Christian going back to ’57?

Multi-time Pro Street World Champion Tony Christian is rumored to be re-joining the ranks of the ’57 shoebox drivers. At the end of the 1999 season NMCA officials released Y2K weight break rules that favor the nostalgia style cars. Christian has indicated to Drag Racing Online that he will probably refurbish his red ’57 Chevy and return it to competition for the 2000 NMCA/NSCA season

World champ dumps truck; will drive ’57 Chevy in 2000

DRO has learned that current NMCA Pro Street champ Bob Rieger will abandon his turbocharged small block S-10 truck and will instead run a ’57 Chevy using the turbocharged powerplant out of his truck for power. As we go to press Rieger is in the process of having Jerry Bickel Race Cars in Troy, Missouri build a lightweight ’57 Chev for next year’s NMCA races. Aside from the body style look for the California racer to abandon his traditional black paint for something more radical. Be watching the pages of DRO for an artist rendering of the new car very soon

EZ street stars Dustin White and Gary Rohe got caught up in a controversy at the NMCA season finale at Atlanta Dragway. Seems like White showed up at the event with aftermarket struts on his Camaro. The rule book strictly prohibits the installation of struts.

Rohe told DRO that he had lobbied NMCA’s tech department to allow the EZ Street racers to install struts and wheelie bars but was told "no" in no uncertain terms. "When I saw them on Dustin’s car I felt I had no choice but to protest," Rohe said. Even though NMCA officials reportedly told White he could make the modifications they upheld Rohe’s protest and forced White to return his Camaro to its stock configuration. Interestingly they allowed White to run eliminations despite the fact that he didn’t make a qualifying lap, according to Rohe. This is another example of NMCA’s curious application and enforcement of the rules.

Mauney gets Jeg’s sponsorship to race IHRA Pro Mod

IHRA Pro Mod hitter and chassis builder Tommy Mauney became the newest member of the Pro Mod ranks to get a mail order parts sponsorship.

Rumor has it that as part of the IHRA Pro Modified sponsorship Mauney will also build four NHRA Pro Stock cars and two Pro Stock trucks and travel the NHRA tour as the chassis guru for Team Jegs.

Mauney records quickest nitrous times ever at Shreveport

Tommy Mauney drove his ’63 split window ’Vette to the two quickest elapsed times for nitrous injected cars in history on his way to a victory at the IHRA World Finals. He qualified on the pole with a 6.307/222.69 lap and then during eliminations backed that up with an even better 6.306/221.74.

Cannon coming back to IHRA Pro Mod?

Rumors were floating around at Shreveport that Scotty Cannon would have a car in Pro Modified for the 2000 season. Supposedly it would be a Cannon-built car with a Hedgecock-built supercharged motor. No, Scotty wouldn’t be driving, the rumor has someone else in the seat with Scotty calling the shots.

New old car for Shannon Jenkins in 2000

Look for Shannon Jenkins to defend his IHRA Pro Mod championship in a new car next season. It will be a new car but will retain the ’40 Willys body that IHRA allows Jenkins to run on the grandfather clause. According to Jenkins the car has been on the jig for most of the year but he couldn’t get finished due to his busy racing schedule. IHRA rules prohibit any other racer from running a Willys with the swoopy aerodynamic body like Jenkins’.

IHRA going to Canada in 2000!

IHRA has a race scheduled in Canada in 2000 at Great Bend Raceway. Agent 1320 wonders if IHRA racers and fans are ready for the Canadian border experience. Canadian border authorities can be rather difficult especially when it comes to crossing the border with large trucks full of racing cars and parts. Just ask any of the U.S. racers who used to attend the former NHRA event at Sanair to hear some real horror stories.

Critchley Cops Mopar Money

Aussie Pro Mod driver Troy Critchley added $20,000 U.S. dollars to his and car owner Johnny Rocca’s war chest while he was in Shreveport. Critchley used a string of elapsed times in the 6.30 range to defeat four of the quickest and fastest doorslammers in the world on his way to the win.

It is generally believed that Critchley’s recent string of stellar times and performances can be attributed to the team’s adherence to a Scotty Cannon based engine and clutch tune-up supervised by Cannon’s engine builder Mike Hedgecock of Eagle Racing Engines.

The Mopar Pro Mod Shootout win added to their recent 6.22 elapsed time record put this team to the top of the Pro Mod hitter list. Congrats from DRO.

Nitrous Pro Mod Racers Meet with IHRA, Threaten Boycott

DRO was told by a very reliable source that four of the more prominent IHRA nitrous teams met with an IHRA official and threatened to boycott IHRA events in the 2000 season if the rules weren’t changed to help nitrous cars. A strange request considering a nitrous car won the points championship by around 400 points, a nitrous car owns the speed record and six of the eight top points cars in Pro Mod are nitrous cars. - Jeff Burk

Any Gas in Nitrous class legal?

DRO was told by an IHRA official that any blend of gasoline submitted to IHRA prior to a National event that passes the IHRA fuel check could be used. The question came up after several sources speculated that Tommy Mauney, who is sponsored by JEG’S, might be running the NHRA-banned gas that the JEGS Pro Stock team used earlier in the season. Whether he was or wasn’t isn’t known.

photos by Jeff Burk

Copyright 1999, Drag Racing Online and Racing Net Source