Elon Werner
American Outlaw Allan Middendorf Taking on New Adventures in 2024
COLUMBIA, IL – For the past six years Allan Middendorf has been chasing win lights, breaking Funny Car and Fuel Altered records, and 
building a brand around his cowboy and outlaw spirit. The passionate and driven Middendorf today announced he will be turning his attention to a new endeavor and is stepping away from professional drag racing. As a self-made entrepreneur out of Columbia, Illinois, Middendorf developed a passion for drag racing during his late 20’s and in 2018 he started Allan Middendorf Racing and began running the American Outlaw brand. He dedicated his racing career to following in the tire tracks of his successful businesses built around perfection, attention to detail and being true himself. He attributes his success on the track to his crew members, sponsors, and business relationships with companies like Snake Enterprises, Vinyl Images and Torco.
“Jake Sanders of Snake Enterprises was a huge part of my success,” said Middendorf. “Jake’s knowledge and experience is what made this team highly competitive. Without him, there is no way I could have achieved what I did. You add in the support we received from Vinyl Images and Torco and this dream I chased wouldn’t have been possible. We made a lot of history, and I can’t thank all our supporters enough.”
Memorial Set for Drag Racing Legend Fred Crow
ANAHEIM, CA – A celebration of life for drag racing legend Fred Crow will be held Saturday, April 27 at 11 a.m. at Influence Church (8162 
E. Kaiser Blvd, Anaheim, Calif., 92808). The event will be an opportunity for friends, family, and racing community supporters to share stories and memories of the joy and love Crow brought to the world both on and off the track.
“Fred was an important contributor to racing for many decades and he will be missed,” said Jon Dunn, of Jim Dunn Racing. “Fred, DeEtte, and I have been partners in Crow for over 25 years. Beyond our working relationship Crow has been a major supporter of our program and racing in general. Crow Safety Gear will continue to flourish as a leader in the safety gear industry. Everyone at Jim Dunn Racing extends our condolences to DeEtte and the Crow family.”
A 2006 NHRA Lifetime Achievement Honoree, Crow was a driving force behind Crow Safety Gear, a family run business specializing in quality racing safety gear. The Crow line of safety gear including junior and adult auto racing suits, gloves, shoes, neck collars, fire retardant underwear and arm restraints. Crow manufactures all their famous racing seat belts in the USA.
Torrence, Tasca, Kramer and Herrera Take Big Money at Texas Fall Nationals Friday Night Live
DALLAS, TX – With spectacular conditions and a historically quick race surface, multiple track records were set tonight at the Stampede of 
Speed Friday Night Live event part of the 38th annual Texas Fall Nationals. Top Fuel and Funny Car No. 1 qualifiers Steve Torrence and Bob Tasca III grabbed the $15,000 top prize cash, respectively. Deric Kramer grabbed the Pro Stock No. 1 qualifier spot along with the $7,500 prize and Pro Stock Motorcycle’s Gaige Herrera continued his domination of the class winning $5,000 with the quickest run of the second session and day. Each of the cash winners also won a custom pair of CORRAL boots.
Torrence made the quickest and fastest run of his career, 3.636 seconds at 336.62 mph to run to the top of a stacked Top Fuel field. In Funny Car Bob Tasca III ran 3.822 seconds at 335.55 mph, both career best marks for the driver from Rhode Island. It also established Tasca as the quickest and fastest Ford Mustang driver in the history of the manufacturer.
“The is a special night because I am a Texan and this is the premier track in Texas,” said Torrence, a four-time Top Fuel world champion. “I have to thank the Meyer family for all they have done with the Stampede of Speed and the Texas Fall Nationals. This is a critical time in the playoffs and this race is a great event top to bottom. These Capco Boys are awesome. You always want to do well in front of your hometown fans. At the end of the day, we were the most consistent car across the board. This race is important, and we had a great day today.”
Motorsports Marketing Executive Brian Bohlander Expands Experience with Frank Hawley Drag Racing School
JOLIET, IL – For the past two decades, motorsports marketing executive Brian Bohlander has been building brands through motorsports. 
Currently, the Director of Marketing for Old World Industries, Bohlander has led a variety of marketing programs at various levels of global motorsports as well as serving this term as SEMA’s Motorsports Parts Manufactures Council (MPMC) Chair Elect.
Where Bohlander has set himself apart from so many motorsport executives is knowing what it takes on and off the track as a competitive driver. With over three decades of racing experience, Bohlander has raced everything from karts to off-road buggies. Recently, he added another title to his ever-growing list of racing accomplishments; licensed NHRA driver.
?“I’ve stood on the starting line and watched the best in the NHRA race everything from Stock to Top Fuel. The licensing experience really puts into perspective just how good all NHRA national level drivers are when races are won and lost by as little as a 0.001 of a second,” Bohlander stated after attending Frank Hawley’s Drag Racing School.
Drivers and Winners Celebrated at Inaugural Gatornationals FanFest, March 8
NHRA, 2021 Gatornats Top Fuel Champion Josh Hart host car show, autograph session, live music and more
OCALA, FL – The 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series will start at historic Gainesville Raceway for just the second time in 
nearly seven decades with the Gatornationals, March 9-12. In advance of this epic event the NHRA is joining Ocala, Florida, based Top Fuel driver and 2021 Gatornationals Top Fuel winner Josh Hart in hosting the inaugural Gatornationals FanFest on Wednesday, March 8, from 6:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. at Burnyzz Speed Shop (1 Aspen Road, Ocala, Florida).
The free to attend event will feature a car show, live music, food trucks, and a driver autograph session from 7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. that will include former Gatornationals winners and current NHRA professional drag racing stars. Proceeds from the event will be donated to Racers For Christ.
“We are excited to host this kick-off event with the NHRA to start the Gatornationals,” said Hart, multi-time Top Fuel winner. “Our goal is to have as many former Gatornationals winners and current drivers as possible for the free autograph session and to continue to grow this event to highlight the Gatornationals. This is one of the most historic motorsports events in the country and we are excited to have it in our backyard and celebrate with everyone from Ocala and around central Florida. I want to thank everyone at Burnyzz Speed Shop for supporting this great first time event.”
McKinney Corp Acquires Tommy Waters Race Car Products
LAFAYETTE, IN – Earlier this year McKinney Corp. based in Lafayette, Indiana, acquired Florida-based Tommy Waters Race Car Products 
and added the entire suite of their products to the expansive list of offerings to their long list of winning customers. Since 1981 customers who want to win and utilize the best and safest products have relied on McKinney Corp. products and services. The addition of Tommy Waters Race Car Products including SFI 4.1 Certified transmission shields, motor plates and SFI Certified 30.1 Flex Plate shields continues to make McKinney Corp. the premier destination for motorsports and fabricated products for any industry.
“We acquired Tommy Waters Race Car Products earlier this year and have been working to reach out to their customers as well as new customers,” said Murf McKinney. “We started as a motorsports company in 1981 and we have diversified into commercial machining and fabricating as well over the years. Our expert staff is growing and we are equipping them with state of the art CNC machinery.”
The SFI 4.1 transmission shields are compatible with a variety of Powerglide, Ford, Chrysler and GM transmissions while the SFI 30.1 Flex Plate shields are compatible with Powerglide, GM, Ford big and small blocks, Chrysler big and small blocks and AMC 727. Additionally, McKinney Corp will now also offer ¼” 6061 Front & Mid Motor Plates and 13 GA. Steel Mid Motor Plates for all popular applications as well as custom applications.
NHRA TEAMS HEAD TO PHOENIX FOR 2022 PRESEASON TESTING
PHOENIX, AZ – The stars of the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series will begin preparing for their pursuits of Top Fuel, Funny Car 
and Pro Stock world championships from Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park outside of Phoenix, Arizona, during the PRO Nitro Spring Training test session slated for February 10-12. The testing sessions hosted by the Professional Racing Organization will be closed to the public except for Saturday, February 12, when fans who have purchased tickets to the NHRA Arizona Nationals will have the opportunity to purchase tickets for the on-track testing action. Fans may add on test session tickets to their Arizona Nationals ticket order online or they may call the NHRA Ticket Sales Center at 800-884-6472 if Nationals tickets have been previously purchased.
Almost 30 drivers from more than a dozen of the top professional NHRA teams, including nine current or former world champions, will be testing many with brand new race cars and new sponsors.
“We are glad to bring the Nitro Spring Training event to Phoenix and Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park,” said Alan Johnson, the president of PRO. “This is an exciting time of the year when teams are getting ready for a new season. There were a lot of changes to many teams this off-season so getting drivers and cars as many passes as possible will be critical. We are looking forward to a great 2022 NHRA season and this pre-season testing session is the first chance for us to show off for our fans.”
MATC Opens Al Hurvis/PEAK Transportation Center
Public-Private Partnership Brings $3.23 Million for Program Expansion
MILWAUKEE, WI – Milwaukee Area Technical College opened the Al Hurvis/PEAK Transportation Center today 
with a ribbon cutting and tour of the newly designed education center. The Al Hurvis/PEAK Transportation Center is a hands-on automotive lab dedicated to career awareness and training in the increasingly high-tech automotive service sector and is the home base for MATC’s new RevUp program. The new center is designed to offer training opportunities for students of all ages, with special programs to help give high school and middle school students early exposure to careers in this field.
Students, business leaders, donors and MATC representatives spoke about the impact this center will have on MATC and the Milwaukee area.
MATC President Dr. Vicki J. Martin said: “We are excited to see a vision come to fruition with our partner Tom Hurvis and new program supporters, so that young people can become engaged in the in-demand world of automotive careers at MATC’s Downtown Milwaukee Campus.”
