READ GOES 300+ IN AUSTRALIA
Australian drag racer Jim Read ended last year by becoming the first racer outside the U.S. to break the 300 mph barrier. Read recorded a 4.89 at 301.40 mph on his 10-year-old Dave Uyehara-built car at Willowbank Raceway near Brisbane on Saturday, Dec. 30th. Ironically, although some tracks had been offering bonuses for the first car over 300, no money had been posted for that night.

"It's sad we aren't getting anything extra for the run, but we've rewritten the history books and really that's what counts," Read said philosophically.

NEW NOSTALGIA SANCTIONING BODY
Agent 1320 has been hearing rumbles about a new sanctioning body for Nostalgia drag racers. The name of the new group is the American Drag Racing Association and the president is Bill Chapman. According to Chapman, the sanctioning body has the same insurance carrier as NHRA and has hired the likes of Keith Farrell, Dean Papadeas, Don Garlits, and Kenny Youngblood. Also according to Chapman the sanctioning body has a television program in place with the Speedvision Network to broadcast 26 hours of ADRA racing in 2001.

The sanctioning body's eliminators will include front motored fuel dragsters, nostalgia funny cars, and three classes of fuel altereds! The sanctioning body has announced a nine race schedule that starts in Nevada in April, Jackson MS in May followed by stops in Darlington, SC; Maple Grove, PA; and Great Bend, KS in June and Noble, OK in July. The last three races are in August and September with two stops at the new track in Banning, CA with a race in San Antonio, TX in between.

MAKE THAT SWEENEY, NOT WENEY
Agent 1320 screwed up in reporting about the recently discovered Ivo early model funny car body and restoration. He reported that the body was going to the shops of Scott and Walt Weney when in fact the Dodge body was going to Californian Bill Sweeney. Sweeney is going to put a vintage Jaime Sarte chassis under the nostalgic Dodge body that was "TV" Tommy Ivo's last Fuel Coupe and will have many of the people who did the original work on the car re-do their efforts. Some of the people involved in the project include painter Bill Carter and airbrush master Jim Moser. The fiberglass body is being restored by Grant Downing at Paralax Race Cars. Sweeney has promised the agent some photos of the project very soon. We can't wait.

MEDIA WATCH 1
Kudos to NHRA and the media department! In the last six weeks or so there have been two major stories in the prestigious AutoWeek weekly magazine. That is more coverage than NHRA has had in a long time. The January 1 issue had a four page story plugging NHRA drag racing and the ESPN package. Don't know who made it happen and don't care. The Agent is just glad to see that magazine covering drag racing in a major way again.

MEDIA WATCH 2
The Agent hears the IHRA may have an announcement soon as to which production company will do their TV program for the 2001 season. Rumor has it that a very recognizable name will be producing the program for the newly re-named The National Network.

MEDIA WATCH 3
Dean Papadeas has been hired by the American Drag Racing Assn. to produce a series of shows on the new Nostalgia circuit's races. Papadeas (or the Director as he is known) will be reunited with Don Garlits who will do the color commentary. The Agent cannot wait to see what one of the most innovative video producers of drag racing shows does with nostalgia drag racing.

Copyright 1999-2001, Drag Racing Online and Racing Net Source