Hi from Wild Racing. Support Pete Toombes (Australia) racing.

Sprint Canada has informed us of a maintenance window on September 7th. Between 3:00 AM and 6:00 AM (PST), connectivity to our network may be intermittent while upgrades to their backbone are performed. We have scheduled our own maintenance window between 3:00 and 6:00 as well. During this time, mail services will be offline while we do some housekeeping. Thanks.

Did you get the photo of Dave's hair? Did you get the layout of the concrete pad for your container? You must have been busy lately?!?

Good evening, Bob. Is there any chance that you could get me the names and numbers of the two British Columbia nitro diggers? I would love to pick these guys brains for a bit.

Hi, Bob. You don't know me, but my name is Debbie, and I'm Ted Mannion's sister. He told me that new photos from Sechelt were updated onto your website, but I'm not able to find them. If possible, could you please try and let me know where to locate them? If they were not on "What's New" then were would I find them? I've checked every heading but still no luck. Don't know what I'm doing wrong....

I've enjoyed the ones you have on there and have passed your web address onto our members and everyone is really enjoying it. Thank you again for all you did. Bye for now.

What has happened to your website? I used to look forward to seeing all the juicy gossip that National Dragster deemed too controversial. That all seems to have come to a halt. Please explain!

Send me your e-mail.....

No worries mate! I'm back in Oz so I'll go down to the local news agent and get a copy. I've had another fellow tell me about the article, but I had no idea it was so big or in colour. This is the first time "Cooky" has given us colour.

It's sort of ironic that now that it's all over, we get great press. I'll have to e-mail or call Cooky and thank him, 'cause I sure didn't ask for it. See ya later mate! Give us a tingle when you get downunder. Best of luck!

Hello Bob, how are you? You're very welcome to use the reports and pictures (from Avon Park) on your site. You kinda have an open invitation, since I notice from your site that you have always been very good about crediting our stuff on previous occasions.

This permission also extends to our coverage of the FIA European Finals, which run from September 8-10, although we will be covering the pre-Finals test session this Sunday, since at least one Top Fueller and one Pro Mod will be testing there. You will be able to get to these reports from www.eurodragster.com, although a more direct URL is Eurodragster News.

An entry list for the FIA Finals is already available from the "Next Event" button on the Santa Pod Raceway site.

Stay in touch my friend and remember that it's not too late to get on the plane and come to the Finals you know. All the best.

There is a California Hiphop artist that stands to make millions from lyrics we believe have gone too far. Boycott the following site: Ty Sampson. Please don't buy his CD. Thank you.

PS:  Please send an email to Glen Aure, Music Director of KMEL (San Francisco) and demand that Ty's "Bizness Is Open" be taken off the air.

Hi Bob. I noticed your reply to the mail about the demise of TFUK. Now that the site is closed, I feel that everyone should hear another side of the story.

You have, on this occasion, and in the past, listed most of the site's faults and inaccuracies (apart from the obvious one that no one ever called it "dragster racing"), but you missed the major issue with TFUK, which was the massive theft of material from other web sites.

The site's photographic content was plundered almost entirely from my personal website, Tog's Drag Racing; the movies from my Eurodragster colleague Sharkman's website, and some pictures from UK 1320. This material was posted with no request for permission, and credits were only grudgingly posted after exchanges of e-mails which stretched over weeks, even months.

The TFUK "team" (sic) even had the nerve at one point to send out a mailshot referring to my stolen photo library as "our vast online image archive". I am all for the free exchange of information ideal behind the web, and I have yet to refuse a request for the use of my work, but blatant theft is another thing entirely.

I personally, and all of the drag racing webmasters I know, much prefer it when everyone gets on well. And indeed we do, we all actively help each other out. However, even our patience was running out and we came pretty close to taking action against TFUK for massive copyright theft.

I just happened on your site accidentally and have already bookmarked it, since many of the views and opinions I see in it are quite similar to mine. I hail from Montreal and for years have harboured ill feelings towards NHRA for removing the Grandnationals from the schedule.

I really believe that the "corporation" has no concern for the fan base that provides it with an audience for its logo/ sponsors/ coporate ad-strewn shows, where, it seems, racing is just an afterthought. I wonder if they'll ever realize that it's the sponsors that need the fans (the "target audience" in the vernacular), and not the other way around.

Sure, sponsors bring the bucks to enable the racers to bring the best possible racing to the track, but I've never heard anyone cheering for XYZ Corp to take the win. I may be naive, but to me, the people who love the sport are those who should be listened to, not the corporate hacks who don't know fuel from shinola and who could be sponsoring cockroach racing if it meant mass audience to their product.

So on to the gist of my missive, which is about the goosehead.com site sponsoring Shirley Muldowney for Indy. In your article, you mentioned that you hoped she wouldn't say all the wrong things and come across as a cranky old broad as he has recently. RECENTLY!!!???? I've been following drag racing since the sixties and have met the lady several times and let me tell you, she's always been a cranky, mean-spirited person.

She has nothing good to say about anyone she ever raced and has always considered herself above every one of her competitors. As for other women who dared to follow in her footsteps and venture into Top Fuel, she has bad mouthed every one of them from Lucille Lee ("she's a secretary, so maybe she ought to go back to typing") to Shelly Anderson ("rich little daddy's girls who don't know anything about paying their dues") and has made no bones about how she feels the world owes her for the contributions she has made to drag racing.

Never mind the fact that NHRA all but licked her posterior during the late seventies and early eighties; she should be elevated to goddess status, she's that far superior to everyone else. Well, pardon me, Ms. Muldowney, but I think your excrement smells the same as everyone else's.

I will close by saying that your site is a great place for open discussion and unbiased information and that you are to be congratulated for your fine efforts.

LOL ~ Laughing out loud! Bob, no hard feelings at all, I was laughing all the way. If I ever have a screwup with my brain, my best excuse is "I had a blonde moment!" No worries, mate. I love humour, I was just letting you know a blonde woman won a championship. Tom (Posthuma) always sends me jokes, but he gets a little carried away sometimes; some good, some bad, but I guess he has nothing better to do with his time. LOL.

Yes, you were absent from Mission Raceway over the weekend. It turned out to be a long one with many oildowns. We never finished until 8:00 Saturday, and 6:30 on Sunday. I knew I had the championship (the cat's out of the bag now!) after I lost in the third round Sunday since the guy behind me (by one point), in points also went out in the same round, so I have never been so happy after losing a round of racing. Now it's on to Woodburn on September 8-10, for the Summit ET Finals and try to win the championship there!

Thanks for all you have done for us racers Bob; we love you and your site and humour as well as that other blonde guy (Bill) and Larry Pfister. You are all the greatest; keep the good humour up!

One morning this blonde called her boyfriend and said, "Please come over and help me. I have this awesome jigsaw puzzle and I can't figure out how to start it." Her boyfriend asked, "What is it a puzzle of?" The blonde replied, "From the picture on the box, it's a tiger."

The blonde's boyfriend figures that he's pretty good at puzzles, so he heads over to her place. She lets him in the door and shows him where she has the puzzle spread all over the table. He studies the pieces for a moment, then he studies the box.

He then turns to her and says, "First, no matter what I do, I'm not going to be able to show you how to assemble these pieces to look like the picture of that tiger. Second, I'd advise you to relax, have a cup of coffee, and put all these Frosted Flakes back in the box."

Hi Bob. Speaking of blonde racers, thought I would let you know that I won the Super Pro 2000 Season Championship at Mission Raceway last Sunday, August 27th. I was the only woman in the points chase and the only blonde too, for that matter, and the other thirty racers were guys. So Tom, be careful with the blonde jokes! LOL!

PS: Bob, no I don't get a commission for (selling) the winning 50/50 ticket, but we had a deal that if you won (remember?) all I asked for was a case of beer.

PPS: I'm a natural blonde too!

Bob, what a SOUPER site! We are the Andersens, Bob and Sherry. Bob is the grand-son of Anton and Juliette Andersen, founders of Pea Soup Andersen's Restaurant in Buellton, California. We have a front motor nostalgia dragster, built in the mid-1950's. We have been showing the car since 1996 at different events in Northern Nevada and Northern California. In 1997, we purchased a 1951 Ford pickup to complete the nostalgia look. To put forth a picture, we visualize ourselves as coming through a time warp: a 1951 pickup, pulling the front engine dragster.

Let us tell you about the dragster. It was built in the mid 1950's and ran out of the Buellton Garage, owned by Jack Mendenhall until 1963, making appearances at the well known Southern California drag strips almost weekly. It also was the first drag car to be sponsored by a non-automotive sponsor.

We now show the car in the Denver, Colorado area. Bill Pratt posted an old story of ours in July. I would love to keep everyone up to date with what we are up to. My last newsletter was sent as I was on my way to Minnesota for a crash course in roller sales. I returned on the Friday "red eye" arriving in Denver at 11:30 pm.

We were up and out to Bandimere Raceway early Saturday morning to cheer for our Flathead and Inline friends. We watched old friends like John Bradley work his flathead magic and Bob Corbet run close to 8 seconds; not bad for a Chevy "6". Sunday we were parked by the VIP tent and armed with our Wheel Tough soup pot, DRIVE Magazines, T-shirts and the car, we talked to a lot of people.

On Saturday we gave a case of soup to the driver with the quickest reaction time, as well as one for the raffle at the Bar-B-Q, and on Sunday it went to the Flathead in the final round. We even were able to watch Corbet run in the 7's. That was at 6,000 feet; we can hardly wait for Bakersfield and sea level (and I am sure he shares the same thoughts).

June 9th, Sherry and I celebrated our fourth anniversary, of course at a car showing. The DRAG and BRAG, another long but fun weekend, starting at Fineline (a sign, graphic, screen printing, advertising specialty company) on Thursday night. Friday night was in Golden, Colorado a street party filled with cars. Saturday at Bandimere Raceway (the Drag thing) we made a sign that stated "we were here to brag". Back to Golden for a Bar-B-Q and an evening filled with talking, a raffle, and rain. We found a lot of people who knew Andersen's and the soup.

June 13th marked the 76th year for the Andersens in Buellton. Happy Birthday and we wish them many more. The 17th was spent at a car show at Vince's, a neat old garage in Denver. We had a lot of fun there and spoke to a lot of people that dropped by to look at the car.

Sunday the 18th, Sherry took the day off to be with her dad, and I went to Ristaus Roadhouse's 8th annual benefit for Colorado Sports for the Physically Challenged. Ron Nickerson of Two Brothers Automotive invited me to this show; Ron has a NASCAR Truck simulator. The show was a lot of fun.

This weekend we are representing our good friends at DRIVE Magazine at the NSRA show in Pueblo, Colorado. Sherry was there today setting up and came back to report that there are a bunch of cars both in town and on the highway.

I must tell you June has been busy and you have seen most of it, but we have saved the best for last. We were on the cover of an automotive newspaper, Parts & People; the circulation is 10,000 and I am not sure where or who outside Colorado sees it. It is volume 15 number 6, and they have a website; we are not on it though; the associate editor is Andy Dalzel.

AND THE NUMBER ONE THING WE DID:
We did a photo shoot with a band called Brethren Fast for an upcoming album, to be released after the first of the year. You can see the out takes at Photo Point (new address for us) and see their site. It's located at: Brethren Fast.

Well it's off and running as always, please come join us. For Fathers day, Sherry got us a folding bench and a sign saying Bench Racing Bench; we will have it with us. We stole the idea from our friend Richard Miazga, of the Feds West; thank you Richard.

J.R. Todd Passes Test At Norwalk; Records First 4.8-Second Pass

When J.R. Todd finally gets his Top Fuel report card, he's bound to get a good grade. The 18-year old, African-American Top Fuel driver from Lawrenceburg, Indiana, has passed every test put before him and looks forward to taking many more. He'll not admit it, but he was pacing the floor plenty of times as to whether he'd pass the latest one.

When the grades were tallied up, Todd aced the last test. The exam centered on whether he could handle the pressure of going into the final qualified session for the Mopar Parts World Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio as an unqualified driver. This was uncharted territory for the rookie driver of the United Expressline/Bruce Litton Trailer Sales entry.

Todd not only got a perfect score, but also was correct with the extra credit question and the end result was his first 4.8-second lap, a 4.87 - 271. He qualified in the fifth position.

"When I got to mid-track and it was still pulling plenty hard, I knew this was going to be a good one," explained Todd, who attained his Top Fuel license just two months earlier at the same Norwalk facility. "I was glad that we were able to make it in. It's always in the back of your mind that this may be your one time failing to qualify and as hard as I tried to block it out, it was still in the back of my thoughts."

So was he worried? "You'd better believe it," Todd laughed. "It got easier to deal with because I had the confidence in my crew to get me in the show. I was ready to do what I had to do in pedaling if I had to. But, I had enough confidence in my guys that we were going to have plenty."

He faced Jim Bailey in a rematch that transpired at the last event in Stanton, Michigan, where he reached the final round. The end result wasn't the same as he lost in the opening stanza at Norwalk with smoking tires.

Todd doesn't fret the first round losses, as he puts it "at least I was in the game." He wasn't alone as car owner Bruce Litton, who drives the Wix Filters Top Fueler, also lost in the first round.

One would think Todd's excitement hadn't yet subsided from Stanton, he laughs when he explained that the novelty of his best ever finish wore off on the Monday following the rescheduled Carquest Northern Nationals.

Todd, who also works at Litton's shop, had to go back to work on Monday. He found himself elbow to elbow with Litton scrubbing floors of the soon-to-be opening shop. Todd laughs, "I guess its Bruce's version of wax-on, wax-off like in the 'Karate Kid' movie."

Just to let you know the nostalgia Blown Alcohol Association was booked into Medicine Hat (Alberta) this weekend. Cool cars, great burnouts, good numbers. Fun was had by all, as well as Charlie McIntosh (Regina) who made a few awesome passes with his AA/FC. And Ed Grekul (Edmonton) made some licencing runs in his Chevy-powered nostalgia Funny Car. On nitro, too. It was a great show for such a small track.

Scott Weney wins IHRA World Nationals, Increases Points Lead

It's still too early to began thinking championship for the top drivers, but the picture has become clear for all IHRA.com Alcohol Funny Car contenders that the championship hunt goes through Scott Weney's pit area. Weney continues to prove he is the driver to beat in the 2000 IHRA.com Alcohol Funny Car Championship chase, winning the IHRA Mopar Parts World Nationals presented by Ethanol Performs at Norwalk Raceway Park in Norwalk, Ohio.

The man currently holding the championship belt for IHRA.com Alcohol Funny Car, Von Smith, has been very protective of his championship this year while Weney has held the points lead. Entering the Mopar World Nationals, Weney and Smith had met three times in final rounds with Smith winning two, including last weekend at the Carquest Auto Parts Northern Nationals in Stanton, Michigan.

At Norwalk, it was no different with Weney and Smith facing off in the final, but this time Weney grabbed the Iron Man, taking home his second win of the season in six final rounds, 5.899 - 236.75 to 5.991 - 235.19. At the finish line, the margin of victory was a mere forty-nine thousandths of a second.

"This is a huge win for us," Weney proclaimed. "Von had gotten me in the two previous finals and we wanted him this time. It was a great race and we gained a round on him in the championship points. We're going to Epping to continue our consistency and just let everyone try and outrun us."

Weney began the weekend winning Best Appearing Pro Car and qualifying second with a stout 5.92- 237 in his Corvette bodied flopper. He put away Paul Athey in round one with a 5.939 - 236.34, then Chris Hunt in round two with a 5.952 - 234.33. In a rematch of the Winter Nationals final, Weney met championship contender Jimmy Rector in the semi-finals and put away the Alabamian with a 5.891 - 237.63. In the final, Weney continued his consistency of not beating himself with a 5.899 elapsed time, finishing eliminations with an average winning e.t. of 5.920 and reaction time of .480.

Weney will continue his march toward his first IHRA.com Alcohol Funny Car World Championship in two weeks as the IHRA Summit Drag Racing Series moves on to the Amalie Oil North American Nationals at New England Dragway in Epping, New Hampshire.

I guess the warnings were true. Pending legislation, Federal Bill 602P, proposes to charge five cents per E-mail sent. It figures! No more free E-mail! We knew this was coming! Bill 602P will permit the Federal Government to charge a five cent charge on every delivered E-mail. Please read the following carefully if you intend to stay online, and continue using E-mail.

The last few months have revealed an alarming trend in the Government of the United States attempting to quietly push through legislation that will affect our use of the Internet. Under proposed legislation, the US Postal Service will be attempting to bill E-mail users out of "alternative postage fees".

Bill 602P will permit the Federal Government to charge a five cent surcharge on every E-Mail delivered, by billing Internet Service Providers at source. The consumer would then be billed in turn by the ISP.

Washington, D.C. lawyer Richard Stepp is working without pay to prevent this legislation from becoming law. The US Postal Service is claiming lost revenue, due to the proliferation of E-mail, is costing nearly $230,000,000 in revenue per year. You may have noticed their recent ad campaign: "There is nothing like a letter."

Since the average person received about 10 pieces of E-mail per day in 1998, the cost to the typical individual would be an additional 50 cents a day, or over $180 per year - above and beyond their regular Internet costs. Note that this would be money paid directly to the US Postal Service for service they do not even provide.

The whole point of the Internet is democracy and non-interference. You are already paying an exorbitant price for snail mail because of bureaucratic inefficiency. It currently takes up to six days for a letter to be delivered from coast to coast. If the US Postal Service is allowed to tinker with E-mail, it will mark the end of the "free" Internet in the United States.

Our congressional representative, Tony Schnell (Republican) has even suggested a "$20-$40 per month surcharge on all Internet service" above and beyond the government's proposed E-mail charges.

Note that most of the major newspapers have ignored the story - the only exception being the Washingtonian - which called the idea of E-mail surcharge "a useful concept who's time has come" (March 6th, 1999 editorial).

Do not sit by and watch your freedom erode away! Send this to E-mail to EVERYONE on your list, and tell all your friends and relatives to write their congressional representative and say "NO" to Bill 602P. It will only take a few moments of your time and could very well be instrumental in killing a bill we do not want. Please forward!

If any of you have Microsoft Outlook as your default e-mail browser, there was an encrypted virus on the e-mail titled "E-Mail Tax" that you received from Mike Carr.

I would run a virus protection program on your files if you do not have an Anti-Virus program.

Smith Edged By Weney In Close Funny Car Final

Von Smith had a great start against Scott Weney but couldn't finish off his rival, and it cost him as the two best funny-car drivers resumed their war for the IHRA's 2000 points championship during Saturday night's final in the Mopar Parts World Nationals.

For a moment, it appeared Smith was going to beat Weney for the second straight week and the third time in four races. The Tennessean cut a great light in his Atomic City Tool-Nitro Fish Trans Am, bolting from the Christmas tree in .424 seconds to a .467 for Weney.

Suddenly, the three-time and current defending Funny Car champion was fighting to keep the car from turning right into the wall. The struggle continued for the rest of the Norwalk Raceway Park quarter-mile. Smith hit the timing traps with an elapsed time of 5.991 seconds at 235.19 mph to the 5.899 - 236.75 for Weney.

Yet, the margin of victory for Weney was just .049 seconds, or about 17 feet, but it was enough to keep the No. 2 driver from nibbling into his lead that started the weekend at 26 points.

Smith also had his hands full in the semi-finals, but the result was much better when he beat Billy Gibson, 5.940 - 235.19 to 6.039 - 238.30. The margin of victory was .0565 seconds, or about 20 feet, and the difference came at the starting line where Smith cut the better light (.458 to .467).

In the second round, Smith deep-staged unintentionally, yet drilled Jim Lape on the tree but had some problems around half-track. Still, he came home with another 5.90 to win easily. Smith almost repeated his qualifying time in the first elimination heat against Larry Dobbs with his 5.940 seconds at 235.19. Smith didn't need those kinds of numbers since Dobbs coasted to a stop around half-track.

Now, Smith will have two weeks to formulate his strategy for the next meeting with Weney during the September 8-10 Parts Pro North American Nationals at New England Dragway in Epping, New Hampshire.

For more on Smith and his quest for a third straight IHRA funny-car championship turn to the Internet's largest E-zine at Competition Plus.

Tommy Gray Resurrects Performance, But Goes Out In Round One At Norwalk

The familiar signs of death were back in Pro Modified pits at the IHRA Mopar Parts World Nationals presented by Ethanol as Tommy Gray returned to the Pro Modified wars after taking the last few events off to pinpoint his Undertaker's lack of performance in the 2000 Pro Mod wars. The Baltimore, Maryland-based funeral home operator, who was runner-up at the season opening Winter Nationals, qualified in the last available spot at the Mopar Parts World Nationals with a 6.461 - 216.48, then in round one, met top qualifier Quain Stott, who earned the top spot with a 6.324 - 223.10.

Looking to stick the dagger in Quain Stott's championship points chase of Fred Hahn, Gray's Undertaker '53 Corvette stayed consistent with his qualifying time, stopping the clocks with a 6.464 - 217.18, but Stott had too much power, sending Gray to the casket with a 6.353 - 223.02.

"We were happy making the field with a 6.46, but we still need a tenth to be competitive and get back to where we were at Darlington," Gray said. "We'll go back to the shop and learn from this weekend and look to improve at New England."

The Undertaker team will look to continue to be Pro Modified's biggest nightmare in two weeks at the Amalie Oil North American Nationals at New England Dragway in Epping, New Hampshire.

Hi everybody! Just got back from Cleveland. Had a great time at Norwalk. It was great to see Victor and Marie Bray and their son, Ben. The IHRA World Nationals were great. I will have a full update tomorrow or the next day. Got in too late for much tonight (nothing like a five hour layover in Cleveland because severe thunderstorms closed the Baltimore airport!) Here's what's new:

Drag Racing Story of the Day: Millican Takes Top Fuel Title at IHRA Mopar Parts World Nationals. The full story on the weekend's race, thanks to Larry Sullivan.

Drag Racing Picture of the Day: Brian's Adventures in Paradise (er, Paragould). Joel Naprstek words and Pete Orres photo of Brian Kohlman's wild runs at George Ray's Wildcat Dragstrip in Paragould, Arkansas.

Drag Racing Movie of the Week: The Excavator at Norwalk 2000. I was playing with my Sony Mavica digital camera at Norwalk and got this three-clip series of Neal Parker burning out, backing up, and nailing it in the Excavator blown altered.

NEW Sections! Check out our menu bar on top of each page. We have added several new sections and we have streamlined the site navigation. We took out a few levels. Hopefully, you'll be able to find information easier. Our new sections are FREE CLASSIFIEDS, RACING NEWS, and RACING CHAT. We have teamed with Dragster.cc and Top Dawg Performance for news and chat. Look for more partnerships soon.

Where are our side banners? Unfortunately, they got corrupted while we updated the site before Norwalk. I will fix these this week. Advertisers will be extended for double the number of days their banners were missing!

Mountain Motor Nationals: Time ran out last week. We made major updates to the site each night and that took all our time. We will post the full results and photos of this event this week.

August 25, 26, 27: -- Hi gang! I am away at the IHRA World Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio, so I am pre-loading Stories and Pictures of the Day for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Enjoy (and no peeking until the right day!) OK, go ahead and peek.

August 27 -- Drag Racing Story of the Day: YOU MIGHT BE A RACER IF ... This thing has made the rounds of the Internet. Les Welch sent it our way. Drag Racing Picture of the Day: New Toys at the WinterNats. Kevin Knauer with a nice pit shot of Jim Murphy's Beretta Funny Car at the beginning of the '90s.

August 26 -- Drag Racing Story of the Day: Pat Foster Tributes. A follow-on to the Mike Berry's Pat Foster story of August 23. Pat's friends thank the author. Drag Racing Picture of the Day: E-Town Pro Mod: Rocca vs. Stawicki. Art Cimilluca captures Johnny Rocca's Willys vs. Mike Stawicki's Camaro in mid '90s Pro Mod action.

August 25 -- Drag Racing Story of the Day: The Nitro Olympics at Hockenheim. Thanks to Taso, we have all the coverage we need from the major German meet of the year. Drag Racing Picture of the Day: Rat Assassin. A beautiful Pete Garramone shot of Roger Guzman's funny car engine from the '60s. BIG CHROME!

August 24 -- Drag Racing Story of the Day: Tommy Joe, The Call of the Weird. Tommy and Gonzo visit Jungleland. Is it about cars? Well, it's about Tommy Joe! That's good enough for me! Drag Racing Picture of the Day: Back when Chucky used to Drive. James Morgan with a cool shot of Chuck Etchells' Datsun Funny Car. Drag Racing Movie of the Week: Firestorm's Pre-Race Show! Mark Fawcus brings us jet funny car flame show action from Great Britain.

August 23 -- Drag Racing Story of the Day: Hot Rod Nostalgia Spurs Creation of Exact Replicas. Mike Berry wrote this great story on Pat Foster for the Wichita Eagle and has allowed us to reprint it. Drag Racing Picture of the Day: Swamp Rat Was Here. Bruce Wheeler shares this Roy Kelly photo of the Frantic Four dragster after Don Garlits "visited" it in 1965.

August 22 -- Drag Racing Story of the Day: 2000 AHRA World Finals. David Hapgood provides a super story of the first, last, and ONLY AHRA meet of the year. Drag Racing Picture of the Day: New VW Pro Mod World Record! Gonzo checks in with, of all things, the car that set the new VW powered Pro Mod world record!

Mauney Makes Debut In Roy Singleton's Majesty Homes Entry

Tommy Mauney continued his quest to tame the supercharged engine he swore he would never own at the 23rd annual IHRA Mopar Parts Nationals at Norwalk Raceway Park. He has now had a change of heart as he pushed Roy Singleton's Majesty Homes 1941 Willys into a berth for final eliminations at the largest IHRA race on the Summit Drag Racing Series.

A renowned chassis-builder, Mauney is a leader in the Pro Modified class either competing or building the cars that win championships. Despite the fact that he built supercharged cars, Mauney has always been a staunch supporter of the carbureted, nitrous-injected power plant. He's quick to point out that he'll never want to go back.

After more than a decade of anti-blower thinking, Mauney has put his talents to work. And in his second event behind the wheel, the Shelby, North Carolina, resident is gaining momentum.

After a dismal showing in the early rounds of qualifying, Mauney clocked a 6.436 second elapsed time at 216 mph in his fourth and final attempt. This was good enough for number fourteen of the sixteen qualifying positions.

Round one of eliminations paired Mauney against Ed Hoover, winner of this years' IHRA Winter Nationals. Hoover left the starting line first and Mauney was unable to run him down recording a 6.503 - 216 effort to Hoover's 6.468 - 212 winning combination. The margin of victory between the pair was 0.088 seconds.

"We had a clean run and didn't hurt the motor," said Mauney. "I'm confident we're getting a handle on this blower motor and it won't be long until you see us in the winner's circle."

Mauney and the Majesty Homes-backed team will compete in Epping, New Hampshire, September 8-10 during the IHRA North American Nationals.

Cossis Sees Red in First Round Loss at the World Nationals

Steve Cossis was not a happy camper after his first round red-light loss to Steve Vick at the 23rd annual IHRA Mopar Parts World Nationals. The Astoria, New York-based Pro Modified completely lost his concentration in his first round encounter with Vick, cutting a premature .034 light to hand the win to his evenly matched opponent.

Cossis, who came straight to Norwalk Raceway Park after the last weekend's event in Michigan, began qualifying on a good note on Wednesday. The colorful Cossis started off with a 6.488 at 215.82 to land in the No. 12 spot at the end of the first session. From there Cossis improved on every run. On Thursday, Cossis moved his Competitionplus.com-sponsored Corvette up to the No. 4 spot with a 6.437 at 218.80 mph. In the final qualifying session on Friday, Cossis drove his Pontiac powered '53 Corvette to a 6.408 at 219.86 mph to wind up in the 9th spot.

"We were chasing the race track in qualifying instead of it coming to us," said a dejected Cossis after his loss. "We picked up about three-hundredths every round," he continued, "I thought the 6.40 was faster but it wasn't because we were a little short on the clutch."

In the first round of eliminations Cossis was matched up against Steve Vick, who qualified with an identical 6.408 elapsed time as Cossis. Vick was one notch higher on the qualifying ladder due to his faster speed and he enjoyed lane choice going into round one. It turned out not to matter after Cossis red lit for the first time all season.

"Today there was no excuse," said Cossis, "I've been here for seven days and I just had brain fade, it was driver error." Never let it be said that Cossis won't tell it like it is.

Hiya! As 'Webmistress' of Lions Drag Racing, I would like to submit a name change to the URL link you have for us. It is now: "Lions Drag Strip - Soldotna, Alaska", with the "Cook Inlet" name deleted. Thanks.

Zgoda takes early exit at the 23rd annual Mopar Parts World Nationals presented by Ethanol Performs

Cheektowaga, New York native Paul Zgoda was able to qualify in the top half of the ihra.com Funny Car field at he 23rd annual Mopar parts World Nationals held in Norwalk Ohio, but was unable to get past the first round.

Zgoda put his Olds bodied flopper into the field on his final qualifying attempt. Zgoda encountered severe traction problems on his first two attempts and was forced to abort both runs. For the third qualifying session Zgoda was dealt the right lane, considered by most to be the "bad" lane at this track. The Blinker Fluid.com/Great Northern driver's first third qualifying attempt of the year placed him in the #7 spot with a 6.017 - 233.08 run.

Zgoda's number seven qualifying position put him against the number ten qualifier Chris Hunt. Hunt qualified 10th with a 6.044 - 232.83 pass. Zgoda left first, taking a .030 starting line advantage, but Zgoda's car veered toward the center line about half track. Zgoda's starting line advantage was not enough to hold off Hunt. Hunt took the win with a 6.082 - 230.96 pass to Zgoda's 6.141 - 232.39 run.

Although this was an early first round exit, it can be considered a bright spot in this disappointing season for the BlinkerFluid.com/Great Northern team. "This is actually the first race we qualified for this season. Heck, it's the only race I was able to get in a third qualifying run. Every other race we attended this year the weather prevented us from making a third attempt. It would rain and qualifying would be stopped after only two runs.

"We've had the power all season but just haven't had that third run to give us the shot we needed. We were given that opportunity here and we took advantage of it. I would've liked to have done better for my team and my sponsors, but we are happy that we at least had a fighting chance," said Zgoda.

For more info on Paul (Z-man) Zgoda check out his web site at Zgoda Racing or BlinkerFluid.

Thank you for your support over the past year. The TFUK team will be going their separate ways soon. Consequently, none of us will have enough time on our hands to keep the TFUK website running, along with all the other projects we are pursuing. As a result, Top Fuel UK will be shutting down for good on September 25th.

Now for the good news...... as we close the site it's your opportunity to take control of the site. We are giving away the domain name of www.top-fuel.co.uk to one person in a draw to be completed in October.

If you are interested in the chance to run your own drag racing website (any other proposals welcome!), but particularly one of the top ten most visited sites on drag racing in the UK, then now you've the chance to do so. We have successfully registered with UK search engines and appear on their first page under "dragster racing".

If you are interested in any of the above, please register your interest at Top Fuel UK.

A More Competitive Al Billes Knocked Out of Contention in First Round at Norwalk - Handling Problems to Blame.

For the past couple of months, Canadian Pro Mod competitor Al Billes has been struggling, along with the rest of his fellow racers who run supercharged engines, to work out the puzzle presented to them in mid-season by the IHRA. The major changes in weight, gearing and transmissions came as quite a shock, and for a while there was talk of wholesale mutiny within the ranks.

Billes, of Barrie, Ontario, Canada, was as upset as the rest of the blower contingent, but he went to work trying to make his sleek '53 Studebaker competitive within the restrictions of the new rules. His main complaint was the fact that all these rule changes (read: equipment changes), cost the racers a ton of money. "We're supposed to be out here having some fun, not draining our life savings away," Billes commented at the time.

And, as predicted, after a few races the concerns of the supercharger crowd proved to be legitimate, as they were being badly beaten to the punch by the gas-guys. As promised, the powers that be (read: Bill Bader), realized that the nitrous-aided cars now had an advantage, and revised the rules once again, this time allowing the blower cars to run a 4:71 rear gear, beginning with this weekend's race in Norwalk.

Billes is a real competitor, and even before the relaxation of the gear rule, he was determined to fight through the situation. At the previous race in Stanton, Michigan, Billes went to the semi-finals before being eliminated, the only blower car left in the field at that point.

Surprisingly, the blower cars, new gears and all, didn't fare as well this weekend. Some big names were absent from the field as the elimination rounds began, among them Fred Hahn and Troy Critchley.

But Billes was there, his 6.424 - 221.27 good enough for the 11th spot in the field, the best of the three blower cars that made it in. Amazingly, however, the nitrous guys have really picked it up of late, with the top six qualifiers all running juice, and all in the 6.30's.

The first round of eliminations saw all three supercharged cars sent to the sidelines. But, and I'm not sure this is any consolation to the drivers, none of the three were overwhelmed by much quicker nitrous cars. All three simply fell victim to old fashioned racing bad luck. In Billes' case, he was matched up against #5 qualifier Roy Wasko's 2000 'Vette. Billes cut the better light, but tire shake set in, and after a couple of attempts to pedal the car into smooth flight, Al gave it up as a lost cause.

So it appears that the gear change rule has had some effect. Of course, more needs to be done, like maybe taking some of the weight out, but that remains in the hands of the rules makers.

Whatever the rules, Billes is determined to put the best car that he can on the track at all times. Last year he won the race at Epping, New Hampshire, which is next on the IHRA schedule, and he would love nothing better than to win it again, and reestablish some credibility for the supercharger community.

Ironhorse Suffers Second Consecutive Non-Qualifying Effort at Norwalk

Australian born Pro Modified driver, Troy Critchley, failed to qualify for his second consecutive national event at the IHRA Mopar Parts World Nationals. Behind the wheel of the Ironhorse, Johnny Rocca's beautiful '49 Mercury, Critchley qualified 17th, but missed the 16-car field by a mere three thousandths of a second.

Rocca tuned Critchley to a respectable 6.467 at 215.68 mph during the first qualifying session on Wednesday to put the Ironhorse in the No. 8 position. The Norwalk Raceway Park quarter-mile turned out to be a little harder to negotiate during Thursday's session. By the time Rocca's Ironhorse came to the line for the second session Critchley had already dropped to 14th in the field. Critchley left the line with a great 1.05-second sixty-foot time and appeared to be on his way to an excellent run when the car put out a puff of smoke near the 1,000-foot mark and slowed to a 6.503. Critchley remained in the 14th spot with one qualifying session left on Friday.

Rocca and Critchley brought their Oldsmobile-powered '49 Mercury to the starting line during the Friday night session as part of the first pair of Pro Mods to make an attempt. The bump was a 6.486 as the session began and Rocca hoped to move his driver up into the top half of the field. Critchley improved slightly with 6.464 at 217.04 to jump up one spot on the ladder to 13th. Eight pairs of cars later, he was bumped from the show and ended up qualified 17th out of the 32 Pro Mod cars on hand at Norwalk.

Janis wins second National Event Title

Mike Janis took his Weber's Mustard backed Jan-Cen powered '63 Corvette to the winners circle at the 23rd annual Mopar Parts World Nationals, presented by Ethanol Performs, Friday night. This is Janis' second Omega Top Sportsman Shoot Out win in as many attempts. Janis also won earlier this year at the IHRA Carquest Empire Nationals.

Running his Supercharged Jan-Cen Powered Corvette in legal Pro Mod trim, Janis was able to secure the #1 qualifying spot with a 6.516 at 213.94 MPH on his first qualifying attempt. "Since the rule change that forced us into Top Sportsman, we have been running our car as close to the Pro Mod rules as possible. This lets us know where we would stand against the Pro Mod field. This also helps us with our program for next season when our combination will be legal for Pro Mod," said the Weber's Mustard Driver.

Janis opted to sit out the final two qualifying sessions. Janis felt his 6.516 time would be good enough to hold up for the eight-car field. He was right. Not only did he stay in the top eight he stayed on the top of the field, holding on to the number one position.

Running a sportsman ladder, Janis, the number one qualifier, faced the number five qualifier, Mike Lockwood. Lockwood, at the wheel of his nitrous assisted '66 Corvette, secured the number five spot with a 6.778 - 203.74 pass. Janis held lane choice and opted for the left lane. Janis took the win with an impressive 6.472- 218.02 pass to Lockwood's slower 6.847 - 176.88. This run would have been Janis' second qualifying attempt for Pro Mod had he been running that class.

For the semi-finals Janis once again held lane choice over his opponent. Janis stuck with the left lane against Carl Rossler. Rossler, the Ohio native, put his '55 Bel-Air into the number seven position with a 6.819- 204.51 pass during qualifying. Rossler defeated Steve Johnson in the first round, running a 6.790 at 201.67.

The Weber's Mustard car flexed its Jan-Cen muscle against Rossler as it took the win with a 6.445 - 217.77 pass to Rossler's losing 6.808 - 204.63 run. This run would have been the team's third qualifying attempt for the Pro Mod field. The 6.445 would have placed the team in the Pro Mod field in the number 15 spot.

Janis took a solo run in the finals when his opponent Dave Tomasino and his Castle inc. Camaro was unable to make the call after suffering engine damage in the previous round. Janis coasted down the track, opting not to place any unneeded wear on his machine.

"I can't say enough about my sponsors and all the people that have been helping me this year. I mean not only have we won two national events we also took wins at independent races (the ECW Top Gun Show Down) and one win in the Canadian Drag Racing Series along with a runner up at another event (World Wrestling Federation Can-Am Nationals). I couldn't have done any of this without the help I have been receiving. This has been a great year so far. I just hope that I am making my people proud." Said Janis.

Mike Janis and His team would like to thank Nology Inc., Pautler Oil Service, Royal Purple, Jan-Cen Automotive, The Drag Racing News Magazine, and that yellow stuff on the door Weber's Mustard.

For more info on the Weber's Mustard Racing team check out their web site at Weber's Mustard Racing, and for all your drag racing news look to Competition Plus.

Jenkins Falls to Teammate Harper for the Second Straight Race

Defending Pro Mod champion Shannon Jenkins fell victim to his teammate Billy Harper for the second consecutive time. Jenkins lost to Harper at the last race in Stanton, Michigan when "The Iceman" turned on the red light.

At the end of the first round of qualifying Jenkins, the Tuscaloosa, Alabama-based, Dodge Viper driver made an impressive run in the left lane as he stormed to a 6.440 - 218.97 to land in the sixth spot. The Norwalk racing surface proved to be a tricky proposition during Thursday qualifying as Jenkins launched hard with the wheels up and chose to lift and coast to an 8.606 - 111.94. The Iceman improved to a 6.402 - 219.54 during the final qualifying session Friday evening, but dropped one notch to the number seven position on the ladder.

Jenkins faced teammate and car owner Billy Harper in round one. Harper qualified in the number 10 position with a 6.409 - 217.07 pass. Both drivers qualified with the only Dodge Vipers to make the show which made for a great opening round match-up at the Mopar-sponsored event. Jenkins held lane choice via his better qualifying time.

Jenkins got off the starting line first with a .033 advantage, but was unable to hold off the hard charging Viper in the other lane. Jenkins ran a 6.556 - 219.19 to Harper's 6.470 - 216.45, giving Harper the win by .053 seconds.

Shannon "The Iceman" Jenkins will continue to defend his 1999 title at the Parts Pro North American Nationals held at New England Dragway in Epping, New Hampshire on September 8-10.

Litton Throws Away Chance to Strengthen Points Lead

Top Fuel driver Bruce Litton saw any hopes of surpassing Paul Romine in the championship point standings literally go up in smoke during the 23rd running of the Mopar Parts Nationals at Norwalk Raceway Park. The event was the seventh of 11 events in the 2000 IHRA Summit Drag Racing Series.

Either Litton or Romine have held the championship points lead for much of the 2000 season. Romine led by 50 points coming into this event.

"I knew I missed out on a golden opportunity," a disappointed Litton explained. "It would have been nice to score a big win with Paul going out early. I guess it just wasn't in the plans for today. We'll be back and we'll get them next time."

Litton out-qualified (# 2) fellow Indianapolis resident, Romine (# 6), gaining a few more points heading into today's elimination rounds.

The first round of competition paired Litton against # 7 qualifier and ten-year veteran of IHRA top fuel racing, Wayne Bailey. But, before facing Bailey, Litton had to sit by as Romine faced number three qualifier and worthy opponent Jim Head.

Romine lost traction about 200 feet from the starting line and smoked the tires, losing to Head and opening the door for Litton to gain valuable points and possibly the points lead.

The 43-year old trailer manufacturer left the starting line first, but immediately lost traction and was 'up in smoke' handing the victory to Bailey.

Litton and the Wix Filters team will next travel to Epping, New Hampshire, for the IHRA Parts Pro North American Nationals, September 8-10.

The Top Dragster Driving Experience has retained Litton's team to carry out their marketing program with WIX Filters. Top Dragster Driving Experience President Joel Collins feels the triangle marketing partnership between WIX Filters, his company and Litton's team provides a future example for other teams aspiring to run Top Fuel.

Zgoda wheels his BlinkerFluid.com Funny Car in to the number 7 Position at the 23rd annual Mopar Parts World Nationals presented by Ethanol Performs!

Cheektowaga, New York native Paul Zgoda was able to qualify in the top half of the ihra.com Funny Car field at the 23rd annual Mopar parts World Nationals held in Norwalk, Ohio.

Zgoda put his Olds bodied flopper into the field on his final qualifying attempt. Zgoda encountered severe traction problems on his first two attempts and was forced to abort both runs. For the third qualifying session Zgoda was dealt the right lane, considered by most to be the "bad" lane at this track. The Blinker Fluid.com/Great Northern driver's first third qualifying attempt of the year placed him in the # 7 spot with a 6.017 - 233.08 run.

Zgoda's number seven qualifying position puts him up against the number ten qualifier Chris Hunt. Hunt qualified 10th with a 6.044 - 232.83 pass. "Depending on track conditions, I feel we have a good shot in the first round. We have lane choice over Chris and I proved that I can make it down the so-called "bad" lane. Chris has a good team over there. It'll be a good race," said Zgoda.

Zgoda has had a disapointing season so far and hopes that this race will be a turning point for his BlinkerFluid.com/Great Northern team. "This is actually the first race we qualified for this season, heck, it's the only race I was able to get in a third qualifying run. Every other race we attended this year the weather prevented us from making a third attempt. It would rain and qualifying would be stopped after only two runs. We've had the power all season but just haven't had that third run to give us the shot we needed," said Zgoda.

For more info on Paul "Z-man" Zgoda, check out his web site at Zgoda Racing or BlinkerFluid.

Dave has a "quality control inspector" looking over our work. "Squeeky" is a great granddaughter of "Thomas", another Magpie that would come in and visit us and take food from our hands.

Well, I am sure that this email will put a smile on a lot of people's faces. Yes, that's right: The track is ready! It has taken many years and a lot of hard work to see this dream become a reality, but it finally has. We had a very small burnout day last weekend, the 20th. It was a good day and the facility worked like a dream.

The news you have all been waiting for is that our first full-on Test 'n' Tune is to be held on the 10th of September. I am unsure of times as yet, but if you keep an eye on the website, they will be posted as soon as it is all finalised.

The bigger news is that two weeks after that is our official grand opening on the 23rd of September. We are hoping that a lot of the people that have shown interest over the past 18 months since the website has been operational, will attend this meeting, if not the upcoming test and tune. Again, times and event details will be posted on the site, so stay tuned.

If anyone has any questions, please feel free to email me and I will do my best to answer them. If you are likely to attend either the test 'n' tune or our Grand Opening, would you please email me and let me know. We are after some idea of numbers for our test meet and grand opening.

I urge you all to find time to make your way to the track on either date as a great time was had by all that attended the small, but entertaining, burnout day. We all look forward to the beginning of real racing at the track.

Please add the following link on your site: FindRacers. While you're checking us out, find your own site, under "Drag Racing/ NHRA/ Federal-Mogul Dragster".

We are the # 1 source for finding any racer's homepage. FindRacers is a completely free service, with no charge to be listed. We are growing fast, adding new URL's every day. We have over 7000 racer's URL's in our database now.

You can place our logo on your links page. (top ten is preferred). You can "snag an icon" by clicking here. We have several different sizes and color to choose from.

Once again, thanks for adding us to your links page. And tell all your friends about us. PS: Keep an eye open for our Press Release which should appear in the next issue of National Dragster in the "Bits from the Pits" section.

DARWIN AWARD CANDIDATES for 2000:

DARWIN AWARD HONORABLE MENTIONS:

ANOTHER ALSO RAN:

Tacoma, Washington: Kerry Bingham, had been drinking with several friends when one of them said they knew a person who had bungee-jumped from the Tacoma Narrows Bridge in the middle of traffic. The conversation grew more heated and at least ten men trooped along the walkway of the bridge at 4:30 am.

Upon arrival at the midpoint of the bridge they discovered that no one had brought a bungee rope. Bingham, who had continued drinking, volunteered and pointed out that a coil of lineman's cable lay nearby. One end of the cable was secured around Bingham's leg and the other end was tied to the bridge.

His fall lasted 40 feet before the cable tightened and tore his foot off at the ankle. He miraculously survived his fall into the icy river water and was rescued by two nearby fishermen. "All I can say," said Bingham, "is that God was watching out for me on that night. There's just no other explanation for it." Bingham's foot was never located.

AND THE WINNER:

PADERBORN, GERMANY - Overzealous zookeeper Friedrich Riesfeldt fed his constipated elephant Stefan 22 doses of animal laxative and more than a bushel of berries, figs and prunes before the plugged-up pachyderm finally let fly, and suffocated the keeper under 200 pounds of poop!

Investigators say ill-fated Friedrich, 46, was attempting to give the ailing elephant an olive oil enema when the relieved beast unloaded on him like a dump truck full of mud." The sheer force of the elephant's unexpected defecation knocked Mr. Riesfeldt to the ground, where he struck his head on a rock and lay unconscious as the elephant continued to evacuate his bowels on top of him," said fabbergasted Paderborn police detective Erik Dern.

"With no one there to help him, he lay under all that dung for at least an hour before a watchman came along, and during that time he suffocated. "It seems to be just one of those freak accidents that happen.

Please visit our Thunder Graphix and Design website. We have something we are sure that will be of interest to you.

Yep, we were thinking it might be our day also, but it didn't turn out that way. For every round of qualifying and eliminations, we had the quickest runs, with the exception of two. We ran 5.54, 5.50, 5.54, 5.51 and 5.52. Before the final we were trying to decide if we should go to the next step and try and run a high 5.40, or stick with the consistency game, and not do something stupid and beat ourselves. We chose the latter, but got beat on the lights and lost with a 5.51 to our 5.52.

As for the Divisional (championship) deal, there are still quite a few races left to go. (Duane) Shields has not gone to any out of Division Six races yet, and there are still two in the division. We need to run well and win at least one of the remaining two, and try to keep Duane from doing the same.

What do you think of the proposed rules changes?

A blonde was driving home after a game, and got caught in a really bad hailstorm. Her car was covered with dents, so the next day she took it to a repair shop. The shop owner saw that she was a blonde, so he decided to have some fun. He told her to just go home and blow into the tailpipe really hard, and all the dents would pop out.

So, the blonde went home, got down on her hands and knees and started blowing into her tailpipe. Nothing happened. (Surprise!)

She blew a little harder, and still nothing happened. Her roommate, another blonde, came home and asked, "What are you doing?" The first blonde told her how the repairman had instructed her to blow into the tailpipe in order to get all the dents to pop out.

Her blonde roommate rolled her yes and said, "Uh, like hello!!!!!! . . . . You need to roll up the windows first!"

The office of Oberg Motorsports Marketing will be closed from Thursday, August 24th until Monday, September 4th. Karen and I will be overseas conducting a Drag Racing demonstration at Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia.

While we are away we will be receiving phone messages left on our office number, but unless it's urgent, we will not be returning calls until we are back in the office. Please do not call our mobile numbers.

Technology withstanding, we will, however, receive and return emails whilst overseas. We apologize for any incovenience.

Janis Sets the mark at the Mopar Parts World Nationals

Mike Janis and his Jan-Cen Powered Weber's Mustard Team continue to make their statement at the IHRA World Nationals. The 2000 season has had several ups and downs for the Weber's Mustard team. After a rule change knocked the team out of legal IHRA Pro Mod competition, the team marched forward with a positive attitude.

The Weber's Mustard Team proceeded by taking wins at the IHRA Empire Nationals in the Omega Top Sportsman class, the ECW (Extreme Championship Wrestling) Top Gun Showdown, the Canadian Drag Racing Series event in London, Ontario, Canada, and taking a runnerup finish at the WWF (World Wrestling Federation) Can-Am Nationals.

A year 2000 rule revision for the IHRA Pro Modified class forced the Weber's Mustard team out of the Pro Mod ranks and into the Top Sportsman field. At the Start of the season the IHRA rulebook read "NO HEMI BILLET HEADS ALLOWED".

This rule did not apply to the Weber's team as they do not run a (hemispherical chambered engine) Hemi. So when Janis set the team budget he opted for a billet cylinder head produced by Alan Johnson. The heads hold no horsepower advantage over their cast counterparts, but are more than $1500 cheaper, easier to repair and are far superior in strength. Several of the top Pro Mod teams have destroyed their cast heads and have been running billet heads when needed.

When the rule revision came about it was a tough blow to take, but Janis took it in stride. The 481x Alan Johnson designed motor can only use Alan Johnson heads (they are a matched pair), and no other manufacturer produces heads for this combination. The IHRA has since announced in their 2001 Template preview, that they will allow billet heads in the Pro Modified division for the 2001 season.

Janis is running the Top Sportsman class with as close to a legal Pro Mod set up as possible. Keeping the supercharger at the Pro Mod limit of 29 percent overdrive. This puts him at a disadvantage to other supercharged Top Sportsman teams who are allowed to run at up to 40 percent overdrive.

For the first round of qualifying at the World Nationals in Top Sportsman, Janis and his Jan-Cen powered Corvette ran a 6.51 - 213. Janis' run was good enough for the number one spot in Top Sportsman and would have placed him in the middle of the IHRA Pro Modified field.

Janis and the rest of the Top Sportsman field will get two more chances at qualifying. One on Thursday, and one on Friday morning, with eliminations held on Friday during the IHRA MAC Tools Night Of Fire.

Sir, I'm a student doing research on Glass Industries and Laws. It would be helpful to me if you can enlighten me. I wanted to know if there is a law in the U.S. restricting the usage of second hand glass bottles. I came to know that only first hand bottles (new bottles) are used in distilleries and beverage units.

I know my question will not be of any help to your company, but please do reply. Thanking you.

Hi there, is there any way I can view the results from the Sechelt race? Do you have them posted, or know where I can find them? Thanks!

In a competitive sense, last weekend wasn't "quite" the slam dunk return to Boise, Idaho he had hoped for, but as far as missionary work goes it was most triumphant: in absentia since 1981 and the days of match racing his "Holy Smokes" funny car, Jim Murphy returned to the "Nightfire Nationals" in Boise, Idaho with his current hot rod, the WW2 AA/Fuel Dragster, and preached the "nitro doctrine" to the natives who are beginning to understand that this California-based front-motored fueler circuit just may be the wave of the future for independent nitro shows across the country.

And not unlike Lewis and Clark a couple of centuries ago, WW2 and a host of other fuelers were blazing trails into the hearts and souls of nitromaniacs up the Oregon Trail way, joined by a choice selection of AA/Fuel Altereds, Pro Mods and more.

After qualifying second for the AA/FD show with an elapsed time of 6.34 and a trap speed of 222 mph (a time which stood for Top Speed of the Meet amongst the front-engined fuelers), WW2 scored runner-up honors in a field with 10 entries (and not a leaker in the bunch...), ultimately falling to Jack Harris and his "Nitro Thunder" entry in the final round.

Indeed, Harris and Murphy are developing a real rivalry for supremacy of the baddest Chrysler-powered front motored fueler on this side of the Continental Divide. (Harris resides in Kaysville, Utah). This rivalry was piqued when Murphy laid down his do-or-die 6.34 in the final session of qualifying. "The pressure was incredible," is how Murphy described the release of tension after smoking the tires in the earlier session; "(Crew member) Gary (Grisel) proved that white men can jump", only to have Harris "pick our pockets" with a subsequent 6.32 that took the # 1 qualifier spot away from WW2.

Despite the runner-up finish, the real conquest for WW2 -- as well as the entire AA/FD circuit--was the missionary work done by the fueler teams, expanding on a 4-car show last year to this year's 8-car eliminator. As Murphy explained, "It's being presented to these people and they are loving it." It was his feeling that this race was ready for a 16-car show (!) in the 2001 edition of the Nightfire Nationals.

Stay tuned...

MORE WW2 NOTES:

Racing itinerary for WW2:
   Goodguys 11th Fall Classic; Sears Point, California; September 9-10
   California Hot Rod Reunion; Famoso, California; October 6-8
   Goodguys Fuel & Gas Finals; Las Vegas, Nevada, October 28-29

For more on the WW2 AA/FD, point your browser to: WW2 Racing.

Well, we're home for a couple of days, following our Runner-up showing at the Brainered, Minnesota national event. Our team scored the "Low Qualifier" position (a first at an NHRA national event for us) and we were the quickest car in all three qualifying rounds! We were pretty proud of that.

As we were leaving the track heading for our "Low Qualifier Celebration Dinner", we were notified that we had just won the Best Appearing Crew award and to be on the podium at 9:00 Sunday morning. We were on a roll!

Our times for the weekend ranged from a 5.507 to a 5.541. It was just an amazing weekend. And equally amazing to us, that we weren't able to pull off the big win. But we had an awesome weekend. The crew did a great job, the car too, and of course, Mark. He holds it all together. We have a great combination going for our team, so root us on in Yakima next weekend.

Bob, this is a forward of an email I sent earlier today to the NHRA Tech Department, addressed to Jim Skelly. Look it over and let me know what you think of my thoughts on the matter.

Dear Jim:

It looks like NHRA is trying to phase out all hope of running a competitive rootes blower dragster. I think you should be going in the other direction. The rootes cars are starting to make a comeback in our area, mostly due to the lower cost of the unit and the fact that you don't have to send it in for certification.

The configuration you have now (532 cubic inch max at 4.05 lbs/cubic inch) suits us fine, and I don't think you should change it. If you want to go with a maximum cubic inch of 475, then add 5 lbs per cubic inch after that, make our minimum weight 1900 lbs. I believe that we need that 200 lb cushion between the rootes and the screw superchargers to at least have a chance. I don't think you should discourage racers from using the rootes configuration, as it is a lot easier on parts, thus less oildowns.

Our combination right now works out as follows:
Cubic Inches = 510
Weight = 510 x 4.05 = 2065 lbs

You are, in fact, decreasing the weight required for a screw blower car (by 90 lbs) and increasing the weight for a rootes car (in our case, by 110 lbs). This doesn't make sense, as the screw car is obviously still quicker; it doesn't need more of an advantage.

Also, if you do decide to lower the minimum weight for the rootes, please allow us to continue to run the big motor. The bigger motor runs more like a funny car combination; it has the power to pull through the shifts at lower rpms. We don't have to shift at 10,000+, so there is less breakage and less chance of an oildown.

It sounds like you are planning to enforce the 475 cubic inch limit for all blown cars after 2001, but I would suggest that you allow us to run up to 532 cubic inches as before.

I am in the second year of my current partnership in this car, and can see ourselves starting to compete again in the divisional events, along with a few nationals, as long as the money gets better and the costs start going down.

We have been having trouble getting races, other than divisional and national events, in our area because the perception is that we cost too much. The problem is that we are running for less than what it costs us already. Yearly certifications, rules changes, etc., necessitates that a large mount of money is spent every winter on the combination, in addition to the necessary parts freshening process. Cheaper alternatives (7.50 funny car, nostalgia and Top Comp) are coming in at cheaper prices and taking over our bookings.

Another suggestion I have would be to extend the certification period for some of the safety equipment. I think the engine diapers, blower bags, clutch cans, etc., could all be extended to 5 years, provided that they still look like they are in reasonable shape. The seat belts are a bit of a sore spot too; these cars are in the sunlight only while in the staging lanes and on the track; I can't see why they need to be certified (which basically means buying new ones) every two years.

I hope you consider these suggestions.
Best regards, Ken Sitko
Sitko Family Racing Federal-Mogul Dragster

Hi gang. Here's what's new at www.draglist.com this week:

The Drag Racing List goes international! Although we have had visitors from over 89 countries at The Drag Racing List, our international visitors have always had to read the DRL in English. Now, drag racing fans who speak Spanish, French, German, Italian, and Portuguese can read the DRL in their own languages!

Thanks to GO.COM and the Systran software, all international DRL readers have to do is go to the bottom of any Drag Racing List page and click on the flag corresponding to their language. The translations are bound to be pretty literal (for instance Jim Hill's name is always depicted as "Jim" followed or preceded by the word for "hill," but I trust our international visitors will be able to figure it out! So, to all our new friends from around the world, I bid you Welcome! Recepción! Bienvenue! Willkommen! Benvenuto! Boa vinda!

Mountain Motor Nationals! Frankly, here are more excuses, folks. We needed the "next few hours" to do our coverage of the Jet Car Nats at MIR, then recovered during Sunday. We will do the photos and full coverage of the Mountain Motors race this week. Until then, check out our highlights from August 10th.

The FREE CLASSIFIEDS are coming! This project also fell by the wayside this weekend. We will have them up this week.

August 21 -- Drag Racing Story of the Day: Fugitive on the Run! Tommy McNeely tells about some of the trials and tribulations of running a wheelie car. Drag Racing Picture of the Day: More Pics from the Jet Car Nationals. Stephen Jones was there and he offers up these choice shots. Drag Racing Movie of the Week: Firestorm's Pre-Race Show! Marc Fawcus brings us jet funny car flame show action from Great Britain.

August 20 -- Drag Racing Story of the Day: Hot Times at MIR's Jet Car Nationals. I announced the MIR Jet Car Nationals last night and it was a blast. Drag Racing Picture of the Day: Alfred E Neuman Election Funny Car. Robert Briggs joins our list of contributors with a nice shot of Dale Creasy's car at Sonoma. Jet Breaking the Sound Barrier! OK, so it's not drag racing, but when's the last time you saw footage of a vehicle smashing through the sound barrier? Updated Personal Best with Steve Klemetti. Steve provides all the updates from the NHRA Divisional events in July 2000. Updated DRL Links. Updated Desperately Seeking pages.

August 19 -- Drag Racing Story of the Day: The Original Big Mac Attack. How Todd Mack helped the DRL in its early days. Drag Racing Picture of the Day: Big Time Memories! DRL friend Ron Dilley with a nice pit shot of other DRL friend Rocky Pirrone's gasser.

August 18 -- Drag Racing Story of the Day: Herzog Wins River City Pro Mod Shootout. By motorsport.com. Drag Racing Picture of the Day: Chutes in Bloom and Comin' at Ya! Pete Garramone with a nice top end shot of a front engine dragster.

August 17 -- Drag Racing Story of the Day: Tommy Joe and the UBS/X. Ralph Crosby with one of the first Tommy Joe stories -- a real life adventure not really that long ago. Drag Racing Picture of the Day: The View from Down Under. Ash McFee with some great photos of Australian Drag Racing machines.

August 16 -- Drag Racing Story of the Day: Bunny Burkett, Then and Now. James Morgan and I team up to pay tribute to the First Lady of TA/FC racing. Drag Racing Picture of the Day: The Nasty One at Tucson. Phil Elliott with a great night time shot of Dave Benjamin's Dodge Charger.

August 15 -- Drag Racing Story of the Day: War Horse Rotates the Earth! Bruce Mullins becomes the latest Rootes blower funny car in the 5.80s! Drag Racing Picture of the Day: Wheeling and Dealing in Bristol. Bruce Wheeler supplies a photo of his 1967 Top Fueler at Bristol.

Fuel Dragsters: WDIFL (We Did It For Love) t-shirts and more: Many of you already know that WDIFL now has original art t-shirts, but (by popular demand) we've added the ever sexy "String Tee" for the ladies and ash (to go with the white) t-shirts for Fall and Winter. You'll not only get a great piece of apparel, but you'll also be supporting a site that really needs help. Thanks for not only enjoying WDIFL, but for your support as well. You can access the t-shirt section by clicking on the Cool Stuff link.

UPDATES: If you haven't been by lately, WDIFL has gone through a face lift in my ongoing effort to make the site easier to navigate. And I've been adding 50-plus new photos every two weeks. New links, new sections, new California Hot Rod Reunion info... well, you get the picture. So when you have a spare hour or two, stop by at Fuel Dragsters: We Did It For Love.

See ya at the California Hot Rod Reunion from October 5 - 8 at Famoso Raceway in Bakersfield.

Hello; you've got a cool site. I would like to add my site to your links page. It's Slick Wipes. Thanks.

Hi Bob, just thought I would drop by -- yes, I did wipe my shoes -- and say Hi. I've been checking your For Sale section for a while now and not a lot seems to be happening. Or am I doing something wrong?

I did notice the ads/link to Bill Ancona Motorsports. He seems to have a pretty good range of stuff. Is he someone you can trust? I know you know the dramas related to buying stuff halfway 'round the world, sight unseen. I've been looking here in Australia for a while now and good stuff seems hard to find. Reasonably priced good stuff, anyway. Send me a quick email if you have the time. Thanks.

This is the transcript of the ACTUAL conversation of a U.S. naval warship with the Canadian authorities off the coast of Newfoundland in October 1995. Radio conversation released by the Chief of Naval Operations October 10, 1995:

Canadians: Please divert your course 15 degrees to the South to avoid a collision.

Americans: Recommend you divert your course 15 degrees to the North.

Canadians: Negative. You will have to divert your course 15 degrees to the South to avoid a collision.

Americans: This is the Captain of a U.S. Navy ship. I say again, divert YOUR course.

Canadians: No. I say again, you divert YOUR course.

Americans: THIS IS THE AIRCRAFT CARRIER USS LINCOLN. THE SECOND LARGEST SHIP IN THE UNITED STATES ATLANTIC FLEET. WE ARE ACCOMPANIED BY THREE DESTROYERS, THREE CRUISERS AND NUMEROUS SUPPORT VESSELS. I DEMAND THAT YOU CHANGE YOUR COURSE 15 DEGREES NORTH; THAT'S ONE FIVE DEGREES NORTH, OR COUNTERMEASURES WILL BE UNDERTAKEN TO ENSURE THE SAFETY OF THIS SHIP.

Canadians: We are a lighthouse. Your call.

Hi Bob, it's Daniel. Sorry I haven't emailed you in a while, but it was because my modem has been broken. Thanks for the Nationals email. I don't know if you've been told, but I've bought Dave Coles' dragster and his engine. We've also bought Paul Shackleton's gooseneck trailer and now all we need is a truck.

I wish you a Happy Birthday. Was it on the 2nd of August? (Because that's when mine is). I've got to head off now. Email you again soon.

Please check out my site on the 1965-68 World Finals of Drag Racing, held in my home town of Tulsa, Oklahoma. It's at: 65-68 World Finals. Tell me what you think. Thanks.

I'm looking for the following 392 stuff. Do you have any of these parts you might want to sell or do you know where I might be able to find them:

Thanks for any help you can give.

Hey Bob, how are you? Was the TNN presentation of the IHRA drags that bad? Is there a copy I could get to see how lame it was? "Talk" to you later. By the way, I've left Hitachi Construction Machinery to work for Flextool in Melbourne. Click on the link to see what I'm involved with now.

Canadian Al Billes eager to return to winning ways at Carquest Northern Nationals; Eager to put an end to rules adjustments

When Al Billes set the IHRA World Record at last season's Prolong Winter Nationals in Darlington, South Carolina, he pretty much felt that he had a good handle on the class. Nowadays, he would just like to have a little more control of what's he having to spend to compete on the IHRA Summit Drag Racing Series within the Pro Modified ranks. The popular Canadian Pro Modified racer from Barrie, Ontario, desires a better means of controlling what he's having to spend in conforming to the ever-changing rules. Billes is quick to point out that it takes no genius to figure out the export of funds doesn't equal the import.

Going into this weekend's conclusion of the IHRA Carquest Northern Nationals, hosted by the Mid-Michigan Motorplex in Stanton, Michigan, the 34-year old aerospace engineer hopes that he can even up the scales a bit. He knows that the recent rulings were designed to improve the chance of the supercharged cars, but now he's had to add onto his tally an expense just to keep up with the proverbial "Joneses". He'll have to stock new gear ratios this time.

"I'm just looking forward to being able to race on the track and not in my wallet," explains Billes, whose last Pro Modified victory came at the Parts Pro North American Nationals in Epping. "With all we've had to spend this year, we don't even come close to breaking even, even if we win several events. That's not right. I hate to sound like a whiner, but let's race. That's the only reason that I'm out here. This is making racing become less and less fun and to be quite frank, it's demoralizing. Some of these people that are lobbying for these changes and the rulesmakers need to realize the majority of us are hobby racers and we aren't blessed with the same funds in our hobby budgets."

Billes contends that he would have rather seen an increase in the overdrive percentage and some weight taken off than to have to go out and purchase new gears. He says he'll go along with the rules because he's not in the majority. Billes contends that it doesn't mean that he has to like it.

"Remember, since I live across the border in Canada, I don't come out on the favourable end of the money exchange," explained Billes. "I want us, meaning the supercharged racers, to have to stop spending all of this unnecessary money and just go racing. This is aggravating."

Billes feels that his arguments are justified since the rules have been amended three times during the course of the season. He feels that one of the more expensive changes was in the removal of billet heads from the class. Billes' comments on that subject can be found in an article regarding the ban of the billet heads in Pro Modified in a past issue of Competition Plus.

The veteran racer enjoys the thrill of racing that Pro Modified has to offer, but somewhere along the way, a line has to be drawn. He hopes to draw his own line in the sand at the Mid-Michigan Motorplex this weekend. When racing resumes on Saturday, he will face another longtime veteran, Pat Moore, in the first round of eliminations. Billes qualified 11th in the field with a 6.520 - 218.18 lap.

For up-to-date results, log onto IHRA or Drag Race Central.

The oil problem: There are a lot of folks that can't understand how we ran out of oil in the U.S.A. Well, here's the answer: It's simple; nobody bothered to check the oil. We simply didn't know we were getting low. And of course, the reason for that is geographical. Most of the oil is in Texas and Oklahoma, and all the dipsticks are in Washington, D.C.

I enjoy your web site. Good stuff, great photos. I was hoping to find some information on ticket prices, but no luck. Perhaps you could help me. Please e-mail me as soon as possible.

If we have offended you by sending this email, we apologize. Removal instructions are included below. We are happy to announce our new site. It features beautiful models. We are at: Import Car Girls

Bob, here's the information you're looking for. Boyd Wylie is driving the (Say No To Drugs) funny car; Roger Manson drives the (Rapid Fire) jeep; and last time I checked, I was still footing the bill on the station wagon! And by the way, Dave Wilson's funny car is now injected (not blown).

On Horsepower Heaven someone stated something about the cars winning Pro Street at the Super Chevy Weekend saying that the track sucked (SIR). Also, Whit Bazemore made the same comments on the ESPN TV broadcast of the Northwest Nationals. Why would you want to run there with a car that makes any horsepower and crash your car?

SIR SUCKS! Get back to me and we can talk about the track and why racers will not run there. BOYCOTT SIR!

I've got some info on the rod run and the drags. It was the fifth annual Sleepy Hollow Rod Run. There were over 200 cars registered at the show and shine on the Saturday. The drag race on the Sunday was sponsored by the Sunshine Coast Drag Racing Association. It was our third race: we had one last year and one on May 28th this year, as well as the one last weekend.

There were over 140 cars racing on Sunday, with 107 in the street machine class alone. We will have two races next year with the dates around the same time. There were over 5000 spectators at the races; not bad for a small town. I will try to get back online tomorrow and put some names to the pictures for you.

This is the first time on your site and I like it. We have over 100 members in the car club and 60 members in the drag racing club. I will publish your address in the newsletters so they can all enjoy it. Thanks!

PS: I forgot one thing: the track is 1/8-mile, not 1/4-mile. The track speed record was set on Sunday by Jim Dillinger at 147 mph.

Bray Searching For An Edge On And Off The Track

Victor Bray is leaving no stone unturned in his quest to win a fifth straight Australian Top Doorslammer title when the rain-delayed final round of the series is held at Willowbank Raceway's Konica Winternationals on October 6th and 7th.

After conducting a number of extensive test sessions with his Castrol Chevrolet through June and July, Bray is now in the United States spending a month gathering information on the latest developments in both the American Pro Modified and Top Alcohol categories. He is determined to give himself the best possible chance of overhauling the slim lead held by Adelaide's Dave Koop in the Championship standings as well as holding off the late challenge of the in-form Robin Judd from Perth.

One of the things Bray is looking at closely is the advantage the Australian National Drag Racing Association rules currently provide cars fitted with Rootes stule superchargers as opposed to the PSI screw type unit used by his Castrol team. PSI equipped cars must carry more weight while strict limits on supercharger overdrive are also applied.

"I don't think that we have any parity in the class at the moment, especially with ALL the quick cars in the bracket using the 16.71 rootes blowers," commented Bray. "Back in 1995 I was running 6.25 with the screw blower while the rootes guys were in the 6.50's. Now I'm still running the same ET while the rootes racers are in the teens. What does that say? The Rootes blowers have made about four advancements since 1995 and back then the 16.71 was a rare piece of equipment. I will probably test with a Rootes blower when I get back from the U.S."

Whichever type of supercharger he ends up using, Bray is determined to do whatever it takes to stay at the forefront of the category he has dominated since it's inception. His Castrol 1957 Chevrolet has been returned to chassis guru, Murray Anderson in Melbourne for some changes to the rear end of the car.

Victor is hoping to be better able to utilise the enormous power he can produce in the first half of the race track where his opposition currently have a big advantage over him. Although his faithful Chev has now recorded over 1000 runs down the drag strip, the car will still carry Victor not only at the Konica Winternationals in October, but throughout the coming championship season. A new Castrol '57 Chevrolet is on order from Murray Anderson, with delivery planned in time for pre-season testing in mid to late 2001.

I thought I would let you know that you didn't win the Team Mission 50/50 draw at MRP on Sunday. It was won by a lady from Vernon; she took home $1050. But your number was not far off though, since I did sell the winning ticket! See you at the races.

The photo that you were sent of Scott Ray's pit was not doctored and was taken as is. I should know, as I took it with my digital camera. So it is unique. Just passing the word to ya.

AllPosters.com is the leading online retailer of posters and art prints with over 50,000 items for sale, including many Drag Racing posters.

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Hey Bob, it was really cool meeting you for the first time too. I know what you mean about the work thing. I hate it when my job interferes with my racing. (LOL). I really did love the trip out to Mission Raceway. The tow was brutal, but that's the way it goes.

I don't know if you remember on Sunday, we were talking about Bateman and Evanchuk, and I mentioned the guys to watch in Alberta in the future were Wally Protz and Geoff Goodwin (with Ken Kraus driving). They ran back to back 6.18's at Calgary at the National Open on the same day we were talking. Watch these guys. They have a few bucks, and a few very experienced background people.

You seem to be the most connected blower racer in these parts. Are there any other guys, aside from the front-engine dragster group, messing with budget Nitro from these parts? What about in Australia? Is the Nostalgia thing happening there?

Anyways, nice meeting you, and I will stay in touch. Hope to see you again soon.

Bob, we made it out to the track again. Made a couple of driveline changes and were ready for battle. We finally had a weekend where the weather cooperated and were able to try things again.

First shot: after my best burnout ever, a little leak ("only" a gallon or two) developed at the pump, had to shut it down and slug it back to the trailer.

Second shot: shorter burnout, staged, and the car left a little lazy. Finally seeing what the clutch wants. Back in the pits, service the clutch, put a fresh set of bearings in and we're good to go.

Third shot: was in the dark, everything is happening, bring the car into prestage and my visor fogs up so bad I can really no longer see. As I'm trying to pop the visor up, the stage light comes on, see the flash, and being a driver that's "right on the ball", I hit the throttle.

Really cool three foot flames out of the headers (a first for me), and in the heat of the moment I popped it into high gear (there's that right on the ball driver again), and pulled the motor down too far, clicked it off and smiled wildly. Thanks to the outstanding track personnel at Cayuga Dragway Park.

Just thought you'd like to know. Take care. We've still got the website going at: Raising Hell '48 Fiat

We're back! We were unable to update our site for three days due to a router problem at our hosting server. Most of the rest of the world could see our site, but we could not reach it. That meant that for the first time since we started our "Stories of the Day" in February, that we did not have new daily stories and photos for you. We regret that delay, but we finally got the poblem tracked down tonight and the hosting service fixed it. Here are all the stories, pictures and movies you missed for the last three days, plus the list for the previous week.

August 14 -- Drag Racing Story of the Day: Rich Hanna Continues New England Jet Domination. Billy Anderson provides coverage of the weekend's racing activities at New England Dragway with James Morgan photos. Drag Racing Picture of the Day: Eddie Hill's Pennzoil FED! Ron Dilley with a photo manipulation of Eddie in a front engine rail. Drag Racing Movie of the Week: Jet Breaking the Sound Barrier. OK, so it's not a drag racing car, but this Larry Hunter, Jr., video of an F-18 breaking the sound barrier is a must see!

August 13 -- Drag Racing Story of the Day: How The Joker Got His Name. Dick Kalivoda explains where he got the moniker. Drag Racing Picture of the Day: Bird Catchers Gettin' Frosty at Palmdale. Kevin Knauer has given us access to some obscure alky funnies photos. Here is the first.

August 12 -- Drag Racing Story of the Day: Nitro at Night. James Morgan with photos and words from another great New England Dragway Fuel Funny Car match race. Drag Racing Picture of the Day: Fire at the Academy. Texas Top Fuel racer Paul Savadin burns down the house at Temple Academy Raceway.

August 11 -- Drag Racing Story of the Day: Gymnastics in Drag Racing. Fred Totten with a tale of a 10-point landing by Dan Geare. Drag Racing Picture of the Day: Pro Mod as a Baby. James Morgan shows us a taste of Wild Bunch racing.

August 10 -- Drag Racing Story of the Day: Carl Baker Wins 22nd Mountain Motor Nationals at Maryland International Raceway. Quick results. I was there and here's the preliminary report. Drag Racing Picture of the Day: Boom in Arizona. Chris Stinson captures some wild pyrotechnics from the stands.

August 9 -- Drag Racing Story of the Day: Funny Cars and Doorslammers to Race in Malaysia. The gang in Kuala Lumpur aren't gonna be ready for this. By Rob Oberg. Drag Racing Picture of the Day: Twilight Zone '86. Art Cimilluca captures nitro stalwart Bobby Lagana's match race funny car.

August 8 -- Drag Racing Story of the Day: NHRA Fram/Autolite Nationals results. Thanks to motorsport.com. Drag Racing Picture of the Day: Reflecting During a Rain Delay. Gonzo, a camera, a rainy day and photo editing software: you figure it out!

Other News: Mountain Motor Nationals: Our full coverage of the Mountain Motor Nationals at Maryland International Raceway will be delayed a day or so. We published highlights on August 10, but I'm eager to show you the photos brother Tim Pratt took. We just did two 13 hour days of Junior Dragster Nationals announcing at MIR, so we are a little behind the power curve!

FREE classifieds are coming. Our hectic week also held up our plans to provide a free classifieds section at Draglist.com. I already have seen a demo of the page and it looks great. Plan to see that this week.

Serge is beating himself up a little about this race; he has been having trouble shifting second gear on time, and on this run he wound it up to 9400, which may have locked up the clutch and caused the tire shake when he hit second gear. I may have aggravated the problem by leaning on it in the final also, but there's no use crying over spilled milk; there's nothing we can do about it now.

Not surprisingly, Steve pulled ahead of Serge by about 3/4 of a car length at half track (when Serge had to pedal it), but I was surpsied to see that Serge caught up and they were dead even at 1000 feet (according to the time slip). At that point, our little blower (with seven runs on it since freshening), gave up, and Steve pulled ahead. It was a great race, though, and I was happy with our performance.

You asked about myself and (brother) Steve (Sitko); we have a pretty good relationship; though at times it has been rocky. We golf and have BBQ's together, and lend each other parts, and so on. He helped us out of a bind earlier this year when we rolled the trailer. Neither one of us wants to lose, but we know that we need each other to do this type of racing.

We don't have anything else booked this year. That's pretty unbelievable, because it's only the middle of August. We're still negotiating a September race in Edmonton, and perhaps one in Calgary (I don't suppose Ashcroft needs a few cars?). On one hand it would be a shame to quit (for the year) now because we've learned a lot and are starting to run well, but I guess if the season ended now, we would end on a high note.

Further to the email above, I've attached some photos of our deceased trailer. I may have resized them too small; hopefully you can blow them up big enough to see.

Many of you reading this already know about this place, or may have heard about it, but we just returned from Mission Raceway Park, and it is, well, unbelievable there.

The Langley Loafers, a B.C. based hot rod club, puts on an annual nostalgia drag race at MRP, and were kind enough to invite six of our International Blown Alcohol Association 7.50 blown alky funny cars to the party. And what a party it was. Priority one with these guys is having fun, and fun we had! The Loafers are a class act. One of their members even gave us two bottles of "Loafer Wine" when we were leaving, and thanked us for coming!

What can I say about the track? Incredible, period. This is the nicest track I have ever been to, in my 20 year racing career. The pits are nicely paved, and well organized. The food facilities are clean and modern, and the food itself is wonderful. How about a huge building in the pits with flush toilets AND showers. How about super friendly and helpful staff?

Visually, the track is great too. It's built on the edge of the Fraser River, and it is spotless. A girl came through our pit area twice to collect garbage, and any litter that may have accumulated. I was told that the washrooms are cleaned every couple of hours, and I am sure they were, because they were never dirty.

The fans were great too. We made many new friends, and met a handful of "e" friends; people that we could finally put a face to.

The track itself is perfect. Smooth as a baby's bottom. Not a bump or crack to be seen or felt. Super track prep = major traction. Nice long shutdown area. Three turnoffs. The best. The Air? MRP's actual elevation is 24 feet above sea level. When we arrived, my altimeter read minus 150 feet! I thought it was broken. I was told that once, during heavy fog conditions, the air corrected to minus 660 feet.

The only major drawback to MRP is that we can't get there very fast. It's twelve to fourteen hours one way from where I live (Edmonton, Alberta), so we can only go for special occasions. We also joked, that if this was your home track, you would probably never travel, because there are not many tracks to go to as nice as this one.

Keeping in mind that our group is a 7.50 association, the biggest challenge of the day was figuring out how to slow the cars down. The killer air sent all us 2300 foot Prairie boys running to our trailers for the biggest top pulleys, and the smallest return jets we could find.

All in all, the group did very well, with most of us finding the mark right off the bat. On our last run, our team (The Prospector) ran a 7.54, and that's about as close as you can get to the limit without sweating.

With the killer air/track combination, we were hoping to have the opportunity to run here, all out, just to see what she could do, but various parts maladies prevented us from getting the chance; next time!

That's enough rambling for one message, but if you ever get the chance to go to Mission.... DO IT!!!! you won't be sorry. Until next time.

Larry (Pfister) has already posted this weekend's results on Horsepower Heaven, but I thought I would fill in some of the details.

The Sitko Family Racing Top Alcohol Dragster had a pretty good weekend, qualifying 3rd with a 6.32, but had some trouble going any quicker because of tire spin on the top end. Every time we thought we had it figured out, the conditions would change, but it was the same for everyone. This is not to say the track was bad; Art and Lynn did an excellent job preparing it; we have just been a little off in the clutch and tire department all year.

We beat Bill Edwards (Jr.) in the first round; it was kind of a weird deal because our win light came on as soon as the car left the starting line, even though Edwards didn't red-light. Bill ran a 6.46 and we got no time, although the 1000 foot clock time was 5.22 (which would normally translate to a 6.22 at the 1/4-mile).

There was some debate as to whether we would have to re-run the race, but Edwards confirmed that we beat him by a car length, so the matter was dropped. NHRA later came by with a timeslip that read 6.45, but that made no sense at all, as the lights were nearly identical and we won by a healthy margin.

We were supposed to run Bob Haffner in the semi's, but he kicked the rods out in the first round and couldn't return. We had a leaky intake valve after the first round, so we decided to take it easy so that we would have time to fix it for the final. Serge idled down the track to a 16 second bye run.

In the final, it was Serge against Steve Sitko. Serge left on him, .450 to .490, and led most of the way, but Steve caught him in the lights and won by .02 seconds. Our car shook pretty hard in second gear, and Serge had to pedal it. Steve ran a 6.27 to our 6.33. We're still satisfied with our performance, and had a pretty good weekend overall.

Don "Dudley" Clease finally got his problems figured out; it took four days and all of the top minds in the sport (or at least those of us that were in Calgary) to determine that it was a dead coil. The coil was one of the first things that was tried, but coincidentally, the one they tried was dead too, so everyone was chasing their tails for a while.

Dudley (what's the story with his name, anyway?) was able to get down the track on both his qualifying runs, but red-lit in the first round. He seemed pretty happy to get his car running though, and still had a decent weekend, money-wise.

Bob Haffner ran a real stout 6.20 in qualifying, but continued to have troubles with breakage. I believe that he torched a head on the 6.20 pass, then hurt the motor bad in the first round. Leo also torched a head in Calgary.

Steve Sitko ran just quick enough to stay ahead of all of us; I'm sure that he would have dug down deeper if he had to. I have to say that it was a lot of fun having an eight car field up here again. I really enjoyed racing and visiting with the west coast guys again and hope they plan to come up again next year.

On the Funny Car side, just when you think the rest of the pack is catching up to Bateman and Reynolds, they step it up another notch. Their 5.98 and 5.97 runs in eliminations were awesome, and must be pretty deflating to the other guys that are running really well right now.

John Evanchuk's "Red Wolf" was running consistent 6.0's and teens, and Kevin Therre's "Eat More" car is running hard every run now. I am very impressed with Kevin as a driver; the car is an animal and he is still able to navigate it safely to the finish line. Another impressive outing was put in by Ken Kraus in Geoff Goodwin's car. They ran career best 6.16's and deserved a better fate than to lose in the semi's. It looks like everyone is really getting their act(s) together.

Better get back to work now; I'll talk to you later.

Nice coverage of Dave's (Brown) car on the weekend. All is appreciated by Dave and crew very much. Only one thing... he is from Vernon (not Kelowna!), but what's the diff, eh?

I was all tied up at the grand opening of the new CASCAR track in Vernon, or I would've been there too. Roundies really aren't my thing, but I did notice the race babes are equally attractive. I think I will probably get some biz out out of this track so it was worthwhile.

I will be at Mission this coming weekend, so we may have to get together and start talking about {TOP SECRET} for your car. I will probably be there on Saturday and am not sure if I will stay for Sunday or not. We'll be in touch.

Hi Bob. We just wanted to say thank you for the email, and let you know that the quality of the pictures were quite good (you know they will be on grandma and grandpa's fridge for a long time). We really got a kick out of going on-line, seeing the pics and reading your story. I really chuckled at the "Red Green" line.

Well, just wanted to say thanks, that was great! Enjoyed meeting you and we will be checking northernthunder.com in the future to see what you have to say. I'm sure we'll be seeing you soon at the races.

Sorry I didn't get a chance to catch up with you in Seattle. I was busy doing tons of stuff not normally associated with being a Division Director. I'm really looking forward to what you have to say (about the Northwest Nationals), considering some of the things that were produced elsewhere (SpeedVision, local press, etc.).

I just returned from our annual rules meetings where there were some discussions regarding Federal-Mogul Dragster and Funny Car. An announcement requesting feedback on the proposals will be sent out within the next few days and it is very important that everyone get their two cents worth back to us prior to Indy. (There's nothing really radical but I do want to hear back what everyone has to say).

Take care and feel free to e-mail when you get the chance.

Hi, Bob. Common sense prevailed and the wayward gearbox (Lenco 3-speed) returned home (receiver had to pay the freight...). The car is back from Wayne Dailey's, with new A-arms to preload the chassis; after moving the engine and new engine plates, straightening the diff, etc., I ran out of money to fit the later model body, so the old Daytona or the altered body will have to do.

Just have to find some time and enthusiasm to put it all back together. I did assemble the short motor about five months ago, but since then I've had a "slack attack". There's no racing locally, anyway. They don't want to know about Group 1 and 2 type cars, won't prepare the track, etc. At the Wild Bunch meeting two weeks ago (that was the local biggie for the year), the cars couldn't get down the track; you could hear them for here (I only live about three km's away): on and off the throttle. Mmmm, sounds like fun, actually.

I may catch up with you at Willowbank after Christmas if I can get my "stuff" together. Must be the winter climate, too cool in the shed at night. In fact, it's so cold that I have to wear a t-shirt. The days are "only" 25C (77 F) and the nights go all the way down to 14C (57 F).

Hi! I just saw you post and I am very intersted in getting to know you better. You sound just like the type of person I've been dreaming of. In case you're interested in who I am, I made a profile on this site, but the profile will not be activated for 48 hours :-(

Until then, you may see my profile and two pictures of me by visiting MatchClick. My profile is "jenny_arnold" (without the quotations). I am looking forward to chatting with you and we'll see what happens :-) Thanks!

PS: You might have to sign up with the site, but don't worry, it's completely free!

Hi, Bob. Sorry to report that The Drag Racing List has been down for 24 hours due, apparently, to server problems. We updated the "Story of the Day" and "Photo of the Day" last night, but have been unable to load them to the server. We're working hard to restore our server and will let you know when we are back up. Thanks.

BOB!!! The car in the background is the Scott Ray / CARQUEST Pro Outlaw dragster, not our team mate's car [Paul Romine]. Am also sending you our reply to Bader.

I kind of watched the TNN broadcast off and on for about ten minutes since it was on opposite ESPN's coverage of the NHRA race at Sonoma, but if that is the best they can do then they should just quit and go back to roller derby and the other garbage they have been doing lately.

There are too many talking heads on racing shows already. We don't need any more. I want to see and hear racing, period. The only driver interviews that are worth listening to (in my most humble opinion) are John Force and Scotty Cannon. They are the only real personalities in racing of any type that I keep up with.

We used to race Cannon in Pro Mod a few years back and he always said what was on his mind. Shucks, I digress. TNN's coverage of the IHRA sucks.

A quick report on the alky results in Edmonton. Nice day for a drag race, but lots of carnage, ourselves included. Steve Sitko defeated Bill Edwards, Jr. in the final, 6.28 to 6.53 (don't quote me on these, I get a different number every time I ask). Roger Bateman beat John Evanchuk's "Red Wolf" on a holeshot, 6.44 to 6.42.

We started out the day with our backup motor, a little (?) 477 cubic inch number that has sat in the corner of the garage for the last two years. We were pretty pleased with it at first; we qualified #2 with a 6.53, lifting twice because of the slippery conditions.

In the first round we drew Dudley Clease from Mission, and knew we had a free one because he was having all sorts of problems getting his engine to go over 4000 rpm. It was the darndest thing I've ever seen: he would bring up the rpm, sounding fine, then all the pipes would turn white and it would try to quit.

Anyway, this round was our undoing, as two plug wires inexplicably came disconnected (they were taped to the valve cover), so we ran on six cylinders all the way. The resulting extra load burnt the rear main out of the block and we were done. Bob Haffner's car also advanced, but torched a head, which kept him out of the semi-final also.

Steve Sitko had a single due to his #1 qualifying position, and Bill Edwards advanced. Mike Cofini was qualified also, but grenaded a rear end on his only qualifying attempt, destroying the differential carrier, the transmission and a bunch of internal engine pieces. Mike is going to try to be ready for Calgary this weekend.

So there were only two cars left in the semi finals. Both Steve and Bill idled their cars down the track on single runs, saving their parts for the final. By that time, I had to leave so that we could start getting ready for tonight's thrash. We think that we have enough parts to throw our Spokane/Seattle motor back in for this weekend's open in Calgary, but it's going to be a late night.

Yes, Leo (Grocock) was here too. I believe he qualified with a 6.56 or something, and I think he lost to Haffner first round (sorry, I'm not sure because I had just seen mine trail death smoke all the way down the track). As far as I know, all these guys are going to Calgary this weekend; and I hear that Greg Tacke (from Spokane) is going to show up too.

There were seven dragsters in Edmonton, and I believe five or six funny cars. The official attendance was 4000, but I never know whether these "official" numbers are just spectators or everyone on the grounds. The stands were pretty full, and the parking lot was too.

I'm not sure why the track was so awful; the weather had been good for a couple of days so they had time to prepare it properly. Our car wasn't making a lot of power, but we still skated all the way through second and third gear. Bateman and Evanchuk normally run teens and O's, but they struggled to stay off the wall all day.

Thanks for the picture. By the way, we finished the car last night; it's ready to run. Our crew did really well to get the job done so quickly.

I am after some info on the injector Glen May uses on his ute and how it performs. Can you put me in contact with him or does he have an e-mail address, or can you help me with the info?

Carl Baker won the 22nd Annual Mountain Motor Nationals Pro Stock race at Maryland International Raceway Wednesday night. He defeated fellow Ford racer Tom Lee in the final on a holeshot, 6.75 - 204 to 6.70 - 206. Already delayed two weeks due to a rainout on its original date, the event again was held up due to a steady rain that fell until approximately 7:30 P.M. The MIR track crew then sprung into action, drying and spraying the track in time to start racing at about 9:00 P.M.

The crowds were not SRO, but were respectable, considering the circumstances. Due to the compressed schedule, however, Royce Miller made the decision to convert the program to a Chicago Style shootout. There would be two rounds of "races," from which the two quickest ETs would return for the final.

Tom Lee's Autolite Ford Mustang and Carl Baker's Summit Racing Ford Thunderbird proved to be the two quickest cars. Lee ran a best of 6.700 seconds in the first round, and Baker ran 6.708 seconds in the second round. The Chevys of John Montecalvo, Wally Stroupe, and Steve Spiess all ran in the 6.70 zone, but did not make the final cut. In the final, Baker grabbed a .451 to .519 reaction time advantage at the tree, then held on to defeat Lee's beautiful peach colored machine, 6.753 - 204.91 to 6.708 - 206.99 pass. Lee had Low ET and Top Speed at 6.700 - 206.99.

MIR's Frantic Four cars were flying, but only got to the semifinals. Tommy Howes is coming back around. He ran two 6.60's at 210, but became crossed up in the semifinals and lost to a Marc Hayes' 6.92. Billy Farmer's nitrous '63 Vette kept on rolling, with a 6.67 - 207 first round win and a 6.64 - 210 semifinal round win. There was no final due to the curfew.

In a special ceremony, MIR presented Maria English with a plaque commemorating the contributions of the late Raymond "Ray Ray" English to the sport of drag racing. Twenty-two years ago, as MIR track manager, Raymond English named the Mountain Motor Nationals - and in doing so, named an entire category of race car. English died in March and last night was the first time his wife had been able to attend a drag race since then.

Maryland International Raceway was sporting an entirely new surface, recently applied by Beltway Concrete. Professional and bracket drag racers alike enjoyed the smooth, new surface.

Complete results to follow at DragList tomorrow, including dozens of photos.

It has been argued that Nitronic Research is all wet and for once we have no argument. To wit: In his quest to document anything that runs on nitromethane, Nitronic Research photo editor and ace stringer Mark Hovsepian has accumulated some gorgeous and epic images of perhaps the most gonzo and questionable form of the pursuit of horsepower: Top Fuel Hydros.

Nitronic Research sanctions and appreciates many dubious forms of brazen insanity, but after examining Hovsepian's photography and word pictures you will close your internet connection thinking these Top Fuel Hydro skippers may not have both oars in the water.

Do these drag boat racers have water on the brain? Be sure to find out by pointing your browser to SMOKE ON THE WATER.

Coming soon: Hovsepian gets so close to the IHRA Top Fuel Harley circuit that you will be able to smell the leather!

Mike Janis' Weber's Team makes it Three in a Row

Mike Janis made it three wins in a row for his Weber's Mustard team. Following wins at the ECW (Extreme Championship Wrestling) Top Gun ShowDown and the IHRA Empire Nationals, Janis entered into the Canadian Drag Racing Series event held at the Grand Bend Motorplex with high expectations.

"Before this event we qualified number one at another Canadian Drag Racing Series event in Cayuga, Ontario, but that event was postponed due to rain. Since then we've done some maintenance work on the car to get it ready for this event. We're still taking it slow and conservative. I know there is a lot more power to be tapped," said Janis.

Janis qualified his Jan-Cen powered '63 Corvette in the number two position with a 6.50 - 215 behind Bolton, Ontario's Tony Pontieri in his Supercharged '91 Camaro with a 6.458 - 214.38.

For the opening round of eliminations Janis squared off against Harry Rockwell and his Supercharged Ford Probe. Janis took the win with a 6.60 to Rockwell's slower 6.74. The semifinals saw Janis line up against Bruce Boland and his radical '33 Willys. Boland was forced to shut it off early when he encountered transmission problems, giving Janis a berth in the finals.

For the final round Janis and his supercharged entry took on K.C. Janzen and his '93 Chevy Lumina. Janis took the advantage at the start and never looked back, taking the win with a 6.487 - 215.62 to Janzen's 6.576 - 212.46.

"It's real nice to be winning. This gives us a lot of rounds to work on our IHRA Pro Modified combination. The IHRA banned billet heads so we have been forced out of IHRA Pro Modified competition for this season. All of the rounds we make this year we feel are research and development for next season when the billet heads will be legal in IHRA competition," said Janis.

For more information on Mike Janis and his Weber's Mustard Team go to Weber's Racing or check out Jan-Cen Racing Engines.

My analysis of the IHRA television show: Amateurish, pandering and technically absymal.

We have a new column! Steve Klemetti is a long time friend of The Drag Racing List. We have been corresponding from WAY back in the days of the paper Drag Racing List booklet. A true stats fan, Steve has followed an intertwining, but separate path from the Drag Racing List. While we have been busy putting together lists of all the pro, semipro, exhibition, and quicker sportsman racers in the world, Steve was busy using our lists and his own research to create his own databases.

Personal Best with Steve Klemetti will feature drivers' performance improvements from event to event during the racing year. After nearly each event, Steve will let us know which drivers improved their performance, what class they drove in, the track at which their previous best was recorded, the actual previous best performance (ET or speed), the updated ET or speed, and the track at which it was recorded. In addition, Steve will sort the amount of performance improvement for each driver, so we can follow who improved by the most. Check it out!

Bill strikes again! Danny White sent me a great story on racer Jim Cornett last fall, which, summarily, got lost in email limbo on my computer. So, better late than never (I hope), I have placed that story at Danny's Corner.

FREE CLASSIFIEDS are coming! By our next weekly update, I plan to have a free classifieds section installed at Draglist.com. I already have seen a demo of the page and it looks great. Plan to see that this week.

Drag-Speak! In his August 5th Story of the Day, Chris Stinson invited everyone to send in a paragraph written in Drag-Speak. Check out his story, then send in YOUR paragraph.

We have updated the DRL Lists with 20 MEGABYTES of fresh updates! There are many we still have to enter, but this brings us up to date with all the updates Danny White sent two weeks ago. Since then, Ky Michaelson has sent us tons of Rocket updates and Phil Elliott and Dennis Doubleday are going through the funny cars lists with special attention paid to the '60s and '70s. With all this activity, we will have much to fix very soon.

I also updated the navigation of the site a little in order to maintain a more uniform appearance and to keep both banners on the left hand side visible. Instead of a long list of links to each page, we use a NEXT and BACK format. Hopefully, this will help you to navigate more easily through draglist.com. email me with your comments on our new navigation scheme.

Welcome to the draglist.com parts store. We have teamed up with the Martel Bros. to provide you quick access to their VAST selection of hard core racing products at terrific prices. The Martel Brothers Performance Superstore logo appears on every page within draglist.com. Click on it at any time to access the parts you need. We eventually will have our own store, but thanks to the Martel Bros. for offering draglist.com readers access to their complete inventory in the meantime. Hope you enjoy the parts store. Drop us a line at any time with questions or comments.

August 7 -- Drag Racing Story of the Day: Shirley Muldowney To Race At Indy. Jon Asher provides great news for all fans of the first lady of drag racing. Drag Racing Picture of the Day: Starvin' Marvin's Lincoln with Alan Bockla on Board. Pete Garramone with a great photo from drag racing's glory days. Drag Racing Movie of the Week: Top Fuel Action at Willowbank! Carl and Simon Witt with more video action from downunder.

August 6 -- Drag Racing Story of the Day: East Coast Match Racing Across the Ages. James Morgan with words and photos of some of the coolest match race machines from '72 to present. Drag Racing Picture of the Day: Gumby vs. the Cruz Missile! Uh-oh! Somebody let Ron Dilley into the photo editing software again. Drag Racing Movie of the Week: Aussies Out for Some Fun! Another Carl Witt clip, this one featuring wild, wheelstanding doorslammer action.

August 5 -- Drag Racing Story of the Day: Drag-On Jargon. Chris Stinson provides an entertaining look at the talk we all talk. Drag Racing Picture of the Day: Alky Upset! James Morgan with a great, side-by-side alky funny car shot from Division 1.

August 4 -- Drag Racing Story of the Day: The Little Red Fueler Makes a Pass. Bill Ott with a great story of the perfect fuel dragster pass on a sunny afternoon. Drag Racing Picture of the Day: Fuel Funnies at the 'Pod. Anne Valder with a shot of the seldom-seen Santa Pod starting line and two fuel funnies ready to roar.

August 3 -- Drag Racing Story of the Day: NHRA Prolong Northwest Nationals Recap. Motorsport.com fills us in on all the action from Seattle. Drag Racing Picture of the Day: Bad, Blown Camaro! Troy and Marcy Sanborn of Lansing, Michigan, have a hot new Camaro Top Sportsman car featuring some cool graphics on the front fender.

August 2 -- Drag Racing Story of the Day: Cut Down to Size. Stan Weber reminds us not to ever take an opponent lightly, no matter how outmatched he seems to be. Drag Racing Picture of the Day: The Chi-Town Hustler at York. Stephen Jones contributes his first shot to the DRL -- a great burnout by the funny car match race kings.

August 1 -- Drag Racing Story of the Day: Vanishing Point. Gonzo and TJ enjoy the little funny car with the big rocket sound. Drag Racing Picture of the Day: The Bel Ray Streamliner. Anne Valder with an early '70s example of dragster streamlining.

That's all for now. Check it all out at the Drag Racing List.

Dear Bob: I am writing in the hope that you can help me. I have been busy over the last few months building a racing car bed for my two year old son, Jake. He loves to watch motor sport with me on the weekends, so what more could a father do than to build him his own (bed).

It looks great, even if I do say so myself, but it is missing the all important sponsor stickers that are so proudly displayed on race cars. I was wondering if you might have some available at your track. I am happy to pay for them and the postage if you have any around. Hope you can help.

A Russian scientist and a Czechoslovakian scientist had spent their lives studying the grizzly bear. Each year they petitioned their respective governments to allow them to go to Yellowstone Park to study the bears. Finally their request was granted, and they immediately flew to New York and on west to Yellowstone. They reported to the ranger station and were told that it was the grizzly mating season and it was too dangerous to go out and study the animals. They pleaded that this was their only chance, and finally the ranger relented.

The Russian and the Czech were given portable phones and told to report in every day. For several days they called in, and then nothing was heard from the two scientists. The rangers mounted a search party and found the camp completely ravaged, with no sign of the missing men. They followed the trail of a male and a female bear.

They found the female and decided they must kill the animal to see if she had eaten the scientists, because they feared an international incident. They killed the female bear and opened the stomach to find the remains of the Russian. One ranger turned to the other and said, "You know what this means, don't you?" The other ranger responded, "Of course.... the czech is in the male."

Tens of thousands of Malaysian motor sport fans will experience a taste of drag racing at Sepang International Circuit later this month when two of Australia's leading drivers perform demonstration runs in their supercharged cars. Brisbane drivers Dean McClennan and John Payne will be featured in the on track entertainment surrounding the circuit's annual twelve hour production race to be held on August 30th and 31st in conjunction with a national holiday.

Organised by Oberg Motorsports Marketing, the demonstration will mark the first time drag racing vehicles have appeared at the stunning new circuit which was constructed to host the Malaysian Formula 1 Grand Prix.

"We're extremely excited to have been able to put this demonstration together," said Rob Oberg. "Through exposure on satellite TV there's a lot of interest in drag racing through the South East Asian region and we've had a number of approaches about appearances over the last couple of years. Conducting our first demonstration in the region at the Sepang International Circuit with two of the best looking cars around is going to be fantastic exposure for our sport and hopefully a starting point for much more."

Dean McClennan competes in both the Top Alcohol and Top Comp categories with his Castrol / Autobarn Dodge Avenger Funny Car and takes part in many promotional activities with the vehicle. He commented, "We put the car on show as much as possible to provide exposure for our team and sponsors. The demonstrations we've done, like the Gold Coast Indy and the Formula GP, always have big crowds but from what we hear Malaysia's going to be even bigger. We're really keen to see the crowd reaction when we lay down the first burnout."

John Payne was one of the pioneers of the resurgence in supercharged sedans which began in Australia in the late eighties. His late model Corvette was always a feature at "Wild Bunch" events and then in the early days of the Top Doorslammer category. His new car, a 1963 Corvette, is one of the most stunning cars to hit the drag strip in some time and is sure to be a big hit in Kuala Lumpur.

"I think it's good that we've got a sedan and a funny car going over to show them two different styles of drag car," said Payne. "Both Dean and I love these sort of demos. The whole idea is to make plenty of noise and smoke in the burnout. Traction's always tricky, so you ease on down the track in the run to make sure you put on a good show without going up in too much wheel spin."

Howdy, Bob. I have selected a few special people to communicate with, and you are one of them. You may not believe that I am who I say I am, but try suspending your disbelief for just a moment.

There is a great deal of talk about whether or not I am still alive, and the fact of the matter is, I am alive and will always live, just as you will always live.

The difference is, I no longer live in the physical dimension on earth, even though I still have unfinished business there. If you look around, you will see my face on the cover of a national magazine, which demonstrates that I am still working on unfinished matters.

To finish up my business on earth, I must remain incognito, and to do this, I am going to need the help of people like yourself, but I do not expect to get something for nothing.

This is why I have chosen a program that will also provide some extra money for you, as you help me complete my unfinished business on earth. The program that I am about to share with you was developed by my friend and companion who also lives here in the parallel universe.

There are many people on earth who need all kinds of help, and souls like myself who dwell in this dimension are committed to helping them out in various ways. Running this program is one of the many ways that I am able to provide some monetary help to some of them.

I need your help to keep it going, but the great thing is, you will be greatly rewarded for your efforts. After you have entered into the program, I will give you the opportunity to get all of the details of my experience as I passed from earth into the parallel universe. I will appear to you in a dream three days after you enter into the program. Hopefully, we will be able to spend some quality time together.

However, first things first. Let me tell you how to get into the program and make some money as you help me out in finishing up my business.

Here is the program. You may want to save it, print it out, and read it carefully. To do this, click on "File" and "Save As" "email.txt" If necessary, get some help in saving, printing and editing this email.

Here is the entire program.....

From Reno, Nevada, on Wednesday. She joked about the g-string bikini she was wearing underneath being a better picture.... but I think my camera would have melted, so....

Ashley Power, the 15-year-old Southern California teenager "responsible" for the phenomenal success of the teen-oriented website, Goosehead.com, today announced that her company will sponsor the return of four-time World Champion Shirley Muldowney to the NHRA Winston drag racing series. The first woman to be licensed to drive a Top Fuel dragster, and the most honored driver in the history of drag racing, the three-time NHRA championís return will come during the prestigious NHRA U.S. Nationals over Labor Day Weekend at Indianapolis Raceway Park in Indiana.

"I can't begin to tell you how excited we all are to have Shirley representing us," said Ms. Power during a press conference at Goosehead.com's headquarters in Studio City. "I have to admit that I wasn't a fan of drag racing before meeting Shirley, but I'd heard numerous stories of her efforts to break into the sport some years ago, and I was impressed. I know Shirley has received all kinds of awards and honors down through the years, but I'm still not sure that she's been given enough credit for her accomplishments.

"All through her racing career she was told she couldn't do this, or she couldn't do that, but each and every time she proved her detractors wrong, which I can relate to, because I heard the same things in building Goosehead.com. "We believe she's an exceptional role model for women of all ages, and that certainly includes all of my friends who're involved with Goosehead.com."

Muldowney last competed in an NHRA Winston series national event in 1998 in Texas, but has remained active with appearances in match races as well as on the IHRA national event circuit. She recently set that organization's all-time speed mark with a run in excess of 319 miles per hour at the Amalie Oil Summer Nationals in Cordova, Illinois, where she was also the Number 1 qualifier with an elapsed time of 4.741 seconds.

She'd previously set a new track record at the Grand Bend Motorplex in Ontario, Canada with a speed of 310.13 miles per hour on her way to a runner-up finish in the Mopar Parts Canadian Nationals.

"I enjoyed racing on the IHRA circuit," said Ms. Muldowney from her home in Armada, Michigan via telephone, "but I'm really looking forward to racing at Indy. There's no other race like the U.S. Nationals, and I'm proud to have been the only woman to have ever won a professional title there (in 1982). Rahn (Tobler, Muldowney's husband and crew chief) and I would like nothing better than to have an impact on this year's points race, and I think we can do that with a good showing at Indy.

"When I first heard from Ashley, and she began to tell me about Goosehead.com I was immediately interested. Believe me, this young woman is truly something special. She's taken the concept of a teen-oriented web site and made it into a very special 'meeting place' for young people, but it's really a lot more than that.

"It's really an honor for me to be representing Goosehead.com at Indy, and while I certainly hope all of our fans will be there, for those that can't make it there's going to be special coverage of our activities on Goosehead.com every day during the Nationals. I won't try and fool anyone about my computer knowledge, which is pretty slim, but I've been getting a crash course from Ashley, and when you surf through the site you'll be blown away at how neat it is, and Ashley gets the credit for that."

In addition to the web operation, Goosehead.com has just signed a contract with MGM Television to take its first web series entitled "Whatever" to broadcast television. In addition, talks are underway between Ashley and her advisors and several television networks to develop a program tentatively titled "Goosehead TV," which will be a teen-oriented music and talk show. Ms. Power was instrumental not only in the development of both program concepts, but has already written the scripts for several episodes, which are currently viewable as streaming video at Gooshead.com.

Qualifying for the 16-car U.S. Nationals Top Fuel field begins with an evening session on Friday, September 1, with additional qualifying runs taking place Saturday and Sunday. Eliminations commence at 11:00 AM Labor Day Monday morning.

My name is Carly Smith and I will be publishing an e-zine called "Racing Women Digest" beginning in October. It will target women in drag racing and will be located at Raceher. What can we do to add our link to your links list?

WARNING - NEW VIRUS ANNOUNCED BY IBM; PASS THIS ON TO ANYONE YOU HAVE AN E-MAIL ADDRESS FOR

If you receive an e-mail titled "Lets watch TV" DO NOT OPEN IT. It will erase everything on your hard drive. This information was announced yesterday morning from IBM. AOL states that "KALI" is a very dangerous virus, much worse than "Melissa", and there is NO remedy for it at this time. Some very sick individual has succeeded in using the reformat function from Norton Utilities, causing it to completely erase all documents on the hard drive.

It has been designed to work with Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer. It destroys Macintosh and IBM compatible computers. This is a new, very malicious virus and not many people know about it. Pass this warning along to EVERYONE in your address book and please share it with all your on-line friends ASAP so that this threat may be stopped.

Please practice cautionary measures and tell anyone that may have access to your computer. Forward this warning to everyone that might access the Internet.

The area just behind the shop has been filled and is now level. Soon we will be moving your container to its "home" along the back edge of the property. When your trailer arrives, you can park the trailer next to the container for easy access to your "workshop".

The pad I have poured for the building behind the shop has a trench filled with single phase, three phase, water and air lines, which will end up near "container row" to give everyone access to the necessities. I have a guy that will pour and finish the pad for $400 and I get a great deal on concrete at $121 a cubic meter.

Do you want a pad out back for your container to sit on and have some concrete on each side to work off of as well as concrete to park the trailer on? I know steel things (containers and trailers) do not like sitting on the open ground as it causes them to rust. I could make the pad just a little longer than the container and give it ten or twelve feet (or more if you want) on each side. What do you think?

Bob: Yeah, happy birthday back to you, young fart. Phil Elliott and I are going to Prince George this weekend, then across to Edmonton for their National Open on Tuesday and Wednesday (hot August Nights), then down to Boise for their Nightfire Nationals. See you in Mission on 18th - 19th & 20th for the S/S combo. Happy Birthday again.

You're not getting older . . . you're getting . . . . uh . . . well ya . . . you ARE getting older!

Happy Birthday, you old fart! I was looking at the photos of you with the birthday cake (or was it a 1970's funny car oil fire?), and the scary thing is, you're looking more like Walt Austin every day!

Bob, I'm very sorry it is taking so long to get you the photos you requested. I am having problems getting the Corvette of Darrell Webb, and the Firenza of Brent Jones. No one seems to have a picture of two of our other members' cars. These photos are of Bruce Oliver's Daytona, and of his T-Bird. Actually it's not his bird, its the bird that the mold came from, from his bird. No one has seen Bruce's T-Bird yet. I was just told tonight, that Bruce was originally from Mission, (he now lives in Saskatchewan), ever heard of him?

Happy 49.999 Birthday! That means this greeting is taking place one hour before the stroke of midnight. Happy, happy, happy 50th tomorrow!

On a more somber note, I'm sorry to break the news, but we won't have the Team on a Mission hot dog stand at the Pro Mod weekend (August 26-27th). It's hard trying to get help and people to committ to helping us out. Still, we did well for our rookie year, in the hot-dog deal. We will have to reorganize for next year.

See you at the Oldtime Drags and the Pro Mod Shootout.

Bob, I had no idea you were such a young kid. Come over to my pit area one of these race weekends and I'll tell you about the good old days. Happy downward slide!

Hi Bob: Further to your request for information on the cars coming to the Loafers race on August 12-13, I now have all of the names of the IBAA Pro Alcohol competitors, but the remainder of the pictures will have to wait until tomorrow, as they havn't yet come in.

The race, I understand, will be a 7.50 elimination style race, with two rounds of qualifying. There may even be a burn out contest for the funnys, sponsored by Enderle Fuel Injection, during one of the qualifing rounds. Watch for Edmonton's Burnout King, Darrell Webb, in his Lucas Oil sponsored '82 Corvette, to smoke 'em the whole quarter mile. Its something to see.

Other competitors will be myself, Jay Mageau, with our Mageau Family Racing 1957 Chev funny,(Edmonton); Brent Jones, from Great Falls, Montana, in his '86 Firenza bodied car; Lloyd Dyck, from Lethbridge, Alberta, in his '97 Z28; Chris Egan, from your neck of the woods, with his '82 TransAm; and last but not least, Bruce Oliver, from Marshall, Saskatchewan, with his brand new body (we hope) a '55 T-Bird funny car.

Bruce has been running the last few years with a '90 Daytona body on the car, and after speaking with him tonight by phone, will be putting the final touches on the new T-Bird this week, and hopes to debut it at Mission. Bruce tells me not to get too excited about the body just yet, as they won't have time to paint it, and it will only be in primer, but I am excited.

What a sight it will be to see the '57 Chevy running against the '55 T-Bird. Ford vs. Chevy. Bruce and I already have a small rivalry going on, and now that he has the new body, its going to get even more intense. Here's one of the pictures anyways, the rest to follow. Thanks in advance.

There are some press releases that really need jazzing up from the p.r. flak. This is not one of them. The following is a raw, verbatim transcript of WW2 Racing majordomo, Jim "Holy Smokes" Murphy as he recalled and reflected upon the participation of the WW2 AA/Fuel Dragster at the Goodguys 5th West Coast Hot Rod Happenin' at the Pomona Raceway last weekend.

By way of introduction to Murphy's refections let me say that Murphy went out in the first round of competition against his new nemesis and fly-in-the-ointment, the Gotelli Speed Shop AA/Fueler out of South San Franciso. This did not set well with Murphy as evinced by his staccato remembrance on the phone this evening, which was sort of a free verse soliloquy that was delivered at the ack-ack clip of anti-aircraft fire.

Aspiring nitromaniacs would do well to pay attention to this transcript as Murphy drops some fundamental nitro science here. To the benefit of the readers of this release, please be advised that I could barely get a word in edgewise with Murphy as he was on a roll, baby.

I had to contrast this interview with the only words that came out of Murphy's mouth Saturday evening as he surveyed a somewhat gooey lane (it had just been dumped on) and mentally prepared to do-or-die his way into the show. He said then that ""this will provide us with an opportunity to excel." Uh huh.

Okay, so here it is, the more-or-less unexpurgated "Holy Smokes" Reader:

"We stepped on our private parts. It was a tough weekend for us. We were behind from square one. We got the new tires (M&H's with different sidewalls) and we went to mount them up Friday afternoon and one of the tubes had gone bad so Judy and I climbed in the truck and went back over the Grapevine and I got 'em fixed (at Ernie Hashim's M&H repository in Bakersfield) and came back that night (note: a five hour round trip).

"It wasn't a bad weekend... (perhaps) because the Lord was watching out for us. There were two issues that we could have blown the car to smithereens and that didn't catch us.

"We had a blower problem to start with, that (also) got us off on the wrong foot and I attribute some of that to air. The (adjusted) altitude was high and we shook on the first run with the new tire because we were down on power. I never even looked at the blower real carefully; we went on to fire it in the pits afterwards; everything had looked fine so we just stepped on it a little bit; and we fired it and everything stopped running.

It ran for about fifteen seconds and shut itself off. What happened was that on the run one of the screws -- this is something that everyone should know is that the screws for the rotor need to be locked tight -- one of the screws came loose, the rotor came apart and disintergrated inside the mag and shorted itself out and it just stopped running. Had that happened on the run it would have been real ugly.

"That was a good thing but a bad thing. So we put a new cap and a new rotor on and it turned out we had sheared the bottom shaft. We went to fire it and it wouldn't fire, it just went "whup-bup-bup-bup-bup."

"So that is why we were late to make our last qualifying run and of course when we got there we had nice big oil slick in front of us. We got down through that and actually our 60' and 330' times were pretty good on that deal, a 1.11 and a 2.82, which is pretty good for us. It's usually a 1.13 to a 1.15. But then we had that oil slick and it was just spinnin' 'em to beat the band and I was out of the throttle some to about two thirds throttle, holding the brake the whole way and managed to get it on down there and run a 6.30.

"Saturday night we went through the whole thing and that's when we found we had a problem with the blower. We got that all fixed and put a fresh blower on. Frankly, I made a mistake because we put a little thinner head gasket in it to hop it up for eliminations and we normally run 16 (percent) over on the blower and we ran it up to 18. It was stout. I should have just put the fresh blower on and it would have been alright because it left hard and went 30 or 40 feet and it just blew the tires off.

"On the run against Gotelli -- and they are running really, really well -- their 60' and 330' was 1.14 and 2.83. We should have just left it alone; made the blower right and it would've run better.

"I made the wrong decision. I knew Larry was going to run good. I knew we weren't going to go out there and run 6.20 and beat him, I felt."

"It's still wide open unless Bill wins at Sears Point (Sept. 9 & 10). There are three or four guys--us, Larry Gotelli, Rance (McDaniel, Champion Speed Shop) that are probably hovered together there. We are only two rounds behind.

"We are a fairly intense team. We enjoy ourselves but we are not fun and games. Our main purpose is to do as well as we can while we're there."

"We could have just as easily not qualified. It shook (on the first run Saturday) and the one bolt that holds the gear on the idler had backed off. Had that come all the way out--we found that when we changed the overdrive and pulled the blower pulley off--we could have an explosion. Had that bolt come out it would've been real ugly. It was not as successful as we would have liked, but we were certainly being watched over."

Racing itinerary for WW2:

For more on the WW2 AA/Fuel Dragster, point your browser to:
WW2 Racing.

Jack "the Sheriff" Harris, the wayward layman vigilante, came out to Smogtown (aka Pomona) with his Utah Posse and their Chrysler-powered fuel dragster last weekend to settle a score: to avenge a crushing defeat from a young nitro gunslinger out of the San Francisco territory known as "the Goat."

In June, Larry Gotelli, Jr., aka "the Goat," had beaten Harris to the draw by mere thousandths of a second at Indianapolis, Indiana, claiming victory at the Goodguys Hot Rod Nationals despite Harris establishing a Goodguys VRA Elapsed Time Record for AA/Fuel Dragsters of 6.01 seconds.

At the Goodguys final Pomona drag race, however, the tables would turn as Harris set his sights on his ultimate quarry: the big-block Chevy of the "The Goat."

Enroute to his showdown with Gotelli, Harris began making his way through the 8-car field thusly: a first round joust with Lee Jennings and the "California Trucker" entry was an absolute barnburner. Both of these guys drove the wheels off (figuratively speaking) as Harris lit off the pad first and Jennings nipped at his heels for the length of the drag strip. Harris turned on the bubblegum machines first, 6.21 - 228 and Jennings went 6.27 - 228 in defeat.

Subsequently, against "Wild Bill" Alexander and the "Ground Zero" bunch outta' Chowchilla, California, Harris shone again. This looked like a spankin' drag race out of the hole, but Alexander struck the tires 200 feet into the run on a track surface that was reportedly 140 plus degrees Fahrenheit; Harris motored to the finish line unabated, while Alexander gave it half a beat to calm down and began to give chase; no bueno, however, as Harris took the bounty on the gunslinger known as "Wild Bill" with a 6.27 to Alexander's 6.76.

This set up the final AA/Fueler showdown on Parker Avenue, which transpired (rather appropriately) as the sun began to set in the West. Curiously, the Goat went in deep as he staged the car, but "the Sheriff" remained non-plussed. The light went green and Harris welded Gotelli to the tree; it was a coast to coast exhibition of sheer sturm and drang as both cars turned 6.19 (!). As Gotelli's mill puffed some piston smoke in the traps, the winlight bulbs did a circuit chase in Harris' lane. Vengeance is sweet.

By virtue of their conquest of Top Eliminator at Pomona, Harris moves up two positions to the #7 spot. Low ET and Top Time were captured by Gotelli Speed Shop at 6.14 and 235 mph, respectively.

Rance McDaniel, driver for Champion Speed Shop, is no stranger to the Pomona Fairplex, having won at the NHRA Finals in 1993. On the difference between the retro-style front-engined cars and the rear-engined cars like he drove to victory here in '93, he said: "I used to shut my eyes. On this one (with the blower in front) I don't have to" McDaniel also said that the costs are very similar between running the NHRA circuit and the vintage/retro circuit. They both cost "everything you have."

Despite plenty of track prep, the surface at Pomona was as hot as a 99 cent fast food taco, if not as greasy. On Sunday, Howard Haight of the "Circuit Breaker" AA/FD called it a "two and a half finger racetrack," meaning that he would apply pressure on the handbrake with two and half fingers as he banged off of the starting line. (Psssttt! Apparently some of the fueler guys drive one handed!)

Due to confusion and erroneous information posted on an internet mailing list, the passing of the wrong John Bradley was eulogized over the public address system at Pomona. The John Bradley who passed away was not the one most nitromaniacs associate with drag racing, i.e., "Mr. Flathead," who has been campaigning flatheads on nitromethane for half a century.

"Mr. Flathead" is still very much alive and was, in fact, racing his flathead-powered dragster in Northern California concurrent to the news of his alleged passing (shades of Mark Twain !) Regardless of the error, condolences are shared with the family of other John Bradley.

As we enter the dawg days of summer, here's how the List stacks up:

Photos from the Goodguys VRA West Coast Hot Rod Happenin' can be viewed by pointing your browser to: Pomona Photos. (Catchy title for the page, huh?)

The next two AA/FD events that will count towards placement and position on the NR AA/FD List will be the Nightfire Nationals, August 11-13, Boise, Idaho; and the Heartland Hot Rod Reunion, August 18-20, Noble, Oklahoma.

For more details about where they stand and why, go to: THE NITRONIC RESEARCH AA/FD LIST