FOR THE BIRDS?
According
to a couple of the Agent's reliable nitro operatives, Wes
Cerny is leaving his co-crew chief position with Cruz Pedregon.
Apparently there had been discussions within Pedregon Racing
to make Dickie Venables, Tony Pedregon's crew chief, official
tuner for both floppers, and veteran Cerny declined the
offer to remain as consultant to the team.
Cerny has been listed as co-crew chief on Cruz's funny along
with Sam Shockley and Ron Douglas for some time. There's
no official word on where Cerny might land, but spending
some quality time with his exotic bird collection may be
in the short term before Indy. (Darr
Hawthorne photo) [8-19-2005]
NHRA SLOWS 'EM DOWN AGAIN
Effective immediately, NHRA has issued changes for racers
who use the MSD PN 8971 Pro Mag Digital Retard Controller
and PN 7570 Programmer. The timing retard will begin at
3.8 seconds (instead of 4). The rpm point for the retard
will be 8,300 rpm (instead of 8,400 rpm). The timing will
retard 100 degrees per second (instead of 50 degrees). Updates
are available at the MSD Tech Support Semi this weekend
at the Memphis race. These updates must be in place before
Indy. [8-19-2005]
FLYNN JOINS BEARD AT POWERS MOTORSPORTS
Powers Motorsports has added Rob Flynn to assist crew chief
Lee Beard in tuning the Top Fuel Dragster driven by “Hot
Rod” Fuller. Flynn will join the team this weekend
in Memphis where they are competing in the NHRA O’Reilly
Mid-South Nationals and will be with the team for the balance
of the 2005 season. He is currently discussing further commitments
for 2006 and beyond. [8-19-2005]
JOHNSON GOING IN CIRCLES
Steve Johnson (no, not the motorcycle racer) who worked
in NHRA management for a short time before leaving to take
the job as CEO of the Sports Car Club of America recently
announced that he was leaving that organization to take
over as the CEO of the Champ Car World Series LLC. In the
Agent's opinion Mr. Johnson is a glutton for punishment.
[8-19-2005]
A NEW FUEL FLOPPER AT MEMPHIS
One
of the Agent's favorite racer/tuners, Steve Boggs, will
be the crew chief on a new nitro funny owned by Jeff and
Bonnie McGaffic and driven by just turned pro Paul Lee.
In addition to his many national event wins and championships,
Boggs tuned Mitch Myers' A/FD to the still-standing national
record of 5.10. So, the Agent thinks these guys will be
competitive "out of the box." Nick Boninfante
will consult for the team.
The J&B Motorsports team previously raced Top Alcohol
Funny Car, but purchased the 2005 Chevy Monte Carlo that
Ron Capps piloted last year from Don Prudhomme with spare
parts to boot. In May, Lee was able to upgrade his license
with runs of 5.11 at 294 mph and 5.13 at 290 mph in a test
session after the spring Chicago national event.
"Racing in the nitro class is truly a dream come true
for me," Lee said. "We all know that it takes
lots of dedication, lots of sacrifices, and most importantly,
truckloads of money to compete successfully in the nitro
classes. It's definitely not for the faint of heart or wallet."
[8-19-2005]
SHELBY STARTS WHEEL COMPANY
The
legendary Carroll Shelby has started manufacturing wheels,
with the first products being updated versions of the original
GT500 wheels for 2005-06 Mustangs. The Carroll Shelby Wheel
Company is headquartered in Huntington Beach, CA. The wheels
will be available through an exclusive automobile dealer
network program. Wheels are currently in production and
will debut at the SEMA Show, held in Las Vegas, Nov. 1-4.
[8-19-2005]
