Khalid al Balooshi drove to his first victory of the season and fourth of his career Sunday, June 17, during the E3 Spark Plugs NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by J&A Service portion of the Fitzgerald USA NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway. This weekend’s Pro Mod racing, presented by Elite Motorsports, was the sixth of 12 events this season.

AlBalooshi used a 5.924-second pass at 247.38 mph in his Bahrain ‘17 Chevy Camaro to take down Todd Tutterow (5.948/242.10) in the finals.

AlBalooshi celebrated the Fathers Day win with his sons.  (Chris Haverly photos)

“I’ve been thinking about retiring recently and wondering if I could still compete in this class, but finally I got a win again and it feels amazing,” AlBalooshi said. “I just came out here and had fun and this is definitely a good way to get some momentum heading into the rest of the season.”

Tutterow notched his first final round of the appearance of 2018 as his 5.948 at 242.10 was not enough to defeat AlBalooshi.

AlBalooshi jumps up to third in the Pro Mod standings with the victory, while Tutterow now sits in eighth. Mike Janis retains his points lead in the class by following up his victory in Richmond with a semifinal exit in Bristol.

The E3 Spark Plugs NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by J&A Service continues at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio, June 21-24.   [06/19/18]

Top Fuel drivers Scott Palmer and Dom Lagana and their CatSpot Organic Cat Litter Top Fuel dragsters are now racing in collaboration with CAPCO pilots Billy and Steve Torrence.

"Tommy Thompson gave us an incredible opportunity," Palmer said, referring to the owner of CatSpot Organic Cat Litter and a renowned drag boat racer. "I mean, who takes a chance on one of the smallest teams in the pits and completely funds a guy who has nothing? Nobody but Tommy. What he liked most is that we're just regular guys, working hard, living a dream.”

With Thompson's unwavering support, and a tuning alliance with the Torrences, Palmer has become a problem for many well-established teams. Deep runs on Sundays, including a runner-up showing in Phoenix and a semifinal finish last Sunday in Bristol, has Palmer solidly in the Mello Yello top 10, making him eligible for the playoffs.

"Billy Torrence has this idea about making a mega team out of normal, family-oriented people, and he's doing a great job of it," Palmer said. "We all work together on this deal and people are starting to see it pay off. This is a collaboration of two full-time teams and two part-time teams with a goal of showing everybody you can still come out here, race hard, contend for wins and enjoy doing it all with your family.

"Adding (co-crew chief) Jason McCulloch a few races ago has been big. Jason has been on a lot of big teams and he loves the CAPCO/Torrence connection because he sees we race as a family, like him and his dad used to do. Me and Billy talked about him and decided he needs to be on this team to the benefit of us all. It's working."

"It's going to be a hot race at Norwalk so we are going to take the setup we used this past weekend in Bristol when we qualified in the top half and tickle it a little bit,” Lagana said. “Norwalk is a new surface so everybody's gonna be in a gray area with their tune-ups. I've heard (Norwalk's surface) came out really smooth and flat. I'm real confident going into the next couple of races. I'm so excited."  [06/19/18]

The NHRA Northwest division LORDCO Auto Parts B.C. Nationals Double-Header came to a conclusion Sunday evening, June 17, at Mission Raceway.

Shawn Cowie  (file photo by Tim Marshall)

Northwest rivals Kim Parker, Graham, Wash., and Shawn Cowie, Surrey, B.C., squared off the in the Top Alcohol Dragster final round. Cowie took the lead and pulled away running 5.319 seconds, 274.97 mph to keep Parker at bay and earning the Wally trophy. Parker finished up at 5.345 seconds, 271.73 mph.

In the Top Alcohol Funny Car final round, Chris Marshall, McMinnville, Ore., ceded the starting line advantage to fellow Oregon runner Brian Hough of Junction City. But Marshall recovered and surpassed Hough for the final round victory hitting 5.573 seconds, 265.33 mph. Hough runner upped at 5.620 seconds, 264.62 mph.

After taking home the Super Comp Wally in the first half of the double header, Randy Beck, Tacoma, Wash., entered Sunday's final round against Len Mayer, Vegreville, Alb. Beck took the lead, running 8.908 seconds, 168.00 mph to earn his second Wally of the weekend in Super Comp. Mayer brokeout chasing Beck.

Washington Comp standouts Ryan Warter, Olalla and Jeff Lane of North Bend faced off again in the final round after Friday's clash. This time Lane ran down Warter for the final round victory, clocking in at 8.063 seconds, 158.84 mph.

After finishing as a runner up Friday evening, Jackie Alley, Eagle, Idado captured the Super Stock Wally as Tod Haste, Kennewick, Wash.,activated the red light. Alley ran 9.380 seconds, 141.73 mph.

Don Depeel, Gladstone, Ore., put on an encore to his Friday night performance; running 8.509 seconds, 152.15 mph defeating Miles Hauer, Seattle, Wash., for the double up victory in Sportsman Motorcycle.

Rian Hayward, Marysville, Wash., triggered a reaction time of .001 seconds, forcing Mike Lucas, Fort St. John, B.C., to break out, securing the JBS Ltd Top Sportsman trophy. Hayward registered a winning pass of 7.549 seconds, 181.41 mph. Top Dragster standouts Paul Nero, Eugene, Ore., and Kacee Bootsma-Morris, Olympia, Wash., both triggered great lights, however, Nero was able to edge out Bootsma-Morris for the RAD Torque Systems Top Dragster Wally, hitting 7.067 seconds, 186.18 mph.

Nate Gagnon, Qualicum Beach, B.C., defeated fellow British Colombia rider Jim Schellenberg of Surry in the Top Fuel Harley final round. Gagnon ran 8.192 seconds, 172.71 mph.

The other drivers visiting the winner's circle were Casey Plaizier in Super Gas, Matt Kielman in Super Street, Darien Provost in Super Pro,John Tabak in Pro, Justin Cooper in Super Comp Shootout, Casey Plaizier in Super Gas Shootout, Allen Macham in Super Street Shootout, and Dave Jackson in Top Comp Shootout.   [06/19/18]

Richard Preiser and Kyle Bigley scored big wins this weekend at Numidia Dragway and the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series.

Preiser recorded a perfect .000 second reaction time in his ’67 Mustang against Marty Rinehart in the Super Stock presented by ATI final round. The .043 holeshot forced Rinehart to chase Preiser down, and ultimately break out by just .002 seconds as Preiser, Jackson, N.J., took the win. (file photo by Ron Lewis)

Bigley also parlayed a holeshot of .002 into a win over Mike Robilotto in Super Comp. Bigley clocked in at 8.921 seconds at 170.64 to barely hold on as Robilotto came charging with an 8.903 run on the 8.90 index.

In Comp Eliminator, Jay Schonberger out of Philadelphia bagged his first win after James Primozic went red with the foul start. Peter Luciano won in similar fashion in Super Gas when Derek Clark left .005 seconds too quick giving Lucian his first win since 2015 and his first ever in Super Gas.

Michael Cerro was better at both ends of the track and Rebecca Miller snagged her first win in the MXI/Magnaflux Top Sportsman and Top Dragster presented by Select Performance classes. Cerro ran his ’63 Corvette to a 7.089, 193.71 mph lap over John Tiniakos for the Top Sportsman trophy. Miller ran it out to a 7.029, 179.64 mph win in Top Dragster against Bob Vojtila.

John Gray stole the win from Vic Cagnazzi in Stock as Cagnazzi broke out after a big starting line advantage and Keith Mayers was better at both ends of the track in a close one with Don Garbinski in Super Street.

In the NHRA Summit Jr. Drag Racing League, Robert Croce beat Melissa Wilson in the 13-17 class; third generation driver Frank Aragona III won over Tyler Depascale in the 10-12; and Michael Antonette defeated Lucas Willard in the 6-9 year old category.

Northeast division racers head to Lebanon Valley Dragway for the next NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event, June 29-July 1.   [06/19/18]

In the final results from Bandimere Speedway and the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, Joey Severance, Woodburn, Ore., and Annie Whiteley, Grand Junction, Colo., took home the wins in Top Alcohol Dragster and Top Alcohol Funny Car respectively.

Severance, worked his way through the field and ran 5.468 seconds at 265.43 mph in his final round victory over Dean Dubbin, Royalton, Minn., who clocked in at 5.611 seconds, 248.89 mph. Severance dominated the field running low elapsed time in reach round of eliminations after qualifying No. 1.

Whiteley faced off against Jirka Kaplan, Calgary, AB, and posted a winning run of 5.765 seconds, 355.87 mph in her ’15 Camaro. Kaplan was out first with a big holeshot, but Whitely had the power as Kaplan drove to a 5.822/248.57 lap for his runner up finish.

Both the Super Stock and Super Gas finals saw impressive reaction times this weekend as Chris Chaney, Claremore, Okla., had a reaction time of .009 seconds and ran 10.935 at 123.38 mph taking the win in the Super Stock class over Robert Cruzen Sr. Mike Boehner, Lake Havasu City, Ariz., was even better with a .006-second start and a 10.498-second run at 145.25 mph to take home the victory in Super Gas against local runner Mike Miller, Littleton, Colo.

Other racers visiting the Lucas Oil winner’s circle this weekend were Christine Harris, West Des Moines, Iowa, in Comp Eliminator; Timothy Schuster, Littleton, Colo., in Super Comp; Dane McIntosh, Powell, Wyo., in Stock Eliminator and Ryan Stifflear, Lakewood, Colo., in Super Street. In the division’s Advance Product Design Top Sportsman class, J.R. Lobner, Gardner, Kan., taking home the win while Ed Olpin, Pleasant Grove, Utah, won in the division’s Fineline Graphics and Madccap Racing Top Dragster series. In the final round of the divisions Sportsman Motorcycle series Mike Voss, Maplewood, Minn., took home the victory.

In other racing action this weekend, winners in the Aeromotive Shootouts were Saburo Wantanabe, Hudson, Colo., in Super Comp; Tim Parker, Longmont, Colo., in Super Gas; Jeff Kaufman, Holdrege Neb., in Super Street and in the Super ROD Series it was Kyle Tripp, who took home the win.

NHRA West Central Division racers head to Heartland Park Topeka for a Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series double-header weekend, July 25-28.   [06/19/18]

MagnaFuel has been named the title sponsor for both the Top Sportsman and Top Dragster classes at the DRAG ILLUSTRATED World Series of Pro Mod presented by One Cure, which takes place Aug. 10-11 at Bandimere Speedway near Denver. The winners in both the MagnaFuel Pro Star 16 for Top Dragster and Quick Star 16 for Top Sportsman will receive $4,000. MangaFuel is based in Colorado.

The scoreboards will be shut off during qualifying for both classes. Racers interested in competing must pre-register ($150 for each class) before July 14 at www.Bandimere.com.   [06/19/18]

President Trump has directed the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) to investigate whether imported automobiles and auto parts pose a threat to America’s national security. The DOC investigation applies to all types of cars and parts -- new cars, classic cars, OEM parts and specialty auto parts. Public comments are due by Friday, June 22.

The DOC will issue its findings and recommendations for presidential actions, if any. Such a recommendation could include imposing global tariffs of up to 25% on all automobiles and auto parts imported into the United States. The SEMA Action Network (SAN) opposes the threatened tariffs.

You can make your feelings known about this action by going to the SAN website for more information and contact.   [06/19/18]