KENNY NOWLING TO DRIVE SECOND CAR FOR TEAM GOTHAM CITY

Agent 1320 has learned that AMS Pro Mod majordomo Kenny Nowling will be driving a second car for the Mike Ashley team. A '98 Jerry Bickel-built Firebird with a 555 cubic inch Bill Kuhlmann engine for power. Now before you all go into a panic (This means you Bill Kuhlmann, Mike Ashley, and Dave Wood) understand that this is not, repeat not, a Pro Modified. Nowling will be driving the alcohol-burning, carbureted, Pontiac Firebird in Super Gas at NHRA National Events where the AMS Pro Mods compete. Major sponsorship will come from Tarpit Records with associate sponsorship with the band SLUR, InfiNet, Lend America and Gotham City Racing. Nowling also will compete at selected NHRA divisional races during the course of the season. The Agent's only question is: What does this dude do inhis spare time? [1-8-2003]

BUDWEISER, AMS TO SPONSOR BILL HILL'S NOVA PRO MOD; CRITCHLEY TO DRIVE AMS '57 CHEVY

Pro Modified racer Bill Hill's race team will compete at all ten of NHRA's AMS Staff Leasing Pro Mod Challenge events during the 2003 season. The St. Louis-based racer, who drove Dave Wood's AMS Staff Leasing '57 Chevy at NHRA events during the 2002 season, will drive his own Anheuser-Busch/AMS Staff Leasing-backed supercharged '69 Nova this year.

This is the 12th consecutive season that Anheuser-Busch and the Budweiser brand has sponsored the drag racing team owned by Bill Hill and Richard Mathews. AMS Staff Leasing will join the team this year as their major associate. AMS's primary car will be the '57 Chevy that Hill drove last year (photo above), which this season will be driven and tuned by Troy Critchley. Hill and Critchley will form the AMS Staff Leasing team for 2003. As part of AMS's sponsorship of the Bill Hill team, Troy Critchley will build and help tune the engines in Hill's car.

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"I can't tell you how thrilled I am to continue my relationship with Budweiser and AMS Staff Leasing," said Hill. "Dave Wood and Jeff Lynn (from AMS Staff Leasing) have gone out of their way to help me this season. We will truly be a two-car team. Both Troy and I are going to share information between the two teams. Since our cars will have basically the same drivetrain, both cars' performances should benefit greatly from the relationship."

The '69 Nova, which Hill ran at Super Chevy Show events in 2002 as a nitro coupe, is currently being updated at Mark Lynn's Missouri chassis shop and will then receive a new paint scheme.

The team plans to begin the year February 13-16 at Darlington (SC) Dragway's WinterNationals event where the team will attempt to be the first Pro Modified car to run the quarter-mile in five seconds. A month later they will attend this season's first NHRA AMS Staff Leasing Pro Mod Challenge event at Gainesville, Florida. (Jeff Burk photo) [1-7-2003]

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