BUDWEISER STAYING WITH NHRA

Last weekend at the NHRA Winternationals between Thursday night and Friday morning the Budweiser signage that adorned the guard wall and the tower at the Pomona Fairplex was suddenly removed. In the middle of an alcohol qualifying session a couple of guys on a lift painted over the Budweiser script. Of course the chat rooms and track rumor mills went into high gear and the word that A-B had severed its ties with NHRA was the number one topic of conversation. We won't repeat the rumors here because they were just wrong, wrong, wrong! Agent 1320 got in contact with the folks at the brewery who were frankly surprised at the question.

Anheuser-Busch spokesman Rick Oleshak issued the following statement: "Although our sponsorship agreement with Pomona Raceway recently concluded, Anheuser-Busch announced in November a multi-year contract extension of Budweiser's

ADVERTISEMENT

'Official Beer' sponsorship of the NHRA as well as support for the All-Star Budweiser Shootout event for leading Top Fuel drivers. Budweiser has been a longtime supporter of NHRA, including its sponsorship of Kenny Bernstein's racing teams for more than 25 years, and we look forward to continuing these relationships in the future."

Unofficially, the Agent hears that the Budweiser brand is being sued over the nightclub fire in Rhode Island a while back. The one where the band's pyro display set fire to the joint and there were fatalities. Supposedly there was a Bud sign hanging on the wall and the lawyers are suing everyone in sight. So A-B legal is re-thinking their signage policy and who could blame them. Blame the ambulance chasers. (Mark Rebilas photo) [2-25-2004]

LAST CALL FOR LIONS PHOTOS

Veteran photographer Don Gillespie has been working on a video documentary of the late, lamented Lions Drag Strip. The project is set for a summer release, but there is still a little time to get any photos, home movies or funny stories included. Gillespie is especially searching for more photos from 1955-61. If you have something you would like to have considered for inclusion, email dgillespie02@hotmail.com. But hurry, deadline is Feb. 29. [2-25-2004]