VOLUME XXI,  NUMBER 1 - JANUARY,  2019

So-Cal champs readying for winter warmup

Defending series champions Kevin McClelland, Fred Murphy and Greg Hicks are all expected to enter the season-opening events in their classes on Feb. 2-3 at Auto club Dragway in Fontana, CA. The event takes place one week before the NHRA Winternationals at nearby Pomona.

McClelland is the Southern California Pro Gas Association champion and also won the 2018 Winternationals in Super Gas.

Murphy earned his second championship last year and also the annual Super Street Shootout.

Hicks won the inaugural K&N 890 Series championship, getting three wins of the seven races contested in 2018. 

Ferre to drive Lamattina Top Fueler in Australia

American racer Cameron Ferré will be the driver of the YBI Creative dragster for the Santo’s Summer Thunder in Sydney this weekend, Jan. 18-19.

 

“I was so stoked when my buddy Richie Crampton called asking if I would be interested in filling in for him down in Australia,” Ferré explained. “I could not say yes fast enough. I have been working hard here at home to continue my Top Fuel career in the NHRA but a chance to get behind the wheel in Australia was too good to be true. And to have a guy like Richie recommend me to Phil and his team is very humbling. I have some big shoes to fill, Richie is an awesome driver.”

 

Ferré’s last event in Top Fuel was the NHRA season finale in Pomona where he drove for Terry Haddock Racing, qualifying 13th and was eventually eliminated by current NHRA World Champion Steve Torrence.  

The mob, Las Vegas and automobile racing: sounds like a good bet

“Stardust International Raceway: Motorsports Meets the Mob in Vegas, 1965-1971” will be the topic of a presentation at the Clark County Library Theater on Tuesday, Jan. 15, at 7 p.m. in the main theater of the Clark County Library, 1401 E. Flamingo Rd., Las Vegas, NV  89119.

 

Authors Randall Cannon and Michael Gerry have put together a look at the early days of Las Vegas when the raceway was created by the Stardust Hotel-Casino to help draw high rollers. The book looks at the Stardust’s predecessor, Henderson’s Thunderbird Speedway, through the Las Vegas Speedrome that morphed into the current Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

 

Pete Ward, the latest addition to the DRO staff and a Las Vegas resident, gives us a book review here

Race & Performance Expo to return in 2020

After a year without a venue, Race & Performance Expo (RPExpo) has signed with the Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center and Hotel to hold the 12th Annual Race & Performance Expo on February 21-23 of 2020. Friday, Feb. 21, will be a trade-only day for Motor State’s resellers, while Saturday and Sunday will be open to the public and trade.

 

The Race & Performance Expo has been the Midwest’s premier racing aftermarket product show for the past 11 years. Filling the 100,000 sq. ft. convention center in Schaumburg, IL, with hundreds of high-performance product vendors, cars, trucks, and personalities, as well as the Hot Rodders of Tomorrow Engine Challenge and educational seminars.

 

“We’re excited to partner with Race and Performance Expo as the presenter of this great event,” Motor State’s Director of Marketing Scott Wohlstrom said. “We’ve discussed a jobber show for years, and this is the perfect opportunity to make it happen.”

 

RPExpo Marketing Director Tom Stockenberg stated, “We’re looking forward to partnering with Motor State. It’s a perfect marriage. It will bring a good mixture of resellers and consumers for a show this size, in addition to more high-performance vendors and products.”  

Thompson Raceway Park renews with IHRA

Thompson Raceway Park, nicknamed “Ohio’s Thunder Capital,” has renewed its sanctioning agreement with the IHRA.

 

Located less than an hour east of Cleveland, Thompson is the oldest drag strip in the state, first opening in 1958.

 

The track features a number of special events such as the Gasser Nationals and the Independence Eve Explosion, as well as a strong program in the IHRA Summit SuperSeries. Track champions for 2018 who qualified for the IHRA Summit SuperSeries World finals were Mike Capazzio (Top), Ray Babb (Mod), and Robert Richard (Junior).  

NASCAR cuts staff

On Friday, Jan. 11, NASCAR laid off staff members at various positions around the country. The number of people laid off was not released, but it is estimated to be around 5% of the total workforce.

 

The number of fans attending live events as well as television viewers has been dwindling in recent years.

 

“We’re looking to take our remaining resources and focusing them on initiatives we already have in place that require dollars and that will help us grow,” an unnamed NASCAR official is quoted in the Daytona Beach News Journal.  

FuelTech to present PDRA season opener

FuelTech will be the presenting sponsor of the first race of the Professional Drag Racers Association sixth season, the East Coast Nationals on April 4-6 at GALOT Motorsports Park in Benson, NC.

 

The all eighth-mile racing will include Pro Boost, Pro Nitrous, Pro Stock, Pro Outlaw 632, and Outlaw 10.5 pro classes. Sportsman classes include Top Sportsman Elite 16 and Top Sportsman 32, Top Dragster Elite 16 and Top Dragster 32, the Edelbrock Bracket Bash and Pro Jr. Dragster and Top Jr. Dragster.  

New Product of the Day

 

Blower Timing Degree Ring Adapters from Good Vibrations

These Blower Timing Degree Ring Adapters from Good Vibrations will allow you to use a 6-scallop ring with a conventional blower crank hub. Machined from billet aluminum, no modification is required. Does not affect the balance of your engine. Designed for hubs that have a front register more than .565” wide. Offered with or without a .240 male center register.  

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