas, Nevada. His fiancé Tinzy Smith handles the clutch setup on the car and has been marketing VHT candles since 2007 under the Clutch Girl brand and recently added some interesting gear head jewelry to the product line.Jeff Prock is crew chief for Rick Corn who runs Top Sportsman with a new gen Hemi on nitrous, certainly a different combination as there are only two built by Indy Cylinder Heads for Rick. He was runner up to Marco Abruzzi in the season opener in Rockingham. The engine is fed by a set of Damn Best split carbs and Applied Nitrous Technology systems with good runs in the 4.19 zone on two kits.Stanley Weiss Racing is here this weekend so I stopped by and had a chat with John Stanley who drives the car. They have made some small changes to the car including a new wing design after consulting with Garret Race Cars to cut drag on the car which resulted in a 209 MPH in testing. The team has a new sponsor on board for 2013 with Steel Dynamics Inc out of Pittsborough, Indiana. John made a nice 3.81 @ 201 pass this evening, the air isn’t so good this weekend but they will be quicker than the .81 in qualifying I’m sure.
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Lester Johnson owns and drives this Procharged 55 Chevy based out of Cynthiana, Kentucky. Johnson normally runs the NHRA top Sportsman circuit and is attending his first ADRL event this weekend. He has owned the car for about a year and a half which was originally built by Steve Matukas. Lester’s son Andrew is also here this weekend running Top Dragster for a two car effort, the crew consists of Lester and Jennifer Johnson along with their son Andrew. Engines are built and maintained by Matt Hornbuckle from Performance Engineering and Machine. The team is self sponsored by Total Performance Solutions which is involved in factory automation and robotics. Andrew runs the same basic combo in the rail, a 4 link dragster from Spitzer, the only 4 link dragster in Top Sportsman competition from Spitzer. Gene Hector runs this RJ Race Cars 63 Corvette in Pro Extreme with a small block from Alan Johnson. He got down today with a fine 3.64 in the Small Block Mafia ride after doing a lot of testing in 2012, this is their first ADRL event this year for the Big Springs, Texas based team.I caught up with Ashley Owens swapping a set of pistons into team mate Eric McKinney’s bike. Ashley had taken a year off after winning the 2011 Pro Extreme Motorcycle championship to crew chief on McKinney’s bike, who won the 2012 title, his first with the ADRL. They have two bikes here this weekend.Terry Schweigert put up a 4.09 today, the quickest Pro Extreme bike so far in today’s test session. The Suzuki GS bike runs an 1800 cc engine. Schweigert owns Road End Farms, a dairy farm on the US/Canada border in British Colombia, his bike is painted to make with Canada colors on one side and US on the other. Sponsors include Robinson Industries, Vance and Hines, Lectron, Schnitz Racing, Datona Sensors, Vortex Racing Heads and Speedtech nitrous.
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Brad Schmidt caught me up on the latest with Todd Tutterow who is now sporting a twin turbo set up. They switched the engine combo from the blower after Rockingham, this is a Brad 8 built in house with a pair of Precision Gen 2 98 mm turbos and backed by a Bruno trans and Neal Chance converter. Their main sponsor is Galot Motorsports with Precision Turbo, AFIS (Advanced Fuel Ignition Systems) Big Stuff and Red Line Oil. Boyd Beyer is here this weekend with a new car and engine combo after selling his car and nitrous engine he ran last year. This year he switched to a 2006 Jerry Hass Mustang pro Mod and a Brad Anderson Hemi. Today was his first run in a blown car so he was just getting used to driving it and made hit as far as the 330. Boyd has been racing since he was 16 years old after getting involved through his father who raced for Ford Motor Company and was a Hurst Shifting Dr. back in the 60’s doing track service on Hurst parts. Sponsors are Beyer Trailer Sales, Tom Swigart’s Tiffany Jewlers (no not THAT one) in Xenia Ohio and Boyd Sign and Graphics, who is doing the ADRL banners this year. Swigart is the fourth generation owner sine it was established in the mid 1800’s.
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The Traction Twins are back this year with the new Scruggsfarm.com Squad 660 Track Prep Team. The Crispe family has been doing the ARDL’s prep since 2010 and this year it’s all Cale and Cody with new equipment thanks to Scruggs Farm, Lawn, and Garden Home Improvement Warehouse. I caught the new scraper in action tonight as the twins were getting things ready for Saturday’s qualifying.
