NHRA officials told some sportsman teams at Bristol that the only sportsman classes that will be contested at the Summit Norwalk Nationals will be Alky Dragsters and Floppers. A look at the current NHRA sportsman schedule for Norwalk shows only those two classes with times in the daily schedule. [DRO has yet to see an official NHRA announcement regarding this as we put 1320 notes up on Monday.]

DRO editor Jeff Burk in his Burk’s Blast has said he believes the ultimate goal of the current NHRA administration would be to rid the organization of their unprofitable sportsman program if they could and just have a two- or three-hour pro show with a few support classes on the Mello Yello tour. Their thinking being that a huge majority of NHRA fans buy tickets to national events to see the pro classes only.

If our information is correct, this coming weekend at Bill Bader's Norwalk, Ohio, drag strip we may get to a peek at the future of the NHRA. It will be interesting to see how the ticket buying fans at Norwalk -- a hotbed of sportsman racing -- react to a Friday, Saturday and Sunday NHRA show basically without the Sportsman support classes. Pro Mod, Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle will run in addition to Top Fuel and Funny Car.

“If the critical ‘walk-up’ ticket sales for Saturday and Sunday at Norwalk equal or exceed tickets sold when the event includes the LODRS contingent, I think there will be NHRA races in the future without Sportsman racers,” says Burk.

The Agent must wonder … What gives?   [06/17/19]

Torrence was off the line first, but Salinas chased him down to win by .0177 seconds. (Chris Haverly photo)

In Top Fuel, Salinas snapped the five-race winning streak of points leader and defending world champion Steve Torrence thanks to a final-round pass of 3.836 at 325.69 in his Scrappers Racing dragster. Torrence, who had won 22 straight rounds before Sunday’s loss in the finals, went 3.892 at 287.60, slowing at the finish line. Salinas is tuned by Alan Johnson.

Torrence maintains his large points lead going into Norwalk, OH, this weekend, the fourth national event in a row.   [06/17/19]

They were the top qualifiers in their classes and that’s the way Mendy Fry and Jeff Arend ended Saturday, June 15, at the Holley Hot Rod Reunion at Beech Bend Raceway in Bowling Green, KY.

Arend took home the coveted Wally in the Nostalgia Funny Car category with his run of 5.784 seconds at 243.28 mph in the “California Hustler” Trans Am. He defeated Dan Horan Jr. and Eric Stevens on his way to the winners circle.

"We've never been to Bowling Green before. Love the track; it's a great area," said Arend. "The car ran good and Ronnie Swearingen is a good Crew Chief. We have a great team here. We were low E.T. in qualifying. So today we knew if we run the same as we have, we're probably going to do okay and win. I'm really happy we won and got a Wally for Don Nelson (team owner)."

In Nostalgia Top Fuel, Mendy Fry, current world champion and top qualifier for the event, powered to victory in her High Speed Motorsports dragster with a pass of 5.561 at 259.21.

It was a side-by-side battle all the way down the track in the final round as Fry (far lane) defeated Jim Young's run of 5.651 at 262.28 in the “Young Guns” dragster. She landed in the final round after turning on the win light against Jerry Hangey and Tyler Hilton earlier in the day.

In other categories competing, Rich Krohn won in 6.0 Eliminator, Jeffrey Sanborn won in 7.0 Eliminator and Randall Boles was the winner in 7.5 Eliminator. Dan Dishon captured the win in Competition Eliminator and Jim Hayes emerged victorious in Gas Eliminator. In Modified Eliminator, Greg Carta came away with the win and Jimmy Ray took the top spot in Nostalgia Super Stock. The win was captured by George Warren in Top Stock Eliminator and in Hot Rod Eliminator, Paul Mitchell snagged the victory. Rounding out the day's winners were Herman Hill in Straight Axle and Joe Bush in Geezer Gassers.  [06/17/19]

Mike Zmuda of Lackawanna, NY, and Frank Malvaso of Rochester won the final matchups for the Supercharged Bounty Hunters on Friday night, June 14, at Lancaster Dragway @ New York International Raceway Park.

The field of nine Supercharged Bounty Hunters was set through qualifying with Mike Zmuda and Chuck McMahon of Rochester taking top two spots. They then faced off head-to-head in the first final of the night. McMahon left the starting line first, but Zmuda (above) was first to top end with a pass of 4.656 seconds at 149.55 mph.

The second final featured the #3 and #4 qualifiers, with Malvaso facing off against the Chevy Nova of Ron D’Alessandro. Malvaso picked up the win with an elapsed time of 4.619 seconds at 155.76 mph.  (photos by David Hilner Photography)

Dave Balser of Akron, NY, almost became the first driver of the season to score multiple class wins in the same night. Balser started out by winning Top 8 Eliminator by beating Chris Van Baalen in a close matchup. He was then inserted into the Mallare Trucking Top ET ladder, and made his way to the finals to face Chuck Mendola of Lancaster. Balser’s quest to do the double was derailed when he broke out, which gave Mendola his first win of the season.

Gianni Mazia’s Mod ET: Ed Semlitsch (W. Seneca, NY) 1963 Chevrolet II, .556 RT, 8.77 dial, 8.770 seconds, 75.89 mph def. Keith Banas (Buffalo, NY) 1972 Chevrolet Chevelle .532, 6.76, 6.753/97.46 mph

Hebeler’s Sales Bikes & Sleds: Mike Peters (Angola, NY) 1980 Kawasaki .560, 5.52, 5.553/114.77 def. Dick Nearhoof (Wheatfield, NY) 1990 Kawasaki ZX10 .615, 5.98, 6.003/113.66

Tread City Tire Street ET: Dan Knab (Elma, NY) 2004 Saturn .642, 10.35, 10.413/68.39 def. Deanna Winkowski (Depew, NY) 2001 Saturn .592, 11.97, 11.861/58.31    [06/17/19]

Doug Kalitta raced his red and white Mac Tools Top Fuel dragster to the top of the Top Fuel field at the Thunder Valley NHRA Nationals on Saturday with a 3.755 ET at 324.67 mph. It was Kalitta’s 50th career No.1 and occurred at his 500th NHRA national event. This was the veteran leader of Team Kalitta’s first Top Fuel No. 1 of the 2019 season and his first at Bristol Dragway.

He made a valiant try for the event win, only to lose in the semifinal against eventual winner Mike Salinas.   [06/17/19]

Although lips are sealed at the track, a source out of Pennsylvania tells the Agent that the owner of the Classic Car Museum, Holiday Inn in Morgantown, and Oaks Expo Center has bought Pennsylvania’s Maple Grove Raceway. We’re tracking down the possible new owner.   [06/17/19]

Last year the state of Virginia passed a Farm Bill that allowed hemp to be grown in the state for purposes other than research, and one of the first to invest in the plant on a large scale is drag racer and cattle farmer, Matt Hagan.

"They say we're going to be one of the biggest in the state of Virginia and that means we're taking one of the biggest risks in the state of Virginia," he said. Hagan reportedly has invested a million dollars in the project, according to television station WDBJ.

TruHarvest Farms grows a genetically modified hemp (yes, it’s a relative of marijuana) that has a high concentration of cannabidiol (CBD) and low of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). CBD is found in many products these days to relieve pain and anxiety without the “high” of THC.

Hagan and John Straw, who oversees the hemp operation, are working with Virginia Tech to increase research in the state that formerly was known for tobacco cultivation.

Hemp has been grown for about 10,000 years and there is a history of hemp growing in the U.S. south. Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison along with Benjamin Franklin grew the plant for use in the production of rope, thread, canvas and other industrial uses.  [06/17/19]