DragStory
The Pro Bike & Sled Series Top Five for 2011 – James Miller – Number Four
Courtesy of PBSS
ORILLIA, ON – Placing fourth in the 2011 Pro Bike & Sled Series Championship Point Award Series was James Miller of Orillia Ontario with his Pro Sled entry.
Presented by Wiseco Performance Products, 2011 was the first season for the new drag racing series which is comprised of motorcycle (Pro Bike) and snowmobile (Pro Sled) competitors.
Miller said he did have some mechanical issues with his Yamaha Nytro sled, but was pleased with his performance.
“We had some gremlins pop up on us, and some qualifying issues which dropped us out of contention, but we had a lot of fun racing this year.”
The Modfather Racing team did not qualify for two of the six PBSS events, but the team stayed in the point chase all season, highlighted with a win in the Pro Sled division in race three and going to the event final.
Solid specialized off-track insurance for PMRA and Quick 32 Sportsman Series competitors
Courtesy of PMRA
MARKHAM, ON – The Pro Modified Racing Association and the Quick 32 Sportsman Series is pleased to announce the involvement of ChampionsEdge.ca – Race Car Insurance, a tailor-made insurance policy for competitors in the two drag
racing series.
Based through Insureit Group Inc. of Markham, this service will provide specialized off-track insurance for racers.
The program provides coverage from fire, theft, vandalism, hail, derailment while your race car, trailer, tools, and spare parts are being transported, along with earthquake, tornado and other types of coverage’s.
The major highlights of this program include low rates, a monthly payment plan and FREE $5000 tool coverage.
NEOPMA Crowns Winners at Maryland International Raceway’s Superchargers Showdown
Courtesy of NEOPMA
Mechanicsville, MD – The Northeast Outlaw Pro Mods fourth “Extreme” Event” of the season at MIR October 21st and 22nd was a huge success with huge crowds, great weather and over 33 Pro Mods contesting sixteen qualifying positions in
each of the two classes. Turbo cars are on the rise in the series with 6 of the 17 cars in the Blower/Turbo class running turbo’s.
In the cool October weather, with track temperatures at times as low as 60 degrees, which means nothing when Royce Miller and the MIR staff are prepping the track, as the track was perfect all weekend. Taking the pole position on the Blower/Turbo side was Eric Latino all the way from Canada in his beautiful G-Force built 1968 Camaro with a blistering 5.89 ET at 245.32 MPH. This is the first race for Eric this year with the series, and the team made a statement right away.
On the Nitrous side, Matt Deitsch qualified number one with a 6.03 at 234.29 in his 68’ Camaro.
In the Nitrous eliminations side number 3 qualifier Ed Burnley ran thru the field to the finals with consistency and performance running between 6.10-6.12 in all four rounds of eliminations, defeating R.Tyree in round one, 6.12 to a losing 7.27, E. Donavan in round two 6.11 to a losing 32.00, Nick Montana in round three 6.10 to a 8.08.
Todd Fontana also ran thru the field to the finals with consistency and performance, qualifying number 4, defeating Andrew Handras in round one, 6.20, Handras broke on starting line, Jeff Rogers in round two 6.19 to a losing 7.98, Matt Deitsch round three 6.19 to a red light by Matt.
Piatek named Sportsman of the Year, Manuel Sportsman Driver of the Year
Courtesy of IHRA
NORWALK, OH – In a year filled with ups and downs, two drivers have emerged as the ultimate winners from the 2011 IHRA season as winners of the International Hot Rod Association’s biggest awards.
Myron Piatek, of Holly Hill, Fla., was named IHRA’s Sportsman of the Year – essentially IHRA’s hall of fame award – and Cameron Manuel of Winston Salem, N.C. was named the Sportsman Driver of the Year at the recent IHRA Awards Celebration held at Virginia Motorsports Park following the completion of the IHRA Summit Racing Equipment World Finals presented by RacingJunk.com.
Piatek, a longtime IHRA competitor and former World Champion in Stock, was named Sportsman of the Year for his dedication and contribution to the sport. Away from the track Piatek is considered one of the truly nice guys in the sport of drag racing, always willing to lend a helping hand.
Troy Coughlin intent on top-10 finish in Pro Mod
Courtesy of JEGS
LAS VEGAS, NV – World champion drag racer Troy Coughlin arrives at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for this weekend’s 11th annual Big O Tires NHRA Nationals intent on securing another top-10 finish in the Get Screened America
Pro Mod Drag Racing Series.
Racing most of the 2011 season in crew chief Jake Hairston’s small-block Pontiac GTO, Coughlin was a crowd favorite at every stop. But having less horsepower than the others was too much to overcome and he enters the season finale in 13th place. But the class has been so tough this year that he’s only 21 points, or about one round of action, out of the top 10, giving the team purpose.
Now wheeling a brand-new, twin-turbocharged JEGS.com Chevy Camaro, Coughlin has the same engine and combination as the class leaders and with a couple of races worth of experience under his belt, he says contending for the event win, and a spot in the top 10, is very realistic.
The Quick 32 Sportsman Series Top Five for 2011 – Darrin Grubb – Number Four
Courtesy of Quick 32
PINE RIVER, ON – Consistency and a solid effort allowed Grubb Racing to finish fourth in the Quick 32 Sportsman Series presented by NAPA Auto Parts Championship Point Award Series Standings for 2011.
“This has been a great year. We are very happy,” said team driver Darrin Grubb, who pilots the team’s 2004 Chevy Cavalier in the Quick 32 Sportsman Series Top Sportsman division. “We were fortunate, as everything worked as advertised.”
The Cavalier received a new engine for 2011, a 706-cubic inch Par Racing engine, which ran well right from the start of the six-race season. The Chris Duncan Race Cars product also houses a Powerglide transmission courtesy of Hutch’s Transmissions, and a fuel system from Rupert’s Racing Products.
The team is headed up by Darrin’s brother Marvin Grubb. Mike Dennis is the team’s crew chief, and Barb Grubb is also an integral part of the team.
Don Schumacher Addresses Top Fuel Shroud Controversy; Reinhart on WFO Radio
Courtesy of WFO
HOLLYWOOD, FL – Don Schumacher Racing principle, Don Schumacher gives the DSR perspective regarding the Top Fuel shroud controversy on WFO Radio. Schumacher joins Joe Castello for an in-depth interview. To listen, go to
WFORadio.com.
The NHRA’s Alan Reinhart makes his weekly appearance to preview the event, breakdown the latest news in the sport of drag racing, and answer questions from listeners.
National Dragster, Be a Member winner, Brad Craig stops by to talk about his bracket race win in the Great Northwest.
WFO Radio NHRA Nitro, the only weekly talk show 100% devoted to NHRA drag racing and featuring the NHRA’s Alan Reinhart, is available every Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET. In addition, every episode and interview from WFO Radio is available on-demand via WFORadio.com, iTunes, Android, or iPhone/iPad application.
ADRL Honors 2011 World Champions, Special Award Winners At Racer Appreciation And Awards Gala
Courtesy of ADRL
ENNIS, TX – On the final day of the 2011 racing season, the American Drag Racing League (ADRL) also held its annual Racer Appreciation and Awards Gala.
The memorable event took place Sunday evening at the Champion’s Club at Texas Motorplex, which served as the site of the ADRL’s season-ending LenMar Motorsports World Finals VII presented by Summit Racing Equipment, which also finished on Sunday. The world’s premier eighth-mile drag racing league officially recognized its 2011 World Champions – Jason Hamstra (Pro Extreme), Mike Castellana (Pro Nitrous), Dan Millen (Extreme 10.5), Ashley Owens (Pro Extreme Motorcycle), Cary Goforth (Extreme Pro Stock) and Morgan Benfield (Pro Junior Dragster) – to officially conclude a thrilling and record-breaking 2012 ADRL season.
ADRL television personality Brian Olson hosted the event that also trumpeted the 2011 “Battle For The Belts” winners, the World Finals VII event winners and also announced the winners for ADRL Driver of the Year (Cary Goforth), Rookie of the Year (Mahana Al-Naemi), Track of the Year (Virginia Motorsports Park) and Spirit of the Year (T.T. and Angelia Jones).
Million Dollar experience beneficial to JEGS team
Courtesy of JEGS
MONTGOMERY, AL – It wasn’t the result either of them were looking for but JEGS Mail Order teammates Jeg Jr and T.J. Coughlin both described the experience of racing in this weekend’s Nitro Fish Million Dollar Drag Race at Montgomery
Motorsports Park as both rewarding and educational.
Both Coughlin’s were brimming with confidence as they entered Saturday’s main event, which paid a whopping $175,000 to the winner, but in the world of high stakes bracket racing, where races are often won and lost by just a few thousandths of a second, the arithmetic did not fall in their favor and they both posted a round two finish. A pair of $20,000 to win companion events held on Thursday and Friday produced similar results while on Sunday, T.J. finally broke through for a very respectable semifinal showing.
“We both drove well and our cars were solid but we were just never able to get in a groove,” said Jeg Jr. “We both managed to win two or three rounds each day but we never got on that roll that you need to go the distance. I had a lot of good close races and I know T.J. did as well.
ADRL World Finals VII Winners Awarded At Texas Motorplex
Courtesy of ADRL
ENNIS, TX – After a disappointing start to the 2011 American Drag Racing League (ADRL) season, Jason Scruggs sure found a way to end it in tremendous fashion.
On the final drag race of the ADRL season, Scruggs put together a classic performance on Sunday, running a 3.604 at 208.59 miles per hour to knock off Frankie Taylor in the finals of the LenMar Motorsports ADRL World Finals VII presented by Summit Racing Equipment at Texas Motorplex.
“We’re just thankful we’ve got a good car right now,” Scruggs said. “When we were down, everybody was helping us and I can’t say enough about all the people who helped us get back on track.”
The highlight-filled race served as a fitting end to a record-breaking 2011 season as well.
