VOLUME XX,  NUMBER 5 - MAY,  2018

Rockingham hosts ‘Big John’ Memorial Weekend

Two decades of tradition, a cash purse that includes $10,000 to Sunday’s Top ET winner, and the opportunity to race for four of the iconic NHRA “Wally” trophies are expected to attract record numbers of racers to Rockingham Dragway this week for the 20th annual “Big John” Leviner Memorial Weekend Bracket Nationals.

 

Celebrating the life of the late “Big John” Leviner, a popular Rockingham Dragway track official, the Memorial Weekend event will crown daily champions in Top Eliminator, Footbrake and Jr. Dragster and, as a 20th anniversary bonus, track owner Steve Earwood is throwing in free testing on Friday with each tech card purchase.

 

Last year’s “Wally” winners were North Carolina racers Chris “Hot Rod” Gibson (shown) of Lexington, Greg Broadway of New Bern, Jerry Brewer of Lumberton and Jr. Dragster champ Chase Wagner of Willow Springs.  (Rockingham photo)   [05/23/18]

Pro Mods race at ‘Night of Thunder’ this Saturday at Indy

Michael Biehle (shown) grew up an hour from Lucas Oil Raceway Indianapolis in North Vernon, IN, so he’s keenly aware that the home of the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals is considered hallowed ground by racers. Biehle is one of the regulars in the E3 Spark Plugs NHRA Pro Mod series and he will bring his Ford Mustang to Indy for this weekend’s inaugural Night of Thunder, which will feature a field of 250-mph Pro Mod racers.

 

Pro Mod participants will include: Jim Widdner, Carl Stevens, Chip King, Steve Matusek, Shane Molinari, Dan Stevenson, Billy Glidden, Clint Statterfield, Mike Castellana and more.

 

“We made some nice runs in Topeka but the competition in this class is very tough,” Biehle said of last week’s NHRA national event. “It takes a lot of effort just to qualify for these races, so you’ve got to continually work on your stuff to keep up. That’s another advantage to coming to Indy this week. Our next race is in Bristol [Tenn.] in three weeks so this gives us time to make some more runs and hopefully learn a few things that will be helpful for the rest of the year. Of course, I wouldn’t mind picking up that [winner’s prize] too.”

 

In addition to a full field of NHRA Pro Mod cars, the inaugural Night of Thunder at Lucas Oil Raceway Indianapolis will feature jet cars, fireworks, and a full day of E.T. bracket racing action -- all on Saturday, May 26.   (Ron Lewis photo)  [05/23/18]

Wild ride for Dawson’s altered

Raymond Dawson made the highlight reel with a massive wheelstand where all four tires came off the ground, on his second qualifying run at the North Star Dragway OFAA event. Tire shake broke the wheelie bar in the first qualifier, a quick weld between rounds didn't hold, and at the hit of the throttle Dawson went airborne. The resulting slam back to Earth crumbled the front of the car and bent the chassis. Reports indicate Dawson is done for the year as the re-building process will be a lengthy one.

 

See the entire race report at here.

 

The Outlaw Fuel Altered teams will have their third stop of the year as they head north of the Red River to Thunder Valley Raceway Park in Noble, OK, on Saturday, May 26. [05/23/18]

Cowie, Westerfield lead sportsman drivers at Topeka

Shawn Cowie and Shane Westerfield raced to victory in the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series at the Menards NHRA Heartland Nationals presented by Minties at Heartland Motorsports Park.

Cowie qualified No. 2 in Top Alcohol Dragster and faced off with Monroe Guest for the title and the trophy. The pair left the line together and stayed glued throughout the quarter-mile with Cowie edging out Guest with a 5.235 second lap at 275.62 mph to Guest’s 5.273, 272.83. (DRO file photo by Tim Marshall)

 

In Top Alcohol Funny Car it was Shane Westerfield collecting his eighth career and second win of the season with a lap of 5.508, 268.87. Doug Gordon went into tire shake off the line and recovered quickly but could not catch Westerfield crossing the finish line in 5.838, 261.17.

 

The national event winner’s circle saw three new faces as Danielle Jaramillo-Miller, Kevin Theobald and Dusty Meyer each collected their first NHRA Wally trophy. Jaramillo-Miller was better at both ends of the track as she forced Don Nichols to play catch up in Super Comp. Nichols broke out by .003 seconds in doing so and Jaramillo-Miller tripped the clocks in 8.920 seconds.

 

Bob Fuller’s Corvette took the holeshot on Kevin Theobald’s Viper in Super Gas, but it was Theobald reeling Fuller in with a 9.927-second lap at 155.81 mph for the win. Dusty Meyer worked his Chevy S-10 through the Top Sportsman field collecting four wins before an easy final round when Phil Dion was unable to make the call. Meyer ran it out to a 6.970 at 196.96.

 

In Super Stock, Michael Mans grabbed his third national event win as Gary Stinnett broke in his semifinal round and could not advance to the final.

 

Stock Eliminator: Tyler Wudarczyk, Pontiac Firebird, 10.869, 99.71 def. Marion Stephenson, Chevy Camaro, Foul - Red Light.

 

Top Dragster: Phil Unruh, Dragster, 6.349, 218.12 def. Steve Will, Dragster, Foul - Red Light.   [05/23/18]

Haney ‘humbled’ by NHRA Pro Mod debut

Keith Haney, driving one of Rickie Smith’s Camaros with backing from Summit Racing Equipment, made his debut with the NHRA Pro Mod series. The winning Radial vs. the World and Mid-West Pro Mod Series racer was one of eight Pro Mod drivers that did not make the show at Topeka.

 

“To be honest, I was humbled and blown away by the reception we got there from the other Pro Mod drivers, fans, media, even drivers from other classes, who all came up and let me know they were happy to see us out there,” Haney said. (Yeah, says the Agent, guess they all knew his name.)

 

The racers who DNQ are (in order): Steve Matusek, Richie Stevens, Michael Biehle, Brandon Snider, Haney, Jim Whiteley, Doug Winters, and Dan Stevenson. Smith got the win at Topeka and maintains his points lead. (KHR/Ricky Ritchie photo)   [05/23/18]

New Product of the Day

 

Weatherpack Starter Kit from JEGS

JEGS Weatherpack Kits include more, compared to similar kits, all organized in a convenient plastic case. Designed for harsh weather conditions these kits contain 232 pieces to create sealed, secure connections. Kit includes: 16 Connectors (Male & Female), 120 Crimp Terminals (Male & Female), 80 Seals and a storage case. JEGS Connectors, Terminals, Seals and Pigtails are also sold separately in several sizes to suit your application.  [05/23/18]

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