CHECK THE NUMBERS

Jeff, no offense, but you should really go back and read the results from Pomona. There were some mighty stout passes laid down in the so-called "bad" lane. And almost all of the first round losers in the right lane were "also-rans." Bazemore is a freakin' baby. Him and his team didn't qualify well and did not have lane choice for the first round. He had built up a lot of frustration after his team got "lost" after the 85% rule. He blew up and took it all out on Rick Stewart.

Just my opinion but I think you'll be surprised if you go and look at the numbers on NHRA.com

Dave Hall

THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES

Martin, now, that's more like it. Much better than the "Glendora" drivel. Hey, you're a SoCal boy, so you've got to be held to a higher standard.

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However, must differ with you about the "race I'll never forget." By the way, were you out of town (or in jail) the weekend of Bakersfield 1966: 64-car show on Saturday, 32-car show on Sunday, plus 16 more fuelers for no. 2 eliminator. Only disappointment was James Warren's redlight in the final against the Surfers. I remember '75 Ontario and the Gar vs. Beck deal, but a 16-car field can't match the continual excitement of the "Patch" in '66.

And, maybe you just missed the PDA race at Lions in 1967? Talk about non-stop action: Top Fuel, Top Gas, and Jr. Fuel all in one night! That's all in the past now, but at least we have the memories ("We'll always have Paris....").

Anyhow, thanks for all the good stuff; I spend way, way too much time reading DRO, and unlike National Dragster, it's free. Unreal!!

Steve Justice, daily reader
Pinole, CA (ex-Long Beach boy)

FUEL 101

While I do not doubt Shell is working on some clever methanol concoction, it is most certainly not for Formula 1. Formula 1 runs pressurized gasoline that is supposed to bear some semblance to "pump gas," and the chemical fingerprint of that gasoline is strictly controlled by the governing body, the FIA. The petroleum manufacturers, and there are many in F1 (Shell with Ferrari, Esso with Toyota, Mobil with McLaren-Mercedes, Elf with Renault, BP with BMW-Williams etc.), must turn in a sample of the fuel they intend to use at the beginning of the race weekend. Then the FIA certifies the fuel's legality, and samples are taken after qualifying and the race. The samples must match the control sample's chemical composition exactly or the team is disqualified, whether or not they could have gained an advantage. The presence of methanol, even in trace amounts, would surely get a team disqualified.

My best guess is that Shell is working on a methanol composition that burns specific colors to alert crews/safety teams to the presence of fire for the Champ Car and IRL series, as both of those series run methanol in their respective engines. I do not believe that Shell is presently a supplier for either series, but they could quickly corner the market if their fuel was deemed "safer" due to the color additive.

What does this have to do with drag racing? Maybe the color additive will produce header flames that are visible during the daytime (and brighter at night) for us fans of the straight line sport. It would certainly liven up the shows of the Alky funny cars, Pro Mods and TAD. With the nitro teams now running 15% methanol in the tank, the possibility exists for daytime header flames there too, which can only be a good thing.

Keep up the good work!

Chris Cook
Las Vegas