KEPNER CAPTIVATES CORDOVA

How does he manage it? Drag racing historian, announcer extraordinaire and DRO contributor, Bret Kepner, is also one of the best bracket racers around.

In addition to his announcing duties at the recent World Series of Drag Racing at Cordova, IL, Mr. Dirt had time to compete in the True Street class -- and win! Here Kepner is toasted by the Cordova track crew. (Mike Garland photo) [8-30-2005]

BRUTON TAKES ACTION

One of the victims of the recent diecast collectibles glut has been longtime motorsports sponsor Action Performance. With large quarterly financial losses, Fred Wagenhals (shown), President and CEO of Action had announced that portions of their publicly traded business were for sale. Seeing an opportunity to expand his business, O. Bruton Smith and Speedway Motorsports Inc. have partnered with the France Family's International Speedway Corporation to form Motorsports Authentics, which has agreed to purchase Action for approximately $245 million in cash.

Approximately 70 percent of Action's 2004 product sales were related to NASCAR.

"We believe it is strategically important for NASCAR and other motorsports to have strong, well-run companies designing, marketing and distributing racing merchandise," commented Smith, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of SMI.

The acquisition of Action by SMI and ISC is expected to close by the end of this year. The deal includes licensed products and apparel with NHRA, IRL, Formula 1, the NBA and Major League Baseball. [8-30-2005]

AHDRA FATAL CRASH

Over the weekend, Elmo "E.T." Rockefeller of Sacramento, CA was killed in a crash while competing in the Pro-Drag category at the AHDRA Northwest Nationals held at Oregon's Woodburn Dragstrip. According to reports, 49-year old Rockefeller's bike moved out of the groove and hit the guardrail at over 100 MPH. He was pronounced dead at the scene. [8-30-2005]