Welcome back... and you thought I was dead.

With my available vacation for the remainder of 2001 dwindling away faster than I would like, I decided to make this year's edition of the IHRA President's Cup a two-day affair and pass on Friday's qualifying. As it worked out, other than Mike Janis' 6.18 - 229.70 run in Pro Mod, I didn't miss much. The fireworks (and I mean fireworks) were later in the weekend during Saturday's "Night of Fire" and Sunday's race.

I got to the track around 9:30 in the morning and the first thing I noticed was the large crowd that was at the track already. I had to wait in traffic for 15 minutes just to get to the credential trailer and pick up my photo pass. When I go to the races, I pack heavy, not light. I carry two ladders, three cameras, coolers, food, and enough clothes for a week.

So when the IHRA employee in charge of handing out credentials informs me that I did not get Pit Parking and I would have to schlep all my stuff two miles, I got a little testy. She offered to sell me one for a price but I felt it was a little too high considering I was there to do IHRA a favor! (Or that's how my minds eye sees it). Anyway she got on the horn to the always lovely Paula Motolik and Paula smoothed things over. I ended up parking in the VIP area behind the tower that was only a minute walk to the starting line. (It pays to know the right people).

Two quick trips up to the staging lanes to drop off my equipment and I was ready to go. The sky was overcast, and it was cold and windy for late September; my guess the temp was in the low 50's. Perfect for some stout times from the doorslammers. Not the best of conditions to sit in the stands. Top Sportsman was in line to run. Super Stock had just finished their early session with one more session later in the day.

Top Sportsman Report

If you have never seen IHRA Top Sportsman, let me tell you it rocks. The rules are simple. Doorslammers, nitrous or blown, dial your own, no boxes or stops, run what ya brung. Pure handicap racing the way it should be. Not like those stinking 0.90 classes (uh oh, soap box time). But back to Top Sportsman or T/S. It's like Triple A (the minor leagues) for Pro Mod. The cars kinda look like Pro Mods and the best cars in the class nearly run Pro Mod times. You'll see old Pro Stock and Pro Mod cars getting a new lease on life in the much less expensive world of T/S.

Now check this out. The top eight qualifiers in T/S race heads up during Saturday's Night of Fire ... no handicap... just race what you got and hope it's better than the guy in the other lane. To make the race a little sweeter, Lizzard Racing Engines sponsors the shootout by throwing some cash in the pot. It's one of my favorite parts of the Saturday Night of Fire.

At Budds Creek, Mark McHugh from my hometown of Newark, Delaware was low qualifier with a 6.518 in his red '57 Bel Air. Bringing up the rear in Top Eight was Frank Gugliotta from Mt. Airy, Maryland in his wild 1995 Mustang with a not too shabby 6.707. Crowd favorite, Paul Rocco, in his beautiful silver and blue 1998 Saturn (?) was fifth at 6.615.

One thing I should tell you is that the racers who run the Lizzard Racing Engines Top Sportsman Shootout do not return for the regular IHRA T/S show. A little weird, but after talking to Paul Rocco, he explained that after three rounds of qualifying, three rounds on Saturday Night (if you win) and then racing in a 32 or 48 car show, it's too much for the faster cars. Their big thing is just running the Quick Eight deal on Saturday, loading up and heading home. That means that there are a lot of bye runs in the first round on Sunday. These bye runs would have to be my only complaint with the class.

The consistent winners in T/S have their cars set up to run 7.20's all day with less wear and tear on the car. Top Sportsman is a great eliminator and I wish we had it at the NHRA points race. Sure beats the 0.90 classes. (All right already, we get the idea...).

Fred Hahn Rotates the Earth

Budds Creek is the only IHRA National event where Top Fuel is not contested. Many think this a blessing due to the volatile nature of the Fuelers. When I say volatile, I mean oily. So with the diggers not on the grounds, the Pro Mods, Alky Funny Cars, and Pro Stocks take center stage.

From the information I got from the racers, the track on Friday was not up to holding the horsepower the Pro Mods make and only a handful got down the track under full power. The bump after Friday's qualifying was a weak 11.24. Fred Hahn could only muster a paltry 7.05 at 139 mph. The moisture that often plagues nighttime racing came in the early evening and got so bad that the second round of qualifying was cancelled half way through the session.

So if Friday was less than earth shattering, Saturday made up for it in spades. In the first session, Mike Janis, in what was a harbinger to come, backed up his new IHRA Pro Mod speed record with a 229.47. A few minutes later, Tommy Gray, driving his "Undertaker" Corvette, lined up against Fred Hahn in a battle of blown Corvettes.

Tommy and his team had just installed a new blown Alan Johnson motor, replacing the nitrous piece he had been using. The Undertaker team is on the learning curve of the blown alky motor so their time of 6.58 at 214 wasn't too bad, considering. Meanwhile in the other lane, Fred Hahn lays down a 6.124 - 230.49 run that blew everybody's mind. Fred made Janis' 6.18 run look tame in comparison. Fred was even out of the center of the groove for most of the pass!!

The bump was a 6.425 after the first session on Saturday with Mitch Stott on the bubble. But there was more to come later in the Saturday Night of Fire....

World Champ Wilson Sets the Record Straight

While Fred Hahn was rewriting the IHRA Pro Mod record book, over in Pro Stock, the newly crowned IHRA World Champion Gene Wilson blew away the ET record with a 6.532 - 213.37 in his Don Smith Sponsored Merc Cougar. The 6.532 pass was two-hundredths quicker than anyone had ever gone before and the 213.37 mph speed over one mile an hour faster. At the time, #2 qualifier Doug Kirk was half a tenth back with a 6.599 at 210.41 in his Chevy Cavalier and Jason Collins was on the bubble at a decent 6.696. Jeeez Sooo. But there was still Saturday night on tap...

A Time to Eat, A Time to Drink

Right next to where Geoff and I parked the truck was a Southern Style Barbecue stand. It was tough having to smell the chicken and ribs cooking all day long. Right about dinner time we fell to temptation and bought us a mess of them there ribs and had us a right good time getting greasy. Later I talked to Mike the owner and told him I was doing a story on the race. I asked him if he would mind if I took a picture of him and his wife and partner Louise. Mike jumped at the chance and later Louise made me a plate of barbecued pork for the ride home. Like I said, it pays to know the right people!! Mike plans to have his operation at both the IHRA race at Richmond next year along with Budds Creek. If you are in the area, check out Mike's Barbecue.

While we were finishing off the ribs, Top Sportsman was being called up to the staging lanes for the first round. Right after they ran, the Saturday Night of Fire was on tap. It's very rare that I don't stay on the starting line and shoot the entire night, but being with my friend Geoff and since it was my last IHRA race of the year, I decided to just relax, put the camera away and go sit in the stands and watch the action. So after Top Sportsman ran, we went down to the top end around the 1000 foot mark, cracked open a few brewskis and took in the action.

Most of the Sportsman drivers were done for the day and they too decided to relax and party up a bit. Geoff recognized ex-World champ Mike Fuqua and we went over to introduce ourselves. Mike apparently was in the middle of babysitting his daughter while his wife was getting dinner ready. Fuqua had already lost in the first round of Top Dragster, but was still alive in Quick Rod (Super Comp to all you NHRA racers).

Mike and his family travel in style. He had a brand new Sterling Camper/Super Cab outfit that was nicer than my house. It had two TVs, dish antennae, and a refrigerator stocked with beer. Everything... Mike was a gracious host to say the least. We enjoyed the time spent at his trailer immensely.

Mike Janis Lets Everybody Know Why He is World Champ

The sun has gone down and the temperature was dropping quickly. That meant the Pro Mods and Pro Stockers would do one of two things: set the world on fire, or blow the tires off. It was pretty much down the middle as to what happened. We saw some quick Pro Mod times (the quickest and fastest in one case) but we also saw too many cars losing traction and shutting down right off the starting line, victims of the cooler track temperatures.

The first three pairs of Pro Mods (Fred Hahn, Carl Spiering, Al Billes, etc.) either spin the tires or do not improve on their qualifying times. It isn't until Mike Lockwood runs a 6.32 that we get an inkling that the track can hold a number. Right after Lockwood, ex-Top Dragster driver Scott Ray lines up against soon-to-be IHRA World Champ Mike Janis in a not too titanic battle of 1963 'Vettes. Scott Ray, since going Pro Mod at the beginning of the year, cannot fall out of a tree. They flogged an injected Nitrous combination all year with absolutely no success. The CarQuest team recently switched to carbs but the Vette still has not responded the way they would have liked.

Scott Ray runs a 6.674 with orange flames coming out from the headers in direct contrast to the darkness of the night indicating the car was way too rich. Meanwhile, in the other lane, Mike Janis runs, now get this, a 6.112 at 230.53. It was the quickest and fastest run in IHRA Pro Mod history. Woo Baby! That's the good news. The bad news is that the run is too quick to use his earlier 6.186 as a backup. That will have to wait until Sunday's eliminations. The 6.11 of course bumps Fred Hahn's 6.12 back to the #2 spot. What's a guy to do?

Later in the session, #16 qualifier Mitch Stott, in at a 6.425, does little to help his cause with an out of shape and shutting off 10.204. There are still 10 cars in the lanes that are not qualified. One of which is Mitch's brother Quain. Apparently there is little love lost between the brothers in recent months since parting ways over how the team should or should not share their speed secrets. Anyway, Quain bumps his brother out with a last minute 6.419. The field is set for Sunday.

In Pro Stock, Jason Collins remained on the bump with his earlier 6.696 and most of the cars spin the tires in the cold Maryland night. One notable exception is Tim Nabors running a strong 6.579 in his Chevy moving to #2. Tim was already in the show with a 6.611.

The air is getting colder and with little heat in the track in from the daylight hours, it's mostly slip and slide. The Night of Fire comes to a close with the Lizzard T/S shootout, with Larry Plummer's Vette defeating my neighbor, Mark McHugh, 6.538 to Mark's breaking right off the starting line. Top Eight Dragster is taken by Neal Parker's wild blown Fiat over Mike McKenzie's dragster, 6.266 to the dragster's squirrelly 10.872.

The IHRA finishes off the night with passes by a Mercedes Limousine Jet car and Bob Motz's Kenworth truck. Right after Motz goes trough the traps a so-so fireworks show takes place that is unique only for the fact that the Fire Marshall will not let anyone leave the pits until he is sure there is no threat of fire... Yea right.. So we sit in line for 20 minutes while some goober looks for sparks in the trees...

More tomorrow.... in Part Eleven

Left: Dale Brady's '95 Avenger (near side) vs. James Justice's '63 'Vette
Right: Robert Coffman's supercharged '69 Camaro ran 7.02 - 188


Left: Two of the heaviest hitters in Pro Mod: Tommy Gray vs. Fred Hahn
Right: The "crew" for Jim Neilsen's Jet Mercedes Limousine


Left: The pit area of 2001 IHRA Pro Mod World Champion Mike Janis
Right: The verdict: Mike Janis is the world's quickest at 6.112 - 230.52


Left: Jim Neilsen's jet-powered Mercedes Limousine
Right: Bob Motz's jet-powered Kenworth truck


Left: Mike and Louise of Mike's Barbecue
Right: Former World Champ Mike Fuqua and Phil's friend Geoff


Left: Neal Parker's awesome '48 Fiat ran 6.090 - 225.30 !!
Right: Tommy Gray's "Undertaker" had a terrible weekend, failing to qualify