ADRL HOUSTON - EVENT NOTEBOOK
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SATURDAY FINAL - HAMSTRA, AL-BALOOSHI, SWINDOLL, OWENS AND GOFORTH SCORE SEASON-OPENING WINS
HAMSTRA MAKES IT HAPPEN IN HOUSTON - They just kept coming, but Jason Hamstra turned away three Al-Anabi Racing entries along his way to picking up a third ADRL Pro Extreme (PX) win Mar. 26, at 
Royal Purple Raceway near Houston, Texas.
“Yeah, they all seemed to have the same name on the side of their cars,” the 2009 ADRL Rookie of the Year observed after defeating Al-Anabi driver and 2009 class champion Todd Tutterow in the final round of racing for the ADRL CarSafe Dragpalooza VI presented by LenMar Motorsports. “I was seeing (Al-Anabi team color) maroon everywhere I looked by the end of the night.”
Driving an Andy McCoy Race Cars-built ’70 Duster, Hamstra started from the middle of the pack, qualifying eighth in the 16-car field with a 3.71-seconds pass at 206.73 mph.
Hamstra managed a come-from-behind win over Al-Anabi’s Alex Hossler in round one of racing after Hossler left with a .020 advantage off the tree, but Hamstra’s 3.70 at 208.91 translated to a four-thousandth-of-a-second margin of victory over Hossler’s 3.72 at 207.85-mph pass.
He faced the owner and leader of the Al-Anabi effort in round two, where Sheikh Khalid Al-Thani of Qatar left .077 too soon, giving Hamstra the break he needed as his car broke almost immediately off the launch and he coasted to an 8.57-seconds pass at just 67 mph.
The semi-finals pitted the past two Rookie of the Year winners against each other, as Mick Snyder, who lives just three miles away from Hamstra back home in tiny Demotte, Indiana, lined up his ’63 Corvette in the opposite lane. Snyder also got away first with a .026 holeshot, but his 3.70 at 206.10 wasn’t quite enough to fend off a career-best charge of 3.67 seconds at 209.62 mph by Hamstra.
That left only Tutterow in the final, who left a little too soon with a .012 red light that negated a 3.69 at 206.61-mph run, while Hamstra tripped the win light with a 3.68 pass at a career-high 209.82 mph.
“I didn’t see his red light, so I just ran it as hard as I could to the finish,” Hamstra said in victory lane. “It was nice and smooth. We just left it the same from the semi-final lap and just went up there and sent it again and it made another great run.”
THE AL-BALOOSHI TRAINS ROLLS ON - Just to think, the Pro Nitrous contingent has nine more races to deal with Khalid Al-Balooshi.
Al-Balooshi, won the first Pro Nitrous race of the season in the American Drag Racing League by defeating Pat Stoken in the finals during the ADRL Dragpalooza event hosted by Royal Purple Raceway [Houston, Tex.]
Consider this. Before Al-Balooshi had rolled through the gates with his Speedtech-sponsored team, his group had already won four of seven events in Arabian Drag Racing League competition including the prestigious Battle for the Belts competition. Not to be lost in the shuffle of success, Al-Balooshi won the NHRA Get Screened America Pro Mod season opener in Gainesville, Fla.
“I am happy and lucky to do this,” said Al-Balooshi following his latest victory. “My crew chief [Brandon Switzer] is doing a really awesome job.
“I said it from the beginning, he is the man. I only drive. I cannot make the car go any faster. This is why he is the man. I just drive the car.”
En route to his third career victory on American soil, Al-Balooshi set both ends of the ADRL Pro Nitrous world record with a 3.803 elapsed time at 199.35 miles per hour.
“I want to thank everyone who worked on my car, David Reher, Jerry Bickel,” Balooshi said. “Of course, I want to thank KH, the man owns the team and is responsible for it.”
Switzer believes the team’s success can be attributed to a simple factor which is not always so simple for every team, regardless of the sport.
“The chemistry is what makes our team happen,” Switzer said. “We all know each other really good and everybody here truly wants to win; they’re not here just to put this nut on or put that bolt on, or just go through a routine; everybody will do whatever it takes to win and that’s what makes a difference.”
And for the Speedtech team, and its driver Al-Balooshi, actions spoke a lot louder than their words.
SWINDELL WINS IN ADRL XTF DEBUT - It’s not often the ADRL sees a first-time winner in their debut with the all-eighth-mile series—especially when they’re up against one of the titans of the sport in 
the final round—but that’s what happened for Lamar Swindoll Jr. Mar. 26, in the ADRL CarSafe Dragpalooza VI presented by LenMar Motorsports.
Swindoll, driving the twin-turbocharged ’04 Cavalier which series regular Todd Moyer campaigned last season, started from the third position with a 3.95 at 202.33 mph in an eight-car Extreme 10.5 field after only 10 entries showed up at Royal Purple Raceway in Baytown, Texas.
In round one of eliminations he ran 4.06 at 201.58 to easily beat a traction-challenged Jimmy Blackmon, then took down crowd favorite Frankie Taylor with a 4-seconds-flat pass at 203.28 mph before facing off against 2008 XTF champion Billy Glidden, who also is the ADRL’s overall winningest driver with 11 event titles to his credit.
“The last qualifying session we tried to step it up to a little bit faster because we saw what Millen ran and what Frankie ran, but it didn’t really respond to what we did,” Swindoll explained. “So basically we just put a 4-oh tune in it and said we’d run that and if we get outran running 4-ohs and cutting a good light, then so be it.”
Meanwhile, Glidden, who started fourth behind Swindell, Taylor and number-one starter Dan Millen, beat Moyer in the opening round and Michelle Wilson in the semis to reach Swindell.
Once there, Swindoll left with a .033 light to Glidden’s .049, and led stripe to stripe with a 4.03 at 201.37 to beat Glidden’s 4.08 at 178.68 package.
“I thought it would be a good, close race and honestly, I thought it would be won or lost on the starting line, so I knew I would have to be right on the tree against Billy,” Swindoll said.
“This is really a great win to bring to Todd and his team, especially the first time out with me in the car,” he added. “Hopefully, this is a sign of good things to come.”
OWENS WINS PXM IN FAMILIAR FASHION - And so it begins—again.
Last year, Ashley Owens rewrote the Pro Extreme Motorcycle record book at nearly every event on the ADRL tour and finished with eight wins, including a run of five in a row aboard his Fast by Gast Suzuki.
An inopportune parts failure in the Battle for the Belts final against Kim Morrell denied him the championship, however, and a post-ADRL-season crash at Huntsville Dragway in his home state of Alabama cost him a broken forearm. So he admitted to a little trepidation as he entered the 2011 ADRL season opener at Royal Purple Raceway in Baytown, Texas, but he was also determined to prove he hadn’t lost a millisecond to the setbacks.
“I was little bit more nervous than usual this weekend just getting back on the bike and because we had the new bike, but I’m just really happy for (team owner) Paul (Gast) and appreciate the opportunity to ride the best equipment out here,” said Owens.
Owens delivered with a number-one qualifying pass of 4.07 at 177.95 mph on Friday night, then opened with a leisurely 4.18 in eliminations before ripping off a trio of 4.02s to beat Broderick Jackson, Eric McKinney and Morrell in a revenge round of sorts in the final. Along the way he also reset the class speed record to 180.26 mph in round two and backed it up with a 180.04 against Morrell, who ran 5.09 at just 138.98 mph as runner-up.
“It really couldn’t have gone much better,” Owens said. “I’m just glad to be back.”
NOTHING BUT TEAMWORK - In the ADRL’s Extreme Pro Stock division, teamwork means everything. Knowing this fact, Cary Goforth wondered how much an off-season crewmember 
turnover might adversely affect his team.
During the ADRL Dragpalooza at Royal Purple Raceway outside of Houston, Goforth and his Holdenville, Ok.-based team gave an object lesson on why never to count them out.
Goforth defeated 2010 series champion John Montecalvo in the final on the strength of his quickest run all weekend long.
“My brand new crew was the key to this win – a crew who a lot of people thought couldn’t do this deal,” Goforth said.
The team underwent an overhaul during the off-season with the loss of key crewmember Chris Bell, who joined the ADRL in a tech inspector’s role. Goforth confirmed the departure of other crewmembers as well.
Former Pro Stock Truck standout Brian Self was appointed to the crew chief’s role. Slowly but surely, over the off-season, the new team bonded into a tight-knit group.
Houston was their coming out party even if their driver didn’t remember everyone’s names right off the bat.
“As the year goes on they won’t be so new,” Goforth admitted. “Jason, Scotty, Chris, my brother … Keith, my Dad … there’s many times over the winter, over the dinner table, we wondered if we could pull this off,” Goforth admitted. “Luckily we were solid enough, but I attribute a lot of that to dad. He’s put together a great team.
“And Mom … I love her, she’s been a little sick. The doctors say she is going to be alright and we are grateful for that.”
Goforth was no pushover in qualifying, landing in the No. 3 spot behind Pete Berner and his father/teammate Dean Goforth. As Berner and the defending series champion John Montecalvo grabbed the lion’s share of the fanfare during early eliminations, Goforth plotted his course to the winner’s circle.
“It looked like we sat back and played the game, watching them, but I tell you it was an illusion,” Goforth admitted. “Pete was running good. Dad’s new car was running good. We’ve only had a couple of tests and [Dad] had a miscue [red-light] in the first round. He was sick about that.
“We were nipping on Pete’s heels with his [dad’s] car. I just wondered aloud, what do we have to do to run that 4.08? [Crew chief] Brian Lump said, ‘I’m about to put it back the way it was and we are going to go for it.”
Goforth’s mindset was to break Montecalvo from the same swagger which enabled him to send the No. 1 qualifier packing during their semi-final battle. Montecalvo beat Berner for the second straight time in competition on a holeshot.
Goforth knew if he won the battle of wills before the green light, the race could be his.
“Montecalvo likes to take his time and I had ten people come to the trailer and tell me he was going to pull something on me. I don’t know whether he did or didn’t. I know Monte takes his time and that’s no big secret. I always let Monte do what he’s going to do. I knew that going in but we were going to make him turn his first light on first because he hadn’t done it all night. I knew once we had him there, we were in pretty good shape.”
Goforth’s win represented his fourth since the ADRL began hosting the Extreme Pro Stock division in 2009 as a full-time division.
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SATURDAY NOTEBOOK - AS THE CROWD FLOWS IN, IT'S RACE DAY
CASTELLANA'S GOOD DAY AT THE RACES - Mike Castellana couldn’t have asked for a better birthday celebration.
Castellana, the former Pro Modified world champion from Westbury, NY, was in his first race following the completion of his last chemotherapy treatment. He was diagnosed with colon cancer last July.
Friday just happened to be his birthday.
Castellana credits his faith, family and friends for fueling his return to the drag races. He wrapped up the last of his cancer treatments just weeks ago.
“It feels good to get back on the race track and be around my racing family,” said Castellana. “All my tests came back clean.”
The battle with cancer was admittedly the toughest challenge he’s faced in life.
“I was telling some people after the first few treatments, I thought it was going to be easy,” Castellana said. “Then the third treatment hit me and it knocked me for a loop. It got worse for me after that. That’s all behind me now.”
Castellana, who hadn’t driven a race car since last fall, wasn’t taken aback by the sensation of speed. He led Friday’s third session of qualifying, momentarily.
“I hadn’t been out of the seat so long that it didn’t throw me back in the seat too bad,” Castellana said.
Castellana’s competitive nature drives him to win. However, following the battle of and for his life, his priorities have changed.
“Just go out and have fun,” Castellana said. “Win or lose, it’s just good to be out here.”
MATT SMITH MISSES MARK IN PXM QUALIFYING - Matt Smith made a gallant try at qualifying for the ADRL Pro Extreme Motorcycle (PXM) field in Baytown, 
Texas, but it just wasn’t meant to be.
Without a working bike on hand through three rounds of PXM qualifying on Friday, Smith had only Saturday’s lone session to get the job done, but his 2010 H-D Buell faltered immediately off the line and sputtered to a 5.74 pass at 131.19 mph that left him 17th of 17 entries.
“The bike we ran here today was a brand-new bike. We had started wiring it, but we couldn’t even finish it because all the spare parts were in a crate with the bike from Qatar,” said Smith, who himself recently returned from Middle Eastern country where he competed for Al-Anabi Racing in both Pro Extreme and Pro extreme Motorcycle in the Arabian Drag Racing League.
“It showed up finally on Tuesday at home (King, NC) and I had kind of just written it off and came on down here with my dad (Pro Nitrous star Rickie Smith). So I got down here and (team owner) KH (Al-Thani) he wanted me to run the bike, so I said it just got here and he said to get it down here, do whatever it takes to make a pass and at least get the points,” he explained.
“So I told my guys, Mike, Mike and Tyler to come down; they stopped at Charlotte Wednesday night at 10:30, picked up the bike from the loading dock drove straight down here and we spent the night wiring it.”
Smith and crew were spotted on the Royal Purple Raceway starting line after 11 p.m. Friday night, taking wheelie bar measurements before their Saturday-morning attempt.
“We just had a TPS (Throttle Position Sensor) switch go bad on us,” he said of the troubled run. “If everything worked, I think we could’ve jumped in around the sixth or seventh spot. Just one of those deals where stuff didn’t work. It just wasn’t our day.”
Running in the left lane alongside Sheikh Khalid Al-Thani, Taylor got the jump off the start, but nearing half-track his 2005 Corvette suddenly veered right, raising up on its two left wheels and crossed the center line, appearing on an almost certain collision course with Al-Thani’s ’68 Camaro.
Taylor already had his chutes out, though, and when blossomed with air, they slowed him down enough to settle his car back on four wheels as he slipped in behind Al-Thani in the right lane and motored on through the shutdown lane, unscathed.
Adding insult to injury, Al-Thani took over the top spot with a 3.66 pass at 209.85 mph, relegating Taylor’s 3.67 to second-place status.
Taylor later explained a header bolt that actually extends into an active oil area in the right head fell out, allowing oil to spurt out and under his right rear slick.
“There’s 10 bolts on each side and of course that’s the one that falls out. We’d been checking them between rounds and that one felt kind of funny, so it must’ve pulled a few threads. We’ll fix it, clean my pants out and everthing’ll be good,” he said.
Taylor said his immediate fear when the car made its move was that he would hit Al-Thani’s car.
“When he went by me I was so happy because if he’d have made a bad run I’d have hit him,” he said. “So I’ve got to thank (Al-Thani’s crew chief Frank) Manzo for getting him down, even though he stole my number-one spot. At least he was far enough along that when my car made a move he went on by. I’d rather have that, though, than crash into him.”
And even at speed, Taylor also had visions of NASCAR dancing through his head.
“They’re known for running big speed so I tried to draft him so I could slingshot past at the finish line,” he joked.
RICHIE ‘THE KID’ NEVER MISSES A BEAT - The difference in driving styles might be one of comparing a BMX bicycle 
to a ten-speed, but Richie Stevens knew exactly how to pedal a mountain motor powered Pro Stocker at the ADRL’s Dragpalooza event at Royal Purple Raceway outside of Houston, Tex.Indeed for Stevens, on the Pro Stock sidelines for going on two years, the experience of driving was like riding a bicycle. The New Orleans-based driver drove Mark Eckman’s Mustang to a career-best 4.103 elapsed time at 175.82 mph.
“It’s been a couple of years, but it came right back to me,” explained Stevens, whose last Pro Stock ride was the NHRA’s 500-inch displacement version of the class. This weekend was the first time he’s ever attended an ADRL event.
Just as the Ford traversed the race track quickly, the opportunity to drive came together in rapid fashion for Stevens.
A total of 48 hours elapsed from the time Stevens received the driving offer until he made his first run on Friday. In between, a whirlwind of activities transpired to bring the deal to fruition.
“Went to San Antonio on Wednesday and made a run-and-a-half on the car [in testing],” said Stevens. “I actually ran a 4.14 at 11:30 at night. To come out here and run for the first time and go to fourth is exciting.”
Stevens’ appointment came as a result of unexpected health issues facing Eckman.
Stevens was up to the challenge even though he’d been out of the seat for a while and the car he drove displaces over 300 cubic inches less than the Mustang he drove on Friday. The veteran driver, who began racing professionally as a teenager, didn’t miss a beat.
Stevens first came into professional drag racing in 1997 as a Roy Hill protégé and nearly won the title that season. He scored the world record over the course of his rookie season.
“Really to be honest, I think a 500 cubic inch car is much more violent for the first 60 feet,” Stevens admitted. “These mountain motor cars have so much torque with so much power, that once you get 40-50 feet out, it takes off after that. Other than the routine, it’s all the same. Shift is the same, staging and burnouts are all the same, but that deep sound and that big cubic inches will throw you off a little bit, but all in all it’s a great driving car, and the big tires you can feel you can drive a little further.”
Likely Stevens’ opportunity will be a temporary opportunity but that’s fine with him. He’s just happy to be part of the game for now.
“Anything is better than to be a spectator,” Stevens said. “I just appreciate the opportunity that Mark called me to come drive it and he said we might do a couple more races so it’s kind of up in the air right now. We will see how things go, and hopefully this will lead to some long term for the year. You know I just love being out here driving. It doesn’t matter what it is, Pro Stock, Pro Mod, Super Comp. I don’t care. As long as I’m behind the wheel, I enjoy it.”
FILLING A ROLE - Chad Head plans to return to his familiar role as director of racing operations for Al Anabi Racing on Sunday. However, for the last three days he’s filled a vital role as race director for the reorganized American Drag Racing League.
“I worked in similar roles in the NHRA and Indy Car Racing League and I appreciate the job these guys have to do,” Head said. “I have a true appreciation of those who work out here from the spotter to the starter to the head of staging. You can only appreciate these jobs by doing them.”
Head is just happy he could help out this weekend.
“My main job is the director of racing operations for Al Anabi Racing’s Top Fuel teams,” Head explained. “I’m excited to go to Vegas and continue our winning streak. I’m trying to be a team player with KH’s involvement with the ADRL. I have a lot of confidence in the team that Tim [McAmis] has put together.
“I think it’s going really good. I promise you the ADRL will continue on without Kenny Nowling.”
FROM CHAMPION TO SPECTATOR IN 4.3 SECONDS - Burton Auxier remembers when the element of surprise used to be his most lethal weapon. Winning two world championships has essentially rendered his arsenal of underestimation useless.
In the season opening ADRL race, the ADRL Pro Nitrous champion will not be a competitor; he'll be a spectator. Auxier’s 4.34-second run in the final round of qualifying fell short of the 16th and final qualifying spot.
“Success has only reminded me of how hard it is to do what we do,” Auxier admitted. “It makes it tough on you and most everyone out here looks at it this way.”
Auxier didn’t start off his championship year from a position of power either. For him, his team got hot at just the right time. He defeated Al-Anabi teammate Shannon Jenkins in the Battle for the Belts final round.
“We struggled for most of the year last year and found a combination that would work towards the end,” Auxier explained. “We made a lot of runs and learned a lot about car. There are good cars out here with good racers and that forces you to race these cars on the edge all of the time. If you don’t, you will get outrun.”
Auxier admits he learns just as much in losing as he does winning. The day he believes he’s learned everything, he’s certain the car and this style of racing will set him straight.
“You learn something about these cars on every pass. Once you get to a point where you think you do, it will remind you that you don’t know anything. They’re pretty tough race cars to run.”
Even in defeat, Auxier is having fun, just like he did in the formative years of his career.
“It was fun back then,” Auxier recalled. “It’s still fun, just more competitive. It makes it harder.”
FUELISH PLEASURE FOR STANTON - Last year, 2006 ADRL Pro Extreme World Champion Bubba Stanton got sick and tired of DNQs and early exits from 
eliminations, so in the off-season he sent the entire fuel system off his ’63 Corvette to multi-time NHRA Alcohol Funny Car champ Randy Anderson for diagnosis and repair.
“He told us when he got it that he couldn’t believe we were racing with it like that and I told him that we hadn’t been doing much racing!” Stanton exclaimed.
The results were practically immediate for the Roger Henson-owned “Widow Maker” team at Royal Purple Raceway in Baytown, Texas, this weekend.
“We went down the first pass yesterday, but we didn’t get any time because the transbrake didn’t hold, but I feel like it was probably a high .70 or something like that. Then we come back the next round and ran a .78 and we just picked at it last night and ran a .73, so that looks pretty positive,” Stanton says. “We’re finally making laps again. We struggled all last year, so to come here and start making passes makes me feel a whole lot better.”
Stanton says the main difference he’s found after Anderson’s touch is in the tunability of the fuel system.
“He straightened it out for us, gave us something to work with anyway. The changes we make we can see,” he says. “It’s just made it much more easy to work with.”
With one last shot at qualifying Saturday before final eliminations begin for the ADRL CarSafe Dragpalooza VI presented by LenMar Motorsports, Stanton says he’s not going to go after a monster run, instead going only as far as he thinks track and weather conditions will allow.
“We might pick at it this morning a little bit, but other than that we’ll just leave it alone and go racing.”
SCRUGGS FACES LAST-CHANCE QUALIFYING - Heading into Saturday morning’s fourth and final qualifying session for the ADRL CarSafe Dragpalooza VII presented by LenMar Motorsports, former back-to-back Pro Extreme champion Jason Scruggs is on the outside looking in.
“We got behind the first run yesterday when the transbrake didn’t hold and then the second run we didn’t even get a base line and last night we were close to doing it, but we barely missed it,” Scruggs explained. “Last night we were close to going but it had a little too much wheel speed and chopped the tire and the car went a tad crooked and I let off it a little longer than I really meant to get it back straight and it went a 4-flat.”
Scruggs says his relative inexperience with a torque converter in his Garret Race Cars-built ’63 Corvette, which he installed for the final ADRL race of the season last year, is at least partly to blame for his 19th-place showing so far. And with only one shot left at breaking into eliminations, it’s tough to balance running hard enough to qualify well with just making certain he’s part of the race-day show.
“I want to make sure I get in the field, but like I say I really don’t know this combination well yet, so it’s kind of still a guessing game for me, really. I mean, I don’t really know yet what it takes to run a certain speed with the converter and all,” Scruggs admits.
Still, he remains cautiously optimistic about his chances today.
“When you haven’t been down the track in two tries, obviously you don’t have a lot of confidence, but we feel like we’re close, so hopefully we can at least run a high .70 or so. I think we have a decent shot at it.”
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FRIDAY NOTEBOOK - IT'S THE FIRST DAY OF A NEW ERA
TAYLOR TAKES OVER PX QUALIFYING - Current ADRL Pro Extreme (PX) World Champion Frankie Taylor seized the top position in qualifying Friday for the ADRL CarSafe Dragpalooza VII presented by LenMar Motorsports with a 3.70 at 204.57 mph, then improved in the third and final session of the day to 3.67 at 
206.76 mph.
Still, Taylor is confident in going even quicker and faster with one round of qualifying and eliminations remaining for Saturday’s program at Royal Purple Raceway in Baytown, Texas.
“I think we’re only scratching the surface of what is to come tomorrow,” he said. “My car has a lot more in it. We are pacing ourselves. It’s the first race and we don’t want to hurt everything in our trailer. We’ve got some races coming up where you are going to see some stupid numbers. I have parts now, just don’t have any money.”
Taylor, from nearby Dickinson, Texas, may have enjoyed some home field advantage with knowledge of the Royal Purple eighth mile.
“This track has a lot of weird stuff at mid-track,” he said. “I’m not sure if it is a bump or what. I went out there about 200 or 300 feet and tiptoed over it. Once you get over that you can pour the coals to it again. We didn’t have world-class numbers early either, but it wasn’t bad.”
Almost immediately after winning the ADRL title in October last year, Taylor took two cars, both 2005 Corvettes, to Doha, Qatar, where he competed in Pro Extreme and Extreme 10.5 with the Arabian Drag Racing League.
“Racing over there had to have helped us,” he figured. “We made a lot of laps over there. When we go to tracks where it’s tight, it’s going to help us more than it is now. Right now the starting line is tight. We have a bit of an advantage over those who didn’t go.”
Winning at Royal Purple Raceway would mean something special, said Taylor.
“I have a bunch of fans and friends here. It would be fun to win here in front of them and my momma.”
LenMar’s Gaylen Smith, in the debut of a new ’59 Corvette, currently holds second with a 3.70 pass, with former Top Fuel star J.R. Todd also at 3.70 in third, followed by Alex Hossler at 3.71 and Jason Hamstra rounding out the top five at 3.72 seconds.
After 23 cars made qualifying attempts and with one opportunity left on Saturday before eliminations begin, Neal Wantye holds the 16th position with a 3.90 at 196.30 mph in his 2008 Mustang.
HALSEY FIRES OPENING SALVO IN ADRL PN BATTLE - When it comes to teamwork, ADRL Pro Nitrous icon Jim Halsey will match his team alongside any stick 
and ball group.
“This IS a hobby for us,” Halsey said. “We work hard at work and this is our hobby.”
Hobbyists Halsey might proclaim to be, but during the final qualifying session at the ADRL Dragpalooza in Houston, Tex., he drove his Gene Fulton-powered, 864-inch Camaro to the top spot after three of four sessions. His 3.8837 elapsed time at 197.31 edged ADRL newcomer Mahanna Al-Naemi, who was second with a 3.842.
“We could have probably run a 3.81,” Halsey said. “We just didn’t hit the perfect run, we missed it. I’ll take it. We’re making small moves and it’s responding. It’s good to see it doing what we ask it to do. Tomorrow the track will get better down track. The ADRL has a great track prep crew. I’d like to have a tenth on the field but close racing for the fans will be great tomorrow.”
Halsey’s back-to-back 3.8-second barrage on Friday is pretty impressive considering he left the car alone for the most part during the off season.
Halsey subscribes to the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” theory and put it to the test over the off-season by only changing to a set of the lightweight Don Ness carbon fiber wheelie bars. Otherwise, he turned crew chief Eric David loose underneath the Camaro to refine the combination.
While Davis, wouldn’t exactly say what moves he made, if any, he did point out his inspection was aimed at making his driver’s job even better.
“That was the big trick,” confirmed Halsey.
Halsey doesn’t know what Davis did nor does it really matter. Their chemistry is such that one feeds off the other.
“I think it says a lot about our team,” said Halsey. “Before we even get back from a run, or speak a word to one another, we are already thinking about what our next move will be and almost always, we are on the same page. We’re making changes before we even download the computer. We think alike. We work alike. We get along real good.”
A DETERMINED BERNER STORMS TO XPS NO. 1 - The No. 2 on Pete Berner’s windshield inspired a No. 1 on the track.
Berner, of Crete, Ill., finished runner-up to John Montecalvo during the 2010 ADRL Extreme Pro Stock season and a year earlier to him on the IHRA tour.This season Berner doesn’t plan to play second fiddle to anyone. The Summit Racing Equipment-sponsored driver laid down the quickest run of first day qualifying with a 4.066 at 177.51 miles per hour.
“We’ve been working on our program ever since we left the last race [of 2010],” Berner said. “The guys made great progress over the off-season on our program and today my team made a great call on the track.”
Berner’s run stood the test of three qualifying sessions. On his heels were Cary Goforth [4.088], Dean Goforth [4.090], first-time ADRL participant Richie Stevens [4.103] and John Montecalvo [4.106].
“In actuality, we probably left a little on the table,” Berner continued. “We really want to be able to make that kind of run in the heat of the day.”
Berner has made the ADRL’s Extreme Pro Stock division his only focus in 2011. The two-time IHRA Pro Stock champion has sights set on the ADRL title.
“I kind of stretched myself in about 15 different directions and it showed last year in my driving,” Berner admitted. “Then I got into the mid-season wreck and it twisted me up a bit. Between my business, my engine program and trying to do well out here racing and everything else going on, I lost my focus.
“Last year some things happened to me that made me realize how blessed I was to be able to be out here racing. I wasn’t taking full advantage of the opportunity that was given me. This year it’s all about having fun.”
The last 365 days have been challenging for Berner who was involved in a non-racing accident. He was on his way to pick up his wife, Cheryl, before heading to a match race in Norwalk, Ohio, when another driver crossed over into his lane striking his car head-on. The impact destroyed Berner's SUV and left him with a compression fracture in his spine and cracked ribs.
Then, during the off-season, Berner lost his mother.
If anything, the resourceful Berner is more determined than ever.
“We have another engine that we are working on which should be even better,” Berner said. “We aren’t trying to make big gains, just making the engines more reliable. We want to make them consistent. We want to work on the car because it hasn’t made its best run yet.”
And for Berner, having the “run” on the horizon bodes well for his championship aspirations.
MILLEN TAKES TOP SPOT IN XTF QUALIFYING - Reigning ADRL Extreme 10.5 World Champion Dan Millen wasn’t exactly sweating, but he wasn’t feeling too
comfortable either, heading into the third and final qualifying session of the day.The screw-blown Brad Anderson 526 Hemi in his 2010 Mustang was running on just seven cylinders when he fired up for the opening round, so he opted to play it safe and shut it down.
“If it had been eliminations we probably would’ve gone for it, but it could’ve been a broken rocker arm or valve spring, so we didn’t want to risk hurting the motor,” Millen said.
The second round also resulted in a starting-line shutdown after “a mistake by our whole team,” he added, leaving only one opportunity left on Friday to qualify.
“Any time that you have two attempts and you don’t get down, you tend to get a little nervous,” Millen said. “I was confident we’d get the job done, but I’ll admit I was a little nervous about the track and getting it down. Then we’re backing up from the burnout and it popped out of reverse so it was not a very comfortable feeling in the car.”
He was feeling a lot better after ripping off a 3.87-seconds pass at a class-leading 202.91 mph that bumped rival Frankie Taylor and his ’05 Corvette down to second at 3.91 seconds and 199.97 mph.
“Obviously I was worried about Frankie because he can step up and run fast at any time,” said Millen, who also beat Taylor for the 2010-11 Arabian Drag Racing League championship in February at the Qatar Race Club near Doha Qatar. “He did it over (in Qatar) and it was pretty much back-and-forth between us, so I have to stay on top of my game here.”
Only 10 cars made qualifying laps on Friday and with one session remaining Saturday morning it was unclear whether ADRL officials would run just an eight-car race in eliminations.
The stellar pass came on a brand-new Fast by Gast Hyabusa with a Paul Gast-built 1800-cc motor between the frame rails.
“It’s good to get a couple of clean passes on this new bike and kind of get back into things,” the Decatur, Alabama-based rider said. “I’m just glad it’s coming around so quickly. Sometimes it can take so long to get stuff straightened out.”
That really wasn’t a problem for Owens, who opened with a fourth-place 4.18 at 177.81 which set top speed for the round, followed by a second-round 4.10 at 178.12, also top speed for the round.
“I think the track was a little bit better than I expected and it could’ve taken a little bit more power out there. So we’ll see what happens. I don’t like to predict anything, but I definitely think there’s room for improvement,” Owens said with one qualifying round left to go Saturday morning before eliminations begin in the afternoon. “We haven’t run in quite a while and it takes a little while to knock the rust off, but I’m happy with how our weekend has gone so far.”
The opening-round 4.12 at 171.69 by current PXM champ Kim Morrell sits second, followed by Terry Schweigert at 4.13, Eric McKinney at 4.15 and Charlie Prophit at 4.17, also on a brand-new ride.
JENKINS WON’T DRIVE IN 2011 - If Shannon Jenkins doesn’t get you one way, he’ll get you another. Pro Modified’s winningest driver can either drill 
opponents on the starting line or while standing behind the car.
Jenkins, of Tuscaloosa, Ala., plans to challenge the competition with his wrench instead of the clutch pedal in 2011.
He’s sitting out of the 2011 season while Qatar-based Mahanna Al-Naimi takes over the driving chores of his Al-Anabi Camaro. Al-Naimi was a regular 3.8-second runner in Arabian Drag Racing League competition earlier this season.
“We’re always excited,” said Jenkins of the first race in Houston. “It’s the first race and we always want to get off to a good start. Putting your first foot forward out of the gate is important.”
The ever competitive Jenkins is okay with sitting out the season. For him, it’s a matter of priorities, and making sure his drivers have the right stuff for a championship run.
“I’ve done this for many years,” Jenkins said with a reassuring smile. “I’ll drive again when the time is right. Right now our goal is about taking care of business.”
Jenkins won’t be sitting around idly often. In fact, he might very well be pulled in many directions.
Not only will he serve as the tuner for Al-Naimi, Jenkins will also provide the right tune-up for Pro Nitrous runner Mike Castellana once he returns following a bout with cancer. He’ll also have a hand in tuning Rickie Jones, a first-time Pro Nitrous racer.
Spread thin maybe, but preparation-wise he’s more than ready for the upcoming year.
“We spent the off-season racing over there and trying new stuff,” explained Jenkins. “The same guy who prepped the tracks over there is here and we are going to be able to apply what we learned over there to here.”
Make no mistake, Jenkins learned a lot. Of the eight round Arabian Drag Racing League hosted events, Jenkins won two en route to a championship runner-up. Ironically, he lost the title to a car he tuned.
Jenkins rarely has time to look back on his storied career but when he does, the experience elicits a smile. He is by no means ready to hang up the firesuit permanently.
“I look back on those accomplishments and wins and they make me feel good,” Jenkins admitted. “But, I don’t feel like I am through winning races. I feel like I am capable of jumping in the car and going out to win races. Right now this is what is most important to the team.”
And for Jenkins, team trumps everything.
WEIGHT SAVINGS MEAN MORE MEALS FOR PROPHIT - Racing in the ADRL is for lightweights.
With no minimum weights imposed, weight loss has become practically a full-time pursuit throughout all five ADRL pro classes, including Pro Extreme Motorcycle where Charlie Prophit’s ride offers a prime example.
Prophit says his new Timblin-built 2011 Hyabusa is “a good 50 pounds lighter” than last year’s bike, putting it and rider at about 600 pounds, combined, he says.
Among its weight-saving features are extensive use of titanium bolts and fasteners, carbon-fiber foot pegs and paper-thin, carbon-fiber bodywork. For instance, the main body piece covering the tank, seat and rear fender areas weighs in at just four pounds. But at $2,300 it’s no easy purchase.
“But it’s worth it,” Prophit insists. “Last year I was on a serious diet, worrying about every little thing I ate and it was no fun at all. So this year I feel like I just paid to eat better and feel better.”
CALIFORNIA COMES EAST - With backing from Nitro Fish Ultimate Gear, West Coast racer Bill Windham showed up at Royal Purple Raceway this weekend, 
ready to enter the ADRL Pro Extreme wars with a brand-new Jerry Bickel-built ’68 Camaro complete with a screw-blown Miner Bros. 526 Hemi under the hood.
Windham plans to attend all 10 ADRL national events in 2011.
“It’s a little bit of a haul for us because we all live out in California, but our team owner, Don Carter, his dad lives in Tennessee, so we’ll base the car out of his property there. It probably won’t go back to California until the fall.”
For Windham, it’s the second time for a first time at the Baytown, Texas, strip.
“I actually debuted at this track, in NHRA Pro Stock, four years ago, so it’s kind of neat that I’m making my first ADRL Pro Extreme race here, too,” he said.
After considering a return to Pro Stock action in 2011, Windham said he feels the ADRL offers a more manageable schedule and program to him and Pro Extreme team owner Don Carter.
“It’s just so expensive to run a Pro Stock car and this is a more realistic place for us to be at this point,” he said. “Plus, I’ve always loved blown door cars; I was a crew chief before on Top Sportsman and Pro Mod teams before, and this is about as wild as it gets if you’re going to drive one of those.”
Windham said the car was just recently completed and he’s only driven it in a couple of test sessions at Las Vegas and Bakersfield, California.
“We tried it with a converter, but it really wasn’t working for us, so we went back to our clutch set-up,” he said. “So we’re still in test mode, and we think we know the set-up, but of course you never really know until you let the clutch out.”
LEGGETT’S NEW ‘NO-DOOR’ CAR - Terry Leggett blew his own doors off in testing and now hopes to do the same to his Pro Extreme competition.
Two days before the ADRL season opener at Baytown, Texas, Leggett was at the Texas Motorplex, near Dallas, putting his brand-new Alan Pittman-built 2011 Mustang through its paces for the first time when both doors came off just as he crossed the halfway point on the track.
“It ran .913 to the 60 (feet) and 2.51 to the 330 and that’s when the doors came off, but it still ran a 3.82, so that’s actually pretty good for having the air conditioning turned on,” Leggett joked.
He said he’s brought out a new car for the second-straight year because, “I got tired of bringing a knife to a gun fight.”
Leggett also has entered a season-long agreement with DMPE’s Darren Mayer to serve as a test mule for Mayer’s latest and greatest supercharger technology.
“These are all good people working on this team, they have good equipment and I wanted a situation where I could test things without worrying about a lot of high-level pressure from people looking over my shoulder,” Mayer said.
“Darren’s really good to work with; he’s pretty laid back like we are,” Leggett said. “And this new Alan Pittman car, it felt really sweet, felt right, drove right, and it’s very, very light, which is really important when you’re as big as me. If we can get it together and keep the doors on, I think we can do okay out here. Whatever problems I have with this car right now are probably self-induced.”
SMITH IS HERE, THEN HE'S GONE - Multi-time 2011 ADRL Pro Nitrous winner Rickie Smith had his transporter on the grounds of Royal Purple Raceway momentarilly on Thursday. His rig was spotted leaving the track later in the evening.
Smith, of King, NC, had planned to put son Matt Smith behind the wheel of Camaro for the ADRL season-opener. Sometimes the best laid plans just don't work out as the elder Smith will attest.
Reportedly, because Matt is under contract as a driver for the Al-Anabi team, he is unable to drive for another team.
Matt drove Sheikh KH Al-Thani's Pro Extreme entry in Arabian Drag Racing League competition during the U.S. off-season. He currently races an Al-Anabi Buell in the NHRA's Pro Stock Bike competition.
Last year’s Pro Jr. Dragster winner, Tyler Allen, opened the champions’ parade to the stage, followed by John Montecalvo (Extreme Pro Stock), Kim Morrell (Pro Extreme Motorcycle), Dan Millen (Extreme 10.5), Burton Auxier (Pro Nitrous), and Frankie Taylor (Pro Extreme).
Rookie of the Year honors went to a Pro Extreme driver for the second-straight year, with Mick Snyder following Jason Hamstra on the first-year honor roll. Ashley Owens, an eight-time winner in Pro Extreme Motorcycle last season, earned Driver of the Year accolades and Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio, was named Track of the Year.
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