JOE KNOWS AERO

Joe must know something or someone else, too. The new body being used on Joe Amato's Top Fueler is making, according to the Agent's source, about 1,300 lbs of down

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force. When asked about it at Houston, Amato's tuner Wayne Dupuy 'fessed up to the Agent that the body did, indeed, make down-force after the body was first run and that it (the body) was going to be a big help in the middle of the track.

The Agent is all over new bodies, but he has one question: how come when Mike Sptizer and Paul Romine tried to get a similar body to the one Amato now has approved (or at least some of the aero tweaks they installed on their conventional Top Fueler body) a while back, NHRA nixed the deal? Not only would the Agent like to know, but so would aero wizard Mike Spitzer. [6-18-2003]

PROFIT MARGIN ISN'T SO MARGINAL!

A story in a recent issue of Sports Illustrated got the Agent's eye. Seems like the guys at SI were doing a little investigative work on the high cost of sporting event food, especially the cost of an adult beverage. Seems like they found out that at NBA arenas, where a beer can sell for over eight bucks a pop, the profit on that 16 oz. cup of brew was more around the four or five dollar range. That meant the arena (or track) and the concession company split that profit up after they paid the bills.

Let's see, the Agent seems to remember drinking some beverages at that price at some drag racing facilities recently. [6-18-2003]

CAPPS CRASHES, DOUG KALITTA DOESN'T

Seems like fuel coupe driver Ron Capps is bending a lot of oval track tin these days. Now comes word that when Capps and Doug Kalitta were invited recently to test IROC Camaros along with a World of Outlaw driver and one other unidentified driver, the only car requiring a wrecker at the end of the day was Capps'. The Agent would bet Capps was either leading or trying to when he "pranged" the Camaro. (Jeff Burk photo) [6-18-2003]

NEW FRONT MOTORED FUELER FOR SPITZER

Speaking of Mike Spitzer, the Agent got a sneak peak at the new front motored, blown, big block Chevy digger with a Lenco-glide that Spitzer and crew are putting together at his Indy facility for the crew to race. No photos please, but the Agent got a good look at the car and it looks like it will be a hauler! [6-18-2003]

SPEED CHANNEL GROWS

From Inside Winston Cup Scene comes this update. SPEED Channel says it has added 244,000 homes since May and now has a Nielsen universe estimated at 57,728,000 households. The racing channel says it has added 5.8 million U.S. homes in the past year. [6-18-2003]