Big Daddy and The Greek are returning
to Famoso. Lucky fans will get to see
the two drag racing legends at the
15th annual California Hot Rod Reunion
presented by the Automobile Club of
Southern California, Oct. 6-8 at
Bakersfield's historic Auto Club Famoso
Raceway. 

"Big Daddy" Don
Garlits, voted No. 1 on NHRA's 50th Anniversary Top 50
Drivers list, is
bringing his Swamp Rat VIII dragster to the Reunion. Swamp
Rat VIII was the
first in a long line of Garlits dragsters to use the late-model
426 Dodge
Hemi. It debuted at the 1965 March Meet at Famoso driven by
Connie Swingle.
The car was later lengthened and became the Wynn's
Charger (Swamp Rat X) and
is on display at Garlits Museum of Drag Racing in
Ocala, Fla. To continue
the Swamp Rat lineage, Garlits and longtime crew
chief T.C. Lemons built an
exact re-creation of No. VIII earlier this year to
participate in
Cacklefests at both the Holley NHRA National Hot Rod Reunion,
presented by
DuPont Automotive Finishes and the CHRR. Garlits fans will have
plenty to
see because the 1960 Swamp Rat III, now owned by longtime
Garlits crewman
Sonny Messner, will also appear.

Photographer Frank Ranney sent these extra photos of Chip King's Dallas crash.

Top Alcohol Funny Car, driver Danny Townsend is recovering from a final
round accident at the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Race Series event in
Columbus, Ohio this past Sunday. The seven time Division 3 champion was
knocked unconscious after hitting the right side retaining wall at the
330 foot mark. From its right lane position, the car crossed over into
the opposite lane, hitting the left side concrete wall. At that point
the throttle fully reopened sending the car into the shutdown
area. With Townsend still unconscious, the car continued at speed into
the top end sand and catch net.

Danny regained consciousness as he was being attended to by the
National Trail Raceway and Division 3 safety crews and the Hebron Fire
Department. He was stabilized and carefully moved to the MedFlight
helicopter for transport to The Ohio State University Medical Center
Intensive Care Unit. Townsend remains in stable condition and has been
moved out of ICU to a private room. He is periodically being moved to a
chair. Danny is very sore, but has no broken bones. Doctors caution
that the healing process may be very slow. In time, a full recovery is
expected.

Fueled by growing legions of fans and cars, the 2007 Holley NHRA National
Hot Rod Reunion, presented by DuPont Automotive Finishes, is moving from
Bowling Green, Ky. to a new, larger home in Columbus, Ohio. After a
4-year-run in Kentucky, the Reunion, June 15-17, 2007, moves from one
historic drag racing track Beech Bend Park to another National Trail
Raceway.

"We had a great, great run in Bowling Green but simply
outgrew the facility at Beech Bend," said Tony Thacker, executive director
of the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum. "National Trail is a larger
facility with
easier access for fans and more room for cars, people and
activities. The
distinct elements and flavor of the event that made it so
successful in
Bowling Green remain the same. We've just moved it to make it
even more
enjoyable."

EVAN KNOLL PROMOTES LATRELL PRESTON
TO ROLE OF MOTORSPORTS DIRECTOR FOR KNOLL GAS – TORCO RACE FUELS, INC.

Evan Knoll, President of Knoll Gas Motorsports –
Torco Race Fuels, Inc., has appointed Latrell Preston to the expanded role of
Director of Operations for his Knoll Gas Motorsports – Torco Race Fuels
conglomeration of companies.

Preston, who already serves as Chief Financial Officer,
for Knoll’s parent company General Sales & Service, will direct the
motorsports day-to-day operations as well as manage the various sponsorships of
race teams and sanctioning bodies. He retains his position of second Vice President
of GSS.

Knoll pointed out that
he’s groomed Preston for the position since
2004 and the time is now to let him take control of the vast responsibilities.

“Latrell has been my right
hand for the last two years and someone I fully trust and see more than capable
of directing this company,” Knoll said. “I probably would have pursued this
sooner but we needed to fill some key infrastructure positions before we could
step forward with this plan.

“I am very excited this
opportunity is available. It makes sense that he controls my sponsorships
because he’s the one signing the checks anyway.”

Preston, a University of Indiana graduate and basketball
player, plans to keep the momentum rolling strong.

“Momentum means everything
in this industry and we certainly have a lot working in our favor now,” Preston said. “I am totally elated that Evan has
entrusted me with this position. It has given me goose bumps just thinking
about the future and the things we have planned.”

Knoll Gas Motorsports –
Torco Race Fuels, Inc., stands as one of the largest single sponsors in drag
racing and extends its sponsorship interests to include off-road motorsports,
moto-cross, off-shore boating and oval track racing.

For more information on
Knoll Gas Motorsports – Torco Race Fuels, Inc, visit their website at www.torco.com.

Steve Torrence, the 2005 NHRA Lucas Oil Top
Alcohol Dragster champion, makes his move into the Top Fuel ranks at the Torco
Racing Fuels Nationals, at Richmond, Va., Oct. 6-8.
 
The talented
Torrence will be driving a SKULL Shine/Knoll Gas-Torco Racing Fuels dragster at
the last three 2006 POWERade Series events.  The car will be tuned by former
Funny Car champion Mark Oswald.  Torrence will be a teammate of J.R. Todd,
another talented Top Fuel driver, on Dexter Tuttle’s team.
 
“I’m very
excited,” said Torrence, 23, who dominated the TAD series a year ago, winning
four national events and five divisional races. He added two more national event
wins in 2006. “I am looking forward to working with Dexter and the team.  I’m
honored to be J.R.’s teammate.  We want to do well and put on a good show for
everybody.
 
“Driving a Top Fuel is the pinnacle of drag racing . . . you
can’t get any higher,” continued Torrence, of Kilgore, Texas. “I’ve wanted to do
this since I was a kid growing up.  I’m living a dream and I want to take
advantage of this opportunity.”
 
He earned his Top Fuel license in June,
making the required number of runs in Todd’s dragster at St. Louis in
June.

Executive Director of the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum Discusses
the
Impact of the California Hot Rod Reunion


As a teen growing up in England,
Tony Thacker dreamed of hot rods and drag racing, and one of his biggest
heroes was Wally Parks. Some things never change: hot rods, drag racing and
Wally Parks are still on his mind as the executive director of the Wally
Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum, presented by the Automobile Club of Southern
California. Thacker, 56, a true hot rodder himself (he currently owns a
Bonneville roadster that races on the Salt Flats, setting a D/BSTR record at
206.454 mph) is preparing for the 15th annual California Hot Rod Reunion,
Oct. 6-8, Bakersfield, Calif. While he's attended the 3-day nostalgia-laden
event several times, this will be his first for the Museum, which produces
the event as a fundraiser. Here are some of his thoughts on the upcoming
Reunion.            

The Snowbird Outlaw
Nationals Jet Jam & Night of Fire Drag Racing Weekend Presented by Automotive
Engineering to be held December 1-3, 2006, at Bradenton Motorsports Park.

Heads Up drag
racing will again be a huge part of the Snowbird Outlaw Nationals in 2006 with Top
Alcohol Dragsters, Outlaw Pro Mod, Open Outlaw, Outlaw 10.5 and Limited
Street. 

Then to bring the
event excitement up a notch, the Jet Jam Night of Fire along with Jet Funny
Cars and Jet Dragsters will bring you to the edge of your seat with 300mph
runs! Bracket and Comp classes round out a full weekend of drag racing.

Doug Foley will be
released from West
Haldimand General
Hospital in
Ontario this afternoon. Following
a crash at Toronto
Motorsports
Park on Monday, Foley was rushed to
West Haldimand General for observation. He was then temporarily transported to
Hamilton
General
Hospital for further screening, and
then back to Haldimand. The doctor has already issued his release papers, and
Foley will fly to his home in New
Jersey this evening.

Family and
friends with Foley said the hospital and nurses have been very accommodating,
and Doug is in much better spirits today. To add further comfort, sponsor Evan Knoll will be flying Doug and his family home.

Dwayne Young snapped these images of Doug Foley's Toronto Motorsports crash.

Veteran Funny Car driver Whit Bazemore will drive the Matco Tools Iron Eagle Top Fuel dragster for David Powers Motorsports in 2007. This will mark Bazemore's first foray into the Top Fuel class after 18 years in a Funny Car. He will be teammates with David Powers Motorsports racer "Hot Rod" Fuller; both drivers will be running under the tuning expertise of decorated crew chief Lee Beard.

"Whit Bazemore is an outstanding driver, and he's been a real asset to Matco Tools over the years," Powers said. "We selected him from a long list of very qualified applicants, and we certainly weighed in the opinions and desires of everyone at Matco Tools. The fact he's worked with Lee Beard in the past allowed us insight into how he conducts his professional life, and we quickly reached the conclusion that he was our man."