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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.
 Holeshot 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.
 Precision 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.
 Coast 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!
 The 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 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.
 GMPartsDirect.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.
 In 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.
 You 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.
 8 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.
 Surprise 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.
 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.
 You 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!
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
 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
 In 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
 Rolling 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.
 We 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.
 The 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.
 Sunday 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.
 The 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.
 In 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.
 GMPartsDirect.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 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!
 GDR 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.
 Hannah 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!
 The 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
 Englishtown 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.
 Hannah 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."
 Raceway 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.
 Along 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
 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!
 8.50 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 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!!
 We'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 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.
 In 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.
 It 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!
 On 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
 The 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.
 Tons, 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.
 Over 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
 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.
 In 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.
 Jason 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
 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.
 Mike 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.
 A 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.
 Mo 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.
 The 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..
 While 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.
 The 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.
 Michael 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
 As 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!!!
 The 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.
 Winning 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
 We 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.
 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!
 The 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.
 GM'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.
 We 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!
 Late 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.
 Noone 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
 Outlaw 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.
 The 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
 The 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!
 Be 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
 We 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.
 Today'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'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'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.
 23 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.
 Big 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.
 13 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
 Snap-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.
 Running 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.
 The 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!
 I'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.
 A 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.
 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.
 The 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.
 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.
 The 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.
 The 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 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
 The 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.
 The 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.
 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.
In 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.
 Reigning 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!
 We 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.
 Mother 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.
 The 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.
 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.
 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!
 The 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.
 In 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.
 Many 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.
 Noone 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.
 A 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.
 Both 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.
 Surprising 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.
 Also 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
 The 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.
 Even 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 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.
 The 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; 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:
Spotlight On The Northeast's Season Champions:
Northeast Champions Set To Defend Their Titles:
Joe Newsham / Outlaw 10.5 Champion:
 What can you say about this "Heads Up Warrior" of 10.5 racing other than he's proved himself in many ways to the point of capturing three titles including The Outlaw Street Racing Associations "ORSCA" battle as points champion, Cecil County's Street Car Shootout Series champion by Finishline Performance, The J & E Performance Quick 8's champion at Atco Raceway.
On The Heels of these championships Newsham also won the largest and most recognizable victories of the year winning the northeast’s infamous Shakedown at E Town in the J & E Performance Twin Turbo Cobra in 2008 defeating the unbeaten champ Tim Lynch.
 Newsham has been a standout in the racing arena by keeping himself in the spotlight but not letting it go to his head with performance that speaks for itself, His honors come from being a racing friend and competitor are well know.
The teams crew of Ed Harper and Chris Cline from Injection Connection made Joes ride so consistent it took all challenging teams to be on their game to at least take a shot at Newsham in the opposing lane. Newsham credits reach much farther than just this year, prior to 2008 his standing as an opponent was more than well known as the man to beat as Outlaw 10.5 was becoming more popular.
The team of J & E Performance is readying the car for another season featuring more power and a series schedule that will again devastate competitors.
T.J. Kasper: 8.50 Index Champion
 You'd think that seasoned racers would have the upper hand on the youngster just starting out in a heads up class that is this fast; a class designed to be a precursor to the Outlaw 10.5 racing's up and coming competitors.
T.J. Kasper may have proved everyone wrong taking home three titles in 8.50 Heads Up Racing throughout the 2008 season. Most have seen promise from racers before but nothing in years by a man of this caliber coming from a family that eats, sleeps and breathes drag racing and family participation with his own father "Tom" and Uncle Todd both racing in heads up to this day and
 T.J. following in their footsteps all along the way with titles previously as a Jr. Dragster track champion. T.J. Kasper took on all challenges and fought tough on both ends of the track with his titles at Atco Raceway, Raceway Park and Cecil County as the 8.50 Index Series Points leader. Fans of this now proven racer had no doubt of his capabilities as other racers would soon find out as the season closed, this man can race and the team of Christy / Kasper Racing is a force now with T.J also having spent time in his fathers Outlaw 10.5 Lincoln, he knows big speed and will surely find a way to possibly do double duty at events in both classes.
Blasi Racing: Northeast Outlaw Pro Modified Champion
 We've all been taught to be patient and it will come to you in the end with prosperity, this was the year for Team Blasi Racing with father and team captain "Bob" showing his son what time and effort will do for him as Jeff Blasi took the title of the Northeast Outlaw Pro Mod Associations point’s championship home.
Jeff drove the Musi powered Corvette to a top points standing in this group of racers built on outlaw style rules and tour the area tracks as a new school "Wild Bunch" featuring themselves as a show for fans of the fastest door slammer racing in the northeast.
Down south there are many more opportunities to find races and competition but the northeast has had its limits until a couple of years ago. Prominent now is Pro Modified racing making a huge break to the top of the racing features and you'll find Blasi Racing again charging up the ladder of points and wins to try and fend off the surge from competition on the opposite side of the track.
October 2nd, 2009: Englishtown 8.50, 10.0, 11.50 Index Race
Cool air, close races as only 2 Index races remain in the season
 Brian Moody already has one 11.50 Index win in his pocket for this season, he was looking to make it #2 again tonight. He makes a statement with an 11.503 pass in the second round of qualifying to secure the #1 qualifier spot for the night. However, Brian cut his racing night short after a red light in the first round. Ellis Gray was running great all night, so was Awesome Don Amesen. Ellis and Awesome Don went to the finals, with Gray coming out on top after drilling the tree with an .020 light and a nice 11.535 pass.
 We saw a new face in 10.0 tonight, that of the black S-10 pickup of Chris Cassidy. Cassidy goes #1 qualifier for the night, but right behind him were two seasoned 10.0 racers, the points leader Mike Romeo at #2 and Chris Ely at #3. These two racers made it all the way to the finals through some stiff competition, battling each other for a shot at the win. Mike treed Chris and that was all he needed for a win. Romeo gets the holeshot win over Ely, with a 10.063 pass. Romeo has all but sealed up the 10.0 Index championship for the year at Englishtown with two races remaining.
 We saw a few extra faces in the house tonight for 8.50, with the Shakedown at E-town looming only 2 weeks away and some folks came down for some testing. Joe Alagna goes #1 qualifier with a nice 8.520 pass in the first round of qualifying. Shawn Gallagher goes #2 for the night, the Gallagher brothers always competitive in 8.50. Mike Conway and TJ Kasper raced a tough group of 8.50 Index teams to make it to the finals at the end of the night. As the tree dropped, both racers mashed their gas pedals, except Kid Kwik TJ Kasper didn't go anywhere as his throttle cable snapped. Conway sailed away for a win, Kasper remains #1 in points as he paced Conway all night.
Detailed news along with pictures and videos from the race can be found in our forums by clicking here.
The 6th Annual Al-Anabi Racing Shakedown At E Town 2008:
The Quickest and Fastest Weekend In Outlaw Drag Racing History:
Presented by Speedtech Nitrous Systems:
As Seen In The Pages Of RPM Magazine
 After a monumental race last year, not many thought it could get better in the Northeast but behind closed doors Raceway Park was setting the stage for a chance at the biggest event this area will see for a long time. Dave Hance networked trough the country and out into the world with Michelle Marchesse picking up Al-Anabi Racing from Qatar to back one of the biggest payouts and two day events ever.
Old Bridge Township Raceway Park again hosted the many dreams of every racer to take home a huge prize and fight it out in the new format on a national event caliber drag strip which included two separate Pro Modifieds, Outlaw 10.5, Heavy Street, Drag Radial and a new addition, the Outlaw 8.50 Index.
From the beginning of this weekend, Raceway Park was on its game at a level you won't often see committing every resource they had for a race that again would stun the world with each record setting pass. As usual, prep master "Eddie Krawiec" had the track set to bite back like a mean dog and give you the best ride of your life. The Northeast is always a guess at how the weather would play a role in the weekend performances, last year the 5th Annual Shakedown was run under the most optimal conditions and again they were graced with unusually warm days, cold nights and overcast clouds to cool the track with sessions of brilliant sun breaking through just enough to auto set quarter mile each day.
A record weekend was in store with this forecast; fans and teams were expecting the mineshaft air would produce incredible numbers and they weren't wrong.
View The Shakedown At E Town Photo / Video Gallery Here:
Weekend qualifying in all classes saw the records which stand already at Raceway Park get taken out one by one. With the Pro Modifieds split into the two classes, looking back at the previous bests of each style of power adder, the big dogs of the race had an opportunity not seen before; this was unbridled horsepower at its finest. Outlaw 10.5 was set on its heels last year with Tim Lynch letting the world know that he was the man now in this class. Heavy Street Champ Bill Lutz held the record and it also would fall as would the popular Drag Radial which E Town was hoping for as promoter Dave Hance would participate in this himself.
Lend America Pro Modified Outlaw Blown Qualifying Summary:
 Probably the hardest hitting door cars you will ever see is the Pro Blown class featuring the supercharged warriors of the sport and the incredible horsepower they can produce and control even with injecting nitrous and other wild fuels into them, only nitro methane has yet to be seen but surely it will show up one day. The screaming whine of screw blowers rocked the townships surrounding area with each pass in this class that included three turbocharged entries in the twenty seven cars running for the class. The bump spot of 6.37 for the sixteen car field was set by PA native Kevin McCurdy and the top qualifier honors going to Scott Cannon with a blistering 5.73 @ 252, notables included that the top six cars were all in the five second zone. A more than scary moment of the race happened at well over 230MPH when the Rupture Street wear GTO blows out a tire and ping pongs off the wall three times coming to rest a mangled ball of chrome moly tubing, driver Scott Filkins walks away unharmed but the race loses a major competitor. The Team of Stanley and Weiss pulled the chutes early to drop a 6.09 on the ladder and the MPH would show it had a five second pass in it also. The turbocharged legend Rod Saboury dipped into the sixes in his "Street Car". A local hopeful for a win in this class was Andy Jensen in the single turbo Camaro fresh and sparkling yet a cracked head would stop him from competing and dash the hairdryer fans hopes.
Speedtech Pro Modified Nitrous Presented by Western Beef Qualifying Summary:
 It's fair to say that the power of the nitrous cars now is coming up from past years with new technologies and this set of twenty eight racers would prove it at E Town with a bump spot of 6.50 @ 211 set by the "Legendary Billy Glidden" The end of the sessions were topped off by one of the most impressive feats by a nitrous sniffing ride; Jim Halsey, owner and operator of Cecil County Dragway rang a bell that won't be unrung as he is now the first man into the five second zone as the big 820 cube Fulton powered the McCamis built Camaro to a 5.998 @ 240 with the signature pipes lit pass to top this ladder. Notables included all motor hopeful "John Pluchino" slamming gears in the 815 Hemi Cougar, The "Iceman" himself "Shannon Jenkins" sitting at midpoint and Freddy Scriba in the "Sorcerer" Vette with a stunning 6.05 @ 232 in the two spot. Steve Cossis in the original Cecil County Pro Mod Vette added himself to the list of NY racers, Along with Nick Montana and Vincent Budano. The field is set.
Precision Turbo Super Street Outlaw 10.5 Qualifying Summary:
 Probably the most looked at class in Outlaw racing; these cars are the ones that make your hair stand up on the back of your neck when they are announced at this event since all know that Tim Lynch is in the house to defend his title. The three time champion didn't allow the fans to be let down while match racing Billy Glidden in qualifying his first two passes ended in broken transmissions giving Glidden that victory, but his third pass was a thing of beauty as it carried the wheels down the track to a stellar 6.54 @ 218 to sit at the head of the table, with Brad Brand picking up top MPH at 219 right behind Lynch as Bill Futch might have had more in the bank throwing out the laundry early yet still laying down a 6.68. Raceway Park announced it would be an all run field as Terris Hicks was at the bottom of the ladder. Notables included the return of Leo Barnaby not missing a beat since his hiatus, Anthony DiSomma as a hit man, Ed Kowalczyk running the smallest engine in the class turning in a 7.35 while obtaining his license to race this weekend and of course last years presenting sponsor Scott Guadagno in the new Pete Biello Camaro. Team Mobley came well prepared as the top of the field included all power adders compliments of the blown Camaro and the nitroused GTO in a sea of turbos.
K & K Precision Heavy Street Presented by K & S Race Cars Qualifying Summary:
 A real chance for the street style cars to shine is this class, Heavy Street is almost anything you can imagine in a street style car, and the field included 38 entrants. Steve Lazzaro literally stole the show with his gorgeous Camaro to set a new record 6.72 @ 215 leading the pack with hometown favorite John Chemen's blown Camaro setting their own personal best 6.83, Bill Laskowsky would sit in the thirty two car bump spot with notables including returning champ "Bill Lutz" trying to keep his crown, class sponsor Ken Doak bringing in two of the most spectacular blown Camaro's. Dave O'Donnell at the wheel of last years class sponsor Harold Caldwell's Fulton powered Mustang. The first ever Shakedown Champion John Schroeder in the same car he won with in 2002. Runner Up of last year’s race Jorge Rodriguez showed up to try and gain a winners spot this time around.
Pro Torque Outlaw Drag Radial Presented by Big Daddy Performance Qualifying Summary:
 During the past year, names like Wolfe, Vrettos, and Major have been toppling each others records at different events. This year at this Shakedown twenty two cars entered into this class to see who could take out who as even Dave Hance was going to play in this game which really wet the appetites of all involved. David Wolfe shocked the crowd on one of the sweetest passes ever seen in drag radial clicking off a 7.21 @ 201 to take number one spot and knock David Hinzman down a notch to second as the quickest pass of the first session was dropped more when Paul Major showed the Vettes power with a 7.32 @ 203 and couldn't do better. Notables of this class were of course hometown favorite Big Daddy himself, Scott Bitzer, Alex Vrettos, returning champion from last year "Mustang" Mike Modeste and the famed John Balinsky sporting trunk mounted twin turbos.
Western Beef Outlaw 8.50 Index Presented by Finelines Automotive Qualifying Summary:
 New for this year is one of the Northeast’s quickly rising classes and also the largest of the Shakedown with fifty nine cars trying to get into the running. Many have said this is the new replacement for 10.5 racing without the extreme budget and the surrounding tri state tracks have all seen this and responded well with great "Heads Up" racing. The call for thirty two cars was in order for this high flying group as can be seen in the photos when Neal Heyman launched his 69 Camaro on the bumper and into the wall ending his day Number one qualifier Harry Gerb brought the complete package to the show, taking number one spot with a dead on 8.50 @ 158 in his sparkling Firebird that shows as well as it goes. James Price was on the bump with an 8.59 and these are not bracket cars yet the drivers are exceptional. Notables include the youngest driver and leader in many of the local events T.J Kasper; at less than 18 years of age this phenom has proven his skills, Bill Verzilli also a native of the area brings a bad black Camaro into the game and it is bad. Mike Pyott a big player in the short history of this type of racing comes into the race with guns blazing in his fresh Camaro as doe’s best appearing winner Marc Shankweiler. This is a tight group and no one could guess the winner, place your bets now.
Sunday!, Sunday!, At Raceway Park, Let The Race Begin:
Eliminations are slated to begin and all drivers are briefed by "Eddie Krawiec" and Dave Hance on how the race would be run as the drivers meeting was called in the early AM. Krawiec focused on courtesy, sportsmanship, and quality racing with as little downtime as possible; as an NHRA pro stock Motorcycle Champion, Krawiec ran this ship tight. Motors came to life and the taste of victory was on the palettes of all the racers.
Lend America Pro Modified Outlaw Blown Eliminations:
 With $20,000 laying on the table for this class the cream of the door slammers would fight it out hard, Tim O'Hare broke Giving John Stanley a bye run, Steve King loses a tight one to Mike Janis, Chip King fights off a major disaster as he is on two wheels across the centerline saving the Daytona but losing to Frank Patille. Tommy Gray has problems and Tony Daprille advances easily.
John Hines hits the wall on his pass but is OK as John Russo screams to a 5.95 @ 245. Barney Squires takes the win over George Landis, Von Smith over Billy Gibson and Scott Cannon over Kevin McCurdy.
Tommy Daprille advances beating John Russo, Von Smith is a winner over Mike Janis, Frank Patille is inline to go another round over Barney Squires, John Stanley is hurt and Scott Cannon gets a bye run.
 Frank Patille 6.58 is flat outrun by the Al-Anabi Racing 57 Chevy 5.95 with Von Smith at the wheel. Scott Cannon 5.77 @ 250 out powers Tommy Daprille's Bel-air 6.00 @ 235.
Final Session:
Von Smith Powers through a blazing burnout as does Scott Cannon, Both are in the beams with anticipations from both teams rising with the RPM's, Cannon lets loose early drawing a red light and Von Smith is crowned the champion of the 2008 Pro Blown Class.
Speedtech Pro Modified Nitrous Presented by Western Beef Eliminations:
 Jeff Blasi fails to start against Shannon Jenkins, Matt Dietch takes the win over John Bartunek, Milt Decker puts away Steve Cossis, Nick Montana over Burton Auxier, Khaled Al Booshi over John Pluchino in a very close race, Rickie Smith Advances over John Decerbo, Fred Scriba comes back from a killer hole shot by Vinny Budano for the win, Jim Halsey duplicates his five second string and leaves Billy Glidden going home early.
Khaled Al Booshi sends Nick Montana back to the trailer, Milt Decker is beat by Rickie Smith, and Fred Scriba red lights his loss as Matt Dietch takes the win and Jim Halsey again is in the fives over Shannon Jenkins and advances.
Matt Dietch has problems and loses to Rickie Smith who is inline now for the final. Khaled Al Booshi was Jim Halsey's closest race of the weekend with a 6.092 @ 236 while Halsey cannot stop his Camaro from staying in the five second range winning with his best of the day 5.958 @ 240 and right into the finals.
Final Session:
 With Speed vision TV covering this final heavily, all teams were nothing but business coming to the line.
Halsey prepared as usual as did Rickie Smith inciting the crowd with wild burnouts, all were standing in the bleachers at this point. Smith gets the .072 light over Halsey's equally good .088, but as the cars travel into the top end Halsey is again on a rope, pipes lit and taking the stripe 5.959 @ 240 and Rickie Smith has the best view in the house for this stunning event show by the new Pro Nitrous Champion Jim Halsey who is $20,000 a richer man and no doubt the king of nitrous for 2008.
Precision Turbo Super Street Outlaw 10.5 Eliminations:
 Bill Futch, Brad Brand, Todd Harris and Brad Harris get a free pass as none were challenged because of breakage. Ray Johnson takes a convincing win over Tom Ferrick, Larry Wood overpowers Bryan Markiewiecz, and Joe Newsham pedals out a win over Steve Drummond's high flying Mustang, Chuck Ulsch takes out Ed Kowalczyk in a pedal fest. Both Scott Guadagno and Leo Barnaby have faced each other before at the Shakedown with the quickest side by side 10.5 in history, this time the outcome was in Guadagno's favor as he takes the win over Leo Barnaby. Terris Hicks falters and Tim Lynch is again showing his muscle with a solid 6.56 @ 223. Tim Essick advances over John Carcinco.
Tim Lynch 6.53 @ 221, Joe Newsham 6.74 @ 215, and Tim Essick move ahead with no opponents. Scott Guadagno is handled by Bill Futch with an amazing 6.54 @ 220, Richie Sexton takes a hole shot win over Larry Wood, and Ray Johnson makes a strong run past a pedaling Brad Brand.
The battle of the turbo stangs rears in this round beginning, Ray Johnson is the winner over Tim Essick; Tim Lynch sets another Shakedown milestone with a 6.49 @ 224 over the nitroused GTO of Richie Sexton, Team Mobley is out of the big money running. Joe Newsham puts down Bill Futch in a big inch twin turbo match.
Ray Johnson takes a bye run and is looking now at the match between Newsham and Lynch for who he will face. Joe Newsham cuts a stellar .034 to Lynch's .088, Newsham is out but Lynch is up on his tires desperately trying to recover, Newsham takes the stripe with his best ever 6.67 @ 219 and into the money final.
Final Session:
 Last year neither Joe Newsham or Ray Johnson even qualified, both broke before they made a qualifying pass and now they are looking at the championship. Newsham allowed more time for Johnson to prepare as he didn't want to single to a win and Johnson made the call in time. Both were feeling the pressure as Newsham .152 makes sure he doesn't red light as does Johnson .095 and a race is on, Newsham is out of shape and brings it back in to take the win over Johnson 6.91 @ 207 to Newsham's 6.81 @ 213. Joe Newsham dethrones Tim Lynch after his string of victory's in one of the toughest 10.5 races in the country and receives the $10,000 Champions title of 2008.
K & K Precision Heavy Street Presented by K & S Race Cars Eliminations:
 Jeff Paulk over Joe Schroeder, Rocky Dilecce over Dale Collins, Chris Connor over Keith Talbot, Dave O'Donnell over Yanni Papakosmas, John Cerbone over Rich Scioscia, Gary Naughton over Mike Trimandillis, Bill Lutz over Brenda Paddock, Bo Butner over Mitch George, Gan Fielder over Sam Gottier, Rob Golobo over Ray DeAngelis, Jorge Rodriguez over Charlie Boy Micaleff, John Cheman over Rick Golobo, Steve Lazarro over Bill Laskowsky, Louis Martinez over Frank Pompillo, John Schroeder over Pete Pace, John Fisher over James Araujo.
Gary Naughton, Jeff Paulk, Dave O'Donnell, John Cerbone, Steve Lazarro, Rocky Dilecce, John Cheman, Jorge Rodriguez all move on with a win.
Frank Lazarro, Jorge Rodriguez, Jeff Paulk, Rocky Dilecce all advance to the semis.
Jorge Rodriguez hopes are gone when Rocky Dilicce gets the big Chevelle moving for the win, Jeff Paulk is out by way of Frank Lazarro and a final is set.
Final Session:
 Frank Lazzaro looked like he was utouchable with his 69 Camaro and suited to face Rocky Dilicce the champion from Canada.
Dilecce was plauged with minor throttle cable problems all weekend the final came to him as the team was trying to replace the transmission.
Lazzaro wanted to wait for an all "Great White North" final but time wouldn't allow it and Lazarro makes his solo run for the $5,000 win money and the new 2008 Championship title.
Pro Torque Outlaw Drag Radial Presented by Big Daddy Performance Eliminations:
 Mark Southwell, "Big Daddy" Dwayne Gutridge, Scott Bitzer, Jay Anderson, "Mustang Mike" Modeste, Glennie Buckler, Alex Vrettos, Dave Hance, Paul Major, Dave Hinzman, Chris Little all advance in this large field.
Chris Little, Paul Major, Dave Hinzman, "Mustang Mike" Modeste, Glennie Buckler, Dave Hance are all a winner in this round.
Dave Hinzman resets the Drag Radial record to its lowest setting taking out a wheel standing Chris Little, this 7.18 @ 200 is a milestone in this outrageous class and a tough one to drop anytime soon. Glennie Buckler advances into the final uncontested.
 Final Session:
A Cinderella weekend for Dave Hinzman when he finds himself the in the final with Glennie Buckler who hasn't come close to Hinznman's bracket like performance.
Buckler is taken down 7.83 @ 163 as Hinzman can ease off on the top end and take the Championship of 2008 in Drag Radial.
Western Beef Outlaw 8.50 Index Presented by Finelines Automotive Eliminations:
Competition was like none other as the real advantage is at the light and not a single car in this class dropped the dreaded red bulb to oust themselves, all runs were side by side wheel standing action. A major upset was young TJ Kasper taken out by the wiley veteran Bill Verzilli. Number one qualifier Harry Gerb was beat on a hole shot by Bill Cannon. Brain Mitchell, Jason Penwa, Brian Ferrari, Rockin Rob Cherkas, Shawn Gallagher, Joe Alangna, James Price, John Goss, Darren Harris, Bill Cannon, Rob Poochigan, Mark Bowen, Andrew DeMarco, Mike Pyott, and Robert Baptista all advance with tight racing.
James Penwa, Rob Poochigian, Bill Verzilli, Joe Alangna, take their wins, as Rockin Rob upsets Mark Bowen, John Goss again wheel stands his way to the 1/4 finals, and Bill Cannon is dead straight on making a final with stout performances.
John Goss, Brian Ferrari, Bill Verzilli, and Bill Cannon all advance. Rob Poochigian saves his immaculate Chevelle from impending disaster with the wall incredibly.
 Down to the final four and the money rounds, Bill Verzilli shreds the ring and pinion losing his hopes for a win as John Goss takes the stripe; Bill Cannon forces Brian Ferrari to break out trying to recover from Cannons hole shot .008 light.
Final Session:
Maryland native Bill Cannon see's light at the end of the tunnel as does John Goss who are now in the limelight and geared for a great final. Cannon trips the tree.08 and John Goss leaves early with a re light start giving away the $5,000 in prize money and Bill Cannon is crowned the first ever Outlaw 8.50 Index Champion of 2008.
The 6th Annual Al-Anabi Racing Shakedown At E Town 2008 Weekend Recap:
Dave Hance, the supporting and presenting sponsors couldn’t have asked for a better representation at Raceway Park for this two day event, all the stars were in alignment for the weekend. The rise of new champions, the fall of champions from years past shows the level of competition at this event. It looks like the Shakedown has backed up last years previous record of the best race in the Northeast and it will stand now as the hottest ticket coming next year.
Official Shakedown At E Town Website
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The Atco Raceway 2008 Outlaw and Index Series Season Finale' 2008
The End For A Season Of Champions:
Sponsored By: Franklin Trailers Inc., J & E Performance, C2it Enterprises, The Speed Shop at Atco, featuring Outlaw 10.5 Points by Harris Industrial Park.com
It's no doubt that this season past was filled with incredible highlights by racers working at recording their "best of's" all throughout each series. Atco Raceway's Season Finale' has always come deep into the fall as the pines surrounding the area are merged with the colorful change of leaves bursting again under sunlit skies on this Sunday. Crisp morning air found the gates opening and race cars pouring in to battle in the dense air of New Jersey.
Two spectacular qualifying rounds for each class moved through quickly with little to no downtime as all cars were race ready and seasoned to perfection. A heavy rain the day before washed down the track a bit but the sun burned it off and the hook was back where it needed to be as the competition will show in the results below. It was all out heavy hitters on Sunday At Atco: Please Read On:
View The Outlaws At Atco Photo Gallery Here:
Gunning for the big numbers in the brisk air two full rounds required the track hold all this horsepower down and the drivers knew the outcome if they needed to pedal or stay in it to get into the ladder. Outlaw 10.5 was not the first class down the track so the rubber from previous rides was a touch that was needed and the groove was built. Brad Harris suffered some transmission issues that left him holding the tow strap back to the pits twice though thrashing was part of their day, cooperation between the trans and car just wasn't happening. Larry Wood also took Ron Schlessingers twin turbo Mustang down the track but would fail to qualify. Tony Myrie's nitrous injected Chevelle had the power but fell into the bottom half of racers not in the ladder. Ed McClanahans Mustang also found it not coming in for his ride also. Bill Mitchell, still working on the new BBC twin turbo setup was making huge power but as with any ride this fresh and untested, it was not going to make the rounds in qualifying. Todd Harris set the bottom of the ladder with big cube Hemi twin turbo GTO as the wave of singed Alcohol breezed through the air. Daniel Fieldes and his little box Nova entered the seventh spot with it pushing into the strong headwind. Mike Dorta's little Chevy Monza surprised many taking the number six hole. "Turbo" Tom Kasper stepped into the throttle and the number five spot with a "hitting the dots" slowed pass. Long time friend and favorite belt driven Mustang of Rick Fedorovich made his run look easy as it screamed into place four. "Hitman" Dave O'Donnell wheeled Harold Caldwell’s extreme Mustang into the number three spot with wheels high and Fulton power singing for 1320 feet. Craig Pio set the stage early for what was needed as he blistered through the traps at 205 with a 7.066 shining on the boards. Joe Newsham, leading the Harris Industrial Park.com point’s series wasn't going to shy away from anyone’s performance posting "the number" for the top spot with an awesome twin turbo blast into the six second zone 6.944 @ 210.37. The stage is set.
J & E Performance Qualifying and Racer Information:
1 :Joe Newsham 6.944 @ 210.37 : 2003 Mustang Cobra, 540 BBC, Twin Turbo, Glide - J & E Performance, Injection Connection, M & R Products - Restraints and Tie Downs, Imperial Design, Montana Brothers Race Cars, Performance 2 Way Communications
2 :Craig Pio 7.066 @ 205 : 95 Camaro, BBC, Twin Turbo, Glide - Montana Brothers Race Cars
3 :Dave O'Donnell / Harold Caldwell "Owner" 7.163 @ 197 : Caldwell Construction, CD Race Cars, Vanishing Point Race cars, Jiffy Lube,Fulton Racing Engines, HP Marine, NerdsRus, Mickey Thompson Tires, Killer Kreations Custom Paint, Wayne Keegan, Competitive Wiring
4 :Rick Fedorovich 7.388 @ 200 : 2001 Cobra, SBF, Procharger, T400, Alcohol - Second Street Speed "Tuner Peter Unanue" / Carrol's Rod and Racecraft
5 :Twin "Turbo" Tom Kasper 7.478 @ 199 : 94 Lincoln, 422 SBF, Twin Turbo, Glide - Kaspers Certified Automotive / Kaspers Korner, Precision Turbo, Moore Racecraft, Rocco's Collision.com, Cal At Hartline Performance
6 :Mike Dorta 7.527 @ 184 : 1979 Chevy Monza, BBC, Nitrous, Glide
7 :Daniel Fieldles 7.548 @ 190 : 66 Chevy Nova, BBC, twin turbo, Glide
8 :Todd Harris 7.574 @ 153 : 2006 GTO, 738 Chevy Hemi, Twin Turbo, lenco - Harris Brothers Motorsports / Harris Industrial Park.com, Dave Kogan Motorsports
9 :Bill Mitchell 8.489 @ 153 : 1996 Chevy S10, Twin Turbo BBC, Glide - The Repair Shop, Coast Chassis Design
10 :Ed McClanahan 8.730 @ 134 : 1990 Mustang, No Information
11 :Tony Myrie 9.205 @ 174 : 67 Chevelle, 632 BBC, Nitrous, Glide -
12 :Larry Wood / Ron Schlessinger (Owner) 17.64 @ 207 : 1989 Mustang, SBF, Twin Turbo, Glide - Wild Rides Chassis, Glenwood Performance
13 :Brad Harris 23.758 @ 000 : 03 Cobra Mustang, 421 SBC, Single Turbo, Glide - Harris Brothers Motorsports / Harris Industrial Park.com, Injection Connection
The J & E Performance Outlaw 10.5 Eliminations Round One:
Tony Myrie enters into the first round of eliminations after replacing Tom Kasper whom on his second qualifier blew a head gasket on the top end with an incredible save; swapping lanes at well over 190MPH. Myrie would face Mike Dorta's Monza. The little Monza was extremely late on the tree 1.270 to Myrie's .061. Myrie takes the win pedaling the car to a 7.94 @ 184. Daniel Fieldles drops a .100 light on Rick Fedorovich's .277 easily staying his course with a consistent 7.51 @ 194 to Fedorovich’s losing 10.90 @ 82. Todd Harris moves into the ladder as Dave O'Donnell couldn't make the call facing off with Craig Pio. Harris is on with a .040 but Pio has a .019 on him with reaction time. Harris starts adding power in and out of the throttle to the brutal GTO and pulls away from Pio on the big end in a haze of Hemi compressed alcohol posting his best ever ET 6.88 @ 205 to Pio's 7.10 @ 204. Final pairings would again include an alternate Bill Mitchell's fairly untested S10 against Joe Newsham's proven Cobra. Mitchell shows how a tree gets chopped down in Outlaw Racing with a stunning .001 to Newsham's unusually lazy .108. Newsham 7.11 @ 196 shuts off early on the top end as Mitchell 8.13 @ 183 breaks the tires loose losing this round.
The J & E Performance Outlaw 10.5 Eliminations Semi Finals:
Daniel Fieldles earns a bye run as Todd Harris fouls. The glaring difference between the next two to stage is the boxy Chevelle of Tony Myrie on nitrous with wild paint and Joe Newsham's sedate Cobra slick and gleaming is evident. Myrie .054 is good off the tree as is Newsham .079. Myrie losses traction 300ft out as Newsham is again on his way to a winning pass ousting Myrie 10.052 @ 144 to Newsham's screaming 6.95 @ 210.
The J & E Performance Outlaw 10.5 Eliminations Finals:
After coming off a Huge win at The 6th Annual Shakedown at E Town taking out the best; one by one, wrapping up The Cecil County Street Car Shootout Points title, Atco's Points title, and in a direct heat with Jimmy Blackmon in the ORSCA series; Newsham looked like a lock against this newcomer Daniel Fieldles. Both prepared to stage as Newsham's pedigree for the year was well know to Fieldles but he was in a fight for this title on Newsham's home turf. Newsham went into the beams, set the brake and inexplicably bumped through giving Daniel Fieldles his first win of the season before the race even started. This new Season Finale' Champ only 22yrs young faced the best in the northeast and came out the champion 7.89 @ 181 taking home the big check. All things in racing can come to those who wait and this was a big one for Daniel Fieldles. Congratulations!!
The Outlaw 8.50 Index Qualifying Sessions:
Kaspers Korner Racing / Kaspers Certified Auto, Injection Connection
The 8.50 Index was before in "it's coming of age stage" but now the close competition and wild antics of these cars have matured into a class most talked about by sportsman racers and more. The growing popularity can be sceen in the exciting action that even qualifying can bring to a spectator, old school "Heads Up" Racing was put in the forefront today. Both sessions had their ups and downs literally. Giant wheelstands, Smokey burnouts, broken rears trying to grab all the track they could and teams dressed to a professional status made this class outstanding to anyone viewing. Twenty three cars entered and only sixteen would have a shot at the winners purse and Season Finale' Champ status. Craig Buscio earned the number one spot by drilling a dead on 8.502 @ 158 with Mike Cerminaro's Procharger equipped Chevy II filling in the bump spot at 8.635 @ 157. Only .133 separated sixteen cars this Sunday.
Kaspers Korner Racing / Kaspers Certified Auto, Injection Connection Qualifying and Racer Information:
1 :Craig Buscio 8.502 @ 158 : 1962 Chevy II, 598 Henry Jackson BBC, Nitrous, Glide - Pro Car Performance, Competitive Wiring / Wayne Keegan
2 :"Rockin" Rob Cherkas 8.508 @ 163 : 1993 Mustang, SBF, Nitrous, Glide - Precision Nitrous Technologies, Your Way Network
3 :Mark Schankweiler 8.517 @ 159 : 1967 Chevy II, 421 SBC, Nitrous, Glide - CD Race Cars, Bear's Performance, Jet-Hot Coatings, Mickey Thompson Tires, Clark Industrial Supply
4 :Mike Conway 8.526 @ 165 : 86 Corvette, Auto, Nitrous
5 :Shawn Gallagher 8.530 @ 162 : 79 Mustang, SBF, Nitrous, Glide
6 :Mark Bowen 8.534 @ 157 : 72 Nova, 540, BBC, Nitrous, Glide - J & E Performance
7 :Bill Verzilli 8.538 @ 162 : 1969 Camaro RS/SS, Henry Jackson 632 BBC, 4BBL, T400 - Henry Jackson Racing Engines, J & E Performance
8 :Rob Poochigian 8.542 @ 161 : 1967 Chevelle, 569 BBC, Nitrous, T400 - MRP RACING, Steve Schmidt Competition Engines
9 :Tom Romeo 8.571 @ 165 : 70 Nova, BBC, Nitrous, Team ADD Racing,Romeo Brothers Racing
10 :Tony Russo 8.572 @ 159 : 1973 Dodge Dart , 440 BBM, All Motor, Rossler Turbo 400, M/T ET Street - My wife Joan, sons Joe, Mike, and Family, My friends Red, and Lou - Albert Kemperle Auto Body Supplies.
11 :Rob Puller 8.577 @ 157 : 1986 Camaro, SBC, Nitrous, T400 - Finishline Performance
12 :John Razler 8.580 @ 159 : 1968 Camaro, BBC, Glide, Nitrous - Extreme Performance Transmission's, Bammann Racing, R & M Towing
13 :Angelo Valla 8.595 @ 163 : 72 Corvette, BBC, Nitrous, Glide
14 :Al Fonse Jr. 8.595 @ 159 : 93 Camaro, SBC, Nitrous, Glide - Fonse Performance
15 :TJ. Kasper (Owner Dot and Gil Christy) 8.606 @ 141 : 1988 Mustang, SBF, Nitrous, Auto - Kaspers Korner / Kaspers Certified Auto / Southern Outlaw Shops Racing Wings, Merkel Racing Engines, Pellegrino Auto Body, Wicked Image Design
16 :Mike Cerminaro 8.635 @ 157 : 1970 Chevy Nova, SBC, Supercharged, Glide - Rhodes Custom Auto
17 :Robert Romano 8.886 @ 151 : 1969 Dodge Dart, BBM, Nitrous, T Flite - Big Time Automotive
18 :Frank Lupi 8.896 @ 151 : 87 Pontiac Firebird, SBF, All Motor, Glide
19 :Mike Boccella 9.011 @ 166 : 1993 Mustang, SBF, Nitrous, Glide - Boccella's Performance
20 :Chuck Kelly 9.011 @ 152 : 1993 GMC Sanoma, SBC, Nitrous, Glide -
21 :Bill Gorafsky 9.038 @ 147 : 1968 Camaro No Information
22 :Patrick Doyle 9.37 @ 145 : 1957 Chevy, SBC, Supercharged, Glide, Team ADD Racing
23 :John Goss 9.73 @ 148 : 1978 Z/28 Camaro, 509 BBC, T400 - Nico Racing Engines / Goss' Plumbing and Heating
Kaspers Korner Racing / Kaspers Certified Auto, Injection Connection Eliminations Round One:
Mark Bowen opened the eliminations against the mean Camaro of Al Fonse Jr., Bowen cracks the tree with a .003 light and a tough to beat 8.568 @ 157 while Fonse took a good shot at the veteran .025 8.578 @ 159. John Razler comes into the round probably the most decorated racer of 2007 and a force in the 8.50 Index to run off with Mike Conway. Conway drops a .007 light to Razler's .029. Razler’s quicker 8.583 @ 257 wasn't enough to stave off Conway’s brilliant 8.598 @ 157 efforts. Mike Cerminaro has a hard time getting the boost going and leaves deadly late .332 to Rob Poochigian's excellent .036. Both Chevy's powered down the track but Poochigian wouldn't give up the stripe as his 8.717 @ 145 was enough to beat the quicker 8.522 @ 160 of Cerminaro. Tommy Romeo goes dead red -.027 giving up his chances for more rounds to Craig Buscio who ran it out as the win light is on his side already 8.482 @ 157. "Rockin Rob" Cherkas met with Tony Russo putting the big Mopar up against the little Stang. Russo's qualifying stunts were dramatic with big wheelstands and great numbers but the big Mopar wedge motor decided it was time for a rest as smoke poured from the exhaust and the car struggled to the finish line while Cherkas in the other lane launched wheels up on an ultra clean 8.551 @ 158. Both Opponents in this round seem to meet early and are both equally deadly in this class, TJ Kasper and Bill Verzilli. Verzilli launched hard but as quick as that happened the death rattle of a broken driveline component ended his pass leaving Kasper to cross the beams with a .007 light and a "Kid Kwik" stamped 8.750 @ 128. Rob Puller's lean, clean Camaro in striking red took a later light .076 than opponent Mark Schankweiler .035 whom in his lane the box Nova reached for the sky coming down hard and slightly crossed up out of the groove but staying in it was worth it as his 8.714 @ 156 was enough to take the win from Puller 8.74 @ 159, the fans appreciated this race standing and cheering. Shawn Gallagher comes into the rounds also a threat and proves he has the go and skills dropping a .006 on the tree finishing with a 8.552 @ 149 to a red lighting Angelo Valla -.009 trying a bit too hard. A great start for the rounds to come.
Kaspers Korner Racing / Kaspers Certified Auto, Injection Connection Eliminations Round Two:
Again; Mark Bowen is eager to be first in line as the rounds open, his work all year has been stunning but an opponent who has shown his muster was waiting in the lane next to him. Bowen chops down the tree .003 as "Rockin Rob" Cherkas has some ground to gain .069. Both racers would break out but Bowen would be the worse of the two 8.451 @ 156 while Cherkas takes the win 8.483 @ 163. TJ Kasper and team captain "Tom or dad if you will" knew they had a good race with Mark Schankweiler in the opposite lane. It was all business as the nasty green and black rolled in with Tom Kasper leading him in. Schankweiler and team were also capably handling their end in the lane next to them. Kasper is again awesome on the tree .008 to Schankweiler's good .048, a run to the finish was decided as Kasper's 8.507 @ 144 was numerically unbeatable and Schankweiler falls with an impressive round result 8.517 @ 159. Mike Conway stuns many time class champ Rob Poochigian on the tree .010 to Poochigian’s .034. Both racers break out also with Conway coming up the winner 8.498 @ 158 to a losing effort of Poochigian 8.473 @ 161 cranking out some nitrous assisted power. Shawn Gallagher shoots himself in the foot leaving early -.015 giving the race away to Craig Buscio who seems that he forces his opponents to take measures on the tree they usually wouldn't with his performances. Buscio runs the Chevy II out the back door again 8.459 @ 159 in the cooling air.
Kaspers Korner Racing / Kaspers Certified Auto, Injection Connection Eliminations Semi Finals:
With the sun dropping early from the daylight savings time, the cooling track and dense air was bound to improve performance and the tuners needed to step up when big power and power adders are combined applied to the rides. The seriousness in the lanes by the teams was growing with expectations since all involved were a threat to each other top end and on the tree. Mike Conway faced off with "Rockin Rob" Cherkas, with "Dave Acker" handling the tuning and staging of the Mustang and Wayne Keegan also on track with Mike Conway. Conway rips an excellent .016 light on Cherkas .069 but power falls off on the Vette 8.943 @ 124 as Cherkas moves into the final. TJ Kasper was to be paired with Craig Buscio's Chevy II in an anticipated race of friendly yet competitive opponents. Buscio’s car fails to start and TJ Kasper had waited as long as the starter would allow looking for a side by side race, Buscio’s Cinderella day was over. Kasper took on good shot at the tune pass and clicked off a .003 8.48 @ 158 for another final round which has been so familiar this year for "Kid Kwik".
Kaspers Korner Racing / Kaspers Certified Auto, Injection Connection Eliminations Finals:
Both Mustangs represented the colorful aspect of this class, the gleaming flamed Mustang of "Rockin Rob" Cherkas and the spotless black and green Graphic's on TJ Kasper's ride. Little did Cherkas know that Kasper’s transmission had seen its last pass the round before turning into mush with no second gear. TJ would still give it his all but that quickly vanished with a -.007 light handing over the race while assuming the vertical position of a huge wheelie bar crushing wheel stand on the hit which Kasper will not soon forget. Cherkas in the opposing lane still had what it took with the expert tuning of "Dave Acker" and Cherkas' improving driving skills. A time of 8.80 @ 135 was the wining lottery number for "Rockin Rob" as he finishes off as Atco's 8.50 Index Champion. In the winners circle "Rockin Rob" which in most cases is never at a loss for words only stating it has been a long time since he'd been there and quoting him; "Dave Acker's Plate System and exclusive tuning tricks from Precision Nitrous Technologies was the Key Factor" in his win. Congratulations to "Rockin Rob" Cherkas on an intense win and performance to finalize this year at Atco's Index Series.
The The C2it Enterprises 10.0 Index Qualifying Sessions:
Formidable cars, street appearing and awesomely entertaining with competition close within thousandths of a second in most races is all a fan can ask for. These cars are wickedly fast and accurate on almost all passes so you better be on your game. Qualifying is quick for these cars as is in the latter 12.0 class also by C2it Enterprises. They get their runs in and as soon as they are off the track two more pull up. One of the largest gathering's for this class happened on this Sunday with twenty eight cars in the mix and an all run field was composed.
Mike Romeo headed up the number one spot in the ladder muscling out the BP Speed Bright Green 74 Camaro with a sobering for others 10.005 @ 134, Sam Simpson's brutal S10 powered down a 10.007 while Scott Embly was right behind in the number three spot with another 10.009 @ 131 blast all in the double zero's. Well known to those following this class are some champions of 10.0 racing that included the likes of Mark Plucinski, John Hurst, Harry Weber Jr., Craig Curtis, Brendan Mills, and Lee Grinnell sitting in the sixteen spot sporting fresh paint on the killer wheelie wagon. Ray Wallis Jr comes up short of what could have been a sixteen car field only race but all run puts him in the ladder with notables Carl Ungaro, Bill Dutka, Josh Solomine and last months series champ Cary Cable Sr. in the under class with a 9.980 @ 129.
Click Here For The Full Qualifying Results via Compulink Race Stats:
The C2it Enterprises 10.0 Index Eliminations Round One:
Craig Curtis, Michael Scalfo, and Roy Williams all receive a bye run into the second round. Josh Solimine takes himself out of the running with a -.010 red light in his pairing with "Deadly" Doug Frisch .138 10.039 @ 133. Seth Brown .080 10.166 @ 132 would lose his chance to advance against a strong effort by Carey Cable Sr .158 10.071 @ 132. Both Thomas Wood .055 and Ray Wallis Jr. .044 Ripped up the asphalt launching with Wood's Regal twisting hard, and Wallis' Malibu grabbing for air. Wallis would lose this round 10.249 @ 130 to Woods 10.198 @ 127. Sam Simpson .048 10.008 @ 134 gets beat on a hole shot by the "Grizzly Bear" Lee Grinnell hanging the tires high. Mike O'Sullivan had to play catch up with a .133 and braking out 9.897 @ 118 trying to make up for lost time against the "Yenko" styled Nova of Paul Latturulo .067 10.093. Shawn Abate dropped the red bulb -.068 losing to John Hurst as the 74 Nova was on a good pass .125 10.058 @ 134. Carl Ungaro and Mark Plucinski have seen the winners circle many times; their performance will show as Plucinski leaves with an .020 light to Ungaro's .019. Ungaro would take the win 10.215 @ 119 to Plucinski’s losing effort 10.259 @ 135. "Supercharged" Brendan Mills faced the number one qualifier Mike Romeo in this round, both worthy opponents but unlike Romeo’s past work on the tree, he had a red bulb showing -.143 for the loss as Mills advances under pressurized power .026 11.287 @ 81. "Bad Bill" Dutka poured on the power just a little too much breaking out .032 9.900 @ 123 while Alan Von Ahnen would have the winning number .060 10.135 @ 131. Harry "The Hulk" Weber would advance with a strong .063 light and trapped at 10.296 @ 161 easing off against Thomas Crow's .115 10.510 @ 126. Bobby Stephenson .077 10.200 @ 131 would put Paul Cattone on the trailer early .165 10.207 @ 137.
C2it Enterprises 10.0 Index Eliminations Round Two:
Thomas Wood opened this round and promptly feels the hurt of an almost unbeatable run by Michael Scalfo. Though Wood was quicker .047 10.064 @ 123 Scalfo's brilliant reaction time .007 and 10.070 @ 133 was a tough combo to beat. Lee Grinnell ended his day Wheels Up against Paul Lattarulo's Nova. Grinnell suffered a .175 light to Lattarulo's .063; Grinnell would have to chase him down and led him to break out 9.982 @ 133 to Lattarulo’s winning 10.083 @ 131. A favorite to win, Craig Curtis met his match with John Hurst. Curtis .035 and Hurst .045 had a race on their hands, the top end story tells it all with Curtis making up ground and breaking out 9.988 @ 134 to Hurst's final win number 10.012 @ 134. Doug Frisch would have a hard time beating the package that Carl Ungaro had waiting for him. Ungaro cuts a .006 light and streaks to the top end 10.032 @ 128 to beat Frisch's effort of .060 10.030 @ 133. Bobby Stephenson fell prey to last months Index Champ Carey Cable Sr., Stephenson put up a close race .043 10.177 @ 131 but Cable bettered that .025 10.140 @ 132. After last round Brendan Mills tried to get back in good standing with the tree but when trying as you may, it hurts to see that red bulb come on at -.001 to end your day against Alan Von Ahnen's .018 10.214 @ 131. Roy Williams would make Harry Weber Jr's day much easier in this round handing over the win via red light start. Williams went -.033 to Weber’s full pass .046 10.091 @ 132 to finish off this series of eliminations.
C2it Enterprises 10.0 Index Eliminations Round Three:
Alan Von Ahnen takes a bye run still showing some good numbers out of the Mustang 10.115 @ 132. Michael Scalfo would take a chance on the tree in his gorgeous 67 GTO only to see the reflection of red light glaring over the brilliant white paint as the sun was setting -.034 10.09 @ 133 to John Hurst's excellent .058 10.074 @ 133. Carl Ungaro again puts together a run most racers wish for each round as it was unbeatable almost; .004 10.098 @ 122 while Paul Latturulo could reciprocate the same conditions in his lane .041 10.069 @ 132. Harry Weber found on his last pass as the car was in the turnoff that oil pressure was low and began hearing some slight noise, you will never see the Harry Weber "Tap Out", lol for any other reason so his round with Carey Cable Sr. would be aborted and Cable heads to the Semis with a test pass 9.989 @ 136 in the cold air now coming in.
C2it Enterprises 10.0 Index Semi Finals:
Most had already seen how tight the racing was and no one knew more than the drivers that they needed to cut a good light. This set of pairings both resulted in red light starts for Alan Von Ahnen and Carl Ungaro. Ungaro would have faced Carey Cable Sr. .128 9.989 @ 136 and Ungaro had John Hurst solidifying his performance as he had been all day with an exceptional .035 10.069 @ 134. An all big block Chevy final was to come.
C2it Enterprises 10.0 Index Finals:
Carey Cable Sr. had been right here in this spot last month as the champ of the last index race and well deserved as would John Hurst who now was contending for this final of the season. Both racers are veterans of the winners circle but it's a race and anything can happen. The red light bug would now hit Carey Cable Sr. going -.011 red on the hit and Hurst .021 10.083 @ 133 motors his way to the winners circle where much of the 10.0 class surrounded him for congratulations, this is a fine group of racers and friends and John Hurst's win was a great moment for all involved.
The The C2it Enterprises 12.0 Index Qualifying Sessions:
Since this race format's inception and the addition of points awards as with the 10.0 Index, it's grown with leaps and bounds but has become a tough class t be in most times, bump spots are intimidating but this is what the racers love to see. You almost have a feel for the same racing as Quick 8's but at a slower pace which makes a twelve second driver feel as important as a seven second driver. The appeal is always there for winning this class with stock looking cars and talent behind the wheel. As with most of the races throughout the season, the 12.0 index was full and an all run field was chosen just two cars shy of the thirty two car goal. Ben Wetzel was the number one qualifier and the only one with double "0" digits at 12.002 @ 111, Walt "Hemi" Haas sat second in the single "0"'s 12.016 @ 103 and our "First Lady" of the Index Barbara Lutz holding onto third place 12.018 @ 102. Kevin Walsh was back in the mix running his Plymouth up from Maryland for the festivities, Steve Gurnick, "have gas will race" seems to be his motto as he treks up from Delaware. John Stankunas with his red Chevelle was sparkling and running impressively .Notables included the Harvey's, all three of them making the field David Jr, Dave III, and Jim sitting at number sixteen.
Click Here For The Full Qualifying Results via Compulink Race Stats:
C2it Enterprises 12.0 Index Eliminations Round One:
Rich Smith opened the sessions facing Michael Baez to begin the feature. Both had break out runs with Smith .064 11.97 @ 101 over Baez .090 11.878 @ 108. Nick Berti romped on the big Galaxie to a winning time of .021 12.121 @ 97 over Ted Hryzcyszyn .211 12.104 @ 110. John Stankunas put himself out of the running pulling the red light ticket -.060 against Walt Haas .019 12.031 @ 112. Ed Stoltz had the same help from the tree as Donald Riley went red -.280 giving the victory over to Stoltz 11.602 @ 101. James Redner entered into the beams and was faced with a "Deep Stage" foul While Bill Patahous takes a win .188 12.889 @ 73. Ralph Shaw paired with Steve Gurnick both on a good run Gurnick .088 12.207 @ 92 was the winner over Shaw .132 12.311 @ 108. Mathew Meyer also staged in too deep causing a "Deep Stage" foul to incur while Kevin Walsh takes his Road Runner on an excellent packaged winning pass .048 12.003 @ 113. Mike Delorenzo yet quicker than Dave Harvey III took his loss .135 12.011 @ 107 via Harvey's holeshot .019 12.100 @ 104. Steve Demaria .100 12.205 @ 99 took his win against Joe Henderson .103 12.423 @ 107, David Harvey Jr. had Marcus Thompson go red -.063, Harvey drops a .012 12.039 @ 104 on the compulink screen. The closest race of the rounds came when Barbara Lutz faced Jim Harvey. Lutz .055 12.088 @ 107 wasn't enough against Harvey's .045 12.066 @ 107. Lynn Townes, Ben Wetzel, and John Hatch all have a bye run to round two.
C2it Enterprises 12.0 Index Eliminations Round Two:
Kevin Walsh usually great on the tree wound up with a "Deep Stage" foul on in his lane giving the race up to Lynn Townes .018 12.165 @ 98. Ben Wetzel .024 12.036 @ 110 had more than Rich Smith on his losing pass .056 12.044 @ 104. Steve Demaria's numbers were good and quicker .081 12.043 @ 111 but couldn't get by the holeshot of Nick Berti .018 12.090 @ 108. Ed Stoltz suffered an extremely slow reaction time to lose and break out .253 11.710 @ 94 against David Harvey III's great set of numbers .025 12.060 @ 104. Bill Patahous would also see the same result as Stoltz with a slow reaction time and trying to make up the number .198 11.863 @ 107 against a formidable David Harvey Jr. .032 12.059 @ 100. The two cagey veterans Steve Gurnick and Walt Haas would up in the second round. Gurnick put together a sweet run .046 12.085 @ 108 to oust another favorite to win Walt Haas .003 12.129 @ 105. John Hatch in his little black convertible Mustang .058 12.190 @ 110 went home early against Jim Harvey .029 12.107 @ 101 t end this session of rounds.
C2it Enterprises 12.0 Index Eliminations Round Three:
Steve Gurnick singles his way into the Semi finals by way of a bye run. David Harvey Jr. put together an almost unbeatable package of .004 12.061 @ 98 against the losing Ben Wetzel .026 12.051 @ 110. Nick Berti also forced the breakout by dropping a .003 12.012 @ 11 on the books as David Harvey III had no choice but to try and run him down .041 11.965 @ 108. Lynn Townes was quicker .037 12.045 @ 105 but Jim Harvey had his holeshot .011 12.057 @ 110 to get him to the next round.
C2it Enterprises 12.0 Index Eliminations Semi Finals:
This round included some tight drivers lining up as the sun set on the asphalt of Atco Raceway. No red lights in this round, just four drivers looking for that final seat at the end of the night as the chill in the air came in so did the performance rise that comes with it. Both Nick Berti and Steve Gurnick had their game plan set. Berti .016 would take the tree over Gurnick .027 but the Galaxie of Berti had a little too much power upstairs breaking out 11.972 @ 110 and Steve Gurnick plays his cards right taking the win away from Berti's brute of a ride with an 11.974 @ 108 shining on the boards. The brothers Harvey knew they would have to meet up, but no love lost as a win light is family fun talk for the one who takes it. Jim Harvey would end up on the losing end as the Camaro had some extra power to make up for the .048 light he cut against a solid .027 by David Harvey Jr., both racers broke out as David Harvey Jr. 11.969 @ 102 would come out the winner over Jim Harvey 11.928 @ 110.
C2it Enterprises 12.0 Index Eliminations Finals:
Again a final is set where both racers are veterans of a winners circle at Atco Raceway, David Harvey Jr. and Steve Gurnick have seen that spot many times. Temps had dropped quite a bit and a match between these two racers would be close and a 50/50 split on most betters tables. Steve Gurnick's Chevy powered Mustang against the little all Mopar Valiant would be a sweet end to the night. Gurnick is late .061 to Harvey's .022, a race ensues but Gurnick is just too fast losing while breaking out 11.986 @ 109 and Harvey taking the stripe and the victory named as new 12.0 Index Season Finale' champ 12.076 @ 97. Congratulations on a long day of impressive rounds to David Harvey Jr.
Sunday Wrap Up:
Though the morning was warming and crisp to begin the racing, the Atco surface was a bit clean after the rains the day earlier as it came around fast and the cars also enjoyed the hook. The unusually warm November day was pleasing from a spectators point as the race was run under near perfect conditions. The skies turned from azure blue to a beautiful harvest orange as the sun sets on Atco in the fall with barbeques firing away in the pits the racers had their final meet and race of the season in a laid back manner of enjoying the company and the competition as night fell.
The pits emptied racers and teams headed to the Winners Circle Lounge for some libations and recaps of their own season. As I left, the loud click of the main power source sent a chill up my spine as I packed up my gear and set on my way home. As this was only my third race of the year, I was fully satisfied again at the contagious race fever that was felt in my blood. My year ends on a high note with some major thanks to Jack Stiles for help me out personally with added photos and Seth from GoneDragRacing for the sideline access and Atco Raceway’s fine staff on both the track and the tower. Here's to a great off season for all in the Northeast.
July 26th, 2008: Pinks! All Out Englishtown
Speed brings the show to Raceway Park
 Rich Christensen, Nate & Adam Pritchett, and the whole Pullin TV Staff brought the popular Pinks! All Out event to Englishtown Raceway Park on July 26th, 2008. Many of the GDR regulars made the event, trying to get into the final show and win the big cash prize that Speed TV puts up. Hundreds of cars battled to make it to the sweet 16, two of those making it to the final 16 was our very own Chris Ely and Harry Weber.
Detailed news along with pictures and videos from the race can be found in our forums by clicking here.
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