Famoso March Meet - American Autoparts

AMERICAN AUTOPARTS
Insight
News and chewing gum for the eyes
Spring 2015
Compiled by Mike Lintern, with graphics and tech work by Wojtek Samoszuk
Race reports and Still Ramblin’ words and pix from Mike Collins, including
personal views that are not necessarily those of the company… but are a must read!
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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Rent a classic for that Route 66 fly-drive dream
North American tour specialists Bon Voyage Holidays
trip
have come up with a tempting fly-drive-motel package
that offers a choice of six different American classics
(plus one late model) for that once in a lifetime Route
66 road trip you‟ve so often dreamed of.
Choose from a ‟55 Bel Air, a ‟57 Chevy 150 four-door,
a ‟65 Mustang GT fastback, „a ‟67 SS Camaro, a ‟70
Chevelle SS 396, a ‟71 Mach One or a 2015 Camaro
to trace Route 66 all the way from Chicago to LA.
The 14-night odyssey costs from a hefty £4,395 per
person for the14-nights, but remember it‟s a once in a
lifetime experience.
Go to www.bon-voyage.co.uk or call them free on
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0800 980 7093 … and live the dream!
Obituary
Peter Bartlett – BHRA pioneer
We regret to report the death of Peter Bartlett, a UK hot
rodding pioneer and founder member in 1960 of the
British Hot Rod Association. He became BHRA
treasurer in 1962 and two years later was owner/driver
of the ‟57 “Shovin‟ Chevvy” that push-started some of
the great American drivers such as “Big Daddy” Don
Garlits, “TV Tommy” Ivo and Tony “The Loner” Nancy,
when they came to the UK for the 1st British
International Drag Festival. Peter, together with his
late wife Erica, was inducted into the British Drag
Racing Hall of Fame in 2010. They retired from active
club work in 1980, moving home to live in France.
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Bitza News
GM is to scale back its Chevrolet presence in Russia – in a similar move to that already announced for
Western Europe – and will in future market only Corvettes, Camaros and Tahoes, along with Cadillacs.
Korean-made models will be dropped. At the same time the company is closing the Opel operation in the
country, with the shutting down the St Petersburg plant at the end of the year.
Coming Events
More events on page 45
(With thanks to Classic American and Custom Car Magazines, from where most dates have been taken)
May 22-25
FIA European Drag Racing Championships Main Event (First round FIA), Santa Pod Raceway, near
Wellingborough, Northants NN29 7XA (01234 782828 or www.santapod.com)
NASC 37th Gary‟s Picnic, Shakespeare County Raceway, near Stratford-upon-Avon, Warks CV37 8LL
(01789 720180 or www.rodandcustom.co.uk)
May 23-24
National Hot Rod & Custom Car Show, East of England Showground, Peterborough, Cambs PE2 6YE
(08444 151413 or www.hotrodandcustomshow.co.uk)
June 6
Rock ‟n‟ Rumble American Car, Truck and Bike Show, Cork Constitution Rugby Club, Temple Hill,
Ballintemple, Cork City, Ireland (08310 74685 or www.gascc.ie)
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A couple of weeks before Dragstalgia, “Big Daddy” Don Garlits should be at Goodwood‟s
Festival of Speed along with one of his legendary Swamp Rat AA/FD‟s – fired up daily for
fans to experience the unique, totally awesome Cackle produced by nitro! But you don‟t
have to wait that long, this is Big Daddy, at home early last year, chillin‟ an‟ reminiscing
about running a 426 hemi on nitro in 1965. That‟s a pleasure in itself, but to then see him
swinging a wrench an‟ firing up Swamp Rat VIII for some mind warping cackle – wow!
Click it and enjoy the real deal, the unmistakable sound of eight trunks trumpeting, blown
an‟ injected, cacklin‟ on nitro - not alcohol cars at Dragstalgia just making a noise!
Play this a few times and use this link to the Santa Pod Facebook page to ask if they‟re
going to have nitro cars in what the Pod now call their “famous Cacklefest where cars are
fired-up in unison to create a wall of exquisite noise…” A succinct response to that statement
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Click the link at right and enjoy some nitro cackle from a
single AA/FD – followed by 10minutes of nitro nirvana from
the CHRR‟s legendary multi-car CackleFest!
Then you can phone Santa Pod Raceway at 01234 782828
or use their Facebook page to tell ‟em what a Cacklefest is
https://www.facebook.com/santapodraceway
or email them at info@santapodraceway.com
Back to the beach,
perhaps…
Toyota pix
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Click the link for a true Cackle and an
awesome wall of NitroFire at Bakersfield
NoiseFest photo courtesy
Santa Pod Raceway
Okay folks, it‟s time to stop Ramblin‟ - a couple of pages down with “The last round-up” in fact! But, in truth it all starts
here, with an introduction to a final epic covering 43 and a half pages with nitro fueled thunder from across the USA and
Podington. And Showtime, a personal journey with outrageous cars, scantily clad babes and tales from the glory years of
UK indoor shows, and big rigs in the most amazing door-handle-to-door-handle racing you‟ve never seen! But first, let‟s
talk about the Main Event. It‟s the start of the FIA Championship season, with eight Top Fuel cars, a trio of Fuel Coupes,
five Pro Stocks, five dragsters and three funny cars of the alcohol variety (sorry Top Methanol) – and 20 Pro Mods, all
fighting for their 2015 FIA titles, along with a cast of thousands! Maybe that‟s a slight exaggeration, which is cool - that‟s
drag racing! It‟s closer to 130, but teams will be giving their all to entertain us, and maybe even run some big numbers as
well! So let‟s be thankful - what you see is what you get – enjoy!
That‟s it folks, no more for awhile, I‟m hanging up my guns,
until next time! Take it easy on the bends, an‟ stay lucky MC
Dave the Cab‟s „99
Camaro SS small-block is
hogged-out to a 427, built
and dyno‟d to 650hp on
pump gas, plus another
300hp when the nitrous
button is pushed. It‟s run
9-zeros at 147mph
Head to head
The 1970-and-a -half SS
Camaro has a built 383
small block, blown with
a Pro Charger induction
system that puts out
800 horsepower for Alan
Wise at the blink of an
eye. He‟s run a 9.5 at
143mph. A planned
increase in boost could
see it dip into the eights
Photos Mike Collins
Built almost 30 years apart, this pair of 20th century SS Camaros were desirable machines at birth, and now they‟ve become
21st century street and strip supercars that still turn heads whenever they burble past
Dave‟s Camaro runs an Andy-Frost-built Powerglide trans, with a Neil Chance 4,000-plus stall-speed converter. Alan‟s trans
setup is a TH400 with a manual valve body and reverse-pattern shifter, together with a 3,500rpm stall-speed converter
The ‟99 Camaro was treated to a Glass-Tec cowl-induction hood, which covers a big 1050cfm Dominator, while the rest of
the bodywork is stock. Alan‟s early SS packs a similar cowl-induction hood, covering its Pro Charged 383 small-block
Both these “back halved” Camaros were built by Webster Race Engineering and have modified nine-inch Ford rear ends
with a four-link setup. “Back halving” – where the rear half of the chassis is modified to accept a narrowed axle and bigger
wheels and tyres – enables David to run 12x15 wheels with 315/60/15 M/T drag radials, with 3.5-to-1 gears. Alan „s 4.11-to-1
axle accommodates even-bigger 14x15 rims with 31/18.5/15 Hoosier street rubber Technical data ML
No, of course they didn‟t race, although both Camaros moved out in style, with the green machine having just a touch of chirp
to its shift as the pair set off for a cruise out to Box Hill where, so I‟ve heard, young ladies enjoy seeing muscle cars on display!
No animals were harmed in the making of this feature
A couple of weeks later, Wojtek and I stepped outside for an after-lunch smoke. When Alan suggested he too fancied a smoke, he
was naturally proffered the pack, but declined, smiling as said, “I meant in the car…” Although I prefer dancing girls for après
lunch entertainment, Alan‟s low an‟ slow, rolling burnouts were quite impressive. And, as you can see, there was no cowboy style,
getting‟-out-of shape, sideways sh*t, just a pair of very-straight demonstrations of churnin‟ an burnin‟ that was enjoyed by all
Dave sold his black beast
while Alan cut a hole in the
hood over winter!
More than that, Alan
also renewed all of
the piping - with the
addition of an
upright induction
bowl, coupled with
the ram-air being
sucked in through
the mesh, adding
another 30 ponies!
Sadly, when he took
the car to the Pod
earlier this year, the
track was cold, he
lost traction at the
hit, wisely clicking
off and coasting
through to a 12
second ET
Alan‟s quest for a street legal, eight-second elapsed time continues, stay tuned! MC
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Check out the all new 2016 Cadillac CT6th on this video tour of the big
beast from General Motors. It‟s filled with hi-tech gizmos, luxurious
leather and as it can be had packing 400hp, 400 foot pounds of torque it
sounds like the kind of car this ol‟ dude would enjoy. As they used to
st
say, “Smoke „em if you got „em!” And it‟s kind‟ve good lookin‟ in a 21
century way, but unfortunately my bank manager, she would say “no!”
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Photos and the following words courtesy
After months of teasing, the American automaker pulled the wraps
off its flagship CT6 sedan at the 2015 New York Auto Show and it
was well worth the wait. Boasting a length of 204 inches, the CT6
is four inches longer than the BMW 7 Series it will contend with,
while offering roughly an inch more legroom in the rear. It‟ll offer a
400
luxurious
ride courtesy of Cadillac‟s Magnetic Ride Control as well
as a new Active Rear Steer system designed for quick lower-speed
responsiveness and better high-speed stability.
Powering the flagship sedan is a new twin-turbo 3.0-liter engine
with 400 hp and 400 lb-ft of torque but other powerplants will also
be available. On the small end of the spectrum is a 2.0-liter turbo
four-cylinder with 265 hp while the mid-range market has a 3.6-liter
V6 with 335 hp. All engines pair to an eight-speed auto trans
If this Cadillac‟s not up your street, click the link and try something totally different. Like
drag racing school buses with burnouts on the track! Below is a 200kph street racing bus
with a wild paint job in Panama and re-treaded retread tyres! The camera car reported
“the back left tyre looks like it could fall off…” as it passed at 160kph! The speed clip‟s
about 10 minutes into a laid back look at life when you‟ve time to spend!
The last round-up!
nitro
Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay!
Shootouts!
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Terpsichorean tactics
at 300mph!
Photo courtesy nhra.com
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Only a few days in and it looked like the month of March was going
well. In fact, with just a couple of images left to enhance, my planned
evening in front of the box watching a movie with a cold beverage or
three was seemingly on the cards. And then the phone rang, with ol‟
Nitro Nostrils instructing me to “log on to BangShift Mike, they‟re
calling the fuel cars to the staging lanes…”
“No Andy,” I interjected, “Qualifying starts on Friday…”
My words were cut off almost as quickly as he added, “Yeah, I know,
but they‟ve got two test and tune sessions for nitro cars tonight!”
“Far out! So why aren‟t we there Andy?”
Andy mumbled something about budgets, but I was too busy
multi-tasking to really listen – trying to shut down three
programs I‟d been working on and also trying to get onto
BangShift in response to his information that the fuel cars were
getting set to run – on a Thursday! Later, I told Andy he‟d really
screwed up my weekend, and he had - in the best possible way!
My intentions had been to finish the manuscript pix I was working on and chillax before tuning in to BangShift on Friday evening in
time for the first nitro sessions – but with the big guns coming out to play a day early, everything was put on the back-burner!
No problem, we chatted and laughed awhile, then I hung up, put a few brews in the freezer to chill and then speed dialled an
evening meal, ready to do my duty in front of the computer, little realising that I was set for more than a slight case of…
31 fuel coupes,
14 AA/FD’s
plus
14 AA /FA’s!
And they all tried to qualify at the
56th Annual March Meet at Famoso...
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Even though Thursday was only a test and tune, 15 fuel coupes came
out to play, which was AA awesome! But first the (to me), less than
aesthetically pleasing, but still ground-pounding nostalgia top fuelers,
did their thing just before midnight our time. 2014 NHRA Heritage series
champion Tony Bartone (undefeated since winning last year‟s event!)
showed us fans what we‟d been waiting for all winter, unleashing his
gold car on the quickest-ever NTF pass, a blistering 5.560 - off the trailer!
The AA amazing thing was he clicked it off just past the 1,000 foot mark,
clearing the quarter mile speed traps at a lowly 217.42! But let‟s get back
to the far better lookin‟ earth-shaking fuel coupes
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Cory Lee, known to ol‟ time Santa Pod fans for running 250mph in one of Harlan Thompsons‟s unique pair of Budweiser fuel
coupes, clicked off early to get a 5.98 at 206mph in the flamed GTO, and Jason Rupert, who I‟d seen win one of his CHRR titles,
ran a strong 6.002 at 244.43mph in his Black Plague Camaro. But it was John Hale who thrilled us all with an off the trailer
pass in his new “One Bad Texan” ‟69 Camaro, stopping the clocks at a thundering 254mph in 5.56seconds – wow!
mcSnips courtesy bangshift.com
No one came close to that trio, although former NHRA Funny Car
world champion Cruz Pedregon gave us a thundering burnout, but was
still having problems with the good lookin‟ California Charger, above.
Being only a test an‟ tune session, numbers didn‟t count, but with teams trying
their best to run quick, for thousands watching on BangShift, side-by-side
power launches made for exciting late night entertainment – and it was LIVE!
The fuel coupes were back out for
a second session just after one am.
Once again it was wild burnouts
and power launches, all trying
hard to hook-up, but many were
clicked off on out-of-shape passes
NHRA star Cruz Pedregon and former Pro Stock racer Marc Meadows
both ran 6.3‟s and DNQ‟d as did Jon Capps with a 6, 20 at 238mph
It was much the same for a dozen
AA/FA‟s - but they were all fun to see
At 1.30am, BangShift Chad said “goodnight,”
leaving us with a final pass from this wild Nova
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In Nostalgia Top Fuel qualifying on Friday, Tony Bartone showed he meant business, ripping off a strong 5.573, driving it a tad deeper
into the track for 241.32mph, taking the pole 0.144seconds ahead of the field. Adam Sorokin‟s small block Chevy powered streamliner
was the last car in the fives, a 5.936 at a clicked off 198.76, a tic ahead of Jim Young‟s 6.004 at 220.62 in the eighth place bump spot.
When qualifying ended Saturday, Bartone had run another strong 5.59 at 233.16, while the bump spot was now Adam Sorokin‟s 5.93.
The Fuel Altereds were also gunning for an eight-car field, but I didn‟t know they were running on a 6.00 index - with a 6.012 pole
ahead of a 6.136, and with only pass above 200mph (212.13), you knew the AA/FA‟s were struggling – but they were still entertaining
In the 21st century sponsors can really have a ball, posting the exploits of
their clients on Facebook, Twitter and other global communication
devices. Hedman Hedders, a legendary name form back in the day, lauded
T-bone‟s stunning Q passes here, but the man from New York marched on
through eliminations with more than a little style
The top qualifying fuel cars all got through Saturday‟s first round, with T-bone storming down track to take low elapsed time
again, with a 5.58 at 232.55mph – more than two-tenths ahead of the field! The closest race was between Jim Murphy and
Rick McGee – the pair left locked together, with Murphy thundering to top speed thus far of 257.97and a 5.964, too much for
McGee‟s troubled 6.042 at 213.67mph. Bartone had a bye run - yet another strong pass, 5.597 at 233.16, again shut off early!
Adam Sorokin took his round by a tenth with a 5.705 and a faster 238mph. The finals was another an easy single for T-bone, a
5.66 at 231mph. Sorokin‟s team had to replace the engine wiring after a huge fireball in the previous round, but their driver
still cut a 0.037 holeshot over Denver Schultz‟s 0.144, taking the stripe first with a 5.77, 230 ahead of a quicker and faster 5.76
at 235.97mph. Sorokin had almost half a tenth advantage off the line in the final, the red Chevy „liner more than a car ahead,
but T-bone was comin‟ on strong. Sorokin‟s mighty mouse motor let go about three-quarter track, then fireballed, slowing the
red car and allowing T-bone to drive by - then his motor also let go!
mcSnips courtesy Greg Reagan YouTube
More than just win, T-bone set a new, all-time Nostalgia Top Fuel record of 5.531
at a booming 270.81mph – wow! Sorokin trailed with a 5.79 at 192. After the race,
All American Fuel Dragster reported that T-bone said, “I just hope we can re-use
the block.” And why not – until the last lap, it‟d performed flawlessly! If you‟re a
fan of Nostalgia Top Fuel, click the link and enjoy AAFD‟s Top Fuel Chronicles a
blow-by-blow look at the NTF eliminations at the Good Vibrations March Meet
Jeff Burghardt
photo courtesy
Drag Racing Online
This shot was taken as the sun was going down behind a passle
of genuine, good looking AA/FD‟s with period push-cars
preparing for the pre-CackleFest cruise down the track, an
awesome experience you‟ll never forget. And as a full credentials
for a weekend of non-stop nitro fueled action at the CHRR costs
the same as four days at the Pod, it‟s well worth saving for. Yeah
I know, what about the flight? But what about the cost of fuel in
the UK, and food, hotels, all of which are far less expensive in
sunny California, a great place to holiday - anytime!
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The real deal as a pair of the best looking floppers on the planet, Roger Garten‟s Warhorse and Stephen Densham‟s Teachers‟ Pet
go head-to-head in a classic Chevy versus Ford duel at Bakersfield‟s NHRA California Hot Rod reunion a couple of years back, and
they‟re still knocking heads to this day. A cherry picker at the start or finish line gives unbeatable action shots
Friday‟s first fuel coupe Q session saw Dan
Horan‟s „66 Mustang (supporting the Children's
Hospital of Los Angeles), leading the pack with a
stout 5.71 at 257mph ahead of Stephen Densham‟s
5.792 at 242. Cory Lee was the last of six cars in
the five second zone with a 5.98 at 239 ahead of a
6.021, with Mike Lewis on the bump in a Jungle
Jim tribute car at 6.64.Roger Garten‟s War Horse
Mustang was DQ‟d in 28th place. Although Horan
did not improve in Q2, he was still on pole ahead of
Densham‟s getting quicker 5.739 with a string of
five second players, down to Cory Lee‟s 5.98 James
Day ran a stout 5.77 to put Pedaler second, but it
was negated as he oiled the track!
Just to reiterate how difficult it is to climb into a
car with a blown and injected engine fueled by
nitro methane and drive it down track to achieve
the numbers which are required to qualify for the
parameters of a given field – of the 31 fuel coupes
which staged in an attempt to qualify for the March
Meet at Famoso, 15 ran in the five second bracket
ahead of the bump spot of 6.008 at 234,57mph
from Chris Davies‟ 72 Vega. Rick Roger‟s 28th
place 6.583 at 134mph was the last in the six
second zone ahead of a 7.200 and an 8.57. The 31st
car, a 77 Monza driven by Dale Van Gundy was
DQ‟d on every pass it made for centre line
infringements or hitting the wall – and on one
occasion he ended up “on the beach,” as the top
end desert at Famoso is known!
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Tim Marshall photo courtesy dragracingonline.com
Bakersfield Beach
mcSnips courtesy ComPlusYouTube
John Hale‟s “One Bad Texan” Camaro is without a doubt one of the
best looking and performing new Nostalgia fuel coupes in town, which
sadly never repeated its 5.66 off the trailer pass, going down in the first
round. Rian Konno, whose fine looking Mustang blew me away when
I first saw it thundering towards me at Famoso, was another first
round loser at the March Meet, going down to Stephen Densham‟s
strong 5.78 at 248mph
Tim Marshall photo
courtesy Drag Racing Online
James Weaver‟s 5.75 at 254 was the best of the first round, but
Densham stepped up in the second to a 5.72 at 247.66 with
Weaver‟s 5.76 at 246 second best. Weaver had problems in the
semi finals, losing to James Day‟s 5.80 at 239 while a very late
Densham (.216 to a .072!), came from behind to blast past Kris
Krabil‟s 5.88, 248 with a strong 5.71 at 251mph. In the final
Densham was late leaving again (.095 to a .019!), but ran down
Day‟s 5.87, 242 with low elapsed time of the event, a stunning
5.694 at 249mph to win his first March Meet. And yes his father,
long-time NHRA big show funny far pilot, and previous
owner/driver of the Teachers Pet Camaro was over the moon
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Click the link to enjoy 87 seconds of non-stop
nostalgia nitro thunder from the fuel coupes at
this year‟s March Meet courtesy of the
Bakersfield Californian. With 10 pairs and two
singles it truly is nitro nirvana!
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Okay, that‟s all folks, I‟m outta here!
Didn‟t mean for the March Meet to be truncated, but there‟s
plenty of NitroFire from five action-packed NHRA Mello Yello
races after the Showtime pages below - and even some from the
Pod! They were all finished earlier, but it seems those four nights
of NitroThunder at my computer back in March were far more
tiring that the real deal. In fact it was NitroOverload, even though
all my AA/Fuel Zippos refused to fire! A few weeks later and
they‟re still not functioning, so this ol‟ dude‟s taking a break.
Yep, I‟ve done Ramblin‟ - hope you there aren‟t too many typos
(I‟m tired), and that you enjoy what you see.
There‟ll probably be something else, sometime, but not for awhile
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mcc
Showtime blues?
Showtime blues? Not really, just had a couple of little “but‟s”
in a book filled with a huge amount of well-researched
information, and more than eight hundred photos that provide
a colourful look at our home-grown customising scene from
back in the day. Sat in the afternoon sun while scanning its
pages was a delight, evoking many magic memories
It‟s almost six years since my Show „n Go down memory
lane feature told of Rodger Attaway‟s plans for a book
covering the history of our indoor custom car shows, now
it‟s finally here and I loved it – but…
ML received his contributors copy at the start of the
March an‟ told me it was “Mega!” I‟d already suggested
he wrote a review, but he‟s been too busy cuttin‟ wood,
playing with his „64 Scooby-doo Econoline project or
whatever hard-workin‟ old dudes do when they‟ve got
spare time. But as the boss, that‟s his prerogative!
So I‟ve been busy enjoying Rodger Attaway‟s Street Rod
& Custom Showtime and it‟s a great book. But…
Naturally I speed scanned the book‟s 300 pages when it was finally opened, so I‟ll get my bitchin‟ out of the way first. There are too
many very small mages with too much empty white space around „em, as you can see from the scan at bottom left of a full page,
which features some great shots from a show held during the ‟64 DragFest. They‟d have been great to see cropped and filling
slightly more of that vast white emptiness, especially as most are Brian Sparrow pix, which are generally exceptional quality.
Unfortunately, there are bigger pix which should‟ve been smaller due to their lack of quality, and a couple that should not have been
used at all in my humble opinion „cos they‟re out of focus an‟ blurry – and a full page bleed covering the complete page is just naff!
But none of those gripes fall on the author‟s shoulders – they belong to the art editor/design team.
A few of my colleagues were shown the book, and without prompting agreed with my complaints, but apart from that we all agreed
it‟s a really good lookin‟ book. Although I haven‟t yet finished it (remember it‟s 300 pages – and they‟re all packed with historic
show-style information!), what I have read has been far more than just informative about an amazing part of customising history; it‟s
also kept me entertained and has been a fun read.
And yes, there are amusing and entertaining anecdotes aplenty, with a couple that made me laugh out loud concerning Rodger‟s pal
and partner Graham Kelsey, a pair of then nicest guys on the show circuit, even if they did talk funny.
My first belly laugh came during my original speed scan, and shortly after I‟d seen the name of my ol‟ Street Machine Editor, George
Hinton, and read his quote about a Canadian company, Show Associates, which ended with a line about the Canadians only sending
over “a few key personnel to oversee the (show) judging and carry away the cash.” This put a smile on my face…
So I read the next para concerning US shows and discovered that during discussions
Had to leave
Rodger and Graham had with Bruce Robertson in 1979 (boss of Show Associates), he
some of that
was “expounding the virtues of using (Playboy) Playmates” when Graham asked
vast white
“Does the Playmate get her tits out?” Apparently “Bruce was shocked," and answered
space empty
in the negative, to which Graham responded, “What‟s the f*cking point then?”
so you can see
I‟m still laughing out loud, so this photo is especially for Graham! But let‟s not forget
the waste…
all those who helped make the Belle Vue Shows so magically memorable…
…and the small
images I was
talking about!
But it‟s a good
place to put
these captions,
and the famed
Belle Vue Hot
Rod & Custom
Show logo at
about the same
size as larger
images at left
are in the book!
Party time for Belle Vue brigade at the Post House and the wet T shirt contest had just been won by Tina, a pal‟s girl who didn‟t drink. No
problem, she got a champagne shower instead! Street Machine‟s ace lensman Steve Saunders took the shot at just the right moment,
and then a few happy fans were given a chug, before greedy ol‟ me emptied the bottle. It was a wild night indeed, the win recorded in the
magazine (a few pages down), just before Tina made our day. But here, for the first time ever, in all her glory, it‟s Showtime!
…and here’s the sales pitch
Showtime will be launched at the NSRA‟s Billing Fun Run over the last weekend in May, supported by a fleet of wild custom
rides from back in the day, including Nick Butler‟s supercharged hot rod T “Revenge,” voted the Hot Rod of the 20th century
by NSRA members. This limited edition book can be pre-ordered at £29.00 plus P&P, but copies will not be dispatched until
the week after the official launch. The 1,000 copies will all be numbered, and copy No.1 will be auctioned, with all proceeds to
the Starlight Children‟s Foundation. Bids can be made via mail@streetrodandcustomshowtime.net or in person at the NSRA
Billing Fun Run, with copies numbered 2-to-100 on sale there in the American Automags/Showtime marquees
On the cover of Rodger Attaway‟s Showtime is the subtitle, “The story of Britain‟s indoor custom shows from 1963-82. From the
origins to victory in America,” and the book does a fine job. In its telling, the tale that‟s more than entertaining, it‟s a colourful
journey that will give old motor heads and show car fans a kick. It also shows the young „uns why we sometimes get misty eyed
when talking about the good ol‟ days! The opening chapter, titled Roots, is a look at the birth of the scene in the USA, with the lead
page words, “Speed was essential,” and the book gathers momentum from there. But first there was Hot Rod Magazine, launched
at the SCTA‟s original hot rod show by Robert E Bob Petersen with his partner Robert Lindsay and long time SCTA Official Wally
Parks. This I‟ve known for ever, but then I read Showtime and discover that Mr Petersen “was forced to sell copies - in the show‟s
entrance way…” as the show associates felt he‟d taken advantage of the situation (by launching the mag at the show), and denied
him access to the trade stands…” So I guess, politics ruled from day one!
Scanned from Showtime
This crisp, clean image of Carl Casper‟s legendary
Ghost is arguably the best in the book. And the story
of its “triple-Crown” winning achievement in taking
the NHRA‟s Winternationals and US Nationals Best
Rod award along with the Oakland Roadster Show‟s
coveted America‟s Most Beautiful Roadster trophy
makes for more than an entertaining read. Can you
imagine such a machine being fired up and then
driven into a show hall back in 1964? Wow! It still
looks outrageous today! Talking of which, a few
pages down you‟ll see Andy Willsheer‟s shots of a
21st century hot rod outrage - a 1927 T Ford with
side-by-side engines and quad blowers!
Scanned from Showtime
It seems that British rodding roots were in the fifties, and the pages on our home grown scene make for even more fascinating
reading, especially, if like me, you joined the scene in the mid-sixties. Yeah, okay, folk‟s have often suggested maybe I should‟ve
been put out to pasture years ago, but thankfully there‟s a big part of me which still burns with that desire to keep on keeping on,
often at speed! Looking through Rodger‟s book re-kindled some gleaming show style memories which‟d long lain dormant, buried
beneath a haze of nitro fueled thunder. With spring well and truly on its way, I can‟t wait to take a break, sit out in the evening sun
with a cold brew and devour this 304 page homage to gleaming chrome and glitter fueled dreams from cover to cover.
In the section on our home-grown roots, there‟s a wonderful piece written back in 1962 about the legendary first gathering of British
hot rodding spirits, penned by a British Hot Rod Association pioneer, the late Vic Outen, who actually used a compass to lead this
band of intrepid hot rodders to their meeting point. It‟s a real trip back to a time, with Vic “convinced that the majority of our
members – myself included – couldn‟t even find their way down a drag strip!”
I first saw these early 1960s
images on the UKDRN site in
2009. Thanks to modern
technology, one click lets you
enjoy pages of pioneering
rods and race cars
Photos courtesy
Links to pages from the first Kool Kams!
ukrdn.co.uk
Rick Goodale supplied his photos to UKDRN, and the flame painted, cycle fendered Morris 8 above is his. The radical custom pick-up
at far left was built by John Bennett – Showtime gives details of it and all the other machines! And as you can see from the photos
below, John Bennett was still customising, this time a fifties Olds, but still with his original “taxi-cab” style sign on the roof! The signs
advertise our first show, held at John‟s Spa Engineering work shop. It was at this show that Bob Phelps learned of his nephew‟s
passion for Hot Rodding. Yeah right, and although I lived just round the corner from John‟s office, it was many years later before I
learned of this as, at that time, I was busy running the first ever Euro-Austral-Asian tour by a British rock an‟ roll band. And we really
had a lot of fun - seen here in Malta at the time of JB‟s show, and later up on the roof during a wild pool party in Singapore!
you
Love the fins, the continental
kit - and the Trade plate!
Strange, but during the time we worked together out of the DragRod office at his Spa premises, not once did JB mention either of
these two machines! In Showtime, Roy Phelps writes; “John Bennett (owner with Ted Peddle of Spa Engineering), is my cousin…and
Fibreglass Repairs was owned and run by Bob Phelps, my father. All were involved with American cars…. John Bennett and Ted
Peddle were interested and played an active part with an involvement in the British Hot Rod Club (sic), with the likes of Allan
Herridge and Brian Coole (founder of Kool Kams MC) from West Drayton.” Further down he adds, “The few square miles in south
London – Croydon, Bromley, Thornton Heath was undoubtedly the birthplace of it all.”
Things grew slowly but surely as you‟ll discover in Rodger Attaway‟s Rod & Custom Showtime, with
insight from folks like hot rod guru Nick Butler, long-time show DJ Mike Matthews and of course Rodger
himself, all adding to its depth. Others who were there also help provide a unique look at a golden era of wild,
often radical rides inside the books colourful pages. Showtime covers an almost magical time in British hot
rodding history, from its roots through to the magic moment when John Reed, bike builder supreme, lived the
dream, winning the top award at the famed Oakland Roadster Show…. Read all about it - in the book!
What follows is my take on a some of those classic events, illustrated with images of wild machines, more scantily clad babes than
you ever dreamt of an‟ personal memories from inside that magical era of customising in which I was so happily involved. My second
car, “Half-a-Min,” was well known in south London, a quite radical ride built by my pal John Bravery, who turned a Mini van into a
bobtail pick-up with a wood covered bed, twin rear windows, Cortina taillights and a back door in-between. So well known in fact, that
the local fuzz were stopping me constantly after I bought it as they didn‟t recognise the driver! Sadly, it was wrecked when it flipped
and rolled in the back road “marbles” when returning from the Pod‟s famed Easter meet in 1968! David Cooper photo courtesy www.ukdrn.co.uk
By the time Drag Racing ‟69 rolled around, I was riding high on a
drag racing buzz, happy to be involved in organising this
ground-breaking show. As PR person it was hard work, but we
got a whole lot of ink in local and national media, with a two
page spread by Patrick Blake titled “Follow the bullet!” in
Parade, a girly magazine published just before our show opened
The advert at far left was run in Motoring News, while the paper
decal above was distributed by ML and his cohorts, cruising around
our area towing The Commuter. They both look good today, but the
decal was to cause a little controversy as nowhere did it have the
word “Show,” and some folks turned up expecting to see real drag
racing! Actually I did ask a member of the local constabulary if we
could use Croydon‟s underpass to maybe stretch the legs of some
of our heavy horsepower entrants…
“Sure,” he said with a smile, “just come over and see us before you do it.” His look belied his words, suggesting perhaps it would
be best if we did not exercise our right legs! However, when drag racing pal Peter Bennett turned up in a convertible 427 Sting
Ray, he was happy to let me take her round the back where, with my friend Jenny sat between us, I made a slow rolling burnout
from the underground car park, producing a wall of completely obliterating smoke that blew across the Law Courts next door.
Peter yelled at me to change gear and I recall the red beauty rocketing out from the smoke towards our photographer, who stood
his ground while Jenny screamed with delight. Shortly later we were visited by a local constable, but he was all smiles, enjoyed
the cars and was pleased to see we were packed with happy customers
The front cover art of our programme was by Rick
Goodale, remember him? Rick went on to become a huge
success in the commercial art field. At left there‟s the
Show Organisers; yours truly, the late Bernie Davey
(Show Director) and John Bennett (Chairman of the
organising committee), seen assisting Miss Croydon,
April Scarborough, to cut the ribbon, with our own Mike
Lintern at right who was Press Officer. Following the
official opening we all had to pose for the local media,
including my daughter Sarah who‟d presented a bouquet
of flowers to Miss Croydon. Who said drag racers weren‟t
civilised? As you can see in the Croydon Advertiser
image at left, we‟re all just enjoying the moment.
And rightly so as the show was a huge success with a
record number of close to 10,000 ten thousand tickets
sold – making all our efforts worthwhile in raising funds
for the club. And we all did it for love!
Rodger wrote in his book that the late Dick Lawrence was one of the
show organisers of Drag Racing ‟69, which is not true. However Dick
produced our sporty looking jackets and Drag Racing ‟69 sweat
shirts, and this rare classic tee shirt. He also did the carpentry work
on our show stand, raising much money in support of the BDR&HRA
through sales thanks to his charm! At left, it‟s our first flip-top racer,
Johnson and Mullens‟ Chevy powered Invader
mcPix
John Bennett
Drag Rod photo
Another error was Rodger writing that
the Allard-Skilton fueler was a star
car, heck it wasn„t even there! Our
star fuelers were The Commuter and
the super-long Tudor Rose.
Showtime’s full length shot has both
wheels in the frame, but it‟s one of the
book‟s tiny images. Here‟s that beauty
(scanned from a Photostat!), with only
one wheel in the frame. And JB‟s Drag
Rod shot of a young lady being given
the tour of its Keith Black hemi
John Bennett
Drag Rod photos
Talking of
which, another
major attraction
for visitors was
Hemini - with its
wild paint job
and an injected
hemi in the pickup bed it was
outrageous!
John Bennett Drag Rod photos
Ken Robbins photo
courtesy Nick Pettitt
But the big draws were obviously our pair of World Record holding, blown and injected nitro
burning fuelers, the Ford powered Commuter and an‟ the awesome Keith Black hemi powered
Tudor Rose, here graced by young Sarah. More than present flowers, she was a genuine drag
racing pioneer who made her first pass down the drag strip a couple of months earlier! She‟d
sat on my lap holding the wheel as I put the pedal to the metal in an Olds powered beast put
together by Drag Control (here driven by Stu Bradbury). Sarah loved it as I never touched the
steering wheel and a babe sat on the floor just screamed as we slithered most of the way down
Santa Pod‟s hallowed quarter mile! Oh the joys of life before „elf an‟ safetee! This is also a rare
John Bennett Drag Rod photo
shot of The Commuter, taken when my friend Jenny wanted her photo taken with the rail
It‟s sad there‟s not more of the fine lookin‟ bodywork in that colour shot, but that‟s
an excuse to show it boilin‟ the hides a couple of months earlier when it was the
star car at a gig I organised for Player‟s Gold Leaf cigarettes at Silverstone
Photographer unknown AA Archives
And on the next page you‟ll see the swoopy slingshot in full colour – and in action
again! We provided the lunch time entertainment with flags starts, a few wild rides,
including US serviceman Don Davis‟ street legal Pontiac-powered Ford, The Bandit,
a fully-loaded go-go showboat (engine balanced by Jack Brabham!), and the Pod‟s
Sting Ray, shot by Hot Car magazine for a major feature the following January
But it was the late Tony Densham
who really wowed Silverstone‟s
circuit race fans that day, trailing
rooster tales of smoke as he
thundered down the straight
leaving the scent of NitroPower in
the air. In fact the Player‟s Gold
Leaf head honcho was so
impressed we were asked to bring
the fueler out again! With
minimum turn-around time to fit it
in before the major race of the
afternoon, Tony, Peter Billinton
and the Phelps family busted their
balls to get the swoopy AA/FD out
on track. Tony fired her up and
made „em proud, the Ford smoking
its slicks all the way down the
straight - the fans went bananas!
Photographer unknown AA Archives
Roy Phelps writes in Showtime about winning an
award at Drag Racing „69 with his freshly built
wheelie Sting Ray out of the FGR shop, but couldn‟t
recall what it was for. Well folks, the car won Best of
Show, something it did more than a few times thanks
to the absolutely outrageous paint job applied by
FGR‟s ace spray man Vic Smith, complete with 30
coats of hand rubber lacquer to obtain its show
winning finish. The car also featured on the cover of
the January 1969 Hot Car, nose high at the Pod, with
yours truly ensconced in the driver‟s seat! Inside
they wrote of the Sting Ray that it was “about the
finest piece of customising that Hot Car has ever
seen.” And that‟s a good excuse to show a large
scan of this iconic machine from that cover- enjoy.
Now let‟s use those power shots to accelerate to
1972, and Custom Car‟s Crystal Palace show
My previous winter had been buried in a rock an‟ roll haze, and although I recall
visiting the show, I‟m still not sure about this photo - it‟s dark, but there‟s enough
detail to warrant its use. Thing is, it wasn‟t until reading Showtime that I found
out it was the Houndog AA/FD. Check out that wild trike in the background.
At the tail end of that year I hopped on a 747, heading down under for a couple of
years. Custom Car magazine, launched at the start of the seventies (after much
prodding by our own Mike Lintern, then a journalist with Link House), was going
great guns by 1973, holding successful shows in Manchester and Crystal Palace.
Showtime tells us the Belle Vue gig saw 30,000 visitors, almost double the
previous record of 16,000 held by a tropical fish show! In London, almost 28,000
fans saw over 100 cars and bikes. One amazing discovery I gleaned from reading Rodger‟s book was that the
UK had been struck by a “winter of discontent” in 1974, with the lights going out and work cut down to three
days a week! Wow, it seemed I‟d done the right thing for a change and was happily basking on the golden
beaches of West Australia, blissfully unaware of the chaos going on back at home! I also learned that Santa
Pod‟s Bob Phelps was a show saviour in providing the track‟s generator to give lighting for shows! Maybe the
lack of light is the reason for this shot at right (used over a full page in the book), not being up to quality – even
when seen this small! The image is a totally untouched scan, and I‟ve just seen what appears to be the original
on the internet and it is just as bad! Shame about that as Ed Wimble deserves better!
Returning to the UK late in ‟75, I recall a couple of
car shows in „76, but was busy making and mixing
Soul Tracking, a nitro fueled album which we‟re
hoping to re-release for nostalgia fans on CD, with
Scanned from Showtime
additional, unique power tracks including the
legendary Blue Max and Snowman fuel coupes from
1978! But that‟s by the by, let‟s fast forward to my
first major gig, the National Custom Car show at
Alexander Palace in 1979
I‟d joined Mercury House as Features Editor of Street Machine at the tail-end of
‟78 and although the mag wasn‟t set to be launched until May, we were obviously
going there to put the word out about our forthcoming publication. Someone
suggested it‟d be a good idea to have a couple of models to escort me...
…who was I to say no!
To say we had fun would be an understatement, starting before the journey over when the
diminutive blonde babe on my right suggested she drove us to the show in her Cherokee
Jeep. The fact she turned out to be a dynamite driver got our first “Street Machine on
location” assignment off to a fabulous start… Street Machine photos by Steve Saunders
Steve insisted on
taking the shot at
right, just to show
that, at Street
Machine, we did
things in style!
One of our first
shots in the show
at left shows the
girls obviously
enjoying my brief
to “just have fun!”
Think Pink - not
talking about
outrageous
fins either!
Seeing the shot now, I wonder why we‟re hanging round
the rear end and not the beautiful blown 426 hemi at the
front of the Nick Butler built Andromeda. Oh well! Later in
Showtime, Rodger mentions noticing “tyre treads being
cleaned with cotton buds” on X-E-CUTE-R, Ed Papac‟s Best
of Show winner from Belle Vue 1981. Maybe Andromeda
owner Geoff Heald‟s drive was muddy that morning! More
likely, such things were unheard of down in south London!
Heard tell there were
some nefarious dealings
with the Olds at right!
It was, as they say, “A great day in the morning,” although I can‟t for the life of me recall ever using
these shots! Either way, it was definitely a good experience to start to my show-going years with
Street Machine, one that was sadly never duplicated! One thing I do recall writing on my Hot Gossip
page after this show is the clip below. No names, no pack drill, but it still makes me smile to this day!
Scanned from Street Machine
photo by Steve Saunders
Vive la Différence! Gary Belcher‟s unique V-12 and Jeff Beck classy Model B chop-top at
Alexander Palace, with the 33-foot long American Autoparts stand over in the background
mcPix
And now the legendary
Belle Vue Rod & Custom shows
The Rod & Custom Shows at Belle Vue, oop north in Manchester, were the
best gigs we ever had in the UK, bar none! For one thing, although it was
always a good time at the Custom Car après show parties, nothing could
match the wild goings on at the Post House Hotel. Packed to the gunnels with
hot rodders all under the same roof along with frequent transport to and from
the show meant the only boundaries at parties were those imposed by one‟s
body and mind – and we were a tough bunch oop there!
This shot is obviously not from any of the shows, but the French Connection Mustang, with its Ray Mumford was, and so was Street
Machine‟s Steve Saunders, whose images in the book were scanned from magazines. The Mustang won Best Custom Paint at the
original Rod & Custom Show, with a different mural, and appeared in this guise at the Last Great Rod & Custom Show in 1982
Actually we were doing a shoot for a new range of John
Woolfe Racing custom paints, and they provided the
model we called her Mustang Sally for obvious reasons!
It was a cold but sunny morning in Sussex, so she and I
both enjoyed the chilled champagne (Steve was driving),
which may even have been paid for by JWR! mcPix
Let‟s say the pix are for lovers of murals and scantily clad babes, many of which gave
much pleasure to all at the Belle Vue shows Some of the most famous babes where
those with the Ant Hill Mob‟s Pop, but as there are no pix of the famed Ant Hill Trinian‟s
type school girls, here‟s another look at our champagne presentation for the wet tee
shirt winner from 1981, before and after, j‟st in case you forgot what they looked like!
Images from the 1981
show (at left and
Menace scanned
from Street Machine)
with the champagne,
still in its ice bucket!
“The two best known
gnomes in the north
west, Rodger and
Graham…”
A great action shot from
Steve as yours truly gets
the wind in his air and
bugs in this teeth while
giving the awesome
Sonic its first high-speed
workout at our test track
mcPix
Show dee-jay Mike Matthews pins the
brain on a Steve Stringer look-a-like!
mcPix
Car builder Nick
Butler looks none too
sure about me
accelerating hard with
our camera in front!
Street Machine photo
Steve Saunders
Street Machine photo Steve Saunders
Sonic was a no-go-showboat first time at Belle Vue - here it‟s a real haul-arse space ship!
As the camera car moved over, Sonic‟s computer controlled, twin
V-eight power plants responded instantly to my straightened right
leg and it did indeed rocket past, with Nick now enjoying the
awesome acceleration of his incredible creation
Amongst many amusing anecdotes
in Rodger Attaway‟s Showtime,
Nick Butler tells of driving Sonic
on ice-covered roads in Denmark,
before the computer controls for
his twin-engines were fully sorted!
Love to see the TV footage!
Street Machine photo Steve Saunders
Written after my first visit to Belle Vue for the 1979 Hot Rod & Custom Show, this original
copy from Street Machine will give you an idea of the fun we all had back in the day,
including the damage done by our all-new, tres potent Street Machine cocktail!
But our trip to Manchester had nothing on our journey to the far north of England,
and beyond - for almost alien adventures in getting to WHEELS 79 in Glasgow…
It was a fun show, as you can read in my original report at right – but there‟s no mention of our
high speed thunder run after the sun came out on scenic Scottish vistas more than a little
enjoyable for us city dwellers. The high point if you‟ll pardon the pun was a close encounter
with an almost four-figure interception speed atop the Beattock Summit, just over 1,000 feet
above sea level. Our speed was about 130mph when, out of nowhere, and not more than ten feet
above the highway, a pair of jet fighter planes blasted over head so close I could almost smell
the after shave on the first pilot! Then we were rocked by the thundering power wave from the
jets with an awesome sound - K-boooooom! Oh boy, what a meeting! To say we continued at a
slightly more sedate pace is an understatement! Steve took over driving when we reached the
city as I relaxed with a smoke and a cold Bud. It was a late Saturday night, and we were kinda
lost, but as England had beaten Scotland doon sooth in London, we had little desire to use our
southern accents to ask directions until we saw four policemen standing together outside a
club. And that‟s when things got weird! As one they answered - all four speaking with totally
different dialects – it was like I‟d landed on another planet! Mumbling my thanks I climbed back
into the car and just said, “Drive,” the car filling with laughter as I explained my predicament
Wheels ‟79 photos by Steve Saunders - scanned from Street Machine
T
Trru
ucck
kiin
n’’ ffu
un
n iin
nB
Biirrm
miin
ng
gh
ha
am
m –– SScca
an
nd
diin
na
avviia
an
n ssttyyllee!!
In a piece on Ron Clark‟s 3rd Midland Custom Show, a caption mentions an amazing Scania
wrecker from Sweden which “came over complete with a fleet of young ladies,” adding, “Mike
Collins knows the details.” Indeed I do, and these images show how the Swedes conducted
their wet T- shirt competitions! First thing you‟ll notice is the babes are generally kind‟ve
petite, with none of the big knockers preferred by Pod fans!
Also, there was no hosing or buckets of water, just a gentle tipping of the cup slowly over the
appropriate area! Here are the Swedish babes in all their glory. And yes, they were a great
bunch of gals – and the show fans just loved „em.
Earlier in Showtime there‟s a quote from Drag Racing News about a display at the 1972
Custom Car Show which “reflected the popularity of Swedish morals. Agra 1 being parked
beside a tent, protruding from the end of which were two pairs of feet, vertically opposed.”
I wonder what that writer would‟ve made of this truckin‟ display of Svenska flickor having fun!
That‟s “Swedish girls” for none-travel types!
mcPix
Svenska flickor
mcPix
Hot Rod & Custom scan from Showtime
But the biggest buzz came shortly later, from a
meeting with rock queen Suzi Quatro that was
more than a tad memorable for us both!
Having always had a good relationship with
the Custom Car team, I‟d sped round the show
floor and then, just before reaching the Press
Office, squatted down on my heels, much like
in the shot at left, but instead of taking snaps,
I blasted into the room like a mad man from
outer space carrying Steve‟s tripod like a
rocket launcher!
No problem ordinarily, but Suzi Quatro was
sat at the back of the small office, opposite the
door, and got the full force of my wild entry,
sort of! Happily my skates carried California
back-stops which acted like disc brakes,
stopping me instantly as I stood tall, offering
my sincere apologies, and that I wasn‟t really
crazy! Then I was introduced - happily she
was cool and my apology was well received…
The shows at Belle Vue were head and shoulders
above the rest thank to the ambience imbued by
Rodger and Graham, the Rainy City Cruisers – in
fact everyone who was part of the shows added
something to make them such amazing and totally
memorable weekends. However, there were a
couple of shows in London that offered slightly
different types of fun, and also great memories…
There‟d been a fire at Ally Pally, and Custom Car put
their show inside a marquee on the grounds, which
some folks bemoaned. For me the show was pretty
cool, for one thing I skated straight into an interview
on TV - it might even have been live!
Photos by
Steve Saunders
Photo by
Steve Saunders
mcPix
Shortly later Suzi Q took part in a photo shoot inside the John Baldachino built Austin Ruby, Small Fry (owned now by John
Toft). When she climbed out onto terra firma, my apology for our earlier encounter was more personal – in return I was gifted
with this almost enigmatic smile. It‟s a cool rock an‟ roll memory that stays with me to this day – how lucky can a guy get!
In truth, our roller skate meeting and Suzi Q‟s smile
ruined the rest of the day – after all what could top
that! I even forgot about the dancing girls, until I
searched for “show” images, when I also found this
classic example of Americana from that event
As you can see from the image at
far right, Suzi Q celebrated her
Golden Jubilee as the Queen of
Rock . You know the drill - click it
and enjoy the original black and
white clip of Devil Gate Drive!
mcPix
John Price plays DJ and CC‟s Roger Philips enjoys the babes struttin‟ their stuff
mcPix
Or you can see her
having fun with Devil
Gate Drive on tour in
Australia earlier this year
Click and enjoy some
rock an‟ roll magic. As
Andy Willsheer told me
the other day, age is a
number old is an attitude!
Rock on Suzi Q
Custom Car‟s Super CC‟s girlfriend
Super Cecilia was played by a genuine
Bond babe Tula, except the guys in the
press room told me she wasn‟t – a babe!
Who cares, Tula was more fun to talk
with than any of „em, had the longest
legs in town and far more curves than
that Auburn, which was also a replica!
On the other hand, our Art Editor Sue
was all women, and we had a much fun
with my robot pal Huggy. His personal
line of chat had her totally bemused,
especially when he said, “You told me
Sue was good lookin‟ Mike, but these
legs are a real stairway to heaven!”
Sue and I laughed long and loud
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Hot Gossip
Street Machine
après Belle Vue 1979
Street Machine photos by
Steve Saunders
Meeting the late Dave Grady on my first visit to
Belle Vue is a truly lasting memory. We became
good friends over the years, but I never forgot his
response to my Hot Gossip copy when we met next
time… “It‟s like I‟m listening to our conversation
again!” Maybe I‟ve lost the accent, but recall that
we talked of those rubber tracks laid under his car
on Paradise Road! And I‟ll not forget the sparkle
in his eyes and voice as he spoke of the fun we‟d
had. “That story wuz real,” with a chuckle, one I
miss to this day along with his ever-present smile
To this day, I‟ve never had a wilder
roller skate ride than this buckin‟
bronco – with the extra weight of the
skates pulling my legs down I knew
what the gals meant when they said
they‟d been ridden hard! Actually,
there was one wilder, when AAP‟s
mega motored Pro Street Chevette
flipped at our World of Wheels show
at the NEC. It was said I‟d been
driving - wearing skates! With no
seat, let alone a belt, I
was sat on the floor - we
landed upside down and
I fell onto the roof, ouch!
Skating into A&E later
was a real blast - Matron
couldn‟t believe what she
saw! Jack Daniels and
cold Bud more than
eased my headache!
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Paradise Road shots scanned from Showtime
Mike Key photos, enhanced
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Ray‟s superb brush work saw the car
win Best Mural at Belle Vue in 1979
Here‟s a pair of totally different Rolls Royce custom creations; Ray
Mumford‟s super-subtle beauty and John Dodds‟ the Beast which won Best
of Show at the 1972 Custom Car show. After a fire in Sweden, it was rebuilt
by FGR, making our cover in this guise in 1981 and was a star exhibit at
Belle Vue that year. With its 27 litre Rolls Royce engine, said to produce
700hp at only 2,500rpm, the mainstream media loved it. In the Daily Express
prior to SPR‟s 1981 Milton Keynes show, Roy Phelps said, “It‟s got enough
torque to pull down a tree…” The Beast is still turning heads to this day,
especially when it was driven down the track at Santa Pod in 2014
Anything but subtle, Ian Etheridge‟s Celestial always drew huge crowds,
and rightly so as it was a stunning piece of modern customising. The body
of this 1973 Trans Am was heavily modified before being given one of the
most outrageous paint jobs in town along with a cool, deep buttoned
interior. A wild creation, Celestial graced our front cover in April of 1980
and won Best Use of Colour and Best Graphics at Rodger and Graham‟s
Last Great Rod & Custom Show in 1982
Al Fishwick photo
scanned from
Showtime
Al Fishwick‟s shot at left captures some of the detail
that won Richard Wale‟s Best of Show, Participants‟
Choice and Best Engineering at the 1980 National
Custom Car Show. After our World of Wheels show
in 1981, this superb build quality took Richard and
his amazing machine to the ISCA‟s Grand Finale in
Las Vegas along with John Reed and his Triumph
bike, Old Dan Blacksidge. Showtime tells us that had
Al Herald been judged as an entry at this prestigious
the
event, it would‟ve placed third!
To me Richard Wale‟s creation was one of the most
stunning works of customising art ever built in the UK,
especially as it was Triumph Herald! The car won many
awards during the era covered in Showtime, including
Best of Show at Custom Car‟s 1982 Alexander Palace event
Mike Key photo
scanned from Showtime image enhanced
Tony Gransden, the original “messer” and
his “messketeers” Chris Mead, Tony,
Steve Thompson and Terry Gibbs pose
with the “Bottomless Pit,” now red
(scanned from a creased ol‟ newspaper)
Scanned from Showtime
Roger wrote that Terry Gibbs‟
Camaro won Best
Competition at Ally Pally „82,
which I wasn‟t aware of! It
was the car‟s debut – as the
American Autoparts Camaro!
Oops, but no problem, Terry
and Tony, gone but not
forgotten, were more into
racing! God bless „em
Photographer unknown AA Archives
Mel Wooding‟s „70s Pro Stock racer Blue Rose is seen a few times
in Showtime, but always too small to enjoy – see colour scan! As
“Woody” is a long time pal of ML and American Autoparts, here it
is lookin‟ good and slightly more visible at Crystal Palace
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As one of our first custom jobs, I couldn‟t understand why FGR‟s pick-up
never made the book – it looked good, and push started Mooneyes in
1963! There again it was a workhorse, not a show car
Loved these Duckhams‟
ads, the one above is
from the first issue of
Street Machine. If
nothing else they showed
a commercial interest in
customising and
horsepower. The
Humbrol wheelbarrow is
still kinda cool today
Possibly there‟s a slight exaggeration in
the Pod Show‟s promotional exclamation!
Gary Belcher‟s unique V-12 T is amongst a
host of hot rods from the day featured on
Nick Pettitt‟s Time Travel 49 DVD
Some of the best radical rides from the Showtime era made classic Custom Car
and Street Machine covers. For such a simple lookin‟ machine the beauty of
John Baldachino‟s Small Fry is timeless, and it‟s still way cool today. Ol‟ Nitro
Nostrils knew of it, and even that it was built for Matt Matheou! It won Best
Radical Rod award at the final Belle Vue show for new owner John Toft
The most amazing work of customising art I saw ever back in the day was while
skating towards the bar at our World of Wheels show at the NEC when an
absolutely stunning motorcycle stopped me in my tracks – simply put, it was…
…the best of the best
Gobsmacked is a word that‟s never done much for me,
but it‟ll work here. The bike was totally awesome, unlike
any I‟d ever seen, everything seemed to be engraved and
it all fit in one tight golden package, a sign telling folks it was John Reed‟s Yamaha.
,While
unlikecrouched down on my skates, in awe of the quality of work on the bike, I noticed
John and his wife Genny who, with no one seemingly around, paused and their faces lit
with pure pleasure at seeing the results of their work on display. Standing tall, I told them
just how beautiful it was, walking over and renewing our friendship which‟d come from
us both driving six-pot Chevies!
After winning Best Overall Bike at this 1982 World of Wheels show, the Gold Yamaha won Best Radical
Bike, Best Engineering (bike), and Best Overall Bike at Belle Vue‟s Last Great Rod & Custom Show.
John and Jenny went to the USA, and in January 1983 their Gold Yamaha won the coveted Best of Show
Bike award at the famed Oakland Roadster Show, the dream of a lifetime fulfilled – to win big in America!
Courtesy trendhunter.com
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30 years on - John Reed‟s Gold Yamaha
Courtesy Avon Motorcycle Tyres North America
Thanks for the memories MC
Rodger Attaway
Rod & Custom
Showtime
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When Double Trouble was first shown at
the 2010 SEMA Show, it caught much
attention with its pair of blowers on twin, side-by-side 4.6 Ford engines
When Andy Willsheer saw it sometime later, it was love at first sight and he
talked with Gordon Tronson, the rod‟s owner/builder about bringing it over to
the annual Essen Motor Show, but the car already had a vast number of
bookings. The amiable Kiwi suggested they wait until he finished it, “with
four blowers on top.” Andy‟s eye lit bright as he responded “Yes please!”
With almost 350,000 visitors during the Show‟s 10 days, those who saw the incredible machine would probably
agree that he was right to wait! Andy shot Gordon‟s quad blown, 9.2 litre, Ford powered beauty while visiting his
home-workshop in Henderson, Nevada. Often asked how fast does Double Trouble go, how much power does it
have, what does it do through the quarter mile? Gordon answers in a great interview from a short 15minute show
on BIG MUSCLE TV, “To be really, really honest, I really don‟t wanna really find out,” he chuckled, “right
now it makes so much power it does not get any traction whatsoever.
So it‟s 30, 40, 50 mile an hour, if you hit the throttle it‟ll j‟st light the
tyres up and go sideways, so there‟s really no point,” adding with a
slight smile, “that‟s why we have a Lamborghini Diablo, if I want to
go 200 miles an hour I take the Lamborghini out,” his smile lighting
up large into chuckles and laughter. Can you imagine looking out of
your car window at the sound of a blower whine and catching sight
of this amazing view of four blowers on side-by-side engines - wow!
Click the link to enjoy this, and much more about Gordon‟s scratch
built beauty, created at home from his dreams – it‟s a great show
that more than does justice to this magnificent 21st century hot rod
While in Henderson, the ever smiling Kiwi showed Andy his
latest creation, a motorcycle with four engines side-by-side!
Andy saw only the backs of the blowers as they
rode into the hill, but said it was an awesome ride
Photo courtesy Frank Breuer
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What a sight, but to see and
hear it - wow! With
1,000horsepower, you just
know that folks smile when
Gordon Tronson rumbles
by in his incredible hot rod
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Tre Kronor
Swedish drivers dominate NHRA‟s Top Alcohol Funny Car
with three crowns in three straight races!
At Pomona, FIA TAFC champion Jonnie Lindberg qualified his Lindberg Bros
Motorsports Monte Carlo on the pole from the get-go, improving from a first round 5.522
/252.47 to a final session‟s 5.451 at 255.87. Fellow Swede Ulf Leanders was second in
Q1, but ended up fourth with his Haas Automation Monte Carlo‟s 5.539 at 260.61
In Eliminations Leanders won his first round, but got loose in the second, while Limdberg just plain thundered, laying down another 5.445 at
263.00mph before slowing to a 5.511 at 252.33 to advance. In the semi‟s Lindberg had to drive around a holeshot from Jay Payne (who‟d
taken out Leanders), but he did it in fine style - his Monte Carlo taking the stripe with 5.486 at a faster still 265.38mph!
The finals saw Lindberg taking on defending event champion Brian Hough, and once again an American racer took the lead at the green
light – but not for long. Lindberg ran him down, thundering to top speed of the event, 267.27mph with a consistent 5.458 over Hough‟s 5.608
at 260. Johnnie Lindberg became NHRA‟s 100th different driver to win Alcohol Funny Car
The Lindberg Brothers put their Monte Carlo on the pole at the Gators with
a 5.48 at 267, and then in Q3 Jonnie Lindberg thundered to a new NHRA
Speed Record of 268.71 mph. Ulf Leanders was fifth with his Haas Monte
Carlo at 5.578 and 260.61. In the second round, severe tyre shack put an
end to Lindberg‟s quest for two straight wins, but Leanders marched all the
way to his second National finals, taking out the NHRA‟s reigning TAFC
champion Steve Harker with a holeshot and better numbers. Leanders took
the crown with a 5.541 at 261.47 mph over Aussie Harker's 5.626 at 256.80
The Top Alcohol cars didn‟t race in Arizona, but when they went to Charlotte, Jonnie Lindberg truly
thundered, setting NHRA ET and speed records en route to winning his second NHRA Top Alcohol Funny
Car title at that weekend's NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway.
Lindberg truly dominated at Charlotte, where the alcohol cars only run two-wide, en route to re-setting both
national records with a first-ever sub-5.4 elapsed time, a 5.361 with a thundering top end charge of 272.01!
In the second round the smiling Swedish driver won with a 5.381 at 270.64, the numbers backing his record
up. Alcohol funny car legend Frank Manzo had held the previous mark of 5.411 seconds since 2011, while
Lindberg beat his own speed record of 268.71 from the Gators! In the final Lindberg ran a 5.406 at 269.94
to the reigning TAFC champion Steve Harker who clicked his motor off with severe tyre shake
Snabba Jonnie Lindberg, far lane, set both ends of the
NHRA records, and don‟t you just love the front cover they
gave the team on National Dragster! It‟s really cool as
they‟ve even got brother Johan running out front ready to
guide the car back after his winning burn out at ZMAX
Meanwhile, back in the UK, things
hadn‟t been going quite so smoothly...
Fart Fest’
20 15
Andy Willsheer photo
The main problem with today‟s AA fuelers and fuel
coupes is that the amount of power they produce is
so great the razor‟s edge they walk between just
right and K‟boom is almost infinitesimal. More than
that, the volume of nitro consumed is so strong some
team members wear gas masks when warming up,
especially when they‟re “indoors.” This not only
protects the sensitive from the fumes, but also keeps
punters at bay, as you can see from this shot of a
fuel coupe doing its thing inside a marquee.
For a change, it‟s the type of fart most of us enjoy being around as the aroma is almost as delightful as the sound of eight trunks trumpeting! Sadly,
that sound was heard all too briefly over the Pod‟s Easter meet due to unfriendly weather, especially for the blown an‟ injected “big show” nitro
warriors, whose cars had far too much power for the cold surface. Witness Ol‟ Nitro Nostril‟s shot of Birgitte Bremnes Top Fuel ride goin‟ up in
smoke at the hit. Car owner Rune Fjeld‟s directly behind, having a reason not to smile, knowing it‟d be a tough weekend for his fuelers and teams
Andy Willsheer photo
Birgitte Bremnes was at the helm of one of Rune Fjeld‟s stable of four Top Fuel dragsters at the Pod, although she, along with Liam “Bomber”
Jones, was chasing her licence, while Jari Hanilan and Duncan Micallef were due to Match Race - maybe! All the drivers were really trying
hard, but found it really trying because of the cold! But they were generally lucky in being able to catch things in time and get out of it and off
the power before something let loose and k'boom'd the motor! Thing were better for the nostalgia fuel car teams who, with less power, could use
the cool air, and much to the delight of the many nitro fans amongst the crowd they did just that with stellar side-by-side racing. The first
Nostalgia Fuel Cup final was taken by Nick Davies‟ thundering 230mph with a 6.12 to put Lawrie Gatehouse‟s AA/Fuel Altered Chaos across
the stripe first while the Apache AA/Fuel Coupe ran a 6.29 at 209, according to Andy Marrs TSI times, while Eurodragster reported that Tim
Garlick was DQ‟d as his fuel coupe hit the finish line reflectors. Earlier Chaos‟ 6.24 at 221 took out the Apache‟s 6.26 which was clicked early
for 193mph
Andy Willsheer photos
Santa Pod’s Thursday Facebook page
mcSnip courtesy
Santa Pod Raceway
Highlights Show
Shortly after last year‟s event when some racer‟s complained about their lack
of track time, Santa Pod CEO Keith Bartlett, said the event had been losing
money as a race and, through an unedited open letter in Eurodragster told us
he‟d decided to launch “a more family oriented event with a wider appeal,”
adding that, “The main theme was the Jet Cars including side by side Jet Car
racing, which is always a real crowd and family favourite at Santa Pod
Raceway.” With additional, “Hovercraft rides, Live Action Arena shows
(stunt shows, monster trucks, human cannonball) a circus, all of which
operated several times a day come rain or shine.” Adding, in passing perhaps
that, “we also had Top Fuel Dragsters (4) and Fuel Funny cars (2) plus a
good entry of Pro Modified and all the other Sportsman classes.” Like a
character in a Tom Cruise movie once said, “Show me the money!”
But judging by the comments on Santa Pod‟s Facebook page, he‟s done something right as the image above got “86 likes” – although for some reason, the
seemingly, side-by-side jet funny car race was not featured in the Pod‟s highlight film! Although fire eating babes were never mentioned last year, and
Andy never saw them, they look kinda cool in the clip
My favourite from the Pod‟s Facebook page (with 1,139 likes), posted
on Thursday's test day at 2:17am from a young lady read, “We‟re on
our way but it‟s raining.” At 6:07am she received this response from
Official Santa Pod Raceway “Hi, we're racing here.” Racing - at that
time of day? I don‟t think so! The only Top Fuel car I saw in the
Highlights clip was Jari Halinen‟s – with the crew working in the pits!
mcSnip
Highlights Show
mcSnip
Highlights Show
The favourite shot from Thursday‟s test and tune was the one below of Birgitte
Bremnes‟ NitroFire which got 136 likes along with “Go girl!!!”
Photos courtesy Santa Pod Raceway Facebook
Sunday Birgitte Bremnes hit an 8.01
and Liam Jones an 8.49
Photo courtesy
Santa Pod Raceway Facebook
Although it‟s my eXtreme crop, this
b-a-d blown Volvo got 72 likes
This Peugeot Jet Cop Car (again cropped), also had 72
likes - with Herve Franquin and “Flambante neuve" si
je puis dire, allez bon soleil...” This translates, loosely
as “Flaming, new, so to speak, go good sun...”
Photo courtesy
Santa Pod Raceway Facebook
As you can see, all three of these Top Fuel cars lit the day with
NitroFire giving fans a very brief taste of NitroThunder, with
Liam “Bomber” Jones (above), apparently running low ET of
the event with a “very competent 4.80 half-pass” according to
our friends at Eurodragster. Jari Halinen (right) clicked off
with tyre shake, his motor went pop, the chutes deployed, and
he lost a side-by-side race to Duncan Micallef‟s 4.97 – whose
motor also went k‟boom. Like I said earlier, Rune Fjeld knew
his cars would have a tough time - and so did the Top Fuel
drivers and crews! But that‟s drag racing – especially here in
the UK - in the “spring”!
Photo courtesy Santa Pod Raceway Facebook
Photo courtesy Santa Pod Raceway Facebook
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mcSnips
Highlights Show
Famoso
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Dress code for Pod fans at the Easter
meeting was slightly different to that at
Famoso – no matter what time of year!
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One posting stated the “Jet cars were amazing! – but added, “Chaos & Apaches
side by side, 230mph run stole the show for me though, would love to see more of
those two!” We all would Mr Bartlett - preferably at the big show events, if only so
we can all enjoy some nostalgic Nitro Cackle from these ol‟ school fuel coupes
(and fuel altered) which we don‟t get from modern day Nitro cars
Gordon Smith (above left), won the first round of the Euro Funny Car
Series with a 4.93, 257 ahead of Kevin Kent‟s troubled 5.38. Loved
this shot of Kevin Kent‟s NitroFire, letting fans feel the noise and
smell the thunder on Thursday - albeit extremely briefly!
Photo courtesy
Santa Pod Raceway Facebook
Not sure about this tank - but it‟s a tad over the top for
crowd control don‟t you think Sir! Click the links and you
can see moving images in Santa Pod‟s Highlights show
Other comments (as posted), on the Pod‟s Facebook page that caught my eye were…
“We had a lovely day today. The monster truck ride was brilliant...we loved it! x”
Photo courtesy Santa Pod Raceway Facebook
“Wish I lived closer! I'm in Florida.” This was kinda weird!
“Awesome weekend - too much to see so loud and unbelievable speed. Favourite this
time was the bikes some bottle those guys and gals.” Hence the shot at right
Even the historic Santa Pod loos came up! “Despite the rain and mud the crew
looking after the toilet facilities were doing a fantastic job, thank you.”
And one probably pinned to the Pod office wall…
“Cold today but Santa Pod always awesome. Thank you Mr Bartlett!”
With the silly season that is Santa Pod‟s nitro drag racing just around the corner, I
found myself wondering just how sad this year‟s Nitro Circus could be given that
we‟ve lost Andersen Racing and Batman, who generally gave us nitro fans the
quickest, fastest and best Top Fuel drag racing we could wish for. The only sadness
was that often their efforts were made on solo passes – yet they still gave us
demonstrations of pure NitroThunder down the short-track which others could not
match. But let‟s think positive and look to the future, hoping everyone has better luck
at the Main Event! Like the fans with the weather, the nitro racers with their traction
and even the Kaiser with his gate takings „cos drag racing costs money!
But BS is free - and there‟s no chance of a fuel bike racing a fuel car - especially one
After ending last year with 4-zero consistency, my money‟s on
with Andersen Racing‟s Batman logo! Unless “they” knows something we don‟t!
Duncan
Micallef to make it the year that the lion roars in victory!
Talking of which, anyone know what‟s happening with the Lucas Oil fueler?
Fuel coupes rule at
Gainesville
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The fuel coupes at right gave us
the closest race I‟d ever seen
with 1/10,000 of a second MOV!
And it‟s still got me buzzing a
month down the road!
But that‟s later, first it was
Cruz Pedregon stepping up to
the plate in his Snap-On
Toyota, ripping off a booming
4.022 at 312.13 to lead five
cars in the 4-zeros, eclipsing
the big buck DSR/JFR teams.
Cruz also reset his of track
record of 4.026 – it took him
"Nitro Nellie" Goins, the first female
three years to knock off that
African-American Funny Car racer was at
four thousandth of a second!
the track with her 1970s Mustang fuel coupe
And you thought it was easy!
On Saturday Cruz Pedregon and arch rival John Force gave fans the best numbers, with the Cruzer‟s Snap-On Toyota taking it via a strong 4.059 ahead
of Papa John‟s thundering 315.194 with a 4.068. Chad Head had the bump, at 4.704, while the Surfer‟s long haul from California still had no reward as
his Jeff Diehl Racing Solara had a problem, and again in the final session. Perhaps NHRA‟s payment for his 17 place car helped ease his pain.
There was no pain for Tim Wilkerson, who drove his LSR Shelby to a third consistent 4.08 with low ET of the final Q session, a 4.082 at 312.64. Don
Schumacher obviously had a word with his tuners, as both Tommy Johnson Jr and Mat Hagan moved into the top half of the field. Big Jim Dunn opted to
save parts, with John Hale and the USD Charger sitting out the session –being in 14th this meant facing John Force for breakfast on Sunday, not any fuel
coupe racer‟s idea of a great way to start race day! But a flame and thunder display from side-by-side jet funny cars is a great way to end a day at the races
Sunday morning got off to a great start with a pretty good side-by-side
race, Tim Wilkerson‟s 4.088 at 311.20 took the first win of the day over
Tony Pedregon‟s 4.094 at 306.26, and then the fun began! John Hale
was the 138th different driver to face John Force – his Peak Camaro had
almost a tenth off the line and we thought it was over. But both cars lost
traction, Force‟s Camaro smoked „em big time then dropped a cylinder
while the USD Charger hazed the tyres down track, but sped on to
tumultuous cheers from the fans as Hale ate John Force for breakfast
, his 4.541 at 203.16 way ahead of John Force‟s 5.899, 122.27mph. Seeing Force go up
in smoke, Kalitta Racing had Del Worsham change lanes, but his DHL Toyota had
problems off the line as Blake Alexander‟s Monroe Shocks Charger sped to his best
numbers of the event, a 4.151 at 303.43 over Worsham „s 4.689! The upsets continued
in the next round - Tommy Johnson Jr never made it down track, the motor in DSR‟s
Make‐ A‐Wish Charger dying at the hit leaving Blake Alexander (right) to pedal his
Monroe Shocks Charger to another win! Alexis DeJoria‟s Patrón Toyota had problems
before it was even staged, but she left first only to haze the tyres at the top end, allowing
John Hale to drive on by to take a 4.196 win. Having made it to the semi finals after
only five races, NHRA quoted car owner Jim Dunn as saying, “It has to be luck, he's
brand new at this."The grin on Big Jim‟s face would‟ve have been a delight to behold! John
Hale then took Dunn‟s USD/Alo Charger to the finals, 4.203 at 301.20mph (his best speed of
the event), over Blake Alexander who smoked the tyres. Next came a true classic between Ron
Capps‟ mega-buck DSR/ NAPA Auto Parts Charger and the LSR Shelby driven by owner/tuner
Tim Wilkerson. Even though the quarter mile is long gone for big show cars, it was the type of
drag race we dream of with side-by-side fuel coupes thundering from green lights to the
1,000foot stripe - in a race won by an inch!
Upsets - and the lane changing blues…
By the 330 foot
clocks Capps‟
lead was back
down to 0.008
To the naked eye, the
cars left together, but
Ron Capps, in the
left lane had a
0.008seconds hole
shot, and by the
60foor clocks he‟d
extended that lead to
0.009seconds
And then Tim Wilkerson took the lead!
Happily for us, ol‟ Nitro Nostrils was on
hand to capture this magic moment in
time from a unique view point…
Andy Willsheer Skybox photos courtesy of the
obliging folks in the Amalie Motor Oil suite
To see this amazing fuel coupe, click the link and fast forward 12 minutes and enjoy!
After his recent surgery, Don
Schumacher j‟st loved this dose
of AA awesome good medicine,
punching the air with a “Yes!”
And there y‟have it folks, the race comes down to four digits, with Ron Capps
taking the win by an unbelievable 0.0001seconds! “Holy close-calls Batman,
that‟s one inch! “Yes Robin, and a bast‟rd good drag race!”
WOW!
The finals began close, but Ron Capps NAPA Charger took the lead to win with
a 4.115 at 311.05, and more than half-a-car over Hale‟s 4.208, 289.32, and Don
Schumacher was even happier! Hale was also over the moon, with only a single
round win previous to this, his fifth NHRA national event - and he had made it
to the finals, and Big Jim Dunn would‟ve been ecstatic!
Although there was a 20-car field in Top Fuel, fans had little in the
way of big numbers to get excited about on Friday, with only a trio of
cars running in the 3.80s, led by Tony Schumacher‟s US Army
dragster (3.851 / 320.89), with Larry Dixon‟s 3.851 at 317.49 and
Richie Crampton‟s 3.853 at a clicked-off 271.35. The day ended with
Tony Schumacher taking a firm grip on lead with the Army car‟s
3.796 at 323.43 ahead of JFR‟s Brittany Force (still without a
sponsor) at 3.817/ 318.09. Also still hunting sponsors was Shawn
Langdon driving AJR‟s Knuckle Sandwich car to 3.875 / 316.97, while Antron Brown‟s 3.854 at 310.63 was behind DSR teammate Spencer Massey‟s 3.841
at 323.66. Two more drivers ran under 3.80 in Saturday‟s first session; Shawn Langdon‟s 3.765 (low ET of the race) at 325.45 moving him into number one
and Spencer Massey‟s 3.793 good enough for second, with his 329.02mph also taking top speed of the meet. Talking of speed, the Golden Greek made his
fastest ever 1,000 foot pass at 313.51mph on a 3.904 to move up the ladder.
But the run which took everyone‟s breath away came from Larry Dixon in Bob
Vandergriff‟s C&J Energy fueler, which hooked up, was accelerating hard
down track and really on a pass until just before just before the finish line when
the car‟s chassis broke. Dixon‟s world went topsy-turvy – to say the least!
The front half of the car whipped away sky-high, leaving the rear half spinning up
in the air behind –Fox News put its height at 20 feet, and ESPN‟s Mike Dunn
giving close to 500 feet as its flight distance! When it smashed back down to earth,
the big Goodyear slicks cushioned Dixon‟s touchdown, but bounced the cockpit
bounced across the track and onto the safety barrier! Meanwhile, Kalitta, DQ‟d
for crossing the centerline just before the finish stripe, was threading his way
through the debris. Dixon‟s time was also disallowed as the car‟s spinning front
end took out the finish line cones, but he was already sixth in the field with a
3.851. Dixon stunned one of the Fox TV guys when he said, “And that wasn‟t my
worst accident,” in reference to his far more violent high speed crash, linked here.
Following which, as he remarked to Mike Dunn on race day at the Gators, “I had
a helicopter ride and didn‟t wake up until I got to the hospital!” Here‟s a link to
an NHRA media interview shortly after his wild ride at Gainesville, the results of
which he puts down to today‟s safety equipment, including the HAN‟s device that
he began wearing shortly after that horrific crash
Mark Rebilas‟ amazing photos
were already winging their way
around the planet ( and on
Facebook too – see below), with
major TV networks picking up the
stunning film from ESPN when
the final Q session began and
racers went about their business,
trying to repeat or even improve.
Obviously I‟d seen it during
ESPN‟s Q show, but was amazed
to see in on the BBC Global
evening news in an item taken
from ITV‟s early morning show!
When the car hit the top of the wall, the back half stayed inside rolling down onto terra firma and sliding a long way before stopping. NHRA‟s
Safety Safari was soon on the scene, and within moments Dixon climbed out under his own steam, raising his arm in salute to the now cheering
fans standing tall in the stands. This stunning Mark J Rebilas photo was the number one choice for CNN‟s morning report – you can see why!
Morgan Lucas did improve, his 3.963 at 300.40 getting him in the field on the bump while
Leah Pritchett„s 3.809 at 321.81 ended up fifth behind original pole sitter Tony Schumacher,
moved down a notch by Doug Kalitta‟s 3.796 at 323.58. Shawn Langdon was the first to run
a number on race day, his 3.781 taking out Morgan Lucas‟ smoked-in car, and then DSR‟s
Spencer Massey‟s Red Fuel car ran the second best time of the event, a 3.768, matching his
top speed exactly with another 329.02 to move on. Tony Schumacher gave his US Army car
it‟s best run of the weekend, a 3.775 at 325.45, followed by Brittany Force‟s best, a 3.792 /
323.12 pass and Richie Crampton, who also ran his quickest of the race, a 3.783 at 320.05.
Don Schumacher, making his first visit to a race since undergoing major surgery, loved to see three of his drivers win in the second round, but low ET went
to AJR‟s Knuckle Sandwich, a 3.830 giving Shawn Langdon lane choice over Tony Schumacher‟s 3.887 and Antron Brown‟s 3.850 giving him the pick over
Spencer Massey‟s 3.911. However, it seemed lane choice didn‟t mean much to the long skinny cars as Massey not only left first, but his 3.858 took an easy
win as Brown went up in smoke in the favoured lane. And then Tony Schumacher ran low ET of the round, 3.838 at 320.58 in beating Shawn Langdon who
smoked the tyres down track to a losing 4.323. Race fans got to see a good final round race, with Massey‟s Red Oil car taking a 0.020 holeshot win with a
3.882 at 320.74 by almost four hundredths of a second over Tony Schumacher„s 0.065 light and a 3.873 at 313.29 Not what you‟d call really close, but
Massey was happy to win one for the boss, and Don Schumacher was over the moon, being almost overcome with emotion during a start line interview
NitroThunder
When the troops arrived at Z Max Dragway it was a case of good news,
bad news in that the track was completely repaved, but rain washed out
the first day of qualifying! During the shortened event, the ultra
powerful nitro cars put on quite a display of how not to win a race, as
you can see from NHRA‟s image at right of a second round of race on
Sunday! I wonder if that photographer managed to fill his frame with
Dave Connolly‟s explosive k‟boom – talk about a face full of NitroFire!
Former Pro Stock champion Dave Connolly took his first round as a Top
Fuel driver in the previous round, cutting a good light in his Energy
Services car, just a tick ahead of defending event champ Antron Brown
who drove on to win with a 3.771 at 313.58 ahead of Connolly‟s second
place 3.944. In the quad above, Connolly was second off the line, and
then he fireballed big-time! Brown, seen smokin‟ the tyres in DSR‟s
Matco Tools machine above, won this fan-pleasing pedal-fest, smokin‟ to
a 5.817 at 185.00 with Steve Torrence‟s Capco car second with a faster
200.95mph in 6.019 seconds to also move onto the semi-finals
But that‟s getting ahead of the game - Pat Dakin‟s last NHRA national
event victory came in 1973, but the veteran owner/driver shook the
troops when his Commercial Metal Fabricators fueler took the pole
with career best numbers and a track-record-setting-ET of 3.715 at
318.84 in the first set on Saturday. Golden oldie Chris Karamesines ran
second with a 4.343 while Terry McMillen and Dave Connolly Runs
smoked „em – so let‟s hear it for the ol‟ dudes! Clay Millican took the
next quad and third spot with a 3.768 at 315.05 ahead of JR Todd„s
3.841 ahead of Leah Pritchett who lost a blower belt and the Capco car
which smoked „em at the hit. Fans saw a close race with Brittany
Force‟s 3.826 at 318.32 leading a trio of .82s ahead of Richie
Crampton‟s 3.827/ 312.28 and Larry Dixon 3.829 / 314.75 with Doug
Kalitta up in smoke at the hit.
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Photos courtesy nhra.com
The final qualifying quad featured three Top Fuel champions, with Tony Schumacher thundering to second spot with a 3.729 at 323.58, ahead of DSR
teammate Spencer Massey‟s 3.782 while the other pair went instantly up in smoke. Antron Brown‟s 10.277 at 68.74 was ahead of Shawn Langdon„s 10.819
at 76.38! Pat Dakin‟s glory was stolen by a couple of inches when JR Todd put his Red Line car on pole with a 3.713 in the second Q session. It was the
fourth time Dakin had qualified second (1971, 1976 & 1996), so he was no doubt a happy camper – even though he smoked „em in his first round quad
(Brittany Force won with a 5.041at 184.85!), but then so did most drivers!
Only one quad of the first round featured a side-by-side „70s race, won by Tony Schumacher‟s US Army car, his 3.720 (the quickest of eliminations), over
Clay Millican‟s 3.755. Only two other fuelers had clean winning passes - Steve Torrence‟s 3.799, 314.24 and Antron Brown‟s 3.771 at 313.58 – the rest of
the other smoked or broke! The only power-race in the second round saw Richie Crampton set top speed of eliminations, 324.12mph with a 3.741 over Clay
Millican‟s 3.801 at 310.77 - ahead of a pair of smokers! As you saw in the photo above, the other quad was a smoke and real k‟boom fest! Seeing these
mega-buck teams having such a hard time getting their cars down track made me think, it‟s pity some of us don‟t go easier on our hard working, but much
lower funded Top Fuel teams at Santa Pod when they have problems!
Things were just as tough for the coupes, with John Force‟s Peak Anti‐Freeze Camaro
(second from top), took the first pole with a 4.040, 309.98 ahead of Chad Head‟s Toyota‟s
4.077. Jack Beckman‟s Infinite Hero Charger qualified second with a 4.059
Papa John was bumped to second in the final Q session by his daughter
Courtney, who drove her Traxxas Camaro to a blistering 4.011 at 312.35 (top
right), and Matt Hagan‟s Mopar Express Charger moved up to fourth with a
4.055 (bottom right), as both Del Worsham‟s DHL Toyota and Tommy Johnson
Jr‟s Make-A-Wish Charger went up in smoke. Ron Capps put DSR‟s NAPA
Charger in third with a 4.051 and Cruz Pedregon‟s Snap‐on Toyota took fifth
(ahead of Beckman‟s 4.059), with a 4.055. JFR‟s Robert Hight moved his Auto
Club Camaro to seventh with a 4.061, pushing Chad Head‟s 4.077 down to eighth
Race day opened with Del Worsham‟s 4.040 and Chad Head‟s 4.464 227.96 winning the first quad over a pair of smoker‟s, as did
JFR‟s Robert Hight‟s 4.027 and bossman John Force‟s 4.250, the pair making the second round for the first time this season!
Next up we saw Jack Beckman take an easy win as DSR‟s Infinite
Hero Charger sped to a 4.051 ahead of teammate TJ, who‟s
Make‐ A‐Wish Charger, almost four seconds behind! Meanwhile,
DSR‟s Ron Capps was DQ‟d as lost a battle to control his out-ofshape NAPA Charger and tagged the wall as Paul Lee‟s McLeod
Racing Charger took third – even though he‟s barely in the shot! But
the final quad was even weirder, to put it mildly as defending Mello
Yello Funny Car champion Matt Hagan was DQ‟d for failing to stage
and Tim Wilkerson was asleep at the wheel with a 4.096 reaction
time! The round won by a 4.12 form Cruz Pedregon‟s exploding
Snap-on car ahead of John Hale‟s 4.21
Sunday 04
In his second round quad, Jack Beckman (top lane right) was the
last car to leave the line, but he won with a blistering 4.000 ahead
of TJ‟s 4.132 in the Make‐A‐Wish Charger while John Force‟s
white Camaro went up in smoke and son-in-law Robert Hight red
lit in the Auto Club Camaro! The second semi was all Toyota - Del
Worsham click off a 4.067 to win in Connie Kalitta‟s DHL car
ahead of Chad Head‟s 4.080 and Cruz Pedregon Snap‐on machine
which broke. Big show rookie John Hale two-stepped the throttle
and red lit by two-tenths in Big Jim Dunn‟s Alo Drink Charger
In the final TJ put DSR‟s Make‐A‐Wish Charger off the line first
but went up in smoke early, and going badly out of shape to finish
in double digits behind a tyre smoking Chad Head‟s 7.455. But
enough about the losers - Del Worsham left first in Connie
Kalitta‟s DHL Toyota only to have his early lead eaten by “Fast
Jack” Beckman, far lane, who drove DSR‟s Infinite Hero Charger
to a blistering 3.983 at 308.78, taking the win ahead of Worsham‟s
4.012, 314.24 in the DHL Toyota. Click the link to see that run
The Top Fuel finals were more of the same, Antron Brown‟s Matco Tools Dragster left
first and led all the way to give the DSR driver his second straight 4-Wide win with a
strong 3.749 at 319.90 over Steve Torrence‟s Capco car which trailed by a tenth and about
70feet with a 3.847 at 317.5. Richie Crampton‟s put Lucas Oil third with a 4.030 ahead of
Clay Millican‟s, whose Parts Plus car was second of the line, but went up in smoke, and in
NHRA‟s shot is about to be overtaken by Torrence.
Sunday 22
In claiming his second 4-Wide victory, “Fast Jack”
ended a 54-race winless streak, and gave veteran crew
chief Jimmy Prock his first win at DSR.
Antron Brown‟s win gave him the points lead over his
teammate, defending Mello Yello champion Tony
Schumacher, and with Jack Beckman they gave team
owner Don Schumacher his 44th multiple title event.
Here‟s a link to the Top Fuel final, click it and enjoy a
brief blast of 4-wide NitroThunder!
Alternatively, if you need a mega –dose of
ground pounding action, click here and
you‟ll be spoilt for choice, with full ESPN
race coverage from this year, and more at
KMan's Ultimate Drag Racing Channel
Time out for
some
truckin’
awesome
images
From four wide on a big fat track, to side-by-side battles between black smokin‟ behemoths of the tractor trailer
variety with less room that you‟ve ever seen at any drag race – and they thunder off the line into a curve!
Wouldn‟t you just
love a launch like
this with your
street car!
Catching up time!
Awesome image of
truckin‟ power
Way too close
Leroy!
Click one of the links to enjoy some
truly crazy action on a short, skinny
track which I believe is somewhere in
Canada. From Russia with love, it‟s
Дальнобой наваливает!
AKA Semi Trucks Drag Racing!
Posted by a dude called Sergey322 on
YouTube, it‟s had 1,066,884 hits – maybe
it‟s crazy, but it‟s popular too!
Awesome images, but diesel fumes give
me grief, and I can‟t hold my breath
much longer, so let‟s get back to the
sweet taste of NitroThunder!
VivaAgaLina
s Vegas
st the odds!
This race was won by just 0.0021seconds!
With 15 out of 20 NHRA titles (eight Top Fuel & seven Funny Car), since last year‟s US Nats won by Don Schumacher
Racing, you‟d have got pretty good odds at that streak continuing in Las Vegas… (Data courtesy dragracingonline.com)
When the Mello Yello tour rolled into The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, it was hot on the track, 113 degree, but DSR‟s Matt Hagan
led the way from Q1, driving his Mopar Express Dodge to the first pole with a 4.067 at 313.88 ahead of John Force‟s 4.109 at 315.78. Later
in the afternoon, it was down to 95 degree, and in Q2 the numbers started to fall as well. DSR‟s Ron Capps‟ NAPA Charger ran a 4.075 at
316.15, Chad Head ran his dad‟s Toyota to a 4.090 and John Hale got in on the act with a 4.091 at 311.92 in Big Jim Dunn‟s Charger.
Then came JFR‟s Robert Hight with a 4.091 at 314.97, Tim Wilkerson ran a 4.065 at 314.31, but a pair of DSR cars gave us what we‟d
wanted to see, side-by-side nitro thunder with Tommy Johnson Jr‟s Make-A-Wish Charger running 4.020 and 313.07 alongside Jack
Beckman‟s Infinite Hero Charger with a better 4.014 at 315.64 to leap frog over everyone. Kalitta Racing‟s Del Worsham ran his DHL car
to a 4.048 and 316.52 and team mate Alexis DeJoria‟s Patrón XO Cafe Incendio hit a 4.037 at 308.78
The top pair from Q1, DSR‟s Matt Hagan and JFR head honcho
John Force ended the session in style. Force ran a 4.086 at 317.19,
but Matt Hagan stole his glory, DSR‟s Mopar Express charging to a
blistering 4.007 at a 318.02 to take the pole, a position he never
relinquished. There were now 11 fuel coupes in the 4-zeros
Photo courtesy nhra.com
Photo courtesy nhra.com
DSR‟s US Army car hit the Strip at Las Vegas and a
3.828 at 323.74 put Tony Schumacher on top after Q1.
Shawn Langdon was close behind with a 3.835 at
314.31 in the Knuckle Sandwich fueler
Photo courtesy nhra.com
Photo courtesy nhra.com
Super-tuner Dom
Lagana (right) led Q2
and took his first pole
with a 3.805, but he
didn‟t hold it for long as
JR Todd was up next, a
3.758 at 324.83 owning
Photo courtesy nhra.com
the pole for the race
Tony Schumacher improved to a 3.779 at 325.45 as did Shawn Langdon with a 3.782. Steve
Torrence‟s Capco car was a tick behind with a 3.783, 323.89 followed by Lucas Oil‟s Richie
Crampton at 3.787 and Doug Kalitta with a 3.793 317 for Kalitta Racing. Brittany Force almost
hit the „70‟s with 3.801 and Dom Lagana‟s 3.805 in the Australian Rapisarda fueler now
anchored the top half o the field. Saturday gave racers a tricky track, with Tony Schumacher‟s
3.856 leading Q3 while Richie Crampton‟s 3.833 topped Q4
Photo courtesy nhra.com
Things were much the same for the fuel coupes with only five running in the teens during Q3 – quickest was John Force‟s 4.136,
with the session‟s top speed of 312.42, and fans only saw one pair of side-by-side teens between DSR‟s top qualifiers. Matt Hagan
ran a 4.181 at 300.33 alongside Jack Beckman‟s 4.140, 304.67. But flopper fans got a few 4-zeros in Q4 and a great side-by-side
duel when Kalitta Racing‟s Alexis DeJoria put her Patrón Toyota on the line against DSR‟s Ron Capps. Alexis couldn‟t improve on
an earlier 4.037, but her 4.059 was ahead of the NAPA Charger‟s 4.082 (and even Capps‟ best of 4.075), so you knew she was ready
to rumble. Her teammate Del Worsham ran a 4.085 at 314.09, but DSR‟s Matt Hagan was quicker and faster with a 4.075 at 315.71.
The only other cars under 4.2seconds were JFR‟s Robert Hight at 4.123 at 310.70 And Papa John with a 4.108 at 301.47
Photo courtesy nhra.com
High-five indeed, all of John Force Q runs were full pulls, the
slowest a 4.13, with two 4.10‟s and a 4.086 – lookin‟ strong!
Photo courtesy nhra.com
Erica doubles up for the 2nndd straight year!
All the way with Chevrolet!
In the Pro Stock qualifying session, eight teams raced for glory in the prestigious K&N Horsepower Challenge and its $50,000 prize money! Defending her
K&N and Las Vegas titles from 2014, Mello Yello Pro Stock champion Erica Enders-Stevens took it to the bank once again, doubling up on her double up
from last year! On Saturday she beat the best, winning her second-straight K&N Challenge in an all-Chevy duel with a hole shot on Vincent Nobile
Photo courtesy nhra.com
With the unique K&N trophy
and $50,000 cheque resting in
her pit, she tore through the
Mello Yello Pro Stock field on
Sunday. Erica‟s ace 0.001
light gave her a semi final
hole shot win, 6.673 at 207.53
over Greg Anderson's 6.671
at 208.71
The final, another all-Chevrolet race, saw Erica‟s Elite Camaro
leading all the way to complete an ultra-rare, second-straight
double. Her 0.024 light and a 6.674 at 207.24 put the Elite Camaro
across the stripe 0.016 seconds ahead of Vincent Nobile‟s identical
ET of 6.674 at 207.91 in his Mountain View Camaro. Erica is the
first Pro Stock driver to sweep both events back-to-back since the
legendary Bob Glidden won the Mr Gasket Pro Stock Challenge in
1987 and 1988 - she also won an extra $25,000 for doubling up!
Photo courtesy nhra.com
Photo courtesy nhra.com
Jet dragsters closed the day with some flame and thunder
Top Fuel led the way on race day with Richie Crampton opening eliminations in his Lucas Oil car, a 3.821 at 322.27 taking care of a
troubled Troy Buff. DSR‟s Spencer Massey drove his Red Fuel car to victory in the first close race with a 3.796 at a huge 328.78 over Doug
Kalitta‟s 3.807. Larry Dixon advanced with his C&J Energy car with a 3.795 at 318.09 to take out Tony Schumacher‟s 3.828, 319.29
Photo courtesy nhra.com
Photo courtesy nhra.com
Top Fuel owner driver Steve Faria gave it his best shot (right), running his first three-second, 300-mph pass, a 3.957 at 307.02 in his System One fueler,
and he even cut the better light. But pole-sitter JR Todd put an end to Steve‟s dream, his Red Line/Kalitta Air fueler winning with a 3.825 `at 320.81mph.
Of the other cars in the 3.80s, Clay Millican was quickest, his Parts Plus fueler running a 3.815 at 315.12 to take out Brittany Force‟s 3.846 at 323.66 in
her JFR car. The second round saw Richie Crampton move on with a 3.838 at 315.78 along with Spencer Massey‟s 3.858 at 324.98, Larry Dixon‟s 3.889
at 318.77 and JR Todd‟s troubled 3.916 at 308.64. Semi final action showed both sides of the sport as Larry Dixon „s 4.402 at 247.93 won a pedal fest
over Spencer Massey‟s 5.496 at 126.23 before Richie Crampton won a close race with his Lucas Oil car running a 3.828 at 318.32 to reach the stripe
about five feet ahead of JR Todd‟s 3.837 at 321.73. In the final Richie Crampton led all the way to take his third title in his Lucas Oil fueler with 3.902 at
a slowing 301.33mph when Larry Dixon went up in smoke early, coasting through with a 4.46, 201.73 in his C&J Energy Services car
Photo courtesy nhra.com
Photo courtesy nhra.com
Beating the odds in Vegas!
All the way with Chevrolet - sportsman style
All the way with Chevrolet - sportsman style
In Top Alcohol Funny Car Annie Whiteley qualified her Y-Not Racing Camaro third with a 5.608 at
263.67mph (top speed of the meet), ran a 5.627 at 262.49 to beat Steve Gasparrelli„s way out of shape
9.119 127.52, ran her slowest pass, a 5.674 at 257.87 when her opponent was DQ‟d for crossing the
centre line in the second round. She flat out-ran her opponent with a 5.614 at 261.62 to reach the finals
where she ran a consistent 5.617 at 261.98mph to win when Doug Gordon red lit. Annie Whiteley‟s
TAFC victory made her the 200th female winner overall in Mello Yello and Lucas Oil competition, less
than a year after Courtney Force became the 100th female Pro driver to win a national event
Photo courtesy nhra.com
Photo courtesy nhra.com
Winning on the NHRA national event trail is tough in any class, but to win a pair of
eliminators is rare. Yet at Las Vegas, Jimmy DeFrank beat the odds and doubled-up in
Stock and Super Stock – for the second time! All the way with Chevrolet indeed...
All the way with Chevrolet – in a fuel coupe!
DSR cars led the way on race day as Matt Hagan‟s Mopar Express won with a 4.114 and Tommy Johnson Jr‟s Make ‐A‐Wish Charger a 4.106. Team
mate Jack Beckman looked to be joining the gang when his Infinite Hero Charger left the line almost half a tenth ahead of Cruz Pedregon‟s Snap‐on
Tools Toyota, but the Dodge began hazing the tyres, something mechanical went awry and the car slowed with Pedregon laying down his best pass thus
far, a 4.093 at 305.01 to beat Beckman‟s 4.138, 299.00 by 0.0021 seconds. The classes‟ babes did battle next and Alexis DeJoria‟s Patrón Toyota drove
around Courtney Force‟s slight hole shot, pulling away with her 4.115 taking down the Traxxas Camaro‟s 4.165
Tim Wilkerson ran the best ET of the day, 4.080 with a strong 314.53
mph in his Levi, Ray & Shoup Mustang to beat an up in smoke John
Hale. DSR‟s fourth fuel coupe, the NAPA Auto Parts Charger driven by
Ron Capps was a tad late of the line while JFR‟s Robert Hight ran low
elapsed time of the event, his Auto Club Camaro taking the win with a
4.087 at 312.50. In the final pair, bossman John Force cut a better light,
taking an easy win with a 4.138 at 312.57 when Chad Head crossed the
centre line and was DQ‟d. ESPN‟s Marquee Match-up opened the
second round, with John Force‟s Peak Camaro leaving a tick before Matt
Hagan, whose Mopar Express moved quickly ahead, but then smoked the
tyres early as Force ran a consistent 4.158 at 314.17 to advance over
Hagan‟s 4.436 at 296.89.
Fans got another great pedal fest next as Alexis DeJoria showed just how
good a driver she‟s become with her Patrón XO Cafe Incendio Toyota
alongside veteran nitro warrior Del Worsham, both driver pedalling, with
Worsham‟s DHL car leading until Alexis blasted by past in the lights, her Photo courtesy nhra.com
5.852 at 239.06 about half-a-car ahead of Worsham‟s 5.885 160.61 – I‟ve replayed that race more than a few times, „cos it was kinda awesome to watch!
Cruz Pedregon went up in smoke and Robert Hight‟s JFR Camaro won with a 4.102 311.99, then Tommy Johnson Jr ran low of the round, a 4.093 as Tim
Wilkerson crossed the center line and was DQ‟d. Semi final time saw the temperature back up to 130 degrees, and problems for John Force meant the
teams had to rally round when the boss‟ car required a last-minute, complete engine swap – with no time for a warm-up! More problems came when their
tow rope broke and the car had to hand-hustled to the staging lanes to make the call. But then it was smooth sailing, and more consistency for Force, his
4.165 312.35 taking an easy win when Alexis DeJoria‟s Patrón car went up in smoke at the hit. Seeing that happen, DSR „s Make‐ A‐Wish Charger team
swapped lanes, but to no avail as Robert Hight made it an all-JFR final, his 4.145 310.34 ahead all the way over Tommy Johnson JR‟s 4.164.
John Force racing had more than just beaten the odds – they‟d done it
with Chevrolets - and what a great race they gave us. Robert Hight
had 0.004 seconds at the hit, his Auto Club Camaro taking the striped
with a 4.154 just 0.0021 seconds behind the Peak Camaro, John
Force winning his 142nd NHRA title with a 4.148 at 312.35mph
Photo courtesy nhra.com
It would‟ve and could‟ve been Hight‟s race – if the track was
950foot long! And should‟ve – had there been team orders,
but there weren‟t and we got a truly great side-by-side race to
welcome John Force Racing back to the winners circle - and
then some! John said he was lucky – could be that‟s right as
Hight lost a spark plus just before the lights! Click the link
and see just how close the race was
mcSnips
courtesy NHRA YouTube
As you can see in this Snip from NHRA‟s YouTube clip, there‟s
NitroFire as Papa John Force drove it out the back door to get his
first win since making the switch back to his Chevrolet roots
Photo courtesy nhra.com
If you don‟t have cable or satellite TV, you can use
your computer to watch all this year‟s Mello Yello
action at KMan's Ultimate Drag Racing Channel – in
fact you can catch up with many of ESPN‟s great
NHRA shows from the past few seasons…
Big numbers
and
Deep in the heart of Texas
Photos courtesy
nhra.com
Alexis DeJoria‟s Patrón Toyota
(left), ran the first big fuel coupe
numbers on Friday afternoon, 4.041,
310.77 only to be knocked of pole by
her Kalitta Racing teammate Del
Worsham‟s 4.023 at 314.97. Top
speed went to JFR‟s Robert Hight, third with a 4.058 at 317.05mph. Both
the Kalitta cars smoked „em big time in the Q2 evening session, along with
half-a-dozen others. DSR‟s Tommy Johnson went 4.064 at 310.05 and Ron
Capps (below) ran a 4.038, with a new track speed record of 319.67mph.
Reigning Mello Yello Matt Hagan also joined the party with a 4.051 at
314.61 alongside a “fishtailing” John Force who clicked off early
But it was DSR‟s Jack Beckman who really shook the troops, thundering to a
track record of 3.988 at 318.17mph in the Terry Chandler backed Infinite Hero
Foundation Charger – the first three at Houston‟s Royal Purple Raceway
mcSnips courtesy
NHRA YouTube
In car aafd action
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=-NtHvWnU-c4
Tim Wilkerson‟s LSR Shelby stayed close, moving to fifth with a stout4.041
Photos courtesy nhra.com
Along with the Infinite Hero Foundation that helps “former soldiers and
their families with physical or mental challenges,” Terry Chandler also
promotes Make-A-Wish, a foundation that “grants the wish of a child
diagnosed with a grave or life-threatening illness.” A long-time race fan
through her brother, retired DSR funny car driver Johnny Gray, she now
sponsors “Fast Jack” and TJ, their DSR fuel coupes doing much to help
raise funds for these two charities. The race cars are funded by Mrs
Chandler herself! Click the link and read the inspiring story in Autoweek of
how Terry Chandler is “living a dream while helping others”
Live Broadcast Sponsored by
Click the link to enjoy this side-by-side
display of NitroFire and Thunder
Top Fuel‟s first session was led by Larry Dixon and Shawn Langdon, bath running 3.793, but
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pole went to Dixon‟s C&J car with the better speed of 328.46 over Langdon‟s 319.45, his car now
carrying sponsorship from Toyota and Bass Pro Shops. Spencer Massey‟s Red Fuel DSR car was
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Gary Nastase photo
close with a 3.807 at 327.03. In Q2 the pole fell rapidly to JR Todd‟s 3.78, Brittany Force‟s 3.779,
http://dragracingonline.com/raceresults/2015/xvii_3-marchmeet-11.html
courtesy Autoweek.com
Richie Crampton‟s
3.758 and Tony Schumacher‟s 3.754 - and the fans loved it
Ten drivers ran in the .70s
dro pix flickincluding Shawn Langdon‟s
3.760 at 320.81, but it was
local hero Spencer Massey
(left) who blew the roof of, or
would‟ve if they had one!
…there really is no substitute
Photos courtesy nhra.com
Photos courtesy nhra.com
The DSR driver decimated the pole, thundering to new track records of 3.734 at 330.07mph – wow! This was a gentle reminder to
folks that he‟s still the King of Speed behind his 332mph NHRA record! Leah Pritchett‟s Gumout car was 11th with a 3.811 318.84
In Saturday‟s Q3 none of the front runners improved, but there was a great fight
for sixth spot. Leah Pritchett took it with a 3.775 at 318.77, only to be knocked
back by Dave Connolly‟s quickest and fastest pass of his short career, a 3.771 at
323.97 (right), in the next pair followed by JR Todd‟s 3.770 at 321.50. Q4 was hot
and generally a smoke fest - with Richie Crampton's 3.800 at 320.58, the quickest
pass of the session with Kebin Kinsley putting the Gas Monkey Garage fueler on
the bump first time out with a 4.019 at 302.41. Clay Millican ran a 3.916 at 268.22
to push Jenna Haddock‟s Patriot Grading fueler down a spot to 15th - once again
set to race Tony Schumacher! In the third session for fuel coupes Cruz Pedregon
made the field with a 4.083, Del Worsham ran a 4.097 and Tim Wilkerson a
4.076. Q4 saw most drivers struggle with the heat, but Courtney Force improved
Photos courtesy nhra.com
to a 4.137 for 12th. Matt Hagan hit a 4.081 and Tim Wilkerson in the
mix with a 4.087. Jack Beckman closed the session with a 4.062 at
311.56, retaining the pole, his 11th, but first since Brainerd in 201. On
race day the stands were again kinda full, and cloud cover gave fans
some great side-by-side racing from the fuelers and the fuel coupes.
The first round saw 11 runs in the 3.70‟s including Tony Schumacher
who re-set the track record with a 3.726 at 328.70 over Jenna
Haddock‟s 3.966 at 300.86mph. Doug Kalitta‟s Mac Tools ran its best
numbers of the race, a 3.732 at 325.77, but his team mate JR Todd‟s
3.755 at 326.40mph lost to a holeshot aided 3.759 at 325.14 from Steve
Photos courtesy nhra.com
Torrence‟s Capco car, one of a trio of side-by-side 3.7second duels that
had fans on their feet. Clay Millican‟ 3.751, 312.78 just beat Richie Crampton„s
3.756 at 320.51 and Larry Dixon cut a better light to keep his 3.779 at 323.89
ahead of Shawn Langdon‟s 3.765 at 321.73. Eight fuel coupes ran in the 4zeros, but only two pair ran side-by-side; Courtney Force had a slight holeshot
to keep her 4.056 at 318.69 ahead of Tim Wilkerson‟s 4.046 at 314.46. JFR‟s
Robert Hight ran quickest with a rapid 4.012 at 319.75 while DSR‟s Matt
Hagan was close, his 4.017 at 320.81mph setting for top speed of the meeting.
Engine problems slowed Hagan to 4.130 303.57. In the second round, losing to
Photos courtesy nhra.com
team mate Ron Capps‟ 4.054 at 316.82. DSR‟s Jack Beckman was quickest,
4.047 at 315.12 over an up in smoke TJ, and “Fast Jack” also ran low of the semi finals, his 4.066 eating a 4.173 by JFR‟s Courtney Force, but the second
semi provided the best race. Ron Capps squared off with JFR‟s Robert Hight, the NAPA Charger moving first by a thousandth of a second! Both cars ran
identical 4.084‟s, Capps at 308.35 with Hight charging like a freight train to 318.39mph, yet falling short by just 0.0013seconds! After that great race, the
final was a tad anti-climatic as both DSR cars hazed the tyres down track with Capps‟ 4.244 at 258.32 gaining a second win o the season ahead of Jack
Beckman‟s 4.480, but you can almost see Don Schumacher red shirted smile on the start line as his cars gave him another event win
Four close races made up the next round of Top Fuel led by Spencer
Massey‟s 3.807 holeshot win at 324.83 over Brittany Force‟ s 3.786
at 320.13 and Clay Millican also led all the way with a 3.765, 320.36
over Steve Torrence‟s 3.798 at 323.89mph. Low of the round went to
Doug Kalitta‟s 3.751 at 323.50, winning over Larry Dixon‟s 3.788
and 316.97mph. Antron Brown got a slight hole shot, but was soon
caught by DSR teammate Tony Schumacher who won
with a 3.774 at 326.48 to Brown‟s 3.808 at 318.99
Photos courtesy nhra.com
After that, the semi finals were a mess, although Tony Schumacher made
a full pull, 3.855 at 319.37 as Clay Millican went up in smoke early and
clicked it off. DSR‟s Spencer Massey had a slight lead over Doug Kalitta
until both cars went up in smoke, Massey‟s blower let loose and his
chutes deployed while Kalitta pedaled his way to another final round
Photos courtesy nhra.com
mcSnips courtesy NHRA YouTube
Tony Schumacher cut a psychic 0.009 light and DSR‟s US Army Dragster
looked set to take his 11th straight win over Doug Kalitta‟s Mac Tools car…
Photos courtesy nhra.com
Then he hazed the tyres, the engine went pop, nothing dramatic, enough to pop his chutes and allow Doug Kalitta to take it with a 3.820 at 324.98. It
was his 46th NHRA title, one more than the legendary Big Daddy – party time in the Kalitta camp, and the sixth different winner in six races!
fuel coupes forever…
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courtesy Jack Beckman Facebook
Awesome Auto
Imagery of the
Infinite Hero
Foundation DSR
Charger‟s 3.98
taking Springnats
pole at Royal
Purple Raceway
Dale Pulde‟s War Eagle
long time favourite fuel
coupe and driver
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Leah Pruett - first 250mph Nostalgia Fuel Coupe driver + 2010 Triple Crown winner March Meet, CHRR & NHRA Hot Rod Heritage Series Champion
Coming Events
June 7
Brands Hatch American Speedfest, Euro NASCAR and American classic racing, rod and custom display,
plus music etc, Brands Hatch, Fawkham, Kent DA3 8NG (0843 4539000 or www.speedfest.co.uk)
June 19-21
NSRA Nostalgia Nationals drag racing, Shakespeare County Raceway, near Stratford-on-Avon, Warks
CV37 8LL (01789 720180 or www.shakespearecountyraceway.com)
June 25-28
Festival of Speed, with appearances by “Big Daddy” Don Garlits and his Swamp Rat 1 dragster and
NASCAR “King” Richard Petty Goodwood, Chichester, West Sussex, PO18 0PX (For tickets 01243 755055
or www.goodwood.com – advance purchase by )
June 27-28
Summer Nationals drag racing, Santa Pod Raceway, near Wellingborough, Northants NN29 7XA
(01234 782828 or www.santapod.com)
July 10-12
Dragstalgia nostalgia drag racing, Santa Pod Raceway, near Wellingborough, Northants NN29 7XA
(01234 782828 or www.santapod.com)
July 25-26
Pre-50 American Auto Club 50th Rally of the Giants, Blenheim Palace, Woodstock, near Oxford O20 1PP
(07798 818533 or www.pre50aac.com)
August 28-21
41st National Association of Street Clubs Street Rod Nationals, Trinity Park, Ipswich IP3 8UH
(www.rodandcustom.co.uk)
August 29-31
Open Sport Nationals sportsman drag racing, Shakespeare County Raceway, near Stratford-on-Avon,
Warks CV37 8LL (01789 720180 or www.shakespearecountyraceway.com)
August 31
Cars & Stripes American Auto-fest, pick-up truck racing, street rods, air displays etc and free entry for US
show car owners, Rockingham Motor Speedway, Corby, Northants NN17 5AF (Also enter Mitchell Road if
using a sat-nav in order to find main entrance) www.cars-and-stripes.co.uk
Buster Lang Classic Car Show, Morden Park, Morden, Surrey SM4 5PR (020 7998 6364 or
www.busterlang.com)