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GoneDragRacing.com's Racing News, Events Archives From 2009:
Archived Race, Results and News:


September 26th, 2009: Coast Chassis Design Ultimate Outlaw Shootout Series
Pritchett Brothers and Crew Bring Outlaw Racing to Cecil County


Pritchett Brothers Racing and Coast Chassis Design brings us the latest installment of the Ultimate Outlaw Shootout Series held at Cecil County Dragway. Today's race featured some exciting heads-up drag racing including Outlaw Drag Radial, Outlaw 10.5, 275 Drag Radial, and 8.50 Index Classes. Racing got going early in the morning, as mother nature seems to be following this race series as much as we are, and was threatening rain late in the afternoon. Turnout was good across the board, especially in the Outlaw 10.5 class, with an amazing 23 cars battling to make a 16 car show. As usual, the fence along the burnout box and the stands were loaded with heads up racing fans itching to see some action. Mother nature did in fact cut in to the party and the skies opened up about halfway through the racing, so there were no final rounds run.

Frank Provenza Holeshot Wheels 275 Drag RadialHoleshot Wheels 275 Drag Radial: The 275 Radial boys are always riding a fine line between a great pass and a burnout contest, today was no different. The track had a good amount of bite but there was not a large amount of glue like radial cars like to see. Frank Provenza was just on a mission in his blown Mustang, hanging out the tires and zooming down the track for the #1 qualifier spot with a 5.117 @ 139 pass. Not too far behind was Ricky Fox, with a 5.183 @ 137mph in his Mustang. The rest of the field had some work to do to catch the top 2 qualifiers. Don Barnett was doing his best, taking the #3 spot and also doing some sick wheelstands going down the track.

Brian Ferrari Precision Nitrous Tech 8.50 IndexPrecision Nitrous Tech 8.50 Index: We missed out on a few of the normal teams for 8.50 Index today due to a scheduling conflict, but 17 teams were still able to make it down for the very popular and fast growing 8.50 Index Class. Brian Ferrari came right out and laid down an 8.501 pass to grab the #1 qualifier in the Mean Green Machine 66 Chevelle. Robb Puller in the BMS Racing powered Camaro came out and ran an 8.504 for the #2 spot, satisfied with his first qualifying pass and tune, he sat out the second round. The top half of the field was all in the 50's, with two regulars, Angelo Valla and Al Jr. from Fonse Performance, in the .40's and sitting at the bottom.

Chuck Ulsch Coast Chassis Design Outlaw 10.5Coast Chassis Outlaw 10.5: There were a sick amount of Outlaw 10.5 cars in attendance, a total of 23 battling for a 16 car field. Many of the 10.5 cars were hurt recently, and to the relief of everyone, they were able to get their stuff back together and back to the races. Tommy Kasper was back in the Christy & Kasper Mustang after throwing some rods through the pan at the last Shootout at MIR and having a small fire, with a fresh bullet from ProLine and some expert work from Wayne Keegan of Competitive Wiring. Larry Wood in the twin turbo Fox Body was also back in action after having engine problems at MIR too, another ProLine powered car. Joe Newsham of J&E Performance hurt his high gear at MIR, but didn't know it until a test session at Cecil on Friday afternoon. Lucky for him, they had the time to get back to the shop Friday night and make the call for qualifying on Saturday. Dale Collins was also back in action, his pink and silver Camaro was flying!

Tommy Kasper Coast Chassis Design Outlaw 10.5The track was perfect for the 10.5 racers, not too much glue and the cloud cover was keeping surface temps down. We saw a few of Coast Chassis' rides in the field, including Billy Mitchell in the green S10 and Anthony Disomma in the bright orange Mustang. Chuck Ulsch and the Mobley Motorsports team was in the house with the blown '02 Camaro, and took the #1 qualifier spot with a 4.348 at 181mph, his other qualifying run was a blistering 187.86mph. Tommy Kasper rolled off the trailer with a 0 pass motor and ran a 4.378, one of the best passes ever on the black and green Mustang. Joe Newsham, reigning champ of just about everything, was doing his trademark wheels up 1/8th mile passes and went 4.380 @ 175.91 for the #3 spot. Visit the GDR Youtube Channel to see an in-car video of Joe Newsham's 4.38 pass.

Craig Pio Outlaw 10.5 CrashCraig Pio was out during Cecil's Real Street Car Shootout last week testing his brand new Outlaw 10.5 Camaro, twin turbo with a beautiful paint job. He was also making some test hits at the Friday track rental down at Cecil, and everything was looking good with the car. In an unfortunate series of events in the first qualifier, Craig's car broke loose as the power came in and he spun around, hitting the wall with both front and rear of the car. The extent of the damage is unknown at this point, but the important part is that Craig walked away from the crash with no major injuries. We wish all the best to Craig and hope to see him and family back at the strip as soon as possible.

Chris Evans GMPartsDirect.com Outlaw Drag RadialGMPartsDirect.com Outlaw Drag Radial: We saw a total of 9 cars in the Outlaw Drag Radial field today. Alex Vrettos and Team CoRuPt were not racing today as the motor was out of the yellow mustang for some work. Paul Major's Vette was on site, LS motor gone for the new big block, still twin turbos in the trunk. Chris Evans' lime green procharged Mustang made the short drive from Baltimore, tearing up the track with the #1 qualifier and best elapsed time, a 4.847 @ 152. Paul Major took top MPH honors with 157.50mph on his #2 4.891 pass. Big Daddy Dwayne Gutridge was right there at the top of the list where he belongs, with a 5.004 pass. Sporting an interesting setup was Mustang Mike, in the twin procharged (if I remember correctly) car, certainly a unique combo. The car wasn't overglued like the radial guys like to see, so we were seeing a good amount of pedaling and tire smoke during qualifying.

Don't forget to check out the Ultimate Outlaw Shootout Series sponsors, they are the ones that make this race possible for all of us to attend and race in. You can find more detailed information about the race and all of the sponsors in our event coverage thread in the forums.




September 5th, 2009: Cecil County Dragway Outlaw Street Car Shootout
A great race to tie up the summer!


Finishline Performance pulled off another successful race down at Cecil County Dragway on this Labor Day Weekend. The race went off without any hitches, and the stands were packed with race fans enjoying the delightful weather and sticky track surface.

Mike Thompson Cecil County Dragway 8.50 Index WinnerIn the 8.50 Index class, Jeff Moyer, a racer we haven't seen in a little while, went straight to the top of the qualifying ladder with his 8.508 pass. The top 8 cars were in the 50's, Harry Gerb was right on Jeff's coattails with an 8.510. Jeff is going to have to look out for Harry, he's capable of 8.500 runs as we have seen in the past. A total of 21 cars made it to 8.50 Index, a great showing in the popular class. Many racers are coming out of the woodworks in preparation for the Shakedown in 6 weeks. Mike Thompson, the winner of the last race, was down near the bottom of the field in the #17 spot. Thompson worked his way up to the finals, where he faced Mike Pyott. Pyott went a tad too quick, and Mike Thompson took home back-to-back wins at Cecil County Dragway.

Alex Vrettos Cecil County Outlaw Drag Radial WinnerYou know we are in for a wild ride today when Alex Vrettos is down in the middle of the field today! Chris Evans in the bright green, procharged beast of a Mustang, takes the #1 qualifier spot tonight with a 4.856 pass. Paul Major and team are right there, with a 4.889. Scott Bitzer, Lewis Jones, and Alex Vrettos are not too far behind, with 5.070, 5.105, and 5.136 passes, respectively. Because the shootout always runs late into the evening, the drag radial boys are constantly battling track conditions and we'll see if the dew sets in when the sun goes down. Don Barnett, always a crowd pleaser, was doing wheelstands in the firebird like it was his job all day. Vrettos came back through the field from the #5 spot and gave us an exciting final round against Scott Bitzer. Alex was out of the gate first, Bitzer was starting to move then BOOM, little bit of a backfire and fireball, he shut it off. Vrettos was moving, then as the power came in he lit up the tires and was all over the track, Alex did a great bit of driving to avoid getting a Cecil stripe. The win goes to Alex, on a messy 5.668 pass.

Joe Newsham Cecil County Outlaw 10.5 Radial Winner8 cars made it to today's Outlaw 10.5 shootout. No surprise to see the reigning champ Joe Newsham from J&E Performance up at the top of the qualifying list, with a 4.458 @ 171.69 pass. Tommy Kasper and Mo Hall, tied for first place, were right behind Joe. Tommy went 4.563 and had some issues with his chip, but they made it to eliminations after a visit to the Cecil County speed shop. Mo Hall was itchin to take out some turbo cars again, as well. Both of the Twin Turbo South Jersey boys made it to the finals, Joe Newsham and Tommy Kasper. Tommy had a .005 jump on Joe, but Joe brought his A game and just flew down the track with the front wheels in the air, for a 4.469 to take the win. The South Jersey boys brought home the win, this time, +1 for Newsham and J&E Performance.



John Schroeder Cecil County Outlaw 7.50 Index WinnerSurprise surprise, the dominator in 7.50 Index was #1 qualifier yet again. John Schroeder has that car dialed in, he went 7.519 in qualifying. Kenny Doak in the green Camaro was not far as well, with a 7.575 to take the #2 spot. Schroeder once again took care of business in eliminations and brought home a win, beating Rick Righter in the finals, running a 7.624.


Detailed news along with pictures and videos from the race can be found in our forums by clicking here.



September 4th, 2009: Atco Raceway 8.50, 10.0, 12.0 Index
A Great night of close, heads up drag racing!

The heads up guys pulled into a full house at Atco Raceway, as there was a Summer Series race in progress. One good thing about so many dragsters going down the track - great track conditions, even better than everyone is used to. Another thing that was music to everyone's ears was the pre-race announcement that there would not be any random pairing for the first round, everyone would qualify for an all-run ladder! Smiles all around were what we observed from the racers, happy to have the old qualifying system back. The weather was cool but definitely some humidity in the air, points races in all classes are tight and everyone had their game faces on.

Dave Harvey Junior Atco Raceway 12.0 Index Winner In 12.0 Index, the field was the tightest it has been all year. The top 15 spots on the ladder were all in the 12.0s - wow! John Mealey took the #1 qualifier honors for the night with a 12.009 pass, a number that would be tough to beat. Mealey goes out in round two at the hand of Dave Harvey the III, who continued on to the finals to face his father, Dave Harver Jr. This time, Dad took home the win for the Harvey's and also takes home the bragging rights.

Tom Wood Atco Raceway 10.0 Index WinnerYou thought 12.0 was close, check out 10.0! The top 6 qualifiers were within 8 thousandths of each other, with the top 12 racers 10.086 or better. No surprise to see Mike Romeo at the top, who has been tearing it up in 10.0 recently, but really needs a win at Atco for the points. The other folks at the top of the ladder with him were Mike Colo, Scott Embley, CJ Ungaro, and Alan Von Ahnew. There was a great turnout for 10.0 tonight, a total of 20 good looking race cars. Tom Wood was getting it done all night, and went up against Scott Embley in the 10.0 Index Finals. Tom Wood's wheelstanding buick tore on down the track and he took home the win with an .031 light and a 10.072 pass. Congrats to Tom and family!

Ali Buscio Atco Raceway 8.50 Index Winner 12 cars made it out for the 8.50 field tonight, with some familiar folks at the top of the qualifying food chain. TJ Kasper came out and ran an 8.506 pass, only for Luis Martinez to come along and run a perfect 8.500 and snatch the #1 qualifler spot. Mike Conway, the points leader, was down in the #10 spot with a 8.599. Ali Buscio, fresh off a win at Englishtown, was right in front of Mike in the #9 spot. Ali was just on fire all night, her husband Craig and friend Wayne Keegan were on point with the tune. Ali goes 8.514 in the final round to take home her first win at Atco Raceway, and her second win in as many tries in the past two races.
Detailed news along with pictures and videos from the race can be found in our forums by clicking here.


Professional quality photos and event coverage of this race are available from Dave Milcarek, visit his site by clicking here.

Be sure to support Dave and pick up a framed photo of your ride for your shop, trailer, or office!




Marc Schankweiler takes 2 wins at Milan NMCA


Marc Schankweiler Nova True Street NMCA Winner Congrats to Marc Schankweiler at Mar-Schan Motorsports for taking two wins at the Milan Dragway NMCA event in his super clean Nova. On Saturday, Marc took home the win in the Tremec True Street Challenge, with a three pass average of 8.89. We know Marc had more in the car, and after swapping out a bad starter, he put the power tune-up in for Sunday's Speed Freak Clothing Fastest Street Car Shootout. Marc got it done, and won the shootout, doubling up for the weekend, taking home some cool cash and awesome gear from Speed Freak Clothing. Hey Marc, how about giving us a win back at home?! Keep up the good work, buddy.




August 2009 Race Car of the Month: Bill Verzilli


Bill Verzilli 1969 CamaroIn the latest installment of the GDR Race Car of the Month Feature, we had the pleasure to visit with Bill and Sue Verzilli to check out their Black '69 Camaro RS/SS. This beauty can be seen regularly in the Northeast 8.50 Index Race scene, tearing it up with the best of the best. Bill has been racing to 30 years, and is no stranger to the winner's circle. If you recall, he went to the Semi-Finals at the 2008 Shakedown @ E-town after going through three rounds in the difficult 32 car field. Bill, along with wife Sue and son Billy, can always be found having a good time at the drag strip alongside of their other family, all of the fellow racers. Be sure to check out the feature article along with photo gallery in our forums.





Lebanon Valley Dragway - Holeshot Wheels Ultimate Outlaw Shootout Series (ORSCA North)
Mother Nature visits LVD, but she doesn't stop the fun



Ultimate Outlaw Shootout SeriesRolling into the track late Friday afternoon, there were a few race teams already at the track with their camps set up, ready for an awesome weekend of racing. The Pritchett Boys were running around taking care of last minute details for the race, and were fired up for the weekend just like everyone else. Little did we know at that point that Mother Nature was also coming to the party, except she was on the way to throw a wrench in the plans and not help us out.

Ultimate Outlaw Shootout SeriesWe got a good soaking on Friday night, which continued on through Saturday morning. We had a break in the rain, and things were loking good. All of the teams took the time to brush away the standing water in their pits while the LVD crew took out the Jet and other equipment and started to dry the track. Not long after that, we got hit with a band of storms that didn't look like it was going to let off at all. By noon, there was no choice but to call the race for the day, as we had a curfew-free Sunday to get the race in. The race being cancelled for the day didn't stop the fun, however!! It just accelerated the timetable for the after-race Pit activities. The coolers and grills came out, and the race teams spent the rest of the afternoon, and well into the night, hanging out and having a good old time. On the back of everyone's minds was "I hope this rain goes away!!" Nate and Adam kept their heads high and had a positive outlook on things, which carried through for the entire weekend.

Ultimate Outlaw Shootout Series Holeshot WheelsThe break in racing action gave us some time to check out the sponsors, particularly Holeshot Wheels. Joe from Holeshot made some absolutely amazing custom trophies for the Shootout Series, they are real front wheels (valued at $600 I am told) mounted on a pedastal. Check out the images to see the detail and craftsmanship that goes into their wheels, and how they carry over their expertise to the custom trophies. Every racer that saw the trophies was pretty much drooling over them, and wanted nothing else but to win and have the opportunity to display that trophy prominently. You may see Rockin' Rob Cherkas and Joe from Holeshot next to the stunning Holeshot Wheels Model.

Ultimate Outlaw Shootout SeriesSunday rolled around, and we saw the teams getting their rides out of the trailers and race prepped. The LVD crew was busy drying the track, which was a long process due to the sheer amount of rain that we had in the past few days. They even enlisted some of the die-hard fans to get their street cars out and make laps on the surface to get some heat into it. Once the track was safe and dry, we heard some sounds that were music to our ears -- race engines warming up, and calls to the staging lanes! Pro and Super Pro cars came out first, and they did not disappoint. We saw some good looking doorslammers making some solid passes, heating up the track for the faster cars at the same time. Check out the sequence of Keith Falcone in his beauty of a black Camaro putting it on the bumper on his first time run, showing us how much bite the track had! Everyone was anxious to get through the bracket cars and hit the heads up part of the program, with Outlaw 10.5 coming up first.

Ultimate Outlaw Shootout Series Anthony DisommaThe Coast Chassis Design Outlaw 10.5 cars rolled into the beams with much anticipation in the air. In the first round of qualifying, we saw impressive passes from Anthony Disomma, running an 7.27, and also Billy Mitchell in the green S-10 putting a 7.14 on the boards. To noone's surprise, Joe Newsham came up and zoomed down the track with a 7.04 pass to take #1 qualifier spot after 1 round of qualifying. That time held up through round 2 until Anthony Disomma came back at Joe with a 6.99 pass. Not too long after him, Tommy Kasper came out in his recognizable black and green Mustang, fresh with some GDR vinyl on the front, and put up an amazing 6.72@216mph pass, over 2 tenths ahead of the closest competitor. Joe Newsham got out of shape on the second pass and remained number 3 qualifier.

Ultimate Outlaw Shootout Series Precision Nitrous 8.50 IndexIn the Precision Nitrous Technologies 8.50 Index class, we some some familiar faces and also some new ones ready to take a piece of the purse. TJ Kasper came out and did what he does, snatching the #1 qualifier spot for the first qualifying round with a 8.55 pass. Jason Penna, no stranger to 8.50 Index Wins, was right on his tail with an 8.61. The PA boys, Mike Pyott and Marc Schankweiler were even in the middle of the field with 8.64 passes. Mike Thompson and Angelo Valla were not too far behind, with 8.67 and 8.74 passes, respectively. In the second round of qualifying, Mike Pyott was almost there, adding a lot to the car and running the day's best (at the time) 8.518. TJ Kasper came by on his pass and ruined that for Mike, going an 8.513 and taking the #1 qualifier spot by .005 seconds.

Ultimate Outlaw Shootout Series Drag RadialGMPartsDirect.com Outlaw Drag Radial cars already have a traction disadvantage due to the running on radial tires, today that disadvantage was especially evident. All of the Drag Radial cars had traction issues, and the crew chiefs headed back to the pits scratching their heads, trying to figure out how to go A to B today. Mother Nature really had them by the crankshaft! In the middle of the second round of qualifying, it started to rain, and that was the end of racing action for the day.



Visit our forums to see the complete Photo Gallery of the event by clicking here.

The race will be featured on the Inside Drag Racing show on Fox Sports Network. You don't have to sit around forever to see it like some other TV shows, it will be televised on September 20th!

DAM Cancer Foundation and Fonse Performance to Sponsor Doug Foley at Maple Grove
Doug Foley and Tim Lewis return to NHRA Top Fuel Action


As many of you may know, Denise Ann Magliocco passed away on February 14th, 2009, after a long fought battle with ovarian cancer. Denise is the wife of Al Sr. and mother to Al Jr. of Fonse Performance based in Erial, NJ. After Denise's passing, Al Sr. started the DAM Cancer Foundation, its purpose being to give newly diagnosed cancer patients complete awareness of the many treatments and options available to effectively treat ovarian cancer. Al chose to launch the foundation at an NHRA race due to his family and business dedication to motorsports.

Doug Foley had parked his Top Fuel Dragster since September 2008, so he could focus on his primary business, Doug Foley's Drag Racing School. Together with the DAM Cancer Foundation and Fonse Performance, Doug Foley along with co-owner Tim Lewis will return to Top Fuel Dragster racing on August 20-23 at the 25th Annual Toyo Tires NHRA Nationals held at Maple Grove Raceway. Regarding the return, Tim Lewis was quoted saying, "We're honored to represent this noble cause and could not have picked a better partner for our first race of the year."
Fonse Performance 8.50 Index Camaro

Fonse Performance has been building high performance motors for drag racing and the marine world since 1970. You will find Al Jr. and the Fonse team racing their Black Camaro in 8.50 Index programs throughout the Northeast Division. A web site for the DAM Cancer Foundation is in progress and will be available shortly. Visitors to the web site will have the opportunity to ask questions about Ovarian Cancer and discuss treatment for the disease.



Source: NHRA.com
Source: MotorSport.com


August 18th, 2009: Doug Foley Top Fuel Testing
Top Fuel spotted at Atco Raceway!


Doug Foley Top Fuel DragsterGDR got the inside scoop on the Foley & Lewis Racing Top Fuel Dragster hitting the track at Atco Raceway yesterday. Foley and team brought the white dragster out for the first time in a while, getting ready for this weekend's Toyo Tires Nationals held at Maple Grove Raceway. They were all smiles after firing up the dragster for the first time, and after two test hits, everything seems to be in working order and the team is ready to do some Giant Killing this weekend!

As many of you may know, Denise Ann Magliocco passed away on February 14th, 2009, after a long fought battle with ovarian cancer. Denise is the wife of Al Sr. and mother to Al Jr. of Fonse Performance based in Erial, NJ. After Denise's passing, Al Sr. started the DAM Cancer Foundation, its purpose being to give newly diagnosed cancer patients complete awareness of the many treatments and options available to effectively treat ovarian cancer. DAM Cancer will be sponsoring Doug Foley and Tim Lewis this weekend at the 2009 Toyo Tires Nationals held at Maple Grove Raceway.

See photos of yesterday's testing by visiting the GDR Gallery, or check out the GDR Youtube Channel and watch this video.



August 7th, 2009: Lebanon Valley Dragway Night of Fire
E-town packs the stands for an action packed evening


It was good to be back to Lebanon Valley Dragway after a devastating flood about two weeks ago submerged most of the facility along with many racers' trailers and RV's. Howard Commander, track owner, spared no expense in getting the facility back to top shape, and as you'll see in the photos, all of his efforts paid off. The track was hookin', the stands were packed, and the fans enjoyed an awesome night of jets, wheelstanders, fireworks, and doorslammer drag racing.

Ken Hall driving Top Secret Jet Funny CarHannah Motorsports was out for the second time this week with their funny cars, the First Strike driven by Rich Hannah, and the Top Secret funny car driven by Ken Hall. As always, "Ken's Brother" Mike was in the house taking care of the crew responsibilities, and Al Hannah, team owner, was there as well, celebrating his birthday. The crowd was treated to three passes from the Hannah cars, along with it, some ridiculous fire shows and burner pops. Also racing jets was "Team Steam" in their jet-powered dragsters, done up like locomotives, complete with train horns!

Super Shockwave Jet TruckThe Super Shockwave Jet Truck made two appearences at the starting line, the crowd on their feet each time! This beast pushes out about 25,000 horsepower out of twin J-34 jets, while flames shoot out of the stacks all the way down the 1320. If you ever get a chance to see this truck in person, we highly recommend you take the opportunity!

Nate Pritchett was in the house, promoting the upcoming Outlaw Shootout Series coming to LVD on August 22nd-23rd. He dropped the bomb that if you hold a night of fire ticket stub, spectator entry to the Shootout series is only $10. Awesome!

We'd like to thank Sue Bell and the LVD staff for having us at their track! Sue is truly one of the friendliest drag strip managers on the east coast!

Visit our forums to see the complete Photo Gallery of the event by clicking here.



August 5th, 2009: Englishtown Jet Car Nationals & Monster Truck Show
E-town packs the stands for an action packed evening


Blasi Racing Pro Modified CorvetteEnglishtown Raceway Park did it again, packing the stands full of people, and the pits full of some impressive machinery to wow the crowd for the evening. We saw some wicked Pro Mod Passes, including Jeff Blasi in his Nitrous fed Vette, and Andy Jensen, who if you remember, set a world record at last month's event after going in the 5's with his single turbo, small block powered Pro Mod. Steve Cossis brought out his brand new car for some of its first ever passes. As usual, PC Richard & Son was sponsoring the event and brought out a bunch of their race cars.

Rich Hannah First Strike Jet Funny CarHannah Motorsports was out with their Jet Funny Cars, the Top Secret car driven by Ken Hall, and the First Strike car driven by Rich Hannah. They also brought along their Queen of Diamonds Jet Dragster, driven by Jill Canuso. Mother Nature cut our night short by a few minutes, so the jets couldn't make their second pass. That didn't stop them from putting on a show, however, as Ken and Rich emptied their fuel tanks and gave the crowd an awesome fire show at the starting line before the fireworks were lit in the famous "Tunnel of Fire."

Tom Meents Maximum Destruction Monster TruckRaceway Park realy outdid themselves tonight, adding on to their regular group of Monster Trucks by bringing out TWELVE Monster Trucks for some car-crushing action. The fans were on their feet as the trucks had a drag race, zooming down each side of the track when the tree dropped, crushing cars on the way, then racing back along the opposite side of the track, crushing even more cars. Later on in the night, the trucks came back out for some freestyle action. We saw it all from the likes of trucks like Bigfoot, Monster Mutt, and Tom Meents driving Maximum Destruction. Monster Mutt was doing some sick cyclones on the starting line, dizzying just about everyone watching. Tom Meents had a response, and did some even crazier cyclones, most scratching their heads wondering why he wasn't flipping over -- he was spinning THAT fast! In the end, the crowd favorite Meents took home the trophy yet again.

Angelo VallaAlong with the exhibition programs, many of Raceway Park's regular race programs were featured at the event, such as programs we follow like the 8.50 Index. and two of the Corvette Challenge classes. We saw Mike Conway and Jason Penna duke it out in the 8.50 Index final, Mike taking home the win after Jason went in deep and got the foul. David Shen took the Corvette Pro 10.0 class, and Angelo Valla took the win in the Corvette Pro 8 class (Valla also regularly races the 8.50 Index program). Congratulations to all of the winners, and thank you for taking the time to come out to an Exhibition show and share heads up racing with a huge crowd!

Visit our forums to see the complete Photo Gallery of the event by clicking here.



July 26th, 2009: Atco Raceway Quick 8 & 8.50 Index


Tom Kasper - Outlaw 10.5 Winner It was a scorcher of an afternoon as the Quick 8 program returned to Atco Raceway with a wicked group of blown cars, whether it was in the twin turbo or supercharger variety, there was some serious boostin' goin on! The crowd was treat to a final round with the return of the South Jersey boys for a threepeat, Joe Newsham of J&E Performance and Tommy Kasper. Joe's car has some serious power this year, often carrying the front tires to the 1/8th mile before they come down. Tommy has some power too, his Proline powered Mustang can haul some serious ass as well. Both cars left hard in the final, but Joe had to do some serious driving as his car skated around down track. He had no choice but to get out of it, and Tommy took home the win for the day with a 6.91 @ 210mph pass. Congratulations to Christy & Kasper Racing!

Tommy Romeo - 8.50 Index Winner8.50 Index was tough today, the weather bringing on some tuning nightmares for all teams involved. Most of the racers were a few hundreths off of their normal pace, creeping closer to an 8.50 flat as the day went on. TJ Kasper, the reigning champ, had his old man and crew chief Tommy hard at work between rounds of 8.50 and also Outlaw 10.5 rounds, but the Kaspers were able to make it all the way to yet another final round. Facing them was 'Shake n Bake' Tommy Romeo, back in action after some engine troubles earlier in the season. Tommy got TJ good on the tree, a rare thing to see, and that holeshot advantage propelled Tommy to his first win of the Season. Tommy ran an 8.597 to TJ's 8.581, but the .012 reaction time to TJ's .034 is what got him the trip to the winner's circle. Check out the photos of Tommy Romeo to see the special edition Shake 'n Bake box he has ;).

Check out the pictures and videos of the event, they can be found in our forums by clicking here.



July 24th, 2009: Englishtown 8.50, 10.0, 11.50 Index


Ali Buscio - 8.50 Index Winner Ali Buscio has been working her way down to the 8.50 mark in her Buick Regal since last season, along with the help of her husband Craig. This year, she's been impressing everyone with passes in the 8.5x zone and also going some rounds against tough competitors. Ali's time finally came up, as she took home her first ever win in the 8.50 Index class, beating out Mike Conway in the final round. Ali put up a perfect .000 reaction time in the final as well. Congratulations Ali!!

Mike Beck - 10.0 Index WinnerWe'll dare to say it -- the 10.0 Index program this year has been one of the tightest fields, if not THE tightest. To go rounds, you better be within a few hundreths of the Index, or you may as well load up the trailer. Mike Beck is no stranger to success at the drag strip, and he went through a tough field to take hom the win for tonight's 10.0 Index Class. Mike put up a 10.05 in the final, doing what it takes to get to the Winner's Circle.

Many crossover racers have joined the 11.50 Index program, coming from the popular Corvette Challenge held at Raceway Park. Ellis Gray is one of those folks, he did what it takes and ran the number again and again, taking home the win in 11.50 Index for the night.

Check out Arnie Cohen's videos of the event, they can be found in our forums by clicking here.



July 18th, 2009: Cecil County Dragway Real Street Car Shootout


Lynn Townes - 12.0 Index Winner Lynn Townes takes his second win in as many races at the latest installment of the Real Street Car Shootout at Cecil County Dragway. Lynn was the #1 qualifier for the day, and just had the car dialed in just about perfect for most of the day. During the semifinals, he took on the always tricky Walt Haas, catching Walt sleeping at the tree. Walt ended up breaking out, putting Lynn into the finals. In the finals, he took on Cliff Sebring, and it turned into a double breakout situation with Lynn being closer to the Index and taking home the win for the day.

Mike Romeo - 10.0 Index WinnerIn 10.0 Index, it was no surprise for us to arrive to the track to see Mike Romeo in the #1 qualifier spot and Carey Cable in the #2 spot. Also joining the pair in the semi finals was Lee Grinnell, who we were all happy to see back at the track, and Bill Dutka. Mike and Carey made it through the semis and lined up against each other in the finals. Carey went .007 red, giving the win away to Romeo, while Carey put a 10.002 pass on the boards and Mike ran it out with a 9.945. If you remember, Mike went red in the finals of the last 10.0 Index race at Cecil, so that seems to be out of his system for now.

Don Barnett - 275 Drag Radial WinnerIt was nice to see a few more of the racers in the 275 Radial Class had their cars ready to go for this up and coming class. Don Barnett took the #1 qualifier spot with a 5.221 pass, Adam "Guppy" Sailor right behind him in the #2 spot with a 5.390. All of the racers in this class had a real challenge getting down the track on such a small tire, knowing when to get on and off the throttle in order to beat the racer in the other lane. The final round was Don Barnett versus Ed Thomas. Ed did not make the call to the line as he had some transmission problems, giving Don his second and back-to-back win in this class at the Cecil County Real Street Car Shootout race program.

Detailed news along with pictures and videos from the race can be found in our forums by clicking here.



July 18th, 2009: Super Chevy Show at Maple Grove Raceway
GDR Hits Chevy Central




The folks at Super Chevy Show delivered an awesome weekend of racing action, as well as a huge car show, to Maple Grove Raceway. This year's event was the 25th anniversary of the first Super Chevy event at Maple Grove. Friday's action was cut short due to some downpours in the area, but come Saturday morning, the threat of rain was gone and the only weather threat in the area was blue skies and lots of sun!

Super Chevy Tremec True Street ChallengeOn Saturday, the Tremec True Street Challenge got into full swing with the cars going out for a short cruise, then to the starting line for 3 back to back passes. This class is really fun to follow as the cars are really put to the test, and the crowd loves to see these street legal machines tear it up down the 1320. The True Street class was full of members from GDR, like Marc Schankweiler who was the favorite after the first pass, running in the 8.60s. His gremlins returned and he was not able to get the car started after the second run, giving him the DQ. George Martinelli had no issues with the cruise, as his 30's Coupe is driven on the street to and from the track. Glenn Hunter was running an average time of 8.92 which was good enough to take home the win for the day. Runner-up was Mark Berese in his '80 Malibu, and the other winners of the class were as follows:
10 Second Index: Bill Betton
11 Second Index: Joe Focarino
12 Second Index: Brett Delong
13 Second Index: Gwen Miller

Ken Walsh Maple Grove Super ChevyThe Nitro Coupe class, run only at the Super Chevy Show, had 8 mean rides competing in the 1/8th mile challenge. 'The Kid' Ken Walsh came out and laid down a wicked 3.963 @ 189mph pass on the very first qualifier, setting the bar quite high. Ken, however, was taken out early in eliminations as he spun and had problems getting down the track. The final pairing in the Nitro Coupe class was TJ DeHaven and Doug Winters. The final was a great side-by-side race, with Doug Winters beating DeHaven to the stripe and taking home the win for the day. The win put Winters #2 in the Nitro Coupe points standings.

Super Chevy Show Maple Grove Bracket RacingTons, and we mean tons of cars were battling in the bracket programs all weekend. Those that were eliminated in the first round of the bracket challenge had the chance to get back into the action in the Last Chance race. It seemed to us that just about everyone that had the chance got back into the race for the small fee and nice payout. George Martinelli in his 1930s Coupe, an active GDR member, was going rounds taking out doorslammers and dragsters like it was nothing. George ended up going out in the semis, much to the disappointment of the crowd who had his back the whole day. Pat Barbone, racing in the borrowed red truck, went to the finals and took home the runner-up spot for the day. Winners of the bracket classes are as follows:
Bracket One: Kurt Holland
Bracket Two: Dan Walleigh
DOT Street: Kevin Mendenhall
Last chance Race: Bill Rizzo

Be sure to see Super Chevy's web site for all of the race results.

Super Chevy Show Maple Grove Car ShowOver in the car show area, participants had their rides gleaming for the judges and fans that came out. Every show class was packed with some wicked rides, and there are so many awards that were given out we don't have the space to list them all -- be sure to check out Super Chevy Show's Car Show Results for all of the information.

Detailed news of the 2009 Super Chevy Show at Maple Grove along with pictures from the race can be found in our forums by clicking here.





July 14th, 2009: Pritchett Brothers land TV Deal
Outlaw Drag Racing comes to Fox Sports Network!


In a major announcement from Adam and Nate Pritchett of Pritchett Brothers Racing, we learn that one of our favorite Outlaw Drag Racing Series, 1320X, is combining with ORSCA to bring you the Ultimate Outlaw Series. As you will see in the press release, this move will unite two strong organizations and bring Outlaw Drag Racing to the Inside Drag Racing show on Fox Sports Network. GDR is looking forward to continue to support Adam and Nate's races from the starting line and wherever else we can think of! Congratulations to the Pritchetts on this huge accomplishment.

Adam has answered many questions that our members have about the merger in this thread in our forums, be sure to join the discussion if you have anything to bring up.



July 10th, 2009: Englishtown 8.50, 10.0, 11.50 Index


Shay LaScalla - 11.50 Index Winner Englishtown's very popular Corvette racing crew once again crossed over to the 11.50 Index racing program and mixed with the rest of the world to bring us some close racing. Vettes were in the top #3 qualifying spots but they had some stiff competition knocking at their door. Those knocks went unanswered, as Shay LaScalla drove her '07 Vette straight on to the win for the night.



David Shen - 10.0 Index WinnerIn 10.0 Index, we saw some amazing runs during qualifying that gave us a preview of what eliminations would look like. Paul Cottone put up a 10.04 pass then backed it up with a 10.01 run, while Mike Beck was #2 with a 10.020, and David Shen #3 with a 10.047. The rest of the field was not too far behind, and were dealing with changing track condtions like everybody else, striving to keep the car close but not over the 10.0 Index. The #3 qualifier, David Shen, took out the two racers above him and snatched the win for the night in the final round, a double breakout situation against him and Mike Romeo.



Shawn Gallagher - 8.50 Index WinnerJason Penna set the tone in qualifying with an awesome 8.501 pass, and right behind him was the kid to beat, TJ Kasper, with an 8.502. Shawn Gallagher and John Goss were right behind them, in the #3 and #4 spots respectively. During the second round of qualifying, Rob Poochigian's hood blew off and did some damage to the car, we hope it is not too major and he is able to return to racing as soon as possible. During eliminations, Shawn Gallagher was cutting lights left and right, and running some great passes. In the finals, Shawn trees the heck out of Albert Yarusinski and sailed on to victory and another trip to the winner's circle.

Detailed news along with pictures and videos from the race can be found in our forums by clicking here.

Check out Dave Milcarek's Photo Gallery for photos of the race. Dave along with his partner Steve Bell were on hand the entire race, taking photos for your own personal history books. Be sure to visit and support their site!



July 8th, 2009: GDR's Forum Membership hits 3000 strong
A big milestone for us!


Thank you to all the members of GDR that make this site the place to go for some of the best Drag Racing action in the Northeast! Today, our forum membership reached 3000 members, a big milestone for us. We hope the forums continue to grow at a rapid pace, and that everyone enjoys our coverage and continues to participate in the community to make it the best it can be. THANK YOU!!



July 8th, 2009: Andy Jensen 5.944 @ 237mph
Small Block, Single Turbo Pro Mod hits the 5's


Andy Jensen Pro Mod We try and bring you big news first, well here is a dose of it! Andy Jensen's 5.944 @ 237mph pass made at Raceway Park's Summer Motorsports Spectacular, made possible by PC Richard & Sons. Running right next to him was a great pass as well, from Frank Patille out of CCI Motorsports. Enjoy!

Andy Jensen 5.944 - Streetfire Link

Andy Jensen 5.944 - YouTube Link





July 4th, 2009: Cecil County Dragway Outlaw Street Car Shootout
Finishline Performance brings awesome racing to our Independence Day


Finishline Performance and Cecil County Dragway do it again, bringing us a holiday race packed full of doorslammer action. The holiday weekend did little to hamper the efforts of the racers and fans to enjoy themselves at the track.

Robb Puller 8.50 Index WinnerMike Pyott came right off the trailer and ran a sweet 8.515 pass on the first qualifying run of 8.50 Index. It looked like that would hold up, until Kid Kwik TJ Kasper ruined it for Mike and put up an 8.502 in the second round of qualifying. The Kid would make yet another final, this time against Robb Puller. Puller was putting up some solid passes throughout the day, and he did it where it counted in the final round against TJ. Puller goes an 8.550 for the win for the day, against a breakout run from TJ.

Big Daddy Wayne Gutridge Outlaw Drag Radial WinnerA great showing from the Outlaw Drag Radial world today, as we had a full 16 car field full of some bad rides. 'Big Daddy' Wayne Gutridge led the pack in qualifying with a 4.855 pass on a track that was challenging for radial tires. He showed off his tuning prowess throughout the day as he did what he needed to to go A to B, taking the win for the afteroon with a 4.793 in the finals. Gutridge's car comes out conservative then lays a ridiculous amount of power down and zooms on down the track, any day now we will see Wayne in the sixes in the quarter mile.

Joe Newsham Outlaw 10.5 WinnerMo Hall was back in action, fresh off his win at the last Cecil Outlaw 10.5 race. His Nitrous fed machine went 4.523 for the #1 qualifier spot, with everyone else knocking on his door to try and take him out. Joe Newsham was one of those racers, who was testing along with a few others on July 3rd, making some sick passes and getting dialed in for the big race day. Joe's Cobra was taking him on some wild rides throughout the day, hanging the front tires for most of the way down the track. Joe put in the power where it counts, in the final against Mo Hall, and took the win home with a 4.495 pass.

John Schroeder 7.50 Index WinnerThe 7.50 Index class at Cecil continues to grow in car count, but the new faces that came today had no chance against John Schroeder. Schroeder was testing all day Friday, and on Saturday, he was running 7.50s all day. Pete Pace gave him a run for his money in the finals, running a 7.536, but Schroeder was still dead on and lit up the boards with a 7.512, taking the win for the day.

Detailed news along with pictures and videos from the race can be found in our forums by clicking here.



July 3rd, 2009: Atco 8.50, 10.0, 12.0 Index Racing
The race for points continues..


Mark Mueller 12.0 Index WinnerWhile some racers may have gone to the shore for the July 4th weekend, the dedicated ones that are in the race for points came down to Atco Raceway for the latest installment of the Index Racing series. Back to back 12.0 Index Racing Champ Walt Haas was in the house, looking for a threepeat, but Eric Mazzoni was able to take him out in Round #3. Eric Mazzoni continued on to the finals, to face Mark Mueller who had been dominating his opponents up to that point of the race. He continued with his mission and Mueller took the win for the night, and it was good to see him and his entire extended family back in the winner's circle with their beverage of choice.

Carl Ungaro 10.0 Index WinnerThe 10.0 Index class is always tough, evident tonight as we check out the eliminations results. Winners in round #2 were all within 4 hundreths of the 10.0 Index and all were cutting some great lights. Carey Cable went #1 qualifier in round 1 and was threatening the field as usual, but Carl Ungaro was right behind him as #2 and took him out in the Semi Finals. Ungaro meant business as he went rounds, putting up impressive elapsed times of 10.039, 10.003, and 10.033. He faced Michael Colo in the final round, Colo also getting it done as he took out many a tough foe. Ungaro and Colo both broke out in the finals as the weather had cooled off quite a bit, but Ungaro was a tiny bit slower putting him closer to the 10.0 Index and giving him the win for the Ungaro Brothers.

John Goss 8.50 Index WinnerMichael Conway came off of the trailer and went straight to the #1 qualifier spot, trying to pull off his second win in a row at Atco Raceway's 8.50 Index program. He faced some tough competition through the rounds, but managed to make it to his second straight final round. John Goss, in his sparkling, wheelstanding Camaro was #2 qualifier and went to the finals with Conway, but not after taking out some big names like Craig Buscio, Rockin' Rob Cherkas, and Rob Poochigian. Conway got Goss at the tree, but Goss was able to run faster and take home the win for the night. Could it have been the fresh GDR vinyl on his back glass? We'll soon see...

Check out our July 3rd, 2009 Atco Index Racing Event Coverage thread in our forums for full results.

Also, you will definitely want to check out Dave Milcarek's Photo Gallery for photos of the race. Dave's images are amazing, do not miss out on the opportunity to grab photos of your ride from such a legendary Drag Racing photographer!



July 2nd, 2009: DotNetBoyz.net presents King of the Grudge
Where the street comes to the track


King of the GrudgeAs many of you know, this event is way different from just about any other race. Grudge racing at the track has become extremely popular as of late, as racers realize they have a safer venue to race without fear of the cops chasing them or all of the spectators away :) Petey from the DotNetBoyz put this race together, offering a pretty substantial payout - $4000 to the winner and $1100 to the runnerup. The timing system was completely off, racers left on an armdrop and a spotter was at the top end calling the winners. There was no track prep besides getting rid of the water that mother nature dumped on it the night before. I overheard the people at the front gate saying there were 184 spectators at the event -- pretty damn good for a weekday!!!

Frank Vargas CrashThe action was pretty wild all day, as racers did their best to navigate the difficult track conditions. The very first pass showed us how difficult it would be as we saw Jeff aka krylonkiller get loose and cross over the center line. On the very next pass, Frank Vargas was up against Petey, Frank's car made a hard move to the left and he did all he could, but in the end he nailed the wall with the driver's side of his Mustang. The car is junk but Frank was not hurt in the wreck.

Petey and Rockin Rob CherkasWinning this race was no easy matter, as there were some top notch racers ready to take the cash. A big upset was in round #2 as Petey from the DotNetBoyz took out Scott Bitzer, a big name in the Outlaw Drag Radial world. The finals was a matchup between Petey and Rockin' Rob Cherkas in his Precision Nitrous powered Mustang. Petey got Rob on the tree, a problem he was admittedly facing all day. Rob was not able to catch up and Petey took the win for the day and the $4000 first prize. Rob didn't go home empty handed, he left with a cool $1100.

We'd like to thank the DotNetBoyz for inviting us to cover this exciting race, and for all the publicity shared with GDR. Spectators, if you have the chance to make the next race, you do NOT want to miss it!

Visit our forums for a coverage thread on this event, or go straight to the July 2, 2009 King of the Grudge Photo Galleries.





July 2009 Race Car of the Month: Walt Haas


Walt HaasWe are happy to announce our first GDR Race Car of the Month, featuring Walt Haas. Walt is a die-hard racer who has been at it for decades. He was kind enough to open up his garage and empty his trailers to show off not only his regular 12.0 Index Race car that we are used to seeing at the strip, but also the rest of his Mopar packed stable. Be sure to check out the feature article along with photo gallery in our forums.






June 26-28, 2009: Carlisle All GM Nationals
GDR hits Central PA for a GM packed weekend

Carlisle is known around the country as hosting the best car shows in the business, and once again, they did not disappoint this weekend. The weather in Central PA was amazing, and GDR hit the Carlisle All GM Nationals Show to check out what was being offered up for everyone to see.

Quarter Aces Drag-o-Way On Friday, we hit Quarter Aces Drag-o-Way, a gem of a 1/8th mile strip only minutes away from Downtown Carlisle. Quarter Aces, formerly known as South Mountain Dragway, has quite a bit of history, dating back to the late 1950's. Back in November of 2007, a local businessman and drag racer bought the track, and has been making improvements to the facility ever since. The Friday night program included the Super, Pro, Street eliminator, and Pro Stick classes. Check out the GDR Photo Gallery of the Carlisle All GM Nationals Race at Quarter Aces Drag-o-way to see the action you missed!

GTOs on the Carlisle ShowfieldThe Carlisle showfield was packed early Saturday Morning, full of car fans getting in their last minute detailing done in prepration of the judges coming to visit their cars. Unlike previous shows, this year's GM Nationals judging was done by judges and not participant ballot. Some of our regular racers back at home also took a break from the drag strip this weekend to show their cars. Making an amazing showing and taking up a huge chunk of the showfield were a ton of late model GTO's, many of which belong to G.O.N.E. (GTO Owners of the Northeast). Familiar faces were Jrzy Goat and LS1Melissa from GDR, showing their red GTO's. Melissa also entered the burnout contest, where she was right at home, as anyone who has seen her in the burnout box before knew she would enjoy lighting up her Mickey Thompson's for the crowd.

Camaro Black ConceptGM's new Camaro was also making an impressive showing, with a handful of Camaro owners showing their brand new rides. GM brought out the Camaro Black concept car, a completely blacked out 2010 Camaro sporting some great looking body modifications and a fancy set of wheels. SLP Performance Parts was on the field showing off their ZL550 (automatic) and ZL575 (manual) supercharger packages for 2010 Camaros. These packages include a full performance package as well as a few body modifications. Only 250 of each will be built, word on the street is that they will be going fast! Skip to this page in the photo gallery to see more info on the rides.

Creative Car Tunes Phoenix Contact El CaminoWe stumbled upon an interesting ride in one of the featured car buldings, a 1970 El Camino done by Creative Car-Tunes for Phoenix Contact, a company that specializes in automation techonology. The El Camino was rigged up as an ultimate tailgate vehicle, featuring a ton of multimedia devices, and a grill, all hidden by an automated retractable tonneau cover. Everything on this car was done at the push of a button on a touch screen display mounted by the back glass on the passenger side. We'd love to have this ride at the drag strip for our grilling activities, we'll see if our dreams will come true someday!

Carlisle GM Nationals Burnout ContestLate in the afternoon on Saturday, the grandstands filled for the ever popular burnout contest. Last year we saw some impressive burnouts that smoked out the entire area, and this year, the action was even more intense than last. The Carlisle Maintenance staff is on point with the burnout box prep, boxing the car in and shielding the crowd from flying tire pieces. Each contestant has three minutes to light 'em up, the end goal for the contestant is to get the crowd on their side and cheer for their win. To please the crowd, they need to see tire pieces flying, and the first contestant that did ended up winning the contest. Check out the GM Nationals Burnout Contest Photo Gallery.

Carlisle GM Nationals Beauty ContestNoone would be leaving the showfield until the most popular event of the day went down, the Beauty Contest. 9 Beauties graced the stage of the grandstands, strutting their stuff in their bikinis as the crowd's jaws dropped. They were all given a brief question to answer (car related of course), then the crowd's reaction judged who would pick up the win. Taking it home was the gorgeous contestant #1. Check out the GM Nationals Beauty Contest Photo Gallery here. Sam Memmolo & Bryan Fuller from the Two Guys Garage TV Show were on hand to judge the contest.


Read more about the show and discuss it in our forums here

2009 Carlisle All GM Nationals - Quarter Aces Dragway Racing Pics
2009 Carlisle All GM Nationals - Show Field Pics
2009 Carlisle All GM Nationals - Burnout Contest Pics
2009 Carlisle All GM Nationals - Bikini Contest Pics




June 27, 2009: Atco Raceway Quick 8 & Extreme 275
Heads-up Outlaw 10.5 and 275 Drag Radial action!

Special Thanks to Carey Cable & Rich Bach for Event Coverage

Special Thanks to Dave Milcarek for Winner's Circle Photos

Gary Naughton Kenny Doak Outlaw 10.5 WinnersOutlaw 10.5 Racing returned to Atco Raceway for their exciting Quick 8 Race Program. The reigning champ, Joe Newsham of J&E Performance set the bar for eliminations with a 6.88 qualifying pass to make #1 qualifier. Joe's night ended in the semi-finals though, when his Cobra crossed the center line. Some other familiar faces had trouble as well, as both Tommy Kasper and Larry Wood hurt their twin-turbo fed Mustangs.Billy Mitchell and his green S10 were hauling some ass down the track all night, as well as Gary Naughton piloting Kenny Doak's badass blown Camaro. It ended up being Gary and Billy in the finals, Gary nailed the tree and left Billy behind. Billy was not able to make up the deficit and the holeshot win went to Gary & Kenny. Outlaw 10.5 racing will return to Atco Raceway on July 26th.


Walt Pfister Extreme 275 Radial WinnerThe latest installment of the fresh Extreme 275 Radial class at Atco Raceway was sponsored by Crazy Don's Chassis Works. Four of the baddest 275 Radial cars in the area made it to the race, and they were Rich Bach, Walt Pfister, Bill Lange, and Don Barnett. Qualifying was close as Don Barnet was #1 with an 8.26, Walt Pfister right behind him with an 8.27. Rich Bach wasn't too far behind with an 8.37, and Bill Lange was having some issues with the car and was definitely the underdog for the night. Proving that the underdog can make it to the finals, Bill limped down the track for a win in the semis against Don Barnett, who lost a blower belt. Walt Pfister was able to take out Rich Bach, and also took out the hurt Lange in the finals to take his second straight win in Extreme 275 Radial. Extreme 275 returns to Atco Raceway on August 9th.

Check out Dave Milcarek's photo gallery of this event, be sure to support Dave and grab yourself a photo of your ride!

Visit this thread in our Forums for videos of the event, or head straight to the GDR Youtube Channel for Outlaw 10.5 and Extreme 275 Radial videos.



June 27, 2009: Northeast Outlaw Pro Mod Shootout
Rumble at the Grove

Coverage courtesy of the Northeast Outlaw Pro Mod Association

Jeff Blasi & Peter Farber Pro Mod WinnersThe inaugural "Rumble at the Grove" at Maple Grove Raceway brought over 24 Pro Mods to fight for 8 spots in each of the two classes. In the Nitrous / Aspirated class, the final pairing was Jeff Blasi versus Ed Burnley. Jeff had a great light, a .016 reaction time over Ed's .059. Jeff's elapsed time was one thousandth of a second faster than Ed's, giving him the win for the day. Bob Blasi shared a video of one of Jeff's passes earlier in the day (a 6.35@223mph), you can see that here on Youtube.

In the Pro Mod Blower class, Tommy Gray in the Undertaker Camaro was #1 qualifier with a 6.025 elapsed time at 239MPH. Tommy made it all the way to the finals, his third in a row, against the newcomer Peter Farber. Peter burned Tommy at the tree with an .023 light to Tommy's .067, and also ran his best ET of the day for the win, a 6.110 @ 234MPH. Visit the North East Outlaw Pro Mod Association's Results Page for full race details.






June 27, 2009: Naturally Aspirated Shootout
All Motor Nationals hit Cecil County Dragway

Coverage courtesy of the Naturally Aspirated Shootout Series and TRS Photo

RAM Racing has done it again and brought the popular Naturally Aspirated Shootout event to Cecil County Dragway. A mind blowing 55 cars made up the All Motor Index (AMI) class, full of tough competitors. For example, more than half of the field was within six hundredths of their dial-in, and six racers were within ONE hundredth! Other classes run on Saturday were Drag Radial, Naturally Aspirated 10.5, and Pro Naturally Aspirated. This race series is full of exciting, wheels up action, and close racing. The next installment will be at Maryland International Raceway on July 25th.

Follow these links for race results:
Qualifying Sheets
Run Sheets


Visit Tracy Smith's Photo Gallery of the event here.



J&E Performance Web Site Launched
WTF Web Design does it again!


J&E PerformanceBe sure to take the time to visit J&E Performance's brand new web site done by none other than Mark from WTF Web Design who also laid the groundwork for GDR's own homepage. J&E Performance is a full-service Performance shop based out of Blackwood NJ, home of Outlaw 10.5 Champion Joe Newsham. The site is full of media and news on not only Joe's Cobra, but his complete history as a Drag Racer. They are also a sponsor of GDR and we appreciate their help in keeping us a force on the web!



June 14th, 2009: Englishtown NHRA Supernationals
GDR Hits E-town for some Nitro fun


Larry Dixon Englishtown NHRA Top Fuel WinnerWe had the opportunity to spend the day with the Fonse Performance boys up at E-town to watch the elimination rounds of the NHRA Supernationals. Check out our Supernationals Photo Gallery for our view of the day, from the pits and also from the stands. The action was wicked as Larry Dixon brought home the win in Top Fuel Dragster, Tony Pedregon in Funny Car, Jeg Coughlin in Pro Stock, and Craig Treble in Pro Stock Motorcycle. The fans held their breaths as not one, but two Alcohol Funny Cars went into the sand traps at E-town. The new netting system and shutdown modifications did exactly what they were supposed to, as both drivers walked away from the wrecks with nothing but bad memories.



June 7th, 2009: Cecil County Dragway Outlaw Street Car Shootout
Finishline Performance brings back to back Outlaw Racing to Cecil County


What? Two days in a row of Outlaw racing? Only Finishline Performance and Cecil County Dragway could put on such a badass weekend of racing. Tons of racers returned for the second straight day of action and did not upset one bit.

TJ Kasper 8.50 Index WinnerToday's 8.50 race was an exciting one, with Saturday's champ TJ Kasper in the #1 qualifier spot, setting the stage for everyone else to after him to try and win. Making his first 8.50 Index final ever was Al Jr. from Fonse Performance in his Naturally Aspirated Camaro. Al Jr. was chopping the tree all day, giving him a big advantage over opponents throughout the race. The Fonse family was out in force, and met their friends the Kaspers as TJ Kasper made it to back to back finals this weekend. TJ ended up taking his second win of the weekend in the 8.50 Index class, the second time this season that Kid Kwik one back-to-back races 2 days in a row.

John Ballinsky Outlaw Drag Radial WinnerJohn Ballinsky's "On A Budget" Cutlass was up against some big names in the Drag Radial world today. He wasn't the quickest during eliminations, but his magic at the tree and hard work all around put him in the finals against Francis Johnson's flamed up Firebird. Ballinsky put the petal to the metal and did not let off, even as he got a little squirrely going through the traps. Team "On A Budget" made it to the winner's circle and showed that you don't need a ton of resources to take home the win!

Mo Hall Outlaw 10.5 WinnerMo Hall's nitrous fed beast of a Camaro was haulin' some ass yet again today, with racers like Tommy Kasper and Joe Newsham also showing the power of their rides. Spectators experienced a bit of Deja Vu, as Mo Hall made it to the finals yet again against Tommy Kasper's Mustang. Mo and Tommy raced side by side to the stripe, with Mo taking todays win with a 4.528 @ 167.49. Mo and Tommy had identical e/t's during qualifying, the only difference between the two cars was about 8mph.

Detailed news along with pictures and videos from the race can be found in our forums by clicking here.



June 6th, 2009: Cecil County Dragway Outlaw Street Car Shootout
Finishline Performance kicks off a weekend full of racing


It was hot and humid for this month's installment of the Finishline Performance Outlaw Street Car Shootout held at Cecil County Dragway. Mother Nature dropped a few day's worth of rain on Rising Sun, causing a delay in the start of racing while the track was dried out and prepared properly. As usual, the Cecil County staff were on top of things and provided a safe racing surface for everyone to try and put up their best times.

TJ Kasper 8.50 Index Winner23 cars filled up the 8.50 Index field, with Bill Verzilli heading up the top of the pack after qualifying was over. Billy made it all the way to the Semi-Finals where Rob Poochigian finally put an end to his run for the day. No surprise to many, TJ 'Kid Kwik' Kasper from Christy & Kasper Racing went rounds and also took home the win for the day. The Kid was not phased by any of the other racers trying to throw him off his game, his experience proves that he belongs at the top of the pack.


Alex Vrettos Corupt Motorsports - Outlaw Drag Radial WinnerBig Daddy Dwayne Gutridge's Twin Turbo foxbody was on a roll Saturday, resetting the track record elapsed time in the Outlaw Drag Radial 1/8th mile category. Just as it looked like noone would take him down, Alex Vrettos lined up against Big Daddy in the finals and took the win for the day. Alex's Corupt Motorsports Twin Turbo Mustang's 4.876 was good enough to send him to the Winner's circle, still wearing that "lucky" (not so sure about that) NJ Devils T-shirt.



Tommy Kasper Outlaw 10.5 Winner13 big names in Outlaw 10.5 Drag Racing battled for the 8 spots to make it to the show. Qualifying in the number one spot was Christy & Kasper Racing's Twin Turbo Mustang, with a 4.455 pass. Right on his heels all day was Mo Hall's Nitrous fed Camaro. Both Tommy and Mo made it to the final round, where Tommy was able to overpower Mo's Camaro and take home his first win in his new Pro-Line Racing machine. Another big accomplishment for this team was the father/son combination wins, Tommy winning Outlaw 10.5 and his son TJ winning the 8.50 Index Class.



Detailed news along with pictures and videos from the race can be found in our forums by clicking here.



May 30th, 2009: Snap-On Night Of Thrills at Englishtown
No Comprimise Tour comes to a packed house at Raceway Park


TJ Kasper 8.50 Index WinnerSnap-On Tools brought the No Comprimise tour to Englishtown Raceway Park, packing the stands with a fun filled night of action for all. The stands were PACKED and heads up racing got some good publicity! The 8.50 Index race from 5/29 was rained out, those that purchased a tech card were invited back to run at the Snap-On event. 2 qualifiers were held, then an 8 car field went to eliminations. Headed to the finals were Rob Poochigian and the kid TJ Kasper. Rob went red by a hair, and TJ took home yet another win in the 8.50 Index program at Englishtown.

Blasi Racing Pro ModRunning exhibition passes were a couple of funny cars, nostalgia funny cars like US Male, also a few Pro Stock cars. A few Pro Mods were in the house as well, it was nice to see Blasi Racing's Pro Mod making some wicked passes, with the exhaust lit up on the night time pass. Also keeping the crowd busy was a fleet of car crushing monster trucks, like Grave Digger, Wild Thang, and Captain's Curse.

Be sure to check Englishtown Raceway Park's web site for their schedule of Thrill events going on throughout the summer. These events are awesome and you do not want to miss them!

Detailed news along with pictures and videos from the race can be found in our forums by clicking here.




Weather Alert: 5/29/2009 Englishtown Rained out




May 22nd, 2009: Atco 8.50, 10.0, 12.0 Index Racing
The race for points continues....

As some of you know, our staff was out of commission for this race, but we still do our best to bring you results from the race. Walt Haas 12.0 Index WinnerThe 12.0 Index class looked tough judging from what we see on the eliminations results! Most of the winners in Round #1 were laying down 12.0X numbers which shows how good this group of racers is. Best in round 1 was a 12.008 w/ a .051 light, an impressive package from Nick Berti. Walt Haas was right on his toes with second best of the round, a 12.014. Round #2 looks like the racers were battling the cool night, with every single racer breaking out and running too fast for the Index. For the rest of the night it looks like the challenge continued, but going rounds and taking his second and back-to-back win was Walt Haas in his Malibu Hemi Wagon. Congrats on the repeat Walt!

Mark Plucinski 10.0 Index WinnerI'll say it time and time again, the 10.0 Index racers that make their way to Atco do not fool around. Most of these guys test a lot, and also race many other classes and other 10.0 programs, so they are on their games and on top of their tune-ups. Round 1 brought 20 racers to the beams, and we saw some impressive times like a 10.008 from Doug Frisch, a 10.019 (with no red light) from Carey Cable, and a perfect reaction time of .000 from Mike Romeo. Round #2 saw Ray Wallis Jr. in his bad purple mustang put up a 10.000 on the boards, but Mark Plucinski caught him at the tree and took the holeshot win. Mark went on to run subsequent 10.030 and 10.012 passes, and took home the win for the night after his opponent in the finals could not make the call.

Mike Conway 8.50 Index WinnerA small crowd at 8.50 tonight, but a good group of teams, most if not all who have all had their turn in the Winner's Circle at some point. All eyes were on teams like the Fonse Performance team, back in business with a fresh trans, as well as the Kid TJ Kasper who is the reigning track champ. Al Jr. got his ticket to round #2 after a disappointing breakout for Craig Buscio, who was only seven thousandths of a second over the 8.50 Index. Rockin' Rob Cherkas, Brian Ferrari, and Michael Conway set the tone for the night, all running 8.5X numbers. The Kid took a bye in round #1. In Round #2, Al Jr. put up an amazing .008 light but that would not do the trick against Rockin' Rob who is never far off of the 8.50 dial. In a tough matchup, TJ Kasper took the win against Brian Ferrari and the Green Machine. In the semi-finals, Mike Conway pulled off the upset and beat TJ Kasper, Mike's impressive 8.506 doing the trick for him. In the final round, Rockin' Rob broke out, but Mike Conway earned his win with an 8.516 pass and .035 light.

Detailed results from the race can be found in our forums by clicking here.



Snap-On Tools teams up with 8.50 Index Shootout
No Comprimise Tour comes to Raceway Park

Word on the street from Keith @ Finelines is that the Snap-On Tools No Compromise Tour is coming to Raceway Park for two days, May 29th-30th 2009. Coincidentally (or not) there is a regularly scheduled Index race on Friday the 29th. Snap-On will be having a huge tool show, welding seminars, a car show, and many more things to do. In addition, they have added about $1400 to the 8.50 Index payouts in the form of tools for the May 29th race. The winner of the race, the #1 qualifier, and the best appearing car will be awarded the Snap-On tools, along with a huge trophy.

The following night, Saturday May 30th, is the Snap-On Tools Night of Thrills at Raceway Park. Don't miss out on this fun filled night packed full of some wild action at the strip (check out the photo galleries from last year's event here). Selected 8.50 Index points leaders will be invited to race on Saturday the Night of Thrills Event. For more information, see this thread in our forums or Raceway Park's web site.



May 15th, 2009: Atco NMRA
Mustang power!

Unfortunately our staff had to cut our trip to the 2009 NMRA race at Atco short due to personal reasons, but we were there for coverage on Friday and caught a good bit of the action. Click here to see our picture galleries from Friday night. Additionally, please visit NMRA's Web site for further information on the race.








May 10th, 2009: Heads Up Naturally Aspirated Shootout
Day full of awesome Heads up, Wheels up action!

GDR had the privilege of being invited to cover the Heads Up Naturally Aspirated Shootout series opener on Mother's Day at Maple Grove. The weather was great and so was the racer turnout, with a total of seven classes being featured at the event. In addition to the normal PRO N/A, 10.5 N/A, N/A Drag Radial, and All Motor Index, there were also 8.50 Index, Outlaw Drag Radial, and Outlaw 10.5 classes.

Merv Moyer Pro N/A Winner Taking home the win in the Pro N/A Class was Merv Moyer in the sleek looking Black Mustang. Merv made it through tough competition from the likes of Rich Scioscia, Randy Harshman, and John Gaydosh. Moyer's fastest pass of the day was in the first round, a 7.406 @ 184.6 mph.




Dan Walleigh AMI WinnerThe All Motor Index (AMI) class brought out over 40 cars, dialed in to half second increments from 9.50 up to 13.00 seconds. This class was pretty wild to watch as there were some skilled drivers who participate in weekly bracket and index races throughout the region, all well capable of running dead on numbers. After five rounds, the final matchup was between Carey Cable running 10.00 Index, and Dan Walleigh with a 10.50 dial. The matchup ended up in a double breakout situation, Walleigh closer to the mark and taking the win light for the day after going rounds.


Billy Verzilli 8.50 Index Winner The 8.50 Index class was a special addition to the series opener. Some of these dedicated racers made it to the Grove for their third straight day of racing. Both Billy Verzilli and Mike Pyott were out for their first time this season, and it proved to be a good day for the pair as they both made it to the finals. Billy took home the win, Mike beat him at the tree but Billy made it to the line first with an 8.608 @ 156mph. Want to dress like Sue Verzilli?? Hit up the GDR store for one of those fashionable 8.50 Index shirts.


Henry Jackson NA 10.5 WinnerThe Naturally Aspirated 10.5 class was made up of 10 heavy hitters, most of the teams within 1 tenth of each other and providing us with some exciting side by side racing throughout the day. Henry Jackson and John Langer put up the fastest times in the first round, and those times were good enough to take them all the way to the finals. John could not get the Pontiac going, and Henry coasted on to take the win for the day in his Chevelle.


Ron Rhodes NA Drag Radial WinnerThe Naturally Aspirated Drag Radial class was full of wheels up action, with the racers laying down some impressive numbers for riding on such small tires and having no power adders. Ron Rhodes set the tone early, taking the #1 qualifier spot. He continued on his tear, laying down 9 flat passes in the first two rounds of eliminations, and finished off his day with a 8.968 pass in the finals to take the win over Bill Perkins.


Gary Kramer Outlaw Drag Radial WinnerGary Kramer spent his day figuring out how to get down a slippery track on radial tires, getting the right tune in his wicked Procharged Chevelle. He did what he needed to do, and took home the win for the day in the Outlaw Drag Radial class. Mike Cerminaro had Gary's number, but did not make it down for the finals. Also out for his first race with a new setup was John "wazslow" Kokinda, fresh off his 1200hp+ dyno session over at Fonse Performance.


Detailed news along with pictures and videos from the race can be found in our forums by clicking here.

Be sure to check out the official event coverage at the Heads Up Naturally Aspirated Shootout web site. In addition, professional photos are available from this event and the entire series for your viewing pleasure and purchase from Tracy @ TRS Photo at this link.



May 9th, 2009: Englishtown - Neverlift for Jenna
Great day of racing for a great cause


TJ Kasper - 8.50 Index WinnerThe first Annual Neverlift for Jenna race held at Englishtown Raceway Park was a huge success, raising at least $13,000 (and still counting) for Jenna Barnaby. A total of 11 classes were racing at E-town, but the two classes featured for the Neverlift race were 8.50 Index and Outlaw 10.5. Taking home the win in the 8.50 Index class, his second for the weekend, was TJ Kasper and Christy & Kasper Racing. In a great show of class and sportsmanship, Kasper and Runner-up Shawn Gallagher decided to donate all of the first place purse of $2000 to Jenna Barnaby's fund before heading to the starting line for the final race.


Anthony Disomma Outlaw 10.5The Twin Turbo Outlaw 10.5 Shootout exhibition was exciting for the fans, bringing about many local teams to come and strut their stuff. We saw Team Harris and their new GTO, getting in some track time and showing off the bad new ride. Dale Collins Jr. brought the pink Camaro out and won the shootout. Christy & Kasper Racing brought out both their Lincoln Mark VII and Mustang, as well as Disomma Racing's bright orange Mustang. Tommy Deez was also out, tearing it up in his red S10.


Also raising a ton of money for Jenna Barnaby's fund was Harry and Jackie of H&J Motorsports. H&J raffled off a basket full of car products as well as accepted cash donations for the fund all day long. It was great to see the entire racing community reach into their wallets for such a good cause.


Thank you to Wayne Keegan, Keith Mitterman, the Englishtown Staff, and everyone involved for putting up such a good race for such a great cause. We hope to be involved with this race for many years to come!


Detailed news along with pictures and videos from the race can be found in our forums by clicking here.


Professional quality photos and event coverage of this race are available from Steve Bell, visit his site by clicking here.

Be sure to support Dave & Steve and pick up a framed photo of your ride for your shop or office!



May 8th, 2009: Englishtown Index Season Opener
11.50 Debut, 10.0 Pros are back again, Kasper continuing his reign


Yes folks, it actually stopped raining for a few hours!! The sun came through the clouds up in Englishtown for their Index racing season opener.

Shawn Cavanaugh - 11.50 Index Winner The first run of the new 11.50 Index class brought many crossover racers from Englishtown's very successful Corvette Challenge class, along with a few more regular faces. Shawn Cavanaugh in his '03 Vette took home the win for the night. Shawn caught a break in round 1 as his opponent lit the red bulb and he broke out with an 11.38, but he was able to slow it down to the number and make it to the winner's circle.



Mike Beck - 10.0 Index WinnerIn 10.0 Index, everyone was keeping an eye on Mike Romeo who is fresh off a win at Atco Raceway and a number two spot at Cecil County Dragway's Real Street Car Shootout. Mike made it to the finals again, but Michael Beck was on his game all night and took home the win in a double breakout situation. Michael was #5 qualifier with a 10.165, but quickened up in eliminations and layed down 10.017, 10.003, and 9.953 passes.



TJ Kasper - 8.50 Index WinnerReigning track champ TJ Kasper qualified #2 in the 8.50 Index class. He had some tough competition through the rounds, like round #1 where Wiso Melendez treed the life out of him (.001 to .079) but TJ was able to drive around the deficit. Further rounds brought just as much difficulty, from the likes of Craig Buscio, Al Jr., and Gary Romonoyske. In the final vs. Romonoyske, it was a tight race, and we were all held in suspense while the timing system took a vacation before lighting the win light on Kasper's side.




Detailed news along with pictures and videos from the shootout can be found in our forums by clicking here.



May 1-2, 2009: Armdrop Live @ Atco Raceway
Rich Christensen & crew brought one heck of a race to our area!

Rich Christensen - Armdrop LiveWe were fortunate enough to have Armdrop Live come out to Atco Raceway this weekend, starring Rich Christensen along with his brother Kent, and President Brian Bossone. Rich and company brought a killer show for the fans and racers, with plenty of cash from sponsor NAPA up for grabs and a full race program of heads up, Arm Drop racing.

Rich Bruno - GremlinMother Nature was not cooperative on Friday, giving us a few breaks and a late start to the rushed race program. Friday night's race turned into a possible final race, as we had no idea what the weather would do on Saturday. Rich Bruno in his wild Gremlin won the Armdrop competition on Friday, and if it turned out to be a washout Saturday, he would be the winner for the weekend.



GDR Likes WheelstandsThe racers and fans were dedicated and determined on Saturday morning, sitting out the rain in their trailers and under the bleachers, hoping for a break in the weather to watch the show that Rich and crew are known for. The raindrops at Atco stopped early afternoon on Saturday, and by about 2:30, racing got underway. We ended up with four different fields, including cars in the 9.0, 10.0, and 11.0 range, as well as bikes mixed in with some killer quads. Familiar faces from the site were in attendance such as Carey Cable, Chris Ely, Dave Harvey Jr., Doug Frisch, and a few others. Doug Frisch made it all the way to the finals of his class where he was narrowly defeated by John Paone by .024 seconds.

Click here for the Arm Drop Live @ Atco Raceway Picture Gallery




Weather Alert: Cecil 5/1 Outlaw Shootout postponed until Sunday, June 7th





April 26th, 2009: Atco Raceway Quick 8 / Extreme 275 Radial
More hot weather, more debut classes at Atco

Continuing on our with our busy weekend, we returned to Atco Raceway on Sunday for the first Quick 8 (Outlaw 10.5) race of the season, as well as a new class for Atco, the Extreme 275 Radial class, brought to us by the Small Block Posse and Mouth Racing.

Joe Newsham Outlaw 10.5 Winner The Quick 8 class brought some heavy hitters to the track, but after qualifying was finished, it was anyone's race as they all scrambled to get tunes in the car that didn't overpower the track. Kasper & Christy Racing were laying down the best numbers in their new Mustang during eliminations, but the champ Joe Newsham wasn't too far behind them. Both South Jersey teams made it to the finals, Kasper had some technical problems on the line and the car cut off as soon as it was staged. The tree was already activated and Newsham took off, going A to B for the win.


Walt Pfister Extreme 275 Radial winner The Small Block Posse and Mouth Racing's Extreme 275 Class brought a small but determined crew of racers to the track. A bunch of the guys are still getting their setups together, so expect this class to grow as the season goes on. The hot weather and small tires these guys run on did not help their already difficult job! Team Mar-Schan was running the class today, trying to figure out the bugs in the Deuce and be dangerous in the 275 class. Don Barnett was also back in his Firebird, making some smoking passes, but hurt something and he did not make it to the finals. Taking home the win for the day was Walt Pfister in his 87 Mustang, congratulations!


Detailed news along with pictures and videos from the race can be found in our forums by clicking here.



April 25th, 2009: Atco Raceway Index Season Opener
Scorcher of a day brought about a tough field of heads up competition

Wait a second, is it still April? It felt like late summer today as Atco Raceway kicked off their Index Racing season opener, featuring 8.50, 10.0, and 12.0 classes. This race was a rain date for the rained out April 10th race... some of us may have quietly been wishing for rain to cool off at some point during the day, but instead we dealt with the heat and kept focused on watching the intense action go down!

Walt Haas 12.0 Index WinnerThe entire 12.0 Index field today was full of racers that were on their game and ready to roll, some fresh from Cecil County's 12.0 Index just last week.. Only once did we see a reaction time slower than .049 during eliminations, and the guys going rounds were all right there on the number all day. Taking home the first win of the season was Walt Haas in his recognizable '80 Malibu Hemi wagon, smooth sailing after a big first round win against Dave Harvey Jr. We'd like to give a special thanks to Walt for the kind words he had for GDR and wish him continued success this season. Walt dedicated today's win to the memory of Curt George.


Mike Romeo 10.0 Index WinnerIn 10.0 Index, one of our favorite characters, Mike Romeo, delivered on his promise to refrain from the red lights and took home the win. Mike, #2 qualifier today, finished runner-up at last week's 10.0 race. The semi-finals pitted Romeo against #1 qualifier Brendan Mills who was ripping it up for the whole day until breaking out in the semi-finals putting Romeo in the final race.




Mark Bowen 8.50 Index WinnerMany familiar faces and sweet rides made up the 8.50 Index class. Mark Bowen ('72 Nova) and Craig Buscio ('62 Chevy deuce) qualified #3 and #2 respectively, and were going rounds with #1 qualifier Tommy Romeo until the semi-finals when Romeo redlit and put Bowen in the finals. At that point, both of these seasoned racers were equal favorites to win. Craig had already taken out the reigning champion TJ Kasper in round #1. Craig got the jump on Mark in the final round, but Bowen drove around and edged out Buscio to take the win. Maybe getting rid of the pony tail is working?? Time will only tell..

Besides the Index program, fans were treated to a good group of test & tune cars. In the house testing for tomorrow's Quick 8 race was Joe Newsham, Outlaw 10.5 champ of just about everywhere last season, with his twin turbo mustang. Joe was ready to roll into the lanes as soon as humanly possible this morning, reminding us "he's a driver." Also around bringing their twin turbo powered 10.5 Mustang was Kasper & Christy Racing. On top of those two big name rides, we saw a few nostalgia funny cars and even a top alcohol funny car. GDR was also testing our new in-car camera in a few cars today, be on the lookout for some cool video from that to be posted.

Detailed news along with pictures and videos from the race can be found in our forums by clicking here.

Professional quality photos and event coverage of this race are available from Dave Milcarek, visit his site by clicking here.

Be sure to support Dave and pick up a framed photo of your ride for your shop or office!


April 18th, 2009: Cecil Real Street Car Shootout Results
Series debut a hit!

The debut of Cecil County Dragway's Real Street Car Shootout brought about new classes and many familiar faces from the Northeast racing scene.

Carl Ungaro 10.0 Index WinnerNoone was surprised to see the pair of 10.0 Index veterans Mike Romeo and Carl Ungaro make it to the finals through a tough field, but we were definitely shocked to see the red bulb lit as Romeo takes off .013 seconds too early, giving Ungaro the win. The entire 10.0 Index field was keeping the crowd pleased by showing off some killer wheelstands and expert driving skills.





Lynn Townes 12.0 Index WinnerA solid group of 12.0 racers opened up this new class to Cecil County dragway with many rounds of tight races. Taking the win home for the day was Lynn Townes, in his unique gold colored '67 Camaro. The rest of the field was close behind Townes with half the field being within 1 tenth of the Index. These mean street machines will only get better as the racers get dialed in and get more races under their belts.





Don Barnett 275 Drag Radial WinnerBoth 275 Drag Radial class finalists showed off their driving talent as they had to pedal their way to victory in the debut of the 275 class at Cecil County. Don Barnett took it home, edging out victory over Craig Wallis. Making an appearance was Jeff Kinsler's baaaaad all motor Pontiac, be sure to check him out at the Heads Up Naturally Aspirated Shootout Series this season.





Larry RhodesSurprising all, against a tough field including Alex Vrettos and Gary Kramer, Larry Rhodes and his naturally aspirated Camaro took home the win for the Limited 10.5 class. Alex was on point with his .003 light in the finals but blew the tires off and Rhodes took advantage. Rhodes came over from the Test and Tune class to run Limited 10.5 during the #2 round of qualifying.





Mike Pyott TestingAlso in the house and taking advantage of the great weather and track conditions were many familiar faces from our area. Mike Pyott was out testing his 8.50 Ride along with fellow 8.50 racers Marc Schankweiler, Rob Poochigian, Mike Cerminaro, Guppy, BlownchevyII, and the Romeo crew.


The brand-spankin new Stanley & Weiss Racing Promod Camaro was also out to make its debut pass, and ran into some unfortunate luck with the car going into tire shake and getting completely sideways. John Stanley's driving saved it and the Camaro ended up scraping the wall. John is OK, but the car will need some TLC to get back into action. Check out the video by clicking the thumbnail to the right.


Detailed news along with pictures and videos from the shootout can be found in our forums by clicking here.



May 10th, 2009 - Super Sunday Shootout at Maple Grove Raceway
A Series Opener you do NOT want to miss!! Includes Outlaw 10.5, Outlaw DR, and 8.50 Index Classes

Event FlyerThe Heads-Up Naturally Aspirated Drag Racing Series, along with help from all of our members at GDR, will kick off its season with a bang on Sunday, May 10th at Maple Grove Raceway. Not only will the naturally aspirated show and race be held, but this Super Sunday Shootout will include Outlaw 10.5, Outlaw Drag Radial, and 8.50 Index Classes as well. As if that isn't enough for you to see and do, there will also be a Car Show, Swap Meet, and Vendor Midway to keep you busy.

Don't miss this chance to get together with the GDR crowd and MAKE SOME NOISE!!!

Rules, Payout Info, and Entry fees can be found by clicking here.

Visit the Heads-Up Naturally Aspirated Drag Racing Series web site for more information as well.




Weather Alert: Atco 4/10 Index Season Opener postponed til Saturday 4/25
For more information click here





Ulsch, Vrettos, Kasper and Schroeder Take Cecil Victories:
A Strong Opening Despite High Winds:

Looking into the month of April, rain is the first thing on your mind but wind played havoc on the scenic Cecil County Dragway Street Car Shootout Sponsored by Finishline Performance as high gusts forced the race to be cut down into all 1/8th mile for safety reasons only a veteran owner like Jim Halsey can call.

Chuck Ulsch Outlaw 10.5 winnerEven with winds as high as they were, the bad blown combo of Gil Mobley Motorsports / Chuck Ulsch Camaro streamlined down the asphalt at a blistering 190MPH to take the first win of the season and gain a points advantage that will pay off in the long run as his car is tight as ever and the team has it together already this early into the season with the massive power not faltering from last years performance.
Tom Kasper was right behind as runner up with his new car from Team Christy / Kasper Racing seeing its first competitive race.

Alex Vrettos Drag Radial WinnerAlex Vrettos comes back in style with Team Corupt right next to him as the car made ridiculous power from J & E Performance, the car was put on a diet yet it looks like it will take some time to sort out the chassis but more than enough for an opening win in Drag Radial against Quentin Methany in the runner up spot.

Team Corupt Motorsports will be back for more and willing to be challenged with Alex Vrettos back to schooling the radial racers.


T.J. Kasper 8.50 Index WinnerThe 8.50 Index had more than enough showing and despite he track being cut in half it made no difference to defending points champion and class winner T.J. Kasper in the Christy / Kasper Racing Mustang.

T.J. Kasper held three points championships last year and Runner Up Bill Canon was feeding off his last victory as the Shakedown At E Town 2008 winner in the same designated class. With a full field, expectations were high and the racers didn't disappoint again.

John Schroeder Index 7.50 WinnerJohn Schroeder; a hall of famer in big tire classes took a graceful win with dead on numbers in the eight mile to out his only opponent Pete Pace in the newly created 7.50 Index class designed for all types of cars to run on a fast index and give the fans a side by side race to the finish. Schroeder has been a leader in the sport and a model of consistency over the years; the Camaro can run the numbers and still break off into a heavy class and go much quicker and faster with just opening up a run. John's specialty is flat out winning.

More Cecil County Street Car Shootout Results Here:







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