O’FALLON, MO — The American Drag Racing League (ADRL) is proud to announce Speedtech as the title sponsor of the next event on its 2010 tour, the ADRL Speedtech U.S. Drags III at Virginia Motorsports Park (VMP), May 21-22, in Petersburg, Virginia.

The ADRL has enjoyed a long, mutually beneficial relationship with Speedtech, beginning with the Speedtech Winter Drags, the first official ADRL event in 2005 at Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Also, last season Speedtech became the title sponsor of the ADRL’s unique Speedtech Battle for the Belts, which pits the top eight points earners in each ADRL professional class against each other in an end-of-year, championship-deciding showdown.  

CECIL, GA — Despite racing with heavy hearts after losing one of their own to an early-morning accident, American Drag Racing League (ADRL) competitors still managed to turn in thrilling, record-setting performances for the Apr. 23-24, ADRL Hardee’s Georgia Drags VI at South Georgia Motorsports Park (SGMP).

Veterans Jason Scruggs and Mike Castellana led the way with wins in Pro Extreme and Pro Nitrous and Ashley Owens absolutely dominated the Pro Extreme Motorcycle class from start to finish all weekend long. Extreme 10.5 and Extreme Pro Stock produced first-time winners in Todd Moyer and Steven Boone, respectively, as did the Pro Jr. Dragster class won by Jordan Arnold in near-perfect fashion.

Raceday sadly opened with an accident in the pit area of Pro Nitrous racer Blake Housley that critically injured team co-owner Mike Walker, who was pronounced dead shortly afterward at Memorial Hospital of Adel at nearby Adel, Georgia.

In a moving pre-race ceremony before packed grandstands, ADRL President and CEO Kenny Nowling dedicated the Georgia Drags to Walker’s memory and Scruggs later donated the fourth ADRL Minuteman trophy of his career to the Walker family in victory lane.

CECIL, GA — When Sheikh Khalid Al-Thani of Qatar covered the eighth mile at South Georgia Motorsports Park (SGMP) in just 3.63 seconds at 212.49 miles per hour Apr. 23, he became the quickest and fastest “doorslammer” driver in the world. The record-setting run also secured for him the provisional number-one Pro Extreme starting position for the American Drag Racing League (ADRL) Hardee’s Georgia Drags VI.

Also sitting on top of their respective classes with a fourth and final qualifying session scheduled for Saturday morning are Al-Thani’s Al-Anabi Racing teammate Burton Auxier in Pro Nitrous, Gary White in Extreme 10.5, Pro Extreme Motorcycle star Ashley Owens and Pete Berner in Extreme Pro Stock.

Al-Thani’s crew chief, Frank “Ace” Manzo, gave much of the credit for the Sheikh’s impressive outing to husband-and-wife tuners Tim and Kim Richards, who were added to the Al-Anabi crew just a couple of weeks earlier.

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Cecil GA – The car appeared to go right after he hit the throttle.  Fortunately John Stanley, who was in the other lane, was out in front and missed the carnage behind him as Barklage’s car would cut across from the left lane and hit the right wall.  The team will concentrate their efforts on the second team car of Zack Barklage for the remainder of the weekend.  Very glad he’s OK!

O’FALLON, MO — American Drag Racing League (ADRL) fans are invited to visit Hardee’s restaurants in Valdosta and Adel, Georgia, for lunch or dinner Apr. 22, and to visit ADRL star Tommy D’Aprile with his nitro-burning Pro Extreme ’68 Camaro. At each Hardee’s location the team also will be giving away hundreds of complimentary tickets to this weekend’s (Apr. 23-24) ADRL Hardee’s Georgia Drags VI at nearby South Georgia Motorsports Park.

From noon to 2 p.m. on Thursday, D’Aprile and his Mel Eaves-owned team will be at Hardee’s at 2901 North Ashley Street in Valdosta, Georgia; then they’ll pack up and head for an appearance from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Hardee’s at 807 West 4th Street in Adel, Georgia.

“We’ve been doing these car and driver appearances at Hardee’s the last couple of years we’ve come to South Georgia Motorsports Park and they’ve always been well-received,” ADRL Vice President of Sales and Marketing Brian Evans said. “The crew members have a lot of fun meeting the fans and I know the fans like getting a close-up look at these amazing machines and meeting the drivers and team members, all while enjoying some delicious Hardee’s food.”

O’FALLON, MO — After rain cut short the opening round of the American Drag Racing League’s (ADRL’s) 2010 season last month at Houston, the eighth-mile drag racing series returns to action Apr. 23-24, with the ADRL Hardee’s Georgia Drags VI at South Georgia Motorsports Park (SGMP), near Valdosta.

Several record-setting runs were recorded during qualifying at Houston Raceway Park before the wet stuff arrived and similar performances are expected at SGMP, known for its fast, all-concrete racing surface and as the only venue remaining on the ADRL tour since the series’ inaugural 2005 schedule.

South Georgia has been the site of several ADRL firsts, including the first three-second pass by a Pro Nitrous entry when Shannon Jenkins turned the trick in 2006, the first official Pro Extreme run below 3.9 seconds by Jason Scruggs, and that same year, the debut of what would become the series’ popular Extreme 10.5 class.