Columns - Agent 1320

STRANGE AWARD AT POMONA

The first NHRA Perfectly Strange Performance Award was handed out at the first 2003 NHRA national event, the K&N Filters Winternationals in Pomona, CA during the first round of Super Gas Eliminator to long-time competitor Jesse Serna of El Paso, TX (above left with Strange's John Mazzarella). Serna ran right on his 9.90 index, winning his first round of competition. Because his Monte Carlo Super Gasser was equipped with Strange NHRA posted contingency products, his cash award was doubled to $500.

Other Award winners included $250 to Rich Swatman of Moreno Valley, CA (Super Comp Dragster) and $500 Mark Faul of Tacoma, WA (SS). Faul was also a double payout recipient.

Over $156,000 will be awarded at all NHRA national events in Stock, Super Stock, Super Gas, Super Comp and Super Street for the next three years to the first racers that run right-on their index or dial-in in a winning round. For more information about the program, call a Team Strange Expert at (847) 663-1701 or click on the Strange Engineering ad in DRO. [2-24-2003]

NHRA SPEEDS UP LED TREE

One of the Agent's most reliable sources told him at the recently completed NHRA Phoenix event that right after the Winternationals, NHRA directed Bob Brockmeyer's team to find a way to make the LED starting line tree react more like the old filament bulb tree that all drivers were used to. The object evidently was to return some normalcy to the reaction times and return the advantage to the drivers who were known as "leavers."

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According to the Agent's source, the NHRA timing crew worked about 40 straight hours developing an electronic "filter" that would speed up the time it took to go from yellow to green from .400-second to approximately .380-second on a "Pro Tree." The assumption would have to be that the same thing was done for the sportsman .500 tree. Evidently the fix worked, as reaction times for most drivers seemed to return to what was generally expected of them. The real proof that reaction times and the tree were working like they used to was when Brandon Bernstein deep-staged against Larry Dixon in the Phoenix final and didn't red light.

A tip of the Agent's lid to Brockmeyer and his crew for coming up with the fix and to NHRA for its speedy action to correct the situation. [2-24-2003]

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