(Brad Baker photo)

PSCA at Las Vegas

Mother Nature Smiles on the Racers

Words by Jim Baker
Photos by Eddie Maloney and Brad Baker

Mel Roth’s Pacific Street Car Association pulled into The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway March 20 – 22 for the Magna Fuel Las Vegas Nationals presented by Chris Alston’s Chassisworks. This would be the first time the ‘Street’ car group would be at the track since the highly successful Super Nationals event last November.

Alex Rogeo, all smiles on her way to Street Muscle quarter finals.  (Tim Marshall file photo)

Scheduling at the track changed this year when NHRA decided to alter their National menu, changing the Las Vegas event from late March to mid April.  While the scheduling snafu made it difficult or impossible for many teams to attend, we immediately noticed several PCSA stars in the pit area. These included Don McDavitt, Doug Sikora, Dick Krieger, Tim Spears, and Alex ‘The Car Girl’ Rogeo.

As racing progressed, Alex Rogeo kept ‘Maggie’ in the mid-10-second range, which meant wins. This writer can hardly believe the vast improvement she and tuner Richard Kratz made over the winter with their tried and true Dodge Magnum. When we started Pro Stock racing in 1970, mid-10-second runs were the normal fare. 

Along with the excitement of qualifying, several NHRA teams attended to test their cars prior to the Summit Nationals. These included Jim and Annie Whitely, Jason Rupert, Jay Payne, and John Lombardo.