New engine for Gaydosh, as he dedicates Norwalk race to ‘Pops’ Wallace

This has been a very emotional week for John Gaydosh. The man, who mentored him and worked on his crew, passed away on Tuesday. Gaydosh is dedicating his race at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals to Brad “Pops” Wallace.

 

“Pops took me under his wing when I was only 16 years old. He’s been with me from the beginning to the end. To give you an idea of how long I knew him, my dad did work with his dad,” said Gaydosh. “He was the type of guy who would do anything for you. Last week I dropped heads off at his house at 5 a.m. and he worked on them all day to finish them so we could race in Bristol.”

 

When Gaydosh races his Camaro down the track this weekend in Norwalk, Wallace will be on his mind and in his heart. The team is running a special decal to pay tribute to their friend and family member.

 

“You don’t meet people like Pops anymore. I could call him in the middle of the night and he would be there for me,” said Gaydosh. “Our hearts are just so heavy and we are going to miss him so much.”

 

The Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals will also be the first weekend Gaydosh will run a new experimental motor from Gray Motorsports. A lot had to be done this week to make everything come together in time.

 

“Jerry Haas modified my chassis so that the new motor could fit into it correctly,” explained Gaydosh. “We’ll be putting the motor in the car and tuning it for the next couple days so it will be ready to go for Q1 on Friday night.”  [06/22/17]

Diesel drags June 24 at Gateway

The National Hot Rod Diesel Association brings its trucks and tractors to Gateway Motorsports Park on Saturday, June 24, for their Midwest Truckin’ Nationals.

 

In addition to drag racing, there will be truck and tractor pulling, a burnout contest, Dyno pulls, and a Show & Shine.  [06/22/17]

D’Agnolo doubles up at Canadian Stock/Super Stock Shootout

​From left: John Scotti, Founder and President of CDRHF, Pete D’Agnolo IARA World Champion and Bob Aubertin, Director, CDRHFThe results are out for the PCRichard.com NHRA Northeast Division National Open Series for Super Gas, Super Street and Super Comp and the John Scotti Classic Cars/CDRHF.com Stock/Super Stock Shootout that took place June 17-18, at the Toronto Motorsports Park in Cayuga, Ontario.

 

Pete D’Agnolo of Rochester, NY, won both days of the Stock/Super Stock Shootout. His winnings for the two days totaled $12,000 USD.

 

On Saturday D’Agnolo drove his ’67 Camaro to the win over Venice Perno of Stoney Creek, ON, in a ’68 Camaro. On Sunday John Armstrong of Kingston, Nova Scotia, was runner up in his ’68 Corvette.

 

Funds raised at the event benefit the Canadian Drag Racing Hall of Fame, a registered non-profit organization.  [06/22/17]

New Product of the Day

 

New Aluminum Wings from S&W

The S&W Performance Group’s race Parts division has released a newly designed line of aluminum wings for drag racing. All S&W aluminum rear wings feature a .040” aluminum skin with die-formed internal members. The .25” thick billet aluminum mounting brackets are mounted to the internal members for maximum strength. Spill plates included and are made of .050” thick aluminum. These come in three standard widths: 30”, 36” and 38” and three spill plate styles: Nostalgia, Super Comp and Top Fuel style (from left above). S&W has also added redesigned front canards to their growing line.  [06/22/17]

Long named GM of National Trail Raceway

Steve Long has joined National Trail Raceway in Columbus, Ohio as the General Manager. He will begin his new position on June 26.

 

With experience as the lead starter at National Trail Raceway and a background of drag racing operations along with experience in management and team building, Long brings decades of experience that will prove very helpful in the redevelopment of National Trail Raceway.

 

“Having only known him for a brief time, I instantly realized Steve will do an outstanding job and will be a fantastic addition to our company,” said Scott Gardner, Chief Operating Officer.

 

Prior to joining the National Trail Raceway team, Long was a Business Development Manager and Sales Coach and worked at select NHRA events.

Long replaces long-time track manager Mike Fornataro, who will serve as a consultant during this transitional period. Fornataro has accepted a position outside of drag racing.  [06/22/17]

Lachelt takes Spokane while Jones wins Boise

The DragParts.com Blown Alcohol Thunder Series enjoyed two successful back-to-back races in both Spokane, WA, June 10, at Spokane County Raceway and the following weekend in Boise, ID, at Firebird Raceway on June 17.

Dane Lachelt  (photo courtesy Rich Bailey)

 

In Spokane at the “Funny Car Invitational” on June 10 Canada’s Dane Lachelt beat Montana’s Brent Jones in the final round of an elimination-style race. Lachelt won with a 6.30 over Jones’s 6.65.

 

In the semifinals, Lachelt beat Kelly Flansaas while Jones took care of Rich Bailey. In addition, Lachelt also had the best Reaction Time and Low ET.

Brent Jones (near lane) and Rich Bailey (Brian Losness photo)

 

In Boise at the Great American Fox Hunt Jones made up for his runner-up loss the prior weekend as he beat Bailey in the final round of a Chicago style race. Jones rang up a 6.83 to Bailey’s 7.70. Jones was reinstated in the finals after Flansaas cracked a brake caliper in the second round. Bailey had the best Reaction Time while Flansaas set Low ET.

 

The series now moves on to Yakima, WA, for a Saturday night event on July 1 at Renegade Raceway. Currently, Jones leads the point series followed by Flansaas, Bailey and Lachelt.  [06/22/17]

Australia’s Sainty TF team to race at Darwin with three-valve engine

In Australian drag racing, one name stands out. Terry Sainty is the driver, and he along with his father, Stan, and uncle, Norm, designed and built their own Top Fuel engine in the 1990’s, made from billet aluminum with a unique three-valve design.

 

They soon will be headed to Nitro Up North held July 21-22 at Darwin’s Hidden Valley Drag Strip. It will mark the first running of the 400 Thunder Professional Drag Racing Series in Darwin. The event will be run under ANDRA sanction and will also be a round of the Summit Sportsman Series.

 

“We hear everyone up there is hungry for some nitro, so we will be doing our best to let everyone have an up-close look at the car,” Terry said.

 

Terry credited nitro tuner Dwayne Reilly with helping uncover a few secrets of the engine, changing the camshaft timing among other settings.

 

“We’ve made some more changes since the Winternationals two weeks ago with more fuel volume in the middle of the track where we have been hurting the motor in the past.” Terry added, “I just need to make sure I am ready to hang on and keep it in the groove!”  (Jon Van Daal photo)  [06/22/17]

Purse increased for DRO AA/FC Challenge at Cedar Falls

Thanks to sponsorship from the Hemi Parts King folks, the purse for the DRO AA/FC Challenge presented by Hemi Parts King on July 14-15 at Cedar Falls, Iowa, has been increased.

 

The winner will receive $5,000, runner-up $3,800 semifinalists $2,600, and $2,000 just for qualifying for the eight-car field.

 

Teams committed to attend include former DRO champions and current 2017 points leader Paul Romine and the “Man O’ War” Mustang, John Hale and the “One Bad Texan” Camaro, and Ronny Young in the Raymond Beadle tribute “Blue Max” Mopar.

 

There will be two qualifying sessions on Friday for the Nitro Funny Cars as well as the Victory Nostalgia Super Stock series.  [06/22/17]

Last year for T/F vet Bill Miller

One of the most dedicated of the independent Top Fuel team owners is the irascible Bill Miller. Miller has been a semi-regular fixture at NHRA Top Fuel events as well as a critic on occasion of the NHRA management. The Agent's sources say that Miller is ready to retire and relax.

 

The Agent and fans will miss the man whose team members once wore shirts that said, "The beatings will continue until morale improves."  (DRO file photo)  [06/22/17]

Stevenson out; Carter named new GM of Texas Motorplex

Andy Carter, 50, was named Texas Motorplex General Manager June 19th by owner Billy Meyer. Carter joined the Motorplex as the VP of Sales in 2014 and has now been promoted to General Manager to lead the veteran team at the historic facility.

 

According to the Agent's Texas sources, long-time Motorplex GM Gabrielle Stevenson, who came to the Motorplex job from the NHRA, has taken a job in her home state of California. Stevenson was one of the few female GM's ever of an NHRA national event facility.

 

“Andy has been leading our team in terms of our sales and marketing initiatives for the past four years and has been groomed for this position,” Meyer said. “His 30 years of experience in sales and event management, I believe, will lead our Motorplex team to many successful years of drag racing and entertainment events.”  [06/22/17]

VOLUME XIX,  NUMBER 6 - JUNE   2017

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This has been a very emotional week for John Gaydosh. The man, who mentored him and worked on his crew, passed away on Tuesday. Gaydosh is dedicating his race at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals to Brad “Pops” Wallace.

 

“Pops took me under his wing when I was only 16 years old. He’s been with me from the beginning to the end. To give you an idea of how long I knew him, my dad did work with his dad,” said Gaydosh. “He was the type of guy who would do anything for you. Last week I dropped heads off at his house at 5 a.m. and he worked on them all day to finish them so we could race in Bristol.”

 

When Gaydosh races his Camaro down the track this weekend in Norwalk, Wallace will be on his mind and in his heart. The team is running a special decal to pay tribute to their friend and family member.

 

“You don’t meet people like Pops anymore. I could call him in the middle of the night and he would be there for me,” said Gaydosh. “Our hearts are just so heavy and we are going to miss him so much.”

 

The Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals will also be the first weekend Gaydosh will run a new experimental motor from Gray Motorsports. A lot had to be done this week to make everything come together in time.

 

“Jerry Haas modified my chassis so that the new motor could fit into it correctly,” explained Gaydosh. “We’ll be putting the motor in the car and tuning it for the next couple days so it will be ready to go for Q1 on Friday night.”  [06/22/17]

​From left: John Scotti, Founder and President of CDRHF, Pete D’Agnolo IARA World Champion and Bob Aubertin, Director, CDRHFThe results are out for the PCRichard.com NHRA Northeast Division National Open Series for Super Gas, Super Street and Super Comp and the John Scotti Classic Cars/CDRHF.com Stock/Super Stock Shootout that took place June 17-18, at the Toronto Motorsports Park in Cayuga, Ontario.

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