VOLUME XX,  NUMBER 4 - APRIL,  2018

Farmer takes Wednesday win at Spring Fling

New this year at the Spring Fling at Galot Motorsports Park was the addition of the No Box class, a limited field of 32 No Box entries which are run separately in the same fashion as the Box door cars. After five separate rounds of No Box racing, the winning person is moved into the sixth round of Box cars. Wednesday’s No Box winner was Lee Zane from Elmer, NJ.

 

Round six with 15 cars left, the remaining racers were Phillip Truitt, Nathan Lilley, Brendan George, Chad Taylor, Mike Barber, No Box winner Lee Zane, John Labbous, Jeff Dobbins II, Kellan Farmer, James DiCiacco, Marty Dabney, Brian Reklaitis, Tim Fletcher, Dan Fletcher and Harold Bell Jr. The survivors of that round were Truitt, George, Barber, Labbous, Farmer, Dabney, Tim Fletcher and Bell receiving the odd car bye, with three of the eight left door cars.

 

Quarterfinals and the door cars didn’t fare well. George defeated the door car of Bell, Labbous took out the door car of Barber, Farmer took out Truitt’s door car, and Fletcher kept the door car hopes alive with a win over Dabney.

 

In the semifinals Farmer used a perfect reaction time to defeat Labbous and George ran dead on his dial with an “8” to defeat the last remaining door car of Fletcher.

For the final round, it was Farmer all the way with the reaction time advantage over George, bringing home the trophy and the $15K to his family’s business, Racetech. It was Farmer’s first win since moving out of Jr. Dragsters.

 

Thursday brings a single time run followed by eliminations for a $20,000 to win event.  (John DiBartolomeo photo)   [05/03/18]

Sacramento to host NHRA Pacific National Open this weekend

Dylan Hegwood leads the 10-12-year-old class points this season going into the Sacramento doubleheader.  (Bob Johnson photo)

 

The NHRA Pacific National Open series returns to Sacramento Raceway Park this weekend, May 4-6. The event features Tom Comp, Stock/Super Stock combo, Super Gas, Super Comp, Super Street, ET brackets, motorcycles, and a double Junior Drag Racing League event.   [05/03/18]

JEGS to be title sponsor of NHRA Route 66 Nationals

JEGS has reached an agreement with NHRA as the title-rights sponsor for the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series event taking place at Route 66 Raceway outside of Chicago. The JEGS Route 66 NHRA Nationals will take place on May 31-June 3 and will feature competition in all four professional categories.

 

The entitlement builds upon the involvement by the organization as the JEGS Allstars specialty race will take place on Saturday, June 2. This race-within-a-race will pit the top points earners from NHRA’s seven geographic divisions of the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series and four Top Alcohol regions against each other in the culmination of a yearlong points battle. Competitors in Top Alcohol Dragster, Top Alcohol Funny Car, Comp Eliminator, Top Sportsman, Top Dragster, Stock Eliminator, Super Comp, Super Gas, Super Stock, and Super Street will compete for team and individual honors as well as a share of the $124,000 purse.  [05/03/18]

Norman garners Super Comp win and Best Engineered

At the recent ANDRA Grand Finals, Steve Norman not only took out the Super Comp victory for the final round of the 2017/18 Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Series, but also the Crow Cams Best Engineered Award.

 

The recognition of Norman’s D/GA BMW M3 Coupe comes at the end of the car’s debut season, following the retirement of Norman’s 2015 Super Stock championship-winning Chevy Cobalt.

 

Norman was confident that his car would earn an award. “The reason for that believe was that Reg Lee and his sons Ryan and Bryce have just done such an absolutely unreal job of building the car,” Norman said. “It is 100 percent Australian built, and the guys have done such a great job of it with the help of John Lang of Pro9 who did all of the chassis work and Peter Ridgeway who has helped with some of the engine development. The paintwork is absolutely ‘show quality’ as well, and that is all down to Bryce who did all of the paintwork on the car.”

 

By taking the win at Adelaide Norman finished the season in the top five after only competing in three events this season. With such a successful beginning to his new car’s racing career, Norman has big plans for the 2018/19 Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Series.

 

“We will be running pretty much everywhere we can this year,” Norman said.  (Outlaw Images photo) [05/03/18]

Spinozzi returns for Australian Pro Slammer competition

The 400 Thunder Professional Drag Racing Series will welcome back a familiar face in a not so familiar class of racing this weekend at the Gulf Western Oil Nitro Thunder event, as Emilio Spinozzi makes his Pro Slammer debut in the Speedmaster Chevelle.

 

After some two years out of professional competition, Spinozzi said he would just like to be present in the moment, with many runs to enjoy thanks to the all-run format.

 

“If we could run a high 5.9 second run I think we would be extremely happy,” the Sydney-based drag racer said. “We're not expecting too much, for us this is about being there and getting our groove back. “The all-run format is perfect for us, with testing on Friday and three rounds of racing on Saturday giving us a great opportunity to continue our learning.”

 

The Speedmaster Pro Slammer, built by Australia's own SCF Racecars, produces some 3000 horsepower - three times as much as the Pro Stock car Spinozzi formerly drove. The result is a far angrier, and faster, race car.

 

“The Pro Stock car is more refined in terms of the gear shifts, but the Pro Slammer you can aggressively drive. If it gets out of shape on the track I can pedal (get on and off the throttle) and recover, whereas in a Pro Stock car you would push in the clutch and that would be the end of the run.

 

“The biggest challenge so far has been the braking area, that is where the party starts. This car is doing 200mph (320kmh) halfway down the track where our Pro Stock car was doing that at the finish line.”

 

“I'm still not used to the noise,” he said. “There are so many things to get your attention. There's fuel coming out the exhausts past the window, clutch dust coming out of the can right next to your legs. I'm sure all that will be normal within a few more runs!”

 

It's not only the driver needing to get used to a new car, with the Speedmaster pit crew also learning about turning around a 3000 horsepower, supercharged Pro Slammer between rounds.

 

“Our guys are doing an awesome job,” Spinozzi said. “Mark Brew from Proforce has built us a great engine and the Speedmaster boys are getting their head around everything.”

 

Crew chief Michael Marriott said he is aiming to put the team's Pro Stock lessons to good use on the Speedmaster Pro Slammer, despite the changes in horsepower.

 

“We are coming towards this car with a different approach based on our Pro Stock experience and we want to see if we can gain anything from that first,” Marriott said. “There is a different philosophy with these cars around not just the power you can make, but also how you can adjust that power on race day. With a Pro Stock car you might be able to adjust power by 2-3% at an event, while you could pick up perhaps 10% more power with the tuning calls on a Pro Slammer. The effect that then has on the chassis and clutch is dramatic.”  (Grant Stephens photo)     [05/03/18]

Haney hopes to regroup at ‘Throw Down in T-Town’

Keith Haney is looking forward to attending Throw Down in T-Town (May 11-12), at Osage Casino Tulsa Raceway Park, his hometown track in Tulsa.

 

Haney races a pair of nearly identical appearing 2016 Camaros in the all-eighth-mile MWPMS, with “Notorious” entered in Pro Mod competition and “Enigma” his ride of choice for Radial vs. the World. Both were back in the trailer after just one round of competition at promoter Tyler Crossnoe’s Outlaw Street Car Reunion V.

 

“Notorious” experienced a major timing malfunction in round two of Pro Mod qualifying that led to a huge explosion and seriously damaged seven of eight cylinders in its nitrous-boosted engine. However, rival team owners Jim Sacuvich and Dave Pierce, along with several of their crew members pitched in to make repairs and at least give Haney a chance.

 

The explosion not only damaged the engine, but burned up the car’s windshield, too. Haney could see straight ahead, but didn’t have a view of the staging lights. Relying on crew member instructions over the radio, Haney said he deep-staged for his final qualifying attempt and hit the gas only after hearing his opponent, Jim Cunningham leave. He made the show.

 

Down on internal vacuum pressure, Haney knew his engine was still hurting, though, which led to him losing the opening round of Pro Mod eliminations to Wayne Roberts. “I had him at the tree, had him at the 60-foot; I was rollin’ good and then—BOOM!—it blew up again and he went around me.”

 

Haney will make his NHRA Pro Mod debut May 18-20 at Heartland Motorsports Park in Topeka, KS, during the Menards NHRA Heartland Nationals presented by Minties.  (James Sisk Photography)  [05/03/18]

SEMA Hall of Fame names latest inductees

Donnie Eatherly, Ed Pink and Chris Thomson are set to be inducted into the SEMA Hall of Fame. All three will be recognized as part of the festivities during the SEMA Installation Gala on Friday, July 20, at the Hilton Los Angeles/Universal City in Los Angeles.

 

From sales, inventory management, marketing, and managing capital, resources and people, Donnie Eatherly has worked in all areas of the industry and has a broad perspective of every aspect involved. He, along with his father, founded one of the first and longest-running speed shops in the mid-Tennessee area.

 

For more than 60 years, Ed Pink Racing Engines has helped legendary racers set records and win championships. While that alone is reason to honor The Old Master, it’s his dedication, innovation and contribution to the industry that sets him apart from all the others.

 

Like many in the industry, Pink’s first job was at a gas station, which led to a career that had him working alongside industry pioneers such as Lou Baney, Ed Iskenderian and the Edelbrock family. He opened his first shop in 1957 and built engines used in virtually every avenue of motorsports, including drag racing, midgets, stock cars, Indy cars and even IMSA, Le Mans and the Baja 1000.

 

Although Pink sold his original business about 10 years ago, he continues to consult and actively supports programs such as the SEMA Scholarship Foundation. He is a member of the Motorsports Hall of Fame in Detroit, Don Garlits International Drag Racing Hall of Fame and the Super Stock Hall of Fame.

 

Before joining TMG Group earlier this year, Chris Thomson worked at leading industry brands, including Baer Brakes Systems, Airaid/K&N Filter Co., Holley Performance Products, and FlowTech Exhaust Co. For more than 40 years, he held coveted executive positions in those organizations and played a key role in the companies’ successes.

 

Having served numerous times on the SEMA Board of Directors, as well as on several councils, committees and task forces, Thomson is often described as a mentor and an advocate. He is at the forefront of every key industry initiative, and he champions others to get involved.  [05/03/18]

Linda Vaughn, Mario Andretti to headline 500 Prelude event for charity

The fifth annual 500 Prelude benefiting the Survivors of Violence Foundation will be held on Wednesday, May 9. Prime 47, Indianapolis' only locally owned and operated Prime Steakhouse, will host the fundraiser from 6 to 9 p.m. The First Lady of Racing, Linda Vaughn, and racing legend Mario Andretti will headline the event. Indianapolis FOX 59 media personality Lindy Thackston will emcee and WISH-TV media personality Laura Steele will highlight the stories of the foundation.

 

"This event celebrates and honors the lives of survivors and recognizes how the foundation supports survivors in reclaiming their lives. Helping the survivors is a privilege and we are grateful to Prime 47 for providing such an outstanding venue for this meaningful event." said foundation founder, Dr. Gregory Chernoff.

 

The 500 Prelude will kick-off the month-long celebration of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in prime fashion prior to the INDYCAR Grand Prix and the 102nd running of the Indianapolis 500. Prime 47 is located inside the historic Majestic Building and will serve as the backdrop with its collection of racing iconic photos.

 

Chernoff Cosmetic Surgeons hope to continue the tradition each year to raise awareness for the beneficiary of the event. The Survivors of Violence Foundation was started in 2002 by Dr. Chernoff and Royia Grizzell, a survivor of the Oklahoma City bombing. The foundation provides reconstructive surgery and scar therapy to survivors of violence with the greatest financial and health care needs.  (Tim Marshall file photo)  [05/03/18]

New Product of the Day

 

Powermaster 100mm Denso Style Alternator

Powermaster Performance now offers a compact and powerful alternator that is ideal for traditional hot rods and many race cars. The new 100mm Denso-style Alternator weight just 6.4 lbs. and delivers up to 75 amps at higher rpm. It will mount directly in place of a lower-output 93mm model. Produces 35 amps at idle with a peak of 75 amps. Available with a V-belt pulley in a natural or polished finish as well as a durable black coating without a pulley. For racers running 160-volt batteries, Powermaster also offers an XS Volt version of the 100mm alternator, where voltage output can be adjusted from 13.5 to 18.5. Adjustment are made through an easily accessible potentiometer.  [05/03/18]

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