We are here in Bradenton, Florida for the inaugural Outlaw Drag Racing Championship event. This Friday is racer registration and a test session from 1-6 PM. The weather is great with no clouds to be seen after a mild front moved by last night, which should provide us with clear skies for this weekend.

Special thanks to our event coverage sponsor Mickey Thompson Tires. You can check out their fine line of slicks, drag radials, and street tires at www.mickeythompsontires.com.

One of the first things I noticed today was Bill Futch's OL10.5 Camaro is back in action after being purchased by former Outlaw Radial racer Candido Sanchez. The combo is basically the same as before with upgraded heads from Brodix, and Futch is handling the driving while shaking down the new setup. Their first hit today was a 4.52 @ 170.

Another racer with a new ride is Anthony Russo out of Doc's Garage in Ocala, Florida. Russo sold off the early Chevelle and has bought a 2002 Firebird and stepped up to Atomatic Pro Mod using the same Nelson Competition 632 ci BBC from the Chevelle. He has run 4.72 on one kit testing at SGMP.

Tom Brown hails from south Florida and made the trip up with his early Mopar to compete in Real Street this weekend. The 440 ci small block was recently freshened with new rods as well as a cam swap. All machine work is done by Progressive Racing Engines and Tom does the assembly himself.

Test and Tune Notes

Ronnie Wilson is another south Florida racer in Real Street and he laid down a 5.34 on his first pass today.

This is the debut for Archie Marasco's updated Drag Radial Mustang. It's got a new engine with twins now and a new look to boot. His first pass looked nice and smooth and he shut down early.

Conrad Scarry laid down a nice 4.39 @ 176 today while Troy Blake managed a 4.47 @ 167 in his Procharged Camaro.

Tim Lynch was on top of the heap with low ET in OL 10.5 with a 4.29 @ 183 after shaking the tires on his first run.

Mel Nelson made it here after a late night thrash to get the car and engine repaired after loosing a motor at The Shakedown earlier this month. The wire harness under the hood was burned in the incident and they just got it fired up about 4 AM this morning. Big props to Steve McGuinness at Progressive Race Engines for getting the motor back together in time.He managed a 4.73 @ 162 on 10 lbs of boost today.

Mike Hill is driving Jose Gonzales' car this weekend and ripped off a nice 3.99 in Automatic ProMod. Tony Christian ran a 4.02 and is happy with the ET for the tune they had in the car.