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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
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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]

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