Bob, I got your email the other day. Just remember when all the bad stuff is happening, your good stuff bank balance is growing. At least this is the view that keeps you from going nuts (or more nuts.... :-). I wanted to send you a little piece on what's going on here: Brisbane Hot Rod Show. Must run, I've got a million things to do.

After fuel system woes that plagued the team in late 1999 and early 2000, Federal-Mogul Funny Car racer Bruce Mullins blasted through to some incredible performances and his first national event round win. In doing so, Bruce reset his all time best speed -- 228.69 mph -- and ran just shy of his all time best elapsed time at 6.131 seconds.

Bruce had lined up against Fran Monaghan, Jr., in round one of the NHRA Moto1.net Nationals at Virginia Motorsports Park. Monaghan had been on a tear, with the PetroChem car adjusting quite well to an NHRA combo with some amazing low 5.60 numbers late in 1999 and some impressive performances in 2000. Bruce was uptight before the race, wondering how poorly he would show against Monaghan's screw blown monster. He would need a holeshot; that was for sure. Then he would have to hope the 5.60 car stumbled.

Missions accomplished. First off, Bruce laid a .462 to .562 holeshot on the Pennsylvania racer. Monaghan made up half of that in the first 60 feet, however; the Compulink ET slip showed he had gone .946 to Bruce's .968 60-foot time. Monaghan pulled ahead at the 330-foot timers, his 2.496 to 2.624 advantage more than making up Bruce's tenth of a second holeshot. Fran retained a two tenths advantage at half track too, 3.790 to 3.978, but he was already in trouble.

Monaghan had slowed to 176.81 mph; uncharacteristically slow for a 3.79 eighth mile elapsed time. Bruce, by comparison, ran 181.18 mph and was charging. By 1000 feet, Bruce had pulled back ahead, 5.146 to 5.161. He then took the win at 6.131 - 228.69 as Monaghan faded to a 6.59 at only 145 mph.

After the run, Bruce immediately got on the phone to Leroy Dewdney, who was providing tuning help from afar. Leroy told Bruce to put some more weight on the clutch for Sunday's second round. Fuel system and blown motor guru Bill Barrett stopped by to offer congratulations and to check the plugs. Bill said, "It's rich -- lean it out and you'll get into the 6.0's tomorrow." Bruce related that he took the R's up higher than he ever had before on that run. Bill said, "Good. Ya can't get 'em too high [on a blown alcohol motor]."

Bruce also related that the shift light is broken, so he shifted by the seat of his pants. He shifted when it felt right. Bruce said, "If you run one of these cars for that many years, you ought to know when to shift it!" The combination of this gritty team's determination and the expert advice it receives might put Bruce, Pattie and the gang into the 6.0's on Sunday and maybe past another opponent.

The numbers might come, but advancement is even less certain than it seemed in round one. Sunday's opponent is Jay Payne, whose 5.67 at 249 mph showed he is getting this funny car thing in hand after many years in alcohol dragsters. Bruce and Pattie wish to thank their all-volunteer crew: Scott Ankrom, Robert Ostrander, Kim and Steven Beecher -- and sponsors Quaker State Motor Oil and racetel.com.

Bruce Mullins Racing provided its share of excitement during final eliminations at the NHRA Moto1.net Nationals at Richmond on Sunday. After scoring his first round win in national event competition Saturday, Bruce Mullins faced Jay Payne and his 5.60 Valvoline machine. Payne had lane choice based on a 5.67 winning elapsed time in the first round (compared to Bruce's 6.13 winning time). He used that lane choice right before the race, swapping lanes with Bruce at the starting line.

The distraction didn't affect Bruce, as he nailed Payne with a great .460 to .551 reaction time advantage. The Quaker State/racetel.com War Horse Mustang didn't like the new lane, however. It kept trying to cross the centreline, forcing Bruce to werstle the car all the way down the track. Payne ran straight and true, and his 5.726 at 247.34 mph outdistanced Bruce's valiant 6.367 at 179.23 mph effort. Reigning Federal-Mogul Funny Car champion Frank Manzo went on to defeat Australian Steve Harker in a very good final round race.

Bruce Mullins Racing and the War Horse will next see action on Sunday, May 7, at a match race in Lynchburg, Virginia, followed by a match race at 75/80 Dragway in Monrovia, Maryland, on May 21. Fans can keep track of Bruce Mullins Racing and the War Horse at the team's website.

Will be flying out Thursday for the big race; have been looking forward to this race for some time. Nice job on the event webpage, as I was looking for a schedule. Any idea of which alky dragsters and funny cars are pre-entered? Why aren't they running Friday night?

Well it's good to see you're not too busy -- sure! This might give you a laugh. If that doesn't come up, go to the site at Comedy Radio. Adam Sandler is a crackup. That's if you get time to do anything.

Hi Bob. I love your page. Thanx for the link. Thought I would submit a photo for your "Track Babes" section. This was taken last night at the Powerama Car Show in Edmonton. The photographer is A.J., the car is mine. The girl is 'Misty'. This was a photo shoot for a local car magazine, with a photo section called "Dangerous Curves." Oh my!

Willowbank Raceway's "Wreckers Hotline Drag Racing" coverage of Romac Top Alcohol, VPW Mail Order Super Comp and Group Three finals from Round Two of the Castrol New Year Series will be broadcast Queensland-wide by the Seven Network at 1:00 pm this Sunday, April 30th, and Australia-wide via cable and satellite on Foxsports at 5:00 pm on the same day. The Foxsports version also includes an additional ten minute segment with some highlights from the ADBA World Top Fuel Harley Championships held in January.

My compliments on your webpage. The information available is very useful and organized in a user-friendly manner. I would like to inquire as to what the procedures are for listing our drag strip on your page. Our track is located in Curacao, Netherland Antilles.

Additional information can be obtained at www.caribbeandragraces.com. We would also like to have hints and tips in order to improve our page (since it's still under construction). Thanking you in advance for your time.

Bob Haffner asked that we pass these pictures of his old truck along to you. It's currently on display and for sale at L&H Leisure Vehicles in Abbotsford. The living unit is now complete with flusher, shower, dinette and roof air conditioning. There is also a fridge, stove, kitchen and bathroom sink. Carpeted throughout. Hope you can help out with a mention on your website. The asking price is $60,000 (Canadian).

John Ellul (Top Methanol Dragster from Malta) looks good and his numbers are close enough to worry a few people over here and I'm sure the experience of running here, mixing with the likes of the Turners, etc., will give him invaluable knowledge. As you know, drivers and crews are not tardy with advice for each other.

The only information I have on Stephanie Millam is what is on the ETMRA website. The name of the car is "She Devil" and she hails from Crowborough (England). She's in her 40's, manages a Travel Agency and has been racing since 1980. (Although this is her first year in a Methanol Funny Car). The car is a '94 Daytona with a 526 cube KB, topped by a Mooneyham high-helix. I hope this helps fill in some of the blanks.

Here are the tentative run schedules for Mission Raceway's Federal-Mogul Drag Racing Series event next week. Please note the changes for Stock and Super Stock to allow for the later afternoon run on Saturday to better prepare for actual race conditions.

Please help me. I'm relatively new and ignorant in horsepower and mechanics, etc. I have drawn up plans for an engine (with no plans to build it soon) and I am curious if there is a formula or something of the sort to estimate possible horsepower.

I have the bore, stroke and compression ratio all ready. Also other stuff, such as number of valves. Pretty much all the numbers I could possibly have without actually constructing the beast. If possible, I would appreciate a reply to my question.

Just a quick note to let you know that at the City of Brimbank Council meeting last night, the planning approval for Adrenalin Powersports Centre was heard. We lasted 115 seconds, were given two verbal commendations by councilors and were approved unanimously.

Now we have to advertise the planning for the month of May, hear objections, if any, and then get ready to start turning the dirt. I will keep you informed.

Thanks for waiting so long since our last update. Here is the outcome of our Annual General Meeting on April 19th. After some discussion by Chris Loy, it was decided to introduce six sub-committees and to elect individuals to be in charge of each committee; they are as follows:

1. Barriers: After a preliminary inspection by Bob Castle (ANDRA Division Director for South Queensland) and concerns by ANDRA after a particular crash at Willowbank, ANDRA has informed us that the concrete blocks will have to be joined together by a steel plate and have some earth pushed up against them to keep them in place in the event of a major impact. This has imposed the huge task of boring up to 800 5/8-inch holes through 12 inches of concrete and bolting a steel plate between each block. All barriers cast from now on will have holes pre-formed.

2. First meeting: I inquired as to the size of the first meeting/s before our official opening. It was agreed that we need to test the track and the staff first. Some suggestions were to advertise only locally (Warwick and Toowoomba) and as a Track Test and Tune, meaning we will be testing the track, and training staff, and this will be explained to the entrants at the drivers' briefing prior to racing. No final answer was reached. No date was set. Most of the wiring is in place and again I will take a stab in the dark and say late May - early June. It now rests on how quickly we can strap the barriers together, as this is the biggest task at hand.

3. Lighting: The lights were discussed. Concerns were expressed for the safety of people on the premises during darkness and the risk of injury. Also, we would like to be able to run into the night and/or have night meetings. We would like to see full lighting in place for the first meeting. Due to the special situation with our electrician, Bob Reid, and Chris Loy will meet with Neil Ensby. Nothing has been set in place until the outcome of this meeting.

4. Track bookings: The Warwick Shire Council has booked the track for a day, at $500, for driver training. This is using all the Council's own insurance, etc., and will be an on-going thing. The Nostalgia racers have booked the track for December 2, 2000. They will be running the 4th round of a national nostalgia series at our track. The Junior Dragsters have also booked for a Junior-only event in September.

I am making a few small changes in the website, bit by bit. This is to make it easier to look at and quicker to load some pages. I would like to remind everyone about the Super Cruise, coming up on the 7th of May. See our website for details. I will be there, along with a few other Warwick racers. If anyone is attending and would like to meet with me, please let me know. Race hard.

It was certainly good to see some new faces mixing it up with the old hands. Rumour has it that John Ellul will be back for the Main Event at the end of May and is bringing another of Malta's alky boys with him.

Unfortunately, I can't provide details of the events at Avon Park as they have their own timing crew. I would suggest trying Wendy Talbot (Club Secretary) or Jeremy Cookson (Press Officer). Failing that, Tog at Eurodragster may have access to the data; tell him I sent you. Cheers.

Does it get any better than this? My First Five

Hi Bob, I trust you are well. As promised, here's the timing data from the Thunderball. Not the most spectacular of events due to rain, oil downs, more rain, power failure, more oil downs, etc., but some good performances crept in.

Peter Beck has taken the step up to nitro incredibly well and I think we'll see him upset the apple cart this year. His licensing runs were spot on and only the weather and an unfortunate breakage got the better of him this weekend. Sticking my neck on the line I'll back him to take the championship this year.

Smax Smith also took the step up to fuel Funny Car in his stride, looking very comfortable. Stephanie Milam was a little bit shaky, but is obviously on a very steep learning curve and will take a bit longer to get to grips with it. She did progress well throughout the weekend, however.

I've yet again lost my list, so here's the data in all formats, let me know which you prefer.

G'Day Bob, hope you have had a "break" during the Easter season. (Yeah, sure). Well, as you stated about getting a reply from anyone in regards to the email "IHRA Format for Australia", you were right. Not a single email has been sent back to me about that. Anyway, there has been some more editorials floating around. If I can find them outside your contact with DRAGSTER Australia, I shall inform you as I hear from them.

All the information about the product is available through its website. This is an updated site to its previous one and a little bit more user-friendly. Basically, the product is a long-life synthetic lubricant which has been tested in many different applications.

It started life back in the late 1940's with the development of jet engines. From there, after a huge amount of testing, calculating and more testing, the "oil" was developed to its current fomat. Testing was conducted on several different playing fields. In the early days of testing the oil on cars, when using the product, found the engine had minimal wear after controlled (time frame) engine teardowns and also noted there was a decrease in operating temperature.

Also, in another test session, cars and bikes competing in the Paris-Dakar rally have to have their service vehicles entered in the competition. A team using the oil in it's service vehicle, was able to win it's own service truck class by some 17 hours to it's next rival. The reason was that downtime, i.e., servicing - which is taken from your time - was not a factor as the oil did not need to be changed during the course of the event. This made servicing it's competing car a lot easier, as it was able to keep up with the car it was looking after.

These are only two such cases where this stuff has worked very well. Unfortunately, a lot of smaller testing in the early days was not well documented. Today, Synthashield has been tested in heavy trucks, RV's, competition vehicles and also has been involved in the space program, from the early days to the present.

There's no point in blabbing on about the oil construction or other matters relating to the product, you'll have to leave this site - for a minute - (sorry, Bob) and take a trip to the Synthashield website and the information posted there should give more details about the product and what it's all about. They produce gear oil, auto trans fluid, hydraulic fluid and synthetic coolant.

As Bob said in answer to an earlier email about synthetic oils, this stuff would be more expensive to use on nitro/alcohol-powered cars, which rely on the fuel to keep the engine from meltdown. With some alky teams changing their oil after each pass, it becomes too expensive too throw away.

I believe this oil would be of assistance to "comp" cars (or Group 2 cars in Australia) for that extra tweak of horsepower and the benefits of not wearing parts out as quickly. There have been owners of race cars using this product, but due to the lack of documentation, I am unable to fill you in on the performance of the oil in their cars.

I hope this gives you all an idea of what we are all about. We have a small quantity of the oil here in Australia, which I would like to trial in a Group 2 car down here. Please email me if you are interested in doing so. Note: This project will have to be very well documented, to allow us to monitor the performance and progress of the oil.

Please contact me at the email address above and give me all the details on what you're running. At this point in time, we are unable to offer any sponsorship deals.

Increase your hits on the internet! A fact on the internet is, the more links you have, the higher your site will be in the search engines -- so let's trade links.

My site, Healthy Mind-Body, one of the leading sites on the net in mind-body healing, is designed to bring change to people who want to improve the quality of their lives. There is information about a variety of free products designed to help people develop their potentials, such as: helpful stress management skills, relaxation techniques, and supportive messages sent via e-mail.

Having practiced in this field for over 20 years, I am one of the top experts in the world in mindbody healing. The techniques I have pioneered are easy to use, simple, and have assisted thousands.

I would appreciate a link to my site. Send me the appropriate information, link to my site and I will link back to yours. Please visit my website and if you have any questions or comments, e-mail them to me personally. I look forward to trading links with you.

Hi Bob, this is Jim Burke. I created the old Competition Fabrications website and now I am not associated with it anymore. Actually, my partner and I split up, but it was friendly (differences in future vision) and he got the car and the shop and I got a check.

Now on to my newest adventure. What I am doing may well be the biggest thing to hit Nostalgia Drag Racing since the five second front-engine dragster. My new website is totally dedicated to the Nostaliga Funny Car. This site is for the racer, the restorer and the fan.

To say I am excited about this is an understatement. Remember when these cars were running five times a week and the public still couldn't get enough? Most of these people are in their forties and it's time for them to play.

I am trying to start a national registry for active Nostalgia Funny Cars, which includes pictures, facts on the car, and facts about the team. Additionally, I have formulated a set of rules that I feel are fair, logical and affordable, so that everybody can race everywhere. I am trying to avoid what has happened with the splintering of the front-engine dragsters.

Sooooo, the site address is: Nostalgia Funny Cars. Go take a look and let me know what you think. Take care.

Cole Coonce beat you to the punch as he been posting my notes on the Nitronic Research site for some time now. Of course, if we take the CART view, you are in another country (as is Ken) and anything goes.

If you want to post the notes, go ahead -- I will add you to the direct mail list from the next race onwards. Of course, the Virginia notes will be done by "remote control" as the next event that I plan to attend will be Atlanta.

If you are ever in the Indianpolis area, look me up. Keith "The Roo Man" Burgan.

The Northwest Nationals (at Seattle) is definitely on our schedule, barring any major catastrophes before then. Maybe we'll see you there.

Bob, your's is one of my highlights after a hard day at the office. I use all of your links and living in West Aussie there are not many areas on the web for this state on drag racing.

I went to the Nationals at Calder Park this year and loved it. I will be there next year. I haven't missed a race meeting at Ravenswood for ten years and am now looking forward to the new (Kwinana) Motorplex strip which is just around the corner from where I work.

Your site is the only one I can find with regular updates and info on the latest rules and regulations stateside, so don't spit the dummy. Keep up the good work and most important: keep on dragging.

For a few years now I've proposed that ANDRA add some classes to Competition Eliminator. If you feel this is a good idea, then log on to the website and read the proposals. Then click on the email link to ANDRA and let them know how you feel.

At the end of the day if I'm the only one who thinks it's a great idea, then maybe it's not a great idea, but if enough people think it is a great idea, then it is a great idea. But you have to tell them what you think.

How do you feel about three different parts of the proposal:

Click on the webpage update section: ANDRA Competition Eliminator. Why are there no Non-V8's, EFI (Electronic Fuel Injection) or Nostalgia cars?

Hey everyone; I just heard the Consumer Affairs Minister wants to ban the amazing Molson Canadian (beer) commercial from television because he thinks it's Anti-American. Here are the lines of the commercial; it makes me feel all fuzzy inside everytime I hear it or read it:

Thanks to the legendary Santa Pod rain magnets, there was no Top Methanol qualifying at the Pod today in Round One of the MSA British Championships.

I see from your website that you specialize in building high performance engines and wondered if you could help in a search for a small block engine for the high quality Cobra replica I'm building.

I have in mind a Ford 361W-based unit, modified to produce 400hp and still be very usable on the street. This is a serious enquiry and I need a unit which I can just drop into the car. That is, fully complete, although I also want a remote oil filter and oil cooler. The engine will be mated to a Ford top-loader gearbox.

I look forward to your reply and if you can't help, perhaps you could recommend someone who could. Ideally, I would like the engine shipped to the UK (United Kingdom), but I can make my own arrangements if need be.

Thanks for taking the time to reply and I am pleased to say that I am now fixed up with an engine and have gone to the FE428, instead of the 351W. It's more authentic and suits my street use requirements better. I must get to Santa Pod some time to see your type of engine in the flesh.

These drag racing stories were posted at DragList.com over the past few weeks:

The Weatherman and the People Have Spoken!

After the first rainout in the history of competition at the Goodguys Nitro Nationals at Sears Point, California, there is little movement to report among the nitromaniacal hunters and hunted who dwell on the Nitronic Research AA/Fuel Dragster List. Eliminations were cancelled on Sunday with no makeup date planned. Qualifying was completed, however, and those numbers will be tallied towards advancing or maintaining one's position on the List.

WW2, the top seed on the list, had perhaps the most dramatic moments of the weekend: A near-blowover off the pad in the first session of qualifying; subsequently, after what team WW2 owner/operator Jim Murphy considered "a mild thrash" to bend the discombobulated front axle back into shape, on the second (and final) qualifying pass, Murphy pinned back the ears of the rest of the competition with a startling 6.06 at 236 mph, numbers which earned him the #1 qualifying spot.

The #2 seed on the list, Larry Gotelli Jr., and the Gotelli Speed Shop entry, also put some distance between themselves and the rest of the List by posting a bodacious 240 mph shot in the first session of qualifying. It was perhaps the fastest pass ever recorded in a Rat-motored front engine fueler.

Due to the cancellation of eliminations, no point was awarded for Top Eliminator, but a point was rewarded in a rather unique fashion: As an experiment in reaching out to the legion of drag racing fanatics that follow the progress of this AA/Fuel dragster circuit on the web, an informal internet poll of informed nitromaniacs showed that cybernaut/bleacher bums consider the Tedford, Hester & McGee entry out of Exeter, California, to be the most formidable, yet underrated, AA/Fuel Dragster team to have slipped between the cracks on the Nitronic Research AA/FD List.

This experimental procedure for rewarding a bonus point for fan support moved the Tedford entry from off the radar into the 2nd alternate position, behind Jack Harris's "Nitro Thunder."

Team leader Darryl Tedford, aka "Tedder", was perplexed and pleasantly intrigued by the sentiments of the internet bleacher bums, succintly litanizing his humble credentials as a fuel tuner by saying, "We're just a bunch of Okie tractor mechanics."

As a bellwether of how tight the competition has become with more and more fuel cars continuing to make their presence felt, four teams on the List failed to qualify for the "A" main at the Nitro Nationals: Fuller & Dunlap (Ground Zero), The California Trucker (Lee Jennings), Suhr & Lechtenberg (Orange Crate) and Steiner & Berger. This phenomenon can also be partially attributed to the quirkiness of the Sears Point surface (cold) and sea level barometric conditions (absolute dynamite).

Nitronic Research feels that it was a combination of increasingly intense competition, as well as the fickle racing conditions that permitted such heretofore underrated entries to kidney punch the circuit's "hitters." Witness the prowess and progress of Tedford, Hester & McGee (6.14 - 228 mph, #3 qualifier), Lance Osborn (6.22 - 211, #6 qualifier), Nitro Thunder (6.30 - 231, #7 qualifier), "Nitro Neil" Bisciglia and the Nasdaq Nitro digger (6.31 - 230, #8) and tell me the water isn't getting crowded . . .

How The List fared:

More NR AA/FD List Notes:

The next event to count for points on the List will be the Goodguys VRA Hot Rod Nationals, June 9-11 at Indianapolis Raceway Park, followed by the 24th Annual Nitro Nite of Fire - Jim Herbert Memorial Drags, June 17-19 at Sacramento Raceway.

Hey Bob, thanks for taking the time to reply to my last e-mail. It's always great to get feedback. The reason for my e-mail was an "editorial" from one of our local magazines: Australia AutoAction, which has been around for yonks. Drag racing has a spot in there and I was given this article which prompted my questions.

It would probably be advisable not to post this on your Backfire! page for copyright reasons. (so when has that ever stopped us, Steve?). This is for your own interest in the subject (you being a dragster owner; you're over there and the car is here). So here we go sportsfans, from AutoAction #880, dated March 17-22, 2000.

Australian National Drag Racing Association (ANDRA) and the National Control Council (NCC) will next month consider proposals, which could see the nitro Funny Car category cease to be a championship bracket, and the eventual phasing out of Dragsters (and altereds) in favour of Funny Cars in Top Alcohol.

The two proposals are among more than 70 received by ANDRA in the past year, from drag racers and drag race organisations around the country. The proposals, which will go before the NCC meeting in April, is for Nitro Funny Car to become an exhibition category and for the existing Top Alcohol category to be limited to Funny Cars.

ANDRA Chief (Executive Officer) Tony Thornton this week said while nitro Funny Cars have not had a championship series, or competed at a major event for three years, reducing the category to exhibition status will give current FC's the opportunity to race again. (haven't these guys been asking for a match race for some time?)

"These cars do not have many races in Australia," he said. "If this proposal gets up it could create a fabulous opportunity for the four or so Funny Cars to present a package to the tracks -- as a brought in four-car match race deal." (I thought the promoters didn't want them)

"I think the tracks would look at a package, and I know the fans would like to see the nitro funny cars back on the track." Thornton also believes another alternative is for the nitro funny cars to be converted to Top Alcohol cars. "All the nitro funny cars currently in the country could be easily converted to alcohol," he said. "It's another alternative to keep the cars racing. I'm sure the current nitro funny car owners will disagree as it will cost money to change them over." (I would like to see some figures on that cost)

Thornton said the proposal to phase out Dragsters from Top Alcohol and turn the class into Funny Cars-only came from a current Alcohol Funny Car team owner. "Top Alcohol is the closest racing in the whole sport at the moment," he said. "And with due respect to Top Alcohol Dragster teams -- their show was outstanding -- Funny Car is very popular in Australia. Long term, a healthy Funny Car eliminator should be ANDRA's target, but we have to protect the dragster team owners' investments."

Thornton said if the NCC voted to phase out Top Alcohol Dragster next month, it will be done over a five to seven year period. "There's no doubt such a decision may cause a furore," he said. "But the reality is by then some dragster chassis will be older and in need of updating. The problem is dragster engines are not suitable for funny cars because they are generally smaller capacity and it will be a big step to buy a new (funny) car and half a new engine. But this is a decision ANDRA should have made years ago."

Thornton said if the proposals were adopted, ANDRA would canvas all Top Alcohol teams for their input on the proposal. "ANDRA is always being accused of not giving racers enough notice. We do, but some notice is never enough," he said. "This is one of those areas where we say this is what ANDRA wants the picture to be in five years and this is how we are going to get there."

So there you have it. I don't like the way Top Alcohol is going to go, if that's the way these guys want to run the class. The beauty of Top Alky is all types of cars: dragsters, funny cars and altereds. There was no mention of altereds in T/A in the article above. I know that Tom Easton runs his car and I am assuming some others would like to step up. What happens to those guys in the future?

Thought I would give you some more details as to the reasons for my last message by passing along this article. Hope things are going OK over there.

In a manner of speaking, in both sessions of qualifying, Jim Murphy and the WW2 AA/Fuel Dragster, uhh, towered over the competition at the rain-shortened Goodguys 12th Nitro Nationals last weekend at Sears Point International Raceway, first by performing a spectacular wheelstand right off the pad and later, after repairing the damage, by procuring the #1 qualifying position for Top Fuel Eliminator.

"It looked like a duck with a couple of broken wings," is how Murphy described the bongoed front axle of his Stirling-chassised dragster. "Had I stayed in it she would have gone over.

"When I started the thing up, the rpm was down just a little bit -- about 150 rpm -- and it really should have been up because the air was real good," is how Murphy explained the faulty magneto rotor that had weakened the amperage and was the catalyst for the wheelie. "When you're underpowered like that you can really wheelstand," Murphy said, concluding that, "We made a mistake and we got bit; we usually make enough power that we go through the clutch, but this was an odd deal."

Faced with stout competition from a field of 22 front-motored Top Fulers vying for inclusion into an 8-car "A" Main Eliminator and only one session left to post a number, Murphy and his talented crew got resourceful.

"We were working right until the end," is how Murphy recalls the "mild thrash" to make the call in dragster staging. According to Murphy, one of his crew guys, Dave Thornhill, an alumnus of Chris Alston's Chassisworks in Sacramento, borrowed a couple of pieces of 2 x 4 rectangular tubing from one of the on-site industrial shops at Sears Point, grabbed a couple of bodies for muscle and leverage and bent the axle back into shape, adjusted the camber and the toe-in and we were good to go.

"What we can bend up, we can bend right down," was the team's attitude as the team came together as a unit and prepped the car for the final qualifying session. "Everyone thought our backs were against the wall," Murphy stated after he and the WW2 cadre stared down adversity and posted a sizzling elapsed time of 6.06 seconds, a number which earned the team Low ET and key qualifying points in the Goodguys VRA Series.

A continual drizzle forced cancellation of eliminations on Sunday, which was not only disappointing to the WW2 bunch, but strategically calamitous as Murphy was to pair up against the current leader in the points, "Wild Bill" Alexander and the Ground Zero machine, who had qualified 5th. Look for these teams to cross paths again at the next Goodguys VRA points meet, the 5th Hot Rod Happenin' at Pomona, California, July 29 & 30.

Next up for WW2: the 24th Annual Nitro Nite - Jim Herbert Memorial Drags at Sacramento Raceway, June 17-18.

It looks like the second Mission points race is scheduled against our Alcohol Show in Edmonton. Also, the Mission Canadian National Open is on the same weekend as the AHRA World Finals in Spokane, and we have to go down there to defend our title. Just our luck: only six races booked for the year and we have to miss two of them because of conflicting dates.

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AEAC announces that the auto production in China has been approved for use on all its roads. AEAC has entered into an agreement to produce and market these cars in China in a joint venture called EVASIA, in which AEAC has a 45% interest.

Take a week, a month, whatever and just stay offline. Do anything but go to a drag race or to a drag website. Don't watch 'em on television, don't read about them in the newspapers . . . ha ha! Get your butt in that truck and come out to see my new place. We can sit in the backyard and contemplate life. Read a Charlie Brown book.

I, better than maybe anyone else, know exactly what you're going through. Heck, I do it about once a week . . . really. Think about your website and how to make it smaller and easier. Remember that you're not getting paid for this, but you are losing money spending so much time on it. Cutting back will only make a few people who give you nothing but a "hit" say to themselves, "oh well, he's not doing that anymore" and THAT'S IT.

While it's fun to be a "web-star" . . . you know how the 'real' entertainment stars burnout all the time . . . just pick up a National Enquirer:

Hang in there pal, call me. DO IT!

The following is a message that I sent to NHRA, concerning the video highlights on their website. Plus, the reply from Bob Frye (no, not the funny guy, Bob FREY), but the fellow who handles the video archives for NHRA.

To whom it may concern:
Just a quick message to ask if there is any possibility that you could put some Federal-Mogul runs on the highlight page as I would like to see some of them, as would other people I know in Australia and around the world as well. If you could do this I would be especially happy and would be notifying others as well to let them know of your insight. Hope you might help with this issue.

And now for the reply from Bob Frye:

Sorry, but the only footage that NHRA puts up on the nightly Media Satellite feed are the various pro classes, and driver interviews. I'd love to put the Federal-Mogul cars up, but they don't include these classes on the feed.

You've been quiet again.... are you ok?

Thanks for your help (in passing along some info about Les Davenport's company). Besides writing the press releases, writing for CompetitionPlus.com, and my normal job, I do PR/Marketing for a Pro Mod car. I just joined the team this year. We are switching from nitrous to blown alky for this season. The car isn't ready yet, but we'll be out in June for the race in Grand Bend, Ontario.

We'll be running the new Rodeck 481X Alan Johnson deal with an SSI blower. I'll send any news about the team your way when we are set. Thanks again.

You may think I'm paranoid, but Bill Gates really is out to get us and everyone else in the free world. He will not rest until all of us have a Windows-based 32-bit operating system implanted at the base of our craniums. Imagine how life will be, with frequent system lock-ups at critical moments, like getting that famous "This program has performed an illegal operation and will be shut down ..." message right before the tree comes down.

I know all this to be true, as Bill himself has spoken unto me while I was wearing my tinfoil hat. The Antichrist has risen, and his name is <-deleted->.

I'm OK now, really; the moments come and go. Hey: next time you're at the track, stop by and say hello. We likely won't have the digger out for a couple more weeks yet, but I can be found at Mission every weekend, running my car in Sportsman. Catch you later.

I enjoy checking in and reading what you think and say about the drag racing world. I would be very disappointed if you did not continue. Sometimes I get too busy to check in every day, but I at least check in on a weekly basis. Thanks for all the effort, I truly appreciate it.

I was wondering if Les and Ryan Davenport are the people behind the fuel system software called Davenport. Do they have a web site? How do I get in touch with them? Any info would be greatly appreciated.

G'Day from Oz. Really enjoyed your page. Quite entertaining!
Check us out at: Adrenalin Powersports Centre.

I think that I speak for a lot of racers when I say that Northern Thunder is the web page that we click on to first every day. Your candid assessments, rebuttals and editorials remind us that we're not alone in our thoughts; we're just not brave enough to voice them like you do.

The bottom line is that we continue to race because we love it; despite all the "stuff" you have to go through with finances, sanctioning bodies and track management. You give us an outlet to voice our beefs with the establishment, and you usually add your own colour in an appropriate and classy manner. I can hardly imagine how much time you spend on this, but we would all miss it if it were gone.

More updates to the website:

It seems "Pretty Park" is on it's way around again; a friend got it and I got the exe (lucky I didn't open it). It's a fairly harmless one; it's one of these things that grabs your email address book and sends itself on to all your friends (nice of it, eh?).

If you get an email with "Prettypark.exe" attached to it, just dump it. The subject line reads: "C:\CoolProgs\Prettypark.exe" If you happen to get it, here's a link to an instant cleaner.

BRAY CLOSES IN ON CHAMPIONSHIP LEAD

It was a night of mixed fortunes for Victor Bray at Willowbank Raceway's Castrol Series event on Saturday. Bray's Castrol Chevy was producing awesome horsepower which gave the four time champion plenty of headaches as he looked for a suitable combination to apply it all to the track.

The event was the second to last round of the Australian Championship, with Bray going into the race 22 points behind series leader, Dave Koop of Adelaide. After qualifying third with a time of 6.504 seconds he defeated Castrol team mate Steve Stanic by a tight eleven thousandths of a second in the opening round of elimination racing. His aspirations for a fifth consecutive championship received a boost when Dave Koop fell to Top Doorslammer rookie Brett Stevens in the next pairing. This allowed Bray to close to within two points of the title lead with the opportunity to move ahead in the semi-final.

It was here that his fortunes turned again, when in a wild drive, using up much of his lane, Victor was unable to catch Victorian driver Peter Kapiris in the Pennzoil Studebaker, despite a big top end speed charge. This left Bray to watch the final from the sidelines, as Western Australian Robin Judd recorded a new Australian record of 6.24 seconds to defeat Kapiris and close right up in the points to be just fifteen adrift of Koop and thirteen behind Bray.

"Anytime you move forward in the championship you can't be too unhappy, but it's a bit disappointing we weren't able to go another round or two to get a break before the final at the Konica Winternationals," said Bray. "We're developing a few new ideas with the fuel system and the car's probably developing more horsepower than I've ever had before. That's giving us a new bunch of problems with the setup of the car, but I'm pretty confident we're on the right track towards taking another good step up. We'll do some more testing at Willowbank before the Winters and hopefully be ready to throw everything at it then. We'll have two targets I guess, the championship and regaining the E.T. record."

In the closest finish to the Australian Top Doorslammer Championship ever, four drivers will go into the season finale at the Konica Winternationals, to be held at Willowbank Raceway on June 9th to 11th, with the chance of winning the title.

I've really enjoyed reading about the PSI controversy on Northern Thunder. Seems that no one else has much info on the subject. Since discovering your site, I make it one of my weekly stops. Keep up the hard work, it's apprciated.

I've just checked out the qualifying results from the Division Six points meet at Boise and there's only FIVE dragsters and SIX funny cars? Where the heck is everybody?

Bruce Litton Lands Spot in NHRA O'Reilly Nationals Field
Meets Larry Dixon in Round One

Bruce Litton's NHRA tour in 2000 continues to provide the Indianapolis, Indiana-based driver with many rewards. Last season, the Wix Filters (presented by the Top Dragster Driving Experience) sponsored driver failed to make the field at every NHRA race they attended. This season has provided a turnaround as the team has a perfect record. The NHRA O'Reilly Nationals at Houston Raceway Park in Baytown, Texas, keeps the streak alive.

Litton qualified tenth in the 15-car field and is scheduled to face Larry Dixon in the Miller-sponsored fueler during the first round. Of the four sessions afforded to the category, Litton only participated in two, opting to conserve parts and inevitably open the door for more events than the scheduled ten for the 2000 season.

On Friday, he posted a 4.776 - 285.35 during the first session and opted to pass on the second session. He chose to run one session on Saturday and used the early session to solidify his consistency by carding a 4.777 - 291.19.

"The majority of what we use the NHRA events for is to test and solidify our combination," explained Litton. "We want to win, but sticking to our combination and making good, clean and quick runs stands as our goal."

The attendance at the NHRA events has been a positive experience for the veteran enclosed trailer dealer. He stands atop the IHRA points standings and most recently won the Holley Spring Nationals in Rockingham, North Carolina, and finished runner-up at the Prolong Winter Nationals in Darlington, South Carolina.

How's it going, big guy? I've just been out to Willowbank and thought I'd come home and send you a bit of news. Robin Judd just went 6.24 at 218 mph. I tried to find the latest news from Willowbank (on their website) but to no avail. Either I'm stupid or they aren't posting the latest news on their site straight away.

I saw Dave (Coles) at the drags as well; he was driving the "grenade" for Ken. We had a quick chat and he said he was still waiting for the paperwork to arrive for your truck. Anyway, I won't waste too much of your precious time; just thought I would give you a quick update and wish you all the best once again. Say hello to Tom for us and make sure to take care.

And by the way: Get yourself out of the dumps and get your brain back on track! I want to hear how motivated you are on this project of yours, not that you're feeling down in the dumps. Hurry up, get on track and get your arse moving. Hope you don't mind the kick in the butt, but I think maybe you need it.

Lorraine and I care and we can't wait to see you back out here and we'll do anything we possibly can to help and get you back on track or on the track. Or whatever direction you want us to push you in. Okay, enough is enough, take care and hope to see or hear from you soon. Still waiting for that (promised) reply from last weekend. I think you said you were gunna send it. See ya Bob and all the best from the Fahy family. (Pushy bastards all around; so now do as you're told :-)

Agincourt, Waterloo, Sears Point. Three battlefields with a common denominator: Utter befuddlement by those who have battled there. Okay, okay, maybe that's being a little dramatic, comparing watershed moments in Western Civilization to a drag race, but the point is this: History reveals that these battlegrounds were marred by confusion and miscalculation, even by the victors. Traditionally, for the WW2 team and their AA/Fuel Dragster competitors, the Goodguys Nitro Nationals at Sears Point is as equally confounding as Waterloo was to Napoleon and Agincourt was to a battery of French knights who never saw the bow and arrows coming.

At Sears Point, the bow and arrows come in the form of cool ambient temperature and an adjusted altitude that can read "below" sea level. i.e., tremendous boost and oxidation with a co-efficient of inadequate traction can mean futility via blazing the hides....

"We've never had great luck at this track, it's always been right on the edge," is how Jim Murphy, Commander-in-Chief of the WW2 AA/Fuel Dragster, explains the challenge and the frustration that they must overcome at Sears Point.

The team is coming off of a successful sojourn at the March Meet in Bakersfield, whereupon they runner-upped to the Ground Zero entry and set Low ET of the Meet at 6.04, but all of that is rather moot this weekend: "The track here isn't as kind to us as Bakersfield," Murphy explains.

Nevertheless, Murphy is inspired by last month's results: "Down at Bakersfield we made six runs and never even began to turn a tire," he said. "Some of the changes we made seemed to be for the better. Our computer graphs were smoother than in the past and we were encouraged by all that.

"We are real well balanced now," he continued. "We have no weight on the front end and we are just bobbling the tires and that means the thing is balanced pretty well."

Murphy also empahsized that was the first appearance of the WW2 machine in its new lean trim. "The lighter car is helping," he acknowledges. "It's less mass coming off the starting line, right? It's got to be easier to move it and go down the track. It seemed to stay hooked a little bit better."

Last year at this race, WW2 qualified #2 and made it to the semi-finals before smoking the tires and bowing out to Ground Zero. In their pursuit of Top Eliminator status this weekend, Murphy and his braintrust, Ron Rapadas, Barry Byrne, David Thornhill, Gary Grisel and Jeff Shamrock, did some minor tweaking of the fuel system.

Less mass, minor fuel system tweaks. Will this be enough to avoid an ambush by delicate track conditions? Stay tuned.

More WW2 Notes for the Nitro Nationals:

This weekend the WW2 Womens Auxilliary will be gracing race fans with some outtasite 8" x 10" handouts, featuring some superlative photography of the race car in action by Tom West. For those attending the event, be sure and come by the WW2 foxhole and get yours.

Between 18 and 22 AA/Fuel Dragsters are expected to compete for eight "A" and eight "B" positions at this event.

The 12th Nitro Nationals Nostalgia Drags will go down April 15 & 16, Sonoma, California. Saturday Pro qualifying will be held at 11 am and 2 pm. Sunday, eliminations start at noon.

Sears Point Raceway is located at the intersection of Highways 37 and 121, north of San Francisco.

Bruce Litton Score Qualifying Spot After First Day of Qualifying at NHRA O'Reilly Nationals

Bruce Litton is a driver that believes in taking care of business in the early going and letting his work stand on its own. That's exactly what transpired as the 43-year old driver of the Wix Filters (presented by the Top Dragster Driving Experience) Top Fuel Dragster holds on to the 10th spot in a 15-car field after two rounds of qualifying at the NHRA O'Reilly Nationals in Baytown, Texas, located east of Houston.

Litton was careful not to get greedy in the fourth stop of his ten planned appearances on the 2000 NHRA Winston tour. "There's no sense in going out there and taking a chance of hurting our stuff when we don't have to," explained Litton. "I want to be competitive in this sport and part of making it to that status is to not let your ego get in the way of your means. We achieved our objective and that was to gain a respectable run in raceday conditions."

Litton made a clean pass down the Houston Raceway Park racing surface as he sped to a 4.776 - 285.33, which was just .004 out of the ninth spot in the field. It was just last week that Litton claimed his second career Top Fuel title at the IHRA Holley Spring Nationals in Rockingham, North Carolina. He has two more shots in qualifying on Saturday.

I look at your site fairly regularly, and do enjoy it, for whatever that's worth.

Bob: Well, after some talk between Jeff Lee and myself, we decided to change the direction of The Digs website. Now don't worry; we're keeping all the great content we have now but we are adding many new cool features. We now have a database of all common domestic V8 engines (sorry, no AMC) and rear-wheel drive trannies that were put behind a V8.

We are also planning a list of all publicly traded companies that are involved in drag racing (as per StockCarStocks and RaceDex). We will offer free classified ads. The classifieds will be powered by Performance Classifieds (which is another website of mine. I will offer this service to all other webmasters free of charge.

Email partners@performance-classifieds.8m.com to get free classifieds for your site.

I have also started my own web design company, named 1320webmedia, that specializes in designing and promoting supercharged websites and high performance automotive businesses. Those are just a few of the many new features that we will be providing to drag enthusiasts World Wide.

A preview of who's coming (to the Thunderball at Santa Pod) and all the latest news is on the preview page of the European Top Methanol Racers Association web site. All the best. Gone racing, back in 5.6 seconds.

"I have to win" is what Australian Top Doorslammer Champion, Victor Bray, is saying about the penultimate round of the current title series this weekend. Bray trails South Australian Dave Koop by just 22 points, but he is adamant that he must come away from Saturday's Castrol Series event at Willowbank Raceway back on top of the table. While attempting to win a fifth straight championship he has suffered all the highs and lows that motor sport can offer over the course of the campaign.

Everything started brilliantly for Bray's Castrol Chevy team when he won the opening event in Melbourne and regained the world speed record in the process. He top qualified at the next event in Perth but then the team suffered an awful run of bad luck. A wire came off the battery in the first round and stopped the engine. He lost early again in Adelaide and then had a brand new throttle cable break at the Nationals in Melbourne. At that stage Victor found himself a long way back in the points but a win in Perth last month, along with bonus points for quickest time and highest speed has seen him claw his way back to second spot with just the two Willowbank Raceway rounds to go.

Bray commented, "Our record's not that good at the Winternationals in June, so I don't want to be behind going into the last event. I have to win this weekend and go for maximum points. Believe me, I won't be upset if Koopsy loses in the early rounds, but we can't worry about what anyone else is doing. We have to concentrate on our own performance all the way and if it's good enough, the results should come."

Despite his strong performance at the last round of the series, which again included resetting the world record, this time up to 233.12 mph (375.16 kph), Victor and his Castrol team have been back on the track testing in Adelaide and at Willowbank Raceway in advance of this Saturday's event. A large field of racers from all over Australia have nominated, including Dave Koop, Perth's Robin Judd, Melbourne's Peter Kapiris and local challengers, Peter Gratz, Andrew Searle, Brett Stevens and Les Winter.

To add to your alcohol link section:
Renegade Racing
International Blown Alcohol Association

The approach to success at the Goodguys 12th Nitro Nationals at Sears Point this weekend may be summed up in three words: Back it down. The weather has been inclement in the last couple of days and the forecast calls for overcast skies. This should make the Sears Point surface a little sketchy for those who insouciantly thundered at Bakersfield, particularly as that track "came in" on the last two days of the event.

Here's the skinny on what should be a fickle race for those earth-shaking warriors and plunderers of the front-motored Top Fuel circuit who have earned a spot on "The List."

1. WW2 -- Although it is a de-stroked mill, the Santa Rosa-based "King of the Chizlers" is never short on horsepower; nor on the knowledge of how and where to apply that muscle. The recent history of the car at this track, whether under the leadership of the late Jim Herbert or new czar Jim Murphy, hasn't been all that auspicious, however, Generally, the car goes rounds here, but just when everybody is comfortable, they can boil the baloneys or get loose on the big end as quickly as anybody.

But with that being said, this car is the three time VRA champ for a couple of reasons, not the least of which is the experience Murphy has in getting a variety of drag racing machines down a variety of drag strip surfaces.

This is the Sears Point debut of the WW2 machine in leaner trim: less weight could definitely be a positive factor in getting off the launch pad without tire spin. Never to be counted out.

2. Gotelli Speed Shop -- The team never quite hit their stride at the March Meet, falling to arch-rival the Champion Speed Shop in the first round. BUT this team has been able to finesse the Sears Point surface like almost nobody else and took Top Eliminator at the last drag race contested here, the Goodguys 10th Fuel & Gas Championship.

As a rookie, Larry Gotelli, Jr., won the "B" Main here at this race last year, while setting Top Speed of the Meet at 238 mph. Look for him to dispel any rumblings of "sophomore slump" after going out in the first round at the March Meet last month.

3. Fuller & Dunlap "Midnight" -- These guys are an absolute Rubik's Cube of Frustration right now. They failed to qualify in the Top 8 at the March Meet and went out in the semi's of the "B" Main by blazing the skins. Conversely, Fuller & Dunlap have posted some of their finest numbers here -- in fact, this team holds the Sears Point AA/FD elapsed time record with a 5.98 -- the only "5" posted ever here in this class. A depleted parts inventory kept them out of the final round here last year.

4. Lee Jennings' California Trucker -- Thus far in Y2K, Jennings' badass bowtie-powered fueler hasn't lit up the scoreboards the way it is capable of doing. But hope springs eternal as co-tuner Gene Amaya says, "We're looking forward to running well. The Sonoma track is usually prepped very well and the air is good. As you know, so many things can happen, with any kind of luck we'll be just fine, thank you."

5. Champion Speed Shop -- "Handsome Rance" McDaniel wanted to know if Nitronic Research gave out points for being born ugly, as he figures with that criteria and with his mug, that should move this team up The List a couple of notches. N-o-o-o, we can't reward homeliness but we do want the world to know that the way he took to the cockpit of the CSS entry last month (replacing self-exiled wunderkind, Sammy "The Crank" Hale) was a thing of beauty.

The ride, perhaps more than any on the circuit, can launch off the pad here like a V2 and not torch the vector vanes. They won't need ugliness as a handicap.

6. Suhr & Lechtenberg's "Orange Crate" -- Straight outta' Waterloo, Iowa, this team is of the corn and they dress like cavemen, but this is one "bad" hot rod. These guys have shown they can run well under a variety of conditions. Proof positive that nitromania grows in the Breadbasket of America as well as other diet staples such as wheat and corn.

7. Steiner & Berger -- After a driving manuever worthy of a ballerina priouetting at 240 mph on one big toe against Ground Zero at the March Meet, the Wily Coyote entry sprained both ankles and needed to be front-halved at the new Stirling chassis shop in Arizona.

The car is off the jig, freshened up and ready for battle. Pit Boss Brad Berger notes that the team is switching mills for this event, temporarily mothballing their stroker motor and installing a "stock" Donovan between the framerails. Again, less torque, better traction, is the thinking.

8. Ground Zero -- John Eirich's team is deep with nitromania right now and still buzzing from a very popular win at the March Meet, the first such title for that AA/Fuel Geezer Emeritus, "Wild Bill" Alexander. Word is that some guy named Dale Pulde is going to be hanging around this weekend -- and he ain't there to put ice in the beer cooler. These guys are on a roll.

9. Fugowie -- After a sporadic couple of years in the front-motored fueler wars -- underscored by main man Butch Blair questioning his desire to race in this circuit at all -- Fugowie is in the house and livin' large. Blair dominated Pro Nitro's aborted Desert Thunder Nationals in February, then rocketed to the #2 qualifier at the March Meet. Definitely in a groove.

10. Smith, Alred & Maher -- The defending event champion. Muy unpredictable -- but driver Mike McLennan is a fierce competitor.

Bob: Sorry, didn't mean to confuse you. I am Norm's wife Pat, and I wrote the comments about the gooseneck Whipple. Believe me, after what <-name deleted-> did to Norm with the illegal phone recording, we don't say ANYTHING we don't want repeated! Sure, go ahead and post it.

It's true, unlike the stuff Dustin (Whipple) is getting into; like a "vast" number of PSI customers using illegal overdrives. What's up with that? Doesn't he know he couldn't prove it if he had to, and there are libel and slander laws to address what he's doing? Oh well, at least he's given us a lot of free publicity.

G'Day Bob, hope this finds you well. And by the size of "Backfire!" these last few weeks, things have been going in leaps 'n' bounds for the sport of drag racing around the world. There appears to be a lot happening in Canada of late. Has there been a turnaround for the drag racing folk up there? It's great to see other countries doing well outside of the USA.

Well, as you may have gathered by the title of this email, I am not saying there is, but I would like to know if this has been considered. Here's what I have heard through several discussions I have had in recent times with people.

To my understanding, through conversation only, ANDRA (the governing body of drag racing in Australia), is considering a change in it's format for running of Nitro and Alcohol cars in this country. Here we go, and this is NOT gospel.

1.   Nitro dragsters will be the only class of fuel cars to run at sanctioned events. Nitro floppers will only be an exhibition class. There seems to be more funny cars coming up these days and the numbers might swell to allow a full field.

2.   Top Alcohol will only consist of Funny Cars and nothing else. No dragsters and no altereds. I don't know if there would be enough alky funny cars in Australia to field a bracket -- but I could be wrong. There are a lot of dragsters competing at the moment, though.

3.   Pro Stock will go to the NHRA rules of 500 cid engines.

4.   All other Group One (pro) class cars and bikes will remain the same. But I believe there will be some changes.

To top it off, I've heard that Top Comp will be a sanctioned class. As everyone knows, rumours are pretty common in any sort of motor racing. I have heard this from quite a few people now and I'm wondering if all this is "scuttlebutt" or true. If anyone from ANDRA would reply to me, that would be great.

Looking forward to hearing from anyone with any information to either back up or deny these rumours. If anyone has more gossip on anything of this sort, let's bring it out. Nothing better than a good gossip running amuck. Hear from you soon?

These drag racing stories were posted at DragList.com over the past few weeks:

Plus fresh links every day!

I can make your dragster run much better. If you're interested, drop me a line or call 1-905-579-4600.

I was darn sure that Jackie Stewart (ex-Formula One World Champion) teamed with Chris Econmaki for drag race coverage on WideWorld of Sports one time. I seem to recall us guys all making jokes about it: (in shrill Scottish accent) "as the motorcars make their way down the tarmac, Doooon Garlits pooools ahead to victory" or "Prudhomme has hit the armco . . . his car has burst into flames . . . . marshalls are rushing to his aid." I know he did NASCAR races too for awhile.

Hey, still got that calendar? Gotta catch up to you sometime. I'm going to Mission this weekend just to watch, maybe run the truck.

Do you know Rachel Ratliff from Australia? She emailed me and was wondering if she is one of the "Babes" in your pics?

Just got back from Vegas and was definitely impressed. It is a first class facility; huge pit area, lots of spectator parking (free too!), concrete pad extends past half track, uphill shutdown area and almost guaranteed to have great weather.

You knew that the first sessions were going to be awful, but I thought that the track came around better than expected. The relentless sun played a major role in all the tire smoke on Sunday, but there were still 4-second Funny Car passes and a few .60's from the Top Fuel cars.

Santos looked like he was ready to put everyone away again, but lost in the semi's. I talked to him after the run; it turns out that the burst panel got tired and opened up when he punched high gear. Hentges looked like he might get to the final again, but shook pretty hard (also in the semi's) and slowed to a 5.67.

I finally met Norm Drazy. I guess he has been quite busy making mag drives for the fuel guys. My dad had his Sitko Mag Drive on Jim Dunn's funny car and drew rave reviews. It was on the car for the 4.95 first round pass and they have ordered two more drives.

I don't know if you noticed, but the (alcohol) dragsters had only two qualifying sessions and the funny cars had three. The second FM/FC session was taking a loooong time; there was a multitude of oildowns and cone crunching going on. Near the end of the session, NHRA turned the dragsters around and sent them back to the pits. I'm not sure what the exact story was; it could be that they were just running out of time.

The interesting thing was, though, that the cases of the PSI blowers on all the dragsters (and funny cars) were inspected either right after that session, or first thing the next morning. The rumor is that NHRA was worried that a few racers still had the illegal "C" blower on, but I don't know if they found anything.

The neatest thing about the race track is the tunnel that runs under it from the pit to the spectator side. I had to stand in the tunnel for at least one fuel funny car race. The tunnel goes through at the 600 foot mark and is about eight feet high. Add another five feet of concrete and asphalt and you're on the racing surface! Tony Pedregon ran a 5.02, just seven to eight feet above my head. Awesome!!

My dad re-introduced me to Dale Armstrong (we actually raced each other in 1978 at the FallNationals, but he wouldn't remember that). He is very down to earth and he talked about everything from the old days in Edmonton and Calgary, to the operation we run now. We talked about the new fuel rules, thoughts about NHRA's methods of reducing oil downs, and his approach to dealing with it.

I asked what was causing the blower belt problem (it seemed like half the field tossed them off at the Gatornationals); he wasn't sure if it was a belt problem, or if the extra overdrive was causing it. I guess he'll be thinking harder about it, because his car (Jerry Toliver) lost because of that in the first round. Tony (Pedregon) was going to run away from (Jim) Epler in the final, but met the same fate.

I'm starting to ramble now, so I'd better go. I don't think that we'll make it to Mission now, unless you tell me there are only going to be eight cars. It's too early in the season to get in the hole financially, so maybe we'll see you in Seattle in July.

The Annual General Meeting of the association will be held at the Warwick RSL (Returned Servicemen's League) Club on Albion Street in Warwick on the 19th of April, commencing at 7:30 pm. More details are available at our website.

Keith Burgan's report from Las Vegas is in and posted. Check it out at:
Ken Lowe Race Cars

You're officially invited to a unique get-together this Saturday, April 15, 2000, at Bruce Larson's Stony Creek Barn in Dauphin, Pennsylvania, located just north of Harrisburg.

Bruce's barn is a small museum filled with memorabilia, some of his funny cars, his Cobra and a street rod or two. There will be nostalgia drag videos, movies and slide shows going all day as well as heavy BS sessions. There will be tables for photo books and some goodies for sale as well. Rub elbows with some big names in vintage drag racing as well as local racers from the past. Everyone shares the common interest in vintage drag racing and the air will be thick with the aroma of it all. Any and all photo scrapbooks, no matter how extensive, are welcome.

This is the third year of the event. In the past, it has essentially been a loose invitation-only deal, but this year it is opening up a bit. The desire is to keep it to only hardcore vintage aficianados though. Bring an interested friend or two if you like. Keep in mind, this is not an NHRA-style fan circus, though.

The cost will be $10 at the door, which includes a simple sandwich/pizza meal, snacks and soft drinks, and possibly a memento of the event. No booze and no smoking please. The barn is also Bruce's place of business.

For details, directions, etc., and courtesy RSVP please contact:

Be sure to say that Bill from DragList.com sent you. Feel free to spread the word to like-interested friends; we trust your discretion.

You really have to hand it to Dustin (Whipple). With all his Compuserve (forum) talk about A-lists and B-lists, magic gears that invisibly increase the overdrive, and giant fines, he has managed to completely divert everyone's attention from the fact that the integrated injector Whipple was run at one race by exactly one team prior to the 1997 (NHRA mandated) technology "freeze."

The Walt Austin and sons racing team (the AA list?) ran it at Indy in 1996 and then TOOK IT OFF, never to be seen again until Bobby Taylor ran an improved version three months AFTER the start of the freeze. That means the integrated injector Whipple is illegal as hell. Another way of looking at it is that if Dustin's piece is legal, then so is the "C".

But then who wants to look at facts when there's dirt to dish? Keep up the good work. Your website is among the sanest.

After a promising off-season for the Ironhorse team, including several team bests, the Ironhorse team seems to be followed by a dark cloud of late. The Pro Modified team of Johnny Rocca and Troy Critchley were hoping for a change of luck and a return of performance at the 35th annual Holley Spring Nationals presented by Castrol GTX, in Rockingham, North Carolina.

Critchley, at the wheel of the famed Ironhorse 49 Mercury, was unable to get into the field after his first attempt. He was forced to back out of it and save the car as it headed for the wall. After the first round of qualifying, Critchley's 6.725 lap was only good enough to put him in the 27th spot. The team was able to step up in the second session, with a 6.658. The step was not big enough though and the car still seemed to have handling problems, leaving the team in the 29th spot after two rounds of qualifying. Once again they fell short of the bump.

To make matters worse, the cloud that has been following the team since the pre-season CompetitionPlus.com Groundhog WarmUp in Darlington, decided to open up, forcing IHRA officials to end qualifying early for the second race in a row. Leaving the Native American - Aussie duo out of the field again.

With more than a month off until the next IHRA race, look for the Ironhorse team to do a lot of testing before the inaugural Mopar Performance Parts Canadian Nationals in Grand Bend, Ontario, Canada.

Rocca already has plans to take an early trip to the "Great White North," this May 19-21 and compete in the Canadian Drag Racing Series season opener, in Cayuga, Ontario, Canada.

Pro Mod veteran Dale Brinsfield looked as if he would be a man to contend with this season after his impressive showing at the IHRA's season-opener at Darlington, South Carolina. Brinsfield went to the semi-finals at the Prolong Winter Nationals and was hoping to go one better at "The Rock."

With his new "no more mister nice guy" attitude towards racing and his "Back in Black" '67 Camaro, Brinsfield was hoping that his good early season start would serve him well heading into race number two, the Holley Spring Nationals in Rockingham, North Carolina.

In the first qualifying session, Brinsfield laid down a respectable 6.511 - 214.83, which placed him temporarily in the number twelve spot. But by the end of the first round, he was pushed back to the 19th position. In the second session, Brinsfield bettered his previous time to a 6.477 - 214.96, but this improvement was not enough to crack the top 16.

Brinsfield was looking to move further towards the top of the ladder when rain caused the final session of qualifying to be called off, leaving him stuck on the outside of the 6.46 bubbled field in #18.

Look for the "Man in Black" to be back when the IHRA trail heads north for the inaugural Mopar Performance Parts Canadian Nationals in Grand Bend, Ontario, Canada, this June 2-4.

For more information on Dale Brinsfield, or the sport of drag racing, visit the internet's largest e-zine at: www.competitionplus.com

Please excuse Top Fuel racer Bruce Litton if he jumps and yells and proceeds to dance in celebration. Who could blame him? All one needs to do is to consider the weekend that the 43-year old enclosed trailer dealer from Indianapolis, Indiana, enjoyed at the IHRA Holley Spring Nationals. Not only did the driver of the Wix Filters, presented by the Top Dragster Driving Experience digger, announce the formation of a second Top Fuel team, qualify second quickest out of twelve entries and win the event, he also left Rockingham with the points lead.

For the second year in a row, Litton captured the Top Fuel crown at Rockingham. He beat newly crowned record holder Clay Millican in the final round. Litton ran a 4.777 - 303.64 for the victory.

Litton had plenty to be proud of. However, he'll admit that there were plenty of other things that tugged on his emotions. "This was a weekend that tapped both ends of the emotional spectrum," explained Litton. "We announced the Top Fuel team and we ran well enough to win. But, on the flip side, one of my crewchiefs, Richard Hartman has a grandmother (more affectionately known as Grandma Markley) that is seriously ill in the hospital. As for me, and I know this is kind of odd, but I had a dog for ten years and I had become quite attached to this pet and he died during the weekend."

Litton, who is known by his peers as one of the most humble individuals in the sport continued, "Drag racing has plenty of good times and we have to accept those bad times as well.

Litton earned his berth in the final by stopping Shirley Muldowney and then Jim Head en-route to beating Millican. For more information on Bruce Litton, visit his website at www.brucelitton.com or the internet's largest e-zine at www.competitionplus.com

Hot on the heels of his top qualifying effort at the IHRA's season-opening Prolong Winter Nationals at Darlington International Dragway, second-year Pro Mod racer Al Billes proved it wasn't a fluke by repeating the feat at the year's second national event.

Billes from Barrie, Ontario, Canada, let it be known in no uncertain terms early on that he planned to be a serious contender for the title, and his CP (Cannon-Pittman) Race Cars-built 1953 Studebaker has definitely been the class of the field so far in 2000. The bright yellow rocket has been running consistent 6.30's behind a supercharged engine program of Billes' own design and construction.

At the Holley Spring Nationals at "The Rock", Rockingham Dragway, Billes once again came out swinging, setting the pace early with a first round 6.346. In the process, he wounded his engine, and had to replace it before round two. His hold on the top qualifying spot was so strong, however, that when he came out with the fresh bullet under the hood and ran a "soft" 6.55, his initial number held up to earn him top qualifier honors for the second race in a row.

Billes dispatched Mitch Stott in the first round of eliminations, and Alan Pittman in round two. Facing the nitrous-aided '63 Corvette of #4 qualifier Todd Tutterow in the semi-finals, Billes had problems as the car slowed noticeably at the 330' mark, and he coasted through the top end to close out his weekend.

Billes is heading to his own backyard for the season's next race, and you can rest assured that he'll be pulling out all the stops in order to show well before his Canadian fans. The next event on the IHRA tour will be the Mopar Parts Canadian Nationals, presented by Castrol GTX, June 2-4 at Grand Bend Motorplex in Grand Bend, Ontario, Canada. For more information on Al Billes or the sport of drag racing, visit the internet's largest e-zine at www.competitionplus.com

It was bound to happen sooner or later: Ed Hoover was going to have his incredible string of success snapped. The veteran Pro Modified racer from Gilbert, South Carolina, fell in the first round of eliminations at the IHRA Holley Spring Nationals in Rockingham, North Carolina. It marked the first time that the recent Prolong Winter Nationals champion, who pilots the Paul Trussell-owned 1963 Corvette, had been eliminated since the 1999 Northern Nationals last August.

Hoover was upbeat in what was obviously a disappointing affair. "We can't win them all," explained Hoover. "We've been fortunate to have won what we have thus far. I'm not going to gripe and complain. I'm also not planning on making this a habit."

Hoover was the fifth quickest qualifier in the 16-car field with his trusty 1963 Corvette. He was paired against Billy Harper in the first round. Ironically, it was a rematch of the 1999 World Nationals final round. That was the same event that Pro Mod's inaugural winner snapped his first round losing streak. Hoover was quicker off the line, but Harper was able to drive by on the top end.

The next event on the IHRA tour will be the Mopar Parts Canadian Nationals, presented by Castrol GTX, June 2-4 at Grand Bend Motorplex in Grand Bend, Ontario, Canada. For more information on Ed Hoover or the sport of drag racing, visit the internet's largest e-zine at www.competitionplus.com

IHRA.com Funny Car driver Scott Weney followed his runner-up finish at the season-opener at Darlington with a win at the Holley Spring Nationals at Rockingham Dragway. He came from the number eight qualifying spot to defeat defending IHRA World Champion Von Smith. Weney took the win on the strength of a better reaction time, using a .455 to .500 starting line advantage and running a 5.958 - 237.75 to Smith's quicker but later 5.935 - 238.05.

The win was the seventh in the Royersford, Pennsylvania, racer's career, and one of the most satisfying. "We're real happy with the win," confirmed Weney. "The weather and track conditions really varied this weekend, but we were able to stay one step ahead with our set-up. We really enjoy putting on a show for the fans, and this was a great opportunity to do that, take the win, and the points lead all at the same time."

Weney realizes the value of bringing some of the excitement and showmanship from the "golden years" to today's racing environment, but he stresses the fact that "a driver has to know his limitations, and must know when to lift before things get out of hand."

Next stop for the Sheetz Electric team will be the Mopar Parts Canadian Nationals, presented by Castrol GTX, June 2-4 at Grand Bend Motorplex in Grand Bend, Ontario, Canada. For more information on Scott Weney or the sport of drag racing, visit the internet's largest e-zine at www.competitionplus.com

Defending IHRA.com Funny Car champion Von Smith was showing plenty of sharp teeth during the running of the IHRA's Holley Spring Nationals at Rockingham Dragway, the second race on the 2000 schedule. The Oak Ridge, Tennessee, "hot shoe" struggled a bit in the first round of qualifying, but rebounded with an effort of 6.015 - 234.21 to secure seventh spot.

Smith lined his 2000 Pontiac Firebird up against the legendary Bunny Burkett in round one of eliminations, and took the win when Burkett left early and activated the foul light. On his side of the tree, Smith wasted a great .505 light, but ran it out the back door to post a solid lap of 5.899 - 239.53.

In the second round, Smith rolled to the line with second year competitor Rob Atchison. Both cars left the line virtually together, but Smith's horsepower ultimately made the difference, as he took the win over the young Canadian, 5.945 - 236.96 to 6.118 - 227.15.

In the semi-finals, the NitroFish machine was still on the hunt, blasting to another strong run of 5.885 - 239.74 to take out Billy Gibson's '95 Camaro and advance to the final. In the big dance, Smith faced Pennsylvanian Scott Weney, and although he ran the better number, he couldn't make up Weney's .045 starting line advantage.

The next event on the IHRA tour will take place June 2-4, at Grand Bend Motorplex for the Mopar Parts Canadian Nationals, presented by Castrol GTX. For more information on Von Smith or the sport of drag racing, visit the internet's largest e-zine at www.competitionplus.com

Laurie Cannister, the second-year phenom from Clinton, Pennsylvania, hasn't let the restructuring of the IHRA's former Super Eliminator class faze her a bit. The name may have changed, but Cannister's competitive zeal is alive and well. As proof, she's come out of the chute flying again this year, shredding the competition so far in the new Pro Outlaw category. Today's win at the Holley Spring Nationals in Rockingham, North Carolina, was the proof in the pudding.

At the 2000 season kickoff, the Prolong Winter Nationals at Darlington, South Carolina, Cannister picked up where she left off at the end of her 1999 Rookie of The Year season. She added to her four wins and a second by qualifying first, and going to the final against Neal Parker. Laurie took the runner-up spot in a close race, and set her sights next on Rockingham and the Holley Spring Nationals.

At "The Rock", Cannister placed her Nicorette/Nicoderm dragster on top of the qualifying ladder once again, and this time she saw the job through to its most rewarding conclusion. In the final, Laurie faced off against rookie Mick Snyder, son of defending champ, and Laurie's main 1999 season rival, Larry Snyder.

In the Pro Outlaw showdown, Snyder grabbed a good light, leaving .068 ahead of Cannister. His advantage quickly disappeared, however, as Cannister ran him down from behind.

"Running Mick is no different than running Larry," explained Laurie. "They are both great guys, and I knew Mick would be tough. He went in and deep staged, and he told me later he did it intentionally. And it worked well for him. He took a pretty big lead off the line, but luckily our car had the performance to compensate for the difference, and we were able to come around him at the other end. I'd like to thank Nicorette/Nicoderm, Mopar Performance and Fowler Race Engines for their tremendous support."

She also left with the Pro Outlaw elapsed time record intact with a 6.038 blast. The next event on the IHRA tour will take place June 2-4, at Grand Bend Motorplex for the Mopar Parts Canadian Nationals, presented by Castrol GTX.

Rookie Pro Outlaw driver Mick Snyder, son of 1999 Super Eliminator/Pro Outlaw champion, Larry Snyder, turned quite a few heads at the IHRA Holley Spring Nationals at Rockingham on his way to the first final round appearance of his career. It shouldn't have come as a surprise, however, as Snyder let it be known early that he would be one tough customer.

Snyder, sporting the new Y2K Spitzer chassis with a great paint scheme, proved that the car had as much go as it did show. He laid down a 6.276 - 215.86 in the first qualifying session, temporarily giving him the number one spot. In the second session, Snyder improved slightly on his first attempt, by running a 6.275 - 218.44. With the third session rained out, the ladder was set, with the young Snyder set to face off against Neal Parker in the first round.

Snyder took an impressive win over Parker, who had serious handling problems, and laid down a scorcher of a pass in the process. His 6.100 - 225.41 gave him lane choice in the next round over Mark McElwee.

In the semi-finals against McElwee, Snyder stepped it up again with an impressive 6.077 - 226.92 to take the win. The ET was good enough to get lane choice once again over final round opponent Laurie Cannister.

In the final, Snyder deep-staged his car, and got a jump on Cannister when the tree dropped. The advantage didn't last very long, however, as Cannister poured on the coal, and reeled Mick in to take the win light, handing Snyder his first loss in a final round, a lesson he's sure to never forget.

The next event on the IHRA tour will take place June 2-4, at Grand Bend Motorplex for the Mopar Parts Canadian Nationals, presented by Castrol GTX. For more information on Mark Snyder or the sport of drag racing, visit the internet's largest e-zine at www.competitionplus.com

Mopar Performance Pro Modified driver Tommy Mauney lost to Mike Castellana in the first round of the IHRA Holley Spring Nationals at Rockingham Dragway today. Mauney's '41 Willys went into severe tireshake right from the launch, and made a hard move left, forcing the Shelby, North Carolina driver to lift. Castellana went on to take the win, running 6.386 - 221.20.

"Pro Modified race cars are so tempermental and you just have to know when to ride out the storm and when to lift," explained Mauney. "I tried to drive through the tires rattling, but we gave up too much real estate. Mike is a good driver and I knew that he was going to be tough. He left no margin for error."

The former world champion qualified in the seventh position with a 6.408 - 217.74, and looks to improve on his showing at the next event on the IHRA tour, the Mopar Performance Parts Nationals at Grand Bend, Ontario, Canada. Look for the North Carolina chassis builder to rebound in Canada. "We're pleased with our progress thus far this season," explained Mauney. "We'll just try to get a win at the next one."

After a promising debut at the season opener in Darlington, South Carolina, with his new Viper, Shannon "The Ice Man" Jenkins was hoping for more of the same in Rockingham. Jenkins knew this would be a tough task considering the tight schedule trying to complete his new machine.

The team really had no time to test before Darlington, and also did not test before coming to "The Rock." With the car having it's impressive Greg Ozubko-designed graphics laid on it there was no time for the team to test. Meaning that the only runs on the car were its debut runs at the season opener.

Jenkins had a little trouble staging the car in the first qualifying session. Jenkins' staging problems caused him to deep stage and threw off his routine, causing a disappointing run of 6.607 - 219.29, placing him in the 24th spot at the end of the first session. Problems continued to plague the Jenkins team in the second session as his performance went backwards. Jenkins ran an uncharacteristically poor time of 6.809 - 219.22, leaving him out of the field after two rounds of qualifying. With the third session cancelled due to rain, the "Ice Man" was left in unfamiliar territory as a non-qualifier.

Jenkins teamed up with Billy Harper in the off season. Harper will soon debut a new Viper similar to Jenkins' in the near future. With the luxury of having a two-car effort, and being able to share data, look for the "Ice Man" to start to dominate very soon.

Most excellent piece that you wrote on the Santos/O'Bannon team. I like the fact that you don't play any favorites (or so it seems). The only thing that I can say in regards to this issue is: JAY MEYER.

Meyer (also running a blower) has won all three of the six scheduled divisional events so far on the Division Four series. As of March 28th, Meyer is leading the points with 371; Santos is second with 255. In fact, Santos - not Meyer - is the closest competitor. So I think that you gave Santos the unfair advantage.

At the Gatornationals - which Meyer won - he ran consistent ET's and speeds during eliminations of 5.497 - 252.80, 5.460 - 244.12, 5.468 - 254.76, and a final round 5.462 - 254.18. Not 5.30's by any stretch, but more than enough to win the show.

Santos wasn't at the Gators. Was it because his budget is too big? Or is it because he's going to do the same thing as Meyer and run all the divisional races out west? I'd say he's going to run the west coast. It's going to be an interesting season and I'm closely watching how it shapes up.

Santos is on to something. But then again, so is Meyer. Is Meyer spending as much as Santos? I doubt it. Meyer is going to give Santos a serious case of diarrhea this year. That's my thoughts.

Hey Bob: Just been back to your site and saw you still haven't updated yet. Just wondering if everything is okay and none of the people you posted have finally paid someone enough to bump you off? I won't hold you for too long, just wanted to say hi and I hope everything is okay. Send us a message telling what you've been up to. I guess you've been doing lots of hours at work trying to support your "habit". Say hi to Tom for me and make sure you keep yourself well, keep in touch and take care, mate.

Lordco (Auto Parts) trade show at the Pacific Coliseum (Vancouver) tonight and tomorrow; you know what that means: FREE BEER!!!

When "Wild Bill" Alexander finally claimed Top Fuel Eliminator at the March Meet after forty years of trying, most informed nitromaniacs knew that moment would resonate beyond the drag strip . . . but none knew how deep the moment really was.

Indeed, when the following praise for Alexander hit my e-mail inbox, I immediately thought it was a hoax. It was too deep, too sincere, and too warm and fuzzy. It was also improperly addressed: it was intended for "Wild Bill" Alexander himself, but instead it was erroneously pointed to the p.r. info address for Alexander's old ride, "Root Beer" Hedge's Mastercam fueler, an e-mail account I manage.

I am a really cynical bastard by nature, especially when it comes to reading other people's mail, but as I processed the sincerity, tone and spirit of this message, I found it most believable. I read the congratulatory e-mail a third time and it hit me like a ton of feathers. This front-motored fueler gang has the potential to touch people in a big way -- and here's the proof, verbatim except for the sender's contact addresses:

Okay, to add to the intrigue: I forwarded Lovin's e-mail to Alexander as I felt it was a legitimate fan letter. I also wrote to Lovins, although none of the three e-mails I sent to young Jeff Lovins letting him know that Alexander had seen his message have been responded to. Operator information lists a Grady Lovins family at the street address that was listed in the e-mail, but the wires got crossed after that. So maybe it is a hoax, or maybe young Jeff Lovins ain't feeling real hot and maybe certain parts of Georgia need to upgrade their phone system.

Alexander was also dubious of the authenticity of this letter at first, but this was really out of a modest sense of "hey, I'm just a racecar driver, why would anybody want to look to me for inspiration," as opposed to the reality that some folks think that this weird subculture of drag racing is perhaps the last bastion for heros and heroics, a notion reinforced by Alexander's conquest of the March Meet. Go to: Wild Bill for a Real Audio transcript of Alexander's Winner Circle interview and hear his take on the magnitude of the victory.

So why is it that folks are looking to this niche for inspiration? I maintain that it is because there is a human element among the competitors in this scene that has virtually disappeared in damn near all other forms of sports and entertainment.

And, as evidenced by the letter from Jeff Lovins to "Wild Bill", it behooves this scene to recognize how big a part the internet has played in ratcheting up the popularity of the AA/Fuel Dragsters.

With that in mind, we at Nitronic Research feel compelled to make a minor modification to the scoring procedure on the List. Here's how it goes: For 48 hours after any event that features an 8-car AA/FD show, fans of the front-motored fueler scene may vote on their Top 10 by posting their choices on the Header Flames bulletin board.

The Top Fuel team that tallies the most first place votes earns a single point towards advancing on the List. The rest of the criteria remains unchanged: Teams get a point for Top Eliminator, a point for Low ET and a point for Top Speed.

This "rules enhancement" procedure will take place immediately following the Goodguys 12th Nitro Nationals on April 15-16 at Sears Point Int'l Raceway in Sonoma, California. We at NR do not want to see the list reduced to a popularity contest and are aware of the unprecedented ballot stuffing that went on in the early days of the Car Craft Magazine Awards. (Drag racers cheating? No-o-o !!)

Please be advised that NR can monitor your "point of presence" when a nitronmaniac posts on the Header Flames. Habitual ballot stuffers will be re-routed to www.tiddlywinks.org, the home page for the North American Tiddlywinks Association. Consider yourself forewarned.

But with all that being said, both "Wild Bill" Alexander and Nitronic Research wish Jeff Lovins a continued and prompt recovery. Alexander told me he would love to meet this kid at the drag strip someday soon....

Here is how the list shook out after the March Meet:

1.    WW2
2.    Gotelli Speed Shop
3.    Fuller & Dunlap "Midnight"
4.    Lee Jennings' "California Trucker"
5.    Champion Speed Shop
6.    Suhr & Lechtenberg's "Orange Crate"
7.    Steiner & Berger
8.    Ground Zero
9.    Butch Blair's "Fugowie"
10.    Smith, Allred & Maher

Points were earned by:
"Wild Bill" Alexander, Ground Zero: Top Eliminator (moving from #10 to #8)
Jim "Holy Smokes" Murphy, WW2: Low ET at 6.04 (no change)
Gerry "Panzer Man" Steiner, Steiner & Berger: Top Speed at 244 mph (no change)

POSTSCRIPT: Due to the unprecendented turnout of fuelers and an absolute tsunami of activity in the staging lanes at the March Meet, the challenge for position from #3 alternate Lance "The Wizard" Osborn aimed at Alexander was postponed. Unfortunately for Osborn, Alexander has moved up too far to be challenged by "The Wizard" as challengers can only advance three spots.

For more details about where they stand and why, go to:
The Nitronic Research AA/FD List

Although I've gone Top Fuel, local people might want to know that I have a stand at the Doncaster Show this weekend at the RaceCourse, displaying my new Top Fuel Nitro Funny Car: Mainline Menace 5. I hope to get pictures on my website soon at: www.smax.co.uk. See ya at Santa Pod at the Easter Thunderball. Full revs!

We've got an updated website address for Ken Kraus' Top Alcohol Funny Car: www.renegaderacing.homestead.com. Thanks. By the way, you've got a great site!

In case you haven't seen it:

Fellow petrol buyer: The time has come when the British public have been forced to take action against our own government and the oil cartels. Great Britain is now the most expensive place on EARTH to buy a litre of petrol and the price is still going up -- 6% above inflation at every budget; not to mention the price increases that appear on the forecourts.

Canada staged a one day Gas Out last April to bring down gas prices and it worked! Australians are now organizing a similar protest in conjunction with the US for a Gas Out. We will not lie down and be dictated to.

Send this note to everyone you know and please do not buy any fuel on the 6th-7th-8th of April, 2000. It will make a difference.

Dear Licence Holder:
Our records show that your ANDRA Drag Racing LIcence will expire next month. Check that the details shown are correct, complete the slip at the bottom and return it with the total fee and your old licence to ANDRA.

Thanks for your help! It looks like you have a lot of great info on file. I'm going to send him (my friend) the info over the web and also keep it on file for myself. Thanks again.

Okay . . . who stopped payment on my reality check!?!

If you are at all interested, my new address for "Grapevine" email is: sg6035@telus.net

I know, I know . . . I don't have a Super Gas car anymore. But like Martin Luther King said: "I have a dream." Now all I need is the money. If anyone wants to help, I have loads of parts, including two engines and two trans. All I need is something to put them in . . .

Netscape changed their program and it involved so much B.S. that it was simpler to just change the (email) address. Sorry for the inconvenience. Or you can just mail me here.

Boy, you really cleaned that last one up. Will you be coming to the Winters this year?

Please add us to your link page! Title: Magic Tricks. URL: http://magic.mainpage.net If you do so, please let us know so we can adjust our link page.

Hello, I am looking for video footage of the Top Doorslammer class. Does footage exist? If yes, how can it be obtained?

A few quick notes:

New Hidden Valley Dragstrip timing system
New Serious Fun Racing Suzuki 1290cc motor
New Shops are open for business

All at: Home of the Serious Fun Racing Team.

Just wanted to let you know our web site will be featured on the next televised segment of drag racing on Channel 7 and Fox Sport. You can get a jump on everyone by having a look at www.kenlowe.com.au.

Take your time and have a look around. Most web sites like this one are always a work in progress, so there will be some aspects of the site that are not done yet, so please bear with us. Thanks.

Hi Bob. I was talking to Jim Grant and he told me to ask you whether you would be able to add my Drag Racing web site to your Links listing. My site is BBBBAD Drag Racing. Check it out and see what you think. I could also add your site to my links page too.

I've been doing some work on the web site. Have a look at the Modified section way down on the left side of: www.kenlowe.com.au or go directly to:
www.kenlowe.com.au/DRSME.htm
www.kenlowe.com.au/DRSME_info.htm
www.kenlowe.com.au/DRSME_photo_page.htm

Have a look at: www.kenlowe.com.au/1044.htm for a sample of the info for the web site and let me know what you think. Do you see where I can make improvements?

Sunday, April 2nd, is the showing of the NHRA Gatornationals Sportsman racing. It is on ESPN2 at 8:00 am (Pacific Daylight Time) -- I believe. Check it out!

It's true! It is a community of internet users where members get paid to surf the web, get paid to play bingo, enter free sweepstakes contests and make money when they shop online. We pay for your internet. If you want FREE internet or want to make some extra easy money, for more information we suggest you visit our site: www.extrimesoftware.com/surf/

Hey Bob; just been doing some surfing and found something that might really interest you. I found a programme called Linkbot Pro and I just tried it on your site to see what it actually did and found 253 dead links at Northern Thunder. Sorry; not trying to bum you out but yours was about the best site I could think of to try it on. If you want the programme, just let me know and I'll upload it somewhere so you can download it yourself. I'll still have to find a "crack" for it, but if you're interested, just send me a message back and taa-daa . . . it will be yours.