NEW ADRL/AMS RUMOR

The Agent hears there are serious negotiations going on that could bring more money and prestige to the eighth-mile-only ADRL series. All the Agent knows for certain is that a certain Texas-based staff leasing company and a well known Pro Mod racer/manufacturer have been huddled since the press release emerged stating that Dave Wood’s AMS Staff Leasing Company was withdrawing its support of the NHRA Pro Mod series. The discussions have centered on the future of Pro Mod after the NHRA. Details are sketchy, but among the topics reportedly being discussed are the possible addition of a turbo Pro Mod class or Top Sportsman class or a Ten-wide class or all three to the ADRL circuit. The Agent also hears that increased purses and qualifying money, and all the other things important to racers and team owners are on the table. More on this meeting coming as the Agent’s operative calls in. [11-08-2005]

HERBERT NOT HAPPY WITH SCHUMACHER

DRO has confirmed that Don Schumacher approached Doug Herbert’s tuner/crew chief, Wayne Dupuy, at the conclusion of the World Finals and offered to hire him to work on one of his teams and pay him $100,000 a year more than he is currently being paid by Herbert. Herbert didn’t take kindly to Schumacher’s attempt to hire his tuner and had a face to face conversation with Schumacher that wasn’t polite or politically correct. Evidently Schumacher now knows in no uncertain terms how DougZilla felt about the attempted "poaching" of his crew chief. The Agent will bet we haven’t heard the last of this. (DRO file photo by Jeff Burk) [11-08-2005]

WALKER, COLLINS, RAPER WIN COALITION RACES; BRANNON WINS TITLE

Doug Walker of Greensboro, NC, Darrell Collins of Winston-Salem and Jimmy Raper of Easley, SC, were the $5,000 winners in the final race in the 2005 Doug Herbert Performance Products Carolina Coalition Bracket Series Sunday, Nov. 6, at Rockingham Dragway. Walker won the Top Eliminator championship on Saturday, Collins won on Sunday and Raper won the "race-within-a-race" 32-car North Carolina State Championship.

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The event completed the eight-race series comprising two events at each of four North Carolina racetracks: Rockingham Dragway, Piedmont Dragway, Mooresville Dragway and Farmington Motor Sports Park.

Other Rockingham winners included former Rockingham track champion Chip Johnson, who drove his Fayetteville-based 1970 Chevy Nova to the Footbrake championship on Saturday; Chris Plott of Winston-Salem who, as Sunday's race winner, claimed his third win in four opportunities this year at the Rock: and Eric Aman of Mt. Olive, who drove his 1981 Camaro to victory in the North Carolina State Championship event.

Megan Lister of Taylors, SC, ended David Dean's dominance in the Trailers of the East Coast Jr. Dragster division by turning back the Waxhaw driver in Saturday's final. Dean swept both Jr. Dragster events at Rockingham's spring Coalition race. Mooresville's Corey Leazer was Sunday's Jr. Dragster winner, beating Jonesville's Brooke Anderson for Sunday's title, and Cole William of Pilot won the State Championship title.

Although he was shut out of the winners' circle in the season finale, Terry "Turtle" Brannon of Boiling Spring, SC, hung on to win a $10,000 bonus as the overall Top Eliminator Champion for 2005. Chuck Martin of Connelly Springs earned $5,000 as the No. 2 finisher.

In the Footbrake division, Sunday's semifinalist Richard Alford of Raleigh won the season championship and an accompanying bonus check for $5,000. Plott closed with a rush to finish second. Lister won the Jr. Dragster title over Dylan Stott of Columbus, NC. [11-08-2005]