Teacher. Coach. Builder. Racer.

Winner. Studebaker lover. That's Ted Harbit,
an Honoree at the Holley NHRA
National Hot Rod Reunion, June 15-17 at
National Trail Raceway near
Columbus, Ohio.

Harbit raced his
"Chicken Hawk" 1951 Studebaker and won the Stock class
at the NHRA Nationals
an incredible seven times in 11 tries.  A retired
teacher and basketball
coach in the Frankton, Ind. school system, he has
raced continuously in cars
he's built himself for more than 50 years. Ted
retired from class racing
after the '72 U.S. Nationals and drove the
Studebaker occasionally until
1987 when he decided to see how fast it would
really go. With twin
turbochargers and twin four barrel carbs, he's turned a
best of 10.07 at
137.8 mph.  In the Studebaker Drivers Club publication,
Turning Wheels,
Harbit explained why he still uses a Studebaker engine. "My
own experience
has been that it is not necessary to go to expensive
extremes to develop
over 500 HP in a Studebaker V-8. . . and that the
engine is so basically
sturdy that one need not fear immediate disintegration
when higher
horsepowers (sic) have been developed."

Randy
Walker slipped the monkey off his back at the West Coast Hot Rod Association’s
first ever event at Speedworld Motorplex in Surprise, AZ this past weekend. It
was not an easy weekend because he had to fight tooth and nail throughout qualifying
with Steve Paulauskis who had the noted distinction of recording the first Pro Street pass in
the 6.3 zone by a West Coast racer during the final qualifier.

Just one day after a horrific crash during testing in Las Vegas, Top Fuel driver Hillary Will returned to testing.

In response to Hillary Will's crash during a test pass Saturday afternoon
at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Goodyear Tire & Rubber
Company issued the following statement to nitro-class teams:

A source has revealed that the Pontiac Pro Stock Showdown on Saturday
was shot by Masters Entertainment and will be seen on the Outdoor
Channel on Friday, February 9th.

To accommodate the many race fans attending the season-opening, 47th
annual CARQUEST Winternationals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, the
race shop and museum at John Force Racing, Inc., will be open from 10
a.m.-1 p.m. on both Thursday and Friday, Feb. 8-9.

In addition to the shop and museum, the John Force RaceStation store
will bey open from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. on both days to accommodate
those interested in purchasing team souvenirs and collectibles.

Veteran drag racer Rick Kopp will be turning up the wick in dramatic
fashion this year with the Team Husky Top Dragster. The Burlington,
Ontario resident and owner of Kopp Motorsports will be fielding an
entirely new race car in the Top Dragster class.

“We’ve got a new chassis,” said Kopp recently. “We’re in the process of
getting a new engine built. When we hit the track this year, we’re
going to be in a 200-mph car. I can’t wait.”

NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster driver Steve Federlin crashed late Sunday
afternoon in testing. He was uninjured in the accident. We will post
more details once they become available.

Team owner Evan Knoll will donate the proceeds of t-shirt sales for the Vietnam
Veterans/MIA-POW Top Fuel Dragster presented by Torco Race Fuels and Lucas Oil.
The funds will be dispersed amongst a group of approved
organizations.

Knoll believes this will further solidify the true message
this 8,000-horsepower dragster will convey. This entry is intended to serve as a
source of pride for over 1.6 million Vietnam veterans as well as to bring
awareness to the plight of the over 1,700 soldiers still missing in action from
the from that conflict.

Photog Frank Ranney captured this photograph in the middle of the Hillary Will crash. She emerged uninjured.