Bunky Bobo in his office again. Marvin T. Smith Photo

Hemi Hurricane News

Marv Smith recently visited Tony and Bunky Bobo in Rome, GA. Marv said the Hemi Hurricane is looking great and took a few photos to share with us. I've added Marv's photos here.

Ronnie Davis Top Sportsman Runner Up at IHRA Mr. Gasket Pro-Am Tour Race

Ronnie Davis (Commerce, GA) was the runner-up to Jim Carlton in the Top Sportsman class at Immokalee Regional Raceway (Florida) February 12, 2005. This was the opening IHRA Mr. Gasket Pro-Am Tour Division 2 race.
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PEACH STATE BRACKET NATIONALS FIRST CSR DIVISION TWO BTE / CITGO RACE

Courtesy Tim Glover

(Adel, GA - February 12-13, 2005) The air was a bit cool, but racers still enjoyed a great weekend at South Georgia Motorsports Park in Adel, Georgia. The Peach State Bracket Nationals was the first CSR Division Two race of 2005, and the second stop in the BTE / Citgo Series for 2005. More than 200 racers turned out to race for their share of the BTE / Citgo cash being awarded, with $5000 going to the Afco Super Pro winner each day, and $1000 awarded daily in the Dynatech Sportsman class.

FRIDAY
Over 100 racers got their cars ready for the weekend during Friday night's Test and Tune session. Later in the evening, a Gambler's race was held, and Jesse Young from Danielsville, Georgia began his racing year off on a good note, with a win against Chris Weaver from Perry, Florida. Young, driving an ex-Mike Fuqua dragster he recently purchased from "Fireman Joe" Rampley, used a .006 react and a .02 over 4.88 to take the win stripe .016 seconds before Weaver. Weaver's machine carded a 6.43 on a 6.39 dial.

SATURDAY
Saturday started off very well for Dynatech No Box Sportsman racer Randy Franklin of Loganville, Georgia. Franklin put a 10.24 on his '79 Chevy Luv for the Barker Trailer Sales Bte/Citgo "Run For Trailer" event. He not only nailed the number with a 10.240, but his .004 reaction time put him in the Barker Trailer Sales Pace American lead for the trailer, knocking last week's leader, Afco Super Pro racer Jess Nelson of Arizona, out of contention. Mark Padgett (Dublin, Georgia) won the Super Pro Run for the Trailer cash, turning in a 4.830 on a 4.83. Justin Koontz of Parrish, Florida won the Jr. Dragster portion of the purse.

Former NHRA Division Two ET champion Dave Triplett of Eustis, Florida earned the win in Afco Super Pro against Shane Parker of Ambrose, Georgia. Triplett used a .011 advantage to take the win with his '72 Vega, running 5.86 at 114.82mph. Ambrose's S-10 carded a 6.63 at 101.77mph.

2004 Sportsman champion Phil Combs, a Jeg's Racer of the Month, picked right back up from where he ended last season, with a win in his trusty S-10 pickup against none other than multi time NHRA champion Edmond Richardson. Combs was on his game, with a .016 react, while Richardson was a bit tardy with a .041 react in his '72 Nova.

Cocoa, Florida racer Eric Rodden got the win in Jr. Dragster after defeating Dennis Bargeron from Screven, GA. Both racers had great reacts, .025 and .026, but Rodden crossed the stripe first with an 8.67 at 72.59mph. Bargeron turned in an 8.70 at 74.55mph.

Keith Hardin (Campbellsville, Kentucky) won the four foot tall Jeg's Trophy for his Saturday Trophy class win in his Nova.

SUNDAY
The first Sunday winners took home a portion of the Barker Pace Trailers Run for the Trailer cash. Jeff Adkinson from Colquitt Georgia, driving his Race Tech 4 link dragster, went 5.040 on a 5.04 with a .015 light for the Super Pro portion of the purse. William Taylor was the Dynatech Sportsman winner, and Ladson Selph from Alamo, Georgia was the Race Tech Jr Dragster winner.

Bruce Mouat won the MGM Best Appearing Car award, and Kyle Boulware, another former Jeg's Race of the Month, earned the MGM Best Engineered Car award.

Greenbrier, Tennessee racer Edmond Richardson made another trip to the final, this time in Afco Super Pro class. He faced Adam Derossett from Yulee, Florida, and took the win courtesy of a .014 to .022 reaction time advantage, making this the fourth out of five races that Richardson has won at the new South Georgia Motorsports Park.

Scott Bishop, younger brother of Frankie Bishop, drove his brother's '68 Budweiser Nova to a win against Jay Moore from Waycross, Georgia in Dynatech Sportsman. Bishop's .039 react made the difference after Moore had a .083 light. Bishop went 6.67 at 102.03mph and Moore's '67 Nova carded a 6.61 at 102.35mph.

Dennis Bargeron may have finished runner up in Saturday's Jr Dragster action, but he made up for that loss with a win on Sunday against Leesburg, Georgia racer Chuck Jones, who bowed out of competition in the final with a red light. In addition to the trophy, Bargeron also left the event as the Division Two Jr Dragster points leader.

Although Adam Derossett didn't get the Sunday Super Pro win, he did leave the weekend with the Race Tech Super Pro Championship Points lead. Chris Vels of Division 7 continues to lead the Nesbitt Sportsman class, with Phil Combs leading Division 3 points and currently placing 3rd in the world. Edmond Richardson and Kenny Bevins are now tied for the Division 2 Championship, and are currently number 4 in the world. Jonathon Maynard leads Division 7 and the Nationwide Points Championship, with Dennis Bargeron taking over Division 2 and number 2 in the world, in the Race Tech Jr Dragster chase for the championship.

Edmond Richardson Wins Big at South Georgia Motorsports Park

After taking home $30,000 one weekend last fall, Edmond Richardson returned to South Georgia Motorsports Park and was the big winner in the BTE Citgo Bracket Race Series held February 12 and 13. The event paid $5000 to win Super Pro on both Saturday and Sunday nights, and $1000 to win each day in Sportsman. Over 200 cars battled each day for the cash and series points.

Dave Triplett of Eustis, Florida won the big Afco Super Pro money on Saturday, beating Shane Parker. Phil Combs, last year's BTE world champion, won Sportsman over Edmond Richardson in his new Chevy Nova. Jr. Dragster honors went to Eric Rodden of Cocoa, Florida over Dennis Bargeron in a field of some 20 cars.

Sunday action saw Edmond Richardson take his dragster to the Afco Super Pro win over Adam DeRossett. One win and one runner-up by Richardson in two days is not quite the total domination he showed in the fall, but it's certainly not bad. Maybe Edmond should consider relocating to southern Georgia to cut down on his travel expenses! Runner-up DeRossett did leave with the BTE/Citgo points lead. Scott Bishop took his brother Franky's Budweiser Nova to the Dynatech Sportsman win over Jay Moore. In Race Tech Jr. Dragster, Dennis Bargeron beat Chuck Jones in the final.

Marvin T. Smith
Marvin T. Smith photos from SGMP February 12, 2005

Bryce's Star Racing Celebrates 25th Anniversary

Courtesy Jerry Battle

AMERICUS, Ga. (February 8, 2005) George and Jackie Bryce, owners of Star Racing, announce a year-long 25th Anniversary Celebration for 2005. Since its inception in 1980, Star Racing has grown into one of America's premier motorcycle racing and R&D facilities. Located in Americus, Georgia, Star houses a mail-order motorcycle parts business and machine shop.

Available via toll free phone or the online store, the Star Racing warehouse contains an extensive inventory of motorcycle parts and accessories. Ignition and head components, valves, sprockets, gaskets, chains, wheels, brakes, nitrous systems, carbs, pistons and rings, clutch plates and chassis components are just a few of the items stocked and ready to ship. Their friendly and knowledgeable staff will ensure that you get the parts you need quickly and at a competitive price.

Whether you ride for pleasure, enter the weekend sportsman classes at the local track, or are a serious racer, Star's machine shop can improve the performance of your motorcycle. The shop houses a 5-Axis and Haas CNC machine; along with DTS and Superflow engine dynos and a Dynojet chassis dyno. Constantly growing, they recently expanded their chassis and fabrication department. Star's expert machinists and engine builders, along with their state-of-the-art machine shop, will put together a winning combination for you and your ride.

Star Racing will also continue to support other racers during the 2005 season. A Prostar contingency is in the works and they will sponsor the Top Gas Class in the SEMDRA series. In addition, SEMDRA members always receive 10% off parts orders.

To kick off the 25th Anniversary Celebration, in appreciation to their loyal customers, and an invitation to new ones, Star is offering $25 off any parts or service order over $250 (or 10% off any order over $250 - one time only).

Proud to be serving the motorcycle drag racing industry for 25 years, the company's employees have forged a tradition of work, dedication, and willingness to succeed that has made Star Racing a winning team on and off the track. For more information call 1-800-841-7827 or check out their online store at www.starracing.com.

MEDIA CONTACT: Ruth Olson

Warren Johnson Starts 2005 with Runner-Up Finish at Winternationals

Courtesy Jon G. Knapp
TMG Sports Marketing

GM Performance Parts driver uses two hole-shot wins to reach Pomona final

Pomona, CA, February 13, 2005 - Warren Johnson opened his "School's Out" tour in impressive fashion, powering to a runner-up finish at Sunday's final eliminations of the Carquest Auto Parts NHRA Nationals in Pomona, CA.

After qualifying sixth, the GM Performance Parts Grand Am pilot used a combination of a fast race car and excellent driving to reach the 144th final round of his illustrious career, a performance made even more impressive by the fact that he was racing a car that had not made a full power pass before arriving at Pomona Raceway.

"We came here with a car with no full passes on it, and two engine combinations with zero runs on them as well," explained Johnson. "Therefore, I believe getting both Kurt's and my cars to the semi-finals and the GM Performance Parts Grand Am to the final paints a pretty rosy picture of the road ahead for our team."

After opening with a defeat of Ben Watson, Johnson squared off against long-time rival and friend Larry Morgan in the second round. Despite racing in the less-preferred right lane, Johnson grabbed the advantage at the start and never looked back, using a 6.736-second, 204.94 mph run to score the hole-shot win over Morgan's quicker, but losing 6.733-second pass.

Standing between Johnson and his third consecutive Winternationals final was a familiar opponent, his son Kurt, who in the earlier rounds had reset the Pomona Raceway elapsed time track record with a stout 6.692-second pass recorded in a second-round defeat of Greg Anderson. Using a lightning-quick .008 reaction time, "The Professor" had a four hundredths of a second lead leaving the starting line, with his 6.734-second pass holding off his son's 6.706-second charge for his second consecutive hole-shot win.

"When you're behind the eight ball you have to go for the throat," stated Johnson. "I was just fortunate enough not to red light against Kurt. I've had a few of those (hole-shot wins) over the years, and if you recall, I won the Winternationals two years ago in a similar fashion."

This set the stage for a final round encounter with third-year driver David Connolly. Facing yet another apparent performance disadvantage and racing without the luxury of lane choice, Johnson knew he would need a strong start and a near-perfect run in order to score his sixth career win at the traditional POWERade Drag Racing season-opener.

The run started according to plan, with WJ gaining a slight advantage at the starting line. However, his race car shot out of the groove soon after launching, slowing his progress and allowing his opponent to edge him at the finish line. Despite the initial disappointment, Johnson realized that it had been a productive weekend for the veteran team.

"Kurt's engine is slightly different than mine, with each taking a particular approach," said Johnson. "Since he had run so well, we decided to use his headers and carburetors for the final to see what effect it would have on my engine. That was the only change we made.

"I guess I'm still not completely used to this car, as I'm sitting over to the left about an inch and a quarter further, and I was apparently pointing to the left at the starting line. Basically the car went that way and got out of the groove. It's just one of those things. I'm not sure we would have had enough steam to beat him at this point in time. However, given these initial results with relatively untested equipment, give us time, and this GM Performance Parts Team will give them something to think about."

Kurt Johnson Powers to Pomona Semi-finals

Courtesy Jon G. Knapp
TMG Sports Marketing, Inc.

Kurt Johnson opened the 2005 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing season in solid fashion on Sunday, powering his ACDelco Cavalier to the semi-finals of Sunday's final eliminations of the Carquest Auto Parts Winternationals in Pomona, CA.

Starting from the second position, KJ quickly stated his intentions for the day by recording a 6.693-second, 205.57 mph pass in his first round defeat of Kenny Koretsky. This was not only Johnson's first run in the 6.6-second range, but it also reset the Pomona Raceway track record.

In the second round, however, KJ faced rival Greg Anderson, with whom the ACDelco driver had battled for the championship the last two years. Responding to the challenge, Johnson improved on his opening effort, blasting through the quarter-mile in 6.692 seconds with a top speed of 205.79 mph to easily trailer Anderson.

Awaiting Johnson in the semi-final was his father, six-time Pro Stock champion Warren Johnson. Once again, Kurt recorded the quickest pass of the round at 6.706 seconds. However, it was not enough to overcome the starting line advantage his father had gained, putting an early ending to the second-generation racer's day.

"The track had cooled a little between rounds, and, as a result, it actually stood up pretty hard on the launch in the semis, and I could feel it spinning," described Johnson. "It ran through the middle part fairly well, but when I put it in high gear, it spun really hard and shot to the centerline. Still, I knew it had been a decent run, so I expected to see the win light come on. Then again, when you're racing against a motor that's identical to yours, and knowing Dad can drive, there's no room for error.

"We have a new clutch in the car, which is the big issue right now. Reaction times in the forties and fifties are okay, but we need the tens, twenties and thirties to get ahead. Those are areas we'll work on between now and Phoenix.

"Still we're pleased that our ACDelco Cavalier performed really well this weekend, which was very gratifying after working all winter long and not really knowing what we had. We had bet the farm on the DRCE III this winter, and, fortunately, it panned out. Although we would have liked to win, we're happy leaving here knowing that we have a fast hot rod."

Bazemore Lands in Semis in Season Opener

Courtesy Judy Stropus
DON SCHUMACHER RACING

POMONA, Calif. (Feb. 13, 2005) - Whit Bazemore and crew chief Lee Beard overcame most of their qualifying problems in today's final eliminations for the CARQUEST Auto Parts Winternationals, advancing to the Funny Carsemifinal round in the Matco Tools Iron Eagle Dodge Stratus.

Bazemore earned a "bye" run in the first round when his opponent and teammate Ron Capps' Brut Dodge split an oil pan at the starting line. Bazemore won with a 4.810/308.78 pass. This resulted in loss of lane choice against Tony Pedregon for the second round, but he managed to eke out a win over his longtime nemesis by a .0196 margin of victory with a 4.780/321.19 pass over Pedregon's 4.785/321.04. Bazemore led Pedregon by two hundredths of a second the entire route down the quarter-mile after launching with a stellar .070 reaction time to Pedregon's .084.

The semifinal round against Tommy Johnson Jr. was another close race, but it was T.J. first at the finish line with a 4.761/328.22 to Bazemore's 4.782/313.29. Margin of victory: .0682. Johnson went on to win the event, his first victory since 2001.

Bazemore ended up tied in third place with Cruz Pedregon in POWERade Drag Racing Series Funny Car points, and not at all unhappy with today's results. "It was a good day, especially when you consider how the weekend was early on and when you consider the problems we had today," he said.

"The car has a gremlin. It's not a Gremlin, it's a Dodge Stratus, but it has a gremlin. Sometimes it ran like a Gremlin," he quipped with wry humor. "We have something wrong with the engine. It drove Lee crazy all day. We changed the ignition and other things and it still had a problem.

"The next two weeks are going to be spent just fine-tuning this Matco Tools Dodge, going over it with a fine tooth comb, trying to figure out what the bug is in there. When we get that right, it's going to be a strong car and be the equal of our teammate Gary Scelzi (who ran a career best 4.717 ET at 331.53 mph today) and the other cars out here that are running low 4.70s and high .60s.

"We ran well in spite of our problems, and that gives us a lot of hope to realize our true potential."

On the victory against Tony Pedregon, he said: "It was good. I try to be very consistent and do the same thing. My lights last year were good. I had the second-best average and every once in a while someone can pull one out on us. I try to be steady and usually it's good enough to get the job done. And in that case it was. We were fortunate that Lee gave me a car that could win. It was up to the driver to take that car and make the most of it.

"In the semis we lost a close race. Again, our engine went away at half-track and it's just one of those things.

"When the car is happier, it's going to make us a lot happier too."

Next up is the Checker Schuck's Kragen NHRA Nationals at Firebird Raceway in Chandler, Ariz., on Feb. 25-27.

POWERade Drag Racing Series Funny Car point standings:
1. Tommy Johnson Jr., 112
2. Phil Burkart Jr., 92
3. Whit Bazemore, 73
4. Cruz Pedregon, 73
5. Tony Pedregon, 58

S. Kalitta, Johnson, and Connolly Win the NHRA POWERade CARQUEST Auto Parts Winternationals

The 2005 Champs all went out early today at Pomona. Scott Kalitta won Top Fuel with a 4.487 @ 328.46, Tommy Johnson, Jr. won Funny Car with a 4.741 @ 327.59 and Dave Connolly won Pro Stock over runner-up Warren Johnson with a 6.711 @ 204.98. Kurt Johnson set Low ET and Top Speed fro Pro Stock at 6.692 @ 206.35 MPH. KJ lost to WJ in the semi-final round, but beat Greg Anderson in round 2.

Tony Schumacher set a new National Speed record in Top Fuel along with Low ET and Speed (4.447 @ 334.65).

Tony Pedregon set Low ET in Funny Car at 4.681 and Gary Scelzi had Top Speed at 331.53.

Whit Bazemore posted a semi-final finish in Funny Car.
NHRA Recap