220 MPH GLIDE!!!
Mike Stewart has won the Top Eliminator West championship for the last couple of years driving his blown Hemi-powered dragster. This year he has stepped his program up by putting a screw type supercharger on the motor. As a result, his dragster has made five or six laps at over 220mph at the high desert track at Palmdale, Calif. That wouldn't be worth a 1320 note except that the blown hemi is backed by one of Mike's own modified powerglide similar to the ones you used to have in your '55 Chevy.

IT'S FINALLY HAPPENED DEPARTMENT
Litton wins race loses points lead at Cordova.

Agent 1320 was afraid this was going to happen. NHRA and IHRA wanted rules designed to reduce the downtime caused by Nitro racers blowing motors and subsequently oiling the tracks and they came up with rules that both fined the racers and deducted championship points when they did oil the track.

At the IHRA Cordova event, winner Bruce Litton entered the event just three points behind points leader Paul Romine. Litton won the race beating Romine in the final round, but there's a catch: Litton oiled the track a couple of times and instead of leaving the race in first place Litton left the race 23 points behind Romine and with a $500 fine.

Conceivably, Litton could win all of the remaining IHRA races this year yet the Championship and bonus money could end up in the being awarded to some other racer. The Agent would hate to be the PR guy trying to explain that happening to a stick and ball newspaper or T.V. guy!

DRAG RACING IN HONG KONG

Agent 1320 was told by former fuel car driver Ron Colson that one of the clients for his track planning service is a group from Hong Kong! Seems like they have an airport that isn't being used and one of the things that they are considering is to make it into a drag racing facility. Apparently some of the racers from Australia and New Zealand have expressed interest in racing at the former British Colony should the track become a reality.

SECOND IHRA RACE IN CANADA
IHRA has announced that there will be a second National Event for our Canadian neighbors in the 2001 season. According to IHRA the new track will be built in the Niagara Falls area just across the Peace Bridge from Buffalo, NY and not far from the old Niagara Dragway. Some racers from the Northeast wondered aloud if the Canadian weather will allow the track to be built in time for a late summer race considering construction on the track reportedly hasn't yet started.

THE INS AND OUTS:

TIM AND KIM OUT, TERRY MANZUR IN
After eight years of tuning for the Chuck Etchells Fuel Coupe the husband and wife team of Tim and Kim Richards were released after the tour stop at Columbus. Richards has some serious credentials having tuned Joe Amato to five Winston Top Fuel World titles. After moving over to the Etchells flopper team, he tuned up Chuck to the first four-second lap for that breed. Agent 1320 predicts the Richards won't be out of work for long.

Terry Manzur is rumored to be the replacement wrench. He last tuned for another Tim (Tim Wilkerson) and had been working as the team manager for the WWF team

CHRISTAN POWELL OUT, WHO KNOWS WHO IN
First car owner and manager Helen Hofmann replaced tuner Ronnie Swearingen with Andy Neering and now driver Christen Powell has been released. Agent 1320 wonders if Helen might be thinking about a license.

JACK OUT, LOUIE IN
Pontiac Jack Ostrander has gotten out of the seat, temporarily he says, and is letting his long time bottom-end diver Louie Allison drive the car. Jack has another car in the trailer just in case he gets the urge. Allison got his first four-second pass and first round win at the recent IHRA race at Cordova. (See the Cordova race report for more info)

BILLET BLOCKS FROM NUYTTEN!
Carburetor maven Chuck Nuytten has branched out and is now manufacturing billet blocks. Currently his C&N company is making a 4.800-inch bore center Chevy style block. On the drawing boards are a small block Chevy block and a Ford Y-block style block. Rumor has it that these blocks are not only stronger than cast blocks but will also allow the tuners to make more power without throwing the guts out of the engine.