2013 BAKERSFIELD CHRR - EVENT NOTEBOOK
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SUNDAY NOTEBOOK -
CRANK UP THE VOLUME - Sit back, and if you're not at work, or if the boss appreciates the thunderous sounds of nitro burning engines of yesteryear, crank up the volume and enjoy the 2013 California Hot Rod Reunion. We'll bring you the sights and sounds, everything but the smell and we're working on delivering it too. For the motorhead, this is 30 minutes of pure pleasure.
HALE CAPS ROLLER-COASTER WEEKEND WITH WIN - 
This past weekend was an emotional roller-coasterride for Nostalgia Funny Car driver John Hale.
On Friday, Hale recorded the fourth quickest run during the first session of qualifying at the California Hot Rod Reunion. However, a technical infraction forced NHRA officials to disqualify the run.
By Sunday afternoon, Hale’s emotions had gone from one extreme to another as he captured the title at the historic race at Auto Club Famosa Raceway in Bakersfield, Calif.
“This where we like to finish,” Hale said after his victory in the finals. “You don’t always get what you want, but (Sunday) the guys worked hard.”
Despite not even being in the show after Friday’s qualifying, Hale wasn’t worried.
“That fuel pump situation wasn’t really that big of deal to us,” Hale said about the violations which resulted in his Friday qualifying run being thrown out. “Rules are rules. So, we put the sealed pump on there. They both flow the same. The car actually went quicker with the sealed pump on it. We knew all we had to do was go back up there with the right pump on it and we would be fine.”
Hale, who runs the Mike Burkhart tribute Funny Car, revealed to race officials he was running a fuel pump unsealed by the NHRA. NHRA Heritage AA/FC rules mandate all cars must run a fuel pump inspected and sealed by the sanctioning body’s tech department.
Once Hale was in the field, he was confident in what he and his team could accomplish.
“Getting by first round (Saturday night) was a big hump also, and (Sunday) against Mike Lewis, I wasn’t really that worried about Mike I knew pretty much where he was going to be in that round. My friend, Jason Rupert, he had been running good all weekend and I knew we had to do something there (in the semifinals). We either had to throw a light on him or throw something at the car to get around him and we did both and it worked.”
After Hale edged Rupert, he met Dan Horan in the finals with plenty at stake.
“We had to beat Horan for Jason (Rupert) to win the (season) championship,” Hale said. “We knew we had to win that round. There was a lot riding on it. We just went up there and did our normal deal and it came out in our favor. I have to admit, man, Jason and I are like brothers. We love racing each other and when get up there on the line we are fierce competitors, but at the other end of the track we hug and congratulate who ever won, so it was a good day for both of us.”
Hale, who owns the Dallas-based Muscle Car Specialist shop, has spent most of his time the last several years successfully campaigning his Nostalgia Funny Cars.
SOROKIN CAPTURES TOP FUEL VICTORY AT BAKERSFIELD - 
When Adam Sorokin came to the California Hot Rod Reunion this past weekend, he knew he could not win asecond consecutive Top Fuel championship in the Hot Rod Heritage series.
Sorokin, however, did have plenty to celebrate Sunday evening after he won the prestigious race at Auto Club Famaso Speedway at Bakersfield, Calif. He clocked a 5.912-second elapsed time to get the win over DenverShutz, who broke in the final.
“It is amazing,” Sorokin said. “This year we weren’t really chasing points. We didn’t go to Bowling Green and we didn’t go to Epping (N.H.), but we wanted to be a spoiler at some point at the end of the year and we are really happy to do that. Just to get a win, especially at the Hot Rod Reunion is huge for our team. We have just never won here. So, we are happy. It is a good deal.”
Sorokin won the Top Fuel Hot Rod Heritage crown a year ago, but didn’t make a full defense of his title because of funding.
“It was more just money,” Sorokin said. “You ebb and flow with your funds to run the car and this year we just had to pull back a little bit. To go to Bowling Green probably would have cost our team $30,000 and to go to Eppingprobably would have cost even more to get the whole crew there. We wanted to buy parts and we were working on our tune-up a little bit more to try and refine it a little bit better.”
Finding the right combination for his dragster is something Sorokin feels is a necessity.
“In this day and age (in Nostalgia Top Fuel) you need to go 5.60s to win races,” Sorokin said. “So we have been working on that.”
Sorokin also took a moment to address the health of theNostalgia Top Fuel category.
“I think we need more cars out there,” Sorokin said. “We have to work on a couple of things for improvement, one of them is containment. We are going to blow these things up, but we can’t leave oil on the ground. We need to keep the show moving and the fans watching. When you leave oil out there and it takes a half hour to clean it up, we have to really stop that. The overall thing is that it is very expensive to run this class and you have to do the maintenance like a big show car. You are coming in and all eight rods and pistons are coming out. The supercharger is coming off. That all gets expensive. With Top Fuel, you can’t just buy an off-the-shelf old front-engine Top Fuel car and go nostalgia Top Fuel racing. You have to buy that chassis. With nostalgia Funny Car, you can actually go out there and buy an old alcohol Funny Car or an old nitro Funny Car and put one together. So it is a little bit more accessible and we are trying to get Top Fuel more accessible.”
Sorokin’s name is familiar in drag racing circles as his dad Mike Sorokin was a standout NHRA driver, most notably behind the wheel of the “Surfers” Top Fuel front-engine dragster that dominated drag strips throughout Southern California in the early to mid 1960s.
Mike Sorokin died on December 30, 1967, when the Surfers dragster he was piloting had the flywheel and clutch explode during first-round eliminations at Orange County International Raceway in East Irvine, Calif. Mike Sorokin was only 28 years old.
Unfortunately for Adam, he was never able to get to know his father in person as he was just a 1-year-old when he died.
“Initially when I was a kid, it was that my dad raced that inspired me,” Adam said. “The only thing I had as a kid was looking at those 8X10 pictures of my dad and having my mom (Robyn) take me to the races to show me what my father did for a living. Now what motivates me is the passion of driving. I like being a part of a team.”
THE LURE OF THE CACKLE - Steve Gibbs, former NHRA Race Director, who now oversees motorsports operations with the NHRA Hot Rod Heritage Series, believes the Cacklefest events he coordinates is essentially bringing history back to life.
"The Cacklefest is basically a gathering of old restored race cars," Gibbs said. "The term cackle represents what the engines sound like, and it has been a term used for many years. You get a bunch of old cars which have been replicated and restored. We really do our best to get them together at the same time."
Gibbs believes the Cacklefests are good for a lot of people as it restores memories of the "good old days" of drag racing.
"It's a good way to get people off of the couch and back out to the race track," said Gibbs.
JUST LIKE OLD TIMES - Mark Oswald is content with the challenge of being a professional drag racing crew chief. However, this doesn't mean he has forever put aside driving a race car for fun. At the California Hot Rod Reunion, Oswald made his modern day AA/FC competition debut at the Bakersfield event.
"We did this car for fun, and the person who was most responsible for me getting to where I am in fuel racing, Paul Candies and I got together to do this car with Wayne Mellinger," explained Oswald. "Unfortunately Paul passed away in the midst of the project and never got to see it run. The car has somewhat become a tribute to him."
Oswald began driving for Candies in 1982, after a reasonably successful run as an independent nitro racer. Together, the won multiple IHRA series championships as well as an NHRA title. He held both simultaneously in 1984.
The classic Mopar Funny Car carries the familiar gold leaf Candies Motorsports livery and the full support of the family.
"We'd love to win at the first race, but we'll just do what we can," said Oswald.
Unfortunately, breakage in Friday's first qualifying session limited the team to a one-shot weekend and Oswald fell short of making the show.
Todd Paton, who knocked off No. 1 qualifier Tim Nemeth in Saturday's first round at the California Hot Rod Reunion, didn't fare as well in Sunday's second round of eliminations. Paton lost an oil line, spraying oil under his tires and slid into Anthony Bronge's lane. Meanwhile in the other lane, Bronge thundered to a 5.628 to tie Brad Thompson's low elapsed time.
Chris Graves captured the action from the top end. 
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SATURDAY NOTEBOOK
DONER STILL WORKING THE ANGLES – Some habits are hard to break. Just ask Bill Doner.
One of drag racing’s more iconic promoters of the 1970s has visions of returning as early as 2015 with a new all-concrete drag strip located in Lake Havasu City, Arizona.
“It’s a really nice place to be,” said Doner, who has been working on the London Bridge Raceway Park project for nearly a year. “We finally got our conditional use permit last week. Because of the government shutdown, we haven’t gotten our 404 from the Corps of Engineers, which has the drainage and everything hasn’t arrived, but we pretty much know what it is going to say.”
Doner said at this point his group needs to negotiate a lease with the city which owns the property the track is scheduled to be built on. According to Doner, the property is 127 acres inside of city limits. It is also adjacent to the municipal airport.
“We’re hopeful we can break ground next year,” Doner said. “To be realistic, we hope to have the track done by the first of 2015.”
Doner said the track is expected to have 1,000 feet of concrete with 1,320 feet of shutdown.
Doner believes the most attractive aspect of the track’s proposed location will be the outstanding atmospheric conditions prevalent in the area.
“We are exactly at sea level,” Doner said. “This will cause cars to make enormous amounts of horsepower. Recently they had a Lucas Oil boat race and the fuel boat racers couldn’t believe the power they were making. Add in the fact there are more hot rods per capita than any place I have ever seen in the United States.”
Doner admits he wasn’t initially sold on the idea of the race track but when pressed to visit the area, he quickly came around.
“I finally did and all I have to say is I am excited about it now,” Doner said. “I went to one of their cruise nights in the town and it was incredible. I knew I was in the right place.
“It won’t rival the Bruton Smith tracks but for what we’ve got and we’re thinking 10,000 seats which will be really good. It will be a nice race track.”
HIS FIRST REUNION – PB Candies, son of iconic Funny Car team owner Paul Candies, admits he and his dad had wanted to attend the California Hot Rod Reunion for many years. However, obligations and demands always stood in the way.
Paul Candies passed away July 21, 2013, after suffering a heart attack.
This season PB decided to clear his schedule to come hang out with longtime family friend and former Candies and Hughes driver Mark Oswald.
“My dad never had a chance to get out to one of these,” said Candies. “He had talked about coming and there always seemed to be conflicts which never allowed us to come. After Dad’s passing, when Mark said he was going to run the car out here, I knew I had to come if only to support Mark. It wasn’t so much about Dad’s passing as it was about being here.”
The elder Candies helped to sponsor the Funny Car belonging to Wayne Mellinger before his passing. PB said his father was a generous man, and his supportive personality made him one of the most loved people in the pits.
“He was a loved man and it was very obvious at his [funeral] service,” said Candies. “There were so many people there, along with cards and letters. Then you hear about how he helped people, the stuff you never heard about and it’s pretty overwhelming. He never talked about the stuff, he just did it.”
Just coming to the California Hot Rod Reunion helped PB reconnect with the people he knew growing up.
“I came out here for the people and to hear the stories,” said Candies. “It’s always great to see these guys you saw when you were growing up as a kid in the sport, especially when you haven’t seen them in many years.”
UPSETS ABOUND IN BAKERSFIELD FIRST ROUND - The odds-makers were thrown for a loop Saturday afternoon as the first round of eliminations didn’t go as expected at the California Hot Rod Reunion at Bakersfield, Ca.
The Nostalgia Funny Car division alone saw only four of the top-half qualifiers advance to the second round.
In one of the biggest surprises, Todd Paton,starting from the No. 16 spot, took out No. 1 qualifier Tim Nemeth. Nemeth had issues on the starting line enabling Paton to run virtually unchallenged to a 6.119 victory.
Brad Thompson fired a huge shot in scoring low elapsed time with a blast of 5.62 to knock off Kris Krabill.
Anthony Bronge scored another significant victory as he drove his 1971 Barracuda to the win over No. 8 qualifier Steven Densham. Bronge won with a 5.735.
In a battle of strong nostalgia Funny Car drivers, defending event champ Mike Lewis overcame a Cruz Pedregon holeshot to advance into Sunday’s quarterfinal round. Lewis ran a 5.817 to track down Pedregon’s beautiful California Charger Pontiac Trans-Am.
Championship contenders Jason Rupert [Rian Konno] and Dan Horan [Mark Sanders] also advanced, pushing the championship to be settled on Sunday.
In Sunday’s quarterfinals, Paton meets Bronge, Horan squares off against James Day, Rupert meets Thompson and John Hales races Lewis.
The Top Fuel championship was anti-climactic when Jim Murphy captured the AA/FD titleafter Jim Young couldn’t make Saturday’s first round call. The dragsters saw no upsets as all top-half qualifiers advanced to the second round.
Sunday’s matches include No. 1 qualifier Denver Schutz against Bill Dunlap, Murphy squares off against Bret Harris, and Rick White meets Adam Sorokin. Rick McGee gets the bye run.
Nitro eliminations continue Sunday at Noon, PST.
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FRIDAY NOTEBOOK
THE LEADERS OF THE PACK - Tim Nemeth and Denver Schutz were the top qualifiers during first day qualifying at the NHRA California Hot Rod Reunion hosted by Auto Club Famoso Raceway located outside of Bakersfield, Ca.
Nemeth, competing in the popular AA/FC class, pushed his 1977 Pontiac Firebird to an incredible 5.693 elapsed time at 253.43 miles per hour to edge out Dan Horan.
Horan, driving a ’65 Mustang, was a distant second with a 5.776.
Defending series champion Jason Rupert was on the bubble after Friday’s lone session with a 5.956.
The AA/FC division attracted an impressive 32 entries. The first 14 qualifiers were all 5.881 seconds or better. James Day was first alternate with a 5.995.
In the Top Fuel division, Schutz, of Fresno, Ca., was the king of the hill with a 5.674 elapsed time at 249.03 miles per hour. Rick McGee was second with a 5.732, 249.03.
Mark Meadors was the top qualifier in the Nostalgia Pro Modified class with a 5.818 second pass at 251.39.
Other top qualifiers included Don Enriquez [Jr. Fuel], Kin Bates [A/Fuel], Brad Denney [7.0 Pro], Ray Padget [A/Gas], Jim Gonia [Factor Experimental] and Mark Whynaught [Nostalgia Eliminator-1].
HALE’S RUN DISQUALIFIED – Nostalgia Funny Car racer John Hale recorded the fourth quickest run during the first session of qualifying at the California Hot Rod Reunion of Friday. However, a technical infraction forced NHRA officials to throw the run out.
Hale, who runs the Mike Burkhart tribute Funny Car, revealed to race officials he was running a fuel pump unsealed by the NHRA. NHRA Heritage AA/FC rules mandate all cars must run a fuel pump inspected and sealed by the sanctioning body’s tech department.
Hale ran an identical pump normally used in another AA/FC series but is not sealed by the NHRA.
“We were running late and went to fire the car the first time and it was really, really lean,” explained Hale. “We carry two fuel pumps, one which is sealed for NHRA and the other we use on the DRO series, so they can take it apart and use their gauge on it. They are the same pumps and flow the same amount of fuel – 21 gallons.
Hale said the only change he had made from his last race was to install the Heritage-legal pump.
“I just said to myself, ‘something wrong is going on here,” Hale said. “We went back and put the DRO pump on it. We started the car and it did the same thing.”
The source of the fuel delivery issues were traced to a valve, which when the engine is shut off can close the port nozzles. Hale said this allows the engine to die quicker.
“That thing was open, so we ended up getting it shut,” Hale said. “At that time, everyone else was towing up to the lanes. We didn’t have time to put the other pump on it.”
Figuring it was better to get some data on the track than to miss a run, Hale made the decision to go forward and make the run knowing it would not be allowed to stand.
“We told Ken Gentry [Heritage Series tech] what we did [after the run],” Hale said. “This wasn’t something where they [tech] did an inspection on us and they found. We told them what we did and he told us that our run could not stand.
“We have nothing to hide here. We’ll just put the sealed pump back on there now that we know where the problem is and move forward.”
Cruz Pedregon drove his beautiful Keeling & Clayton tribute California Charger to a 5.818, good enough for eighth.
SEGRINI STILL LOVING IT – Al Segrini cherishes the memories of the days when he trail-blazed the country chasing an NHRA Winston Drag Racing championship. Years after he hung up his driving suit and helmet, the former NHRA Division 1 nitro racer still enjoys reliving the comraderie he shared with likeminded straight-line racers. The California Hot Rod Reunion provides the perfect platform for Segrini to rekindle the memories of days gone by.
“I have a great time coming out here to these events,” said Segrini. “This is my second reunion and it’s like going back in time to see my old buddies and they really put on a great show here.”
Segrini admits he carried a drag-racing addiction back in the day. He just couldn’t get enough.
“It’s like anything once it is in your blood,” said Segrini. “I enjoyed my time when I was out here and miss it a lot. To not be able to do it on a competitive basis, and with the funding you need to do it these days, it wouldn’t be any fun. When I raced, I could compete against the Prudhommes and McEwens. I was able to run with the upper caliber guys. Nowadays you need so much money to compete. My mind tells me I could do, but I don’t think physically I could.”
Not even a nostalgia Funny Car.
“It even takes a lot of time to do one of these deals and running across the country,” Segrini said of the nostalgia cars. “These guys put on a great show. It would consume my time and to be honest, I love just watching them.”
Segrini admits CompetitionPlus.com has kept him in the loop about what is going on in drag racing.
“I find myself looking in the rumors and stuff to see what’s going on, or what is about to happen,” said Segrini. “And I travel to about three races a year my good friend Tommy Prock.”
What Segrini sees is a sport which has changed drastically since he walked away in the early 1990s.
“Since it’s gone into the corporate world, and I do talk to a number of fans, friends who are casual fans, and they notice immediately the dwindling attendance at the events. I don’t know what it is.
“I do know one thing if this sport was to lose John Force – they have lost their entertainment value.”
And for the drag racing diehard, who made a name for himself behind the wheel of such rides as the Black Magic Vega and a series of beautiful Super Brut machines, understands the NHRA’s decision to run to 1000-feet and even though he’s considered somewhat of a traditionalist, he’s accepted the shorter distance as a means of keeping the drivers safer.
“I know there’s a safety concern and I can see their point,” said Segrini. “These cars had kept getting faster and faster, and there was never an extension of the shutdown areas. They [NHRA] had to do something for safety reasons. Back when I raced, and we raced short tracks like Columbus, the cars were getting faster and the speeds they are generating … they were a handful back then when I stopped and we were running 260 to 265. Now they are running well over 300 miles per hour and covering a lot of ground. It was a wise move in terms of safety.”
“At 1000 feet, they put on a good show … a helluva show. The drivers who race now, and I’ve sat in the car for warm ups, really do a great job.”
Legendary Top Fuel driver Chip Woodall takes a spin in his new Cacklefest, one of over 60 in attendance this weekend. 
BACK TO BASICS - James Day understands the key to success during this weekend's NHRA California Hot Rod Reunion is in returning to the basics. Day, for the third time in 2013, will drive Gary Turner's Pedaler Plymouth Arrow Funny Car.
“I am really excited for this event,” Day said. “We have put the car back to everything we know works. This is the last event of the year, and I know the guys are looking forward to posting some solid numbers."
Solid numbers are exactly what Day will need as there are 41 AA/FC vehicles entered this weekend vying for a 16-car field.
“There will be a lot of successful cars and drivers coming out for this weekend, so it should be fast,” Day said. "We need to just keep focus and do what we know. Nothing in this class is easy, but my guys are up to the challenge."
Day credits faithful sponsors for the resources to chase his racing dream.
“I’ve got to thank my sponsors that have stuck by me the last few years because without them I wouldn’t even be here," Day said. "As we all know, without good partners, we wouldn't be able to race."
Day's marketing partners include Seasick Marketing, Beats by Dre, Bell Helmets, Osiris Shoes, Clean Boost Oil, Darton Sleeves, Titan Engineering, Max Cackle Photography, Drink Hard Racing and Speak Easy Original.
Day missed Friday’s cut with a 5.995 best.
Adam Sorokin, defending Nostalgia Top Fuel champion, was seventh quickest on Friday with a 5.995, 215.03 best.
HE STILL HAS A LEG TO STAND ON – Iconic drag racing starter Larry Sutton, whose legend was built in flipping the switch at Lions and Orange County drag strips, was walking gingerly on Friday at the California Hot Rod Reunion in Bakersfield, Ca. His foot secured in a walking boot, he was playing through the pain of a broken leg.
“I stepped out of the trailer and the trailer was up to let the race car out, and I fell out,” explained Sutton, discussing an incident weeks ago at Osage Casino Tulsa Raceway Park. Sutton was with longtime friend and AA/FC racer Dennis Taylor when the incident happened.
Sutton ended up with three breaks in his right leg.
“I knew it was broken because I have broken my left leg three times and my right once,” said Sutton. “I didn’t want to go to the hospital there or in California when I got back there. I went home and went to the hospital at Cedar Center in Utah.”
Sutton, who had built his reputation as a tough as nails starter, wasn’t about to let a little boo-boo such as a broken leg prevent him from doing the one job he made into a work of art.
“I knew I was going to start the race with a broken leg,” Sutton said. “And, I did.”
The inspiration for his show of strength was in honoring the Oklahomans who were affected by the great tornado outbreak earlier this year.
“It was a little rough,” Sutton said. “[The track] knew I was hurting and I knew when I got back to Utah but as old as I am, you have to bite the bullet and keep going.”
Sutton laughs at the irony of his latest injury.
“In all of my years of driving a car, I never got hurt,” said Sutton. “I’ve been blown up, run over and broke other bones, none of which came while inside of a race car. It’s safer in a race car.
“I told them that I figured after what all they went through with the tornadoes, the least I could do was to start a drag race with a broken leg. A little broken leg doesn’t mean a thing when compared to what they have gone through.”
Sutton, who has been run over before as a starter, viewed the injury as no more than a minor setback.
“One broken leg is not a big deal, I still have another one.
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