Georgia Drag Racing News

Information about Georgia drag racing history, personalities, activities and events from GeorgiaDragRacing.com.

Friday, May 28, 2004

Cory Mac, Bazemore and Johns Lead Day One Qualifying at the NHRA POWERade O'Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals presented by Castrol GTX

Alpharetta's Bob Vandergriff is qualified #12 in Top Fuel with a 4.738 @ 305.01.

Surprise #1 qualifier in Pro Stock is Steve Johns with a 6.853 @ 201.10 in his Cavalier.

Georgia Pro Stock teams results:
Kurt Johnson #5 ( 6.871 @ 200.56 )
Warren Johnson #13 ( 6.903 @ 199.61 )
Mark Whisnant #15 ( 6.910 @ 198.99 )
Barry Grant #23 ( 6.968 @ 197.88 )
NHRA Recap
Litton, Smith, Atchison and Morton Lead Pro Qualifying at the Hooters IHRA ACDelco Nationals presented by the Richmond Times-Dispatch

Charlie Peppers ( Auburn, GA ) is qualified in the #6 ( 6.641 @ 209.85 ) position in Pro Stock with his Ford Mustang.

Eddie Ware ( Marietta, GA ) is qualified #12 ( 6.420 @ 214.14 )with his '41 Willys in Pro Mod.

William Parris ( Cedar Bluff, AL ) is qualified #8 in Top Stock with his '68 Barracuda ( 10.169 @ 129.07 ).
Drag Race Central Recap


Wednesday, May 26, 2004

GeorgiaDragRacing.com logo shirts now available in extremely limited quantities.
I've got a few ( very few! ) GeorgiaDragRacing.com t-shirts and three button shirts left.

The t-shirts are heavyweight 100% cotton ( pre-shrunk ). Most are Hanes, some are Gildan Activewear. GeorgiaDragRacing.com logo ( approx. 4" wide ) screen printed on left chest and back of shirt (approx. 12" wide ).
$15 plus $3 shipping to continental United States.

The "golf" type shirts are Gildan Activewear Ultra Cotton heavyweight 100% cotton ( pre-shrunk ) - three buttons with collar. GeorgiaDragRacing.com logo ( approx. 4" wide ) screen printed on left chest only.
$20 plus $3 shipping to continental United States.

If you want one, send an email to me ( dayfalcon@earthlink.net ) and I'll send a photo and let you know what sizes I have. These were printed to get me through until I have my other shirts designed. I doubt that I will have any more of these t-shirts printed. Already a limited edition collector's item !

David
1989 Camaro RS For Sale


1989 Camaro RS, V-6 Engine blown ( previous owner thinks it broke a rod - I don't know ), AT, interior rough, body decent. Car has been parked for about four years. Might make a decent start for a drag car. Clear title. $700 OBO Contact me at dayfalcon@earthlink.net
Photos

Tuesday, May 25, 2004

Collis’ great light and E.T. goes for naught
Courtesy Jerry Battle

JOLIET, Ill. (May 23, 2004) – Having found an ignition/electrical that enabled the bike to improve in the final qualifying session yesterday, the Star Racing/G Squared Motorsports team turned their attention to today’s eliminations for the NHRA Route 66 Nationals.

The first match up for Fred Collis and the Star Racing/G Squared Motorsports Suzuki was against Michael Phillips.

Both drivers were on top of their game at the lights. Phillips was perfect with a .000 reaction time, while Collis was underway in.004 seconds, outstanding by anyone’s standards.

“Michael Phillips’ margin for error was a hair,” said team owner George Bryce. “If he was a nanosecond quicker, he red-lighted. If he’s 15-hundredth later, he loses. But none of that happened.”

Phillips covered the Route 66 Raceway quarter-mile in 7.234 seconds, followed closely by Collis in 7.243 seconds.

“At least we ran our best time of the weekend on that run rather than going slower. Fred drove the bike really well and seat time is really paying off for him,” added Bryce.

Commenting on his seat time, Collis said, “Nothing like seat time. The more laps you make the more you can refine your techniques. We went to the line knowing there were some things that we wanted to change today as far as driving was concerned and we achieved that. At the finish line we fell a little short but we gave the fans a drag race.”

Qualified: # 10 (7.268 seconds at 181.06 mph)
Eliminations:
Round 1: Collis (7.243/183.24) lost to Mike Phillips (7.234/185.18)

Next up for Star Racing/G Squared Motorsports is the Pontiac Excitement Nationals presented by Summit Racing, the third of five races in a seven-week span. The event unfolds at National Trail Raceway June-13.

”We’ll figure out how to make the bike go quicker and faster by Columbus,” concluded Bryce.

Prior to the Columbus event, G Squared Motorsports will do addition testing on the V-Twin as they ready the bike for actual competition.

G Squared Motorsports is currently building and testing a competition S&S Cycle-powered V-Twin with Buell bodywork, and hope to have the bike ready for NHRA competition in the near future. The effort is a collaboration between George Bryce of Star Racing, headquartered in Americus, Ga., and George Smith, part owner of S&S Cycle, Incorporated, based in Viola, Wis.

Combining Bryce's talent for building state-of-the-art motorcycles and mentoring competitive drivers capable of winning championships and Smith's knowledge and experience with the V-Twin engine, Bryce and Smith have established a new company, G Squared Motorsports (a derivative of the name George, common to both partners), to develop motorcycles and motorcycle engines with a focus on late-model hot rod V-Twins.

You can contact Star Racing on the web at www.starracing.com and S&S Cycle, Incorporated at www.sscycle.com.

MEDIA CONTACT: Mickey Schultz
STAR RACING/G SQUARED MOTORSPORTS
PRO STOCK BIKE
FRED COLLIS -- RIDER

Sunday, May 23, 2004

GeorgiaDragRacing.com logo shirts now available in extremely limited quantities.

I've got a few ( very few! ) GeorgiaDragRacing.com t-shirts and three button shirts left.

The t-shirts are heavyweight 100% cotton ( pre-shrunk ). Most are Hanes, some are Gildan Activewear. GeorgiaDragRacing.com logo ( approx. 4" wide ) screen printed on left chest and back of shirt (approx. 12" wide ).
$15 plus $3 shipping to continental United States.

The "golf" type shirts are Gildan Activewear Ultra Cotton heavyweight 100% cotton ( pre-shrunk ) - three buttons with collar. GeorgiaDragRacing.com logo ( approx. 4" wide ) screen printed on left chest only.
$20 plus $3 shipping to continental United States.

If you want one, send an email to me ( dayfalcon@earthlink.net ) and I'll send a photo and let you know what sizes I have. These were printed to get me through until I have my other shirts designed. I doubt that I will have any more of these t-shirts printed. Already a limited edition collector's item !

David
Bazemore sets national ET record, fastest Funny Car speed, moves into No. 1

JOLIET, Ill. (May 23, 2004) - With all the hooplah surrounding Gary Scelzi
and Tony Pedregon as to which one would walk away with the ET and speed
records this weekend at the ultra-fast Route 66 Raceway, Whit Bazemore
quietly out-performed them both as he set the national Funny Car ET record
and became the fastest Funny Car driver on the planet while producing the
quickest and fastest Funny Car pass in NHRA history in the semifinal round:
4.713 seconds (backed up by his 4.731 in qualifying) at 333.25 mph.

With that, the driver of the Matco Tools Iron Eagle Dodge Stratus, moved
into No. 1 in the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series Funny Car point
standings, earning a bonus 20 points for the national ET record. He was
unable to back up the speed for a national record, however, so his teammate
Gary Scelzi goes home with that one, set here, of 330.55 mph.

This, of course, did not overshadow Bazemore's route to his fourth final
round of the year, third in a row, and his second this season against John
Force. After disposing of Ron Capps, Tim Wilkerson and Tony Bartone,
Bazemore was once again matched with his longtime nemesis John Force in the
final round.

Bazemore snatched an .024 of a second edge at the Christmas Tree over Force,
but by the 60-ft. mark crew chief Lee Beard's self-admitted slightly
aggressive tune-up took its toll and Bazemore lost traction early, coasting
to an 8.034/115.06 pass to Force's winning 4.752/325.30.

"It's disappointing to lose," said the three-time Route 66 Raceway winner
and No. 2 qualifier. "No matter how good the rest of the weekend is, you
come to win the race. We had a good chance. We proved a lot this weekend. I
think Lee (Beard, crew chief) and the team did an outstanding job. The
bottom line is we're disappointed.

"What matters is winning the race and beating John Force and it didn't
happen. We've gone to four final rounds in five races, so we're doing well,
we're excited and we're looking forward to going to Topeka.

"It's good," he said about setting the national record. "I think the more
important thing to me is that we won Atlanta (last week) on a hot race track
and that's what we're going to be faced with the next three or four months.
The national record is fine for your ego and it's cool, but what's more
important, I think, right now is being able to go down the track on a hot
track and being competitive there, and we proved that last weekend.

"We're not going to see conditions like this for a long time. This is a
great, great facility. They re-paved it. I think they proved something to
the NHRA that you can actually repave a track and have it be a good race
track."

Going 333 mph for the first time in NHRA Funny Car history was a bonus. "We
were disappointed Saturday night that that (final qualifying) session got
rained out," said Bazemore. "Lee had it pretty tuned up for that session.
Actually, today we had a strong crosswind and that cost us a little mile and
hour. 333 is great and it's the fastest ever. If it had been a calm day,
there is no question it would have been faster. How much faster we'll never
know."

Lee Beard missed the opportunity to score his 50th national-event win as a
crew chief today, but said he had respect for any barriers being broken. He
also felt under the right conditions this weekend, the ET record could have
been lowered to a 4.60. "Lee Beard is a swing-for-the-fence kind of guy,"
he said. "It means a lot to me to break barriers. They're hard to do and
hard to come by in your whole entire career. We're going to look back and
say, Gee we could have won the race with running a low 4.70. But we're in
the points lead, we did set the national record, we do have the quickest and
fastest car in the history of the sport, so, all in all, it was a pretty
good weekend for us."

POINT STANDINGS

1. Whit Bazemore, 579
2. John Force, 563
3. Del Worsham, 547
4. Tim Wilkerson, 480
5. Eric Medlen, 474
6. Gary Densham, 461
7. Gary Scelzi, 452

Contact: Judy Stropus
DON SCHUMACHER RACING

Scelzi sets top-speed record of 330.55 in Joliet

JOLIET, Ill. (May 23, 2004) - Gary Scelzi, crew chief Mike Neff and the
HEMI-powered Oakley Dodge Stratus continue to break and back up national
Funny Car speed records, especially when they come to the super-fast and
ultra-quick Route 66 Raceway. They did it again this weekend, when Scelzi
became the first Funny Car driver to break the 330-mph barrier with a
330.15, then backed it up for a national top-speed record of 330.55 mph.

Although his teammate Whit Bazemore ran a faster 333.25 mph in today's
semifinal round, he was unable to back it up, so Scelzi was credited with
the record following the completion of final eliminations. Scelzi smashed
his existing national top-speed record of 329.18 mph, set last year here in
the fall.

Scelzi, No. 3 qualifier, made a surprisingly early exit today when a
possible ignition problem put him out of the running in the first round
against Tony Bartone. Scelzi nailed Bartone in reaction time (.100 to .145),
then seemed to experience tire shake at the 330-ft. mark, resulting in a
slow and losing 7.010/129.44 pass to Bartone's winning 4.825/310.84.

"I don't know what happened," said Scelzi. "We had a great car in three
qualifying runs, no hint of tire smoke, and it wasn't smoking the tire in
this run. But the motor rpm dropped off and the fuel pressure dropped off
drastically. When it did, it shook the tire. Obviously, I pedaled it, and it
smoked the tire from tire shake. It was out there far enough (on the
quarter-mile) where that shouldn't have happened.

"So we took the coils off the motor and MSD is checking those right now. I
don't know if it was a slide valve or something stuck. The jury is still out
right now. But they're on it, they'll find it. We're going to take the fuel
system off and put it on the flow bench to find out if something happened. I
don't have any answers right now.

"I know it wasn't in the clutch, so that's a plus. And we had a good
consistent race car. As we've known for a long time, we can swing the bat as
hard as anybody. Unleash the HEMI, we said, and we did it. There was more
left. We were just going at it slowly. I think we could have bumped the ET
record and the mph record even quicker and faster than it is right now.

"We'll go to Topeka and we'll be quick and fast again, I'm sure."

Contact: Judy Stropus
DON SCHUMACHER RACING
Doug Kalitta Blasts to the Quickest Top Fuel Run in History - Bazemore sets new Funny Car ET Record - Runs Quickest & Fastest Funny Car pass of all time. Kalitta, Force, Line and Gann Win Pro Titles at the NHRA POWERade Route 66 Nationals.

Doug Kalitta's 4.420 in the final was the quickest pass in Top Fuel history - Bernstein went into a wheelstand and shut off. Brandon Bernstein set the new NHRA Top Fuel speed record at 333.41 mph while defeating Bob Vandergriff in the first round.

John Force won #111, defeating an up in smoke Bazemore in the finale. Whit Bazemore set a new NHRA Funny Car ET record at 4.713 and posted a speed of 333.25 in his semi-final race. Although Bazemore didn't back up the speed for the official record, it was the quickest & fastest ever by a funny car. Bazemore moved into the points lead with his runner-up effort. Gary Scelzi set the official funny car speed record at 330.55 mph.

Jason Line won his first Pro Stock title when he defeated Greg Anderson in the final. Greg fouled while Jason sawed the tree down with a .004 RT. Line set Low ET with a 6.799 in the semi finals. Greg Anderson had Top Speed at 203.25 mph.

Warren Johnson lost to Anderson in round three, Kurt Johnson lost in round two to WJ, and Mark Whisnant went down to Greg Anderson in the first round.

Shawn Gann won Pro Stock Bike when Andrew Hines fouled in the final. Fred Collis lost in round one. Hines set Low ET at 7.093 and Angelle Savoie had Top Speed at 188.38 mph.
NHRA Recap
Friday night power hour at Atlanta Dragway - Saturday program rained out

SPORT COMPACT RACERS COP "YEAR ONE POWER HOUR" HONORS

BANKS CROSSING, GA After a four week hiatus for special events, including
the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals on May 13-16, Atlanta
Dragway racers and fans returned to the northeast Georgia speed plant on a
hot and humid May 21st evening for another edition of Year One Fast Friday.

With July-type weather prevailing, street-legal racers found the competition
equally hot in the Year One Power Hour contest. Defending Hayes Sport
Compact Challenge champion Keith Fortner of Ball Ground, GA blasted his 1994
Toyota Supra down the quarter-mile in 11.469 seconds, 133.67 MPH, to pick up
the Fastest Lap and Quickest Elapsed Time awards. Fortner, the 2003 Hayes
Sport Compact Challenge champion, picked up two $50 Year One Gift
Certificate vouchers for his speedy run.

Chad Pierce of Flowery Branch copped the third $50 Year One Gift Certificate
voucher for his outstanding Reaction Time during the Power Hour competition
for strictly street-legal cars and pickup trucks. Pierce drilled the
Christmas Tree with a .510 in his Porsche Boxter, making it a clean sweep
for sport compact racers in the 9-10 PM contest.


RAIN STOPS SUMMIT BRACKET SERIES EVENT AT ATLANTA DRAGWAY
FROM: Tim Glover


(Saturday, May 22 - Atlanta Dragway) Although not too many races have been
stopped by rain in 2004, the Summit Race scheduled for May 22 was called in
the afternoon due to rain and lightning. "You can't fight the elements,"
said track manager Craig Armstrong.

Tech points were awarded to the participating racers. The next Summit /
Hayes bracket series event is scheduled for June 12, 2004.

Sanctioned by the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA), Atlanta Dragway is
located just off I-85 at Exit 149 in the Banks Crossing area of Commerce,
Georgia. Information on all 2004 events, including the Super Chevy Show,
may be obtained by calling the track office (706-335-2301).

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT: Craig Armstrong (706) 654-1898
Fred Simmons Photos Added from the 2004 NHRA Southern Nationals
ROCKETMAN SCELZI BACKS UP 330-MPH RUN

JOLIET, Ill. (May 22, 2004) - Rocketman Gary Scelzi today backed up his
330.15-mph run from last night's qualifying session with an even faster pass
of 330.55 mph to take the NHRA Funny Car national top-speed record - at
least for the moment, as the record becomes official only once the event is
over.

The driver of the HEMI-powered Oakley Dodge Stratus qualified No. 3 today
with a 4.732-second elapsed time, the quickest ET (and speed) of the day.
The fourth, and final qualifying session, was cancelled because of rain.

"The speed is cool, but the coolest thing is the car has gotten down the
race track three times in a row and it's done exactly what we wanted it to
do, where we wanted it to do it," said Scelzi, the first Funny Car driver in
NHRA history to break the 330-mph barrier. "Granted, this is not a hot,
slippery race track, but the humidity is a big factor and we need to be
careful.

"The clutch problems are not rearing their ugly head. Who knows what lies
ahead? Right now we're extremely happy, we're pleased the car is doing
everything it needs to do; it's driveable and it's fast. And it's really
fast, which is a beautiful thing."

Crew chief Mike Neff was pleased with the qualifying results and the 330-mph
pass. "It feels really good," he said. "That was the barrier that everybody
was asking about. Do we think we can do it? When do you think it will be?
Who do you think is going to be the first one? There's been a lot of talk
about it. To finally do it, to be the first one, feels really good and it's
good to get that over with."

Surprisingly, Neff did not expect the speed to fall last night. "I knew that
we could do it if everything was right. Our car just hadn't been running
really good speed here the last couple of races, so I wasn't really that
optimistic about it doing it last night. We definitely wicked it up and we
definitely were trying to. Fortunately, it just ran clean and had enough
power to do it. It was a great feeling."

Tony Pedregon's even faster 331.28-second run last night, which followed
Scelzi's, impressed Neff. "That was a great run," he said. "Those guys have
been running really well and my hat's off to them. That was a very
impressive run. It would have bummed me out if they had done it in front of
us, but the fact that we were able to be the first ones to do it and even to
run 330 mph was terrific. There are only two people who can say they've run
over 330 mph in a Funny Car. So, to be one of them is an honor."

Dan Olson was crew chief on Tony Schumacher's Top Fuel Dragster when he
broke the 330-mph barrier in Top Fuel and is now co-crew chief on Gary
Scelzi's and Whit Bazemore's cars. He's a happy man as well. "I feel good
for the crew and the guys who have been working real hard this year," said
Olson. "We've been trying a lot of things and it finally looks like we have
something that works, something we can race with and all that hard work has
paid off for the guys. I'm really happy for them and Zippy (Neff)."

Scelzi will meet Tony Bartone in first round of eliminations tomorrow, which
begin at 11 a.m.

Contact: Judy Stropus
DON SCHUMACHER RACING

BAZEMORE QUALIFIES NO. 2 FOR THE FOURTH TIME IN 2004; SETS CAREER FASTEST

JOLIET, Ill. (May 22, 2004) - Whit Bazemore qualified his Matco Tools Iron
Eagle Dodge Stratus Funny Car No. 2 for the fourth time in 2004 for
tomorrow's NHRA Route 66 Nationals with the 4.731-second pass at 326.71 mph
he posted in last night's stellar session, noted for the speed records that
fell.

In today's only qualifying session (the fourth round was cancelled because
of rain), Bazemore established a career-best 329.02-mph run, nearly joining
the 330-mph club which inducted its only two members (Gary Scelzi and Tony
Pedregon) during last night's qualifying round. Bazemore's 4.752-second
effort today was the second quickest and fastest of that round (to teammate
Gary Scelzi's 4.732/330.55) and he was looking forward to tonight's final
qualifying round to improve.

Although disappointed with losing the opportunity to better his speed,
Bazemore, the first Funny Car driver to break the 325-mph barrier, was
upbeat. "The 329.08-mph run was good. It's not quite as fast as our
teammate, but they're on a different planet right now. We're close, but we
ran well, we qualified No. 2, we're feeling pretty good about the car and
the performance of the team.

"It's a shame. We were really looking forward to tonight's session because
we went 329 mph, and (crew chief Lee) Beard's very aggressive right now. Our
teammate's been 330, and we know that we can do it and it's in the car, so
we were all set to really stand on it tonight and try to do our career best
on both ends (ET and speed). We were going to try to run a real, real low
4.70 and go 331-plus. Obviously we're not going to be in a position to do
that tomorrow during the race. And we don't know when we'll be able to be in
a position to do it again, so it's shame. That's the way it goes. We'll be
ready to race tomorrow."

Bazemore, second in the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series Funny Car point
standings, will face Ron Capps in the first round of eliminations tomorrow,
which begin at 11 a.m.

Contact: Judy Stropus
DON SCHUMACHER RACING
Grubnic, T. Pedregon, Line and Hines Top Qualifiers at the NHRA POWERade Route 66 Nationals

Rain again shortened qualifying at an NHRA national event as Top Fuel only got two sessions and Funny Car were allowed three runs.
David Grubnic lead Top Fuel with a 4.471 @ 331.77. Bob Vandergriff is qualifed #14 ( 4.660 @ 312.06 )and will face Brandon Bernstein in the first round of eliminations.

Tony Pedregon's quickest & fastest ever funny car run of 4.716 @ 331.28 held up for #1. Whit Bazemore is #2 with a 4.731 @ 329.02. Gary Scelzi backs up his 330 mph run for a new national record and is qualified #3.

Jason Line knocks his boss ( Greg Anderson ) out of the #1 Pro Stock position with a 6.802 @ 202.33. Greg is #2.

The Georgia Pro Stock gang:
Warren Johnson ( #6 - 6.842 @ 202.85 )
Kurt Johnson ( #14 - 6.864 @ 201.76 )
Mark Whisnant ( #15 - 6.864 @ 200.74 )

Not Qualified
Barry Grant ( #18 - 6.886 @ 199.88 )

Andrew Hines leads the Pro Stock Bikes with a 7.167 @ 184.62. Fred Collis is #10 at 7.268 @ 181.06 on the G Squared/Star Racing bike.
Drag Race Central Summary
NHRA Recap