THAT THING GOT A HEMI?

The Agent got word from one of his buddies in the TV commercial biz that one of DaimlerChrysler’s advertising agencies in Detroit was looking for a nitro dragster to appear in an upcoming spot for the new Dodge Charger. If you’ll remember back, Dodge Trucks used Don Trasin’s Jade Grenade front-motored dragster (pictured) and Gary Scelzi’s Hemi Stratus fuel coupe in recent filming.

The search was for an unpainted A/Fueler to be part of a dream sequence taking place in the driver’s mind while he waited at a neighborhood stoplight in his new Charger. At the last minute somebody at the ad agency remembered that DaimlerChrysler already had a Top Fueler sponsored by the Mopar brand. Might we see the U.S. Army dragster in a future car commercial soon? (Darr Hawthorne photo) [4-20-2005]

NOT SO SPORTING?

Changes to the NHRA Sport Compact rules this year made for no more than a handful of competitors in the Nitto Tire Sport Compact event at Las Vegas. If a racer made the long tow to compete at the NHRA season opener at Moroso, he had a shot at the Las Vegas POWERade show, but that ruling made for a thin field at Vegas with only seven Pro Rear Wheel Drive entrants, a pair of Pro Front Wheel Drive cars, ten All Motor, three Modified entrants and three more in Hot Rod.

Marty Ladwig's Chevy Cobalt (near lane) ran 8.618/170.28 to defeat the Mazda of Ed Bergenholtz (9.159/177.02). They were the only two entries in the PRO FWD class.

In Modified, Paul Efantis (far lane) took his Toyota Solara to a 7.252/191.13 win over Justin Humphreys' 7.371/187.00 in his Lexus GS300.

Of the five classes, one car broke before the final round, making for a bye-run, and two others red-lighted, leaving only two final rounds that actually saw side-by-side competition. The cars were fairly fast, but still a “side-show” for seasoned drag racing fans. The Sports Compacts will make an appearance at the NHRA O'Reilly Summer Nationals May 26-29 at Topeka, KS. The Agent wonders how they will play in the Midwest -- not exactly a hotbed of "import" activity up to now. (Tim Marshall photos) [4-20-2005]