TURBO POWERS TO PSCA RECORD

Ed Thornton of Chino Hills, CA drove his 1957 Chevrolet Pro Street to a 6.56 elapsed time at 220.81 mph during the second round of eliminations at the PSCA Winternationals at Speedworld Motorplex near Phoenix, AZ. The 6.56 was a full .14 seconds under the previous e.t. record which Thornton set at last year's event in a different car at 6.70.

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This was approximately the ninth pass on the car, which has a new M800 Engine Management System from MoTeC.

In the final elimination round, Thornton emerged victorious after posting a 6.67 at "just" 217 mph, when his competitor, Mary Baltzell, had to shut off due to tire-spin. The previous 6.56 e.t. and 220 mph speed were enough to back up the 6.67 at 217 giving Thornton both ends of the record for the Pro Street category in the PSCA.

Said Thornton of his final round run, "Shane (Techlenburg, engine tuner) and Doug (Stewart, clutch expert) told me they backed the car down just a tick so it wouldn't spin the tires. On that 220 run, it was actually slipping the tires quite a bit at the finish line. They told me it would slow down a couple of miles per hour and about a tenth and they were right on." (photo courtesy Shane Techlenburg) [2-9-2004]

MEDLEN MEETS THE PRESS

Eric Medlen met with a few journalists prior to heading for Phoenix. Medlen, who assumed he'd be a professional rodeo star, has now taken over the controls of the NHRA POWERade Championship winning Funny Car. "It's all about horsepower," Medlen said of the similarities between the ponies he used to ride and his new gig tuned by his father John.

The 30-year-old bachelor said that John Force has put no pressure on him in his rookie season. "He's a great coach," Medlen said of Force. "He told me, 'Just go out there and have fun. Everything will take care of itself. Drive it with your heart. Drive it like you mean it. Don't worry about anything else.'" (Zak Hawthorne photo) [2-9-2004]