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FRIDAY NOTEBOOK – IT’S THE MAD MAN, ICEMAN SHOW IN VIRGINIA
FRIDAY’S RECAP – Chalk one up for the little guy. Or at least for the littler guy, as Frankie “Mad Man” Taylor made the quickest run in “doorslammer” history to lead Pro Extreme qualifying after the first day of the ADRL Speedtech U.S. Drags III at Virginia Motorsports Park (VMP).
Taylor, an automotive repair shop owner from Dickinson, Texas, covered the VMP eighth mile with his supercharged 2005 Corvette in 3.60 seconds at 208.71 mph to edge the 3.64 at 210.97 combination by His Highness Sheikh Khalid bin Hamad Al-Thani of Qatar for the top spot. Also carrying number-one status into Saturday morning’s fourth and final qualifying session were Shannon Jenkins in Pro Nitrous, Gary White in Extreme 10.5, Pro Extreme Motorcycle’s Ashley Owens and Bob Bertsch in Extreme Pro Stock.
Taylor said he knew as soon as he left the starting line that he was on a good pass, but after drifting close to the right guardwall and actually shutting down a little early he was shocked to see 3.60 flash across his scoreboard.
“I actually thought it said 3.68, which was still pretty good because it would’ve backed up (within the required one percent) my earlier 3.65 for the record, but then my eyes focused a little better and I could see that zero on the end,” Taylor said. “That was sweet!”
Former two-time Pro Extreme champion Jason Scruggs placed third at 3.66 seconds, with Taylor’s teammate “Wild Wes” Johnston fourth after making a 3.67 pass at a potential record 211.69 mph (if he also can back it up with another run within one percent of that speed). Joshua Hernandez in the debut of a new Fight Me MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) sponsorship rounded out the top five with a 3.69-seconds effort.
It was all Al-Anabi Racing at the head of the Pro Nitrous list, with teammates Jenkins, Burton Auxier and Mike Castellana earning the top three positions. Jenkins, who also was celebrating his 56th birthday at the track, said his ’68 Camaro’s 3.87-seconds pass at 193.79 mph was all the track would give him today as a present.
“It was a good day; any day you qualify number one is a good day,” the Tuscaloosa, Alabama-based veteran said. “We could’ve been better, but sometimes you’ve just got to be happy with what you’re given.”
New Market, Alabama’s White, who also led Extreme 10.5 qualifying at the ADRL’s previous race last Month in Georgia, made his 4.00 seconds at 186.23-mph run of record in the opening round of qualifying Friday morning with his turbocharged, inline-six-cylinder 2007 Scion. The nitrous oxide-boosted ’02 Grand Am of Houston, Texas racer Jeff Naiser was second at 4.07, with Florida’s Michael Neal third after three sessions at 4.13 seconds in his supercharged, Hemi-powered ‘67 Chevy II.
After opening with a class-leading 4.14-seconds blast, Owens sat out Friday’s second go round in the heat of the day, but returned with a 4.11 at 175.39 mph on his Fast by Gast Suzuki in the evening Pro Extreme Motorcycle show.
“Riding for Paul (Gast) makes everything easier on me,” said Owens, who won the Georgia event in May in record-setting fashion. “It’s a new bike making a lot of horsepower, so everything is just clicking for us right now.”
Canadian Terry Schweigert stepped up to place second with a 4.12 pass on his 2009 Suzuki, while Kim Morrell from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, became the ADRL’s quickest and fastest woman on two wheels with a 4.15-seconds run at 173.81 mph.
Bertsch proved the racing surface was in good shape from the start as he rolled out of the trailer for round one and qualified with an Extreme Pro Stock 
track record 4.06 at 177.53 mph that stood up throughout the day. Following the Willis, Michigan-based driver and his ’07 Mustang were Elijah Morton at 4.07 and 176.86 mph and fellow North Carolinian Jeff Dobbins with a 4.08 at 176.33-mph pass.
“We came out thinking we were conservative today,” Bertsch admitted later. “We just wanted to get a good run in and have something to work with and we hit it right on.”
In the Pro Jr. Dragster class for eight- to 17-year-old drivers, in which qualifying is determined by reaction times, Manchester Kentucky’s Tyler Allen was one-thousandth of a second away from perfect with a .001 light to earn the provisional pole.
The fourth and final qualifying session for all classes at the ADRL Speedtech U.S. Drags III is slated to begin at 9 a.m. Saturday (May 22), with eliminations to follow.
STOTT AND D’APRILE HIT THE GROUND RUNNING – Quain Stott is teaching lessons to the Bush Motorsports team from top to bottom. 
From the driver down to the guy adjusting the valves on the engine.
“Everybody’s got their own way of doing it so I have a system to where you can’t forget,” said Stott, prior to Friday’s qualifying at the ADRL U.S. Drags in Richmond, Va., of his valve adjusting methods.
Stott, the new tuner for the Mel Bush-owned car driven by Tommy D’Aprile, is busy putting his stamp on the team.
“You know us old country boys are kind of dumb and didn’t learn much in school so our memories aren’t as good. So my way is about as foolproof as you can get, at least for me. Where a lot of people would put it on a mark and do this valve, this valve, this valve, this valve, and jump all over the place if I did that my memory isn’t good enough I would forget one of them. So I want my crew members to do it the same way so they can’t forget one of them.”
In addition, Stott is schooling D’Aprile on how he likes the car to be driven.
Stott and D’Aprile last raced together in 2006 as a two-car team with sponsorship for the latter’s car coming from Evan Knoll. When Knoll’s sponsorship money dried up in 2007 Stott was forced to park the second car denying him the opportunity to continue working with D’Aprile, a driver whom he categorizes as one of the best in the class.
The reunited tuner and driver combination put in a few test runs at Carolina Dragway in Jackson, SC., prior to this weekend’s Richmond event. An electrical issue impeded their efforts on the track but didn’t slow Stott’s mentoring of D’Aprile.
The first lesson?
“Shut up and drive,” admitted D’Aprile, jokingly. “And if he does say anything, I just listen to what he says. It’s a really good relationship because there’s one boss here [Mel Bush] and everybody knows it and we just do our job. And I hope to do a good job inside of the cockpit because I know he’ll do a good job on the outside.”
There’s a good reason why Bush, D’Aprile and the team are high on enthusiasm for the potential Stott brings to the team. In simple terms, Stott makes stuff happen.
“I told Mel the other day you know we’ve done in two weeks what most people do during the winter,” said Stott. “We’re not expecting miracles or anything like that but we’re going to give it our best shot at this race, we’ve only made four passes on the car and three of those were without a computer.”
The quick results in such short order has Stott convinced the ADRL’s Pro Extreme division had better not take this team lightly.
“I’m not going to run this team any different than how I run mine. The big difference is this team has a bigger budget. I shouldn’t say big budget but Mel Bush will do whatever needs to be done to win. We don’t lean on the motor and I’m not going to tear Mel’s stuff up on purpose. This is a team you had better look out for later in the season.”
After the first two sessions, D’Aprile was the eighth quickest with a 3.961, 193.07.
SNYDER’S FIRST RUN BETTER THE SECOND TIME AROUND – Mick Snyder has grown up around drag racing and learned at 
an early age; do-overs in drag racing are a rarity. Friday, the former Top Alcohol Funny Car racer from Demotte, Ind., was granted a second chance.
During Friday’s Pro Extreme qualifying at the ADRL U.S. Drags III in Richmond, Va., Snyder was given a second chance to make a first impression.
Snyder has made the conversion from alcohol floppers to alcohol doorslammers and on his first pass in testing back in March crashed his 1963 Corvette.
This weekend will be on the job training for Snyder, who is a teammate to two-time champion Jason Scruggs in 2010.
“I guess you can call this my second, first pass,” said Snyder with a smile.
Friday’s first pass was kinda sorta his first run down the track in a Pro Extreme car. Snyder stopped by Gateway International Raceway outside of St. Louis for some testing. In seven runs, he made it only once to the finish line under full power.
“We were all a little nervous after that first pass and then we wouldn’t talk about it,” admitted Snyder. “In the end, it was not a real big deal.”
The crash and his subsequent test session, along with Friday’s qualifying taught Snyder a lesson of the differences between the two breeds of race cars.
“It’s night and day really; it’s like a cross between a Funny Car and a dragster,” Snyder explained. “It takes the finesse, it’s different that’s for sure. With all the suspension stuff if you lift on the car it only takes it a half-second to settle down.”
Snyder was eighth in the final after two sessions.
NOSTALGIC BARN FIND MAKES ADRL APPEARANCE – Billy Glidden learned barn finds can be pretty cool. 
Billy, while poking around the back of his Whiteland, Ind.-based race shop, found a pair of old valve covers his dad used to run back in the day. Back in the day, in this instance, was 1982 when his father, Bob Glidden, the 10-time Pro Stock champion, converted his small-block engine program over to 500-cubic inches.
The elder Glidden initially ran a Boss 429-inspired engine and the younger Glidden’s discovery, within a homemade kiln, was a pair of 28-year old valve covers. They were last used when his father raced the Ford EXP.
“This kiln … dad used back in the days when he would furnish brazed blocks and cast iron small block cylinder heads,” Billy said.
The valve covers were fabricated from magnesium.
“They are original, with the Ford Boss part number underneath,” said Billy, a beaming smile stretched across his face.
The valve covers were in anything but pristine condition. They were full of holes.
“I had never welded on magnesium before,” the younger Glidden admitted. “I taught myself how to do it and even had one on fire for a little bit. I got them all patched up to the point they’d hold vacuum. I made some one-off gaskets to work with them.”
Glidden is running the Hemi engine this weekend cloaked by the nostalgic valve covers and was 6th quickest within the Extreme 10.5 division after two qualifying sessions at the ADRL U.S. Drags III.
FOR LEGGETT, IT’S GOTTA BE A FORD – Terry Leggett figured if a Ford was good enough for his father, it was darn sure good enough for him. 
The Pineville, NC.-based logger who races in the ADRL’s Pro Extreme believes family tradition is the reason he’s been a Ford driver since getting his driver’s license.
“I was born and raised around Fords; I guess I’ve got a bad habit of wanting to be a little different too,” said Leggett, who debuted his newest Ford this weekend at the ADRL U.S. Drags III, a Tommy Mauney-built Mustang.
Leggett’s 2010 Mustang is the only Ford in the class this weekend.
“My dad … Fords were all he believed in having. I tried to believe everything he told me. He was a very good inspiration to me in every kind of way, so I guess I had to take his vehicle choice too.”
Bill Leggett raised his boy to be blue oval proud and every car, both street and strip, over the last 30 years have been Ford. Well, except once, there was a Willys … but it was Ford powered.
Leggett carried his Ford passion into the formative years of the Pro Modified movement with a classic 1956 Ford before moving into the mountain motor Pro Stock division with a Thunderbird.
Since those early years, Leggett has witnessed Pro Modified transform into a different kind of class than the one he helped to pioneer in the late 1980s.
“It’s changed a lot but then again it hasn’t changed,” admitted Leggett, whose passion for drag racing is shared by his wife Greta. “There’s a true love for the sport, you see that in most all of the guys out here. The people at the drag race are my kind of people, and I just love it.”
Earlier this season Leggett campaigned a 1940 Ford. He never felt comfortable in the car which led to the construction of the new Mustang.
“I bought the 1940 Ford with the expectation they would have enough room,” said Leggett, who stands 6-foot-4, 250 pounds. “I hear people complaining about being too short but it’s just as bad to be too tall, I guess fat and old too, don’t help. The car was a great car, really good car. But I mean I just really want to be comfortable in a car room-wise so I talked to Tommy at the end of last year and he was like we’re just going to build another one of these Mustangs. He had some really good ideas on how to get me a little extra room, and that’s what we did. I’ve got a lot of room in the car so I can’t use that for another excuse.”
Longtime chassis builder Mauney has been one of the more influential figures in Leggett’s racing career.
“There are some guys who really build great cars, and while I don’t cut anyone short … I just like Tommy’s stuff,” Leggett explained. “As long as I race I’m going to try to have a Tommy Mauney car.”
And for Leggett, there’s nothing finer than a Mauney-built Ford.
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THURSDAY NOTEBOOK – A TOUGH RACE SHAPING UP IN VMP
HIT ME, I DARE YA – The recently formed Fight Me MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) league was introduced today as the new major, multi-year sponsor 
of American Drag Racing League (ADRL) competitor Joshua Hernandez and his supercharged Pro Extreme 1957 Chevy.
Hernandez, last year’s championship runner-up and winningest driver in Pro Extreme history with six career race titles, will debuts the new Fight Me look in this weekend’s ADRL Speedtech U.S. Drags III at Virginia Motorsports Park.
“It is so exciting for me to help introduce Fight Me to the ADRL audience,” the Conroe, Texas-based driver said. “I’m also looking forward to attending Fight Me events later this year and introducing the ADRL’s unique brand of eighth-mile drag racing to the millions of MMA fans around the world. It’s a knockout combination.”
Fight Me was established by the same principals behind the ADRL, Dave Wood, Tommy Lipar and Kenny Nowling, who serves as president and CEO for both sports organizations.
“One of the first objectives in launching Fight Me MMA is to create brand awareness and Dave, Tommy and I know very well what ADRL can do in that regard for its major sponsors, especially when associated with proven winners like Josh and his team,” Nowling said.
Following the ADRL Speedtech U.S. Drags III, Hernandez will attend a press conference in St. Louis, May 27, to officially announce the Fight Me MMA league and the fight card for the Fight Me 1 event.
“I’m really happy about Fight Me coming on board, but I also recognize this as a tremendous opportunity for our race team, the ADRL and drag racing in general to increase its profile,” Hernandez said. “I’m ready to get it on in 2010 with Fight Me!”
performance has been nearly unparalleled. However, after a serious crash at the 2009 season opener in Houston, the patchwork appearance of his legendary Pro Nitrous ’55 Chevy left much to be desired. After racing in various stages of repair for almost a year, Carpenter debuts a brand new paint scheme at this weekend’s ADRL Speedtech U.S. Drags III at Virginia Motorsports Park in Petersburg, VA.
“I’m thrilled about debuting our new look this weekend,” Carpenter said. “We decided to stay within our traditional purple and yellow color scheme, but we switched it up by reversing the location of the colors and having yellow as the main color. I think it’s a great way to get a different look while retaining our identity, and it brings back memories because my very first ’55 Chevy that I had when I was 15 years old was this same shade of yellow. Reed and Chandler Robbins at East Coast Refinishing & Fiberglass in Manassas, VA truly exceeded my expectations with the quality of this paint job. The fact that they were able to even complete the job in such a tight time frame is amazing in itself, but the quality of the work and level of detail on top of that is unreal.”
After racing to his second consecutive final round appearance at last month’s Georgia Drags VI in Valdosta, Carpenter and crew immediately disassembled the car and hauled it to East Coast Refinishing on Tuesday following the race. Carpenter then picked up the car on Tuesday of this week and the thrash was on to have the car put back together for this weekend’s all-important race. “We’re running on very little sleep, but we got it done,” Carpenter admitted. “Thankfully, we’ve assembled and disassembled the car for what is hopefully the last time for a while. It’s all worth it though, and I’m extremely excited about our total appearance makeover.”
“Well, the Lucas Oil Firebird is in need of some work after the incident during the last ADRL race,” said Cody Barklage. “One of the hardest parts about drag racing is dealing with a wrecked car. Not only are we suffering the extravagant financial blow, but we had a lot of work to do in a very short period of time. Because of everything involved in getting that car repaired, we made the decision to bring back out the 1957 Chevy we ran a few years ago.”
“The ’57 is a good car,” he continued. “My brother Zach took a runner-up finish for the Nito-Coupe Championship in Super Chevy a few years back. This car was involved in our rig fire, but it survived. We’ve checked the chassis and double checked it. Chad Wilson, my brother Zach and I have spent a lot of time doing additional safety modifications, so the car is ready for a new chapter of racing. The three of us have lived at the shop the past few weeks so we could ensure I would have a good, safe, and hopefully fast race car this weekend.”
THE BATTLE RAGES ON – As the American Drag Racing League (ADRL) heads to Virginia Motorsports Park (VMP) for this weekend’s (May 21-22) ADRL Speedtech U.S. 
Drags III, a great deal of attention will be focused on the Pro Extreme class, featuring supercharged hot rods capable of 3.6-second blasts at more than 212 miles per hour over an eighth-mile course.
Among those leading the high-speed charge into the Old Dominion State will be Saltillo, Mississippi’s Jason Scruggs, a former back-to-back Pro Extreme world champion (2007-08) and winner of the ADRL’s previous event last month in Georgia.
“Every year Pro Extreme gets a little tougher, at least as far as how fast the cars are going,” Scruggs says. “It’s unbelievable the level of competition that’s out there right now.”
Reigning Pro Extreme World Champion Todd Tutterow (below) agrees, pointing out that last month’s qualifying lists represented a very tight 16-car field.
“There are a lot of cars going really fast now instead of just two or three and the bump spot is getting a lot quicker, too,” the Yadkinville, North Carolina-based champ says. “It makes for a lot more close, side-by-side racing where it doesn’t matter who you are, you can’t afford to make even one mistake.”
Joining Scruggs and Tutterow at the top of the Pro Extreme ranks at VMP will be the likes of Frankie “Mad Man” Taylor, whose 2005 Corvette became the quickest torque converter-equipped “doorslammer” in the world in Georgia with a 3.65-seconds qualifying pass at nearly 207 mph and eventual runner-up Quain Stott in his ’63 Corvette.
No one was stronger in Georgia, however, than ADRL rookie Sheikh Khalid Al-Thani of Qatar (below), who in his first racing appearance on U.S. soil qualified in the number-one position with a stunning 3.63-seconds effort at 212.49 mph in his Al-Anabi Racing ’68 Camaro, marking the quickest and fastest pass in the world by a full-bodied drag racing car (though he was unable to back up either number within the required one percent for an official record).
“Sheikh Khalid, he’s put together an awesome team with (crew chiefs) Frank Manzo, Tim and Kim Richards, and all the other great guys on that team,” Scruggs says. “For the last couple of years or so I guess it was our team that raised the bar on performance here, but now they’re raising the bar for us. But all that’s going to do is make us try harder.”
He won’t be alone, as Tutterow, who also carries the Al-Anabi brand on his own ’68 Camaro, says he draws inspiration from his competitors’ performances, too.
“It’s actually encouraging because it helps show us what’s out there, what’s possible if we get our stuff tuned up right,” he says.
There’s more to winning than just turning in quick and fast laps, though, a lesson learned the hard way through Scruggs’ go-for-broke approach that seemed just as likely to result in an early exit from competition as a record-setting run these last few years.
“We’re trying to race smarter now,” Scruggs insists. “Basically, you’ve got to run your own race and not worry about everyone else and if it’s your day, it’s your day. I think that’s how these races are going to go this year.”
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