By Brian Losness

Two Deserving Champions

First off I must sincerely apologize for not having an October column. My original plan was to write about the upcoming (at the time) California Hot Rod Reunion that was to take place at Fomoso Dragway in Bakersfield. I had every intention to be there in person, to take in the flavor of the event, talk to people, maybe even get yelled at or scolded by some folks, but that was OK. I was ready, and looking forward to it.

However, due to outside influences this did not transpire, which is unfortunate. Instead, I was relegated to sitting in my office and watching the event on BangShift.com. Then I caught up on the stories from Jeff Burk and the team at DRO, along with excellent photos by Jon LeMoine, Darr Hawthorne, Tim Marshall, and James Drew. I thought the guys did a fantastic job.

It also brought back many memories to listen to Jon “Thunder Lungs” Lundberg call the action.

So a big ‘Well Done’ to the guys at BangShift for your work in Bakersfield, and yes, I did click on your sponsor links. I just ask that you do the same for me and click on the link for Jeff Johnston's Billet Fabrication and Titan Speed Engineering, who have been fantastic sponsors of this column.

If it is destined for this column to continue next year, my plan is to write a column on Lundberg and his past in the sport as well as his continued involvement and projects.

Now to the heart of the matter: getting into what took place at The Patch, which was excellent racing, the culmination of which was the crowning of the World Champions in Top Fuel and Funny Car. I was encouraged to see seventeen Top Fuel cars at The Patch, which made for a great show. And even though the weather would once again dictate the outcome of the race by putting off the final rounds until the World Finals at Pomona, at least there was enough racing to determine who would be the 2010 NHRA Hot Rod Heritage Series Champions.

The 2010 AA/FD Champion is the one and only Adam Sorokin who, along with his team Van Dyke Motorsports and Champion Speed Shops, worked hard and was able to put together a very solid year to earn the series crown. I know that it was a very emotional moment to win the March Meet early in the year, just as his late father did.

I must also take this opportunity to publicly apologize to Adam. As I was giving him congratulations Monday night on Facebook, I attempted to do a thing that most men can’t do well -- multitask. While simultaneously talking to a friend back in North Carolina over the phone and typing to Adam, my friend and I were talking about National Speed Sport News, and I typed to Adam my congrats to him and the Speed Sport team.... Oops. I think I might have ticked Adam off, and I wanted to apologize.