Local racer Michael Agnew dominated the first day of racing at the 4th annual Silver State Commercial Refrigeration West Coast Classic at Auto Club Dragway in Fontana, CA. Agnew, from Rancho Cucamonga, CA, drove his ’69 Chevelle to victory in the Run-for-the-Money Pro ET race, where he defeated Stephanie Paz (.015 RT, 6.486 on a 6.47 dial to .054 RT, 6.204 on 6.20 dial) in the final.

In the Pro/Super Pro final, Agnew laid down a .000 RT and ran 6.484 on a 6.47 dial to get the win over Peoria, AZ, racer Seth Polvadore’s .038 RT and 4.757 on a 4.75 dial-in.  (Bob Johnson photo)

Racing continues on Friday with Super Pro and Pro races and the $10,000 to win Silver State Pro-64 Shootout. Saturday will feature the Racepak $10,000 to win Super Pro race, the $4,500 to win Pro bracket and the $20,000 Super Pro-64 Shootout. On Sunday Meziere Enterprises sponsors the $10,000 Super Pro bracket and $4,500 Pro ET eliminator.    [05/25/18]

Kalitta Motorsports has announced that Kurt Elliott will join Nicky Boninfante as assistant crew chief on the Global Electronic Technology Camry Funny Car driven by Shawn Langdon.

Elliott began his career working in 1994 for Whit Bazemore as a clutch specialist and earned his first win in 1996 with driver Dale Pulde. He first held the assistant crew chief role in 2004 with Tony Pedregon Racing, and was a part of the team that delivered Pedregon the 2007 Funny Car championship. His career also has included multiple seasons with Alan Johnson Racing and drivers Bruce Sarver, Gary Scelzi and Del Worsham. Most recently, Elliott was a part of Bob Vandergriff Racing working with Vandergriff, now Kalitta driver J.R. Todd, Clay Millican and Dave Connolly.   [05/25/18]

Reportedly, Heartland Motorsports Park GM Jake Schmidtlein has abruptly departed the Topeka facility following the turmoil of the recently completed NHRA Heartland Nationals.

This marks the third general manager for the facility under the short stint of the current ownership. Previous managers included Todd Stevens, industry veteran Scott Gardner who departed less than a year ago, and now Schmidtlein. The Agent is thinking the word turmoil could be an understatement.  [05/25/18]

The fourth annual Tom Kasprzyk Memorial Cruise and Car Show will take place Sunday, June 3, in Caledonia, Ontario, Canada.

Known as “Kasper”, Kasprzyk was a local drag racer and engine builder who competed at Dragway Park in Cayuga. After retiring as a teacher, he worked at DSE Performance (265 Argyle St. North, Caledonia), where the event will be held from 9 a.m. to noon. He died in June 2014.

A wide variety of special interest cars will be on display and attendees are encouraged to bring their own hot rods. Donations will be accepted for the McNally House Hospice, where Kasper spent his last days. McNally House provides palliative care free of charge.   [05/25/18]

The NHRA eliminations show on FS1 from Atlanta on May 6 had the best numbers so far this season, with 956,000 viewers and a 0.59 rating.

Needless to say, the rating from the rain-out in Topeka were not so good: 328,000 viewers and a 0.22 rating.   [05/25/18]

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday, May 14, struck down a federal law that bars gambling on football, basketball, baseball and other sports in most states, giving states the go-ahead to legalize betting on sports.

One research firm estimated before the ruling that if the Supreme Court were to strike down the law, 32 states would likely offer sports betting within five years. The American Gaming Association estimates that Americans illegally wager about $150 billion on sports each year. States that legalize betting would get a “cut of the action” so to speak.

But wouldn’t that take all the fun out of the groups gathered on the fence at the starting line picking the winners and exchanging dollar bills?   [05/25/18]

If you’ve ever done an engine swap and wanted to put your ignition coil in just the right spot or hoped to clean up the engine bay by remote mounting your coil behind the firewall, you’ve probably run into a coil wire being too short. FAST® has solved this problem with their 45-inch FireWire® Long Reach Coil Wire Kits. Pre-terminated and ready to use out of the box, these kits also include extra terminals and boot for fitment to any style coil/distributor, or for trimming to any needed length. Extra terminals and boots for custom fit. Stainless steel and solid brass double-crimped terminals supply max spark energy to the coil. Heat-sleeved kit (shown) offers additional protection up to 1200 degrees. [05/25/18]