E-Town is most Excellent

Story and photos by Jeff Burk
5/20/03

very once in a great while, when the stars are aligned just perfectly and all is
right with the gods of racing, fans and racers get to attend an event like the just completed Matco Tools SuperNationals at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in Englishtown, NJ.

This was a race where the combination of an immaculately prepared track and absolutely perfect atmospheric conditions for drag racing provided racers in every class and division the opportunity to tune their engines to produce the maximum power possible and run on a track surface that would accept it. The results were speeds and elapsed times for many of the competitors that could only be described as unbelievable. If you missed this one, I truly feel sorry for you because the sport isn't likely to experience something like this again soon.

Let me give you just a few samples. Greg Anderson didn't run just one Pro Stock lap in the sub-6.60 elapsed time range, he ran it at twice, setting the national e.t. standard at 6.670 and the speed record at 207 and change. Those are speeds and elapsed times that would have gotten him in an IHRA Pro Mod field not so many years ago.

Speaking of the Pro Mods, Tim McAmis ran three straight laps in the six-oh range. He ran back-to-back 6.09 and then a losing 6.08 in the first round that got him the new national record for Pro Mods at 6.084. Quain Stott's blown Pro Mod also set the new speed record for the class at 233.88 and Mike Castellana ran a 6.17 in a nitrous Pro Mod. (We'll have the Pro Mod action in a separate race report.)

NEXT PAGE >>