SARKISIAN SUCCUMBS

Ed Sarkisian died July 13 at the Rhode Island Veterans Home in Bristol, R.I., where he'd lived for nearly 20 years, suffering from a severe case of MS. Ed was New England's premier drag-racing photojournalist of the 1950s and '60s. His last public appearance was for June's Charlestown (R.I.) Dragway Reunion, an annual benefit staged in his honor by old racing friends which has evolved into one of the Northeast's most-prestigious car shows.

Ed is survived by his wife, Marge, and his daughter, Pat. [7-14-2004]

ARUBA CALLING

A while back we were at the IHRA race at Virginia Motorsports Park and came across these two IHRA Pro Stockers from the island of Aruba, located off the coast of South America. The two racers make occasional trips to the states to race and are big supporters with their cash of IHRA racer programs. A tip of the Agent's fedora to Andre Loonstra (near lane) and Bert Kelkboom for their support of the sport. (Roger Richards photo) [7-14-2004]

GONZO WRITER GETS HIS DUE

The Agent just got word that infrequent (too infrequent) DRO contributor and Chris Martin alter ego, Cole Coonce, was the recipient of the "Best Sports Feature" award at the recent LA Press Club Awards. He got the accolade for a story he wrote about the Pedregon racing family. Congrats to Cole from the staff at DRO.

By the way, is it true they made you buy a $125 meal ticket just to get in for your award? Did you pay the $500 to be in the "Who's Who in LA Journalism Guide" too? [7-14-2004]

NII SIGNS WITH LEHMAN RACING

Richard Burk, CEO of nii communications, and Top Fuel team owner Peter Lehman have announced that they have entered into a sponsorship agreement that will see Lehman's Werner Enterprises Top Fueler driven by Clay Millican carry nii comunications livery for the rest of the NHRA and IHRA 2004 racing season.

"We had a one-race sponsorship with the team at the IHRA race in our hometown of San Antonio," said Burk. "We were very pleased with effort and the response we got so we decided to expand our commitment to include the NHRA races the team attends.

"My brother (DRO Editor and Publisher Jeff Burk) and I have been involved with drag racing since 1961 and this was the first opportunity we've had to get involved with another race car in a long time. I'm really excited about being part of the Lehman Racing team and I think it will be a benefit to my telecommunciations company to get the exposure this effort will bring us." [7-14-2004]