:::::: News ::::::

MONDAY TESTING AFTER GATORS

The devil is in the details.

Many NHRA POWERade teams decided to stick around at
Gainesville Raceway following the 38th annual ACDelco
Gatornationals, to get some testing under their belts without having to pack up
the trailers and head to other circuits.

After all, the Gatornationals had yielded some
record-breaking speeds and times over the past weekend.  At the same time, there had been some fairly
violent wall smacks, particularly in eliminations, that affected the outcome of
races on Sunday.

SO EASY A CAVEWOMAN COULD DO IT

Gatornationals Pro Stock Motorcycle champion Karen Stoffer achieved one
of the hardest feats in drag racing by winning the race from the No. 16
qualifying position. What made the victory even more impressive are her three
holeshot victories, which included beating the No. 1 qualifier and new national
record holder Angelle Sampey in round one. She also strapped a holeshot on
runner-up Matt Smith, who was racing a woman for the fourth time in six career
final round appearances. Stoffer admitted that qualifying didn't go well.

LEWIS DONATES TO VIETNAM VETS/POW DRAGSTER

lewis.jpg
Tim Lewis knew from the moment Evan Knoll announced his Melanie Troxel-driven,
Vietnam Veterans/POW-MIA Tribute dragster that he wanted to be involved. The
62-year old partner in the Foley & Lewis Top Fueler driven by Doug Foley was
a Vietnam-era veteran and knew first-hand the plight the brave servicemen and
women encountered upon returning to country after their tour of
duty.
 
Today, Lewis gave back in memory of his friends who served our
country during the tumultuous years of 1965 – 1975. His donation will make
possible a special gift to each Vietnam Veteran and POW-MIA Family member who
attends each NHRA POWERade event as a guest of the Troxel team.
 
The National Hot Rod Association has likewise donated eight
tickets for each event to support the cause. This program began in Pomona during
the NHRA CARQUEST Winternationals.

WELL MOMMA SAYS...

Angelle Sampey has been racing for 11 years, has three Pro Stock
Motorcycle championships in her trophy case but still confesses “I haven’t had a
perfect run yet.” 

That would include Saturday’s national record caliber
6.911.

HILLARY'S IDENTITY CRISIS

Hillary Will has been on television many times driving her Ken Black Top Fuel
dragster, but soon she will be a contestant on a game show.  The producers of
the NBC game show Identity heard
about Will and her profession when she gave a speech at the North American
International Auto Show earlier this year.  The premise of Identity is that a contestant tries to
guess a certain trait of twelve strangers.  Will went to Hollywood to be one of
those strangers along with magician Lance Burton, a world-record holder for
sword swallowing, and Chewbacca of Star
Wars
.

UNDER THE GUN

Former Top Alcohol Dragster driver Michael Gunderson looked impressive during
qualifying at his home track. The Florida resident recorded an impressive
career-best 4.635 at 326.16 mph on Friday to make the quick half of the field in
the No. 6 spot.

Former Top Fuel driver and crew chief John 'Bodie' Smith is
providing the tune up for five-time NHRA Division 2 Top Alcohol dragster
champion in Gainesville and he was pleased with the team's qualifying
results.

IS THERE A BODY MECHANIC IN THE HOUSE?

Bob
Gilbertson encountered big time problems during his third qualifying attempt
Saturday in Gainesville. Gilbertson was on a strong pass when the motor exploded just past half
track, causing a considerable amount of damage to the Autolite XP Spark Plugs
flopper.

TECHNICALLY, EDWARDS WAS RIGHT

Greg Anderson may have wanted to be the first to run 210, but
technically he was the third. Let the record reflect that Mike Edwards
was the history maker.

RJ AND STRANGE TEAM UP

RJ Race Cars, Inc. and
Strange Engineering have had an ongoing R&D program for the past several
years. Owner of RJ Race Cars, Inc. and Quarter-Max Racing Rick Jones says,
“This year we are continuing our R&D program, and we are taking it to a new
level with a two car team. This will allow us to test and refine more new
products for Strange Engineering. Jeff Stange and the entire staff at Strange
Engineering are very receptive to new ideas. We all work together really well
to make better products. The end result is it makes my race cars fast and
handle smoothly. The bottom line is they have great products and service that
is second to none!”

POINT STANDINGS FOLLOWING GAINESVILLE

Point standings (top 10) for NHRA professional categories following the 38th
annual ACDelco NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway, the third of 23
events in the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series -

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