ADRL DRAGSTOCK - ROCKINGHAM NOTEBOOK
The Flowmaster American Drag Racing League's oldest and largest event returns for a fourth edition this weekend, with more than 100 total entries expected Friday and Saturday for the Eastern Race Fuels Dragstock IV event at Rockingham Dragway.
 |
||||||
 |
||||||
 |
||||||
SATURDAY NOTEBOOK - A
PACKED HOUSE, THAT BARRIER BREAKING SCRUGGS, AND A SPORT COMPACT RACER FINDS AN
ALTERNATIVE
MAN,
OH MAN - If you thought last year’s Dragstock event brought forth a packed
house, then 2007 would have blown you away. An unofficial tally put over 30,000
spectators in attendance (even the Mayor of Rockingham) for Saturday’s show. By
the time 2 PM rolled in, there wasn’t a seat to be found on the left-side
concrete barriers or the pit-side reserved seating. Once
again, ADRL President Kenny Nowling andRockingham Dragway's Steve Earwood hit an upper deck shot.
Nowling doesn’t deny a plethora of tickets (rumored to be 200,000)
were free giveaways in the local market. The major
sanctioning bodies hacve criticized this practice.
“I get the crowd and it doesn’t matter how I get them here,”
Nowling said.
Nowling’s marketing concept has reportedly caught the eye of at
least two major Fortune 500 companies who are looking to become major partners
with the three year old sanctioning body in 2007.
“These companies would have never given us the time of day if we
were only putting 5,000 people in the stands,” Nowling said. “I knew after
“Dave Wood and Tommy Lipar invested in me and I invested that into
the world. The reason I say that is we took all that and invested into bringing
in the crowds.”
Nowling credits his assistant Jessica Alcoke with giving him the
inspiration for the free love concept. He was sitting on the wall with his wife
consoling him after a tough day at the box office.
“She told me that we ought to give away the tickets because we
could at least sell them all a t-shirt,” Nowling said. “She hadn’t sold but 11
all day out of the 800 we ordered. I still to this day have Memphis Drags
shirts piled up in the rafters. On my way home, I thought about it and figured
I’d try that.”
Nowling said he called Earwood and suggested giving away 200,000
tickets to see if anyone showed up.
“We did it that time and it has worked ever since,” Nowling said.
“I’m not shy about saying that.”
Nowling confirmed that at venues like
“I haven’t been home since June 19, because we are building this
into something special. I know that if we could put these guys on the big stage
– the Pro Extreme, Pro Nitrous and put them together with the Extreme 10.5 and
Pro Extreme Motorcycle that we wouldn’t need the Top Fuelers or Funny Cars.
“My sponsors and vendors are happy. The track operators are
thrilled because they are making money. Steve Earwood just drove the Brinks
truck out of here on his third drop from what he’s made on the concession
money. It’s just a different philosophy on how to grow a business.
“Because of Dave Wood and Tommy Lipar, we have been able to do
that. The tickets aren’t free. Dave and Tommy are buying them all up now. Maybe
that will change. All I see now for the foreseeable future is packing the
stands.”
Nowling said he doesn’t feel the ticket giveaways devalue his
product in the least.
“I don’t believe that if you give someone something once they
won’t buy it,” said Nowling. “We just sold out the 1,100 seat reserve section
after pre-selling 400 of them. My goal is clear. I want to make money selling
sponsorships. I’m not into selling tickets. I got tired of getting beat up and
having empty stands.
“If this doesn’t fit the description of a national event, then
tell me what does.”
PLEASE
RETURN A BROTHER'S SIGN - Nowling said he had a good feeling that Pro
Extreme racer Jason Scruggs was going to record the ADRL’s first doorslammer
200 mile per hour speed. That’s what inspired him to have a special sign
created to commemorate the special occasion. He spared no expense.
Well,
maybe one – the security to guard it. Someone borrowed the sign just moments
before he was to present the piece of drag racing history to Scruggs.
“We spent hours designing it,” Nowling said. “Last night when we
left, we kept it in the Adrenalin Zone. When we went to get it today, it was
gone. Some literally has a part of history in their possession.”
Nowling is offering amnesty and possibly a reward.
“If you’re reading this – please send me my sign back,” Nowling
said. “I’ll give you a $1000.”
PRO EXTREME
HE WAS THE MAN (WHEN SCRUGGS WASN'T) - Josh Hernandez, driver of the Dr. Moon's Rage '57 Chevy Bel Air Pro Mod delivered his career-best effort to take out new national record holder and first-ever 200 mph-pass holder Jason Scruggs in the finals of the Eastern Race Fuels Dragstock IV in Rockingham, North Carolina.
In the final, it was all Hernandez, who ran his career-best eighth-mile lap, a
3.786/197.80 against Scruggs, who although he had been on a record-setting tear
all day, shook at mid-track to a 4.360/128.15 and the runner-up spot.
"I
know we were the underdogs coming into the final round against the monster
numbers that Scruggs has been putting down all day, but I never doubted that
this team could reach down deep and pull off a win," Hernandez said.
"The tenacity of Tommy Lipar, Howard Moon and the rest of this team to
even consider running this kind of a number in the final round just amazes me,"
he said.
"I think I speak for everyone on our team when I offer our
congratulations to the entire Scruggs team this weekend for their unbelievable
performance. It was a pleasure to meet up with them in the finals round of an
incredible Flowmaster ADRL event. I'm very proud to have reached the finish
line first with such a well prepared race car," Hernandez said.
RECORD HOLDING MAN – Let the record reflect that Jason Scruggs has
forced all the statisticians to wear out their pencil erasers.
In one day of racing, the
Saltilla, Mississippi-based Scruggs drove his way to the No. 1 qualifying
position, broke the 200 mph barrier, dipped low into the 3.70s twice and
established both ends of the class record with a 3.703 elapsed time at 205.13
miles per hour.
Scruggs opened the day
with a 200.86 blast that also netted a $10,000 bounty from series sponsor
Flowmaster Mufflers for becoming the first to exceed 200.
Scruggs said the first 200
run today felt no different that his 199 mph recorded three weeks ago in
“I knew it was going to be
a good run if it went down the track,” Scruggs said. “I really didn’t know it
until I saw the number pop up. We have been so close so many times that it has
gotten pretty hard to tell a mile per hour or two. Everything came together and
it happened just right. But on that run, it shook a little at the other end.”
Regardless of the fame he
earned today, Scruggs said Bill Kuhlman, the first doorslammer driver over 200
mph in the quarter-mile, has his place in the history book.
“Bill Kuhlmann will always
be Mr. 200 in my books, but this was nice to do considering it will be one of
the last doorslammer barriers for a while,” Scruggs said.
TOO LEGIT TO QUIT –
Scruggs said he’s 
most pleased that the ADRL’s existence has legitimized the
art of unlimited doorslammer Quick Eight racing.
“We run a lot of tracks
that I really don’t want to go back to,” Scruggs said. “The ADRL has made it
safer. It’s made guys like me and Big Money Clanton, Bennie McDonald and the
Neals better tracks to run on. They are safer places to race and Kenny Nowling
has done a great job for us. But, it isn’t about us. It’s about the fans, too.
He saw they liked it. We liked it. He put together something for both of us.
“It’s still the same bunch of hardcore racing guys and they are running the cars harder than ever. But the big thing is that it’s safer and we can run the bigger numbers.”
Unfortunately for Scruggs, his mountain of personal bests ended in the final round when he shook the tires thus forfeiting the win to Josh Hernandez.
NO BUBBA, NO TRUBBA – The anticipated match between NHRA AMS Pro
Modified point leader Josh Hernandez and the current ADRL Pro Extreme #1 seed
Bubba Stanton never materialized.
Hernandez ran a 3.914 to
land in the sixth qualifying position.
Hernandez came loaded for
bear, as he does every time an ADRL event crosses his schedule. For him, it’s a
fun thing – a relaxation from the grueling NHRA AMS grind.
“Over here it’s truly run
whatcha brung and hope ya brung enough,” said Hernandez. “We bring everything.
We put a screw supercharger on the engine and take as much weight out of the
car as we safely can.
“It’s all about keeping
the percentages right. We’re having fun over here seeing just how far we can
push the envelope.”
Hernandez drives a Camaro
on the NHRA side, while the team’s trusty (and older) 1957 Chevrolet is the
workhorse on the ADRL side.
“This old car has been
alleged to be able to drive down a dirt road,” said Hernandez. “I believe she
will but this is an old car. I can’t really say how light we are getting her
but I would think we took 50 – 75 pounds out of it than what we run in the
Camaro on the NHRA AMS series.
“I would love to take 200
– 300 pounds out of it but unfortunately we just can’t get that out of there.
There’s a little bit of a disadvantage there are other ways to run fast.”
Hernandez said his ADRL
combination can produce almost 350 more horsepower than its NHRA counterpart. He estimates that puts him about 2800
horsepower.
“It’s all immediate and
the screw supercharger has different capabilities than the standard roots
blower and it allows you to make that horsepower all the way through the rpm
range,” Hernandez said. “This thing is so fun to drive. It’s almost like riding
a dirt bike. It picks the front end up and won’t put it down until you shift or
left off of it. It has so much power that it makes driving a blast.”
EDUCATED GUESS – Tommy Mauney scratched his head and wondered prior to the second
qualifying session. The Rockingham Dragway racing surfaced had whipped him on
Friday and unless something happened after the first qualifying session, he was
looking it a long day.
Mauney said that second
run corralled the luck factor into his corner.
“I just had a guess on
what I needed to do and that turned out well because it worked. From everything
that it showed we were doing wrong it looked like the only option we had.”
And for Mauney, that
option yielded dividends for he and team owner Terry Leggett live with.
“If that was all it had –
that’s all it had and I’m content with that.”
Mauney is out of the
element that he built a reputation on during the 1990s. He no longer frequents
the national event scene and his nitrous combination is a distant memory.
“It’s all I have to do
now,” Mauney said. “I don’t own any of this stuff. But when I first got into
driving a blower car, I was given all the stories about how I’d have to drive
it like a Funny Car and use a hand-brake and all kinds of stuff – swap feet and
all.
“I have gotten this car to
where I drive it just like my nitrous car. I drive it off of the same stage
gauge, the same brake pressure and everything is the same including the
two-step. To me, the sound is the only thing different. I don’t drive any
different than I did with my old nitrous car.”
Mauney builds cars for a
living, driving one is his escape.
“I come out here just to
get away,” Mauney said. “Sometimes I can get away but this is really what I want
to do.”
Does Mauney ever truly get
away from his Spartanburg, SC-based shop?
“It all depends on what
kind of day these guys are having out here,” Mauney said. “This year it seems
to have been picked by me more than anyone else. You go out on Friday and not
run well. Then you stay up all night trying to figure out what to do. It’s just
the same day, different deal here.”
But Mauney remembers the
good old days, when he worked all night on his Super Stocker in the parking lot
of the hotel.
“We used to do that right
down the street at the Regal Inn,” Mauney said.
THE IHRA CHAMP IS IN THE
HOUSE – Defending IHRA Pro Modified champion Quain Stott said the ADRL provides
an alternative to the hustle and bustle of the larger sanctioning bodies.
“This is our relaxation
because you don’t have a lot of rules to deal with,” Stott said. “My sponsors
come out to these races and because I am not obligated to them this weekend, it
takes a lot of pressure off. We just come out and have a good time and the no
rules deal appeals to us. I never have been a rules guy any way.
“When you run in the IHRA
you have to deal with the rules. We just enjoy doing this and take in two or
three a year.”
Stott said his team gains
little or no technological advantage to running these events.
“All of the ADRL races we
ran in the past was run with my IHRA combination,” Stott said. “We just took
the weight out of the car. Over the winter, we built an ADRL car. We’ve put a
screw blower on it and all.
“I think it hurts me
because I have two different combinations to maintain. That forces us to keep
up two sets of notes. We have to do extra testing and we might be getting to
the point soon that we can’t do it.”
Stott says track time is
track time and he can always use the experience.
“The hardest part of drag
racing is reading the track,” said Stott. “If anything, it gives us more
practice at doing that. The combinations are so different that I can’t use
anything.”
FORWARD THINKING? - Stott
throws caution to the wind when it comes to Pro Modified with no rules.
“This class can’t make it
without rules,” Stott said. “There’s got to be something that maybe won’t hurt
anyone’s combination right now, but preserve the future. At some point, it’s
going to get out of hand.”
HAPPILY RETIRED – Jim Oddy
said he’s enjoying his retirement from building engines and racing and that
Mooresville,
This weekend’s event left
Oddy wondering what might have been
“This is the kind of racing
we always dreamed of where you could bring your car out and run it as hard as
you wanted and not get the reward on Monday of another 100 pounds or 10% less
on the blower,” Oddy said. “This is what I actually wanted to do way back
then.”
While Stott had made the
comment that rules needed to be preserved to maintain the financial integrity
of the class, Oddy said that might not be the case in the near future.
“It probably will get to
that point sometime but now during the infancy of this program, it is not a
large threat. If someone comes along with high-dollar parts and pieces, which
will probably happen down the road, you might have to put some type of cap on
it.”
“I think it gives
everybody the proper opportunity to race their cars whether it is nitrous or
blower because they are two different animals and it doesn’t matter what you
do, they aren’t going to be equal. A racer can truly come and showcase what
they’ve got.”
SEASONED VETERAN - Hugh
Scott has logged many laps up and down strips that would scare even the most
seasoned veteran. Why does he do it?
“It’s addictive,” said the
soft-spoken Pro Modified veteran from
Scott earned much of his
reputation as a match racer over the past two decades and his favorite
traveling partner was six-time Pro Modified champion Scotty Cannon.
Scott said he remembers
running on some Quick Eight events on tracks so narrow that only one car could
qualify at a time and others that you didn’t dare open the door on your car for
fear of striking the guard rail.
“As long as I am able, I
am going to keep coming out here and doing it,” said Scott. “It’s not as
exciting as it used to be. It still excites me. It’s a lot harder to win for
sure.”
Scott runs a Lenco-drive
and a torque converter now which he said is designed to make running the class
less complicated.
“I’ve been low 3.90s with
a clutch but not with this combination yet,” said Scott. “I’ve seen this
combination has the potential. I am just stubborn to quit.”
Scott said he’s watched
the Pro Modified division change over the years.
“There’s not as many match
races out there like there used to be,” Scott said.
Scott said he remembers
the weekend that he served as Cannon’s “hit-man” during the IHRA Finals in
1996. Cannon was in the midst of a tight battle with Shannon Jenkins. On that
weekend, Cannon drove a 1963 Corvette while Scott ran the former Cannonball
Willys.
Cannon needed Jenkins to
go out in order to clinch the championship and Scott met up with him in the
semifinals. He may have fallen short due to a burned piston, but the memories
remain strong.
“I enjoyed that weekend,”
Scott said. “I just hate I didn’t get the job done for Scotty. I probably
wouldn’t mind running a national event again because I do have a legal car. The
problem is this costs so much and I really don’t have a sponsor – so I have to
watch the bottom line.’
Scott said he’s got a new
car under construction and he might just give the national event scene one more
try.
Scott’s new car might be
pressed into service soon. He exploded a torque converter and struck the wall
after getting in his own oil.
PRO NITROUS
VOTE FOR ME – Billy
Harper’s bid for
“That kept me very
occupied for a few months,” Harper said. “I’m getting back into the business
and back into racing. Life is normal for me and 20 hour days as usual.”
Harper said the difference
between politics and drag racing is the investment in time.
“At least in drag racing,
you get a break,” Harper said. “Politics is seven days a week and 20 hours a
day. It’s very grueling and I can say that I have a better appreciation for
those who run for government office. I’m glad I did it but I don’t know that
I’d ever do it again. It’s an interesting experience in life. “
Harper said his largest
issue was in letting the voters know who he was.
“I had the name
recognition in the business and education community, but I didn’t have it
across the board with Kentuckians,” said Harper. “I didn’t spend enough money
to get it in six months. That hurt me overall. I think we had the right issues
and unfortunately education was my big issue. That’s not one you can get
elected on. That’s a sad fact in itself.”
SPRING CHICKEN – If you
want to see Sonny Tindal in 2008, just ask him if he’s ready to retire. That
usually fires him up.
Tindal is 70 years old and
2007 marks his 50th year of driving.
“Everyone keeps asking me
when I am going to retire and that makes me want to do it more,” Tindal said.
“These cars require you to have a fresh motor every time you go to the race.
There are so many things on these cars that need to be checked and I just can’t
do it. We’re trying to run at least twice a month now.
“This is still expensive
and I need to do a lot of electrical work just to pay the local racing. It all
goes together. If I don’t work I can’t race. If I don’t race, I don’t have to
work.”
Tindal said he was going
to quit after last year but his daughter talked him into coming back for 2007.
“I am planning on retiring
next year,” Tindal said. “She said we’d talk about it next year. I’m gonna go
pretty hard next year and make it my final one.”
But, that is dependant on
whether or not Tindal feels 70.
“I don’t feel like a 70
year old,” Tindal said. “I see people younger than me that can’t do the things
I do. I feel very fortunate to be able to do this. I’m not sick often and that
all works well for me.”
“I get up and leave for
the shop every morning at 7:30,” Tindal said. “I’ve had to work hard for much
of my life and that has done more to keep me in shape for all of my life.”
PINCH DRIVER – Annette
Summer said her tough decision to sit out this weekend wasn’t a tough one to
make. She wanted to see her turbocharged Corvette run quick and fast, with or
without her.
Todd Tutterow was her only
choice.
“I knew that Todd was very
capable of driving the car and that’s why he was my first choice,” Summer said.
“I’m pulling for him to do better than I ever did. I just want my car to do
well. It’s not a competition or jealousy thing. This was a business decision.”
Summer said her Corvette
ran a 4.20 at 181 miles per hour during an event in
Summer said with Tutterow
in the car, it weighs 2,900 pounds. A shakedown run in Rockingham produced a
1.01 sixty-foot clocking and beat the car’s best by .01.
That was the only bright
spot in the DNQ weekend for Summer. The Corvette carries the burden of extra
weight, yet remained in the ballpark with her other advantageous entry.
Summer said the lighter
1957 Chevy in her stable has run as quick as a 4.15. During last year’s
Rockingham event, she covered the eight-mile in 4.15 seconds.
Tutterow ran a 4.20,
170.45 on Friday. Summer has run a best 4.20, 181.
“Todd asked me before he
got in the car, ‘what if it goes out there and goes quicker?” Summer said. “I
told him I hope it did. The motor has been freshened and we made some changes
in the transmission, so it should go faster. I let him know that it didn’t
matter to us who went quicker.”
Summer said Tutterow
reminded her that such a scenario could invoke Internet message board
criticism.
“I told him that it didn’t
matter what I do because people will always talk bad about me regardless,”
summer said. “I just want the car to do well regardless of who is driving. Todd
knows I can drive and I know he can drive. If he had a broken back, he’d let me
drive his car.”
“I always tell someone if
I do well in their car that I don’t really want any hard feelings,” Tutterow
said. “Me and Annette have been good friends for a long time. These turbo cars
are so picky. Anyone can go out there and make a good run and then not get down
the strip the next run.
“Yeah, I ran a 4.20 on the
first run and then didn’t get down the track on the next run. You have to
finesse these cars.”
DISHEARTENING? – Summer will never admit the turbocharged combination has her
down-trodden. If anything, she’s always seeking the positive side of it.
Summer said she’s excited
about returning to the 1957 Chevy she purchased a long time ago.
“We have the 1957 Chevy
almost ready,” summer said. “And it will be almost 400 pounds lighter than the
Corvette. We ran the car before but it wasn’t as tuned up as it is now. I ran a
4.15 while driving through the clutch and short-shifting it. What we’re doing
and what we are bringing into the ’57 Chevy is a different approach. It’s a
straight shot instead of a 90-degree turn. The boost was erratic on the car.
Once we come back with the ’57 and get it dialed in, they will be moving us
over to Pro Extreme.”
Summer said one cannot
ignore the data the turbo combination provides.
“You have to believe what
the dyno is telling you,” Summer said. “The dyno says these things make big
power. It’s just the matter of finding what the car wants and the right ratio
in the transmission and making the boost do what you want. I know it is there
and I’m not a quitter.”
Summer said her new engine
creates 2,900 horsepower on Kenny Duttweiler’s dyno.
As for Tutterow, his
history with a turbo is exactly that – history. The lack of consistency is what
Tutterow alleges to be the problem.
“That’s the reason I
dropped this deal, because I didn’t see any,” Tutterow said. “There isn’t
enough to win races. They are always going to run fast. But consistently fast –
I don’t see that happening.
“Jeg’s is out there and
they have plenty of money to throw at it. They’ve been at it for over a year
and nothing has happened. It isn’t as easy as it looks. I think the larger the
cubic inches and the bigger the turbo, the harder it is. The smaller
six-cylinders and four-cylinders fly with them. When you have the small
displacement like that, the window is larger.”
Tutterow wouldn’t
completely say the smaller engines are the way to go.
“It’s going to take time and money,” Tutterow said. “One of these days a turbo car will outrun anything out here. Until then, there’s still a lot of work to be done. Somebody will hit on it and find what it takes. A lot of money has been spent and everyone seems to have the same problem.”
JUST MY LUCK - This weekend marked the first time that Charles Carpenter failed to qualify for a race in 2007, ADRL or otherwise.
ON THE FAR SIDE – Stan
Allen said he doesn’t mind being out on the edge. In fact, he says he looks
over as much as he can.
The edge of the envelope
is the lure for Allen. He likes to push it but sometimes it pushes him back.
Allen was driving the
classic Camaro that he crashed in
Allen said his car got out
of the groove and when he pedaled it, the Camaro ended up hitting the wall. The
car suffered damage on the left rear quarter-panel. Thanks to a joint effort by
Jerry Haas Race Cars and Tim McCamis, Allen was back racing this weekend in
Rockingham.
“We went out and shook the
tires on the first time out and adjusted enough to run a 4.10 during the first
full pass,” Allen said.
Allen said that he’s
careful not to dwell on the incident and moves forward as quickly as possible.
“I’m just doing my job out
here and I don’t let it bother me,” Allen said. “I just do what I have to do to
adjust. If you think about it, you won’t come back. You only think about it
long enough to realize what you did wrong.
The rest of it, you just do what you’ve been doing all along.”
Allen said he’s wrecked at
least five times in his career.
“I’ve always made it a
point to never watch a wreck I’ve had,” Allen said. “That’s the thing. I was
there. I lived it and I’m done with it. In reality you have hundredths of a
second to react. In that instance, you can only make the right or wrong
decision. In
Allen said he’s not a
reckless driver but rather an aggressive one. He said there’s a big difference.
“A couple of years ago, I
wrecked the car on Friday night and brought out the second car for Saturday and
wrecked it too,” Allen said. “We put both of the cars together and returned on
Sunday and did very well.
“Some might say I am an
aggressive driver but I don’t think anyone has ever called me reckless. I think
I am known for getting the car down the track. Maybe that could be considered
arrogant but I don’t think so. I am just confident in what I do.”
“You never hear another driver
telling you the things a car owner or somebody that don’t drive will. I’ve
always felt that anyone can be a spectator and they can spectate a race. If
you’ve been there as a driver then you understand and you have respect for
those who do it.”
EXTREME 10.5
NHRA SPORT COMPACT'S NAIL IN THE COFFIN? - When you think of ADRL
entries, whether it is Pro Extreme, Pro Nitrous or Extreme 10.5, chances are
the last combination you think of is a turbocharged, six-cylinder Toyota Scion.
Brad Personnet decided to
step outside of his NHRA Xplode Series comfort zone to mix it up in ADRL
competition.
“This car is based on an
IHRA Pro Stocker, but just stretched a bit to be like a Pro Modified,”
Personnet said. “Our little six-cylinder just doesn’t have enough to run with
them. We just had to put the little tires on it and had to find a place to
race.”
Personnet found that place
in the ADRL’s Extreme 10.5 division. His opinions of the future of sport
compact racing in the NHRA might keep him here for a while. In what capacity,
he’s uncertain.
“The sport compact racing
is over and done with,” Personnet said. “We need to find something else to do
whether it is in Pro Modified but this is what we have now. The tuning window
for this compared to the others is like a little notepad to a big poster board.
“We’re talking about what
we’re going to do next year and seeing how things pan out for the rest of this
season. It all could change tomorrow.”
For Personnet, the writing
is on the wall.
“We are going to finish
out the season with the NHRA, ran an outlaw race in Vegas and after that we are
pretty much done,” Personnet said.
Personnet is not alone in
the defections department. Late last year,
“The largest reason it is
going downhill is because there is no money behind it,” Personnet said. “There’s
no sponsorship for teams to go out there. We race very complicated vehicles.
They are 186-cubic inches and make about 1,800 horsepower. No one is going to
put together $500,000 to a $1 Million to go out there and race for nothing.”
Personnet said he doesn’t
fault the NHRA.
“There’s only so much the NHRA could do,” Personnet said. “There was only twelve of us and only six could really run faster and faster. We pushed one another and we are running 6.40s on marginal race tracks. The other six have no chance of doing that. Why spend the money to do it then?”
a d v e r t i s e m e n t
 |
Click to visit our sponsor's website
SATURDAY -SHOCK AND AWE
Houston Dial grenaded an intake during the ADRL Dragstock semi-finals of the Extreme 10.5 division.
a d v e r t i s e m e n t
 |
Click to visit our sponsor's website
SATURDAY - ACTION SLOWED BY CRASH
Hugh Scott's 1941 Willys blew a torque converter and the subsequent oil forced his hard-charging 1941 Willys into the wall. He was uninjured.
a d v e r t i s e m e n t
| |
Click to visit our sponsor's website
SATURDAY - SCRUGGS HITS 200 DURING QUALIFYING
Twenty years ago Bill Kuhlman ran the first quarter-mile 200 mile per
hour lap. Today another Pro Modified driver did the same thing in half
the distance.
Jason Scruggs ran 200.86 during the first qualifying session at the ADRL Dragstock event in Rockingham, NC.
For Scruggs, the assault on the 200-mph promised land was sometimes a hit and miss adventure.
“We’re like most all of these racers out here in that we can struggle at times,” Scruggs said. “Here lately we’ve struggled onto making the car mile per hour a little better. We’ve been doing a lot better since we got some of the tire shake out of it."
Three weekends ago, he flirted with history after running a 199.11 in Norwalk, Ohio. Scruggs ran 197.08 in a tireshaking effort during a Friday shakedown effort.
“We are still working with
it, but for me to go 200 miles per hour, I had to take a chance but
that wasa chance I’m was willing to take. I knew we stood a good shot
of doing it, but we all know this sport is half luck and half skill.”
a d v e r t i s e m e n t
 |
Click to visit our sponsor's website
FRIDAY NOTEBOOK: RAIN STOPS IT BEFORE IT BEGINS, 10-YEAR EXTENSION FOR THE EVENT AND THAT BARRIER-SMASHING SCRUGGS
EXTENSION – The Dragstock event will be here for a while. ADRL president Kenny
Nowling and Rockingham Dragway owner Steve Earwood solidified a ten-year
agreement for the event every fall.
“After the way that Rockingham
and this entire region of the country supported our record-setting Dragstock III
and has come out for Dragstock IV, we thought it only appropriate to keep the
ADRL’s oldest and most prestigious event right here in the heart of doorslammer
country,” said Nowling.
“ADRL is one of the most exciting drag racing
shows I’ve seen in my 38 years of racing and North Carolina racing fans are the
most loyal I’ve ever seen,” said Earwood. “It’s very gratifying that I was able
to help bring those two things together.”
RAIN, RAIN – The threat of a
thunderstorm associated with remnants of Hurricane Humberto loomed over
Rockingham Dragway for much of the day. It wasn’t a matter of if it would hit
but when it would hit. Only one Pro Extreme Motorcycle remained when rains
brought a halt to the day.
PRO EXTREME
DOUBLE DIPPING - This weekend’s event represents the final points earning
opportunity for ADRL racers before they head to the Texas Motorplex for a
one-day shootout to determine the champion.
Josh Hernandez, a likely
champion on the NHRA AMS Pro Modified tour as well, said the unique ADRL format
demands a driver drive to the best of their ability when they get to
Texas.
"It never ceases to amaze me that you can race for a whole
season, and yet making the playoffs comes down to one race," Hernandez said. "I
think it really speaks highly of what [ADRL President] Kenny Nowling has brought
together, and what kind of talent and quality cars we're all racing against."
Only the top eight points-earners in each class at the completion of
this weekend will qualify for the Battle for the Belts championship
eliminators.
Hernandez currently sits No. 2 with 1568 points, and
although statistically possible to miss the top-eight field, all he has to do to
clinch a spot in the finals is to qualify for the event - something he has never
failed to do.
"We're definitely out there to do more than qualify,
that's for sure. Howard [Moon, crew chief] has been itching to get the car back
on the track since the last race, and I know he'll have it tuned up and ready to
go," Hernandez said.
"I've always loved Dragstock since we started
racing ADRL four years ago - the people are great and the atmosphere is
electric. I just have a feeling about this weekend - it's going to be good," he
said.
IN THE ‘A’ GAME – If you want a barrier to remain intact, don’t
tell Jason Scruggs. The veteran Quick Eight racer from Saltill, Mississippi
stands on the verge of smashing the ADRL’s next major milestone – a 200 mile per
hour speed.
“When we’ve got our act together we can run the big
numbers,” Scruggs said. “We’re just like anyone out there; we have our struggles
from time to time. Here lately we’ve stumbled on making the car run some more
mile per hour. We’ve been doing well here lately.”
Scruggs said tire
shake has been his biggest enemy, but he said that appears to be a moot point
now.
“For me to go 200, I’m going to have to take a little bit of a
chance, but I will try to do it because that barrier is there,” Scruggs said.
“We stand a good shot of doing it, but it is going to take some luck on our
behalf.”
Scruggs ran 197.08 in a Friday afternoon shakedown run after
reportedly shaking the tires early in the pass. He is currently the closest to
the 200 mph mark with a 199.11 trap speed at Norwalk.
VERSATILITY –
Todd Tutterow’s classic Team WYO 1941 Willys is proficient at adapting to the
conditions around him.
Tutterow’s Willys runs Big Dog and Mean 16
competition with D.O.T. Tires, mufflers, automatic transmission, and added
weight. This weekend he’ll change to a screw blower combination, Top Fuel tires,
Lenco transmission, Zoomie headers and a significantly lighter car.
FAMILIAR FACE – Doug Winters, a longtime SUPER CHEVY nitro coupe racer and
former AMS Staff Leasing team driver, will compete in this weekend’s
competition.
Winters said he’s always admired the ADRL and credits
Kenny Nowling with the success of the Pro Extreme format.
“I have
known Kenny since the early days of AMS Pro Mod racing at NHRA.” said Winters.
“Kenny was always looking out for everyone in our sport, from the racers to the
sponsors and especially the fans.”
Pro Extreme allows nitromethane and
that plays into Winters’ hand based on his previous racing experience.
“With us being able to run Torco’s Nitro like we usually do, our only
challenge we will have is to get our eighth-mile E.T. Down,” Winters said. “Our
normal setup is based on quarter-mile times. Therefore, the gear ratios we use
are somewhat higher then these guys run which doesn’t create good elapsed times
in the eighth-mile. But to change the gear and get set on a new combination
would really put us behind the curve. So we are going to use the same set-up,
gears, and Mickey Thompson slicks and hope the horsepower gets us in.”
PRO NITROUS
GLARING ABSENCE – Jim Halsey’s
decision to attend an ADRL event over an IHRA national wasn’t intended as a
political move, but it spoke for a lot of nitrous entries who have abandoned the
birthplace of Pro Modified.
“I wasn’t really sending a statement,”
said Halsey. “I just went to a race that I had a better chance of winning and
could compete against other nitrous cars. It’s not like I don’t like running
against the blown cars but right now they have a performance advantage over us.
I can’t fault the blower guys because they are doing their work. I just decided
to go somewhere else to race.”
Halsey said he wants it known – he’s
not lobbying against the supercharged combination.
“You’ll never hear
me complain about the blower guys,” Halsey said. “They work just as hard as
anyone else and they are fast and it shows. Their learning curve is faster than
ours with the nitrous combination. If we can’t compete then there’s no sense in
going.”
Halsey said he’s not giving up on the IHRA but he’s definitely
weighing his options for the future.
“We’ll see how things go for the
rest of this year and how they develop over the winter. The perfect scenario
would be for the IHRA to split the classes up. That would be the best thing.
Until something happens and we have a chance of winning, then we’ll probably
stay over here.”
In the meantime, Halsey is using the ADRL events to
refine his combination.
“We’re using this as a test session,” Halsey
said. “If we run well here, then we may go to Milan. I might even go to Budds
Creek since it is so close to home. It all depends how we do here.”
AILING – Annette Summer is sitting this weekend out. The former Pro Street
champion turned turbo Pro Modified activist suffered a back injury earlier this
week after lifting a bag of chemicals for her swimming pool and further
aggravated it by lifting her 60-pound Basset Hound Beauregard.
Credit
Summer with trying everything in her physical being to be there.
“I
visited the doctor a few times and tried to get fixed so I could come here and
drive,” Summer said. “But she recommended that I sit this one out.”
Summer then contacted fellow turbo driver Todd Tutterow and he agreed to
drive in her absence.
Tutterow immediately drove the car to within a
few thousandths of its 4.20 personal best on the first test lap.
“I’ve
never really watched anyone drive my car before,” Summer said. “I’m here to
support turbos in this deal and I know Todd is a good driver.”
HOME
GAME - Charles Carpenter has the hometown advantage this weekend in Rockingham.
The trek to the track only takes two hours (because of traffic) from his
Charlotte home.
“I’ve been coming to Rockingham since I was a kid, and
that’s a long time,” Carpenter said. “I’ve made a lot of friends since then, and
it seems like everyone I know is coming out to get a taste of the ADRL and to
cheer me on this weekend. We’ll have the whole crew here with Kelly Bluebaugh
and Paul Albino flying in and of course Pat Doherty and Carl from Custom
Autosound pulling for us from home.”
“I just hope I can put on as good
of a show for them as I did in Norwalk.”
This short travel comes at a
time when Carpenter is riding a wave of momentum.
Carpenter ended a
four-race skid in the Flowmaster American Drag Racing League Pro Nitrous points
standings with a win at last month’s Inaugural Chevy Drags in Norwalk, OH. After
falling from first to seventh with no round wins across that span of races,
Carpenter’s second victory of the season vaulted him all the way back up to
second in the Battle for the Belts.
“That was a huge win for us,” said
Carpenter. “There isn’t a better way to come into The Rock this weekend. This is
going to be an exciting weekend, but it’s also going to be the toughest yet,”
Carpenter predicted. “The sheer number of Pro Nitrous cars combined with the
cooler air and track conditions we should see is going to make this an extremely
fast field. It’s going to take a low 4.0 pass just to qualify.”
a d v e r t i s e m e n t
 |
Click to visit our sponsor's website
EVENT PREVIEW - CHAMPIONSHIPS COMING DOWN TO THE WIRE IN ROCKINGHAM
A likely showdown between defending American Drag Racing League champion Bubba
Stanton of Potts Camp, Miss., NHRA Pro Modified champion-to-be Joshua Hernandez
of Conroe, Texas, and ADRL national record holder Jason Scruggs of
Saltillo, Miss., looms large this week as the ADRL
returns to Steve Earwood’s Rockingham Dragway for Dragstock
IV.
While Stanton is the current ADRL points leader in the featured Pro Extreme class, Hernandez may be the hottest Pro Modified driver on the planet. Wheeling the “Dr. Moon’s Rage” Chevrolet for Howard Moon, the Texas driver has won five of seven races this season in the NHRA Pro Mod Series and was runner-up in a sixth, all but locking up the AMS Championship.
He also has enjoyed previous success at The Rock where he was the Pro Modified Champion at the IHRA Spring Nationals in 2006.
Dragstock IV is the last of eight races in which drivers can earn points that will determine who will compete for Flowmaster ADRL championships in the Battle of the Belts at Ennis, Texas. The top eight drivers after Saturday’s eliminations will compete Oct. 12 in a showdown event at Ennis, Texas that will determine champions in Pro Extreme, Pro Nitrous, Pro Extreme Motorcycle and Extreme 10.5 classes.
Pro qualifying for Dragstock IV begins Friday with a single session at 8 p.m. followed Saturday by 12 noon and 3 p.m. sessions that will set the fields for final eliminations. A single round of racing Saturday afternoon will set the stage for final eliminations beginning at 7 p.m.
If there is an
unknown in the Pro Extreme class, it’s Scruggs. A solid fifth in points, he is
returning to the track on which he set the existing ADRL records of 3.813
seconds, 198.44 miles per hour a year ago. Moreover, he has focused on becoming
the first to break the 200 mph barrier in just one-eighth of a
mile.
“We didn’t know what to expect last year,” Earwood said, “but the fans did. We put more people in the stands in one day for Dragstock than we have for any other race. You’ve got late model Corvettes and Fords and Pontiacs racing against ‘57 Chevys, ‘41 Willys coupes, ‘53 Studebakers. It’s a great contrast and a great show. It’s been a long season and even I’m looking forward to it.”
Others expected to challenge in Pro Extreme are 2005 series champion John Lynam of Beaufort, S.C., who’s raced in more final rounds than anyone in series history (eight); Mike Bell of Asheboro, N.C., a former IHRA Pro Stock Champion (1995) who drove Roy Hill’s Ford Mustang to an ADRL victory earlier this year at Houston, Texas; defending champion Joey Martin of Milton, Fla.; and Herman “The Hermanator” Sheppard of Ehrhardt, S.C., last year’s runner-up.
In Pro Nitrous, former IHRA and NHRA Pro Mod champion Shannon Jenkins will defend his Dragstock championship at the wheel of a new 2006 Pontiac GTO. He’ll battle with three other Alabama drivers – current points leader Johnny Pilcher of Chancellor, defending series champ Keith Baker of Dothan and Jamie Hancock of Opelika, Ala., the 17-year-old son of 2006 Rockingham runner-up James Hancock.
Opposing the Alabama Gang will be veteran Charles Carpenter of Harrisburg, N.C., who has won twice this season in his 1955 Chevy Bel Air; Terry Housley of Lenoir City, Ala., presently third in points; Texans Doug Riesterer and Thomas Myers; long distance winner Dennis Radford of Baker City, Ore.; and Winston-Salem’s Rod Houck.
Drivers from more
than 20 states are expected to compete in an event that also will feature
exhibition runs by jet-powered dragsters (at 8:15 and 10:15 p.m. Saturday) and a
winners’ circle party Saturday night starting at 10:25 p.m.
In the
Extreme 10.5 class, points leader Mike Hill of Washington, Ga., will try to win
for the fourth straight time at The Rock. Hill has won the last three Outlaw Pro
Street events at Rockingham Dragway – two in 2006 and
one earlier this year.
However, the biggest
threat to his continued reign probably won’t come from a driver in the current
Top 10. The man most likely to challenge Hill will be defending champion and
national record-holder Steve Kirk of Monroe, Ga.
Kirk set the Rockingham Dragway record at 4.482 seconds earlier this year and
lowered the ADRL national record to 4.325 seconds at the wheel of a 1963
Chevrolet Corvette.
Adult tickets for the race are $10 for Friday’s
qualifying session, $25 for Saturday’s program or $30 for the weekend. Tickets
for children 6-12 are $5 per day. Children under six are free when accompanied
by a ticketed adult.
a d v e r t i s e m e n t
 |
Click to visit our sponsor's website
Current ADRL point standings entering this week’s Dragstock IV series finale at Rockingham Dragway (Top eight drivers in each class to compete in the Battle for the Belts, Oct. 14, in Ennis, Texas):
Pro Extreme – 1. Bubba Stanton, Potts Camp, Miss., 1963 Chevrolet Corvette, 2,078; 2. Joshua Hernandez, Conroe, Texas, 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air, 1,568; 3. Travis Swearingen, Grain Valley, Mo., 1941 Willys, 1,375; 4. Jason Scruggs, Saltillo, Miss., 1963 Corvette, 1,338; 5. Joe Baker, Milton, Fla., 2002 Dodge Neon, 1,164; 6. John Lynam, Beaufort, S.C., 1963 Chevrolet Corvette, 1,151; 7. Dwayne Watkins, Rosemark, Tenn., 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air, 1,060; 8. Brian Daniels, Jackson, Ohio, 1963 Chevrolet Corvette, 920; 9. Bill Clanton, Rome, Ga., 1953 Studebaker, 885; 10. Mike Bell, Asheboro, N.C., 2007 Ford Mustang, 868.
Pro Nitrous – 1. Johnny Pilcher, Chancellor, Ala., 1963 Chevrolet Corvette, 2,090; 2. Charles Carpenter, Harrisburg, N.C., 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air, 1,477; 3. Terry Housley, Lenoir City, N.C., 1941 Willys, 1,468; 4. Keith Baker, Dothan, Ala., 1963 Chevrolet Corvette, 1,379; 5. Doug Riesterer, Victoria, Texas, 1968 Chevrolet Camaro, 1,355; 6. Thomas Myers, Granbury, Texas, 1963 Chevrolet Corvette, 1,174; 7. Dennis Radford, Baker City, Ore., 1970 Plymouth Barracuda, 1,159; 8. Rod Houck, Winston-Salem, N.C., 1963 Chevrolet Corvette, 949; 9. Jamie Hancock, Ophelia, Ala., 1998 Chevrolet Corvette, 938; 10. Shannon Jenkins, Tuscaloosa, Ala., 2007 Pontiac GTO, 908.
Pro Extreme Motorcycle – 1. Coodee Thomas, Stone Mountain, Ga., Suzuki, 981; 2. Jack Young, Decatur, Ala., Suzuki, 919; 3. Steve Drake, Xenia, Ohio, Suzuki, 801; 4. Scott Ray, Ocala, Fla., Kawasaki, 603; 5. Ashley Owens, Decatur, Ala., Suzuki, 599; 6. Louie Grist, Pontotoe, Miss., Suzuki, 591; 7. Richard Holder, Jacksonville, Fla., Suzuki, 567; 8. T.T. Jones, Harvest, Ala., Suzuki, 558; 9. Eddie Gonder Jr., Richmond, Va., Suzuki, 538; 10. Mantez Thompson, Decatur, Ala., Suzuki, 506.
Extreme 10.5 – 1. Mike Hill, Washington, Ga., 2006 Ford Mustang, 914; 2. Rodney Rosenstiel, Pace, Fla., 1970 Opel GT, 840; 3. Bill Jewett, Gulf Shores, Ala., 2004 Ford Mustang, 815; 4. Steve Gorman, Whitesboro, Texas, 2001 Pontiac Grand Am, 592; 5. Kenny Kneece, Trenton, S.C., 1963 Chevrolet Corvette, 493; 6. Michelle Wilson, Azle, Texas, 2000 Pontiac Firebird, 488; 7. David Janes, La Plata, Md., 2006 Pontiac Grand Am, 426; 8. Todd Tutterow, Yadkinville, N.C., NA, 333; 9. Marcus Birt, Gray, Ga., 1968 Chevrolet Camaro, 329; 10. Michael Neal, Pace, Fla., 1992 Chevrolet Lumina, 254.
a d v e r t i s e m e n t
 |
Click to visit our sponsor's website
EVENT PREVIEW - Big Fields Expected for Fourth Dragstock; Belts Fields Wide Open
The Flowmaster American Drag Racing League's oldest and largest event returns
for a fourth edition this weekend, with more than 100 total entries expected
Friday and Saturday for the Eastern Race Fuels Dragstock IV event at Rockingham
Dragway.
Dragstock IV begins Friday with open testing throughout the
afternoon and a single qualifying round for the ADRL's professional classes (Pro
Extreme, Pro Nitrous, Extreme 10.5, and Pro Extreme Motorcycle) in the evening.
Saturday's schedule calls for two additional qualifying attempts, followed by
eliminations in all four classes. Dragstock IV will follow the ADRL's standard
time schedule, which can be found at www.adrl.us/index.php/main/insidepage/schedule.
The
ADRL began in the fall of 2004 with the first Dragstock, a stand-alone event
open to any Pro Modified race team willing to take on a large field at an
eighth-mile distance. Since that inaugural race, Dragstock has continued to be
the ADRL's largest and most prestigious national event, with huge fields turning
out every year to compete for some of the most prestigious event titles in all
of Pro Modified racing.
As in the last two editions of the event,
Dragstock IV will also serve as the final chance for all professional drivers to
earn points for the AlphaTrade Battle for the Belts competitions, which will
determine the four 2007 ADRL world champions. Only the top eight points-earners
in each class at the completion of Dragstock IV will qualify for the Battle for
the Belts championship eliminators, Oct. 12 at the AlphaTrade ADRL World Finals
in Ennis, Texas.
Entering the event, three drivers have mathematically
clinched spots in their respective Belts competitions (and a number of other
drivers will clinch the moment that some of their lower-ranked competitors are
eliminated). In Pro Extreme, 2006 ADRL champion Bubba Stanton has earned a place
in the final eight; Johnny Pilcher has qualified in Pro Nitrous; and Mike Hill
has wrapped up a place in the Extreme 10.5 field. All other Belts competitors,
including the entire Pro Extreme Motorcycle field, will be determined when the
dust settles Saturday night at Rockingham
Dragway.
AlphaTrade Battle for the Belts points
Through
6 of 7 events
Effective Sept. 3, 2007
PRO EXTREME
1.
Bubba Stanton 2,078*
2. Joshua Hernandez 1,568
3. Travis
Swearingen 1,375
4. Jason Scruggs 1,338
5. Joe Baker 1,164
6. John Lynam 1,151
7. Dwayne Watkins 1,060
8. Brian
Daniels 920
9. Bil Clanton 885
10. Mike Bell 868
11.
Michael Neal 863
12. Frankie Taylor 737
13. Todd Tutterow
630
14. Herman Sheppard 627
15. Mike Neal 623
16. Quain
Stott 567
17. Bennie McDonald 546
18. Hugh Scott
535
19. Kelly Martin 519
20. Bobby Booth 473
21. Brandon
Pesz 435
22. Bryan Dyar 362
23. Tommy D'Aprile
338
24. Greg Holt 306
25. Troy Critchley 274
PRO
NITROUS
1. Johnny Pilcher 2,090*
2. Charles Carpenter
1,477
3. Terry Housley 1,468
4. Keith Baker 1,379
5.
Doug Riesterer 1,355
6. Thomas Myers 1,174
7. Dennis
Radford 1,159
8. Rod Houck 949
9. Jamie Hancock
938
10. Shannon Jenkins 908
11. Stan Allen 875
12. Greg
Godwin 841
13. Randy Weatherford 750
14. Harold Martin
699
15. Burton Auxier 660
16. Billy Harper 639
17. Mike
Lockwood 617
18. Steve Vick 558
19. Teddy Smith 356
20. Jim Halsey 339
21. Buzz Varner 338
22. Mike
Castellana 282
23. James Hancock III 209
24. Terry Murphy
201
25. Blake Housley 178
EXTREME 10.5
1. Mike Hill
914*
2. Rodney Rosenstiel 840
3. Bill Jewett 815
4.
Steve Gorman 592
5. Kenny Kneece 493
6. Michelle Wilson
488
7. David Janes 426
8. Todd Tutterow 333
9. Marcus
Birt 329
10. Michael Neal 254
11. Mary Baltzell
232
12. Jim Robbins 229
Joey Martin 229
14. Steve Kirk
Jr. 208
15. Bill Lutz 128
Chad Wilson 128
17. Brian
Keller 127
Larry Webb 127
19. Alex Viscardi 126
Taylor Lastor 126
21. Bryan Goethe 25
Carl Grizzard
25
Ronnie Davis 25
PRO EXTREME MOTORCYCLE
1. Coodee
Thomas 981
2. Jack Young 919
3. Steve Drake 801
4.
Scott Gray 603
5. Ashley Owens 599
6. Louie Grist
591
7. Richard Holder 567
8. T.T. Jones 558
9. Eddie
Gonder Jr. 538
10. Mantez Thompson 506
11. Charlie Prophit
496
12. Bill Vose 473
13. Terry Wynn 463
14. Monte
Campbell 389
15. Ron Clark 383
16. Carlos Wilkerson
360
17. James Rester 255
18. Scott Valetti 240
19.
Nikie Corley 235
20. Robert Hunnicutt 231
21. Darian
Guillory 136
22. Baybay Yarbrough 135
23. Kenny Hill
133
24. Scott McKinney 132
25. David Vantine
129
*clinched spot in the AlphaTrade Battle for the Belts competition
| {loadposition feedback} |
