DRAG RACERS NAMED TO ALL-AMERICA TEAM
Four-time Jerry Titus Award winner John Force, the NHRA
Funny Car Champion for the 13th time in 15 years, is among
the 14 drivers named to the 2004 Auto Racing All-America
team by the membership of the American Auto Racing Writers
and Broadcasters Association (AARWBA).
The All-America team will be honored at a Jan. 15 banquet
at the Sheraton Suites hotel in Pomona, Calif., where the
AARWBA also will introduce the 2004 Titus winner (the driver
ADVERTISEMENT
|
|
getting the most votes), the 12 finalists for the Newsmaker
of the Half Century award and the winner of the Jim Chapman
Award for excellence in motorsports public relations.
Force, an All-America selection for the 12th time in his
career, was joined on the first team by NASCAR champion
Kurt Busch, IRL champion Tony Kanaan, NHRA Top Fuel champion
Tony Schumacher and perennial World of Outlaws sprint
car champ Steve Kinser, an All-American for a record 17th
time. Other members of the 2004 team are Jimmie Johnson,
Sebastien Bourdais, Ron Fellows, Max Papis, Scott Pruett,
Bobby East, Martin Truex Jr., Bobby Hamilton, Bill Auberlen
and Thaigo Medeiros.
Kenny Bernstein, a seven-time AARWBA All-American, also
will be honored as the winner of the Pioneer in Racing
Award. Bernstein was the first driver to break the 300
mile per hour barrier, is the only driver to have won NHRA
series titles in both Top Fuel and Funny Car and, as a
car owner, was successful on both the NASCAR and CART circuits.
Four-time IHRA Top Fuel Champion Clay Millican of Lehman
Racing was named to the 2004 Auto Racing All-America Second
Team. Other members of the second team include open wheel
racers Buddy Rice and Paul Tracy, stock car racers Jeff
Gordon and Kasey Kahne, road racers Paul Gentilozzi and
Tommy Kendall, drag racer Greg Anderson, short track racers
Danny Lasoski and Jay Drake, touring series racers Kyle
Busch and Frank Kimmel, and at-large nominees Scott Speed
and Rob MacCachren. [1-3-2005]
WARMING UP THE DESERT
Los Angeles County Raceway held their popular Hangover
Nationals over the first weekend of the new year with a
good crowd, full brackets and four jet cars making
exhibition runs.
Richard Schroeder’s “Focus
This” wagon was making some test laps with a new
driver. Schroeder said he has a brand new jet-powered
Chevy Malibu Maxx in the works and wants to run in tandem
matches with the existing Ford wagon around the country
this season.
Jeff Atamain’s “Beast” jet-dragster
ran a best of 6.26 at 267.20 mph with KC Jones' Cannonball
Express running 6.44 at 252 mph and Scott Holdridge in
the Super Chief jet running 6.72 to warm up the cold Palmdale,
CA air on Saturday evening. (Darr
Hawthorne photos) [1-3-2005]