HILL MAKES FINAL APPEARANCE AS DRIVER

Roy Hill, whose 30-year driving career appeared to be over when he was seriously injured in the early season crash of his Pro Modified race car, will climb back into the cockpit one last time this weekend in a nostalgic return to Rockingham Dragway.

Hill, who has driven only infrequently since winning an IHRA Hooters tour event at Morocco, IN, in 1996, will strap into a replica 1966 Ford Mustang Pro Mod bearing the distinctive emblems and paint of the legendary Blue Max Funny Car to compete in this week's Udderly SMOOth World Finals, the concluding event in the 2005 IHRA series.

As a car owner, Hill won the 1995 IHRA Pro Stock Championship with driver Mike Bell in the harnesses. Ironically, it is Bell's seat that Hill will occupy this weekend. Bell has driven the car all year long in NHRA Pro Mod competition and was the No. 6 qualifier just a week ago in the NHRA's ACDelco Nationals at Las Vegas, Nev.

Both Bell and Hill have a direct connection to the Blue Max. Hill is a close friend of Raymond Beadle, the legendary Texas Funny Car driver who made the Blue Max one of the most popular cars in the sport in the 1970s and early 1980s. En route to three IHRA Funny Car Championships, Beadle won five times at The Rock. He later went on to win a NASCAR Cup championship with Rusty Wallace as his driver (1989).

In an earlier life, Bell built Beadle's Funny Car chassis as an employee of Blue Max Racing, Inc. When Beadle quit drag racing, Bell went with him into NASCAR where he worked as a fabricator at the team's shop in Statesville.

"This'll be my last ride," Hill said. "I didn't want it to end the way it did (with the crash). Rockingham has always been my home track and it was one of Beadle's favorite tracks, too. Maybe we can put the Blue Max in the winners' circle one more time." (Jeff Burk photo) [10-28-2005]

'WILMA' LEAVES MARK ON FLORIDA

Word comes to the Agent that Hurricane Wilma pretty much demolished the Immokalee, Florida, dragstrip. With power still out in large parts of the state, it's hard getting info, but we have had a couple of sources say that the track is severely damaged.

On a somewhat better note, Billy Carroll from Wilson Manifolds in Ft. Lauderdale was finally able to get word out that they made it through the storm. They still have no power at the shop, but will have generator power and phones up and running by Monday, Oct. 31. Carroll added, "Please pass the word on if you can because we have had no power or phones all week and no way to get the word to customers who have been trying to reach us."

Moroso Motorsports Park is currently without power. We will keep you updated as we learn how things are going across the state. [10-28-2005]

COUGHLIN SETS 'BIG DOG' RECORD

Troy Coughlin ran the quickest 60-foot time in the history of the "Big Dog" race at Piedmont Dragway. The Jeg's Cavalier clocked a .997 on Thursday. The final rounds will be run Saturday, Oct. 29.  [10-28-2005]