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Rain washes out the finals at Rockingham. It will be rescheduled for the same weekend as their Fall "World Finals" event. To to Drag Race Central for the details March 29, 2003 "33rd Spring Nationals presented by Castrol"(Photos by Guy Van Syckle and Gerry Frechette and are copyright speedzonemagazine.com) "The Night of Fire" at the IHRA national events is one of the most exciting things about the IHRA. When the weather cooperates, or at the right time of the year. When it isn't the right time, it can be a downright waste of effort by the teams and by the time spent in the stands by the fans. By the looks of Saturday's result (now I'm not there but from reports), this was one of the bad days for "Night of Fire'". According to Larry Sullivan at Drag Race Central, the race gods played a huge joke on the track surface tonight. The track appeared good, but most cars were slipping and sliding all over the place to the point where, the decision was made for single runs to be run by the pros. In Top Fuel, Only Rhonda Hartman got down the track and she did in pretty fine fashion, as she jumped into the #2 slot with a 4.77 at 308 mph. Only here husband John Smith ran within a 1/2 second of her lap. John ran 5.23 at 278 to move into the # 5 spot. Tim Cullinan ran a 5.50 to squeak into the #8 position. The other four cars, including Millican who qualified earlier with a great 4.69 and Litton (who ended up not qualified), could not get past the 60 marker, before going up in smoke. In Pro Stock, 11 cars tried to get down the track (all singles), and only one ran in the 6's, as Jerry Haas ran a 6.73, but could not go quicker than the 6.63 necessary to get in the field. In Funny Car, it got even worse, when one (yes 1) tried in vain, to get into the pretty quick field. Number 19 qualifier Bobby Martindale could not get past 200 feet and failed to top the 6.09 bump. Pro Modified saw 18 of the 46 cars entered try and navigate the 1320, all running singles again, but no one bumped into the field or made improvements in their positions. Mike Lockwood and Thomas Patterson both ran in the 6.30's but could reach the 6.306 mark necessary. Notable was Mike Janis' failure to bump into the field. Tomorrow should be a much better day as they have 12 hours to rework the track and then run in sunlight and warm temperatures. Go to Drag Race Central for all the numbers and ladders for Sunday's eliminations March 28, 2003 Rockingham, North Carolina Preview. After the inaugural and rain delayed, but successful Texas Nationals
in San Antonio, the IHRA tour headed east for the 33rd running of
the Spring Nationals hosted by Rockingham Raceway. This is the longest
running National event in the other sanctioning body and has always
had a large car count in good crowds. This year, the Top Fuel fields
look to be as strong as they have been in years, with the crossover
of rules to match the NHRA. Pro Mod will be a very tough field with close to 40 cars entered. The big question is whether or not nitrous guru Shannon Jenkins can recapture his 2002 dominant form or if the likes of the "cocky" Radiac Maniac Mitch Stott, Fred Hahn, Mike Janis or Canadian Al Billes in the blown cars can be as dominant as Jenkins was in 2002. The departure of Nitro Harley is going to leave a huge void in their "Night of Fire" Pro shows in my opinion, as I can't understand why the powers that be did not keep the class and finance in themselves. The Entry fees that the "I" charges would have covered part of the prize money and I bet the tracks would be willing of putting up a bit more of the money anyway. Don't they pay the purses anyway. Not being a East Coast guy I am a bit out of the loop so to speak. Funny car is without Jimmy Rector and Laurie Cannister this year (two of the top five points earners from 2002). But there should be enough others to pull up the slack. Pro Stock is a bitchin class if for no other reason, than it is a class dominated by Fords. And the cars are fast 6.50's at over 210 mph. After the first day Pro Mod was awesome though. 46 cars are on the premises, and
the bump is already close to an all time record. Mitch Scott leads
with a 6.156 Funny Car has Canadian Rob Atchison, from London Ontario,
Pro Stock has 25 cars attempting to qualify and so far it
is all Fords on top, as the top 7 are all under the Blue Oval banner.
Pete Berner leads so far, after running his best ever, a great 6.538
at 211 mph. Just behind is Carl Baker with a 6.552, and
March 17, 2003. BUMPER TO BUMPER NAMED "NIGHT OF FIRE" SPONSOR FOR INAUGURAL ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONALS (courtesy IHRA) Norwalk, OH – IHRA and Budweiser Motorsports Park announce Bumper To Bumper has signed on as Saturday’s "Night of Fire" sponsor for the inaugural Rocky Mountain Nationals presented by GM Goodwrench Dealers of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, June 27 – 29.
Headquartered in Edmonton, Bumper To Bumper has 105 auto part stores located in Western Canada, from Thunder Bay, Northwestern Ontario to Eastern British Columbia including the Yukon, and Northwest Territories. Bumper To Bumper distributes a full range of automotive repair parts, equipment, tools, and accessories to the wholesale and D.I.Y. markets. "Bumper To Bumper has a great history of supporting motorsports events and drivers in Western Canada," stated Kimberly Reeves, Budweiser Motorsports Park Event Coordinator. "We are very happy to have them as a partner for our inaugural Hooters IHRA National Event." March 17, 2003 The Funny car class for the IHRA National event will see the partnership of two different TAD/TAFC teams to form two alky funny car teams for that event. Edmonton resident John Evanchuk (of Red Wolf Fame), hired gun for Dave Dickison's "Team Roadway Top Alcohol Funny Car", bought Bucky Austin 2001/2002 roller and will join up with Serge Dion (TAD racer) who will supply the blower and some tuning assistance. John's usual combination is PSI based; but the two though why let this opportunity go unchallenged. Here are a couple of pictures of Johns car with new paint from the Edmonton show.
The other one is a long distance deal to unite two top alcohol guys to run a roots blown alcohol funny car at the IHRA Rocky Mountain Nationals at Edmonton's Bud Park. The long distance part comes into play as the funny car runs out of the Vancouver area while the other racer has a roots alcohol dragster running out of Edmonton.
March 15, 2003 Guaranteed Incentives Paid at Rocky Mountain Nationals!
As historic as Budweiser Motorsports Park is, this incentive program assures that even greater history will be written in the annals of drag racing lore. Every successful Professional racer who is attracted to money will be there. Professional drag racers and Edmonton fans will be delighted to learn that IHRA will provide a special payout incentive for the Professional categories at the Rocky Mountain Nationals, held on June 27-29, 2003. These payouts will be earned against each teams winnings and will be based on seasonal points totals. "We wanted to reward, both the racers and the fans who come to the Rocky Mountain Nationals and the payout incentives seemed to be the best way," said Budweiser Motorsports Park President Rob Reeves. "Our goal is to reward our professional racers who place well in their category and make the long tow to Edmonton. Plus, we wanted to assure our Edmonton fans that they will see a great weekend of racing." The payout incentives break down as follows: Category Points Totals Incentive Amount In order to receive these incentives, a team must hold a top 12, 18, or 8 standing in their category, make two rounds of qualifying (including the Night of Fire), and if qualified, run the first round of eliminations. If you do not qualify, but otherwise meet the above criteria, you will still receive the incentive amount. If it rains, the race will be run to completion (on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday - whatever is necessary.)
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March 30,2003 
NHRA
competitors, the Hartman-Smith team as well as the Carrier Boyz (who
were set to compete until the unfortunate accident by driver Andrew
Cowin) Top Fuel team are just a couple that will make the odd stint
to the "I". Of course with defending series champ Clay Millican
and past champ Bruce Litton regulars on the tour and a handful of
other regulars that are slowly working their way up in performance,
the field could be close to a 4 second bump.
of
qualifying under overcast skies and the odd shower throughout the
day, Top Fuel ended up the way it is almost every weekend,
with Clay Millican on top after running a great 4.69 at only 295 mph.
Three tenths behind him (with a 4.97) was Ken Zeal in the Paul Smith
school car. Danny Dunn was third with a 5.07, and the rest of the
field struggled with tire smoke and boomers. 
and
Canuck Al Billes is just a couple ticks back with a great 6.190. Shannon
Jenkinsmade the quickest pass ever for a nitrous car as he ran a great
6.209 to put him in fourth place, with just the mph being slower than
Fred Hahn's identical et. Paul Athey is anchoring the field so fat
with a 6.306. The lone West Coast competitor Dennis Radford is well
back after running mid 6.30's on both his passes.
on
top after the first two sessions, with a great 5.83 at 238 mph. 2003
favorite Mark Thomas is in the two hole after a 5.87, and John Vouros
is #3 after a 5.90. Of Note, Von Smith is back in a roots car as he
returned to the "I", and ran a 5.95 at only 222 mph. 
Charlie
Peppers is #3 after running a 6.554. Chassis Builder Jerry Haas is
#16 right now with a respectable 6.638. Stay tuned tomorrow for the
final qualifying a pit notes. Go to 
The
Rocky Mountain Nationals presented by GM Goodwrench Dealers of Alberta,
race number 5 of the 12-event Hooters IHRA Drag Racing Series, marks
the first national drag racing event in Western Canada. Professional
and sportsman racers will compete in the three-day race, including
Top Fuel, Pro Modified, Funny Car and Pro Stock. Saturday’s "Night
of Fire", presented by Bumper to Bumper, features professional
qualifying under the lights, exhibition and jet cars, and a giant
fireworks display. The track is located just south of Edmonton, adjacent
to the Edmonton International Airport.
"Bumper
To Bumper is proud to be involved with IHRA and the Rocky Mountain
Nationals," said Sales and Marketing Manager Gary Ritz. "We
are extremely excited to sponsor the Night of Fire and glad IHRA has
come to Edmonton."
(Joey's Place Photos 2003)
Leon
Aines from Vancouver Island in the Beach City Corvette TAFC and Ken
Sitko and the Sitko Family Racing TAD are the partners for this event.
Loen supplies the hard ware were as, Ken will provide the tuning for
this venture. There are also unconfirmed reports circulating of other
higher profile race teams scrambling to put together roots/alky funny
car combos for this national event. More news as it becomes available.
Edmonton,
Alb., CAN - Make your plans now to attend the great race at the Rocky
Mountain Nationals at Budweiser Motorsports Park. The countryside
is beautiful, the people are friendly and they are happy to have drag
racers visit them. And the drag racers will be there because THEY
WILL BE OFFERED FINANCIAL INCENTIVES TO RACE!