K&N FILTERS/GOODGUYS NITRO NATIONALS OFFICIALLY CHRISTENS NEW SEARS POINT FACILITY

By John Drummond

Sonoma, CA - Sears Point Raceway has a new look. It also has a brand new lightning quick drag strip, which was officially christened April 20-21 by the cars and stars of the Goodguys Vintage Drag Racing Association. Over 300 1972 & earlier vintage drag racing machines attended the track's official "coming out party," and were joined by an event-record crowd of 25,000 spectators for the two-day event. Throw in a few hundred rods & customs and a manufacturer's midway under two days of California sunshine and you get the idea this was indeed a special weekend.

TOP FUEL

In Top Fuel action, San Jose's Gerry Steiner kept up his season-long hot streak by easily defeating 19 other class rivals and resetting his own National record ET mark. Saturday in his lone qualifying attempt, he raced to the Red Line Oil Low Qualifier bonus logging a 5.895 at 238.22 mph. On Sunday, he defeated Jack "The Sheriff" Harris in round one with a 5.881/239.10 (resetting his old record of 5.885 by four one thousandths of a second), then ousted Bob Muravez with another 5.88 in the second round.

In the semi's Steiner "let up" a bit beating Howard Haight with a 5.98, then in the final round took out Fresno's Denver Schutz with a 6.002/231.87 to the loser's off-pace 6.830/145.30.

"I have no idea what we found," said the likeable 63-year old Steiner who regards himself as "The World's quickest and fastest Austrian." Steiner added, "Crew chief Brad Berger has found something in the tune-up, but we don't have any fancy parts on the car that I can point to - we've just stumbled onto a great combination."

In just two Goodguys Series races thus far this season, Steiner has made eleven runs and has run a 5-second ET in 7 of those 11 runs - a record nobody has ever come close to in vintage top fuel racing.

A/FUEL

Forest Hill, California's Jim Paul proved best in the A/Fuel division, taking his small block Chevy powered front-engined dragster to the win over arch-rival Sean Bellemeur 6.55 to 9.57. The two also met at last month's 43rd March Meet with Bellemeur getting the win after Paul fell asleep at the 'tree, but this time around the 57-year-old Paul easily outran his younger competitor. The two are virtually deadlocked in Series points and will meet for the class championship in November as the Goodguys 3rd Fuel & Gas Finals visits Bakersfield's Famoso Raceway November 1-3.

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