EVENT RESULTS EVENT NOTEBOOK ROUND-BY-ROUND RESULTS			THURSDAY GALLERY FRIDAY GALLERY SATURDAY GALLERY LIVE STREAMING VIDEO

SUNDAY NOTEBOOK -



Newborn Brantley Fahy is already part of a winning Pro Extreme effort on the ADRL circuit.

“We were down a guy this weekend; Jake Fahy and his wife just had a baby, so he had to skip the race for the right reason; so we dedicate this one to baby Brantley,” said Tommy D’Aprile upon beating Bubba Stanton in the final round of the ADRL Memphis Drags IV Aug. 4, at Memphis International Raceway.

“I am exhausted, but I am so, so grateful. To come out here in the ADRL and win against the best of the best is just awesome,” D’Aprile said. “We had some electrical issues this weekend, we were burning it up and didn’t know why, but my guys worked hard and figured things out and now thanks to their persistence here we are with the win.

“It’s unbelievable and I am so grateful to my team, to Mel and Joanne Bush for paying the bills and you know I don’t hide my faith and God is good, and if it’s meant for us to win it, we will.”

After qualifying his Mel Bush Motorsports ’05 Corvette ninth with a 3.657-seconds pass at 206.35 mph, D’Aprile led stripe to stripe with a 3.633 at 207.72-mph win over Brandon Pesz, who ran close behind at 3.644 and 208.71 mph.

That was the last run for D’Aprile on the scheduled Saturday (Aug. 3) race day after a morning rain shower postponed the start of round three of qualifying for all classes to mid-afternoon. ADRL officials then opted to finish eliminations the next day.

In Sunday’s first action, D’Aprile and Alex Hossler left with identical .022 lights, but polesitter Hossler (3.599/211.13) slowed to a 3.702 at 207.88 while D’Aprile advanced with a 3.633 at 207.75 mph. Then, in the semis D’Aprile paired up against fifth-place starter Tim Tindle and made his third 3.63-at-207 pass in a row, going 3.639 at 207.27 to beat Tindle’s 3.705 at 206.01 mph and reach the final.

On the opposite side of the ladder in Roger Henson’s ’69 Camaro, Stanton started seventh after making a 3.642 at 208.97 qualifying pass, then raced through Michael Recchia and Frankie Taylor before ending Joey Martin’s record-setting weekend in the semis with a 3.643-seconds pass at 208.59 mph. In the second qualifying round on Friday night, Martin went an unprecedented 216.27 mph, then backed it up for an official speed record with a 215.55-mph first-round win over Brandon Snider on Saturday night.

In the final, D’Aprile left first with a .011 reaction to Stanton’s .023, then streaked to the win in 3.672 seconds at 206.92 mph.

“It was hot out there and I knew my crew chief, Al Billes, he wanted to make sure we got from A to B, but we also knew we’d have to run good because Bubba and his team had been running fast all weekend,” D’Aprile said. “When we staged the lights kind of flickered weird a bit and I don’t know what my light was, but I never saw him from that point on and when I saw that win light come on I was just so grateful and I started crying like a baby in there. I get very emotional about this kind of stuff.”

Meanwhile, Stanton wrestled his car to a stop not far beyond the quarter-mile point after it burst into flames just before posting a 3.848 at 180.09-mph run.

“I think it might’ve pushed a head gasket out, there’s oil everywhere,” Stanton said. “It caught on fire pretty good. It was still burning when I got out, but I pulled the (on-board) extinguisher and it went out pretty quick. It was a little scary for a moment there, but I’m good.”

D’Aprile was unaware of Stanton’s trouble, however, until he saw the track’s fire crew heading up the track and passing him as he rolled to a stop in the right-hand shutdown lane.

“I knew they weren’t coming for me, so I got stopped as quick as I could and I was so relieved when I got out of the car and saw that Bubba wasn’t upside-down or anything and everything looked under control,” D’Aprile said. “I mean, these guys out here are my competitors, but you develop relationships with them and I just want to see us all go home safely to our families after every race.”

D’Aprile’s own family was back home in Port Charlotte, Florida, eagerly awaiting his return.

“You know, it’s my birthday today and my kids had planned a big birthday surprise for me and of course I couldn’t make it, but now I get to bring a present home to them,” the new 41-year-old driver said of his Memphis Drags IV trophy. “I don’t usually care that much about birthdays, but I’ve got to admit this is pretty cool. I’ve never won anything before on my actual birthday, so this is a great present.”

NAISER DELIVERS - The last time Jeff Naiser entered an ADRL event was last October when he failed to qualify for the Pro Mod field in the 2012 season ender in his home state at the Texas Motorplex, near Dallas. On Aug. 4, he enjoyed an entirely opposite result as he won in Pro Nitrous at the ADRL Memphis Drags IV.  

“It’s my first race back with the ADRL and this is awesome, really exciting to win here again. It feels good,” a clearly pumped up Naiser said after beating defending PN class champion Bob Rahaim in the final round at Memphis International Raceway.

Behind the Al-Anabi Racing duo of Stevie Jackson at 3.804 and Mike Castellana at 3.805 at the head of the qualifying list, and following Rahaim (3.816) and Jason Harris (3.845), Naiser started his ’68 Camaro from fifth place in the 14-car PN field with a 3.849-seconds pass at 194.10 mph.

“We decided to come up here early and go test on Thursday, so we put a bunch of different stuff on the car and it didn’t work out either time. So we put everything back the way it was and sure enough it went back to running the way it’s supposed to, just like it did at the last race we were at,” Naiser said. “We’re not going to be the fastest, but we try to be consistently fast and it worked out this time.

He ran another solid 3.865 at 192.88 to beat a tire-shaking Tommy Franklin in round one of racing Saturday night (Aug. 3), before ADRL officials called it a day after only one round was completed for all classes due to a lengthy delay for a mid-morning rain storm. When eliminations resumed Sunday morning, Naiser ran slightly quicker at 3.860 and 193.68 against Lee Adkins Jr., who also encountered traction problems on the Memphis eighth mile.

That sent Naiser to the semis, where he ended Jackson’s weekend with his best pass of the event at 3.847 and 194.74, while Jackson ran his “worst” at 3.858 and 193.21 mph. It also earned lane choice for the final against Rahaim, who beat Chuck Mohn and Mike Hill in the early rounds before winning his semi-final match against Castellana with a sizable .095 holeshot that led to a 3.856 at 196.62 to beat the Al-Anabi driver’s quicker 3.838 at 194.38-mph effort.

In the final, it was Naiser’s turn to take the advantage off the start as he left with a .018 light to Rahaim’s .051, but it turned out he didn’t need it as Rahaim lifted early when his ’69 Camaro darted out of the racing groove shortly before reaching half-track. Naiser’s car also spun its rear tires even earlier in the run, but recovered enough to post a winning 3.905 at 193.02 mph.

“I was sitting back there under the tower watching the Pro Stocker (Elijah Morton) running in front of me and he  basically turned it sideways in low gear and I thought, shoot, I probably have too much in it in low gear with the clutch. And sure enough it basically did the same thing, but it drove through it somehow and we got to the stripe first,” Naiser said. “And that’s all that really matters.”

KIRK TOPS XPS - It started with a staging duel for the ages and ended with a trip to victory lane for Doug Kirk Aug. 4, at the ADRL Memphis Drags IV after he beat Elijah Morton in the Extreme Pro Stock final at Memphis International Raceway.

Kirk qualified his family-owned 2012 Mustang 12th in the 16-car field with a 4.160-seconds pass at 175.02, while Morton placed third with a 4.100 at 175.84, behind only 2010 series champion John Montecalvo (4.099/176.47) and polesitter Pete Berner at 4.095 and 176.17 mph.

Recognizing he was down on power compared to John Pluchino, his first-round opponent who started from fifth place (4.105/175.87), Kirk went to the starting line with a plan.

"It don't really matter to me either way who stages first, but I've observed John likes to go in last," he said Saturday night after the remainder of eliminations were postponed to Sunday due to a lengthy delay for wet weather clean-up. "I was on the bottom side of the ladder and struggling a little bit, so tonight was the night that he had to go in first. You know, let him think about it a little."

Kirk also said he came prepared for what turned out to be the ADRL’s longest-ever burndown at two minutes and 36 seconds before Pluchino finally relented and rolled into position.

"My dad told me a long time ago, when you commit to playing the game, you play it to the end. He said you can run out of fuel, I'll bring you a razor, your social security check or whatever, but you do not stage that car first however long it takes, and I've lived by that all my career."

The strategy paid off with a 4.149-seconds, holeshot win over Pluchino, who ran 4.111 in his ’06 Escort. That set Kirk up for a Sunday-morning date with Rick Cowger, whose ’09 Cobalt lost traction early and he watched Kirk cruise to the win in 4.195 seconds at 173.68 mph. Kirk then took on Brad Waddle in the semis, who also lost grip with his 2013 Mustang early in the run while Kirk advanced to the final with a 4.187 at 173.65 mph.

Morton, meanwhile, ran significantly quicker than Kirk in each round as he took down Ron Miller, Brian Gahm and Trevor Eman in the semis with a 4.158-seconds pass at 175.05 mph to reach the final.

Once there, Kirk left with a solid .016 reaction time to Morton’s .030, then ran 4.179 at 173.58 mph to take the event win home to Lenore, WV, as Morton also lost traction and coasted through the finish line in 4.902 seconds at just over 125 mph.

“We struggled all weekend and we had some gimmes, but you know, a year from now when you see that trophy sitting on the mantel, you won’t even think about how you got it; you’ll just know that it’s there,” Kirk said.  

“There’s a lot of good cars out here, but we knew it was gonna’ be hot today, so we just concentrated on getting down the track and not beating ourselves and it paid off,” he added. “It was all about getting to the other end under power today.”

SOLO - When drag radial racing standout Kyle Huettel had to stay home in Houston on business, he handed the keys to his flame-throwing, nitrous-fed 2002 Camaro to close friend and longtime racing partner Jason Michalak and told him to go have fun with it at the ADRL Memphis Drags IV.

Michalak rewarded his friend’s generosity and trust by delivering him the Pro Drag Radial win Aug. 4, with a solo pass in the final at Memphis International Raceway, after opponent Kevin Mullins was unable to answer the call to stage.

Huettel, who qualified number one for the ADRL’s inaugural PDR race two months earlier in Virginia, arrived at the track in time, however, to see Michalak run 4.472 at 170.02 to start from the third-place slot behind only the turbocharged entries of Mark Micke (4.415/181.98) and number-one qualifier Frank Mewshaw at 3.364 and 189.60 mph in his ’88 Trans Am.

“I’m really looking forward to seeing my car run from the outside,” Huettel said before qualifying began. “I’ve never seen that before, so this is pretty exciting for me.”

In Saturday’s lone round of eliminations, Michalak beat a traction-challenged Ruben Tetsoshveli (Ruben T) with a 4.492 at 168.75-mph run, before opening Sunday’spostponed racing with a 4.533 at 171.51 that overcame a .060 holeshot by Paul Major.

After Mewshaw broke the timing chain in his Sunday-morning win over Marty Stinnett, Mullins went to the line alone and merely staged his turbocharged ’97 Mustang in the semis, as he also was suffering engine troubles and couldn’t keep it running. Michalak, meanwhile, had to beat Micke and his ’78 Malibu to advance, which he did with a 4.542-seconds pass at 169.38 mph.

When Mullins couldn’t make repairs, Michalak followed a clear path to victory, but still put on a show with his quickest run in eliminations at 4.494 and 169.59 mph.

“All of Kyle’s cars are very easy to drive, he has great equipment, it goes straight, it’s just a dream to drive,” Michalak said. “I want to thank him for the opportunity and of course, my man Billy Stocklin for the awesome tune-up. I’m telling you, that man’s a genius.

“It was my first time in this car, my first time driving in the ADRL and my first time at this track and everything was just great,” he continued. “Everyone was so nice, the track people were great, the ADRL ran such a smooth show, everybody seems willing to do anything for you and it’s just a great experience and a real pleasure to run at this level with all these guys and teams out here. It really couldn’t have gone any better.”

SATURDAY NOTEBOOK -

SPEED RUNNER - When Joey Martin ran 3.626 seconds on Friday night (Aug. 2) to qualify third in Pro Extreme for the ADRL Memphis Drags IV, no one batted an eye. That was a good solid run for the unique '55 Chevy "Lowmad" wagon he'd built himself that had dipped into the upper .50s in the past.

But the 216.27 mph that also flashed across his scoreboard above the left lane at Memphis International Raceway certainly caught everyone's attention as it represented the fastest pass ever--anywhere--by a door car on a standing-start eighth mile. It instantly attracted the naysayers and doubters, both at the track and on the world wide web, especially since the fastest Martin had ever been before in the car was a little over 207 mph. Even Martin himself remained somewhat skeptical.

"I had more doubt than belief," he admitted. "But I had made some changes and that popped up and all of the numbers on my computer outdid all of my 207 (mph) runs by almost one full G, so I really didn't know what to think."

After shutting off with tire shake in the right lane during his third and final qualifying attempt the next day, Martin still had plenty of time to think before facing off against 14th-place qualifier Brandon Snider in a '63 Corvette that Martin had also built in his small shop in Milton, FL.

Perhaps one of the finest rounds of racing in ADRL history opened with an epic battle between ninth-place starter Tommy D'Aprile and eighth place Brandon Pesz, with D'Aprile taking the win in 3.633 seconds at 208.72 over Pesz at 3.644 and 208.71 mph. Next up was Martin and Snider, with Snider getting away first by .011, but his 3.650 at 207.46 paled in comparison to the 3.626 at another whopping 215.55 mph by Martin in the Lowmad.

"We're all believers now; the proof is right here," Martin stated as he pored over data in his trailer. "The onboard computer monitors the engine and all the functions of the car and all the numbers show that these are better than all the other previous runs I've ever had. The computer is not lying, in this case back to back.

"Looking at the graphs, the two runs are almost identical; you can barely tell a difference between the colors when you put one on top of the other. Look at the driveshaft speed, they're almost exactly the same; the computer don't lie," he continued. "As far as I'm concerned, it don't matter whether the world believes it or not; I know that Team Lowmad has the fastest door car on earth in the eighth mile."

Meanwhile, the racing continued on the track, where number-five qualifier Todd Martin ran a career-best 3.609 at 210.11 mph in an unopposed pass after Neal Wantye broke on the line. Then past ADRL champion Bubba Stanton won from the seventh position with a 3.631 at 208.88 over Mike Recchia's game 3.663 at 208.49 mph.

Next, a redlight ended Gene Hector's day against number-one qualifier Alex Hossler, who ran his second-straight pass in the .50s with a 3.592 at 210.9 mph in his Frank Manzo-tuned '69 Camaro. Another redlight, this time by Hossler's Al-Anabi Racing teammate Von Smith, threw away a 3.619 pass at 210.14 that allowed number-13 qualifier Tim Tindle to advance with a 3.700 run at 196.66 mph.

Both Frankie Taylor and John Stanley went red in the next pair, but since Taylor posted the lesser infraction, his 3.628 at 204.88 put him into the next round, which due to a late start for racing after an early morning rain storm, would be contested the next day (Aug. 4) with semis and final rounds to follow.

In the final pairing for Pro Extreme, defending series champion Mick Snyder and former back-to-back champ Jason Scruggs appeared welded together to half track in their '63 Corvettes, but then something let go in Scruggs' motor and Snyder took the win in 3.656 seconds at 207.30 mph.

Regardless, when it was all over the buzz remained all about Martin and his high-speed heroics.

"It's a matter of a whole lot of money spent and time learning so I could make some changes and it all came together here," he explained. "In 2011 we were very consistent, mainly because we didn't change anything. Well, this year I've been tweaking this and changing that and I've been struggling a little. Well, I just went back to some notes from 2011, put the car back to the way we had it then and it went out and ran a .64 at 207, just like it should've.

"But then I made a couple of little changes and it goes out and runs a .62 at 216. Well, I thought that can't be, but then it runs another .62 at 215, so I guess it is. To be honest, if I hadn't made those changes I still wouldn't believe, but I think the proof is in now that we went in the right direction and just hit on something."

Martin was careful to give credit to his teammates, too, including former car owner Toney Russell, who passed away a couple of years ago, but whose memory remains a major source of inspiration for the team, now owned by David Elsberry.

"It 's not just about me; this is the result of everybody that works on the car and helps me to be out here," he said. "They are all a big part of the fastest vehicle in the world on the eighth mile, with suspension, with doors. The dreaming is over. We've got the time slips to prove it; we've got the computer data; we've got the record."

Round two of racing for the ADRL Memphis Drags IV was scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. Aug. 4, at Memphis International Raceway. All tickets for the scheduled Aug. 2-3 event would be honored at the gate, though the standard $20 ADRL parking fee would apply for the postponed date.

STEVIE STILL FAST - Steve Jackson won the pole in Pro Nitrous with a 3.804 pass, but his Al-Anabi Racing teammate Mike Castellana set low ET for the event--so far--after just one round of racing for the ADRL Memphis Drags IV was completed Aug. 3, due to an early morning rain shower that delayed on-track action to mid-afternoon. Eliminations were rescheduled to continue beginning at 10 a.m. Aug. 4, at Memphis International Raceway.

Number-two qualifier Castellana steered his 2012 Camaro to a 3.799-seconds win at 196.16 mph over a redlighting (-.006) Johnny Pilcher in a run he and crew chief Shannon Jenkins were actually looking for in Friday night's qualifying session.

"We knew we had the power to run that. We should have run in the .70s last night, but unfortunately we had a bad spark plug and made our run on seven cylinders, so it popped and banged a little bit. Today we got everything right and it ran a good number," the former class champion from Muttontown, NY, said. "We're pretty confident right now. We've got the car pretty much where we want it. It took us a little while, but it's running good and strong now."

Also taking a win on Saturday was Jackson in his '68 Camaro, surviving a surprisingly tight duel against Blake Housley, who ran a career-best 3.846 at 195.39 that fell just short of Jackson's 3.831 at 192.88 mph. "Man, that was a lot closer than I expected," Jackson declared. "I knew he was right there the whole way down. That team (Housley's) did a great job here this weekend."

Despite the obvious back-and-forth performances between the teammates, Castellana insisted there's no rivalry brewing in the Al-Anabi camp.

"It's not really a rivalry, but you always want to have other cars that run good, that make you work hard and push harder," he said. "They're all good guys over there and we like to work together and help each other. Al-Anabi we feel is just one big team; we help each other out as much as we can."

Defending ADRL Pro Nitrous champ Bob Rahaim was second quickest in round one of racing, going 3.810 at 197.45 to easily handle class newcomer Chuck Mohn. Meanwhile, John Camp, Jeff Naiser, Mike Hill and Lee Adkins Jr. in the debut of a brand-new '63 Corvette also advanced to round two on Sunday.

NO WAY I'M GOING IN FIRST - The burndown. It's said to be among drag racing's most exciting events as competitors line up to do battle and set the pre-stage bulbs, but in a battle of wills both refuse to roll forward and stage first until one finally gives in--and then its game on.

Extreme Pro Stock competitors John Pluchino and Doug Kirk demonstrated an epic burndown for the crowd at the ADRL Memphis Drags Aug. 3, as they waited two minutes and 36 seconds in the ADRL's longest-ever burndown before Pluchino relented. When the green light finally flashed, 12th-place qualifier Kirk left with a .028 light to Pluchino's .108 and the holeshot paid off 4.149 seconds later when the win light came on in the left lane ahead of Pluchino's quicker 4.111 effort.

Kirk later admitted he went to the line with a burndown in mind.

"It don't really matter to me either way who stages first, but I've observed John likes to go in last," he said. "I was on the bottom side of the ladder and struggling a little bit, so tonight was the night that he had to go in first. You know, let him think about it a little."

Kirk also said he came prepared.

"My dad told me a long time ago, when you commit to playing the game, you play it to the end. He said you can run out of fuel, I'll bring you a razor, your social security check or whatever, but you do not stage that car first however long it takes, and I've lived by that all my career."

At one point he even opened the driver door of his 2012 Mustang and started fanning some hot night air through the car's cockpit.

"Yeah, the windows were starting to fog up and I had to get some air moving in there," Kirk said. "I knew what it was because we had cooled it down a pretty good bit when I went to the starting line; it was iced over pretty good because we knew what had to happen when we went up there.

"It was pretty exciting, I guess. I think the crowd, they see a side of it they don't normally get to see and you've got to have a little of that sometimes. It's parity, it's good racing and it's exciting. It's always fun."

Number-one qualifier Pete Berner caught a break in round one when something broke in his 2013 Camaro, but Dean Goforth left way too soon, handing over the win to Berner's 10-second pass. Second-place starter John Montecalvo and seventh place Trevor Eman also advanced courtesy of their opponents' red-light starts, while Brad Waddle, Rick Cowger, Elijah Morton and Brian Gahm made up the rest who would advance to round two on Sunday.

FRIDAY NOTEBOOK -

HOSSLER KEEPS PX QUALIFYING STREAK ALIVE - He thought it might end in Memphis, but for the fifth straight event Alex Hossler led the way in Pro Extreme qualifying with one more session to go for the ADRL Memphis Drags IV. After finishing fourth in the opening round behind leader Bubba Stanton, teammate Von Smith and Frankie Taylor in third, Hossler seized the top spot with a 3.601-seconds blast at 210.44 mph in his Al-Anabi Racing '69 Camaro.

"I was pretty nervous about some of these other guys like Frankie (Taylor) and Jason (Scruggs) and Tommy (D'Aprile) and my teammate, Von (Smith). There are a lot of fast guys out here and I really wasn't sure that .60 would hold on to number one. But I'm really happy it did," said Hossler, who made his provisional number-one run in the first pair of PX cars in the second session.

As the last Pro Extreme driver to tackle the Memphis eighth mile Friday night, Taylor came closest to Hossler, placing second with a 3.612 at 209.69 in his Stupid Fast Racing '05 Corvette, but it was current points leader Joey Martin stealing the show in third with a 3.626-seconds run at a potential top speed record of 216.27 mph.

Also of note, nitrous racing veteran Stan Allen in his Pro Extreme debut ran a career-best 3.783 at 201.49 mph to secure the bump spot in 16th place after 27 entries made qualifying attempts. Among those not yet qualified are 2009 Pro Extreme champion Todd Tutterow, Martin's teammate, Brandon Snider, and Bil Clanton, who is making his first ADRL appearance since crashing at the 2009 event at Memphis.

For Hossler, though, the Memphis event represents an opportunity for a relatively rare accomplishment in professional motorsports.     

"I need to be able to put it all together and maybe then we can go some rounds tomorrow," said Hossler, who won the last ADRL race late in June at Martin, MI. "It sure would be nice to get back-to-back wins, that's something I'd really like to share with my guys."

Also finishing Friday with qualifying leads were Steve Jackson (Pro Nitrous), John Montecalvo (Extreme Pro Stock), Terry Schweigert (Pro Extreme Motorcycle), Pro Mod (Tim Savell), Frank Mewshaw (Pro Drag Radial), Bob Gulitti (Top Sportsman), Michael Kile (Top Dragster). The final round of qualifying is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. with eliminations to follow.

'STEVIE FAST' QUICKEST IN PN QUALIFYING - Steve Jackson's ADRL weekend at Memphis International Raceway began with some parts breakage in pre-race testing for the ADRL Memphis Drags IV, but after the first day of qualifying he was back in form, with his Al-Anabi Racing '68 Camaro sitting atop the provisional qualifying list with one more qualifying session scheduled on Saturday (Aug. 3) before eliminations began.

"We hurt a couple of parts, but we stuck with it. Shannon (Jenkins) and a couple of his guys came over and helped us, basically giving us some wisdom," said Jackson, who ran 3.872 in the opening round of qualifying to tie Jason Harris, though Harris ran almost a half-mile-an-hour faster to take second behind Jackson's Al-Anabi teammate Mike Castellana at 3.835 at 195.05 mph.

"That was about what we wanted to go," Jackson said. "We wanted to make sure we got in the field so we could step on it for Q2. My favorite saying to my guys on qualifying day is that if you don't get down the track first round, you forfeit the ability to let it all hang out when it gets dark."

In the Friday-night session, Jackson improved to 3.804 at 195.31 mph to lead the field of 14 entries, while defending class champ Bob Rahaim jumped up two positions to second with a pass of 3.816 seconds at 198.41 mph. Castellana failed to improve and was dropped down to third, with Harris fourth and Jeff Naiser fifth. 

"We made the decision that we were going to go as fast as we thought we needed to go in order to get number one. The track got good, we made a nice little lick at it and it ran an .80 with a four and I'm proud of it. Good car, good decision making, good job by my guys. What more can you say?" asked Jackson, who added he's confident his numbers will hold up through Saturday's final qualifying session.

"To go out there at noon and go faster than that, I'm not saying it can't be done, but it would be very tough. The air won't support it, I don't think, so I feel pretty good."

MEWSHAW LEADS PDR QUALIFYING - Frank Mewshaw stepped up in the second round of qualifying in the early morning hours of Aug. 3, to lead the 16-car Pro Drag Radial field into the third and final session later that day before eliminations begin for the ADRL Memphis Drags IV. Mewshaw's turbocharged '88 Trans Am covered the eighth mile at Memphis International Raceway in 4.364 seconds at a potential class record 189.60 mph.

"That's the fastest we've ever been on radial tires and that 4.36 equals our best ET, so we're really happy," the Palm Bay, FL-based racer said. "I thought it felt like a mid-.40 run, to be honest. When that .39 popped up on the scoreboard I was surprised. It was a good run, especially because we were a little nervous about the conditions and we weren't throwing everything at it."

Following Mewshaw was Missouri's Mark Micke with a 4.421 at 183.89 in his '78 Malibu, with "The" Kevin Mullins third in his '97 Mustang from High Point, NC, at 4.479 and 184.77 mph. The somewhat surprising 16th-place qualifier after Friday's two scheduled sessions was drag radial standout "Stevie Fast" Jackson, who managed only a 4.953 pass at 144.69 mph in his twin-turboed, Chevy-powered '93 Mustang.

"We've got something wrong, but I don't know what it is yet," Jackson said as he labored over the engine in the pits. "We'll just keep taking it apart until we find something. We'll get after it tomorrow."

Although the third and last qualifying round will be held under   

"There's a couple of guys who might get by, but we're just going to go out there in the sunshine tomorrow and try to go from A to B and get ready for racing. We're not going to worry about trying to back up that number for a record right now. We just want to go some rounds and we'll get ready for that tomorrow night."

SCHWEIGERT TOPS PXM QUALIFYING AT MEMPHIS - For the first time this year, someone not named McKinney led Pro Extreme Motorcycle after day one of qualifying at an ADRL national event. Both Terry Schweigert and Travis Davis leapfrogged past defending series champion Eric McKinney on Friday night (Aug. 2) at Memphis International Raceway.

Schweigert, from British Columbia on Canada's west coast, ran 4.090 seconds and 173.41 mph aboard his '09 Suzuki in the second session with one more qualifying round to go on Saturday before eliminations begin for the ADRL Memphis Drags IV. Davis went 4.094 at 172.61, with McKinney's 4.125 seconds at 174.93 from the opening round dropped down to third. Charlie Prophit and Dave Norris rounded out the top five in a 14-bike field.

Schweigert, who made five hits on the track during Thursday's all-day test session, said that experience made the difference for him in qualifying. "It's the reason we're number one right now," he insisted, though he quickly added that despite finishing strong, the pole-sitting pass didn't start out well.

"I didn't do a very good burnout; it didn't sound good in the burnout at all, but once we left the line I knew it was on a tear. The bike was drifting a bit, but I was able to straighten it out and I just kind of tucked in and it turned out to be a good pass," he said.

For the final qualifying round, Schweigert said he planned to just match his competition's effort, knowing he'll be starting from a good position regardless of what others may do.

"No matter what, I think we'll be fine. We're going to try and step it up a bit, but I really don't think we'll be able to go faster in the heat. I think we had pretty good conditions tonight that probably won't be here tomorrow, at least not during qualifying."

TRAFFIC JAM -- With 19 Top Sportsman and 21 Top Dragster entries, the staging lanes at Memphis International Raceway were a busy place to be Aug. 2, as qualifying got underway at 4 p.m. for the ADRL Memphis Drags IV.

BIRTHDAY BOY -- After two of three scheduled rounds of Top Dragster qualifying were completed for the ADRL Memphis Drags IV Tom Elliott (above) celebrated his 71st birthday by putting his blown Hemi-powered machine into the fourth-place slot with a 4.036-seconds pass at 178.76 mph. Michael Kile placed number one with a 3.908 at 185.84, followed by Coby Jones and Eddie Careccia. With five teams left outside of the 16-car field, Mike Crick held on to the final position with a 4.563 at 146.13-mph pass.

TRIPLE THREAT -- Three high-profile female racers were among the 136 drivers listed on the qualifying sheets (excluding Jr. Dragster) at Memphis, including (l - r): Top Sportsman star Lizzy Musi, 2010 Pro Extreme Motorcycle World Champion Kim Morrell, and first-time Pro Mod entrant Erica Enders-Stevens. With two of three planned qualifying sessions completed on Friday, Musi placed sixth of 19 entries, Morrell was 12th of 14 bike entrants, and Enders-Stevens was 14th of 15 entries after just her third pass in a nitrous-fed 2012 Camaro. Saturday's action will open at 11 a.m. with one last round of qualifying for all classes, followed by eliminations for the ADRL Memphis Drags IV.

LONG DISTANCE AWARD WINNERS -- Well past the quarter-mile scoreboards (circled) at Memphis International Raceway, Adam Flamholc (left) and Pro Drag Radial competitor Kevin Mullins occupied the most distant pits from the starting line for the eighth-mile Memphis Drags. Flamholc, who is a regular in the ADRL Pro Mod ranks but hails from Malmoe, Sweden, said his team arrived at the track about 11 a.m. Friday after working all day Thursday on his roots-blown '67 Camaro at Race Car Specialties (RCS) in Warren, MI, near Detroit.

Flamholc also revealed he is close to contracting with RCS to build him a new '67 Mustang for the 2014 ADRL Pro Mod season. "I hope we can close a deal by next week," he said. "It looks pretty good, we just have to finish up all the details with our sponsors and things like that." Flamholc said he hopes to run as part of a two-car team next year alongside Frank Beal of Ft. Myers Beach, FL, driving an identical '67 Mustang in the ADRL Top Sportsman class. Beal, who was working as part of Flamholc's team at Memphis, said his new car is well on its way to completion and he expects to pick it up from RCS by this Thanksgiving.

FIERY FINISH - Nearing the end of Pro Extreme qualifying for the ADRL Memphis Drags IV, Randell Reid and his '57 Chevy lined up in the left lane alongside Steve George driving Larry Jeffers' unique school bus Pro Mod. Both cars left hard, but Reid soon encountered traction woes, while George's bus erupted in a ball of fire as it passed half track (330 feet).

"All I saw was flames; the whole inside of my car was lit up," Reid said. "I was trying to get slowed down and then he slid across right there in front of me and hit the wall. I barely got it shut down in time so I didn't hit him."

Reid said George passed only "about 20 or 30 feet" in front of him before striking the wall with its left flank. Fortunately, by then the fire had been put out by the car's on-board extinguishing system.

"It was a little too close for comfort, but I could see him and I had to steer a little and I think it slid the wheels some, but it wasn't too bad," said Reid, who quickly exited his car and ran to George's aid after he finally stopped crossways at the center of the track well past the quarter-mile point. Track and emergency workers arrived about the same time, too, and helped George get out of the wreck. He was standing and speaking with his rescuers, but as a precaution he was taken to a local hospital for evaluation.

"I didn't get a chance to talk to him; he looked like he was feeling pretty beat up," Reid said. "I'm glad to hear it sounds like he's going to be okay."

 LATE-NIGHT PDR PROGRAMMING -- ADRL President Kenny Nowling announced in the pre-race drivers' meeting at Memphis International Raceway that the second round of Pro Drag Radial qualifying would finish out the day in order to allow the ADRL Traction Twins (Cody and Cale Crispe) to specifically prep the starting area of the track with more glue for the radial tire-equipped cars. Especially after a 45-minute clean-up for Steve George's Pro Extreme accident, that meant drivers like Keith Berry (left) and 85-year-old Willard Kinzer faced off in the wee hours of Aug. 3, with one more qualifying session scheduled for Saturday before eliminations begin. Berry finished his day in fifth place with a 4.507 at 176.10 in his Georgia-based '02 Corvette, while Kentucky's Kinzer was ninth after going 4.589 at 178.21 in his '85 Mustang.
PAVED PITS AT A PREMIUM -- With limited space to park nearly 200 race teams at the ADRL Memphis Drags IV, track workers at Memphis International Raceway performed an impromptu paving job to create a ramp that helped Top Dragster and Top Sportsman cars make the transition from pavement to grass in order to reach their pit areas.

BETTER LATE THAN NEVER -- The final racer arrival for the ADRL Memphis Drags IV was former Top Sportsman ace Chuck Mohn, who recently made the leap up to Pro Nitrous competition with his '69 Camaro. Mohn rolled in about 8:30 p.m. after leaving his Fountainville, PA, home nearly 24 hours earlier.

"At about 9:30 this morning, right in the middle of Nashville on I-40 we lost a tire on the right side of the trailer. I was sleeping in the back of the rig at the time and I heard it explode," Mohn recalled. "It wasn't just the tire that was messed up, though. There was an equalizer bar between the axles that broke and let the axle shift and that's what put the tire out of alignment before it finally let go."

Stranded until 2 p.m. before even the tire was replaced, Mohn and crew then limped their rig to a nearby trailer repair shop where it took another three hours before they could get back on the road.

"We took the truck and filled it up with fuel and water while the trailer was getting fixed because I knew there was no way we could afford to stop again on the way here. But that made the truck so heavy it noticeably slowed down," Mohn explained. "I didn't lift my foot off the floor all the way here from Nashville and we still barely made it! We were making our game plan all the way here, figuring out who was going to unload what and how we were going to get ready to make the last qualifying round (on Friday)."

After hastily prepping the car, Mohn went out and laid down a 4.014-seconds pass at 181.37 mph that placed him 11th of 14 entries in the Pro Nitrous class.

"After what we've been through today, that feels like a win," Mohn said. "But tomorrow's another day and I'm sure we can do better."

A NEW WORLD FOR ENDERS - A shot-in-the-dark Facebook message received on Monday led to NHRA Pro Stock star Erica Enders-Stevens making her Pro Modified debut three days later (Aug. 1) during practice for this weekend's ADRL Memphis Drags IV.

"We have some mutual acquaintances, including Rob Geiger, who is a good friend of mine and handles all my sponsorship stuff, plus he handles Erica's P.R. work," said Keith Haney, owner of the nitrous-boosted 2012 Camaro that Enders-Stevens will attempt to qualify Aug. 2, in ADRL Pro Mod. Haney also drives his own '12 Camaro in the class that adheres to NHRA rules.

"Anyway, I was debating whether to drive both cars again, like I did at the X-DRL race in St. Louis about a month ago. That was fun, but it was also a lot of work, so I asked Rob if he thought Erica might be interested in trying out a Pro Mod. When he said she might be, all you can do is ask, so I just sent a message to her inbox on Facebook last Friday and simply said, 'Would you be interested in driving my Pro Mod at Memphis next weekend?'"

Enders-Stevens said she didn't check her messages that weekend, admitting she was avoiding the computer because she was feeling downcast about missing the NHRA's "Western Swing" since her Victor Cagnazzi-owned team was sidelined due to a lack of sponsorship after 10 races this season. When she did finally see the message, though, she replied with a simple, one-word answer: "Seriously?!!!"

When Haney, who co-owns Tulsa Raceway Park and is a Chevy dealer in Oklahoma, assured her he was indeed serious with his offer, a flurry of phone calls quickly went out to Cagnazzi and Enders-Stevens' sponsor reps at Chevrolet.

"I just had to get clearance from the people I answer to and that took most of the day, but they were really positive about it, although they did ask if I had lost my mind," Enders-Stevens said. "I told them I think I have, but I'm a crazy race car driver who'll do almost anything to get back in a car.

"But seriously, I'm really excited about the opportunity. I talked to Richie (Stevens, husband) about it because that's where he got his start, in Pro Mod, and he thought it was a good opportunity. But Pro Mod is such an intimidating thing. I told Keith I've always admired the Pro Mod cars, but jokingly wondered why these Pro Mod guys paint their cars so pretty because they get stuffed in the wall so often.

"It's certainly an intimidating class, an intimidating car, and I'm sure the learning curve will be significant, but I feel like I'm up for the challenge," Enders-Stevens continued. "I'm just so glad Keith gave me the opportunity."

Haney spent much of Thursday afternoon with Enders-Stevens painstakingly going over starting procedures, nitrous purging, burnout practices and what to expect as the car progresses down the ADRL eighth mile. He realizes, of course, that Enders-Stevens is likely to be nervous, but insisted that compared to the Pro Stock Camaro she's used to wheeling, Enders-Stevens might even be "bored" by his Pro Mod version.

"I told her on the phone yesterday, 'Here's the deal, I wouldn't put you in my car if I didn't think it was safe.' We've gone over everything probably 20 or 30 times, but it's really going to take going down the track a couple of times and she'll be fine. I'm very confident of that," Haney said.

"Compared to her Pro Stock car, this car is easy to drive. She's in there (Pro Stock) grabbin' gears, making sure to hit the shift points dead on, watching the oil pressure, and with this one all she has to do is the burnout, back up, a couple of nitrous purges, stage it and let go of the transbrake button and the car will do the rest. I told her, other than steering and maybe pedaling it, once you let go of the button there is nothing more you can do to improve the run; it's all on us to give you the car to get it done. We set the tune-up, we adjusted the chassis, we set the wheelie bars, all the driver can do is drive at that point."

In her first attempt on the track, Enders-Stevens was a little timid in the burnout, barely getting the big Hoosiers out back spinning through the water box. Since it was only a test run, ADRL officials allowed her to back up and try again, resulting in a nice, long smoke show to about a hundred feet past the starting line. She then backed up with confidence, quickly purged and staged, and launched into a planned shutoff at the 60-foot mark.

One more shot late in the evening went much smoother from the start, with Enders-Stevens taking off with both headers shooting flames into the Memphis night before the car drifted toward the right wall and she clicked it off a couple of hundred feet out.

After watching her husband compete in ADRL Extreme Pro Stock several times over the last couple of years, though he's not currently racing, Enders-Stevens is very familiar with the ADRL, its procedures and its atmosphere. She said she's looking forward to joining the fray.

"It's such an exciting deal running to the eighth mile, the wild and crazy cars, and the people are just awesome here; it's like a big family deal. I mean, if you walk uninvited into somebody's pit in the NHRA you might get shot; not really, but it's so different here where people from other teams come over while we were warming up, talking, looking over our motors; it's just so different here; very enjoyable and I'm just glad I get to participate as a driver instead of just a crew member."

And despite her lack of familiarity with the Pro Mod class, Enders-Stevens said she hopes to qualify well and go a couple of rounds in eliminations on race day.

"From the time I left Jr. Dragsters I've always been willing to jump on any opportunity I've been given to drive any kind of race car," she stressed. "This is definitely outside my comfort zone, but once I get a few passes under my belt I know that will change. This is a professional deal with top-of-the-line equipment, an established team, and a great opportunity for me and my sponsors to get some exposure while we wait for our Pro Stock deal to come together again."

EARLY BIRTHDAY CART -- ADRL President Kenny Nowling received a huge surprise Thursday morning at the ADRL Memphis Drags IV, two days before his 41st birthday, when Top Sportsman driver and golf cart dealer Ronnie Davis presented him with the keys to a new cart for jockeying around the ADRL pits. "For everything you do for us racers it's the least I can do for you," said Davis, who also serves as the official liaison between the ADRL and its Top Sportsman and Top Dragster teams. "I was completely blown away. Ronnie's been a huge help with the ADRL this season, and I really feel his contribution to the series is more than enough," Nowling stated. "But this was totally unexpected and truly unbelievable. I'm blown away, to be honest."

CLASSIC CORVETTE -- Lee Adkins Jr., a former ADRL national-event winner in both Pro Nitrous and Pro Modified, returned to the eighth-mile series in the ADRL Memphis Drags IV at the wheel of a brand-new Garret Race Cars-built ’63 Corvette in the Pro Nitrous class. The new, lightweight bodied Camaro is powered by a nitrous-fed Reher-Morrison engine and Adkins made two or three test passes in the car's on-track debut Aug. 1, at Memphis International Raceway during an all-day test session before the Memphis Drags officially began with two rounds of qualifying on Friday.

PURGED OF NITROUS -- New Iberia, LA's Stan Allen is making a big change at this weekend's ADRL Memphis Drags IX as he takes over the helm of a supercharged car for the first time in his extensive driving career. The past ADRL Pro Nitrous event winner is driving a Tommy Mauney-built '41 Willys for car owner Wesley Jones of Vicksburg, MS. Jones, who three months ago purchased the former Mike Ashley "Gotham City" ride from its previous owner in Winnipeg, Canada. Jones plans to also drive the car later this season, but after not having been in a race car for nearly two years he opted to put Allen in the seat for its return to action. With a Mitchell and Jason Scruggs-built, screw-blown Hemi backed up by a Lencodrive transmission between the frame rails, Allen posted a 3.890-seconds effort at 196.53 mph in only his third attempt during Thursday's day-long test session.

DRAG RADIAL REPLACEMENT -- With Kyle Huettel, the number-one qualifier two months ago at the ADRL's inaugural Pro Drag Radial event in Virginia, at home in Houston with business obligations, racing partner Jason Michalak has taken over Huettel's ride at the ADRL Memphis Drags IX. It's the first time Michalak has ever driven the "Bad 9er" 2002 Camaro, which is equipped with a Fulton 894 motor and four stages of nitrous and backed up by a Keith Neal Turboglide with a Pro Torque converter.

Michalak is expected to drive the car again at the ADRL's third and last PDR race this season at Rockingham, NC, in September; however, Huettel will drive it late that month in the Radial Redemption event at South Georgia Motorsports Park.

"We're not used to racing in the heat of the day like this," said Michalak during Thursday's pre-event test session at Memphis International Raceway. "The car has tons of power; the trick for us is getting past that first 60 feet or so to where we can get to the really sticky part of the track."

BODY BEAUTIFUL -- Pro Extreme star Jason Scruggs showed up at Memphis International Raceway with a brand-new, all-carbon-fiber Hairy Glass '63 Corvette body adorning his Garet Race Cars-built chassis. Featuring a larger rear wing than his previous split-window Vette carried and a taller bulge on the hood surrounding the protruding screw blower, the body was hung on the car just last week by Steve at Jerry Bickel's chassis shop. A brilliant, deep red paint job by Jeff Hoskins finished off the new look for Scruggs, who ran a best of 3.64 seconds at 209.84 mph in Thursday's test session.

BACK FOR MORE -- John Sullivan hasn't competed in the ADRL since 2010, but he's returned at the Memphis Drags IX with a David Monday-built '69 Camaro he bought early this year from fellow Pro Extreme pilot Richard Holt. Powered by a Brad Anderson 521 motor topped with a screw blower and sending the power through a B&J automatic transmission, the car also features a new, larger rear wing by Matheis Race Cars. Sullivan broke a wheelie bar in pre-race testing, sending his father home to nearby Macon, TN, for repairs before the qualifying begins Aug. 2, for Saturday's elimination rounds.

BEST OF THE BEST -- After dozens of cars in all official ADRL classes (except Jr. Dragsters) made test laps on Thursday prior to the start of the ADRL Memphis Drags IX, Bubba Stanton of Potts Camp, MS, was the quickest and fastest of all with a 3.621-seconds pass at 211.26 mph in his Roger Henson-owned '69 Camaro. Close behind was teammate Jason Scruggs with a 3.646 at 209.84 in his '63 Vette and Mike Recchia with a career-best 3.652 at 209.14 mph in his "convertible" '69 Camaro. Stanton actually held down the third-quickest honors with an earlier 3.651 at 209.43 mph.

The first of two scheduled sessions of qualifying for the Memphis Drags begins at 4 p.m. Aug. 2, with a mandatory drivers meeting an hour earlier. A third and final round of qualifying is slated for an 11 a.m. start on Saturday (Aug. 3), with eliminations to follow. Nearly 190 teams were on the grounds at Memphis International Raceway Thursday night, with several more expected to arrive Friday.