WJ Will Start Eighth on Sunday in Memphis

Contact: Jon Knapp
TMG Sports Marketing, Inc.

The learning process continued for Warren Johnson on Saturday at Memphis Motorsports Park, as he used the second day of qualifying for the O'Reilly Mid-South Nationals to try and get a better handle on his GM Performance Parts GTO hot-weather tune-up. With a heat index of over 120 degrees in the Memphis area, there was little movement in the Pro Stock starting line-up, although Johnson was able to match his best time of the weekend on his final attempt, posting a 6.824-second elapsed time with a top speed of 201.67 mph. This earned WJ the eighth starting position for Sunday's final eliminations.

"Although I'm not satisfied with our performance to this point, I felt much better after comparing our runs to those of our competitors. According to the correction factors we use, we should all be running at least one tenth quicker than we are, so we're not the only team that is struggling under these conditions.

"It's quite reminiscent of what Brainerd and Columbus used to be years ago, where you could not run fast there given the conditions. It had us all scratching our heads. I guess we also have a track adaptation issue here, and whoever comes up with the best cure will be successful.

"Basically, we'll look over all our notes tonight, see what we really know about our GM Performance Parts GTO, and swing for the fences in the first round."

Chip Ellis struggles in heat at Memphis Ends qualifying No. 6

G SQUARED MOTORSPORTS
OWNERS: GEORGE BRYCE & GEORGE SMITH

NHRA POWERADE DRAG RACING SERIES
PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE: G SQUARED S&S BUELL
RIDER: CHIP ELLIS

18TH ANNUAL NHRA O'REILLY MID-SOUTH NATIONALS
MEMPHIS MOTORSPORTS PARK - MEMPHIS, TENN.
AUGUST 19-21, 2005

QUALIFYING:
Session 1 Friday: 7.183 seconds at 183.97 mph (# 2)
Session 2 Friday: 10.848 seconds at 73.37 mph (# 3)
Session 1 Saturday: 10.749 seconds at 74.94 mph (# 4)
Session 2 Saturday: 13.707 seconds at 53.65 mph (# 3)


MILLINGTON, Tenn. (August 20, 2005) - Racing continued today and so did the heat, with the air and track temperature pushing triple digits. Many have stated that this 18th annual NHRA O'Reilly Mid-South Nationals is the hottest in recent memory and certainly the hottest of the 2005 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series.

At the end of four qualifying attempts - two on Friday and two today - Chip Ellis placed the G Squared S&S-powered Buell in the No. 6 position for tomorrow's eliminations

A recap of Friday saw Ellis unleashed a pass of 7.183 seconds at 183.97 mph, good for No. 2 at the end of the opening qualifying session. In Friday's second and final session the Americus, Ga., rider recorded a disappointing run of 10.848 seconds due to mechanical problems from the transmission which placed him third as qualifying ended on day one.

With air temp reaching 100-degree and track temperature pushing 137-degrees, Saturday's first qualifying session looked like a repeat of Friday night with Ellis coasting across the finish line in 10.749 seconds.

Things didn't improve in the final round as the transmission problems that plagued Ellis in the preceding two qualifying sessions continued. His last pass came with an elapsed time of 13.707 seconds.

"In the past we've had some transmission shifting problems and we pretty much got those solved," said G Squared co-owner George Smith. "In an effort to make the gear box even better the G Squared team has been experimenting with some improvements. Sometimes when you attempt to make things better you must take a step or two backwards before you go forward.

"We expect to have this buttoned up in time for eliminations tomorrow and we're learning from this so we can make better and stronger parts."

For the second race in a row, Ellis will face Shawn Gann in the opening round of eliminations. Gann qualified No. 11 with a 7.210-second elapsed time. Last weekend at Brainerd, Ellis defeated Gann who red-lighted

ELIMINATIONS: It will be a later than usual start for professional eliminations tomorrow. Ellis begins his quest for the Pro Stock Motorcycle title with eliminations for all professional classes getting underway at 3 p.m. Time is local Memphis time - Central Time (CT): 1 hour behind the Eastern Time zone - and subject to change at anytime.

TELEVISION: Qualifying highlights for the 18th annual NHRA O'Reilly Mid-South Nationals can be seen on ESPN2 this evening (Sat., Aug. 20) from 8--10 p.m. ESPN2 will also air three hours of same--day television coverage of eliminations beginning at 10 p.m. tomorrow evening (Sun., Aug. 21). The elimination show repeats one week later on ESPN2 early Sunday morning, Aug. 28, from 3 until 5 a.m. Also, tune in to NHRA2Day on ESPN2, the weekly show that gives you the latest information about the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series. NHRA2Day can be seen on Sunday morning, Aug. 21 at 11:30 a.m. Television times are Eastern Time (ET) and subject to change at anytime. Check local listings.

BAZEMORE QUALIFIES 10TH IN MEMPHIS, MISSES SHOWDOWN

DON SCHUMACHER RACING
Contact: Judy Stropus

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (Aug. 20, 2005) - Whit Bazemore and the Matco Tools Iron Eagle Dodge Stratus Funny Car team was on a mission in the final round of qualifying today at the O'Reilly Mid-South Nationals at Memphis Motorsports Park: To qualify ninth or better in order to remain in the Skoal Showdown (and bump Robert Hight out), a $100,000 bonus race at the U.S. Nationals on Labor Day, whose points are based on qualifying results.

If Hight remained No. 1 in the field at the end of qualifying and Bazemore, in 10th, didn't improve his position, Hight would make the Showdown and Bazemore would not. Unfortunately for the 11-time Showdown participant, Bazemore did not better his position, Hight held on to No. 1, and Bazemore found himself out of the bonus race for the first time in eight years.

Bazemore's quickest pass of the weekend came Friday night in the cooler conditions, posting a 5.009-second elapsed time at 289.88. His other passes in the extreme Memphis heat produced a 5.252/262.85, a 7.734/103.00 and a tire-smoking 7.095/124.10 in his final attempt to make the Showdown field.

"We had a plan (in that final round) and our plan was that as soon as it had a hint of trouble, (I would) grab the brake. And I did, and I was on time. So I'm happy with that part of it. The bottom line is that the Matco Tools Dodge was just too aggressive for the track.

"The track was not as good as we thought it was, and we just misread the track, that's all.

"Sometimes it's hard to make this car go down the trace track consistently. And it's cost us a lot and it cost us a Skoal Showdown spot and it's very, very frustrating.

"Hight's team has the quickest car and they've had the quickest car all year, so they deserve to be in it.

"We control our destiny and it just didn't happen, so it's very disappointing."

Adding salt to the wound, Bazemore faces his teammate Ron Capps (who also missed an opportunity to make it into the Skoal Showdown) in the first round of eliminations on Sunday.

Ken Johnson Update - 8-19-05

Courtesy Jerry Battle

photos at: http://www.georgia-motorsports.com/star_racing/Ken_Johnson_news_releases.htm

Ken spent the past three weeks in Dayton, OH undergoing therapy and rehabilitation at Prosthetic Design Inc. Kassi has been with Ken the entire time while he received education and training about his prosthesis from Tracy Slemker.

Tracy has been keeping us updated and said that Ken was up to the challenge and did a great job. He was a quick learner and excelled at everything they taught him to do. Ken had to go from having only one leg to learning how to kneel down, stand up and walk with his new prosthetic leg.

Everyone at Prosthetic Design has worked really hard with Ken and we especially want to thank Luci Busch for taking care of Ken and Kassi during the past three weeks.

Ken will be returning to work next week on a limited basis as he continues his rehabilitation.

A benefit race & show, for both motorcycles and cars, is in the works for early October at US 19 Dragway in Albany, Georgia to help pay Ken's medical expenses. We will also be selling raffle tickets for a 113" polished V-Twin engine generously donated by S&S Cycle, Inc.

Jackie

Star Racing / G Squared Motorsports 726 Crisp Drive (Shipping Address) PO Box 1241 (Mailing Address) Americus GA 31709 Phone: 229-924-0031 Fax: 229-928-2321

www.starracing.com
www.g2motorsports.net

Schumacher, Hight, Kurt Johnson and Hines are Top Qualifiers at the NHRA POWERade O'Reilly Mid-South Nationals presented by Pennzoil

NHRA Recap

Pro Mods Return to SGMP

by Marvin T. Smith
Photos

The ADRL returned to South Georgia Motorsports Park this weekend for one of their biggest events ever. At least 47 Pro Mods were in the pits, with others expected on Saturday. Afternoon showers delayed the start of the program, but after drying the track, the racers got down to some fast and furious qualifying and testing. High temperaptures and humidity hovering around 200% (my wife says I exaggerate, but not in this case!) made for tricky conditions.

The Friday program featured two round of qualifying for the AMS Pro Mods. These cars run the full quarter mile, and compete on the AMS series at NHRA national events. This race also figured in the AMS points chase, and featured cars from as far away as California and Alberta, Canada. After two rounds of qualifying, with one more round scheduled for Saturday's action, the sixteen car field looks like this:

1. Troy Critchley 6.201 226

2. Thomas Patterson 6.208 230.25 (could this be the fastest Willys pass ever?)

3. Josh Hernandez 6.23 226

4. Mike Ashley 6.25 228

5. Troy Coughlin 6.26 228

6. Glen Kerunsky 6.26 227

7. Jay Payne 6.28 229

8. Mike Bell 6.28 225

9. Frankie Taylor 6.31 223

10. Eddie Ware 6.33 221

11. Joey Martin 6.34 219

12. Kirk Kuhns 6.40

13. Terry Leggett 6.40

14. Doug Palmer 6.44

15. Bryan Seward 6.47

16. Cody Barklage 6.57

Ten other cars failed to crack the 6.57 bump spot on Friday, but will have one more shot on Saturday.

Friday action also featured testing for the ADRL Outlaws, racing on the eighth mile. This was not official qualifying, so some teams elected to skip the sessions, but many cars ran. In the Spring ADRL event, John Lynam set low elapsed time dipping deep into the 3.90s. I asked him what he thought he could run in the present conditions, and he said that he could sleep well if he ran a 4.0. He then stepped up and ran a 4.000 at 185 for an outstanding run under the conditions. Shannon Jenkins took up where he left off from the Spring Event, and ran the best Nitrous time at 4.11.

Saturday afternoon action will feature three rounds of qualifying for the Outlaw Pro Mods to determine eight car fields in Pro Extreme and Pro Nitrous. There is also one more qualifying round for the AMS cars. Then evening action features eliminations in the three categories. If you love Pro Mods, this is THE race.

Scumacher, Hight, KJ and Tonglet Lead Pro Qualifying at the NHRA POWERade O'Reilly Mid-South Nationals presented by Pennzoil

NHRA Recap

WJ's Wrap Sheet - Memphis Motorsports Park Edition

Contact: Jon Knapp
TMG Sports Marketing, Inc.

1. WJ's First Memphis Race - 1988
Race Car: 1988 ACDelco Oldsmobile Ciera GT
Performance: WJ Qualified Second, 7.447 seconds
Lost to Mark Pawuk

In Warren's Words:

"That Ciera was a short-term car we only used for part of the season in 1988. We went from the Firenza, which was a relatively narrow and short car, with about a 100-inch wheelbase, to the Ciera in order to give the car a better zip code to sit on. It worked halfway decent but the aerodynamic qualities were not particularly great, so towards the latter part of the season, we came out with our first Cutlass Supreme."


Notes of the time:

- This was the 113th NHRA Pro Stock national event of WJ's career, and fourth of the 1988 season.

- This was the first year that Memphis Motorsports Park hosted an NHRA national event.

- Bruce Allen was the No. 1 qualifier, edging WJ by the slimmest of margins with a 7.446-second elapsed time.

- Warren had switched to the bigger bodied Ciera in hopes of better applying the horsepower to the track, and minimizing tire shake.

- Ironically, WJ was slowed by severe tire shake in the first round of eliminations, allowing No. 10 qualifier Pawuk to pull off the upset.

- The field consisted of six Chevrolet Berettas and Camaros, WJ’s Oldsmobile Ciera, Pontiac Firebirds and Trans Ams and a Ford Thunderbird.

- In the Pro Stock final, Tony Christian defeated Kenny Delco.

- Winners in the other professional categories that weekend included Darrell Gwynn, who defeated Dennis Forcelle in Top Fuel final and Mark Oswald over Ed McCulloch in Funny Car.


2. WJ's First Memphis Final - 1989
Race Car: 1989 ACDelco Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme
Performance: WJ Qualified Second, 7.325 seconds, 189.03 mph
Defeated Morris Johnson, Butch Leal and Larry Morgan
Lost to Bob Glidden

In Warren's Words:

"Funnily enough, I remember very little about that particular race, which probably has something to do with our not winning. Looking back on the details, it looked like we tried everything in our toolbox, and still didn't get it done. Obviously, there was no reason to agonize over it, so we just moved on to the next one, seeing what we could do to win there."

Notes of the time:

- This was the 33rd final round appearance of Warren's Pro Stock career, and came in his 130th career race.

- There were spectacular times in all categories that weekend due to cooler temperatures which produced a corrected altitude of 300 feet above sea level.

- Johnson was driving an Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme, which he had switched to in August of 1988 due to its better aerodynamic characteristics.

- WJ was the beneficiary of Morris Johnson Jr.'s red-light start in the first round.

- Warren reached the final by defeating Larry Morgan on a hole shot in the semifinals, gaining a four hundredth of a second advantage at the start and running a 7.393-second elapsed time to hold off Morgan's quicker, but losing 7.357-second effort.

- Running with a hurt motor in the final Warren tried to "steal" the win, leaving the starting line first, but Glidden used the quickest pass of the day at 7.287 seconds to overcome the deficit and edge Johnson for the win.

- Bob Glidden was the No.1 qualifier with a 7.282-second elapsed time, while famed chassis builder Jerry Haas was the 16th qualifier with an 7.401-second e.t.

- The field consisted of Olds Cutlasses, Chevy Berettas and a single Camaro, Pontiac Trans Ams, a Dodge Daytona and a Ford Probe.

- In other pro classes, Gary Ormsby defeated Eddie Hill in the Top Fuel final, and Kenny Bernstein topped Mark Oswald to win in Funny Car.


3. WJ's First Memphis Win - 1991
Race Car: 1991 ACDelco Oldsmobile Cutlass
Performance: WJ Qualified Third, 7.323 seconds, 188.91 mph
Defeated Gordie Rivera, Bob Glidden, Jerry Eckman and Darrell Alderman


In Warren's Words:

"Looking at how some of my rivals handled themselves that day, you almost wonder if we should have had driver training prior to the event! One didn't know how to go, and the other didn't know how to get there. It wasn't the first run Glidden had made with the five-speed, so he must have gone into brain fade, and I do remember wondering what Alderman was up to wandering all over the race track. But the bottom line is that, whatever the circumstances, things worked out in our favor, and a win is a win. They don't give any penalty points by winning ugly."

Notes of the time:

- This was WJ's second win of the 1991 season, and came in his fifth '91 final round.

- This also marked Warren's 23rd career NHRA national event win in 45 career finals.

- Darrell Alderman was the No. 1 qualifier with a 7.308-second elapsed time, while Butch Leal captured the 16th and final qualifying spot with his 7.419-second run.

- WJ had hired Scott Geoffrion to drive his second ACDelco Cutlass in 1991, and through the first five races, one of the two vehicles had advanced to the final.

- Fighting an unusual power loss throughout the weekend, Warren was the beneficiary of two mental mistakes by his main rivals. First, Bob Glidden, who was experimenting with a new 5-speed transmission, forgot to put his car in top gear in the second round of eliminations, allowing WJ to pull away. In the final, Alderman left the starting line with his front wheels in the air, but cocked to the left, so that when the nose of his Daytona touched down, it shot him towards the centerline, forcing him to fight to maintain control, with Johnson cruising by for the easy win. This was not an unusual occurrence for Alderman, whose team had even named the maneuver the "Alderman sashay".

- The field was comprised of Oldsmobile Cutlasses, Chevrolet Berettas, Pontiac Trans Ams and a solitary Dodge Daytona and Ford Probe.

- Winners in other professional categories that weekend included Lori Johns, who defeated Don Prudhomme in the Top Fuel final, and current ESPN TV analyst Mike Dunn, who edge Tom Hoover in Funny Car.


4. WJ's Most Recent Memphis Win - 1998
Race Car: 1998 GM Performance Parts Pontiac Firebird
Performance: WJ Qualified First, 6.881 seconds, 200.08 mph
Defeated Shawn Collins, Mark Pawuk, Jeg Coughlin and Kurt Johnson

In Warren's Words:

"Every so often, you have a race where everything seems to go your way. Obviously, that weekend we were fortunate to do what we did at the right time. You can have the fastest horse at the track, but it means very little if you don't get it to the final, no matter what the reason may be. There are a million ways to lose a race, and only one to win. Your chances are certainly better of winning with a fast race car, but certainly not guaranteed. It's apparent we all did our jobs that day.


Notes of the time:

- This win was the 70th win of WJ's career.

- This was Warren's fourth win in five final round appearances in Memphis.

- This was WJ's eighth win and 11th national event final round of the year en route to his fourth NHRA Pro Stock championship.

- WJ's 6.881-second, 200.08 mph pass in qualifying not only earned him the 100th No. 1 qualifying position of his career, it also set low elapsed time and top speed for the event, and set a new Memphis Motorsports Park top speed record.

- Ostrich farmer Shawn Collins was the 16th and final qualifier with a 6.955-second e.t.

- The DNQ list included such Pro Stock regulars as Troy Coughlin, Bruce Allen, Mike Edwards and Tom Martino.

- Although Kurt had advanced to the final round on the strength of three holeshot wins over John Nobile, Richie Stevens and Jim Yates, in the final it was WJ who used a stellar .010 light (to Kurt's strong .039 r.t.) to gain the advantage and power away for the win.

- This marked the tenth time in their respective careers that Warren and Kurt faced each other in the final round, having been the first father and son duo to accomplish this feat back at the Atlanta event in 1993.

- The Pro Stock line-up was an all-GM affair, with Oldsmobile Cutlasses, Pontiac Firebirds and Chevrolet Camaros.

- In the other professional classes, Joe Amato eliminated Kenny Bernstein in the Top Fuel final, and Al Hofmann defeated No. 1 qualifier Cruz Pedregon in the Funny Car final.



5. "The Grand Am's Great Escape" - 2002
Race Car: 2002 GM Performance Parts Grand Am
Performance: WJ Qualified First, 6.840 seconds, 201.31 mph
Defeated Allen Johnson
Lost to Mike Edwards

Storyline:

WJ had one of his more memorable weekends in Memphis in 2002, when his GM Performance Parts Grand Am broke loose inside the trailer on the way to the track, and did substantial damage to the bodywork bouncing off the inside walls and the back tailgate, and, in fact, even forced the back gate slightly open as the truck traveled down the highway.

Aided by the delay caused by the tremendous rainstorms that came through the area that Friday, WJ and his crew worked tirelessly throughout the day performing whatever repairs they could to make the car ready for competition. Ironically, on its first pass down the track on Friday evening, WJ blistered the quarter-mile in 6.840-seconds with a top speed of 201.31 mph to claim the 126th No. 1 qualifying position of his career.

In Warren's Words:

"That was the year we tried to total a race car inside the trailer. Apparently the straps broke loose and the car was bouncing around, doing its best imitation of a four-wheeled ping-pong ball. When it got to the track, we knew we had a lot of work in front of us, and the rain delay certainly didn’t hurt. Of course, those types of adverse situations usually bring up my competitive level a little bit further, and I believe we did an adequate job of recovering."


6. WJ's Memphis Motorsports Park in a Nutshell -


"That racetrack offers a new surprise every year we go there, with new lumps and bumps that we have to find a way to handle. Apparently, the ground it was built on is not too stable, and shifts constantly. The management does their best to maintain it, grinding and repaving it and so forth, but it's just never the same. We'll have to see what we have this year when we arrive and do our best to adapt to it."


WJ's Memphis Motorsports Park Box Score -

Races - Starts - Wins - Finals- #1 - Avg. Qual.- W - L - Pct.
17 - 16 - 4 - 5 - 3 - 3.94 - 25 - 11 - .694

WJ's Memphis Did You Know?

- WJ's four wins at Memphis Motorsports Park are the most by a Pro Stock competitor, and tied with John Force for the most in all NHRA professional categories.

A Short Week Creates Long Hours for WJ & Crew before Memphis

Contact: Jon G. Knapp
TMG Sports Marketing


GM Performance Parts Racing team Tests to Gain Info on their GTO


Sugar Hill, Ga., August 17, 2005 - For the eighth time this season, the NHRA's POWERade Drag Racing Series will be competing on consecutive weekends, with the first round of qualifying for the O'Reilly Midsouth Nationals in Memphis, TN, coming just five days after the conclusion of last weekend's event in Brainerd, MN. Under the best of circumstances, this abbreviated schedule would give teams just enough time to perform their between-race maintenance and make the 980--mile drive from Minnesota to the Volunteer state.

However, for Warren Johnson and the GM Performance Parts Racing team, the timetable will be even more hectic, as they will spend two days testing in St. Louis prior to heading to the Tennessee track. Having made only ten runs with their new GTO (including the seven made during last week's race), they will look to become more familiar with their new race car's performance characteristics, information that could be very useful as they look to score their fourth win of the season.

"Going into Brainerd, we really didn't have time to do anything more to our GM Performance Parts GTO than make sure it went from Point A to Point B," said Johnson. "That hurt us a little when it got warmer on Sunday, because we had data from qualifying on a cool track that we had to try and adapt for the warmer conditions, without any real knowledge on how it would respond to certain changes. Even so, I think we represented ourselves well.

"Having that race under our belt, we can now start making changes in the chassis, gearing, clutch and suspension, getting more aggressive and seeing how we can improve it even further. Ideally, we'll try to make eight or nine runs on Wednesday and Thursday in St. Louis, trying components and gathering information. By spending two days testing, we hope to accumulate a backlog of data that will allow us to go to Memphis and be able to do a relatively good job of adjusting to the racetrack."

This weekend, the Johnson crew's assignment will be made even tougher by the event being held in the late afternoon or evening, which will cause the racing surface at Memphis Motorsports Park to change throughout qualifying and eliminations. Making the proper adjustments to adapt to the track will be the key to qualifying well and going rounds. Locked in a tight championship battle, the team knows they have little room for error, and are prepared to do whatever is necessary to tame the Tennessee quarter-mile.

"To their credit, the track management in Memphis is constantly working to keep their racetrack in shape," stated Johnson. "However, due to the apparently unstable nature of the ground it was built on, it's constantly moving, and as a result, it's never been very smooth. For example, four years ago, we had possibly the best atmospheric conditions ever for Pro Stock, and still couldn't run that fast.

"However, we're all dealing from the same deck, and it will be up to us to do a better job than our competition at negotiating whatever new bumps may be out there. We just have to make extremely quick work of getting familiar with what this GM Performance GTO needs to run. We know it's in there - all we have to do is find it and use it."


Notes on Warren Johnson and the GM Performance Parts Pontiac Racing team entering the O'Reilly Mid-South Nationals:

WJ is Solid Gold in Memphis: This will be Warren's 18th NHRA appearance at Memphis Motorsports Park, where he has four wins in five final round appearances, which is tied with John Force for the most among all professional categories. In his 16 previous MMP starts, WJ has complied a 25-11 elimination round record for a .694 win percentage.


WJ is a Top Shelf Starter in Tennessee: WJ has been the No. 1 qualifier three times in Memphis, with only two starts outside the top half of the field, and a 3.94 average starting position.


No. 1 in National event wins: WJ's 95 national event victories are the most ever in the history of the Pro Stock division and place him second on the all-time NHRA win list. His most recent win came last month at the Mile-High Nationals in Denver, CO.


Career Best Elapsed Time: 6.679 seconds, Gainesville, FL, 3/20/05
Career best top speed: 207.50 mph, Englishtown, NJ, 6/19/05

G Squared to focus on getting better

Courtesy Jerry Battle

G SQUARED MOTORSPORTS
OWNERS: GEORGE BRYCE & GEORGE SMITH
NHRA POWERADE DRAG RACING SERIES
PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE: G SQUARED S&S BUELL
RIDER: CHIP ELLIS
MEDIA CONTACT: Mickey Schultz

MILLINGTON, Tenn. (August 17, 2005) - After qualifying well at the last few NHRA national events, Chip Ellis, aboard the G Squared S&S Buells, moves to Memphis for the 18th annual NHRA O'Reilly Mid-South Nationals, a race at which G Squared Motorsports owners, George Bryce and George Smith, hope to overcome the runaway performance of the Vance & Hines Screamin' Eagle V-Rods and the new weight reduction for the Suzukis.

"My partner George Smith spends much of his time away from the track at S&S working with them on the R&D to develop the necessary horsepower so that we can advance to the performance level that the Screamin' Eagle team enjoys at this time. I have no doubt that with hard work and much effort from everybody involved with our program that it won't be long before we are running right there with those guys," said Bryce.

"Until we reach that level we will continue to improve our tune up and Chip will concentrate on driving the bike. With some luck, it's still possible to beat those two bikes (of Screamin' Eagle)."

Also, beginning with this weekend's race in Memphis NHRA has reduced by 10 pounds, from 600 to 590 pounds, the minimum weight requirement for the Suzuki entries in the Pro Stock Motorcycle class. No change was made for the V-Twin powered entries.

Bryce reflected on this change for the Suzuki and indicated that he plans no changes to his program as a result of the new weight rule for the Suzukis.

"The 10 pounds might help the Suzukis' elapsed time a hundred or two," said Bryce. "The 10 pounds is just throwing a bone to the Suzuki guys and gals that are complaining about how fast Andrew (Hines) and GT (Tonglet) on the V-Rods are going. My personal feeling is that they should add 25 pounds to the Screamin' Eagle bikes and leave everybody else alone. That's what I would wish for right now.

"The new weight rule won’t cause us to do anything different. We can't focus on the competition. We have no change, so we can only focus on doing the best we can with are own stuff. At the present, nobody is out running us. We are beating ourselves. We're going to focus on making ourselves better."

Ellis enters this event, the 11th of 15 races on the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series, No. 4 in the POWERade Pro Stock Motorcycle point standings.

QUALIFYING: Ellis and the G Squared/S&S Buell take to the Memphis Motorsports Park quarter-mile for two sessions on Friday, scheduled for 4:30 and 7 p.m. Qualifying concludes with two additional sessions on Saturday, at 3:30 and 6 p.m. Ellis begins his quest for the Pro Stock Motorcycle title on Sunday with eliminations for all professional classes getting underway at 3 p.m. All times are local Memphis times - Central Time (CT): 1 hour behind the Eastern Time zone - and subject to change at anytime.

"FAST 5" WITH STEVE GIBBS - Former NHRA VP, one of the originators of the California Hot Rod Reunion, discusses its 14-year history

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Sam Jackson, NHRA Motorsports Museum
Bill Groak, Pacific Communications Group

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. - (Aug. 17, 2005) - If the California Hot Rod Reunion had a face, it would be Steve Gibbs'. Gibbs worked for the NHRA nearly 35 years. His dedication to the organization, and the sport of drag racing, helped Gibbs climb the ranks of the NHRA to vice president. Currently he's a board member of the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum, where he served as its original director. Gibbs is the guy - or one of them - that started the enormously popular NHRA California Hot Rod Reunion, presented by the Automobile Club of Southern California (now in its 14th year), something thousands of vintage drag race fans, hot rodders and most importantly, old-time drag racers, can be thankful for. In this interview, Gibbs talks about how the Reunion (set for Sept. 30-Oct. 2, Bakersfield, Calif.) started and what it means to those who lived it.

1. How/why did you come up with the idea for the Reunion?

Steve Gibbs: While attending Joe Pisano's funeral, I ran into several people than I had not seen in years. I got to talk briefly with a few of them, but it really wasn't the time or place to get loosened up. I mentioned it later to Bernie Partridge, and he had the same thing happen. Not long after that, together, with some other NHRA folks, we started talking about the need for a major drag racing reunion event, using all the communications tools available to us, and try to get a bunch of old friends together and have some fun. We all had other areas of NHRA responsibility at the time, so this was strictly an "after hours" effort. We had no idea what to expect, and approached the project as a one-time deal. Reunions are certainly not a new idea, and in fact others had produced a couple of prior events focused on particular tracks. We wanted to take the next step and create something that was basically aimed at the entire sport, and CHRR was born. Our original budget was based on a thousand people attending*.which was off by a mile. We apparently did a good job of getting the word out, and the people responded. The inaugural CHRR was a tremendous success, and it was immediately clear that we had an annual event on our hands. It's hard to believe that we are about to gather for the 14th time!

2. How/why did Cacklefest come about?

Gibbs: I'm not sure there is a simple answer. When we staged the first CHRR, we included a feature called "Memory Lane" and asked for people who had old or restored racecars to display them. A good number of cars showed up, and that in turn prompted some other folks to try and locate their old cars, or to re-create them. Bill Pitts, who owns and restored the Magicar fuel dragster was very instrumental in getting this ball rolling, as was Art Chrisman whose Hustler 1, winner on the first "March Meet," remained alive and kicking. Think about it, here's the guy who made the first run at the very first NHRA Nationals, still out there putting on a show. Incredible!The opening of the NHRA Museum also seemed to motivate some resurrection of the old iron. As it turned out, several of these cars were capable of being push started, a procedure that had disappeared some 30 years earlier.

In early 2000, an idea came to the surface, of push-starting as many cars as possible at CHRR in rapid-fire fashion, just like the old days. Museum Curator Greg Sharp said something like, 'it'll be a regular cacklefest'*and the name stuck. We were able to line up nine cars for that first event: Art Chrisman's Hustler 1; Bill Pitts' Magicar with Jeep Hampshire driving; Dave West's recreated Beebe and Mulligan machine; Kenny Safford in the Safford; Gaide and Ratican dragster; Steinegger and Eshenbaugh; Kuhl and Olson; The Vagabond; Larry Dixon Sr., in The Howard Cam Rattler; and Bruce Meyers' Greer, Black and Prudhomme beauty, restored and driven by Steve Davis. We really didn't promote or advertise the first Cacklefest, since we were not sure what to expect. All I can say is the outcome was unbelievable. As the cars were pushed down the famed Famoso fire-up road there was a rush of emotion that was totally unexpected. Grown men*hardened racers, were openly crying. We had touched on something that took many of us back decades, to a time so many of us treasured. It also gave the younger crowd a real taste of how things used to be. We had stumbled upon something that was pure magic.

3. How has the Reunion impacted vintage drag racing?

Gibbs: I believe the CHRR has had a unifying and motivating effect on the whole nostalgia movement. It's hard to imagine the number of racers and fans who simply drifted away from the sport over the years - for a variety of reasons, and have now returned. It's amazing how many younger racers are intrigued by the older-style cars, and are also showing up with some terrific machinery. I don't want to take anything away from today's cars and racers, but there is just something about the '50s and '60s racing equipment that still captures the imagination.It's kinda like The Reno Air Races. No matter how many modern jets do their fantastic demonstrations, the crowd really comes to life when the old warbirds take to the air. Planes that were built 60 years ago are still the kings.

4. Why did you choose Famoso as the site for the Reunion?

Gibbs: When we produced the first Reunion in 1992, NHRA was operating the Famoso track, so it was a matter of convenience that we use our own facility. That, combined with the incredible history of the track, made it an easy choice. Over the years there had been thousands and thousands of fans and racers who shared great memories from past Bakersfield/Smokers events, so it helped to create a true "homecoming" atmosphere. I attended my first Famoso race in 1957 and always get a warm feeling when I return.

I'm convinced that nostalgia/reunion events work best at the historic, old-style facilities. We have experienced the same thing at Beech Bend Park in Bowling Green.

5. You've said the Reunion is your favorite event. Can you share some of your favorite Reunion memories?

Gibbs: There's so many that it's hard to be specific. It really has to do with people more than anything. It's a rare chance to revisit our past, and to spend time with old friends, personal heroes, and see the classic machines they once drove coming back to life. Hot rodding has been around for several generations now, and a sad fact is that we are losing many of comrades due to age. The Reunions have allowed us to say some goodbyes that otherwise would have been impossible.

A very personal highlight came a few years back when my daughter Cindy gave a very emotional tribute to her old man at the Reunion reception, and I'll never forget it. I think her words reflected what many of the younger drag racers feel about their parents. The next day, one of my P-51 warbird buddies, who had been at the reception, made an unannounced low-level pass down the Famoso track at well over 400 mph. He called in a few minutes later to say, "that one was just for your daughter."

That's the sentimental stuff, but for the most part we have a helluva lot of fun reliving old memories and making lots of new ones.

The creation of Cacklefest is obviously one of the highlights. It's hard to believe that nearly 100 such cars are now in existence, or are in progress. It's going to be a real challenge, trying to figure out ways to display them properly.

During my 36 year run with NHRA I have been fortunate enough to have been involved in many of the sport's major developments, but I have to say that my role in the creation of The California Hot Rod Reunion is probably the thing I am most proud of.

Tickets for the NHRA California Hot Rod Reunion, presented by the Automobile Club of Southern California, are available by calling 800/884-6472. A full event credential is $55 for adults and only $10 for those under 16. Full event credentials include a "goody bag" that features the highly collectible Reunion Annual and a dash plaque. AAA members receive a $5 discount on a full event credential or $2 off on Saturday or Sunday daily tickets when they show their membership card. Camping passes are available with credential purchase at $50 and swap meet spaces are just $40 for a 20' x 20' space. Daily tickets may be purchased at the gate of Auto Club Famoso Raceway, north of Bakersfield on Highway 99. For additional Reunion information, call 909/622-8562 or visit http://museum.nhra.com.

For the eleventh consecutive year, the Automobile Club of Southern California, the largest affiliate of the AAA, is the presenting sponsor of the NHRA California Hot Rod Reunion. The Automobile Club of Southern California has been serving members since 1900. Today, the Auto Club's members benefit by the organization's emergency road service, financial products, travel agency and trip planning services, highway and transportation safety programs, insurance products and services, automotive pricing, buying and financing programs, automotive testing and analysis and legislative advocacy. Information about these products and services is available on the Auto Club's web site at www.aaa-calif.com.

Proceeds of the NHRA California Hot Rod Reunion, presented by the Automobile Club of Southern California, will benefit the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum. Named for the founder of the National Hot Rod Association, the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum presented by the Automobile Club of Southern California houses the very roots of hot rodding. Scores of famous vehicles spanning American motorsports history are on display, including winning cars representing 50 years of drag racing, dry lakes and salt-flat racers, oval track challengers and exhibits describing their colorful backgrounds.

One of the best entertainment values in Southern California, the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum, presented by the Automobile Club of Southern California, is open Wednesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Pacific Time, with extended hours during NHRA national events. Current NHRA members are admitted free. Admission for non-members is $5 for adults, $3 for seniors 60 and older, $3 for juniors six through 15, and free for children under the age of five. The Museum is also available for private parties, meetings, corporate events, weddings and special group tours. The Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum is located at Fairplex Gate 1, 1101 W. McKinley Ave. in Pomona. For further information on special exhibits, museum events or directions, call 909/622-2133 or visit http://museum.nhra.com.

Southeastern Dragway 50th Anniversary Race Coverage on DragRacingOnline

Ian Tocher covered the race at Dallas and the article with photos is now online at DragRacingOnline. I had the pleasure of meeting Ian and chatting a few minutes after the rains came at the postponed event. Great article and photos - check it out!

GeorgiaDragRacing.com Store Now Online

It's only a start, but I have a few drag racing items ready to go in the GeorgiaDragRacing.com online store. Look for more calendars and many other different products soon. Check out the store and help support GeorgiaDragRacing.com! If you have a request for something in particular, let me know and I'll try to make it available.

GeorgiaDragRacing.com Store

Butterfly themed gifts available here

Wayne Holland's Southeastern Dragway 50th Anniversary Race Photos

Wayne Holland has built an album of photos from the race at Dallas August 6, 2005. Nice photos Wayne -thanks for the link!

Wayne Holland photos from Southeastern Dragway

SGMP Photos

Marvin T. Smith sent a few photos from South Georgia Motorsports Park bracket action. Click here to see them.

Douglas Motorsports Park - Wicked Weekend September 24 & 25, 2005

Flyer
DMP website

Atlanta Dragway Results by Tim Glover

FROM: Tim Glover
EVENT: Summit / Snap On race at Atlanta Dragway in 2005

RAIN WINS AT ATLANTA DRAGWAY
Photos

(Commerce, GA - August 13) Rain got the best of the racers today, coming in just before four finals were ready to run. The finals were set in 8-12 Jr Dragster, 13-17 Jr Dragster, Trophy Street, and Sportsman. Seven racers remained in Super Pro. Sportsman and Super Pro agreed to split the purse among the remaining racers, thus ending the competition for them.

The finals in Trophy Street, 8-12 Jr Dragster, and 13-17 Jr Dragster will be contested at the conclusion of time trials during the August 20 Summit ET Race. All points were awarded up to the point where the race was called.

Joshua Sisson will face Jacquelyn Lastinger in 8-12 Jr Dragster. Taylor Griffith, the August 6 13-17 Jr Dragster winner, will race Danielle Krause, and Ashley Dumas will run against Randy Franklin in the Trophy Street final on August 20. Ashley Snelgrove was the lone semi-finalist in 8-12 Jr Dragster and Team PTI racer Jake Swaim finished his day in the 13-17 Jr Dragster semi-final round. Kevin Rich said he was on a roll in Trophy Street until he came to the semi-final round, where his day was finished.

Chris Carlile ('69 Camaro - Canton, GA) was set to run Terrance Arrowood ('72 Nova - Hiwassee, GA) in the Sportsman final, but the two racers just agreed to split the purse. Chuck Conaway ('66 Chevy II - Cumming, GA) and Ed Nalley ('74 Vega - Maysville, GA) were the semi-final finishers.

The seven remaining racers in Super Pro were:
J.D. Reid '02 Undercover Dragster Conyers, GA
Dale Wilson '04 Fab Concepts dragster Alpharetta, GA
Larry Barefoot '65 Chevy II Bethlehem, GA
Gary Dunn '92 S&W dragster Flowery Branch, GA
Dan Bytnar '04 Lake Point Aqua EZ dragster Cumming, GA
Wayne Brooks dragster Georgia
Ricki Blackwell '68 Chevy II Homer, GA

WJ Rides the Learning Curve to the Brainerd Semifinals

Contact: Jon Knapp
TMG Sports Marketing, Inc.

When Warren Johnson and the GM Performance Parts Racing team brought their new Pro Stock GTO to the Lucas Oil Nationals, they knew they would be facing a learning curve in terms of the car's performance capabilities. With only three test runs prior to their arrival at Brainerd International Raceway, they had very little tuning data to work from making every adjustment a learning experience.

They adapted extremely well in qualifying, setting low elapsed time and top speed of the weekend to capture the No. 1 starting position. However, the warmer temperatures on race day required a completely different set-up, forcing the team to rely on their experience to make the proper adjustments, including those dealing with leaving the starting line, a crucial element in the highly competitive Pro Stock category.

Although this method proved effective in the early rounds, when Johnson eliminated veterans Larry Morgan and Ron Krisher, their day came to a premature end in the semifinals when a solid 6.749-second, 205.44 mph pass fell shy of overcoming Greg Stanfield's starting line advantage and 6.768-second, 204.08 mph run. Despite the initial disappointment, Johnson was somewhat pleased with the team's first weekend with their new car, as well as it's performance potential.

"With the limited time that we've had with our GM Performance Parts GTO, we really haven't had time to work on the finer details such as the clutch linkages or other parts of the set-up. Our primary goal coming into this event was to make sure that we were able to go from Point A to Point B, and I believe we were fairly effective at doing that. Obviously, we need to leave Point A at a more appropriate time, so that is something we will work on in the next few days, when we test in St. Louis.

"Seeing how stable this car is aerodynamically, we can now start to get more aggressive with the chassis and clutch and gear, depending on the conditions you're working with, to improve the reaction time. Fortunately, it is already among the quickest in the first 60 feet, so it's now a matter of smoothing it out to improve the reaction time without sacrificing performance.

"We obviously still have a lot to learn with this car. For example, we did not touch the four-link all weekend. We came here with a nice conservative approach, and it has already shown itself to be a great car. Now we have to take what we learned here and apply it, as well as doing some additional testing to gather even more information on it, which we plan to do this week. We’ve gotten off to a good start - now we just need to build on it."

Chip Ellis turned back in round 2 at BIR

Courtesy Jerry Battle

G SQUARED MOTORSPORTS
OWNERS: GEORGE BRYCE & GEORGE SMITH

NHRA POWERADE DRAG RACING SERIES
PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE: G SQUARED S&S BUELL
RIDER: CHIP ELLIS

MEDIA CONTACT: Mickey Schultz

24TH ANNUAL NHRA LUCAS OIL NATIONALS
BRAINERD INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY -BRAINERD, MINN.
AUGUST 11-14, 2005

Qualified: # 3 (7.049 seconds at 193.35 mph)
Eliminations:
Round 1: Ellis (7.151/186.02) def. Shawn Gann (red-light: 7.269/178.10)
Round 2: Ellis (7.272/188.04) def. Antron Brown (7.042/185.05)


BRAINERD, Minn. (August 14, 2005) - After qualifying No. 3 at the 24th annual NHRA Lucas Oil Nationals at BIR, Brainerd International Raceway, Chip Ellis driver of the G Squared S&S Buell Pro Stock Motorcycle, lost to Antron Brown in the second round.

In the opening round, Ellis took advantage of a red-light by Shawn Gann and easily moved to round two against Antron Brown.

Brown, who had a reaction time of .001 of a second for the second consecutive round, led from start to finish against Ellis in the second round, bringing to an end a trying two weeks that saw the G Squared Motorsports 18-wheeler stolen from an Omaha hotel.

The rig was immediately recovered but all the racing equipment was missing. Days later, the Sarpy County Sheriff's office, the Iowa Highway Patrol, and local law enforcement from the Omaha-area, recovered much of the contents - including the team's current Buell chassis used to compete in the NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle class on the NHRA POWERade Drag racing Series, three S&S Pro Stock engines, a new complete Kosman Buell rolling chassis and assorted spare parts - and the team was able to compete this weekend.

"This whole team, including Chip, has been under a lot of pressure as the result of the theft of the rig and it recovery. As a result, while Chip had rode almost flawlessly through qualifying and the first round of eliminations, the stress may have caught up in this last round," said George Bryce, who along with George Smith are owners of G Squared Motorsports.

"At the start Chip popped up and double clutched which upset the transfer of weight on the motorcycle and that slows it down anywhere from one to two tenths. It will jump around and bounce. The television show this evening on ESPN2 should give a good picture of what I'm talking about.

"We'll regroup and go to straight to Memphis and pick up there. Thanks again to everybody that had anything to do with helping us during the last several weeks."

Unofficially, leaving the Lucas Oil Nationals, Ellis is No. 6 in POWERade points, with 577 points.

NEXT RACE: With another race immediately following, Chip Ellis and G Squared Motorsports move straight to Memphis, Tenn., for the NHRA O'Reilly Mid-South Nationals at Memphis Motorsports Park, Aug. 19-21.

TELEVISION: ESPN2 HD will air three hours of same-day television coverage of eliminations beginning at 7 p.m. this evening (Aug. 14). The elimination show repeats on ESPN2 HD early Monday morning, Aug. 15, from 2:30 until 4:30 a.m. Television times are Eastern Time (ET) and subject to change at anytime. Check local listings.

BAZEMORE OUT IN FIRST ROUND IN BRAINERD

DON SCHUMACHER RACING
Contact: Judy Stropus

BRAINERD, Minn. (Aug. 14, 2005) - No. 9 qualifier Whit Bazemore did not have lane choice going into the first round of eliminations at the Lucas Oil Nationals today, but he didn't blame the track when he smoked the tires in that round and lost to Tony Pedregon with a 5.802/242.63 lap to Pedregon's 5.258/275.62.

In Top Fuel eliminations preceding the Funny Car competition, Luigi Novelli blew up his dragster at the starting line in the right lane and proceeded down the quarter-mile, resulting in a 40-minute delay to clean the surface, relegating that lane to less-desirable status.

"You can't blame the track," said Bazemore of his loss in the Matco Tools Iron Eagle Dodge Stratus. "Early on this morning the conditions were really good and a lot of people, ourselves included, thought that they could go out there and run pretty damned good.

"Unfortunately, Novelli just killed the track and put us almost 40 minutes behind and the track was in the sun a long time. Our Matco Tools guys backed the car down a huge amount and the track just didn't hold it. They made all the right moves and Dan (Olson, co-crew chief) even said if we had it to do over again, he would have done the exact same thing, and that's how far we backed the car down.

"It's part of racing, but I really feel the NHRA needs to look at the licensing procedure and they need to make sure that the drivers - all of us - do the right thing when there's a problem. A guy blowing up on the starting line and coasting down the center of the track on race day is unacceptable and it hurts all the competitors, the fans and the entire sport, and it should not be allowed to happen."

Bazemore dropped to seventh place in the POWERade Drag Racing Series Funny Car point standings.

Next up is the O'Reilly NHRA Mid-South Nationals in Memphis, Tenn., Aug. 19-21.

FUNNY CAR POINT STANDINGS:
1. Robert Hight, 1056
2. Gary Scelzi, 1042
3. John Force, 1034
4. Ron Capps, 1011
5. Eric Medlen, 949 (winner today)
6. Tommy Johnson Jr., 914
7. Whit Bazemore, 864
8. Cruz Pedregon, 831

Kalitta, Medlen, Kurt Johnson and Tonglet Win the NHRA POWERade Lucas Oil Nationals

NHRA Recap

G Squared and Chip Ellis elated with No. 3 at BIR

Courtesy Jerry Battle

G SQUARED MOTORSPORTS
OWNERS: GEORGE BRYCE & GEORGE SMITH
NHRA POWERADE DRAG RACING SERIES
PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE: G SQUARED S&S BUELL
RIDER: CHIP ELLIS

24TH ANNUAL NHRA LUCAS OIL NATIONALS
BRAINERD INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY - BRAINERD, MINN.
AUGUST 11-14, 2005

QUALIFYING:
Session 1 Friday: 7.119 seconds at 192.55 mph (# 2)
Session 2 Friday: 7.090 seconds at 186.15 mph (# 3)
Session 1 Saturday: 7.049 seconds at 193.35 mph (# 3)
Session 2 Saturday: 7.147 seconds at 183.34 mph (# 3)


BRAINERD, Minn. (August 13, 2005) - Qualifying came to a completion today for the 24th annual NHRA Lucas Oil Nationals at BIR, Brainerd International Raceway. Chip Ellis, aboard the G Squared S&S Buell, ended qualifying No. 3 on the final qualifying ladder.

Ellis best elapsed time of the four qualifying sessions was a 7.049 second run at over 193 miles per hour in Saturday's morning qualifying session. His speed of 193.35 mph was a career best for the Americus Ga., driver. In the final session, George Bryce and George Smith, co-owners of G Squared Motorsports, opted to try some things to see how the bike would react. The test produced a run of 7.147 seconds at 183.34 mph.

Recapping Friday's two qualifying sessions: In the opening session, Ellis rode the S&S-powered Buell to an elapsed time of 7.119--second pass at a speed of 192.55 mph. In the late afternoon qualifying session, Ellis covered the BIR quarter-mile in 7.090 seconds, ending the first day of qualifying in the No. 3 position.

"We are thankful that we got our bike back after the rig was taken from an Omaha hotel," said Smith. "I really thought we'd never see it again. Despite all that went on, we were able to pull together and move forward continuing the improvement that we've been making over the last several races.

"The power that we have shown during qualifying is the same power that we've had all season from our S&S engine. The difference here is that we're doing a good job with the tune up and Chip (Ellis) is doing a good job riding. His lights have been outstanding; the 60-foot times are converting to low elapsed times at the finish line and Chip is hitting shift points on time.

"We expect to do well and be consistent tomorrow. While we don't have as much power as the Screamin' Eagle guys, we can overcome that with good driving from Chip and be a threat.

Ellis will face Shawn Gann in tomorrow's opening round. Gann qualified No. 14 with an elapsed time of 7.161 seconds.

ELIMINATION: Ellis begins his quest for the Pro Stock Motorcycle title on Sunday with eliminations for all classes getting underway at 11 a.m. Time is local Brainerd time - Central Time (CT): 1 hour behind the Eastern Time zone - and subject to change at anytime.