ADRL GEORGIA DRAGS - EVENT NOTEBOOK
 |
||||||
|
|
 |
|||||
 |
||||||
SATURDAY - AN EMOTIONAL WINNER'S CIRCLE OVERTAKES SGMP
nail for the ADRL Hardee’s Georgia Drags trophy only to give it away.Scruggs knew Melanie Walker needed the trophy more than he did.
Walker’s husband Mike Walker was critically injured in a pit accident earlier in the day at South Georgia Motorsports Park. Walker was pronounced dead shortly afterward at Memorial Hospital of Adel in nearby Adel, Georgia.
“There wasn’t any question,” said Scruggs when asked if he had planned to present Walker’s widow with the trophy. “I didn’t think we were going to reach the second round much less win. But once we got to the final it was a no-brainer there. It was real emotional for all of us. I can only imagine what she was feeling.”
“You never know when it’s your time, fluke stuff happens, and you’ve just got to be right with the Lord. And if it’s your time, it’s your time. That was very emotional there at the end, I don’t know it’s just one of those days I guess.”
Scruggs counts his blessings for the day because he knows two years ago he could have been faced with a similar situation to what the Walker family has experienced.
During an ADRL event in Martin, Mich., a mandrel from an oil pump, flew off of a race car and hit the top of a golf cart, went between two people’s heads and hit Mitchell Scruggs, his dad, directly in the chest.
The end result was a trip to the hospital but the elder Scruggs lived to see another day.
On this day, the more adversity Scruggs faced, the more he found a way to win.
Scruggs wounded his engine in the first round defeating second-generation Pro Modified racer Kelly Martin. He barely made the second round where he defeated Zach Barklage and then singled into the final round when Wes Johnson couldn’t make the semi-finals.
“I didn’t think we were going to make the engine change in time for the next round,” said Scruggs, of his first round carnage. “Todd Tutterow’s crew came over there and helped us. It’s just been a team effort and we’re just ecstatic to be here. It’s really been our lucky day. You know when everything starts going your way.”
Then Scruggs realized, his luck looked an awful lot like fate.
CASTELLANA ROCKS VALDOSTA WITH CONSISTENCY - Mike Castellana, won the Pro Nitrous class at the ADRL Hardee’s Georgia
Drags Pro Nitrous title in Valdosta, Ga., which moved him into a tie for second among winning Pro Nitrous drivers. The impressive part of Castellana’s fifth career ADRL national event title was his ability to achieve the victory by being the quickest and fastest driver on the grounds of South Georgia Motorsports Park when it counted most.
Castellana, from the No. 3 qualifying position, looked every bit like the No. 1 runner as he was the quickest in three of the four eliminations rounds on a rain-delayed Saturday.
“Consistency was the key,” Castellana said. “Shannon [Jenkins] had the car set up to make lap after lap and that’s what we did. We didn’t want to go out there and set the world on fire. We didn’t go out there to set any records. We had a goal of racing the track and stuck to that.”
Castellana was upholding the Al Anabi Racing name as one by one they fell in the early rounds of competition leaving the Westbury, NY driver to reach the winner’s circle.
“I felt even more pressure to perform as they one by one were eliminated. We pulled out our win today for the entire Al-Anabi operation. If you’re the last man standing, you just do what you have to do.”
Crew chief Shannon Jenkins, in one of the three Al Anabi Pro Nitrous cars in Saturday’s competition, fell in the first round. Immediately his and Burton Auxier’s team rallied around the lone surviving driver.
“I’m always proud of Mike Castellana,” said Jenkins. “When he’s on, there’s nobody better as a driver. In the final round, we didn’t make any changes to the car.”
“We had two good cars in the field today and Mike’s car ran really well … we just adjusted all day to the track,” Jenkins added.
MOYER SCORES FIRST CAREER ADRL XTF WIN - On a day when he didn’t look like the most dominant car, Todd Moyer proved to be the
king of the hill when it mattered the most – the Extreme 10.5 final round at the ADRL Hardee’s Georgia Drags in Valdosta, Ga.Moyer defeated the No. 1 qualifier and fellow member of the Mickey Thompson Tires 3-Second Club member Gary White to win his first career ADRL Extreme 10.5 tire class.
“We were struggling a little bit but got it all together for the final,” Moyer said. “The driver drove good … had an .018 light … that’s pretty good and everything went our way.”
Moyer understands there’s no such thing as a bad win but for the Pasadena, Tex.-based driver, he came prepared for the best player in the class as only nine cars showed for the weekend’s event.
Among those missing were Billy Glidden and Chuck Ulsch.
“Some of the top runners in the class were absent this weekend,” Moyer said. “I’m disappointed they didn’t show up because I had something for them. I wanted to play with the big boys and they didn’t show. They had better be in Virginia, that’s all I have to say.”
On a day when the top runner was clearly White’s Scion inline-six, Moyer made the most of what the track provided for his turbocharged Cobalt.
“The rain changed the track conditions and it took us a little while to get adjusted,” Moyer said. “We learned our lesson, then the sun went down and we were ready.”
And at the right time, he pounced on White in the final round.
“We were just laying back waiting on him,” said Moyer. “Nobody plays cat and mouse games in this class.”
BOONE PULLS OFF AN IMPROBABLE VICTORY - An hour after the ADRL Hardee’s Georgia Drags were complete, 41-year old Steven
Boone was walking around the staging lanes of South Georgia Motorsports Park like a kid opening presents on Christmas morning.Boone had pulled off a Christmas-like performance as he knocked off one heavily-favored driver after another culminating with a hole shot victory over No. 1 qualifier Pete Berner. He looked like a champion by beating past world champions in three of the four elimination rounds.
Those race fans who knew better know Boone had pulled off a bona fide Miracle on 34th Street.
Boone, from Weaverville, NC, a small town located in western North Carolina, didn’t second-guess the good fortunes which befell him in the second event on the 2010 ADRL tour.
“We come into here untested and we were really looking forward to going to Richmond so we thought we’d use this event as a test session to see where it took us,” Boone explained. “Look what happened.”
What happened is one by one he knocked off heavily favored opponents from the No. 15 qualifying position.
“After we beat Brian Gahm who wore me out all of last year, I knew this was going to be a good day,” Gahm explained. “I thought, ‘well this is looking good.”
“Then when we won against Cale Aranson, and by third round to beat Doug Kirk on a hole shot, ‘I’m like wow this is cool.”
Boone admitted despite getting into the final round, he never expected the victory over Berner. In fact, he admitted his mindset all day was, “Please don’t let me screw this up.”
“I said that continuously all day long,” Boone said. “I missed a few shift points here and there but the Allen Competition horsepower pulled me out of some bad messes.”
D’APRILE FINE AFTER FIRST MAJOR ACCIDENT - Tommy D’Aprile has had a few fender scrapers, caught on fire before and bumped a wall
or two in his doorslammer days but on Friday evening at the ADRL Hardee’s Georgia Drags, he experienced his first official, full-fledged crash.D’Aprile, driving temporarily for Mel Eaves, slid the nitro-burning Camaro into the wall when oil apparently got under the tires. A day after the fiery wall impact, D’Aprile was making the rounds at the track.
“I’m a little sore on my left side,” said D’Aprile, who is the full-time driver for Mel Bush Motorsports. “The car left, it was on a good run. As evident by the computer and the pictures we’ve seen, it either broke or lost an oil line or what have you, but it sprayed completely under the left side of the car which got the left tire spinning and right hooking and it just drove it left hard. That was it; I was along for the ride after that.”
This weekend’s outing marked the first time in his career that D’Aprile had driven a car with nitromethane in the tank.
Photos of the crash show a car engulfed in flames with a scary scene for onlookers.
“The odd thing is that I was at perfect peace with what was going on,” admitted D’Aprile. “I knew something happened and I knew something broke or was leaking oil and there was nothing I could do, and I figured hey I’m in here, ‘I’m tied in good … these cars are built the way they were. I never really thought of anything. The first hit was the left wall, the nitro exploded, because that is nitro in that car. It made a heck of a boom and it came in the car real good and then I guess the only time I got concerned was when it ramped and I was going toward the other wall and I was like, ‘alright one more hit.”
The former driver for Quain Stott never lost consciousness as he made contact with the wall.
“Quain and I used to say that it’s not if, it’s when an accident is going to happen. Eventually when you do this long enough it does happen. It’s part of the game, it’s doesn’t faze me one bit, I know my ability in a race car, and I know we’re going to be just fine.”
And, D’Aprile is fine after his first nasty crash.
ENTOURAGE - J.R. Todd knows his role at the drag strip. The past NHRA Top Fuel standout for the last few seasons has either handled his duties as a driver, or for the last season since losing his full-time ride – working the angles of sponsorship acquisition.
This weekend Todd jokingly admitted he was filling a new role this weekend – entourage.
Todd, along with fellow Top Fuel racer Larry Dixon, were both in Valdosta, Ga., for the ADRL Hardee’s Georgia Drags as guests of Sheikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Thani, who was making his ADRL driving debut.
“Yeah, if he needs me to hold his helmet and polish the car I’m there for him,” said Todd jokingly.
Sheikh Khalid is racing in the ADRL’s Pro Extreme division and provisionally established a new record for doorslammer racing.
Doorslammer racing is nothing new for Todd, and he took an interest in the weekend’s competition.
“When I got my start in the IHRA racing Top Fuel, they had Pro Modified cars and they were fun to watch and wild,” Todd said.
Todd is licensed to drive both Top Fuel and Nitro Funny Car. Even though he’s driven these 8,000-horsepower monster the length of a quarter-mile, he doesn’t have to drive a doorslammer to understand the complexities and challenges associated with driving one.
This weekend marks the first time Todd has attended an ADRL event, a series dedicated to doorslammer racing.
“You never know what’s going to happen,” said Todd. “Larry [Dixon] and I watched the first session together and that’s the first time I’ve ever been to one of these races on the starting line and it was cool. Watching the announcers, the fans are all hyped up loving it so it’s definitely a cool experience, I’m glad I came.”
Maybe there’s a Pro Extreme car for Todd in the future?
“I’m open to drive anything,” he admitted. “I’ll try anything once so we’ll see.”
COMING BACK HOME TO DOORSLAMMER LAND - Phil Shuler understands you can always come home.
On an off weekend from his usual duties as co-crew chief on Cory McClenathan’s Top Fuel dragster, Shuler was at the ADRL Hardee’s Georgia Drags located outside of Valdosta, Ga.
Shuler was a guest of current ADRL Pro Extreme champion Todd Tutterow, whom he confirmed is helping him with a fast doorslammer he’s piddling around with in his free time.
One of the lesser known items on Schuler’s resume was in being a part of Scotty Cannon’s Pro Modified crew when the six-time champion captured the 1998 Pro Modified title.
When Cannon got his nitro Funny Car deal, Shuler followed and the rest is history.
“I really learned basic racing stuff, reading race tracks, and running a lot of races on a lot of different race tracks you learn personalities of different conditions,” said Shuler, explaining how much of the Pro Mod experience transferred over to nitro racing.
“The engine combinations and clutch combinations are all different. But the racing aspect of it is pretty close.”
Currently, Shuler and Todd Okuhara have tuned McClenathan to two national event win this year, including the point lead earlier this season.
Because of his roots, Shuler has maintained a strong respect for Pro Modified racing.
“I think a Pro Mod would get a lot of people’s attention if they drove one of these blown cars,” Shuler explained. “They’re pretty wicked.”
SLICK NEW CAR - Thomas “Slick” Myers knew he was given up a good measure of cutting through air in switching race cars but the coolness factor
made it a willing sacrifice.Myers of Granbury, Texas, traded in his wedge-shaped 1963 Corvette Stingray for a much-bigger Plymouth Duster.
“We teamed up with Andy McCoy Race Cars and got one these new Dusters,” said Myers, who has yet to qualify the Mopar this season. “It’s a bad machine; we’ve just got to get it down the race track now. We’ve been out once with it, had a couple of wiring issues with it, got those straightened out.”
The lack of testing has been both a good and bad topic. The bad is his lack of seat time but the good has been precipitated by overwhelming business demands for his auto repair business.
Myers admittedly is still learning what the Duster wants a little over a month into the season. He’s convinced the new car will have its day in the sun.
“There’s another Duster out there and it’s run 240 already,” said Myers,” Myers said. “I really don’t see that there’s much of a disadvantage. Maybe it’s a little bigger but that shouldn’t hurt us any.”
The Duster is only the fourth Pro Mod Myers has ever owned, beginning with an ex-Larry Kopp Pro Stock truck updated with a 632-inch and Lenco transmission.
The Duster was love at first sight for Myers.
“It was one of the sweetest things I’ve ever seen,” Myers admitted. “I’m a Chevrolet man and when I saw this body it was a sweet deal.”
a d v e r t i s e m e n t
 |
Click to visit our sponsor's website
AN EMOTIONAL ADRL VALDOSTA EVENT CONCLUDES WITH VETERAN AND NEW WINNERS
Despite racing with heavy hearts after losing one of their own to an early-morning accident, American Drag Racing League (ADRL) competitors still managed to turn in thrilling, record-setting performances for the Apr. 23-24, ADRL Hardee’s Georgia Drags VI at South Georgia Motorsports Park (SGMP).Veterans Jason Scruggs and Mike Castellana led the way with wins in Pro Extreme and Pro Nitrous and Ashley Owens absolutely dominated the Pro Extreme Motorcycle class from start to finish all weekend long. Extreme 10.5 and Extreme Pro Stock produced first-time winners in Todd Moyer and Steven Boone, respectively, as did the Pro Jr. Dragster class won by Jordan Arnold in near-perfect fashion.
Raceday sadly opened with an accident in the pit area of Pro Nitrous racer Blake Housley that critically injured team co-owner Mike Walker, who was pronounced dead shortly afterward at Memorial Hospital of Adel at nearby Adel, Georgia.
In a moving pre-race ceremony before packed grandstands, ADRL President and CEO Kenny Nowling dedicated the Georgia Drags to Walker’s memory and Scruggs later donated the fourth ADRL Minuteman trophy of his career to the Walker family in victory lane.
“Mike was a great guy, someone who loved racing, loved being out here and loved his family,” the former back-to-back class champion pointed out immediately upon exiting his car after defeating Quain Stott in the Pro Extreme final. “I really felt like Mike was riding with me today and just feel like his family deserves this win after all they’ve been through today.”
Scruggs, who qualified his supercharged ’68 Camaro fourth, defeated Kelly Martin and Zach Barklage before getting a free pass to the Pro Extreme final after Wes Johnston’s 1953 Corvette was unable to compete in the semis due to parts breakage. Stott, meanwhile, raced through former series champion Bubba Stanton, 2009 ADRL Rookie of the Year Jason Hamstra and Frankie Taylor to make his way to the final.
Stott left first, taking a .014 advantage off the starting line, but Scruggs quickly recovered and took the win in 3.71 seconds over the SGMP eighth mile at 206.57 mph, while Stott’s 1963 Corvette finished in 3.75 seconds at 205.54 mph.
Scruggs credited his teammates, good fortune and Hoosier tires for the victory.
“We couldn’t do what we do without Hoosier tires,” Scruggs stated. “I saw Quain had left on me a little bit, but that’s when those big Hoosiers just bit in and took off. From then on, I was just along for the ride.”
Castellana, part of the massive Al-Anabi Racing presence that included team owner Sheikh Khalid Al-Thani of Qatar driving in Pro Extreme for the first time on U.S. soil at Valdosta, called his fifth ADRL race title “a total team effort.”
“Really, we had five cars out here, but it’s all one team,” the new Pro Nitrous points leader said. “I would be just as happy if one of my teammates won, just like I know they’re happy for me.”
Castellana’s route to victory lane took him through Terry Housley, Johnny Pilcher and Randy Weatherford before reaching nitrous racing legend Charles Carpenter in the final, after Carpenter took out Steve Vick, Terry Murphy and John DeFlorian Jr. with his iconic 1955 Chevy BelAir.
Castellana’s ’69 Camaro moved first in the final, though, as the Westbury, New York, racer left with a stellar .009 reaction time, then ran an unchallenged 3.93 seconds at 193.52 mph after Carpenter’s car lost traction soon after the start.
“We knew we had a little bit of a performance advantage going into the final, so we just kept everything the same in order to remain consistent,” Castellana explained.
Owens also remained consistent—consistently quick—as he reset the Pro Extreme Motorcycle elapsed time record an unprecedented-in-drag-racing five consecutive times, including each time he came to the line during four rounds of eliminations, eventually lowering the mark to an unreal 4.09 seconds after a 175.25-mph win over good friend Travis Davis, who managed “only” 4.20 at 169.74 mph in the final round.
Decatur, Alabama-based Owens, aboard his brand-new Fast by Gast Suzuki, also left Valdosta with a new class speed record after going 177.81 mph in his semi-final win over Nikie Corley.
“I’ve got the easy job,” Owens insisted later. “Paul (Gast), he builds the motors, the guys back at the shop built me a great bike and all I have to do is get on and ride it. I promise you, I’ve got the easy job.”
Despite being a veteran of Extreme 10.5 racing, Moyer made it to his career-first final at SGMP and made it count with a victory over Gary White, who the previous day joined Moyer and two other drivers so far in the elite, five-member Mickey Thompson Three-Second Club for the class. White ran 3.99 seconds at 182.45 mph in his turbocharged, six-cylinder Team Titan Scion to earn the number-one starting position in the eight-car field for the Hardee’s Georgia Drags VI.
Moyer, the early leader in qualifying, finished in third place behind current class champion and fellow club member Spiro Pappas after three sessions, with the fourth and final scheduled qualifying round for all classes cancelled by wet weather Saturday morning.
When eliminations began, Moyer, from Pasadena, Texas, opened with a 4.12 at 178.00-mph solo pass after L.J. Wood was unable to make the call to race, then faltered with a traction-challenged 4.44 at 173.05 mph that still beat Michael Neal, who had even more problems in his own lane.
In the final, Moyer left with a solid starting-line advantage and cruised to the win in 4.02 seconds at 195.36 mph, while White struggled with transmission issues to a 4.94 finish.
“What a relief,” Moyer declared. “We’ve come close so many times before and to finally make it to a final and get the win, well, I really don’t know what to say other than this is the result of my crew’s hard work and knowledge. I work on the car, but they make all the tough decisions. I can’t thank them enough.”
Boone, a Weaverville, North Carolina, resident, thanked last-minute backers just for getting him to South Georgia.
“Honestly, two or three weeks ago we weren’t even sure we could afford to be here and to be standing here right now with this trophy in my hand is really kind of unbelievable,” Boone said. “I have so many people to thank that I’d leave some out if I tried to name them all, but they know who they are and I’ll be calling and thanking every last one when I get home.”
The 15th-place qualifier had a relatively easy time in the opening two rounds when both Brian Gahm and Cale Aronson faltered, but Boone got the job done on the starting line in the semis and final rounds, earning holeshot victories over Doug Kirk and Pete Berner, respectively.
“I knew Pete would be tough. He’s such a professional racer and everything he does is done the right way, so I knew I had to really get on it at the start,” Boone said after strapping a .031 holeshot on Berner that allowed his 4.12 pass at 176.10 mph to edge the quicker and faster 4.09 at 177.46 package put together by Berner and his Summit Racing team.
“I never saw him, so I just kept hoping,” Boone recalled of his trip down the SGMP strip. “When I saw that win light come on in my lane I was hootin’ and hollerin’ in my helmet and my crew chief came on the radio yelling, ‘You did it! You got him!’ I mean, you always come out here hoping to win, but to actually get it done against someone like Pete, who I respect so much? It’s unreal.”
In Pro Jr. Dragster, Arnold of St. Johns, Florida, put together the nearly-perfect package to win her first ADRL Jr. Minuteman trophy.
After dialing in at 8.08, Arnold left with a dead-on .000 reaction time, then ran 8.081, just one thousandth of a second over her predicted 8.08 time. Her final-round opponent, Timmy Clifton Jr., broke out with a 7.96 pass against a 7.98 dial.
“A lot of very accomplished bracket racers compete for many years and never see a run that close to perfect, did you know that?” ADRL TV reporter asked a tearfully happy Arnold as she accepted her trophy. “Young lady, that’s about as close to perfect as you can get!”
In his closing remarks from the winner’s circle, Nowling told fans and racers, “This is without a doubt the toughest event we’ve ever had to get through with the ADRL and you have all been part of it and made it one of our most memorable. Our hearts and prayers go out to Mike Walker’s family and to see the way they responded to such unexpected adversity should serve as an inspiration to us all.”
a d v e r t i s e m e n t
 |
Click to visit our sponsor's website
FRIDAY - SHEIKH'S RECORD RUN HIGHLIGHTS FIRST DAY QUALIFYING AT ADRL GEORGIA DRAGS
When Sheikh Khalid Al-Thani of Qatar covered the eighth mile at South Georgia Motorsports Park (SGMP) in just 3.63 seconds at 212.49 miles per
Also sitting on top of their respective classes with a fourth and final qualifying session scheduled for Saturday morning are Al-Thani’s Al-Anabi Racing teammate Burton Auxier in Pro Nitrous, Gary White in Extreme 10.5, Pro Extreme Motorcycle star Ashley Owens and Pete Berner in Extreme Pro Stock.
Al-Thani’s crew chief, Frank “Ace” Manzo, gave much of the credit for the Sheikh’s impressive outing to husband-and-wife tuners Tim and Kim Richards, who were added to the Al-Anabi crew just a couple of weeks earlier.
“It’s a real honor to work with this team, especially with such quality people as Tim and Kim Richards and of course, Sheikh Khalid, who did a wonderful job of driving,” Manzo said. “We turned up the wick for that run, knowing the conditions were there for a shot at the records, but it only happened because everyone did their jobs to perfection. Now we can go into race mode and try to get the Sheikh his first ADRL win.”
Just like the Sheikh, Auxier made his top-qualifying 3.87 at 193.10-mph effort in Friday night’s third round of qualifying, as did White with a 3.99 at 182.45 in the turbocharged, six-cylinder Team Titan Scion. The qualifying pass also made White the fourth member of the five-person Mickey Thompson Three-Second Club for Extreme 10.5 entries.
“We knew we had to get it done because that door was going to close soon,” said White, who joins Chuck Ulsch, current class champion Spiro Pappas and Todd Moyer in a club established last spring by Mickey Thompson Performance Tires and Wheels. “It feels good to get that out of the way, but this really belongs to my crew who worked so hard and so long to make it happen.”
Owens also rewrote the Pro Extreme Motorcycle record book with a 4.14 pass at 172.83 mph that came in the third qualifying round, too, while Berner seized the provisional Extreme Pro Stock pole with a 4.09 at 177.67 straight off the trailer in round one.
The day was interrupted, however, by three serious crashes involving Pro Extreme competitors Cody Barklage and Tommy D’Aprile, who were uninjured in separate incidents, and Extreme Pro Stock driver Sylvester Barnes, who was knocked briefly unconscious in a high-speed rollover accident. Barnes had to be extracted by the ADRL trackside safety crew, but was alert and talking to his rescuers before being transported to South Georgia Medical Center in nearby Valdosta for observation.
Qualifying resumes at 9 a.m. Saturday at SGMP, with elimination rounds for the ADRL Hardee’s Georgia Drags VI to follow.
a d v e r t i s e m e n t
 |
Click to visit our sponsor's website
FRIDAY NOTEBOOK - A DAY OF HEAT AND CARNAGE AT SOUTH GEORGIA MOTORSPORTS PARK
WHITE’S INLINE SIX GETS A THREE - Nine Goliaths and one David battled for supremacy in the Extreme 10.5 division during first day qualifying 
at the ADRL Hardee’s Georgia Drags. In the end, the smart money was on kid with a slingshot and a stone.
Gary White, who drives a Toyota Scion powered by an inline-six cylinder, 190 cubic inch engine, killed two birds with one stone as he not only took the top spot in qualifying but also became the fourth driver in the history of the class to dip into the three-second range with a 3.996 at 182.45 mph.
“I thought we were beat at the beginning of the day,” admitted White. “The first two qualifying sessions … when I decked the motor, it just died. We really don’t know what was going on with it. We chased the tune-up a bit and it ran.”
A former NHRA Sport Compact racer, White made the conversion over to the ADRL series two years ago and has developed a solid fan following. Friday night in Valdosta, Ga., he made them all proud.
“The three-second deal is great and I’m glad that I have it off of my back,” White said. “We came so close when we ran a 4.009 last year in Rockingham. We really thought we’d get it earlier. It just didn’t work out that way.”
BERNER DRIVES NEW COMBINATION TO THE PROVISIONAL NO. 1 - On a day when carnage was king, Extreme Pro Stock frontrunner 
Pete Berner emerged unscathed. Considering he’s using an engine outside of his comfort zone Berner feels fortunate.
Berner, of Crete, Ill., drove his way to the provisional No. 1 spot at the ADRL Hardee’s Georgia Drags hosted by South Georgia Motorsports Park in Valdosta, Ga.
“We didn’t look that way in the second round, had some carburetor problems,” said Berner, a past two-time IHRA champion who has committed to the full ADRL series in 2010.
Berner drove to a 4.096 elapsed time at 177.60 miles per hour during the first qualifying session.
Berner is in his first race with a new engine combination, one prepared specifically for eighth-mile competition.
“It’s showing a lot of promise,” explained Berner. “The engine is capable of running big speeds. Down low the tune-up just isn’t right for us.”
Berner and crew were thrashing late Friday to get the new engine ready to hopefully step up on Saturday.
“All in all we are pleased with the direction it is headed,” Berner said. “We know we had the potential to run quicker in both sessions.”
Up until this point, Berner had run an engine combination for the quarter-mile while running part-time on the ADRL series.
“Over the winter, we dedicated one of our engines to the eighth-mile racing,” Berner explained. “This is a totally different engine than what we were running with the IHRA. We are using a different type fuel and really it’s all a learning curve. We are going to tap into its potential and the potential is certainly there.”
Barnes lost control of his car just past the eighth-mile finish, made contact with the retaining wall and rolled. He was extracted from the car by the ADRL’s safety team.
Barnes was unconscious when the safety crew arrived but was alert and talking with the medical crew by the time he was transported.
Pro Extreme racer Cody Barklage walked away from a fiery crash during the second qualifying session at the ADRL Hardee’s Georgia Drags on Friday afternoon.
“I’m alright, just starting to get a little bit of a headache,” said Barklage, the younger of two brothers racing this weekend in the Pro Extreme division. “My neck is a bit sore but that’s to be expected.”
Barklage left the starting line in what could be categorized as a typical Pro Extreme run, when the car inexplicable and without warning shot from the left lane and directly into the right lane concrete barrier. The force of the impact ignited a major alcohol fire which engulfed both the car and the track.
Barklage knows he’s fortunate to have emerged from the crash with just soreness and no major injuries.
“I was wearing the hybrid system from Safety Solutions,” explained Barklage.
Head and neck restraints are mandatory safety equipment in all ADRL doorslammer categories.
Barklage continued, “I’ve had a wreck without the system on before and you can definitely tell the difference.”
What Barklage can't tell is what caused the accident.
“I really can’t say for sure what happened,” Barklage said. “The car just made an abrupt turn and I had the wheel turned as hard as I could away but you see what happened.”
The invisible methanol fire quickly engulfed the cockpit as Barklage worked just as quickly to extract himself from the car.
“That scared me because I’ve hit the wall a couple of times, but never been on fire before,” Barklage admitted. “The fire felt like it was on top of me, but I couldn’t see it. That’s when I tried to get out of the car as fast as I could. I honestly don’t even think I took down the window net, I think I just slipped through the side opening.”
With a burned up car and a bruised driver, what’s next for Barklage?
First off, he believes the car might be reparable for the future. But this weekend, he’s certainly done.
“We do have a 1957 Chevy back home, but that was the car that was in the trailer fire,” Barklage explained. “The car is back together and we need to do a few things to make it ready. We’ll have to take it out and do some testing. That will probably be the cheapest route to go right now. I’d say we’ll take our time getting it ready.”
ON THE CUSP OF HISTORY - Jim Halsey understands what it’s like to be on the cusp of drag racing history. The veteran Pro Nitrous racer from Havre De Grace, Md., was the first to 
drive a nitrous doorslammer into the five-second zone during the 2008 season.
Halsey is on the verge of another doorslammer milestone and if all goes well this weekend, he could become the first to drive a nitrous car over 200 miles per hour in 660-feet.
His first shot in qualifying, yielded a 196.76 mile per hour blast, which coupled with a 3.895 elapsed time put him atop the provisional field at the ADRL Hardee’s Georgia Drags in Valdosta, Ga.
“We’re just concentrating on getting down the race track and if it happens, it happens,” said Halsey, whose Friday first session speed eclipsed the existing 196.42 record.
Halsey established a new speed record last month at the ADRL Dragpalooza in Houston, Tex., with a 198.99 run and backed it up. However, since the race is on rain-delay, the record is not official until the event is completed in July. He will receive his points then.
“We had really good air to work with in Houston,” Halsey said. “The air isn’t nearly as good here this weekend. I think really our best chance is going to come during Saturday morning’s final session.”
Halsey, though running the first 200 isn’t a priority, understands the value to achieving the historical tidbit.
“It would be nice to get it, and to be honest, it wouldn’t hurt my feelings if [teammate Pat] Stoken got it,” Halsey explained. “It would be good in my book but first and foremost, I am out here to win a race. That’s pretty good resume stuff and it will happen this year, maybe here, or in the next two races … certainly by the end of the season.”
BRAD ANDERSON SEES A NEW SIDE OF DRAG RACING - Attending an ADRL event in 2010 was on Brad Anderson's list of things to do, if he had the time.
This weekend in Valdosta, Ga., it was the right time for the Top Alcohol drag racing icon, who has made a good living manufacturing parts for many of the cars who race in the ADRL’s Pro Extreme division.
“The time was right,” said Anderson, as he stood in the Pro Extreme pits taking in the action. “There are a lot of good cars out here.”
Anderson couldn’t provide a definite number of cars who run his parts but suggested more than half of those racing this weekend at the ADRL Hardee’s Georgia Drags utilize his Brad Anderson Enterprises [BAE] components.
“The screw blowers over here are a lot better than what we usually get to run,” Anderson explained. “We have some ideas for some better stuff. They have so much horsepower, are they going to know an extra 50? The cars over here have about 800 – 900 more horsepower than the NHRA cars.”
Anderson admits he’d love to bring one of his cars out to race the ADRL’s Pro Extreme division but admits his team would be at a disadvantage. The majority of the ADRL’s doorslammer classes, with the exception of Extreme Pro Stock, has become inundated with teams building titanium-laden cars to take advantage of the no minimum weight rules.“My driver’s a little too heavy,” said Anderson, with a smile.
Anderson confirmed this weekend’s ADRL visit is the first of many he plans to make on the eighth-mile series for 2010.
“This is fun racing,” Anderson admitted. “A lot of today’s racing is not fun. I really enjoy [seeing these cars] out here. I really should retire but I just can’t seem to get enough of this stuff.”
SHE’S A LOOKER, SAYS CARPENTER - Pro Modified icon Charles Carpenter describes the paint scheme on his 1955 Chevy as a mix of the U.S. 
Army, hot rods of the past and a wild guess.
Carpenter’s classic Chevrolet is in primer, albeit an odd style of primer.
“We’re just in-between body shops,” Carpenter said, explaining the odd paint job. “I got home with the car on Monday night before the event. We took all day Tuesday to put the car together in order to leave on Wednesday.”
Carpenter’s car will be full painted next week for the first time since a devastating accident last March left him with a sleek ride looking worse for wear.
“When we get back, we’ll take Monday to take it all apart again and take it to the Washington, DC-area and hopefully by the next time we come out, it will have paint on it,” Carpenter said.
While some have lobbied for Carpenter to return to his nostalgic white paint scheme from the 1980s, the auto repair shop owner from Charlotte won’t stray far from his current purple and yellow scheme.
“We’ll reverse the scheme from what it has been,” Carpenter explained. “It will have the purple on top this time. Maybe next time around we’ll go retro.”
Carpenter jokingly admits he’s apprehensive about doing anything to the car as good as it has run thus far this season.
“Our new engine shows a lot of potential and it shouldn’t take long before the car is a 3.80's player,” Carpenter said. “I hate to paint the car -- it’s lighter without the paint.”
Many of Carpenter’s fellow competitors run the Cynergy Composites body, some of which are as light as 45 pounds. Even with the added paint or wrap, they have a large advantage against the larger volume race cars such as Carpenter’s.
“We’re trying to make the car as light as possible,” Carpenter said. “Our ultimate goal is to make a mold over the winter. The disadvantage of running a nostalgia car like ours is that we can’t get the latest and greatest composites out there. We hope to make a mold as light as the other cars out there. I’m guessing we can drop 100 pounds with a new mold.”
Carpenter recorded a career best 3.929 elapsed time at 192.82 miles per hour during the ADRL Dragpalooza last month in Houston, Tex.
SCRUGGS’ LOVE/HATE RELATIONSHIP WITH SGMP - Jason Scruggs characterizes his relationship with the racing surface at South Georgia 
Motorsports Park as one of love and hate. The facility outside of Valdosta, Ga., has provided the two-time Pro Extreme champion with some of the best memories of his racing career. On the other hand, it’s also hosted some of his least favorites.
“I love the track, but sometimes it can get tricky,” said Scruggs, who often tests at SGMP on off days. “Just the overall place is really good, it’s flat in the pits. But … we have had a few things go wrong over the years.
“At the end of the day, the good memories outweigh the bad ones.”
Scruggs reached the Pro Extreme final round in last year’s ADRL Georgia Drags, and even though he was dominating in his performance, he lost when his transmission jumped out of gear.
It was the debut of the Camaro he is racing this year.
Scruggs learned a long time ago the secret to remaining on the good side of the sometimes temperamental drag strip.
“It’s important that you don’t get behind the eight ball,” Scruggs admitted. “You have got to master the art of getting down the track in the heat. When you can do that, it provides the perfect platform to lay down a run when the sun goes down.”
Scruggs believes the quality of the racing surface more than makes up for the extreme heat the southern Georgia climate can conjure in the summer months.
“The crew here at SGMP always does an awesome job at prepping this track when the weather conditions are tough to race in,” Scruggs said. “That helps out a lot. But, when the track gets up to 130 degrees, you can only do so much.”
a d v e r t i s e m e n t
 |
Click to visit our sponsor's website
THURSDAY NOTEBOOK - EXPECT THE RECORDS AT SGMP
GET WELL TOOCH - If he didn't already know, ADRL announcer Al Tucci better understands how a professional athlete feels when hurt.
Just as professional teams have their injured reserved list, Tucci is listed out for this weekend.
“No way I can make it,” said Tucci, who is off of his feet at this time. “I slipped inside of the car. My right foot slide and my left just didn’t make it in. I really can’t explain it other than my right foot just took off.”
Tucci said he slid right under the dashboard of the Chrysler 300 and the end result was a torn ACL.
Normally the king of one-liners, Tucci was not laughing about the resulting exchange with the rental car company.
“They wanted to charge me for pulling the radio wires out,” said Tucci.
Tucci is disappointed with his inability to travel but is taking his convalescing time catching up on his Internet reading and listening to this weekend’s action via the ADRL webcast.
“Maybe my boys will give me a shout out,” Tucci pleaded.
Tucci estimates he will be back later in the season but his actual return will be contingent on how his doctor’s visit goes later this week.
“This will be the longest time during a race season that I have been away from the races in a long time,” Tucci admitted. “It’s odd that I’m missing this race – it’s the same one I had to sit out a few years ago because of laryngitis. It was the only time I had ever missed an ADRL race. I worked Friday but couldn’t Saturday. I was depressed to not be a part of the show.
“The racers were supportive of me then and they are now. It’s good to know they want you back.”
LOOKING BACK - After rain cut short the opening round of the American Drag Racing League’s (ADRL’s) 2010 season last month at Houston, the
Several record-setting runs were recorded during qualifying at Houston Raceway Park before the wet stuff arrived and similar performances are expected at SGMP, known for its fast, all-concrete racing surface and as the only venue remaining on the ADRL tour since the series’ inaugural 2005 schedule.
South Georgia has been the site of several ADRL firsts, including the first three-second pass by a Pro Nitrous entry when Shannon Jenkins turned the trick in 2006 (right), the first official Pro Extreme run below 3.9 seconds by Jason Scruggs, and that same year, the debut of what would become the series’ popular Extreme 10.5 class.
In 2007, Georgia Drags III attracted more than 30,000 fans as the ADRL expanded its revolutionary complimentary ticket program to the south-Georgia/north-Florida market, setting a new standard for attendance at SGMP.
Out on the track, Scruggs struck again with the quickest and fastest pass in ADRL history to that point, covering the 660-foot distance in just 3.8 seconds at 198.67 miles per hour and Ohio’s Steve Drake won the ADRL’s first-ever Pro Extreme Motorcycle event.
The next year, eventual ADRL Pro Nitrous World Champion Billy Harper furthered SGMP’s record-setting reputation as he left with a then-unreal 3.91 elapsed time record set along the way to his career-first ADRL win. Also popular with the partisan Georgia fans were wins by home-state heroes Mike Hill and Coodee Thomas in Extreme 10.5 and Pro Extreme Motorcycle, respectively.
Last year at SGMP, Billy Glidden lowered the Extreme 10.5 ET record to 4.08 seconds in winning his fourth-straight ADRL national event (remarkably, the year would end with the record set at 3.92), while eventual Pro Nitrous champion Khalid Al-Balooshi (below, right) made the quickest pass in class history with a pole-sitting 3.87 qualifying effort and Extreme Pro Stock winner Brian Gahm also took home a 4.05 ET record from SGMP.
For 2010, current Pro Nitrous speed record holder Jim Halsey has declared 200 mph within reach and recently suggested it may happen at SGMP next weekend. Additionally, after making a 3.8-second pass in qualifying at Houston, 2009 Extreme 10.5 World Champ Spiro Pappas will be looking to repeat the feat in Georgia and officially back it up within the required one percent for a new ADRL record.
Both Extreme Pro Stock and Pro Extreme Motorcycle saw performance records rewritten at Houston, too, with Cary Goforth resetting both ET and speed marks for the cars and Ashley Owens becoming the quickest ADRL two-wheeler in history. And of course, the ADRL’s top supercharged Pro Extreme teams are flirting with the 210-mph barrier and the Hardee’s Georgia Drags VI will see the U.S. driving debut of Sheikh Khalid Al-Thani of Qatar, who recently won the Arabian Drag Racing League Pro Extreme championship.
A lot of ADRL history has been written at South Georgia Motorsports Park and the facility enjoys a sterling reputation with competitors and fans alike. Remarkably, each race each year outshines the previous and there’s every reason to believe the ADRL Hardee’s Georgia Drags VI will continue the tradition.
THE BROTHERS BARKLAGE RETURN - Pro Extreme driving brothers Zach and Cody Barklage will return to competition this weekend at the ADRL Hardee's Georgia Drags VI in Valdosta, Ga.
Zach, the older of the siblings, plans to drive the 1967 Camaro belonging of John and Sara Heath while Cody will drive the Barklage Family’s 1967 Firebird.
“I am excited and ready to be back in the driver’s seat” said Zach Barklage. “This is my first race of the 2010 season. It’s been a long time since I’ve driven in the ADRL; I’m not sure how many years it’s been. I am just very glad to have this opportunity and thankful to John and Sara Heath for allowing me to drive their car. They have been friends of ours for a long time and now they are a great addition to our team.”
“We’ve been working hard during the off season to have things in place and ready for the year, so hopefully we can qualify well and go some rounds,” Zach continued. “It’s been a few years since we’ve raced two cars at a National level, so we knew there would be a lot of work involved to be prepared. I am just excited to have our whole team back out on the track and back in competition in the ADRL. Our team has come together nicely and last year was a fantastic season for my brother. Hopefully this season we can double that success and do well with two cars.”
“This is our first race being back as a two car team,” added Cody Barklage. “It’s great to have my brother back with us this season. I think having two cars on a team is always an asset when you’re running at the level of competition we are at in the ADRL. There are some amazing teams out here.”
“We just spent some time testing,” Cody continued. “Last weekend we took both cars to Tulsa and made several passes with them. I think between our pre-season testing we’ve done with my Firebird and the additional testing we’ve done since Houston, we’re hoping to start off the 2010 season right. Running a second car can add to the pressure of our team not only during an event but at the shop as well. We’ve had our hands full, but this season we are in the best position ever with our team personnel. We’ve been together for a long time and I think it will show now we have more responsibility with the second car. My dad and our Crew Chief Chad Wilson have their work cut out for them, but so do our veteran crew guys like Don Itinger and Jason Hennessey”
READY FOR THE 660 - Extreme Pro Stock racer Pete Berner returns to the eighth mile competition armed with new engines and a unique setup
needed for this format. He has been on a bit of a learning curve during his time on the ADRL circuit, but heading into this weekend’s Hardee’s Georgia Drags VI Berner feels closer than ever to a win.“Our newest motors have been showing a huge amount of potential,” said Berner, who seeks his first ADRL win. “Unfortunately we haven’t gotten the right combination to showcase that potential yet. We’re working with Dave Braswell [of Braswell Carburetors] to solve our fuel distribution issues. Hopefully with our new set of carburetors from Dave well be able to find a solution this weekend and give people something to talk about.”
Berner has a strong familiarity with South Georgia Motorsports Park thanks to his strong testing regimen.
“South Georgia is one of my favorite tracks,” added Berner. “Wade [Rich, Operations Manager of SGMP] always does a great job. I know the track will be perfect. I’m really looking forward to getting down there and seeing what this Summit GXP can do.
“I know we have what it takes to win in the ADRL. I know that my team is capable and our motor program is dynamite. We just need to work out that perfect combination. This Summit GXP has a lot of great fans at the ADRL and we want to make them proud.”
a d v e r t i s e m e n t
 |
Click to visit our sponsor's website
a d v e r t i s e m e n t
 |
Click to visit our sponsor's website
