FORCE SHATTERS THE 4.70 FC BARRIER

John Force shattered what may be the last remaining performance barrier in Funny Car drag racing October 2 when he pushed the Castrol GTX Start Up Ford Mustang through the quarter mile timers in 4.697 seconds at 332.75 miles per hour in qualifying for the fourth annual CARQUEST Nationals at Route 66 Raceway.

In becoming the first Funny Car driver to break the 4.70-second barrier, Force surprised everyone, including crew chief Austin Coil who, just one week ago, unequivocally had stated that under the current rules structure, which limits the nitromethane content in the fuel mix to 85 per cent, there would be no record-setting opportunities for the remainder of the 2004 season.

Force, the current POWERade points leader, also was the first to break the 4.90- and 4.80-second barriers. He was clocked in 4.889 seconds on July 6, 1996 at Topeka, Kan., and in 4.787 seconds on Oct. 24, 1998 at Dallas, Texas. (file photo by Jeff Burk)  [10-4-2004]

MR WILSON WALKS ON WATER (ALMOST)

The Agent couldn't resist sharing this photo of DRO's Dale Wilson in his Alpharetta, GA garage after Hurricane Jeanne (or was it Ivan or Frances?) passed by. (photo by Fran Gaudsmith) [10-4-2004]

PERFECT STRANGER'S AT JOLIET

NHRA's Joliet event was a performance boon for three sportsman racers who benefited from The NHRA Perfectly Strange Performance Award: Dennis Foster S/C $1000; Carl Root S/G $1000; and Tony Fuller S/ST $2000. [10-4-2004]