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Milan Dragway Milan, MI
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Photo by Outlaw Photo |
This is the fourth year for this event and Milan's persistence has paid off. There were a record number of cars on the grounds to race or show.
The Geezer Gassers and ONDR groups added nicely to the show this year. The UMTR and The Great Lakes Gassers were back again this year.
The GLNFCC had 6 cars booked in for the show and we also had several members that came out to make some test passes.
The test session consisted of SusieQ, Shyster, Blue Thunder and Pure Insanity from Canada.
SusieQ came out and made a fairly straight run. Shyster Corvette came out with a long burnout and then shut off. It was later found that some extensive internal damage was done to the engine. The Blue Thunder did a good burnout but had severe front tire wobble backing up. They did not make the run and took the car back to the pit and found that the A Arms were cracked. The Pure Insanity came out and made a good 7.70 shakedown run.
About mid-afternoon the show started. First up was Sue Christophersen in the SusieQ 57 Chevy taking on Lance Good in the Sharkey's Machine Omni. Both cars came out with strong burnouts. Lance was out first on Sue but she did pass him about half-track with the chute in tow. The Omni broke a throttle cable on the run.
Photo by Outlaw Photo |
Next up was the Dazed & Confused 69 Camaro driven by Jerry Streb taking on the Red Barn Cuda driven by Bill Hallett. Both cars did half-track burnouts to the crowds delight. Jerry turned on the red light handing the win to the Red Barn Cuda with a strong 7.30.
Last pair was the Total Insanity Monza driven by Chris Massarella. This team came all the way from NJ to be a part of this event. They were matched up with the always-tough Old & Fuelish Corvette driven by John DeCort. The Monza made a strong 7.24 single, as the Corvette could not fire.
It was late afternoon and time again for another round of funny cars. Sharky's Machine took on the Total Insanity Monza. After their burnouts both cars did four old style dry hops, which the crowd just dug. The Monza was out first and held on for the win with a 7.27.
SusieQ was out to take on the Dazed & Confused Camaro. They double-checked the parachute this time. Both cars left hard with the Camaro crossing the stripe first with a 7.14/191 to the 57 Chevy's 7.51/180.
The Red Barn Cuda could not make the call so we put the Pure Insanity Firenza driven by Dave Wagner in to fill out the show, he would take on the Old & Fuelish Corvette. The Corvette stalled after the burnout but was fired up quickly and both cars staged. Both drivers left at the green but the Corvette was on a hot pass tripping the timers at 6.99/193. The Olds ran another good solid mid seven-second run. Dave should have his car all figured out for next year.
Photo by Outlaw Photo |
This was a Chicago style show so the two fastest would be in the finals and that pitted the Old & Fuelish Corvette with a 6.99 against the Dazed & Confused Camaro with a 7.14.
It was dark and the dew was moving in by the time the finals were ran and there was much concern about the track surface. Both cars came out with killer half-track burnouts and the Camaro also did a dry hop.
The Camaro was out first but the Corvette had put a tenth between them by the 1/8th mile. Down track things changed as the Camaro took the win with a 7.24/189 to a slower 7.31/152.
The Good Vibrations Quick Reaction Award goes to Jerry Streb in the Dazed & Confused Camaro with a .038 in the finals.
This race marks the end of our 2011 racing season. We had a great year, meet a lot of great fans and raced at a lot of great tracks. We will have some cars doing various displays this winter so keep an eye on our face book page for these dates.
Thanks to Bill & Pam Kapolka who own Milan Dragway and all of their fine staff for allowing us to be apart of The Gasser Finals and Funny Car Shootout. We sure look forward to going back to Milan in the future.
We thank all of our great sponsors for being on board for 2011 and hope they stay on for the 2012 season and beyond. They are Good Vibrations Motorsports, Mickey Thompson Performance Tires & Wheels, Peak Products, Heculiner and Pace Performance.
Check out our website www.glnfcc.com and our Facebook page to see what The GLNFCC is up to during the winter months.
Havana, IL
Saturday, September 24, 2011
This was the first opportunity that The GLNFCC had to race at this track. New owner Bob Gibson took over at the beginning of the year and by the look of the place, he is making a big effort to make this track a show piece.
They have lengthened the shut down by 600 feet and recently resurfaced the track beyond the concrete pad. The old owners had a yearly nostalgia event and it was a big hit. Bob decided that he wanted to continue this yearly event. It proved t be a great move as the track had a great turnout in both racers and spectators.
The two GLNFCC cars on hand were the Solid Rock Mustang driven by Rocky Ausec and the Damn Yankee Vega driven by Mark Horvath.
The first round saw both cars do long smoky burnouts. The potent Hemi powered Vega was out first and held on for the win, while Rocky showed that he could handle a funny car. The Mustang went into severe tire shake right from the start and dance around on its way down track, some say the car was completely off the ground at one point.
The Mustang and the Vega have done battle many times over the last year and Rocky was all ready to put a win in his column this time. Rocky did a true full track burnout to show Mark that he meant business. When the tee turned green the Mustang was out on the Vega and just when it looked like Rocky was finally going to get a win, the car started making some serious moves and Rocky had to back pedal allowing the Vega to sneak in the win. There was some excitement left as the Vega had a parachute malfunction and Mark had his hands full as the car bounced and slid around, but Mark got everything under control and made the turnoff safely.
The fans sure seemed to be excited with the funny cars. We look forward to bringing a bigger show to Central Illinois Dragstrip in 2012.
Thanks to all of the track personnel for treating us so well and giving us a chance to bring our traveling funny car show to Central Illinois Dragstrip.
Thanks to our sponsors; Peak Products, Mickey Thompson Performance Tires & Wheels, Heculiner, Pace Performance, Good Vibrations Motorsports.
Our 2011 racing season is over and we look forward to an equally busy 2012 schedule. Keep up to date with The GLNFCC by our website www.glnfcc.com or on Facebook. |
U.S. 131 Motorsports Park, Martin, MI
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Photo by Matt B |
Rain shut down this event last year but this year was a different story. After raining almost every day the week of the event, there was concern about getting the event in. But after some real early morning showers race day turned out to be mostly sunny and at times very warm.
By mid morning all of the show cars were in the pits and all of the teams were preparing their cars for the evening show. The nitro cars were headed up with two late model funny cars, Dale Creasy & Jack Wyatt plus Dom Lagana had his Top Fuel dragster there. Corry Hogan was also there to thrill the crowd with his Top Fuel Motorcycle.
The nostalgia nitro ranks were well represented with Troy Matins Chi Ton Hustler, Justin Grants Stardust driven by Mike Lewis; Doc Holliday had the Telstar Arrow along with the ShowTime tribute car driven by Brian Stewart. Shawn Bowen and family had their Violator Transam and Anthony Bronge was out with his Punisher Camaro.
Fran Peppler had her Rock & Roll Thunder jet funny car. The GLNFCC had 8 cars on the grounds. The Supercharged Thunder and The Great Lakes Gassers were also in attendance.
Photo by Matt B |
About mid afternoon some of the show cars made test passes. The round went well except for the Fuelish Monza from the GLNFCC. At the hit the Monza hit the wheelie bars hard and then took a hard right into the wall, hitting the front fender first then scrapping the side pretty good. Once the car was back in the pits it was revealed that the damage was mostly cosmetic except for a bent zoomie. The repairs were made with time to spare so the Monza would make the evening show.
Early evening came and it was time for the show. First pair out was Rocky Ausecs's Solid Rock Mustang and the Blue Thunder Camaro driven by Monty Stotz. Both cars got the huge crowd screaming with there burnouts. Rocky did a few dry hops ad then the two were staged. The Camaro took off first but the Mustang was on a good straight run crossing the finish line first with a 7.61.
Next up was Bill Hallett with the Red Barn Cuda taking on the DeCort brothers Old & Fuelish Corvette. John really wowed the U.S. 131 crowd with a smoky half-track burnout. The Corvette ran the nights best E.T. 7.08/188 with the Cuda playing catch up.
Third pair was two cars that have been at this for more than a few years. The Klingerman Brothers Fuelish Monza and the Horvath Family Gold Coast Charger. With both cars staged you would have thought it was 1979 and you were in the stands for The Popular Hot Rodding Meet that was held annually at this track. The Charger was out first, but the war scared Monza took the win with a 7.29. Proving that the little mishap during testing did not hurt the car.
Last pair was the Dazed & Confused Camaro driven by Jerry Streb taking on the Snakebite Mustang driven by Mike Klontz. Both cars were too eager for this run as they both turned on the red light. The Snakebite took the win with a 7.14.
Photo by Matt B |
It was getting late and when it was time to run second round the mid Michigan dew had set and it was looking like the racing surface might be a challenge.
The first pair was the Red Barn Cuda and the Fuelish Monza. The racing surface seemed to be OK as both cars made a great side by side run with the Cuda taking the win with a 7.22/185.
Next up were the Blue Thunder Camaro and the Gold Coast Charger. Both drivers did their job on the tree with the Charger turning on a .01 light. The Charger held on for the win but not without the car moving around a little down track.
The Solid Rock Mustang and the Dazed & Confused Camaro were up next. Both cars did great smoky burnouts with a few dryhops. The Mustang ran another great hard run but the Camaro hooked and ran a hard 7.21 for the win.
Last pair was the Old & Fuelish Corvette and the Snakebite Mustang. After his usual hard burnout John staged the Corvette but had issues off the line and was in and out of the throttle all the way down the track. The Mustang took the win, but not without some traction issues of it's own. The Mustang skated down the quarter mile staying away from the wall.
The crowd sure got to see a great show with late model & nostalgia nitro funny cars, alcohol funny cars, a jet funny car, a top fuel motorcycle and dragster. Plus there were also multiple classes of bracket racing.
Mark Horvath with the Gold Coast Charger took home The Good Vibration Motorsports Quick Reaction Time award with a .0118
Thanks to our sponsors Mickey Thompson Performance Tires & Wheels, Peak Products, Herculiner, Good Vibrations Motorsports and Pace Performance.
A big thanks to all of the track personnel at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park for providing us a safe and fast track to play on.
Next stop Shannonvile Motorsports Park in Ont. Canada.
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Pittsburgh Raceway Park, New Alexandria, PA
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Photo by Bob Wenzelburger |
For the fifth consecutive year, Funny Cars from the GLNFCC participated in the Pittsburgh International Dragway and Keystone Raceway Park Reunion and nostalgia event at Pittsburgh Raceway Park.
Along with the GLNFCC, the event included the Tri-State Stock/Super Stock Association along with a special "Hot Rod" Eliminator for car 1979 and older, Nostalgia Super Stockers, a car cruise, the Southern Slingshots, the East Coast AA/Gas Super Charged Racers Association and a special appearance by the 1989 NHRA Funny Car Champion, Bruce Larson.
The GLNFCC members put on a great show after some exhausting efforts by the track crew of PRP preparing the quarter-mile surface after several days of heavy rain showers.
Local FC shoe Lance Good and his Sharky's Machine '79 Dodge Omni and Greg Mauchmer in the Rat Poison '78 Corvette were the first pair out with Mauchmer slapping a .0891 reaction on Good's Hemi while en route to the win.
It was later discovered at Good had broken an intake pushrod on the run slowing the Omni down right after the veteran driver had hit high gear.
Mauchmer slowed to an 8.02, 149 mph run on his first pass at PRP in his Corvette.
The next pair matched the Small Bock 1969 Chevy Nova of Shaun McHattie against Butch "the Showman" Chovan and his 1976 Mustang II.
Photo by Bob Wenzelburger |
Both drivers anticipating the green light turned on the big red bulb with Chovan being the least early on activation picked up the win with an ET of 7.58 at 171.04 mph. McHattie went the fastest of all first round competitors with a 7.57 at a blistering 180.22 mph. in a losing effort.
The final pair pitted the Visionary 1972 Cuda of Scott Hohensee and the Sweetman Brothers 1979 Chevrolet Citation.
In a very close battle to the stripe, it was the Visionary Cuda edging out Drew Sweetman with a 7.50 pass at 172.28 mph to a slowing 7.60 at 151.52 mph. Sweetman had the advantage off the line but the Hemi powered Citation nosed over as the burst panel let go right before the 1000' mark giving the win to Hohensee.
Both Good and Sweetman made the necessary repairs and were ready to face off in round two but Mother Nature threw everyone a big curve as the showers that missed us earlier in the day came back and ended the event midway through the round.
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Great Lakes Dragaway, Union Grove, WI
September 3rd & 4th, 2011
Photo by Bill Swanson |
The GLNFCC was a part of drag racing history this past weekend. We had the privilege to be a part of an event that has been going on for well over 30 years. This is the Time Machine Nationals that was started by Broadway Bob and is held every Labor Day weekend.
The line up this year was amazing. They had jets, nostalgia super stocks & pro stocks, pro mods, nitro nostalgia front engine dragsters and funny cars, injected nitro dragsters, wheel standers, and much more. To say the almost capacity crowd got their moneys worth would be an understatement.
The biggest disappointment was that the Saturday show was a washout due to rain, but the Sunday show started early and went on till almost midnight. The show started at five o clock and ran continuously until it was completed.
Photo by Bill Swanson |
The first pair of GLNFCC cars out was the Damn Yankee Vega driven by Mark Horvath taking on the Snakebite Mustang drive by Mike Klontz. When these two cars are paired up you know it's going to be a battle. Both cars came out with hard burnouts. Mark treed the Mustang and gave him a hard fought battle with the Mustang winning out at the stripe with a 6.80/204 to a losing 7.16/190.
Next out was the Solid Rock Mustang driven by Rocky Ausec taking on the Detroit Thunder T-Bird driven by Bill Hallett. Rocky did a few of his trademark dry hops and staged first. The Mustang was out first and held on until the Mustang got a little sideways allowing the T-Bird to catch up and take the win.
The return road runs in front of the stands and when the funny cars came back after their runs the crowd was just wild, screaming and clapping. You sure could tell they liked the funny cars. Funny car shows used to be a regular here but I think it has been a long time since they have had a big funny car show. Ill bet if he fans have anything to say about it funny cars will be back.
After more great racing, the jets came out and then it was time for the funnies again. This time up first was the Solid Rock Mustang taking on the Damn Yankee. Night had fallen and the track had cooled down. This proved to be a factor as both cars fought the 1/4 mile but seem to hook up down track. The Damn Yankee took the win with a 7.19/188, proving to be the most consistent car of the night.
Next up was the Snakebite taking on the Detroit Thunder. With the burnouts complete both car staged. Mike was out first with the Mustang trying to redeem himself for the bad light from he first round. Just past the tree the T-Bird got sideways and very close to the left wall. The Mustang did not hook up as well as usual but crossed the finish line and took the win.
Photo by Bill Swanson |
Rocky Ausec took home The Good Vibrations Motorsports Reaction Time Award with a .045 light from the firs round.
Thanks to our sponsors Mickey Thompson Performance Tires & Wheels, Peak, Herculiner, Good Vibrations Motorsports and Pace Performance for their support.
Thanks to all of the fine folks at Great Lakes Dragaway. We look forward to being a part of their 2012 schedule.
Next up Saturday, September 10th two big shows. PID/Keystone Nostalgia Nationals at Pittsburgh Raceway Park and The Funny Car Nationals at U.S. 131 in Martin, MI. |
Dunn Tire Raceway Park, Clarence, NY
Friday, August 26th, 2011
This is the third year for this event. The previous years the event had been ran the Friday of Fourth Of July weekend, but this year they moved the event to the end of August.
We were to bring 8 cars to this show but due to an error on the GLNFCC director's part we only had seven cars for the show. But they all vowed to put on a great show to make up for the missing car.
It was a nice late August night with clear skies and temps in the mid seventies First pair out was the Rat Poison Corvette driven by Greg Mauchmer taking on the Total Insanity Monza driven by Chris Massarella. Both cars came out with great burnouts. Krista Massarella was backing up her husband looking a lot like Jungle Pam. Krista was recently crowned Best Back Up Girl at the Funny Car Reunion held at Englishtown N.J. and the Funny Car Nationals held at Marion County International Raceway in LaRue, Oh. The Monza was out first and held on for the win.
Next up the Dazed & Confused 69 Camaro driven by Jerry Streb was taking on the Visionary Cuda driven by Scott Hohensee, this is Scott's home track. It seemed like both drivers were trying to break in a new set of slicks because they had so much smoke in the air you couldn't see the other side of the track. During the burnout the Cuda got a little sideways and came real close to the concrete wall. The Camaro was out first but the Cuda tried real hard to run the Camaro down but ran out of track.
Next up was Robb Bundy's Shellshock 72 Vega taking on Lance Good's Omni. Lance's throttle stuck on the burnout and he just drove the car down the track giving the Vega an easy win.
Last up was the Old & Fuelish Corvette driven by John DeCort. John made the spectators forget he was making a single as he did a full track smoky burnout and clicked the timers with a 4.95.
Second round was under the lights and the dew had moved in real heavy. Several of the teams had a challenge keeping their windshield clear.
First up was Sharky's Machine Omni. Lance did a long burnout and then for some reason changed lanes and backed up in the opposite lane that he started in. I'm sure this was to wow the crowd. The car did not stick in the fresh lane so Lance was on and off of the throttle the whole way down the track.
Next pair up was the Visionary Cuda and the Rat Poison Corvette. The Cuda had problems staging and never lit the bulbs. The Corvette staged and took the win.
Next Pair was the Old & Fuelish Corvette taking on the Shellshock Vega. Both cars did strong burnouts with the Corvette again doing an almost full track burnout. The Corvette took off first and turned on the win light with a 4.68/147.
Last pair was the two fastest from the first round. The Dazed & Confused Camaro with a 4.73 taking on the Total Insanity Monza with a 4.77. After the fire up the Monza had some issues with the dew on the windshield but that seem to go away once the body got a little heat on it. Both cars did half-track smoky burnouts. Both cars also did a few dry hops as they staged. The Monza was out first winning the Good Vibrations Motorsports Reaction Time Award with a .494 light. The Monza gave up a fight but the Camaro took the win for the night with a 4.62/148 to a losing 4.73/143.
Bill Leverentz Of Oddy's Performance put up an impromptu burnout contest. He awarded the $100.00 cash prize to Jerry Streb with the Dazed & Confused Camaro. We want to thank Bill for this spur of the moment incentive.
This was a Fan Choice Award event and there was a tie, giving the award to the Old & Fuelish Corvette and the Total Insanity Monza. This award is presented by Good Vibrations Motorsports.
As always we want to thank Good Vibrations Motorsports, Mickey Thompson Performance Tires & Wheels, Herculiner, Peak Automotive Products and Pace Performance for supporting The GLNFCC.
Thank you to the track personnel at Dunn Tire Raceway Park for allowing us to bring our traveling funny car show to their track and giving us a safe place to race.
Next event is The Olympics of Drag Racing at Great Lakes Dragaway in Union Grove, WI. on Sept. 3rd. & 4th. Hope to see ya there.
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Marion County International Raceway, La Rue, OH
Saturday, August 6th, 2011
Side Job Photos B&W photo rendition of John Troxel's Mopar Crazy Challenger. Credit: www.SideJobPhotos.com |
By nightfall on Friday night the pits were filled, there were only a few teams left to come in on Saturday. There was much going on as the teams prepped the cars for the upcoming battle pitting The Midwest funny cars against The East Coast funny cars.
Saturday started with the sun shining. This gave all of the teams a chance to catch up with everyone. This is the only time of the year that some of the teams have an opportunity to see one another.
Late morning the first rain came and we would see it again several times during the day. We found out later that we were lucky as it rained off and on all day around the track.
The show got a late start but we were able to get two rounds of racing in before the rain finally put an end to the day.
Bob Rosetty with the Rollin' Stoned Cuda found out early that he had a problem with a piston and could not run. Dave Cobbs who runs the Finders Keepers Willys gasser also had his funny car project in the trailer. The pistons in his car would work in the Cuda, so they stripped his engine and it became a piston donor. Hats off to Dave Cobb, this is what funny car racing is all about.
Kevin and John Johnson's Glory Daze '67 Camaro provides wheels-up action every time. Credit: Jeff Unfried Photos |
All of the cars were towed down the strip and introduced to the excited crowd. We had 32 cars show up with 31 running down the strip.
First round of the injected cars brought out a great show. Kevin Johnson and the old school Glory Daze Camaro was hanging the front-end way up in the air. Many of the cars did dry hops.
The sun had set so the second round was under the lights. Willie Johnson with the No Money, No Funny Nova made a solid pass, he had some issues the first round. George Monahan came down from Bright, Ont. Canada and made a good showing, with his second pass putting him in the finals against Frank Barnard and the Poison Arrow.
There were a total of 22 blown cars in competition. The drivers were talking smack all day long. The first pair was two drivers that know how to do a burnout. Bob Toth in the Tweety's Rat Vega, and John DeCort in the Old & Fuelish Corvette. This got the crowd fired up.
The heavily favored East Coast Screamin' Eagle driven by Rocky Pirone came out and darn near did a full quatermile burnout. I think he was throwing down the gauntlet.
John Cerchio brought out the beautiful Warpath Buick Somerset all the way from NJ. This is definitely a car you must see in person.
John Troxel with the Mopar Crazy Challenger brought a little tuning help with him, Roland Leong. His tuning tips paid off as Chris Schneider drove the car hard to a personal best E.T. of 7.88
Two times FCN champ Mike Klontz with his '79 Mustang put to rest the idea that the track went away with the rain, as he stopped the clocks with a 6.87/203.
Sue Christohersen was out with her and her husbands new Susie Q '57 Chevy. They finally tamed the beast down and made a nice 7.52 pass that went straight down broadway.
Second round for the blown cars was late and there was concern about the dew setting in.
The second pair up was the Snakebite Mustang taking on the Screamin Eagle TransAm.
Many thought they would see this air in the finals. Both cars sounded real stout and came out just boiling the tires. As the TransAm backed up Rocky had the flame show going which got the crowds approval. The TransAm was denied the ride to the finals as the Mustang took care of business with another six-second pass.
Chris Massarella with the Total Insanity Monza ran at Lebanon Valley Raceway in NY. on Friday night and loaded up to travel the 12 hours just to be a part of this great race.
Rob Bundy with the Shellshock Vega came from Pa and put down two solid 7.60 runs for his first visit to Ohio.
The final round pitted the Snakebite Mustang against the Rollin' Stoned Cuda.
Due to the rain that threatened the area the attendance was down but it was confirmed that the spectators that braved the weather sure got to see a great show.
As the finals were in the staging lanes the weather turned bad and was the beginning of a storm that laid down 3 ½ inches of water in about two hours. The show was over. The winners were crowned by virtue of the quicker E.T.
Frank Barnard's 2nd event win in 2 years. Takes the injected class again in 2011. Credit: www.SideJobPhotos.com |
Frank Barnard with the Poison Arrow became a two time FCN winner and Mike Klontz with the Snakebite Mustang posted his third consecutive FCN title.
Special thanks to all of the fine companies that help support this event and The GLNFCC. Mike's Roofing, Pace Performance, Peak Products, Herculiner, Good Vibrations Motorsport and Mickey Thompson Performance Tires & Wheels.
The following companies posted special awards for the event. Len Hughes Magneto, Sylvanson Web Technologies, Straightline Designs, Minute Man Staffing, Warped Worm Engineering, Classy Carts, and Vic Miller. Check out the website to see the various winners.
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National Trail Raceway, Hebron, OH
Saturday, July 16th, 2011
They brought out the smoke and fire at National Trail Raceway Saturday Night. The GLNFCC had six cars on hand along with the two jet trains Chattanooga Choo Choo and the Cannon ball Express, Bob Motz had his Jet Kenworth and new to the area, the Wheelie Wagon from Granger, IN. Also on hand was the Rat Trap and the Bradford family fuel altered.
The night started with all of the exhibition drivers being paraded down the track and introduced to the crowd.
The first pair of funny cars were the Dazed & Confused 69 Camaro of Jerry Streb and the Snakebite Mustang wheeled by Mike Klontz. Both cars started off with long burnouts and just before staging Jerry did a few dry hops. Mike was on his game as he took the lead with a .037 R.T. but ran into traction issues early with the Camaro taking the win with a 7.35/186.
Next up was the Fuelish Monza driven by Tracy Klingerman taking on The Solid Rock Mustang. The Monza was unable to start so Rocky made a single. The Mustang was in the same mess the Snakebite hit as the car sashayed all the way down the track never really hooking up.
The Old & Fuelish Corvette driven by John DeCort was next up taking on the Red Baron Mustang II driven by Butch Chovan. Both of these cars did a killer burnout that got the fans on there feet. Butch stunned John with a .000 R.T. but the Corvette caught up early and passed the Mustang II taking the win.
Monty Stotz with the Blue Thunder was on hand to do some testing, but he got the chance to run the Fuelish Monza as they had fixed the issue that kept them from running earlier. The Blue Thunder was out first but shook one of the parachutes loose. Tracey managed a good straight run stopping the clocks with a 7.37/182.
Second round started with the Fuelish Monza taking on the Snakebite Mustang. This time the Mustang was in the left lane which proved to be the better lane most of the night. After the burnouts both cars staged and the Mustang was out first, This time it was the Monza’s turn to try and manage the tricky lane. The Monza danced all over and seemed to come very close to the wall. The Mustang hooked up and ran the best E.T. of the night at 7.31/178. After the run the Fuelish team did find out that they ever so slightly grazed the retaining wall.
The Solid Rock was up next taking on the Old & Fuelish Corvette. Both cars filled the air with smoky burnouts and the Mustang did a few dry hops. This time up Rocky was in the better lane but was unable to hook up and gave the crowd a great show. The Corvette ran another solid run.
Next up was the Red Baron Mustang II and the Dazed & Confused Camaro. Both cars did half track burnouts with something breaking on the Mustang II. The Camaro was shut off while they towed the Red Baron off the track since it was so far down the 1/4 mile.
Again Monty was ready to make a test run so he was paired up against the Dazed & Confused Camaro. Since the Dazed & Confused car had already did it’s burnout Monty went first and then Jerry did a short burnout and staged. Jerry was out first and took the win. Monty made a good straight pass without the parachute coming out early.
This was a Chicago style show so the two quickest met in the final. That was the Snakebite Mustang with a 7.31 taking on the Dazed & Confused Camaro with a 7.35. Both cars thundered to the line boiling the huge slicks. The Mustang moved first and hung on for the win with the Camaro having trouble hooking up.
Good Vibrations has put together a new award for this year called the fan choice award. This was the first event for this award. The clean 69 Camaro Blue Thunder of Monty Stotz won the award.
Good Vibrations also sponsors the Quick Reaction Award which without any doubt goes to Butch Chovan with a perfect .000 light.
The Heculiner Tough Luck Award also goes to Butch for a close race with The Old & Fuelish Corvette.
Thanks to our Sponsors: Peak Performance Products, Mickey Thompson Performance Tires & Wheels, Good Vibrations Motorsports and Heculiner.
Thank you to all of the fine folks at National Trail Raceway and we hope too be back next year for this fun event.
Next stop 4th Annual Nostalgia Funny Car Nationals at Marion County International Raceway. |
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SkyView Drags, Tioga Center, NY
Saturday, May 28th, 2011
After the success of last year's inaugural Old School Nostalgia Nights the track management decided to make this event a yearly Memorial Day weekend event.
They added a NETO point's race to this year's event along with several nostalgia brackets, and again included The Great Lakes Nostalgia Funny Car Circuit. The GLNFCC had 6 cars booked into the event.
Two nights before the event the area saw very severe thunderstorms that wrecked havoc with the local landscape. With this setback and the possibility of more rain the decision was made to run the event but cut the funny car field down to two cars. The GLNFCC brought in the Tweety's Rat Vega and the Rollin' Stoned Cuda.
Due to the storm, there was a light crowd, but at almost any time during the day there were spectators watching the work going on in the funny car pits.
The first round had both funny cars doing smoky burnouts and a few dry chirps. Both cars responded to the Christmas tree with almost identical lights. Bob Rosetty driving the Rollin' Stoned Cuda took the win over Bob Toth in the Tweety's Rat Vega.
After several rounds of the nostalgia brackets it was time for the funnies to do battle one more time. The crowd loved the long burnouts. This time the Cuda moved first on the Vega but it was all over as something let go on the Cuda and it just coasted down the track. The Vega crossed the stripe with 4.81/142.
So on this day they split the wins, with Bob Rosetty taking the Good Vibrations Reaction Time award.
We would like to thank the staff at Skyview Drags and look forward to getting back on top of the hill.
Great Lakes Dragaway, Union Grove, WI
Saturday, May 28th, 2011
This is a yearly Memorial Day weekend ritual that has been going on at Great Lakes Dragaway for well over 20 years. This year The GLNFCC was fortunate to have the opportunity to be a part of this show.
The Solid Rock Mustang, the Shyster Corvette, the Red Barn Cuda and the Gold Coast Charger were there to make two runs both on Saturday and Sunday.
The day started with rain but by early afternoon it had stopped and the track drying procedure had begun. Bracket cars were ran for a while to help get the track pepped for the evening show.
The alcohol funny cars were first up. The Solid Rock Mustang was sent out first to take on the Shyster Corvette. This car is run by the Hallet family and was campaigned as an injected car last year. Over the winter the motor was beefed up and a blower replaced the injectors. The car also received a new candy paint job that really catches the light.
The Corvette left on the Mustang but both drivers found they had to use the steering wheel as the track had trouble holding the big slicks. The Mustang took the win over the Corvette.
Next pair was the Damn Yankee Vega and the Red Barn Cuda; this is the Detroit Thunder chassis with a new Cuda body that was mounted this winter. The name comes from the old hamburger chain called Red Barn. Keith Hallett, Bills dad had driven a car owned by Detroit Dragway back in the 70's with the Red Barn name. Bill and his family wanted to show tribute to his dad and his racing career, so they recreated the Cuda.
Mark Horvath the driver of the Damn Yankee was back to his quick reaction award wining forum and left on the Cuda with a .053 R.T. Both cars had issues with traction early on but seem to hookup down track. At the end the Vega nipped the Cuda for the win.
Second round pitted the Red Barn Cuda against the Solid Rock Mustang. Both cars did great burnouts with the Mustang thrilling the crowd with old school dryhops. The Cuda took off first and never looked back as Rocky had to pedal the Mustang a few times.
Next up the Shyster Corvette taking on the Damn Yankee. Nick left on Mark, but some how the Vega found the groove and Mark held on for a great 7.39 on a tricky track.
Sunday was canceled due to rain. The GLNFCC will be back at Great Lakes Dragaway for their Labor Day weekend show.
The GLNFCC would like to thank Great Lakes Dragaway for making us a part of their show.
Quaker City Motorsports Park, Salem, OH
Sunday, May 29th, 2011
This was to be the first big show for the new owner and staff. This was going to be a huge day of nostalgia racing, with the Southern Slingshots, the UMTR, Midwest Super Stock and The GLNFCC on hand to put on a show.
This was to be the first event of the year since all previous attempts had been rained out. In fact it rained for a few hours in the early morning hours the day of the event
The day started with cars coming through the gates early. All morning there was a steady stream of race cars and spectators coming into the track.
After several hours of track prep and continued water sweeping the event was called. The event looked like it would have been a success as car count and spectator count looked to be real strong for a first year event. Track management is planning on rescheduling this event, so keep and eye on our website for updates.
We would like to thank our sponsors for their support Mickey Thompson Performance Tires & Wheels, Peak Antifreeze, Good Vibrations Motorsports and Herculiner Do It Yourself Bedliner. |
Grand Bend MotorPlex, Grand Bend, ON
May 21-22nd, 2011
This event is Grand Bends first big event of the year; only this year it was also the first time that they could run a race due to the unusually wet spring weather.
The GLNFCC brought in four cars for a Chicago Style show, with all four cars making two passes on Saturday and one on Sunday with the two quickest coming back for the finals.
Saturday was a great day for racing as the sun was shining and the temperature was up in the 70's. By late afternoon we were ready to make our first pass. There had been a lot of racing during the day, plus the debut of a new Pro Mod group. The group is called HURA, for Heads Up Racing Association.
First pair up was Jerry Streb with the Dazed & Confused Camaro and RockyAusec in The Solid Rock Mustang. The drivers had talked before the show and vowed to put on a race to remember. Jerry came out first with one of his killer burnouts, Rocky was not going to lay down and he boiled his new Mickey Thompson slicks. They both then did a few dry hops and a cool old school short burst over the line. At that moment it felt like the 70's all over again.
The pair was staged and Rocky was off first. The Camaro crossed the finish line first with a 7.26/175 and the Mustang followed with a solid 7.60/171
Next up the Snakebite Mustang of Mike Klontz and the Visionary Cuda driven by Scott Hohensee. Both cars started their burnouts together and fogged out the starter. They also did a few dry hops. Mike was on with a .055 R.T. and held on for the win with a 7.18/182. The Visionary Cuda seems to be right where they left off last year with a 7.47/166.
As the sun was setting we were called to the lanes for our second run. First up was the Visionary Cuda taking on the Solid Rock Mustang. Both cars got the fans screaming with great burnouts. The Mustang did a short burst over the line again. Rocky seems to be having fun doing them. The Cuda did two hard dryhops. Both cars took off hard with Rocky taking a real hard stab at the right guardrail, he battled the car the whole run and had to finally get off the gas. The Visionary took the win with a 7.51/174.
Next up were the two heavy weights from the first round, the Snakebite with a 7.18 and the Camaro with a 7.26. Both cars started with a half-track burnout and then were all business. The Camaro moved first with a .043 R.T but by half-track the Mustang was out front and crossed the stripe with the chutes out running a 6.96/185.The Camaro had some issues and ran a 7.39/180.
Sunday morning brought us rain but it stopped early and the staff worked hard to get the tracked dried off.
The morning warm up started fine but brought a few problems. During the warm up George Monahan who was helping Rocky for the weekend noticed a transmission line pouring tranny fluid on the ground. He shut Rocky off and before you knew it the other teams were in action helping Rocky get the line replaced.
Shortly before we were to run Jerry decided to start up the Camaro for a quick warm-up. Something did not sound right and it was determined that the blower o-ring had lost it's seal. Again the other teams jumped in and got the blower off, the o-ring replaced and back together with time to spare.
The third run for the weekend brought out the Visionary Cuda taking on the Dazed & Confused Camaro. Both cars did two smoky burnouts and then some old school dryhops. I think these two still have a rivalry going from their Supercharged Warrior days. Scott was off first but by halftrack the Camaro was gaining on the Cuda and finished with a 7.39/181 to the Visionary's 7.52/178.
Next up the Snakebite Mustang taking on the Solid Rock Mustang. The Solid Rock Mustang did good burnout and pulled to the line, the motor was still warm from the late warm up. Both cars left the line together with the Snakebite having some issues at half-track and Rocky took the win. 7.64/175 to the Snakebites 7.92/172.
Mid afternoon came and it was time for the finals. This paired the Snakebite with a 6.96 against the Dazed & Confused Camaro with a 7.26. The Snakebite was first to start the burnouts with the Camaro having problems with his burnout. Jerry backed up real fast and did a short burnout as not to hold up Mike. The pair staged and the Camaro was Snake bit as Mike laid down a .004 R.T. and never looked back with a 7.18/176, while the Camaro crossed the line with a 7.59/170.
The Good Vibrations Reaction Time Award goes to Mike Klontz with a .004 R.T.
The Herculiner Tough Luck Award goes to Scott Hohensee with a .13 difference with his run against the Dazed & Confused Camaro.
As always we would like to thank our sponsors, Good Vibrations Motorsports, Herculiner, Mickey Thompson Performance Tires & Wheels, and Peak Performance Products.
We want to thank Paul, Ron and all of the great staff at Grand Ben Motorplex for letting us be a part of this years Rudy Helds Performance Centre Spring Blow Out. As always the track and facility was great and if you have never been to this track you need to check it out. |
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