I'm writing to say thank you for posting your prospectus and support material. We used your format to acquire sponsors for our Junior Dragster race team. I also put together my "Top 10 Ways" list, which are a mixture of your 101 Ways and added some things more specific to junior drag racing.

I will give credit to Northern Thunder on message boards, etc., if you like. We can also provide a link to your site from our site at Team Finley Racing if you desire. Thank you again for sharing this information.

Hi, Bob. Please find attached your itinerary and invoice for the Qantas flight we discussed and booked yesterday. If you are unable to download either of these documents, please let me know and I will fax them to you. Thanks.

PS: Don't forget that the full amount of the airfare is due no later than October 11.

Just wanted to see if you would like to trade links. Check out my website and let me know. Then submit a request if you would like to. Let me know what you think about my site; there is a comment box where you submit.

Well, we will have to wait another day for our story to air. If it ever does now! Due to the death of Pierre Trudeau, our story has been put on hold. I will let you know when it will be broadcast.

I've known you for several years now and I know you need to be reminded about things. This is a reminder of the stuff we need you to ship. This reminder will repeat until you email me that you shipped it.

Just to let you know that the story of the "Drag Racers" will be shown tomorrow (Friday, September 28th) due to the death of the former Prime Minister, Pierre Trudeau. Our story will be told a day later on VTV "News at Six".

Just to let you know that while the media has been doing a lot of street racing stories, with all the accidents and deaths, we, as drag racers, are fighting back. The bad name we get when they call street racing "Drag Racing", and when the kids on the news said they had nowhere to race their cars.

Well, we wanted to set them straight: they do have a track to race at, and they should try our drag racing because this is where it should be done, at the track, in a safe, controlled manner.

So we met with VTV News and five of us drag racers told our side of the story and promoted our racing at the track. This news segment is supposed to be on Thursday's VTV News at Six, but we're not sure yet.

Howard looks for another 'up' in her up and down season

Federal-Mogul Dragster pilot Shelly Howard will be looking for her first win of the season during this weekend's Parts America Nationals to be held at Heartland Park, just outside of Topeka, Kansas.

The Tulsa, Oklahoma, native has had a season full up up's and down's, with the highlight of her season being a semifinal finish at the U.S. Nationals, followed by a first round loss at the Noble, Oklahoma Division 4 race. In a season that has had enough bad breaks to make almost anyone want to quit, Howard always looks at the next race as a clean slate.

Howard said, "I like Topeka, it is a nice track. If I am on my game, and the car is running well, then it will be business as usual. We'll just have to see what the weather does to see how good we will run. The air should be fairly good."

Unlike some other teams, Howard plans to run her current Tom Conway designed combination that she has now and polish it for next season, rather than go into an R&D mode.

"I would like to win a race before the end of the year," said Howard. "I don't think there will be a lot of changes for next year. We just want to have the car running as well as we can and hone my driving skills for next year. We want to come out next year with a fresh outlook, and start it all over again."

Qualifying begins today for the Federal-Mogul Dragsters at 1:00 PM. Stay tuned to SummitRacing.com's Drag Race Central for round by round updates of the racing action from Topeka.

For more information on the Howard team, visit their website at: Shelly Howard Racing.

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After releasing our website prematurely, it is now online. Hope you enjoy it and please let me know.

This is just to let you know that VTV News has been doing stories about the street racers. We, as drag racers, are fuming that these kids say there is no place for them to race. We want to tell our side of the story, so I did a little research, and the reporter wants to meet with some real drag racers, to interview for Thursday's news segment.

We are meeting with the reporter at Cruiser's Restaurant (21671 Fraser Highway, Langley) Wednesday night at 7:00 PM. If any racers are interested, please attend, and voice your concerns and opinions. Bring video, and/or pictures, to show how our racing is very safe, compared to their street racing.

We want to get out the message to the street racers to come to the track and get into bracket racing, or just come for the test and tune sessions. These are mostly import (car) racers, so they need to know that the doors are open at Mission at just about any race that is on, besides the street legal program.

This is short notice, but they actually wanted to meet with us tonight and that was just too short, so tomorrow (Wednesday) is the date. Let's try to get these kids off the street and on to the drag strip. I know we won't be able to stop them for racing on the street, but at least let them know that there is a place for them at the track.

Meyer's championship hopes end at Thunder Valley

Federal-Mogul Dragster pilot Jay Meyer had his title hopes put to an end in his semifinal loss to eventual winner Bruce Bowler during the Division 4 finale at Thunder Valley Raceway Park in Noble, Oklahoma.

Meyer, who qualified No. 2 with an elapsed time of 5.530 at 254.81 mph, defeated the No. 1 alternate Larry Traugott in the first round before meeting up with Division 5 A/Fuel powerhouse Bowler in the semifinals. Meyer's brakes would not hold, resulting in a red-light that disqualified his 5.588 at 251.11 mph to Bowler's winning 5.567 at 256.99.

"It was a combination of things," said Meyer of his loss. "I was trying to leave with the motor higher, the racetrack was getting really good. We thought we had a handle on it when we ran that .53 in qualifying. Then we broke a rear end, and the air changed on us. The track got really good when it got cold. We just got behind the eight-ball from there."

"I tried to leave at a higher rpm, the brakes wouldn't hold, and it started to creep through the beams. I never saw the top bulb go out or the red-light, or I never would have drove it all over the racertrack as bad out of shape as it was on that run. I never saw him, and I wasn't going to lift."

Even with the tough loss in Noble, Meyer still feels that the year has been a success for the team, and looks to get ready for the 2001 season. Meyer said, "We will finish the season out in Dallas and Houston, and try to stay in front of Jeff Wilson for second place overall.

Over the off-season we will send the motor up to Tom Conway (tuning consultant) to put on the dyno, go out and do some testing and try some new things. We're going to race next year as hard as we did this year."

"I have to congratulate Rick Santos on the Championship. He did a great job, and is a great champion. We have enjoyed being mentioned in the same breath as those guys. This year has been a lot of fun. It has by far been the best year I have ever had.

I have to thank my crew that has been behind me all year. Stacy McLemore, my crew chief, and Tom Conway for all the help they have given us this year. Also, my son Bruce, my wife Dixie, assistant crew chief Jim Morrison, Will Hanna and Stuart Herbst. This year has been a blast, and we have all enjoyed it. We didn't get Santos this year, maybe we'll get him next year."

The Meyer team will finish their season in their home state of Texas, first in Dallas at the Texas Motorplex for the O'Reilly Fall Nationals, then back to his home track of Houston Raceway Park for the Matco Tools Fall SuperNationals.

"Every time I think we got this car figured out, it gets away from us," Meyer commented. "But that just comes with more experience. We don't get down, we don't get aggravated, we just move on to the next race. We'll take what we learned in Noble, and put it in the book for next year. I doubt anything we learned the last time we were in Dallas in May will apply to the upcoming race because it was so hot then. We have raced there several times and done pretty good, so I'm sure we'll come up with something."

Thanks for the kind words on the Harley page Bob. It means a lot to me coming from you and I appreciate it. I couldn't have done it without help from my gal Dawn (Mazi) too. Will we meet you at the California Hot Rod Reunion.

Fuentes damages motor in qualifying, unable to compete

Rookie Federal-Mogul Dragster driver Joe Fuentes was unable to compete in eliminations of the final Division 4 Federal Mogul Drag Racing Series event of the year at Thunder Valley Raceway Park in Noble, Oklahoma, due to a damaged crankshaft.

Fuentes, owner of a large air conditioning company in Austin, Texas, qualified No. 7 with a career best elapsed time of 5.738 at 201.83 mph in Saturday morning's first qualifying session. Then in the last qualifying session, Fuentes went into heavy tireshake, and eventually aborted the run after getting on and off the throttle several times. Fuentes believes that is when the crankshaft was hurt. Nevertheless, Fuentes feels that the weekend met his goal: gaining valuable experience and knowledge.

"Even though we didn't get to race and hurt the crank, this weekend was a really good learning experience for us," Fuentes said. "Tom Conway came over and gave us some help this weekend, so between the help Tom has given us and our new crew chief Ora Vasquez has given us, we are really moving in the right direction."

"On that 5.73 pass, the throttle cable came off at around 1000 feet," added Fuentes. "Tom said that it should have been a high or mid 5.50. I think we are finally getting close to where we need to be performance-wise."

Fuentes' next event will be the O'Reilly Fall Nationals, presented by Castrol Syntec at the famed Texas Motorplex near Dallas, Texas. Fuentes hopes to pick up his first round win in competition, and more.

"We are really pumped about going to Dallas now after this weekend," Fuentes commented. "Ora will be there, and the car is running really well, so we are better off than we have ever been."

Brakes lead to early exit for Howard

Federal-Mogul Dragster driver Shelly Howard had another tough loss in a season full of bad breaks during this past weekend's final Division 4 race at Thunder Valley Raceway Park in Noble, Oklahoma.

Howard, of Tulsa, Oklahoma, qualified No. 4 with an elapsed time of 5.559 at 255.31 mph, but was defeated by No. 5 qualifier Troy Buff's 5.645 at 254.23 mph to Howard's right-there 5.648 at 249.94.

"It was just a bad round," said Howard. "The brakes wouldn't hold on the starting line. The car was rolling through the [starting line] beams and deep staged. I didn't want to redlight, so I didn't cut the tree as hard as I usually do and was late."

Howard's troubles did not end there. A valve cover gasket was pushed out around the 900 ft mark that covered the tires with oil. "I had my hands full down there," commented Howard. "It was on a really good run, and was going straight, then all of a sudden it made a hard left turn. It was just a fluke deal. All of the valve cover nuts were tight, and it was a fairly new gasket. It just goes par for the way this year has gone."

Undaunted, Howard will move on to her next event, the Parts America Nationals at Heartland Park near Topeka, Kansas. "We'll just do like we always do, put the last race behind us," said Howard. "No matter how good or bad you do at your last race, it is a new ballgame when you get to the next track. We will give it our best, and that is all we can do."

For more information on the Howard team, visit their website at: Shelly Howard Racing. Visit Howard's associate sponsor RacerPage for all of your Internet racing needs.

Your website has been very quiet lately. What's going on? Did you get a life? If you did, I'm jealous. These darn websites sure take up a lot of time to keep up to date and fresh! Here's hoping everything is OK and you are just taking some time off and having a good time.

By the way, did you ship the engine bearings (for your car) yet? You know we can't start it unless you ship the bearings. And how's the light bulbs (for the Chaparral) coming?

It's still very dry here, and most everything, including my black Dooley is a pale shade of tan from the dust. Since we aren't on town water, we are purchasing water at least once every two or three weeks. The pond is getting low as well as we have been using that water to wet the driveway down to keep the dust down a little.

Guess what? We sold a Fiat body to a guy in Missouri last week.... hooray for the internet. It went in the container which docks on October 3rd and gets forwarded from Los Angeles to him. Sales to the US have been going at almost one a week now. What a novelty: selling race car stuff to the US from my shed out next to my home in Oxenford (Gold Coast) Queensland .... how weird is that?

I just realized that we do make some stuff that is not available in the US. At the top of that list would have to be the crank supports for Cleveland's and Fontana's.

I just closed the deal on a B&J "Fat Boy" and swapped my Supermag 3 for a Supermag 4 and purchased a PSI rev limiter. The Littlefield has been re-nylatroned and tefloned and is assembled and ready to sit on the car. The Rodeck is getting a little line hone and then it goes back together. I know it won't run big numbers, but it's better being on the starting line than in the crowd. (I just hope you won't beat me up too bad when we race).

I know I'm 53, but the birth of my daughter has made me feel all new and ready to give it a fresh go. I wish I had some better parts but I'd rather take what I have to the starting line and give it the shot that I do have. Looks like the crew will have to do double duty...!

I look forward to each Sunday so I can spend some time with Samantha. As I sit there holding her, I look at her and and the feeling is indescribable. I've won a lot of races and a few championships and even set a few records over the years, but nothing is as good as looking into her eyes.

September 25:
Drag Racing Story of the Day: Rain Can't Dampen Spirits at Atco Super Stock Spectacular. Joel Naprstek checks in with highlights of Atco's rained out nostalgia bash. Drag Racing Picture of the Day: Army Men! Tony Schumacher and the Troops at Englishtown. New contributor Glen Fredericks provides a nice burnout shot of the US Army Top Fueler at E-town. Drag Racing Movie of the Week: Aussie Fuelers Light Up the Night. Simon and Carl Witt team up to bring us nitro flames at night from down under.

September 24:
Drag Racing Story of the Day: Money, Money, Money... or Why Drag Racers are Always Pulling Up Their Pants. Bill Pitts explains this strange drag racing phenomenon. Drag Racing Picture of the Day: Top Banana -- This is How to Race a BMW. Gonzo with some nice photo art of a BMW drag car. Drag Racing Movie of the Week: Flamin' Freddy's Blown, Alky Burning Pickup. The famous Sharkman checks in with a great video of Freddy Fagerstrom's blown, alky burning Pro Mod Chevy pickup.

September 23:
Drag Racing Story of the Day: Smith Takes September Texas Quick 8 Association Win. Danny White fills us in on all the hot doorslammer action from Kennedale! Drag Racing Picture of the Day: Girls Can Get 'em Up, Too. James Morgan catches IHRA Pro Outlaw driver Laurie Cannister as she powerstands off the line at New England.

September 22:
Drag Racing Story of the Day: The NITRO Natural. Bill "Badco" Ott hooks another unsuspecting innocent on the evils of NITRO! Drag Racing Picture of the Day: Global Warming with Ice. Ron "Ice Cube" Dilley captures Gary Scelzi's Top Fueler as it warms the chilly air at the Keystone Nationals.

September 21:
Drag Racing Story of the Day: NHRA Keystone Nationals News and Notes. Billy Anderson provides the interesting observations from Maple Grove. Drag Racing Picture of the Day: S/FX Fire Burnout -- Don't Try This at Home! Joel Naprstek and Pete Orres team up to promote this weekend's Nostalgia meet at Atco with a super fire burnout shot of Brian Kohlmann's wild Factory Experimental Dodge!

September 20:
Drag Racing Story of the Day: Kuhlmann Flirts with the Fives! John Lindsey with the inside story on Bill Kuhlmann's 6.00-second brush with history. Drag Racing Picture of the Day: Head of the Class. James Morgan captures Jim Head on his way to victory at IHRA Epping.

September 19:
Drag Racing Story of the Day: War Horse Aims to Become the Quickest Roots Blown Funny Car. Bruce Mullins hit another career best ET and speed at Reading and he tells all about it. Drag Racing Picture of the Day: Ron Capps at the Keystone Nationals. Greg Gage provides a nice shot of the Reading funny car runner up with flames high!

New Exclusive BONUS Photos! Les Welch provides high quality photos from NHRA Maple Grove. Click to see thumbnails of the photos, then click the thumbnails to see full size photos of the cars. Each photo contains a link directly to the racer's official website. Check in and see how they did in Reading. Here is the link: NHRA Keystone Nationals at Maple Grove. Check it out. Updated Personal Best with Steve Klemetti. Steve provides all the updates from IHRA Epping and NHRA Maple Grove.

Good morning Mr. Wilson, are you awake yet? I'll phone you at 12 noon.

The Fat Lady is Singing!

Fuentes hopes to start new learning curve in Noble

Federal-Mogul Dragster rookie Joe Fuentes will be looking not so much for a win during this weekend's final Division 4 race at Thunder Valley Raceway Park in Noble, Oklahoma, but valuable knowledge and seat time to make him a better driver for the 2001 season.

The Leander, Texas, based driver will be at his first race since splitting ways with the Troy Buff team out of Houston. With tuning advice and lessons from veteran wrench Ora Vasquez out of California, Fuentes feels he is moving in the right direction.

Fuentes said, "We're just looking to get the car hooked up this weekend with the new tune-up we have from Ora. This thing really has a lot more low end power. My gameplan is basically just to go and make a few good passes. I'm not even worried if I don't qualify. Learning and getting used to the new set up is our main priority right now; it has a lot more power than old set up."

"We have done some testing over the last few weeks, but I have never got a hold of the track," Fuentes added. "I am a new driver, and we have some new guys in the crew, so it's just going to take a while for us to gel."

New crew chief Ora Vasquez certainly knows his way around an alcohol dragster. The 70 year old veteran has worked with the likes of Alan Johnson and Cory McClenathan when they ran in the Top Alcohol Dragster ranks, and now serves not only as a tuner, but teacher to the rookie Fuentes.

"He's not just doing the work and tuning, but he's teaching us," Fuentes commented. "That's what I like about him. He tells us what to do, and what to look for in the problem areas of these motors. So he is more of a teacher for us right now. He sure knows what he's doing."

Qualifying begins at 5 p.m. on Friday for the Federal-Mogul Dragsters, with two more sessions on Saturday. Final eliminations will begin on Sunday. Stay tuned to SummitRacing.com's Drag Race Central for day by day updates on the racing action from Noble.

We've set a new grand opening date for the Warwick & District Drag Racing Association's new track at Warwick, in South Queensland. Please check out the home page and then click on our "Scheduled Events" link for all the current updates. We've got this coming weekend's bracket meet, the grand opening meet and all the other meetings to be held for the remainder of the year listed.

Howard looks for first win of the year at Division 4 finale

Federal-Mogul Dragster driver Shelly Howard hopes to improve on her semifinal finish at the U.S. Nationals with her first win of the year during this weekend's final Division 4 Federal-Mogul Drag Racing Series event at Thunder Valley Raceway Park in Noble, Oklahoma.

The Tulsa, Oklahoma, registered nurse has had an up and down season. Howard started the year off with a bang by running an elapsed time of 5.416 to qualify her No. 1 at the Division 4 FMDRS race at the Texas Motorplex (Ennis, Texas), making her the third quickest Blown Alcohol Dragster in the world.

Then her season took a turn for the worse, as she was plagued with a string of first and second round losses, and many bad breaks. Through hard work and perserverance, Howard made it to the semifinals of the biggest race of the year, the U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis, Indiana, and hopes that race was the turning point she has been looking for all year.

Howard said, "I don't take any race any different from any other. I just like to run my own race, and not worry about who is in the other lane. I don't take for granted making it to the semifinals of the U.S. Nationals, it's just that every race is a new ballgame. We are going to go into this race with a positive attitude, do our best, and take it one round at a time."

With the tuning help of two time World Champion Tom Conway, Howard looks for a strong performance in front of her home state fans in Noble. "I think the car should be able to run in the 5.50's," commented Howard. "It really depends on the temperature of the track. The Oklahoma weather can change at any minute. There will be a few A/Fuel cars there, and if the air gets really good, they will really step up, so it's hard to say what the track can hold."

Qualifying begins at 5 p.m. Friday for the Federal-Mogul Dragsters, with two more sessions on Saturday. Final eliminations will be run on Sunday. Stay tuned to Summit Racing's Drag Race Central for day by day updates on the racing action in Noble.

Visit Howard's associate sponsor Racer Page for all of your internet racing needs and for more information on the Howard team, visit their website at Shelly Howard Racing

Meyer gears up for showdown of the year at Thunder Valley

Federal-Mogul Dragster title contender Jay Meyer will enter his biggest race of the year thus far during this weekend's Division 4 Federal-Mogul Drag Racing Series closer at Thunder Valley Raceway Park in Noble, Oklahoma.

Meyer enters the race just one week after defending World Champion Rick Santos completed his perfect ten win season (only 5 out of 10 national events and 5 out of 8 divisional races can count towards championship points) with his fifth in-division win at the Division 7 (Pacific Division) race in Salt Lake City, Utah. With the win, Santos forced a must-win situation on the Meyer team to pick up their fifth in-division win this weekend in Noble, the final Division 4 race of the year.

"We're going to push it as hard as we can to win," said Meyer. "We're not going to roll over. It's a do or die situation; the whole season comes down to this one race. We still have this one chance, and we're going to give it all we have to win. We just have to take it one round at a time, and hop it up as much as we can get away with. This is just one step. Win this race, then move on to the next one."

In addition to the challenge of facing a must-win situation, Santos is expected to show up in an attempt to clinch his fate. Meyer has been quoted earlier in the season as not being ready for Santos, but now feels confident that he has the power to run with Santos, anchored with a recent win at the U.S. Nationals.

Meyer said, "We have to beat him sooner or later to be the World Champion. We have to beat him at least once, so it is actually a good thing that he might show up. We'll get our chance to beat him and win the race at the same time. If he comes, we'll race him like we do everyone else," Meyer added.

Given his past experience at the Thunder Valley facility, Meyer feels the track can hold some pretty good elapsed times. "I think we should be able to run in the 5.50's, if the air is cool enough," Meyer commented. "Maybe even the .40's. Noble is a pretty good racetrack."

For more information on the Meyer team, visit their website at: Jay Meyer Racing

Bob, I ran across your website tonight, and noticed it had a section for Top Alcohol Dragsters. I do public relations work for several top Federal-Mogul teams (Jay Meyer, Dave Hirata, David Wells, Shelly Howard and Lee Callaway), and was wondering if you were interested in getting press releases from my drivers. I will add you to my p.r. list, and if you're not interested, let me know, and I will remove you. Thanks.

In the summer of 1962 the following classified ad ran in the back of DRAG NEWS: "FOR SALE: No. 2 car in the Nation ... Ted Gotelli Chrysler powered dragster ... Kent Fuller chassis (etc., etc.) ... ."

The ad befuddled the drag racing intelligentsia: here was the # 2 fueler on the coveted DRAG NEWS/Mr. Eliminator List having a fire sale. For "Terrible Ted," the reasons for the abrupt shift was manifold; he was in the midst of driver changes and also wanted some fresh pipe to continue his assault on the legion of fuelers from his home town, San Francisco, California itself, and the country at large.

They say history has a habit of repeating itself and twas ever thus as Larry Gotelli, Jr., grandson of "Terrible Ted," has parked and is mulling over the sale of what is now the # 2 car on the Nitronic Research AA/Fuel Dragster List. This happenstance would be a coincidental and virtual doppelganger of his grandfather's decision nearly four decades earlier, except for one detail: in '62, "Terrible Ted" changed chassis makers and continued to ply his trade on the drag strip.

Conversely, the younger Gotelli, who is only two years into his career as a fueler driver, says he is sitting out the rest of the year and only then he will make a decision to sell or hang on; others close to him feel that the drag strip "wonder del ragazzo" has already made up his mind and the car is as good as up for sale.

In his brief tenure as a fueler shoe, Gotelli, Jr. has adapted to the hot seat of these unwieldy and beastly machines like it was in his genetic code the whole time... nitro courses through this sophomore shoe's veins, which will make his possible decision to move on even harder for the bleacher bums to process.

In a phone conversation, Larry was a little vague about his decision to park it this year but referenced domestic and professional reasons, while other sources have cited tension between the Gotelli camp and the car's tuners, the father and son colloboration of Pete and Re-Pete Kaiser, as a contributing factor. The Kaiser's are fierce winners and teutonic terrors with a Chevy burning nitromethane, but this competitive edge may have proved even a little rough for the man who calls "Terrible Ted" grandpa.

Regardless of the scuttlebutt, don't be surprised if, while perusing the Nitronic Research Classifieds in the near future, one finds the entire Gotelli Speed Shop racing operation for sale.

Casual readers of the List and these e-mail missives will be remarking to themselves, "Wait a minute, I thought the Goat held the # 1 spot on the List" Well, they *did*, but no more.

Gotelli was challenged and dethroned by the bunch that has been the burr in their saddle (and vice-versa) since the Mr. Eliminator days, cross-town rivals the Champion Speed Shop. And *never* underestimate the connotations of the two South City speed shops.

Remember that in 1962 the Gotelli Speed Shop was created and launched just down the street from the Champion Speed Shop after a rather ignominous breakup of "Terrible Ted" Gotelli and "Papa Jim" McLennan, which was at least partly based on an unfortunate misunderstanding about one not wanting the other hurt in his fueler.

So: After winning the Heartland Shootout with some sizzling speeds and preternatural reaction times from driver "Handsome Rance" McDaniel, Champion felt they were on a roll and team co-leader Bob McLennan issued the "first or worse" challenge and the Goat obliged.

It was a tense match. Neither car was qualified at the time and beyond the NR List's bragging and contingency rights, a chance to bag the Goodguys VRA Points Title also hung in the balance as both entries were tied at # 2 with two races left on the calendar.

This is how the match for the Ultimate Spot on the NR AA/FD List went down: the entire Champion throng wore "Got Goat's Milk?" shirts to the starting line with pride as they prepped their cackling mouse-motored fueler for battle. In the other lane, the Kaisers and the Goat's bunch were all business, wearing the mother of all game faces. McDaniel turned on both bulbs but Gotelli was nonplussed.

McDaniel squeaked out of the hole first, but Gotelli was right on his tail and may have even put a wheel on him. The *ENTIRE* grandstand rose in appreciation as the two nitro-powered slingshots rocked and socked neck-to-neck and then at 900' Gotelli got loose as he got out of the groove and into the marbles. McDaniel kept the hammer down and turned an outstanding 6.10 to take the win as Gotelli couldn't quite recover and clicked it to a 6.34. In what may have been the final page of a forty year rivalry, the Champion Speed Shop Uber Mouse defeated the Goat for the # 1 Spot on the the NR AA/Fuel Dragster List.

So, going into the California Hot Rod Reunion (October 6-8 at Bakersfield), here is how the List shakes out and here is how they fared at either SPIR or the recent Governor's Cup at Sacramento:

MORE NITRONIC RESEARCH AA/FUEL DRAGSTER NOTES:

ITEM: In a moving ceremony, the ashes of Greg Maher, the former partner in what is now the Smith, Allred & McLennan fueler, were zipped up in Mike McLennan's firesuit at the Governor's Cup. McLennan idled down the Sacramento Raceway, past a formation of half a dozen front-motored Top Fuel dragster, who were also in idling in full song. It was a fitting tribute for Maher, who had passed away from a very sudden heart attack the day after Sears Point.

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

We have a new feature! Exclusive BONUS Photos! We have partnered with drag racing photographer Les Welch to provide high quality photos of drag racing's top stars after each national event. Click the link on our home page to see thumbnails of the photos. Click on the thumbnails to see beautiful, full size photos of the cars.

Accompanying each photo is a link directly to the star's official website, so you can check in and see how they did during the race! The first installment is from the NHRA Spring Supernationals at Englishtown. Check it out!

New events listed on the DRL Heads Up Racing Calendar. New Desperately Seeking pages. Do you know where these race cars and people are? Updated Personal Best with Steve Klemetti. Steve provides all the updates from NHRA Indy and Englishtown (the fall rerun).

New Dornbos Reviews: Pure Stock Muscle Car Drags at Mid Michigan, September 13th. Doug's observations of a TRUE street legal drag race at the Mid Michigan Motorplex.

Updated lists. Danny White sent us a fresh batch of updates last weekend. It includes all the runs that took place through August 15th. Now we are getting busy on the updated runs from the past few weeks. Click on The Lists to see the new updates.

September 18:
Kuhlmann backs up 6.00 with a 6.06, but misses the five second zone. DRL Executive Field Editor Bret Kepner called today with a follow-up to Bill Kuhlmann's world-rocking performance at Super Chevy Columbus yesterday.

In today's action, Kuhlmann lined up his Summit Racing '68 Corvette Nitro Coupe in round one and shot to a 6.06 at only 210 mph! The eighth mile times on the run were quicker and faster than on yesterday's 6.00 at 234 (3.90, 190, compared to yesterday's 3.92, 189), but the Summit Racing Corvette couldn't hold it together for the five.

Round two produced an outstanding (albeit now disappointing) 6.12 at 229 mph. In the final, tire shake set in and held the Summit Corvette to a 6.30. Needless to say, the entire drag racing world will be focused on the next Super Chevy Series race, October 6-8 at Virginia Motorsports Park.

Drag Racing Story of the Day: Amato, Sarver, Johnson Take NHRA Keystone Nationals Victories. motorsport.com provides all the details. Drag Racing Picture of the Day: Joran Persaker's Turbo Madness. Bobby and Anni Valder with a neat shot of a unique turbocharged doorslammer. Drag Racing Movie of the Week: Flamin' Freddy's Blown, Alky Burning Pickup. The famous Sharkman checks in with a great video of Freddy Fagerstrom's blown, alky burning Pro Mod Chevy pickup.

September 17:
FLASH! Bill Kuhlmann reset the doorslammer world records Saturday with an UNREAL 6.001 run at 234.41 mph at the Super Chevy Series race at Columbus, Ohio. DRL Executive Field Editor Bret Kepner called with the news. Bill ran the time in 64 degree weather.

Jim Nordhougen unfortunately burned his Nitro Fish car to the ground; the resultant cleanup prevented Bill from attempting to back up the run and possibly take the Summit Racing Corvette into the five-second zone! Bret reports that the run was squirrelly on the top end, and that had it gone straight, would almost certainly have been a five.

The event will continue tomorrow, but temperature predictions in the low to mid seventies will provide somewhat less than optimal atmospheric conditions for a five second run. Congratulations to our old friend Bill Kuhlmann and the entire team of the Summit Racing Chevrolet Corvette.

Drag Racing Story of the Day: A Different Way to Run Drag Races. Mike Cole offers an alternate vision of how drag races might be run. Be sure to send us your thoughts. Drag Racing Picture of the Day: A Different Kind of Digger. Pete Garramone provides photos and text of a truly magnificent piece of late '50s/early '60s machine work. Drag Racing Movie of the Week: Rob Guerain Stages at the Cannonball. Mark Fawcus captured Rob Guerain's European Top Methanol Funny Car at the Cannonball event in July.

September 16:
Drag Racing Story of the Day: New Jack Roush "Super Mustang" on the Way. The ex-Pro Stock superstar plans to build the baddest pony to ever hit the street. y motorsport.com. Drag Racing Picture of the Day: Pro Mods in Living Color. James Morgan captures two of the wildest players on the IHRA Pro Mod tour.

September 15:
Drag Racing Story of the Day: The EARLIEST Rear Engine Dragsters. Joel Naprstek joins in with a discussion of three of the earliest rear engine dragsters on record. Drag Racing Picture of the Day: Top Secret John Force Test Session, 1999 Ron Dilley with a little photo manipulation of John's early tests with the Mustang body.

September 14:
Drag Racing Story of the Day: Efficiency: The Downfall of Drag Racing Excitement? Nostalgia fuel owner Bill Pitts examines ways to make fuel racing more fun and affordable. Drag Racing Picture of the Day: True Dedication -- Makin' it to the Drags any way you can! Pete Garramone with a photo of a somewhat less than state of the art transporter, even for the early '60s.

September 13:
Drag Racing Story of the Day: Bring Back the Fuel Altereds (and Other Thoughts). Doug Evans provides his vision of the way to bring fans back to the sport. James Morgan provides a photo. Drag Racing Picture of the Day: Weney Wears 'em Out in Epping. James Morgan captures Scott Weney as he wins in Epping and pads his lead in the IHRA Funny Car world championship.

September 12:
Drag Racing Story of the Day: The FIRST Successful Rear Engine Dragster, Revisited. Ted Pappacena with two more candidates for the first successful rear engine dragster. Drag Racing Picture of the Day: Head's Tail! Jim Head Smokes 'Em Off! Mark Hovsepian with some cool photo art capturing Jim Head's big IHRA win in Epping.

September 11:
Drag Racing Story of the Day: IHRA Amalie North American Nationals. Billy Anderson provides the highlights. Drag Racing Picture of the Day: Mother's Worry! Cory Lee's Funny Car. Paul Fink captures Cory Lee's outrageous new paint scheme.

We have just published our report of the European Finals at Santa Pod. Our pictures from the meeting can still be found on the site. Many thanks for your support. Gary's Drag Racing Pages

I've just recently created a new website for Holiday Raceways in Woodstock, Alabama. If you would like, please update your link to the following: www.holidayraceway.com

Hi Bob. Finally loaded the initial website for Blue Thunder Racing NZ. Enjoy and tell us what you think. Thanks for your inspiration. Cheers.

Well, after one qualifying shot we are number two. I don't look for us to be able to move up to the number one slot, but we should be able to go some rounds on Saturday and Sunday.

The car made a good run today, 7.95, which is .60 under the index. With the weather getting cooler as the weekend goes, you should see some 7.80's out of that little 287 cid Buick motor.

Hey Bob, what's happening? Are you going to do something for me for this next issue? Printing at the end of the month....

You say you've been down in the dumps for days? You've got yourself a real nice web page? But your hit counter hasn't been showing anything - except for your own visits?

You've submitted your URL to a bunch of search engines? But you still can't find your site on Yahoo or Alta Vista?

You've blasted out ads to a zillion FFA sites? But all you get is a lot more junk in your mailbox?

Your Banner programs are producing zilch? But now your page is so full of exchange banners that you can't find your own information?

Your auto-responders just sit around and spit out your sales e-mails to other autoresponders? But nobody ever reads the garbage they send back and forth?

You've been placing "Free" classified ads and getting sucked in for "Positioning" costs? But no one seems to read them anyway?

Your Opt-in mailing lists get you nothing? But you get auto-responses trying to sell you something?

You've made Postings to Newsgroups during countless hours? But you got nothing but a little hate mail, with some pretty foul language, and the Happy 2000 virus?

You've established high quality links to other web sites? But your links end up in scratch pages at the other end?

You seriously considered using bulk e-mailing? But you gave it up for fear of 'spamming' and...?

You still have your internet business, but where are your customers? You've tried everything and anything possible to get your business making money to pay your bills? But you're still getting closer to spending your last cent on nothing but fake hopes?

Is that what's bothering you? All or any of these problems? Well, don't panic, I can help you. I can help you out of your problems and into great financial wealth. But ONLY if you're serious! This is NOT an easy get rich quick adventure!

To succeed you MUST be prepared to do exactly what I tell you. No waste of time. I'll work you through a revolutionary marketing program to gain great financial wealth for you and your family within a well-planned future.

So, if you're motivated and focused, GO for it! Now! Send me a blank email with "HELP!" in the Subject line. Send your email to russ1984@lycos.com. You'll then receive my personalized email reply, and I'll give you access to a FREE 35 page booklet with unique and exciting information that can help you get on your way to great financial wealth -- before you know it.

You don't risk anything. It's FREE! Trust me! You've got nothing to lose because it's FREE! Looking forward to hearing from you soon.

We just got back from the Bill Mitchell sponsored races at Atco and Maryland International Raceway race tracks. The tracks were great and we didn't see a repeat winner in six days of super competitive racing.

The important thing is that Frank Mark, who won $20K Saturday night, didn't complete another burnout on Sunday when his car broke in two. Great luck for him, he can afford a new chassis. The safety point is that apparently Y2K Racetech 4-link dragsters are susceptible to cracking at the point where the engine limiters are mounted, as Anthony Bertozzi was there and his was cracked also.

Additionally, his wife Malinda had a severe crash on the previous weekend, also in a Y2K Racetech chassis. Related?

Hi, Bob. Yes, we do have a small-block Chevy in our Demon; it's much cheaper for us low budget bracket racers. Dave also works for GM, and has always been a Chevy guy. He likes the body style of the Dodge, and wishes we could afford the Dodge running power. A Hemi is sitting at the shop but that is for a '66 Satellite he is restoring for a guy.

As for the two races at the ET finals, the first race on Saturday is for the Race of Champions points. Four top racers from each class (Super Pro, Pro, Sportsman, Bike and Junior Dragster) from each team (track) get to compete. Team points, one for each round win. Mission finished with 40 points over Woodburn's 37 points. So Team MIssion ROC racers had 40 round wins altogether.

Winners, except Juniors, each received money at the track, and they will get $3500 (US$) in Pomona for travel expenses. The winner in each class at Pomona will get $5000. Each individual class champ, from the ROC in Woodburn, receives a big Wally, Champion jacket, and NHRA Gold Card at the Division Six banquet in December.

NHRA used to count both days as total points, but decided two years to separate the two. The Sunday race is a Team race, points go for the Team Championship. The team that wins that race gets a trophy at the Division Six banquet and the bragging rights. Each class winner also receives cash awards and a bracket Wally.

This race is a Team race, and a team effort. There is also a team spirit award, for best team spirit of cheering on their racers, best decorations in the stands, and cleanliness of the team pits. Team Bremerton won that award this year. "The Killer Bees", as they are called, had a guy in a bee suit all weekend cheering them on, so NHRA thought they deserved all of the above since this guy stood around in his bee suit. LOL! He looked good, but felt a little foolish. We even got him on video holding our Canadian flag. Even more LOL!

The event is so much fun; we meet so many new people every year, and also meet old friends that you only see once a year. This is the race we always look forward to. Boise in 2001 will be great, as they will have the "Olympic Games" on Friday night; a lot of fun, a one pound hotdog eating contest, water balloon toss, and so on.

They put on a great ET Final six years ago, and we really enjoyed it there. So we are hoping to go, but we will see what our plans are. We're not sure if we will be racing in Super Street next year, or Super Pro, or both. We will see what we can afford to do this winter. More horsepower will be needed, and more sponsors, which are hard to come by these days.

All I can say is now we got the Mission Championship, in which I will be receiving $1000, Champion jacket, MRP Gold Card and Trophy, at the Mission Raceway banquet in November. This is a dream come true for us, now we will try to focus on next year.

So I think I covered everything for you, but if you need more, let me know.

The Iceman Shannon Jenkins Endures Not So Hot Season

Shannon Jenkins and his 2000 Dodge Viper continue to encounter tough times. Jenkins, the defending Pro Mod World Champion, is having a tough time defending his title. With all of the rule changes and new car blues, Jenkins is doing surprisingly well.

Jenkins debuted his 2000 Viper while still in primer at the season opener. The car was not even finished when he came to the event. Jenkins qualified well on his first pass in the car, giving him high hopes for 2000. From that point on it has been disappointment after disappointment.

Jenkins and teammate Billy Harper have knocked each other out of competition four times this year. This is not good for a teamm especially when it occurs in early rounds. Jenkins has also run into performance troubles. While getting a hold of a new car is a tedious job to say the least, the veteran driver has been doing a great job learning a new chassis setup as well as building and tuning his own powerplants.

Jenkins first pass during qualifying (at Epping) showed promise. A 6.339 - 220.62 run placed him in the top half of the field at the end of Friday's qualifying. Saturday afforded Jenkins two more qualifying attempts. On his first pass Saturday, Jenkins bettered his previous time, running a 6.392 - 221.62, driving through a slippery condition. For his final attempt, Jenkins tried to take advantage of the good air and move up the ladder. The car left the line hard, but slowed quickly as the driveshaft let go.

Jenkins 6.392 was good enough to land him in the 11th position, placing him against Mike Castellana and his new 1957 Chevy. Ironically, Castellana is running Jenkins power this season and has been receiving assistance from Jenkins with his new chassis. Both cars left almost even, but Castellana was forced to get out of it when his car took a hard turn, giving the win to the defending World Champion. Jenkins ran a 6.412 at 220.69 mph. The win placed him against Mitch Stott and his Radiac Abrasives Corvette.

Jenkins scored a holeshot advantage but slowed with mechanical problems near the 1000 foot mark, handing the win to Stott. Stott took the win with a 6.439 - 220.07 pass to Jenkins' slowing 6.767 at 162.76.

Jenkins will continue to defend his 1999 title when the IHRA tour makes it second stop of the season at Rockingham, North Carolina on September 21-23, for the CARQUEST Autumn Nationals.

Brinsfield Endures Frustrating Weekend at Epping

Dale Brinsfield, more commonly known as "The Man in Black", has been searching for a winning combination all season. Early on in the season, Brinsfield was so frustrated he called it quits. But just like any racer he could not stay away from the rush of the sport. Brinsfield regained his composure and has been a consistent qualifier since.

After taking early exits at the last few events, Brinsfield came to the 5th annual Amalie Oil North American Nationals just looking to go rounds. His reasoning is simple. Going rounds will add points and would move him higher in the standings, which means more money at the end of the year. Sometimes its easier said than done.

Brinsfield's first qualifying attempt was a 6.736 - 209.36, placing him out of the field in the # 17 spot. Luck has not been on his side as he looked to step up but was hampered by an oildown and was shut off, forcing him to run later in the session. When he did get to run, the car got out of shape, forcing him to shut down early. The third run was a do or die situation for him. Brinsfield took advantage of the good air in Epping and made the field in the # 16 spot. This field was the quickest in Pro Mod history.

For the first round Brinsfield had the daunting task of taking on the number one qualifier, Troy Critchley. Brinsfield embarassed the Aussie driver at the tree with a .455 reaction time to Critchley's much slower .537. But Brinsfield's advantage failed to hold as the Camaro encountered severe tire shake, handing the first round win to the young Aussie.

Brinsfield will try to earn more points when the IHRA tour makes its second stop of the season in Rockingham, North Carolina, on September 21-23 for the CARQUEST Autumn Nationals. For the latest news on drag racing and the stats of the fast-paced IHRA tour, visit the internet's largest E-zine at: Competition Plus.

I've attached a couple of the letters that I have sent to the NHRA over the last two years regarding rules changes in our (Federal-Mogul Dragster) class. I have no problem with you posting or using the information, as long as it is done accurately. Keep in mind that some of my opinions are based on the fact that we have to compete with the A/Fuel cars and could be subject to change if the class was made into a "blown only" class.

I did take the time to read your Money, Marketing and Nitro article and found it to be very interesting. I think you will read in my letters that I agree with a lot of the points you make. Let me know what you think of my letters.

Hi, Bob. Just wanted to say that our Team Mission photo page is up-dated from the ET finals in Woodburn. Dave and I took the ET final pics!

Just thinking, the funeral info for Jessica is posted and perhaps you could email as many as possible so if they are going to the National Open in Ashcroft, they can stay up there for Monday as well. Thanks.

A celebration of Jessica's life will be held on Monday, September 18th at 11:00 AM at the Kamloops Alliance Church, 233 Fortune Drive, Kamloops, BC.

Comprehending IT - Take One:
Two IT guys were walking across the park when one said, "Where did you get such a great bike?" The second IT guy replied, "Well, I was walking along yesterday, minding my own business, when a beautiful woman rode up on this bike. She threw the bike to the ground, took off all her clothes and said, 'Take what you want.'" The second IT guy nodded approvingly, "Good choice; the clothes probably wouldn't have fit."

Comprehending IT - Take Two:
An architect, an artist and an IT guy were discussing whether it was better to have a wife or a mistress. The architect said he enjoyed time with his wife, building a solid foundation for an enduring relationship. The artist said he enjoyed time with his mistress, because of the passion and mystery he found there. The IT guy said, "I like both." The artist said, "Both?" The IT guy replied, "Yeah. If you have a wife and a mistress, they will each assume you are spending time with the other woman, and you can go to the office and get some work done."

Comprehending IT - Take Three:
To the optimist, the glass is half full.
To the pessimist, the glass if half empty.
To the IT guy, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.

Comprehending IT - Take Four:
An IT guy was crossing the road one day when a frog called out to him and said, "If you kiss me, I'll turn into a beautiful princess." He bent over, picked up the frog and put it in his pocket. The frog spoke up again and said, "If you kiss me and turn me back into a beautiful princess, I will stay with you for one week." The IT guy took the frog out of his pocket, smiled at it and returned it to his pocket.

The frog then cried out, "If you kiss me and turn me back into a princess, I'll stay with you for a week and do ANYTHING you want." Again the IT guy took the frog out, smiled at it and put it back into his pocket. Finally, the frog asked, "What is the matter? I've told you I'm a beautiful princess, that'll stay with you for a week and do anything you want. Why won't you kiss me?"

The IT guy said, "Look, I work in IT. I don't have time for a girlfriend, but a talking frog -- now that's cool."

There is a new virus: WOBBLER. It can arrive in an e-mail titled CALIFORNIA. IBM and AOL have announced that it is very powerful, more so than Melissa. There is no remedy. It will eat all your information on the hard drive and also destroys Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer.

Do not open anything with this title and please pass this message on to all your contacts and anyone who uses your e-mail facility. Not many people seem to know about this yet, so propagate it as fast as possible.

Secondly, if you receive an e-mail titled "Win A Holiday", DO NOT open it. It will erase everything on your hard drive. This is a new, very malicious virus and not many people know about it either. This information was announced yesterday morning from Microsoft.

Hi Bob. I know you are not a bracket site, but you are a great guy to give us some room in your web site life. Thanks for your kind words and giving us room on your site.

Well, the ET Finals in Woodburn was just fantastic. As a team member, I was just happy to be there, being able to represent Mission Raceway. I was in the Race of Champions in Super Pro on Saturday, but due to only two time trials, I couldn't get the rollout figured out. I red lit in the first round with a .497 light; very disappointing, but hey, it was a pleasure to be the first woman racer from Mission Raceway to be in the ROC. (I'm also the first woman to win a championship at MRP, in any class).

Our (Mission) guys kicked butt, with four racers in the finals, in three of the four classes. Damien Giddens won Super Pro, Chris Brandt won Sportsman, and Al Boykin won motorcycle over team mate Al Omond. Those three racers will head to the Pomona World Finals in November for the National Summit ET Championship. They'll run their eliminations just before the fuel cars. We are so proud of them! Team Mission finished in first place on Saturday, beating out second place Woodburn.

Sunday was a bit better for me, as in the first round I had a perfect (.500) light and won. (They're mailing me a mechanics apron for that, with my name on it). Then I got a bye run in the second round (because of my perfect light), and then the dreaded red happened again in the third round (.496).

I'd just taken .010 second out of my delay box before I staged since my last light in the same lane was a .527, and I was trying to get the reaction time down into the "teens". No go there, though. Oh well, I was happy that I went a few rounds. There was 154 cars in Super Pro, and a total of 614 cars altogether; a record car count in Division Six for the ET Finals.

The weather was damp on Friday morning, so racing started at 2:00 PM and went until 7:00. Saturday was a great day; sunny and warm, 80 degrees. Sunday was overcast all day with a threat of rain and a mist was falling when I ran my bye run. They stopped the racing for half an hour, due to a heavier mist later in the day. Team Mission finished in 8th place for the Sunday race, with Firebird Raceway (Boise, Idaho) taking the honours for the day.

All in all, it was a great event; met lots of people along the way and had fun! Next year it is at Firebird Raceway. Gotta run now, time to start preparing for next season already!

For your information: Team Mission is on the national map, as seen and told on the NHRA website. It also states that Mission Raceway Park was the brainchild of our newsletter. But just to clarify, it was the racers who took this on. The track staff had nothing to do with this; we, the racers, took this upon ourselves.

Check out the: Event Notebook, and for all the other info on what took place at Wooburn, go to: Four Win and go to Pomona. Team on a Mission 2000 Race of Champions racers win BIG!

I am interested in photos of the car as run in the early '90's. I am doing a replica of the car and need photos that show the markings and general details as much as possible. Can you confirm the color of the car?

I remember seeing it at the US Nationals (I think) a number of years ago, but seem to only remember a checker pattern somewhere on the side panels. Thanks very much for taking the time to answer. Your help on the project is most appreciated.

Jon Rafert, M.S., R.T. (R)
Associate Professor of Radiologic Sciences
Indiana University School of Medicine
School of Allied Health Sciences
Webmaster: Dinosaur Art and Modeling

Remember a few months ago when you asked why I was always sending you jokes, and you suggested I should be working on the Comp car? Well, you haven't got any jokes from me in a while, and guess what? We took the win light Saturday at Englishtown. It was Dave Northrop's first national event win. We had a blast!! We had a party in the pits afterwards that included swimming in the E-town lake. Wish us luck at Maple Grove this weekend.

Hi, I am Wendy, Jack Williams' daughter. I was there the day he ran the car at Sechelt. It was an absolutely spectacular event for me. I just viewed the video this evening, and I was wondering, as it is quoted on the Horsepower Heaven website.

Wayne (?) mentioned he will do his best to hunt down a video for HH to post of the Syndicate's run. (He only made one). So keep your fingers crossed. Just wondered how the prospect of that is coming. I was going to look into borrowing the video from my dad and having someone make an avi. film clip of it.

Do you think you will be doing it, or should I attempt to have it done, and if so, would you like me to send it to you? Time is ticking by on this one, and I would kind of like to get it done pretty quick if I can. If you could let me know, it would be much appreciated.

September 11
Drag Racing Story of the Day: IHRA Amalie North American Nationals. Billy Anderson provides the highlights.
Drag Racing Picture of the Day: Mother's Worry! Cory Lee's Funny Car. Paul Fink captures Cory Lee's outrageous new paint scheme.
Drag Racing Movie of the Week: Rob Geurain stages at the Cannonball. Mark Fawcus captured Rob Geurain's European Top Methanol Funny Car at the Cannonball event in July.

September 10
Drag Racing Story of the Day: Supercharged in Albuqerque. Charlene Ruddock provides photos of husband Leon's supercharged altered and a race report from the high country.
Drag Racing Picture of the Day: Eddie Hill - 1998. The Four Father! Ron Dilley with a nice photo art tribute to Eddie Hill's historic run.
Drag Racing Movie of the Week: Gravity Storm Fire Show! Carl Witt with another great jet dragster sequence from Willowbank Raceway in Australia.

September 9
Sorry we are a little late with the stories this morning. Brother Tim and I went to see "Dan Hicks & His Hot Licks" last night and had a little too much fun. If you get a chance to see Dan and his band, don't pass it up. Great music and the Lick-ettes are NOT to be missed. Now, on to the stories.
Drag Racing Story of the Day: The FIRST Successful Rear Engine Dragster. Pete Garramone with a photo and story of the car that really started the rear engine revolution.
Drag Racing Picture of the Day: The 1320 Engineering B/Dragster. Don Roberts provides a photo and some words about one of the cleanest dragsters ever to grace the Northeast.

September 8
Drag Racing Story of the Day: Putting the "Show" Into Drag Racing on TV. Mike Cole responds to Bret Kepner's article with his own take on making drag racing more exciting on the "tube".
Drag Racing Picture of the Day: Untamed! Brent Murray's 23-T Ready for Launch! Brent Murray sent us an update on his racing efforts, including this nice Dean Murdoch photo of his altered.

September 7
Drag Racing Story of the Day: This Rule Would Change Everything! Bret Kepner has written the hottest article in drag racing in quite some time, causing controversy and excitement throughout the sport. Inside Motorsports has kindly allowed us to reprint the article for internet readers. Enjoy! (And be sure to check out the special "DRL Rate" for subscriptions to IMS).
Drag Racing Picture of the Day: Gas Pains and Fire Burnouts! Gonzo checks in with more wacky photo art.

September 6
Drag Racing Story of the Day: NHRA U.S. Nationals Final Results. Motorsport.com provides the major results and up-to-date points standings.
Drag Racing Picture of the Day: El Dante rings in the 2000 NFL Season. James Morgan celebrates football season with a shot of NFL quarterback turned Top Fuel pilot Dan Pastorini.

September 5
Drag Racing Story of the Day: U.S. Nationals Past Winners. We wanted to bring you Indy results today, but they were not on the wire by 3:00 AM. We will get that for you tomorrow. In the meantime, here are the past winners at Indy, thanks to Motorsport.com.
Drag Racing Picture of the Day: Alkahal Abuse! Mark Hovespian with a super nightime shot of Eric Buchanan's supercharged altered.

What is going on with the ET Finals? Or will I have to wait and read about them in the National Dragster? I've been looking for them on your website. If there is a website for them, would you e-mail me with the site? Thanks.

Well, the European Finals are over and what a great race meeting it was. If you weren't there you can find out the results on our Gary's Drag Racing website. And if you were there, you can look back over our pictures from the event. Our main report of the meeting should be published in about a week's time. Thanks for the support.

The qualifying and eliminations data, and final points standings for the FIA 2000 Top Methanol Championships are now on the ETMRA (European Top Methanol Racers Association) website. Regards.

Thanks for asking about the back issues of Competition Plus. My archives are currently under reconstruction and should be back up soon. I'm also going through my possible list of proofreaders and I will let you know. You are one of the finalists for the job.

I'll inform you of what's happening with Tony and Cameron's (Brooks) '63 Corvette Top Doorslammer as soon as possible. As far as your travel requirements are concerned, this might sound weird, but my fiancee Kate is a travel agent. And it doesn't matter which part of the world you are in, with global travel systems. So keep that in mind if you ever get stuck for accomodation or airline connections. I'll keep in touch.

Good afternoon. I was wondering if you could help me with the upcoming dates for the Top Fuel dragster series at Calder Park in Melbourne, Victoria. If you could get those to me, it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks heaps.

Hi Bob. Bob Haffner asked me to drop you a line to let you know he's been at it again. With tuning assistance from Bob, Jarmo Roivas and his team reset both ends of the European Top Methanol Dragster record today, with a 5.689 at 250.18 mph. Regards.

Thank you so much for letting me know about your website. I've still not finished up and will take some more time doing so, but have enjoyed what I've seen so far. Since you did the tour, have you raced in the U.S.A.? Do you know Doug Doucette? I realize just because he is from Canada does not mean that you have, but he's just one nice person I know. I've also met Frank Jonkman and he has a site at Raisin' Hell.

I'm curious as to when the galleries will be up and running? I'm looking for Doorslammers! Pictures, pictures and more pictures.

I am looking for photos of the twin-cam Top Fuel dragster owned by the McGee brothers. Can you help?

Bob, I just read the Backfire! section and you commented on the "Hot Rod" picture that I sent along. Sorry to lead you astray, but that is a repair job for Warner Brothers Movie World Theme Park from the Police Academy stunt show. We are currently constructing them a new car as well.

The water (to keep the dust down) comes from the pond (dam) on the north side of the property. We normally use the pond for irrigation and for growing big fish.

Bob, I'm forwarding this message that I sent to Bobby Bennett (the editor) at Competition Plus. It might be adding a little more accelerant to the conflagration, but hey, that's for the Safety Safari to worry about, eh?

From the sublime to the ridiculous department, we have this latest installment of "humour" from our good friend, Racer Tom:

Hi Bob. Thanks for taking the time and energy to do that. It is very well said and Glenn did a wonderful job setting up the (Jessica Cook) memorial page. It is also linked on our Team Mission site.

We don't know when her funeral service will be, but it will definitely be in Kamloops. I'll keep you posted when I have more info on that.

We will all go to the Summit ET Finals in Woodburn with our heads high and her spirit will be with us. Thanks again. I'll let you know how we did when we get back from Woodburn.

Just a reminder that this is the last chance to enter the competition for access to the TFUK domain name at Top Fuel UK. If you would like to take over the website at this address, visit us and register your interest now!

If you have already registered, why not drop us a line again with some more ideas so we can assess all of the applications easily. The winner will be announced in style on September 25th, with the closing down ceremony from September 25-29. Regards.

Do you add racing links? Burt Brown Racing Transmissions. Thanks very much.

Hi Bob; Congrats on the 200,000 hits to your website. I honestly don't know how you can put the time into it, but you do.

This is just a quick line to say hello and let you know that dirt will soon be moving at Adrenalin Motorsports (Melbourne) new complex.

I've been having some "off the record" conversations of late, and the feeling is that the sale of Calder Park, due to real estate pressures, is imminent. They've been building houses virtually to the end of the braking area already.

The sale of Calder Park is still only a rumour, but it seems to be part of the conversation in all racing circles at the moment. So I'm hoping that all the talk about the new venture (Adrenalin) will bear fruit for the future of drag racing.

As you are aware, there have been some cars advertised in DRAGSTER Australia with the caption: "for sale - nowhere to race." Who would have ever thought that owners would be selling their cars because of a lack of track availability? And I've got to wonder how many more cars/projects have been shelved, or put on the back burner because of not having a track to run at.

Ah, it's all too depressing. But let's hope the Sydney racers can see a result for their efforts. I can't see people investing in drag cars when they only have two or three major tracks to run at.

Hope to hear from you soon.

Thanks for your kind comment. I feel compelled to push for a track on which all kinds of road racing events could be held. I took the ProFormance three day auto racing license qualification course at Mission Raceway, and enjoyed it, but the track is short and has pretty much zero run-off room.

Motorcycle events can't be held there, and anything in the way of higher level auto racing is impossible. Too bad, the location is great. Even so, I'm thinking of covering the performance schools running at Mission for one of the other magazines I write for. The track is useful as a training circuit and deserves more attention that it gets.

The Drag Racing Lists have been updated to contain all runs that took place through August 15th. We continue to work on new information and on the old information from years past.

We encourage all drag racers, past and present, to check the Drag Racing Lists at The List to ensure that their racing efforts are captured for history. Thanks.

The last months have been the driest ever in South Queensland since they've keeping records. As you can see, we are adapting to the situation to control the dust generated by our "gardening project." As you know, the blue tray is what is left of the ute a friend sold me. The space out behind the shed is being prepared for the concrete.

Just read your vacation report. Man, you need to find a better travel agent!

Are you going to "Backfire!" that note I wrote you about the copyright theft (by TFUK)?

Jason Duchene will be at the CMDRA race this coming weekend at Mission Raceway to make some exhibition passes in his Castrol "Trial 'n' Error" nitro funny car. I would appreciate it if this post could remain anonymous. Politics, you know.

I visited your website and thought it was great. We are in the process of building the largest automotive Links Directory in the world. Because of the amount of traffic we receive, I would like to invite you to become a Link Partner and share in that traffic. Please visit and let's trade reciprocal links. Email me and let me know what you decide.

Our Link Partners receive preferential treatment with a listing at the TOP of each Theme page, a Link Partner graphic, bold print, etc. They also receive a lot more traffic than our regular listings. We are trying to become the largest Links Directory, of our kind, in the world. The number of hits and visits we receive, is increasing every day. Our link partners have reported an immediate increase in traffic to their sites, after becoming a Link Partner. Best of all, this is a FREE service and it takes just a moment to add our link to your site.

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Since all site URL's are found and analyzed by our automated system, you may want to review your listing. We use the descriptions, titles and meta tags you have listed on your site, to arrive at a category. If you wish to change categories, please email me. To be fair to all, you are only allowed one listing per URL, per category.

If your site does not appear under the listed THEME CATEGORY, please wait and check back in 24 hours. Our automated spider is constantly updating his database.

Your listing in my Link Directory is here. I have your site listed in the RACING theme category. After reading your Link Directory listing, if you should wish any changes in Theme Category, Title or Description, please email me with the correct text. Thanks.

Mike Janis Wins Canadian Drag Racing Series (CDRS) Coffee Time Labor Day Spectacular

Labor Day weekend was a busy one for Mike Janis and his Weber's Mustard backed team. The weekend started off on Friday night at Lancaster Motorsports Park near Buffalo, New York. Janis met Fred Hahn for a best of three match race in front of a packed house at the two racers' home strip.

Hahn took the first round with a 4.27 to Janis' 4.31. For the second round the racers swapped lanes and Janis took the victory with a 4.25 at 170 MPH. That pass turned out to be the quickest and fastest of the night. The third run saw a near capacity crowd get to their feet as Janis laid down a vicious full track burnout down the 1/8th mile track. As the two cars staged, Janis noticed one of his gauges acting erratic. Rather than hurt parts Janis wisely shut off early giving the win to Hahn.

"I noticed after the burnout that my oil pressure gauge was jumping. I kept my foot in it for a while but I backed out of it just in case." It turns out the problem was caused by a loose line on the oil pump. That problem was easily fixed as the team packed up and headed north of the border to compete in the CDRS.

Janis came into Cayuga after winning the last CDRS meet in Grand Bend, Ontario. Janis qualified on Saturday for the tough field witch consisted of several IHRA Pro Mod regulars as well as some Super Chevy Nitro Coupes. Janis' first round opponent during Sunday's elimination's was Troy Critchley at the wheel of Johnny Rocca's famed 49 Merc The IRONHORSE. Janis took the win easily with a 6.49 - 217 pass to Critchley's slower 8.26 - 116.29.

For the semi finals Janis faced Gary Irving's unique '50 Chevy NITRO COUPE. Janis thundered to the finish line with a 6.56 - 208.96 run to take the win. That win set up an American - Canadian final, as Janis the American was set to face the Canadian, Al Billes.

Billes, at the wheel of his supercharged Studebaker, took the starting line lead but could not hold off the hard charging Janis and his Jan-Cen Powered Corvette. Janis took the event win with a 6.52 - 216 pass.

"I can't say how happy I am. I have been racing here at Cayuga for almost half of my life. This is my first win here in a Pro Mod and it feels great. I have a lot of support here. Several of the sportsman racers are customers of mine. There are plenty of Jan-Cen motors being run north of the border. So it's good to come here and win in front of your fans and supporters," said Janis.

Monday saw the Jan-Cen powered Weber's Mustard team race again at Cayuga. Monday's race was a make up for an earlier CDRS event that was cancelled due to rain. Going into the event Janis held the number one qualifying position which lined him up against fellow Western New Yorker Mike Stawicki and his G-Force Camaro. Janis took the win with a 6.57 - 217 as Stawicki was slowed with mechanical problems.

The semi-final was a rematch of Sunday's first round, as Janis once again faced Troy Critchley. The two cars were stuck together as they flew down the track. Critchley reached the finish line first by the slightest of margins taking the win with a 6.48 - 216 pass to Janis' 6.49 - 214 run.

"All in all I'd say we had a pretty good weekend. We ran well on Friday in Lancaster and were able to take the win here in Cayuga on Sunday. Monday's race was a little disappointing but we moved up in the points race and are very pleased with our season I would like to thank all the people and sponsors that helped me this season. Nology Inc., Royal Purple, Jan-Cen, Weber's, Pautler Oil, the Green Guy, and anyone I missed. Thanks!" Said Janis.

For more info on Mike Janis and his Racing team visit their web site at Weber's Mustard Racing.

www.dragster.cc and www.draglist.com have agreed to "integrate content." We announced at Indy Thursday that we have "integrated" The Drag Racing List with Paul Fink's excellent www.dragster.cc website. It features up-to-date drag racing news, thousands of racing photos, and great chat sites. The two sites will not merge into one website, but will integrate portions of each site into the other.

Will you stop by an electrical supply store and pick up some halogen light bulbs for me? I need 300 watt versions of the same thing as you got me last time. I think the part number will be Q300T3/CL, the lamp is 117 mm long. The last batch had several that were defective and would not light up and when checked with an ohm meter would not pass current!

Anyway, I need some for the trailer, and as you know, I cannot get 120V versions here. Please get me at least a dozen and put them in the post for me as soon as possible. Thanks.

Here it is Bob, the fabled Cannonball timing data. You've heard all the excuses, now you can enjoy it. Normal service should be resumed following the European Finals, though it will come via a different email address as I start my new job on Monday.

Click on this movie. It isn't drag racing, but it is cool. This one works!

The sound of supercharged engines stunned Malaysian motorsport fans witnessing drag racing for the first time and had them rushing to the fences at the Sepang Formula One track as Australian drivers Dean McClennan and John Payne performed demonstration runs as support for the Silverstone 12 Hour Merdeka Production Race held over August 30th and 31st. Spectators included the country's Prime Minister, Dr. Mathathir, couldn't get enough of the burnouts and high speed runs put on by the two drivers.

The Sepang International Circuit boasts a wide, 927 metre long, straight with a covered grandstand stretching almost its entire length on one side and huge corporate facilities on the other. Demonstration organiser Rob Oberg said, "This track is awesome. The main straight is almost perfect for drag racing. Both Dean's alcohol Funny Car and John's '63 Corvette Doorslammer were able to put on great shows with plenty of room to pull up.

"The promoters of the event, Zaifa Motorsport, are keen to introduce drag racing to Malaysia and this was the first step to making it happen. Every time we started the cars, the people came running from everywhere. The circuit racing pit crews ran out into pit lane for every pass also. I'm sure we'll be back here very soon with more drag racing."

Featuring a diversity of cars, from Evo 6 Protons, TVR and Lotus Elite sports cars, right the way through to 4WD Suzuki Vitaras, the twelve hour race for production cars started at midnight as the event was held in conjunction with the Merdeka National Holiday celebrating Malaysia's independence. The drag racers performed two runs each before and after the main race, with huge burnouts and strong runs the order of the day.

Castrol Funny Car driver Dean McClennan rated meeting the Prime Minister as the highlight of the event. "Dr. Mathathir came down to our pit area to meet us with his complete entourage. I've never had so many press cameras pointed at me in my life. He was so knowledgable and asked so many relevant questions about our cars and the sport. He was also very interested in finding out about off street drag racing as a road safety plan for young people. The Minister for Sport and Youth Affairs also spent a lot of time with us, asking questions and getting information."

With motorsport of all forms being extremely popular in Malaysia, it's expected that drag racing could be developed from an off street foundation to championship style competition within five or six years. For more information, contact us at Oberg Motorsports Marketing.

Champion, Orange Crate, Nitro Thunder advance; Mastercam debuts

After a rock 'em, sock 'em couple of weekends on either side of the Continental Divide, the Nitronic Research AA/Fuel Dragster List experienced more upheaval in the last month than an ant farm filled with kerosene.

The torrid pace was set during the 29th Annual Nightfire Nationals at Boise, Idaho, August 10-12, whereupon Jack "the Sheriff" Harris and the Utah-based "Nitro Thunder" posse stormed to Top Eliminator, via a 6.22 blast that relegated Jim Murphy and the WW2 entry to runner-up status.

Harris credited part of his success at both Boise and the Pomona Goodguys race earlier in the month (where he also took Top Eliminator) with his refusal to shod his "Nitro Thunder" entry with the new M&H's, a spec tire that has been prone to shake and other anomalies. At the Boise Winner's Circle photo session, Harris confided that his tires had 20 runs (!) on them, while his faithful posse nodded in agreement whilst trying to conceal their merriment.

Jim Murphy, meanwhile, had scored Top Speed at Boise, with a 222 mph clocking, a stat that helped cushion his # 2 position on the List.

The arbiters of the List held off on reporting any movement on the List, and Harris was sure to leapfrog above Fuller & Dunlap and Lee Jennings' "California Trucker" entry (neither of whom helped their cause at Boise), because the next weekend's Heartland Hot Rod Reunion in Noble, Oklahoma, promised more juggling of positions.

At Oklahoma, perhaps the most dramatic moment was during the second round of qualifying, whereupon the "Orange Crate" entry of Suhr & Lechtenberg (at that point # 6 on the list), challenged the # 5 entry of the Champion Speed Shop, out of San Francisco, California, for the # 5 spot.

This was also a duel between the two quickest AA/Fuel Dragsters on the planet, as Champion unleashed a 5.87 clocking at the '99 March Meet and "Radar" Lechtenberg shoed the Dale Suhr-prepped Chrysler railjob to a 5.91 in July at Cordova, Illinois. Yes, the implications were manifold: the "Children of the Corn" have descended from Iowa to upend the "World's Quickest & Fastest" Mouse-motored nitro powered digger, a claim to fame that Champion has coveted since 1961. If Champion wins, the Orange Crate can't advance beyond the Chevy car until another challenge is enacted (and vice-versa).

And wotta' drag race it was: The Children of the Corn, somewhat gun shy from the idosyncrasies of the new M&H's (which they boiled in the first session of qualifying), backed down the nitro percentage and the spark lead a tad to avoid smokin' the hoops. Champion were in rare form as evidenced by a 6.22 run earlier in the evening. "Handsome Rance" McDaniel went in deep in the Champion entry and then cut a .401 light.

They both moved around in the middle and at the big end you could've thrown a burlap sack over 'em if you could've caught 'em. Lechtenberg made a right hand turn at 1000 feet and punched out the finish line cones. Champion took the win with a 6.36 - 181 to the Orange Crate's 6.25 - 173. The margin of victory was 13/1000ths of a second!

The defense for Champion was most strategic, as team majordomo Bobby "Nitro" McLennan has expressed a genuine desire to go after both WW2 and the Gotelli Speed Shop, the # 2 and # 1 spots, respectively.

It is also worth noting that in defeat, Suhr & Lechtenberg ponied up 250 sheckels to the "Make A Wish Foundation" (the recipient of all proceeds from the Heartland Hot Rod Reunion) as part of an agreement between the two teams. Nitronic Research matched those funds and applied them to the "winner take all" Heartland Shootout purse, also claimed by the Champion Speed Shop.

But wait! Through all this drama, the Los Angeles-based Mastercam entry was also shakin' some action and lighting up the scoreboards. The team recently put the car on a diet when they hired Mike "the Nitro Warrior" Boyd (current pedal-swapper of the notorious Marcellus, Borsch & Boyd AA/Fuel Altered replication) for the summer dates. With the build of a professional wrestler, Boyd tips the scales in a most pronounced manner.

It was the team's thinking that if they switched to a wet sump oil system with half the volume of their old dry sump they could partially compensate for Boyd's mass. Unfortunately, this switch resulted in some pressure differential in the heads and at both Pomona and Boise, Boyd was getting an oil bath at 900 feet, right as rain.

For the Oklahoma race, Mastercam reverted back to a dry sump and with conditions as situation normal, Boyd could actually see and he drove 'er out the back door to record Low ET at 6.21, as well as Top Speed at 222 mph (numbers which are also the quickest and fastest of his driving career). This tremendous performance catapulted the Mastercam car into the # 10 spot, bumping out the "Fugowie" entry of Butch Blair. Look for Butch to avenge this slight soon; the Fugowie team has been very protective of their position on the List.

For more on the cross-country triumphs and tribulations of the Mastercam digger, see Tom "T-Slick" Shelar's travelogue here: The Root Beer Report.

As a proper coda to this event, the next afternoon, despite tremendous bouts of tire shake, the "Orange Crate" took Top Eliminator, fortifying their spot ahead of Jack Harris and "Nitro Thunder".

For more on Boise and Oklahoma City, point your browser to: Whiteline 2000.

So, going into the Goodguys 11th Fall Classic Nostalgia Drags (September 9 and 10 at Sears Point Raceway), here is how the List shakes out:

More Nitronic Research AA/Fuel Dragster Notes:

ITEM: Recent reports reveal that Sacramento Raceway track owner has invited four AA/FD's to compete at his historic Governor's Cup, contested on September 16th; the "Goat", WW2, Champion Speed Shop and the Foothill Flyer will compete round-robin style there.

ITEM: After sneezing and cracking the blower during qualifying at Oklahoma City, Shep Ginzburg and Gary Kortz of the "Team Voodoo" AA/FD have rebelled against the NR List and have started their own list, the AA/FD ANTI-LIST, comprised of teams which have done the worst at the drag strip, Nitronic Research contributer Kate Peters suggested tie-breakers for position should be as follows:

I don't have any pics of cool cars today.... just this from the Vancouver Indy race....

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