HOUGH UPDATE

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Rick Hough, driver of the "Nanook" AA/Fuel Altered, is improving after his crash on Aug. 13 at Firebird Raceway in Boise, ID. The wild ride started in the left hand lane, with Hough being knocked out following impact with both the left and right side retaining walls and then barrel rolling to a stop just past the eighth-mile mark in the right lane. A fire then erupted from a split fuel cell, but the quick response from the track safety team kept Hough from receiving any burns. He is wearing a brace for a cracked neck vertebra and is still hospitalized. (file photo by Ian Tocher) [8-23-2005]

HADDAD IN FATAL CRASH

Tofie Haddad, the popular driver of the XLCustoms.com mountain-motored Mustang on both the NMRA and Fun Ford Weekend circuits, was killed on Aug. 21 in an accident near his Sterling Heights, MI, home. Haddad, 35, was test driving a race car on the street for its owner, who saw the crash happen. Haddad lost control of the car and hit a fire hydrant before crashing into a utility pole. No cause for the accident has yet been determined.

Haddad made Ford series history in 2002 when he scored the first "big block" Pro 5.0 victory with his 813-cubic inch '02 Mustang at a FFW event at Norwalk, OH. His effort, which came on the heels of a rules change permitting naturally-aspirated big-inch powerplants in the category originally created for the venerable Ford 302 small block, paved the way for a similar revision in NMRA competition.

Haddad's most recent event was the NMRA Ford Nationals at Atco Raceway in Atco, NJ, where he qualified seventh and fell in the opening round to eventual Pro 5.0 winner Michael Hauf, whose Mustang is a virtual copy of the format pioneered by Haddad. (Bret Kepner photo) [8-23-2005]