(Bob Snyder photo)

 

The United Nitro Funny Car Championship Series, presented by Good Vibrations Motorsports, held their first event of the 2018 season as part of the Tucson Dragway Reunion this past weekend.

 

March Meet funny car winner Bobby Cottrell in the Austin & O’Brien “Northwest Hitter” Camaro with a 5.698/247.34 charge led the eight-car qualified field. Canadian Tim Boychuk’s “Happy Hour” Camaro sat second, Matt Bynum in the “Nitro Nick” Camaro qualified third, and “Mr. Explosive” Mark Sanders fourth in the top half of the all 5-second field.

On the way to the Tucson Dragway winner’s circle, Cottrell defeated Bill Windham and set the track record with a 5.657/250.09 in his semifinal match with Jason Rupert, who smoked the tires.

 

Cottrell and Boychuk met in the final round after a multi-team thrash to repair a gaping hole in the roof of Boychuk’s Camaro. Cottrell prevailed with another bracket-like pass of 5.665 ET at 244.92 MPH while Boychuk shut off early.

 

The UNFC Championship Series meets next for a Northwest double header on July 4 at Spokane County Raceway and on July 6-7 at Pacific Raceways in Washington.     [04/16/18]

The 2018 season opener for Midnight Madness presented by NOS, originally scheduled for April 13 at Gateway Motorsports Park in Madison, IL, was postponed due to weather. It was rescheduled for April 14, but the region’s bad weather continued.

 

So, the April 13 Midnight Madness presented by NOS now will be completed on Friday, April 20, from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. Let’s hope that third time is the charm.   [04/16/18]

Kirk Williams (Michael Fischbeck file photo)

 

In the first half of the double header NHRA South Central Division Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event at Texas Motorplex Dean Dubbin and Kirk Williams took home the wins in Top Alcohol Dragster and Top Alcohol Funny Car respectively.

 

Dubbin, Royalton, Minn., came out of the No. 8 qualifying position and defeated Megan Meyer in the final for the win with a lap of 5.565 seconds, 258.76 mph. Dubbin beat out No. 1 qualifier Shane Conway and Buddy Domingue in rounds one and two to advance to the final round.

 

Williams qualified fourth and knocked out Kris Hool and Mark Billington to advance to the final round match up with Annie Whiteley. Williams then laid down a lap of 5.572 seconds at 260.51 for the win as Whiteley had problems, crossing the line at 9.763 seconds.

 

COMP ELIMINATOR: Craig Bourgeois, Metairie, LA, '05 dragster, B/ND, 7.185, 141.12 def. Adam Hickey, Ponchatoula, LA, '15 Hasse, B/DA, 7.053, 149.03.

 

SUPER STOCK: Korey Mawhee, Frisco, TX, '95 Oldsmobile, GT/IA, 9.614, 136.76 def. Justin Jenkins, Beatrice, NE, '09 Cobalt, GT/GA, 9.424, 137.36.

 

STOCK ELIMINATOR: Jeff Lopez, Irving, TX, '18 COPO, FS/C, 9.848, 110.66 def. Gary Emmons, Friendswood, TX, '14 Cobra JET, FS/A, foul.

 

SUPER COMP: Robbie Mayse, Grandview, TX, '17 American, 8.974, 147.75 def. Tommy Phillips, Forney, TX, '10 TNT, foul.

 

SUPER GAS: Vernon Rowland, Blanchard, OK, '85 Calais, 9.934, 155.19 def. Michael Wright, Sadria, TX, '92 Cutlass, 9.961, 142.21.

 

SUPER STREET: Jim Burrell, Claude, TX, '70 Torino, 10.899, 153.20 def. Cole Cummings, Hammond, LA, '67 Chevy II, 10.884, 140.05.

 

TOP SPORTSMAN: Martin Blair, Spicewood, TX, '96 Corvette, 7.539, 181.98 def. Bob Gulitti, Tomball, TX, '11 Chevrolet, 6.500, 212.09.

 

TOP DRAGSTER: Darian Boesch, Kenner, LA, '16 Dragster, 6.098, 216.69 def. Bill Swann, Carrollton, TX, '10 Monden, 6.269, 198.52.

 

SPORTSMAN MOTORCYCLE: Michael Mathews, Lagrange, TX, '05 Suzuki, 8.650, 136.47 def. John Fitzpatrick, Wichita, KS, '05 Hyabusa, 9.065, 116.88.    [04/16/18]

So, get out there and ride! Clubs and individuals are encouraged to take part in this community Mustang event by visiting the National Mustang Day site here for event locations in your area.  (Jeff Burk photo)  [04/16/18]

Daniel Pharris from Sikeston, MO, made a game changing move on February 1st by acquiring Ekanoo Racing’s Lexus RC-F, the quickest and fastest Super Street V8 in the Middle East.

 

The Ekanoo Racing team debuted the car two years ago and it has qualified and won every race in the Super Street V8 class in the Bahrain Drag Racing Championships (BDRC). Not only did the Super Street Lexus RC-F win back-to-back class championships, it also became the first small tire car in the Middle East to break the 3-second barrier. Ekanoo Racing's best eighth mile pass in the 2015 Lexus RC-F is 3.92 at 202 MPH on twin GEN2 Pro Mod 94mm Precision Turbochargers.

 

Eager to debut the car as soon as possible, Daniel plans to drive two cars at The Outlaw Street Car Reunion V event taking place this weekend in Bowling Green, KY. Pharris will debut his recently purchased Ekanoo Racing Lexus in the Limited Drag Radial (LDR) class, and will also slide behind the wheel of Andrew Alepa's red C7 Corvette in Radial Vs. The World.

 

In addition, Joel Greathouse will be assisting with testing on Pharris’ Street Outlaw Mustang at Bowling Green in preparation for the NMCA Bluegrass Nationals at the Kentucky track on May 17-20.  [04/16/18]

Four-time NHRA Funny Car champion and drag racing legend Don “the Snake” Prudhomme is known for his performance in a nitro-burning Funny Car, but he also has a history with desert racing on the Baja peninsula.

 

In 1968, Prudhomme entered the Mexican 1000 Baja race in a Porsche-powered buggy built by racing innovator Tony Nancy and owned by actor Steve McQueen. Shortly before the race, McQueen had a movie conflict so Nancy reached out to Prudhomme to fill the seat as the co-driver. Prudhomme and Nancy had crossed paths through their successful drag racing careers.

 

Now, 50 years later, with help from JEGS High Performance Mail Order, Prudhomme is returning to Baja competition in the 2018 Mexican 1000 – and he’s out for redemption.

 

“In 1968, we burned it up,” says Prudhomme. “Never even made it onto the dirt, which I’m embarrassed to tell you. Haven’t been back since.”

 

The 2018 Mexican 1000 will be the “Snake’s” first competitive driving appearance since 1994 when he retired from the NHRA tour having won 49 National Events in the Funny Car and Top Fuel divisions.  Later, as team owner, he added another 63 NHRA tour victories.

 

He will return to competition in a 2018 Polaris RZR 1000 prepped by P.J. Jones of PJ’s Performance in Mesa, AZ, and will race in the Stock Turbo UTV class.

 

“This thing can move out,” says Prudhomme. “If we’d had this in 1968, we would have finished the race. We’re gonna do it right for the NORRA race this year.”

 

The Mexican 1000 is a five-day, off-road rally run by the National Off Road Racing Association (NORRA) as a celebration of off-road racing history and vintage off-road machinery. Cars, buggies, trucks, and motorcycles from all eras of Baja racing are eligible to participate in a variety of classes. The race begins Friday, April 20, in Ensenda, Baja, Mexico, and ends Thursday, April 26, in San Jose del Cabo, Baja, Mexico.  [04/16/18]

David Rampy  (Steve Gruenwald file photo)

 

David Rampy continued to add to him impressive career total and Michelle Furr and Jeff Strickland remained hot in 2018 taking wins at this weekend’s NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series at GALOT Motorsports Park.

 

Rampy ran down Mark Moreland who took the early lead but could not hold off the charging Rampy out of Piedmont, AL. Rampy went 4.561 seconds at 144.26 for the win in Comp Eliminator.

 

Furr, coming off a win in Super Gas at the Gainesville Raceway NHRA Southeast Divisional took the win in Super Comp in a close race from start to finish with Sherman Adcock. Furr, Galax, VA, clocked in at 7.660, 143.41 to Adcock’s breaking out 7.649 on the 7.650 index.

 

Strickland, who took the Stock win in Gainesville, switched it over to the Hickory Enclosed Trailer Top Dragster and combined a perfect reaction time with a lap of 5.43 on the 5.42 dial for a winning package of .010 in beating out Lindsey Barker, Kathleen, GA. Strickland, the defending division champ hails from Red Bay, AL.

 

David Chiles, Reedville, VA, and Jeff Longhany, Wade, NC, captured the wins in Super Stock and Stock respectively. Chiles got a big holeshot and continued to pull away from William Sloan in his ’08 Cobalt while Longhany was out first on Clay Bullard, Camden, SC, and held on for a close win by about 2 inches (.0010 seconds).

 

Other winners celebrating in winner’s circle were Sergio Santovenia knocking out Craig Porter in Super Gas; Jonathan Anderson beating Mark Proulx in Super Street and Jeff Brooks over Donny Urban in the Top Sportsman class.

 

In NHRA Summit Racing Jr Drag Racing League action it was Brendan Miller leading the way with a win over Ashley Dunahoo in the 13-17 year-old class. Budd Trammell II ousted Logan Westmoreland for the 10-12 trophy and Alyssa Rabon held off Hayden Miler in the 6-9 class.

 

Many of the Southeast Division racers will head to zMAX Dragway for the NGK 4Wide Nationals April 27-29, then to South Georgia Motorsports Park for the next Southeast Divisional event, May 18-19.  [04/16/18]

Anthony Bertozzi (Ron Lewis photo)

 

Joey Severance, Doug Gordon, and Anthony Bertozzi celebrated with their teams in winner’s circle this past weekend following the conclusion of the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series Pacific division event at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

 

In the Top Alcohol Dragster final round, Kim Parker, Graham, WA, grabbed the starting line advantage, but quickly had traction issues. Severance, Woodburn, Ore., powered through, surpassing Parker for the victory running 5.224 seconds, 276.07 mph. Parker came in second at 5.721 seconds, 260.36 mph. Severance continues the defense of his 2017 Lucas Oil World Championship.

 

2017 Lucas Oil Top Alcohol Funny Car World Champion Shane Westerfield, Anaheim, CA, squared off against fellow Californian and TAFC standout Doug Gordon of Paso Robles. Westerfield gained the slight edge at the starting line but had mechanical issues, Gordon blew past him for the final round win; hitting his full stride at 5.462 seconds, 270.48 mph.

 

Mike Cotten, Cave Creek, AZ, captured the Stock Divisional Wally trophy and was shooting for the double up in Super Stock. Anthony Bertozzi, Ashland, VA, had other plans though. Bertozzi attained the starting line advantage and forced Cotton to break out, Bertozzi registered a victory pass of 9.194 seconds, 133.51 mph.

 

Doug Crumlich, Irvine, CA, took the easy win in the Top Sportsman final round running 7.040 seconds, 196.73 mph. His opponent, Daryl Hemley, Burley, WA, fouled at the line, triggering the red light. In the Top Dragster final round, Dan Lafferty, Wendell, ID, nailed the tree with a perfect light to take the holeshot win running 6.527 seconds, 205.10 mph.

Val Torres won Super Comp.  (Ron Lewis photo)

 

The other drivers visiting the winner’s circle were Val Torres in Super Comp, Trevor Larson in Super Gas, Ryan Mangus in Super Street, Ron Alves in Sportsman Motorcycle, and Terry White in Top Comp.  [04/16/18]