DragStory
No Changes for Pro Sled rider Anderson and his Arctic Cat in 2012 PBSS
Courtesy of PBSS
SEAFORTH, ON – Bill Anderson is returning to the Pro Bike & Sled Series for 2012, but the Pro Sled rider said his Arctic Cat will not receive any major changes.
“We’re going to give it another go this year,” said Anderson, “and basically run it the way it was last season.”
Anderson placed third in points in the six-race PBSS 2011 Championship Point Award Series presented by Wiseco Performance Products, and his year was highlighted with an event win is the season opener at Cayuga.
Racing for Team Fun, Anderson’s sled is a 2009 Arctic Cat Z1 Turbo, with a stock turbocharged 1056-cc twin cylinder unit that sits in an Arctic Cat Twin Spar chassis. The power is fed through an Arctic Cat continuously variable transmission (CVT) and fueled by a stock 46-mm throttle body EFI with Boondocker Z1 Hijacker Control.
Ahten Positive after First Round Exit at Regional Race
Courtesy of Athen Family Racing
Phoenix, AZ – As humans we are sometimes slaves to our machines. Drag Racers depend on machines for their trade. Johnny Ahten’s Island Renovations/801 Racing Dragster had a bit of mechanical trouble this weekend at Firebird
Raceway.
The team tested on Friday and netted a planned early shut-off run of 5.922. Saturday’s best qualifying run was a 5.490/237.38, which put them in the number six position. Still, there was something not quite right mechanically. The engine was telling the crew that it was lean, and needed more fuel. The decision was made to fatten it up a bit and give the engine the fuel it wanted.
The car was serviced and filled with fresh 801 Racing Revvoluton 70Wt Oil with CleanBoost Technology. Sunday’s race-day tune-up was in place as the eliminations began. In the other lane was number three qualifier Megan McKernan. Ahten got the jump at the flash of the lights, but his machine had other ideas. Raw fuel was being pumped out of one of the cylinders, and that is not a good sign. The eventual race winner McKernan, thundered away from Ahten with a 5.393 elapsed time at 262.74 miles per hour. Even with a hole out, Ahten muscled the car to a losing, but noble 5.729@213.57.
Severance and 801 Racing Go to Finals at Phoenix Regional
Courtesy of 801 Racing
Chandler, AZ – It’s a little over three hundred miles from Firebird Raceway to Las Vegas, NV. After the luck Joey Severance and his 801 Racing Dragster had at the Regionals, he might just want to go and place a few bets.
Severance’s Top Alcohol Dragster had some troubles in qualifying. Tire smoke and a lost blower belt landed the Woodburn, OR driver in the number eight spot. His qualifying time was a less than desirable 7.283 elapsed time, at only 125.54 miles per hour. The luck was just starting to show.
In the first round of eliminations, Severance faced number one qualifier Chris Demke and his Maddern Racing rocket ship. Demke had run off a series of 5.33’s in qualifying, and had the car to beat. Severance got off the line first and a distracted Demke tried to play catch-up to no avail.
“I got to the shut down area and didn’t know I had won,” said Severance. “It was great to finally get down the track with a 5.435@259.66.”
Demke and Maddern Racing Looking to Next Race after First Round Loss
Courtesy of Maddern racing
Chandler, AZ – Chris Demke and the Maddern Racing team entered the Regional race this last weekend at Firebird 
Raceway with the car to beat. They knew this because they had just won the season opening race in Pomona, and they had a great tune-up. Funny thing happened on the way to the trophy. They lost in the first round to eventual event runner-up Joey Severance.
“We knew we had a race day tune-up,” said Demke. “The similar conditions and good track prep had us confident and feeling strong.”
The reason for this was two great runs in qualifying that garnered the Peen Rite/801 Racing Team the number on qualifying spot. With a pair of 5.33’s, they had recorded their second and third best times at Firebird Raceway. Race day paired Demke against number eight qualifier Joey Severance.
Meadors’ Runner-up Finish Sets the Stage for Exciting Goodguys Racing Season
Courtesy of Goodguys Racing
Pleasanton, CA – From the minute Marc Meadors and the Goodguys Racing ’69 Camaro Pro Mod rolled off the trailer at 
last weekend’s PSCA Record Breaker Nationals at the Strip at The Strip @ Las Vegas Motor Speedway, it was quite clear who they had to beat; Mike Maggio and his “MagCo”1970 Camaro.
As the weekend event unfolded, Meadors and Maggio were nearly inseparable, qualifying #1 and #2 respectively in the Pro Street division. As eliminations progressed, the two inched towards each other on opposite sides of the elimination ladder, setting up a winner-take-all-final; a battle which Maggio ultimately won.
But not by much as Meadors’ valiant and quicker 5.963 lost out to the winner’s 5.971 – the win coming from a red-lighting Meadors. “It could have been an epic final, but I left too soon said a disappointed Meadors.”
New Car, New Power for Sydnie Hyde in Quick 32 Series
Courtesy of Quick 32
STRATFORD, ON – Sydnie Hyde will be going faster in her Top Dragster in Quick 32 Sportsman Series presented by NAPA Auto Parts competition this year, thanks in part to brother Spencer.
Last season was her first year of Quick 32 Sportsman Series racing, but her old dragster just wasn’t fast enough. So the youngest driver of the Hyde Racing Team (Spencer also races in the Series) will be piloting a new Spitzer dragster with the mammoth 740-cubic inch engine that Spencer used in his Top Sportsman Cobalt in 2011.
“The car was only running in the 7.30s,” explained Hyde. “It just wasn’t fast enough, but it was a great learning experience.”
Qualifying was a tough go for the rookie last year, but that should turn around for the upcoming season.
Performance Improvements to present the 2012 TNT Super Series Race of Champions
return of the ROC in 2012.Performance Improvements Speed Shops of Toronto (PI) will present the 2012 Race of Champions and TNTSS officials couldn’t be more excited.
“PI has been involved in all kinds of motorsports during their almost 50 years in the performance parts business,” said Ted Barnes, TNTSS Director of Operations. “To have them on board with our premiere event for the 2012 season is a perfect fit!”
Curtis Beck to debut new Pro Bike in PBSS 2012 Series
Courtesy of PBSS
MILTON, ON – He may be a rookie in the Pro Bike & Sled Series presented by Wiseco Performance Products, and he may be starting out the season with a brand new machine, but Pro Bike rider Curtis Beck is far from a rookie when it comes to
two-wheel drag racing.
A former class champion at the Grand Bend Motorplex and an accomplished rider on the AMA (American Motorcycle Association) circuit, Beck has put together a new bike for competing in this year’s PBSS events.
“I’ve always drag raced, and I’ve always drag raced bikes,” he said. “This new bike is a new build which I put together myself and I haven’t been on it yet.”
Beck’s entry will be a Suzuki GS1150 which was previously owned by NHRA Pro Stock bike racer Ron Ayers, and has been fitted with new Hayabusa bodywork. A 1500-cc Suzuki engine fueled by 44-mm Lectrons powers the bike, which Beck said should garner 265 horsepower and run down the strip in the high seven-second range.
Ahten Ready to Put on a Good Show at Phoenix Regionals
Courtesy of Athen Family Racing
Phoenix, AZ – Johnny Ahten is going into show business. This weekend at the opening of the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series at Firebird Raceway, Ahten has added a top hat and cane to his Top Alcohol Dragster act. Not to worry, he will still
wear his firesuit and helmet when he is racing. Ahten and his Island Renovations/801 Racing Dragster are ready to put on a show for the fans, and the fellow racers. Welcome my friends to the Nitro show that never ends.
“The Regionals are like a mini national event now,” said Ahten. “Instead of just a few cars here, there are Division 7 leaders as well as a few Division 6 runners.”
Ahten brings the knowledge and data accumulated a few weeks ago at the Pomona event. Crewchief Al Ahten has the Nitrometane injected tune-up calculated and dialed in. It’s up to Johnny Ahten to step into the spotlight and demonstrate what the car is capable of. Every now and again, Ahten’s car is prone to attempting a high wire act when it launches the front wheels skyward.
Perkins Ready for the Competition at Phoenix Regional Race
Courtesy of 801 racing
Phoenix, AZ – Cody Perkins has pulled the lever. Not the chutes, but the big red-handled fifty pound theoretical competition lever. Test mode is over. This weekend in Phoenix at the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series race at Firebird
Raceway, Perkins and his 801 Racing dragster are going for it.
“We are in competition mode,” said Perkins. “We want to be the last Division 7 All-Star.”
Perkins is currently leading the Jeg’s All-Star’s points for the honor of representing Division 7 at the Chicago race later this year. It is not something the 801 Racing Team and Perkins want to give up. Fighting for the right to represent is the competition within the competition. The Regional event will have that added drama, as well as a string of west coast hitters.
“We are going there to beat the Peen Rite car,” added Perkins. “It’s between us and Chris Demke, and who goes more rounds.”
