IS HERBERT ABOVE THE ROMINE LINE NOW?

The Agent found it interesting that after the Memphis NHRA race, Doug Herbert's team apparently met or exceeded the 11 oil-downs the John Mitchell Top Fueler had prior to the U.S. Nationals. When that team reached 11 oil-downs, NHRA not only levied a pretty hefty

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fine against team owner John Mitchell, but also required the team to make three supervised, competitive laps without oiling the track before they would be allowed to run at the U.S. Nationals. Team owner Mitchell refused and eventually lost the sponsorship from CARQUEST over the deal.

The Agent has heard nothing about Herbert getting a big fine or being required to prove that he can make laps before being allowed to run at Chicago. The Agent did hear that NHRA officials have given a couple of reasons for the non-action against Herbert while penalizing Mitchell's team. One was that Mitchell's team wasn't doing enough to contain the oil after blowing an engine and, second, there was a criteria that involved a formula that compared the number of runs made against the number of oildowns a team has.

Is everyone clear on this now? The only thing the Agent is sure of is that this whole deal appears to be a classic tempest in teapot and very confusing. [9-30-2003]

JANIS SETS IHRA PRO MOD RECORD

Pro Modified competitor Mike Janis set the IHRA world speed record at 231.40 mph during qualifying Sept. 26 at Budds Creek, MD. He bested the previous record of 231.20 held by Fred Hahn since Sept. 2001. Janis also holds the E.T. record of 6.112, which he also set at Budds Creek in Sept. 2001. [9-30-2003]