Sept. 10, 2005 (courtesy DRC)

The second day of qualifying at the Tenthh annual Amalie Oil North American Nationals saw
numerous world records broken, as Fred Tigges (Funny Car) and Steve Spiess (Torco Pro Stock)
both put their personal stamps on the record books. Doug Foley qualified number one in Top
Fuel, Carl Spiering qualified number one in Torco Pro Mod, Tigges number one in Funny Car, and
Spiess number one in Torco Pro Stock heading into Sunday finals.

The quickest and fastest IHRA Torco Pro Stock race ever came down to the wire when a former
two-time World Champion raced side by side with the driver who currently has the best ride in
the class. Brian Gahm (Lucasville, Ohio) earned the first 6.30 pass in IHRA Torco Pro Stock
history with his pass at 6.395 at 219.44 mph because he got to the finish line first, but Steve
Spiess (Manhattan, Ill.) lowered his own IHRA world ET and speed records with his pass at 6.380
at 219.33 mph. Gahm also had the fastest run, but did not have a fast enough speed during the
earlier two qualifying sessions to back it up for a world record.

Spiess, who has had the most consistently fast car this year, has had no doubt that a car would
go 6.30, and even predicted it for this weekend.

"I actually knew we would go that fast barring no mishaps, that it would happen. The car has
never shook on the starting line since we have had it, so we weren't worried about that. I was
worried about second and third gear because we did load it up. We were going for it."

Becoming the first Torco Pro Stock driver to hit 6.30 was not lost on Gahm.

"To do something like this.they have the 6.30 club out there and Steve has run good all year. I
hate to say it because he has made a lot of fast runs. But to be the first on a holeshot is even
better. You can beat that, and it will probably jump up and bite me tomorrow and I'll probably
get beat on a holeshot, but who cares now!"

After Friday night qualifying, it was more of just a question of when, not if a Torco Pro Stock
car would reach the 6.30s. Several cars ran low 6.40s both days, and Frank Gugliotta (Mt. Airy,
Md.) was the first on Saturday to knock on the door when he ran a 6.401. But his car shut down
at about 1,200 feet when he broke his transmission.

"We had a 6.30 in it, but the car gave up the ghost," Gugliotta said.

In Top Fuel, Doug Foley, from Sewell, N.J., had his 4.649 at 311.56 mph during the
Saturday afternoon session stand up to Clay Millican's 4.661 at 286.62 mph.

"It was a good run," Foley said. "We looked at the numbers, stayed a bit
conservative, and it just felt good."

Going into tomorrow, Foley feels that he and his team have the right strategy.

"We're going to go in the .60s all day, .68, .69, and then go from there. I think
if we put this car in the high 60s, we can win the race."

In Torco Pro Modified, Carl Spiering (Jordan Station, Ont.) had his pass of 6.134 at 234.09mph
stand up to Scotty Cannon's surprising 6.138 at 229.55 mph. John Russo, from Middleton, Mass.,
was looking for another great day of qualifying in front of the hometown crowd, but his 6.157 at
230.53 mph from Friday was good enough for third.

"I was going for an .09 tonight," Spiering said. "It was there, and over revved on both passes.
I've never been both so excited and so disappointed at the same time, because I knew it was
there."

"We can go a .16, .17., .18 and win the round, so we have to stay focused on that. I'm riding
this out, but I still have to stay focused for the rest of this year," Spiering said.

In Funny Car, Fred Tigges (Holbrook, Mass.) gave the hometown New England crowd something to
cheer about, setting the IHRA world ET record when he ran a blistering 5.702 at 245.94 mph. Jim
Sickles (Caledonia, N.Y.) set the IHRA world speed record when his deep staged pass of 5.734
yielded 248.75 mph. Defending back to back world champion Rob Atchison (London, Ont.), paired
with Tigges, ran a 5.742 at 243.99 mph to qualify number third.

"I can't say enough about how IHRA prepares these tracks," Tigges said. "They do such a
fantastic job."

When asked about setting the new IHRA world ET record, Tigges replied, "It's funny how those
things happen when you're trying to do other things."

Tigges seemed at ease about qualifying number one ahead of both Sickles and Atchison.

"Competition is what makes people like me be able to do this," he said.

Action continues on Sunday with pro eliminations starting at 11:00 a.m. and the finals starting
at 4.30 p.m.




EPPING, N.H. -- First-round pairings for professional eliminations Sunday for the Tenth annual
Amalie Oil North American Nationals at New England Dragway, the tenth of 12 events in the 2005
Hooters IHRA Drag Racing Series. Pairings based on results in qualifying, which ended Saturday.


Top Fuel -- 1. Doug Foley, 4.649 seconds, 311.56 mph vs. 8. Chris Karamesines, 4.885,
296.50; 2. Clay Millican, 4.661, 286.62 vs. 7. Paul Athey, 4.841, 280.66; 3. Louie Allison,
4.724, 303.84 vs. 6. Bruce Litton, 4.817, 306.74; 4. Bobby Lagana Jr., 4.771, 313.73 vs. 5.
Rick Cooper, 4.780, 284.03.


Pro Modified -- 1. Carl Spiering, Chevy Corvette, 6.125, 234.57 vs. 16. Sal Passarelli,
Corvette, 6.334, 214.79; 2. Scott Cannon, Studebaker, 6.138, 229.55 vs. 15. Dennis Radford,
Corvette, 6.310, 222.58; 3. John Russo, Chevy Camaro, 6.157, 231.04 vs. 14. Steve Vick,
Corvette, 6.305, 222.62; 4. Mike Janis, Dodge Stratus, 6.163, 234.45 vs. 13. Billy Harper,
Dodge Viper, 6.288, 223.69; 5. Mike Castellana, Chevy Cavalier, 6.206, 230.29 vs. 12. Jim
Halsey, Camaro, 6.269, 225.60; 6. Shannon Jenkins, Camaro, 6.211, 228.96 vs. 11. Burton Auxier,
Corvette, 6.261, 222.84; 7. Harold Martin, Pontiac Grand Am, 6.220, 224.73 vs. 10. Milt Decker,
Corvette, 6.261, 224.47; 8. Ed Hoover, Corvette, 6.230, 230.17 vs. 9. Quain Stott, Corvette,
6.254, 231.56.


Funny Car -- 1. Frederick Tigges, Chevy Camaro, 5.702, 246.39 vs. 8. Neal Parker, Chevy
Monte Carlo, 5.864, 239.14; 2. Jim Sickles, Monte Carlo, 5.732, 248.75 vs. 7. Thomas Carter,
Camaro, 5.848, 242.10; 3. Rob Atchison, Pontiac Firebird, 5.742, 245.49 vs. 6. Terry McMillen,
Dodge Avenger, 5.825, 241.97; 4. Mark Thomas, Avenger, 5.768, 241.50 vs. 5. Terry Munroe, Monte
Carlo, 5.787, 242.02.


Pro Stock -- 1. Steve Spiess, Chevy Cobalt, 6.380, 219.33 vs. 16. Robert Patrick, Ford
Cobra, 6.505, 217.11; 2. Brian Gahm, Ford Mustang, 6.395, 219.44 vs. 15. Michael Bruno, Chevy
Cavalier, 6.504, 214.31; 3. Frank Gugliotta, Ford Escort, 6.401, 213.33 vs. 14. John Bartunek,
Cobalt, 6.503, 215.62; 4. Pete Berner, Mustang, 6.421, 216.38 vs. 13. Jerry Haas, Cavalier,
6.500, 216.20; 5. Rick Jones, Cobalt, 6.427, 217.84 vs. 12. Elijah Morton, Escort, 6.500,
215.96; 6. Daniel Seamon, Escort, 6.437, 217.74 vs. 11. Larry O'Brien, Dodge Stratus, 6.472,
216.38; 7. John Nobile, Ford ZX2, 6.438, 215.93 vs. 10. Tony Gillig, Mustang, 6.471, 215.44; 8.
John Montecalvo, Cobalt, 6.449, 216.90 vs. 9. Chuck DeMory, Escort, 6.469, 216.34.

Sept. 9, 2005

Top Fuel

1 1 Clay Millican, Drummonds TN, Hadman-BAE 4.663 269.19 269.19 2 301 Louie Allison, Denver CO, Baumgartne-TFX 4.724 303.84 303.84 3 9 Rick Cooper, Boise ID, Agan-BAE 4.780 284.03 284.03 4 3 Doug Foley, Sewell NJ, McKinney-TFX 4.864 226.62 226.62 5 323 Chris Karamesines, Chicago IL, Uyehara-BAE 4.885 296.50 296.50 6 443 Mitch King, Galveston TX, Hadman-KB 5.045 294.37 294.37 7 777 Paul Athey, Uncasville CT, Hadman-KB 5.189 207.11 207.11 8 345 Bruce Litton, Indianapolis IN, Hadman-TFX 8.903 86.09 86.09 ------------ Not Qualified ------------ 9 007 Roger Dean, Webster Spgs WV, McKinney-KB 11.476 75.22 75.22 10 7 Todd Paton, Paris ON, McKinney-TFX 13.675 87.90 87.90 11 141 Bobby Lagana Jr., Scarsdale NY, McKinney-BAE 14.527 73.90 73.90

 

Pro Mod

1 1986 John Russo, Middleton MA, *'68 Camaro 6.157 230.53 230.53 2 1 Mike Janis, Lancaster NY, *'05 Stratus 6.164 233.76 233.76 3 2813 Scott Cannon, Lyman SC, '53 Studebaker 6.200 226.89 226.89 4 9 Shannon Jenkins, Tuscaloosa AL, '68 Camaro 6.220 226.77 226.77 5 3 Harold Martin, West Bloomfield MI, '05 Grand Am 6.220 224.73 224.73 6 14 Ed Hoover, Gilbert SC, *'63 Corvette 6.230 230.17 230.17 7 7 Quain Stott, Columbus NC, *'63 Corvette 6.254 231.56 231.56 8 1237 Burton Auxier, Dixie WV, '53 Corvette 6.261 222.84 222.84 9 5 Billy Harper, Paducah KY, '00 Viper 6.372 222.25 222.25 10 1149 Sal Passarelli, New Millford CT, '68 Nova 6.441 214.01 214.01 11 1057 Carl Spiering, Jordan Station ON, *'63 Corvette 6.915 148.43 148.43 12 294 Dennis Radford, Baker City OR, '63 Corvette 7.274 130.72 130.72 13 1051 Jim Halsey, Street MD, '68 Camaro 8.878 158.07 158.07 14 1178 Steve Bareman, Holland MI, '53 Corvette 9.774 88.33 88.33 15 1955 Charles Carpenter, Harrisburg NC, '55 Bel Air 10.445 91.74 91.74 16 1941 Eddie Ware, Marietta GA, *'41 Willys 10.963 85.22 85.22 ------------ Not Qualified ------------ 17 44 Mike Castellana, Westbury NY, '05 Cavalier 12.387 68.59 68.59 18 1107 Steve Vick, Mocksville NC, '63 Corvette 13.280 69.45 69.45 19 128 Gary Courtier, Shirley NY, '68 Camaro DQ 20 10 Pat Moore, Kinsman OH, '63 Corvette DQ 21 1050 Patrick Doherty, Windham NH, '57 Bel Air DQ 22 1011 Milt Decker, Dover PA, '63 Corvette DQ 23 1966 Mike Lockwood, Hadley PA, '66 Corvette DQ

 

Pro Stock

1 8 Steve Spiess, Manhattan IL, '05 Cobalt 6.414 218.09 218.09 2 4 Pete Berner, Crete IL, '04 Mustang 6.421 216.31 216.31 3 2 Brian Gahm, Lucasville OH, '03 Mustang 6.429 216.20 216.20 4 1 John Nobile, Dix Hills NY, '03 ZX2 6.438 215.93 215.93 5 103 Daniel Seamon, Bellevue OH, '05 Escort 6.452 216.55 216.55 6 6 Rick Jones, Galesburg IL, '05 Cobalt 6.453 216.79 216.79 7 235 Chuck DeMory, Glen Ellyn IL, '04 Escort 6.469 216.34 216.34 8 7 Frank Gugliotta, Mt. Airy MD, '04 Escort 6.490 213.33 213.33 9 381 Jerry Haas, Fenton MO, '05 Cavalier 6.500 215.27 215.27 10 10 Tony Gillig, Lake Bluff IL, '04 Mustang 6.516 212.06 212.06 11 5 Elijah Morton, Jacksonville NC, '04 Escort 6.518 215.41 215.41 12 171 Larry O'Brien, Lakeshore ON, '04 Stratus 10.061 157.23 157.23 13 3 John Montecalvo, Center Moriches NY, '05 Cobalt11.740 92.63 92.63 14 2000 Michael Bruno, Frankfort IL, '03 Cavalier 12.849 68.19 68.19 15 262 Robert Patrick, Fredericksburg VA, '04 Cobra 21.035 34.39 34.39

 

Funny Car

1 4 Jim Sickles, Caledonia NY, '05 Monte Carlo 5.732 247.29 247.29 2 2 Mark Thomas, Louisville OH, '04 Avenger 5.768 241.50 241.50 3 100 Terry Munroe, Beaver PA, '05 Monte Carlo 5.787 242.02 242.02 4 1 Rob Atchison, London ON, '02 Firebird 5.826 245.49 245.49 5 147 Frederick Tigges, Holbrook MA, '97 Camaro 5.861 244.12 244.12 6 657 Thomas Carter, Cuero TX, '05 Camaro 5.954 238.85 238.85 7 3 Terry McMillen, Elkhart IN, '99 Avenger 5.958 221.42 221.42 8 151 George McNeil, Gardner MA, '04 Corvette 5.983 230.45 230.45 ------------ Not Qualified ------------ 9 9 Neal Parker, Millville NJ, '05 Monte Carlo 6.024 234.74 234.74 10 196 Bill Naves, Salisbury NC, '99 Firebird 6.219 232.99 232.99 11 131 Jean-Guy Genest, St. Basile Le Grand PQ, '95 D 6.581 207.72 207.72 12 293 Larry Dobbs, Welland ON, '01 Corvette 7.987 121.85 121.85 13 6320 Trevor Lebsack, Slave Lake AB, '99 Mustang 11.220 77.43 77.43

 

Event Preview

With only three events left on the 2005 Hooters IHRA Drag Racing Series schedule, each round becomes more important. For racers heading to New England Dragway for the 10th Annual Amalie Oil North American Nationals September 9-11, it is coming down to the wire.

In Top Fuel, Clay Millican, of Drummonds, Tenn., seemingly has his fifth consecutive World Championship locked up. After Millican’s win at the Skull Gear World Nationals presented by PPG, he now has a commanding lead of almost 200 points heading into the home stretch of the season. Millican has won seven out of nine events. Doug Foley, of Sewell, N.J., must battle Bruce Litton, from Indanapolis, Ind., to hold onto second place in the points. Rounding out the top five are Rick Cooper in fourth place and Louie Allison in fifth.

In Torco Race Fuels Pro Modified, Mike Castellana, from Westbury, N.Y., heads to New England Dragway with a 65 point lead over Jim Halsey. Castellana has quietly overtaken his Awesome Motorsports teammate Shannon Jenkins, who has held the lead for most of the year. Halsey, from Street, Md., has come out of nowhere to give both Castellana and Jenkins a run for their money. Less than a hundred points separate the top four drivers, meaning these last three events are crucial. Castellana has now won three out of the last four events, and number four could bolster his chances for a first World Championship. Carl Spiering, from Jordan Station, Ontario, has had a strong season--which has seen him win the Torco Race Fuels Pro Modified Shootout—and currently sits in fourth place. Veteran Torco Pro Mod driver Ed Hoover, from Gilbert, S.C., sits in fifth.

In Funny Car, defending back to back World Champion Rob Atchison, from London, Ontario, had a mechanical failure in the final versus Jim Sickles at the Skull Gear World Nationals presented by PPG, but the Erickson Manufacturing team does not appear to be sweating it. Atchison still has a comfortable lead over Sickles, from Caledonia, N.Y., in the points standing and he looks to be sewing up his third consecutive championship in the next couple of events. Five- time World Champion Mark Thomas, from Louisville, Ohio, sits in third place, Tom Carter, from Cuero, Texas, is in fourth, and Chris Foster, from Davenport, Iowa, is in fifth.

In Torco Race Fuels Pro Stock, Steve Spiess, from Manhattan, Ill., heads to New England Dragway with a commanding lead over Robert Patrick. Spiess put more distance between himself and Patrick with another dominating performance which resulted in his fourth national event win of the 2005 season. Patrick, from Fredericksburg, Va., failed to qualify and knows he has some ground to make up over the closing three events if he wants to mount a serious charge against Spiess. Dan Seamon, from Bellevue, Ohio, sits in third, only four points in front of Tony Gillig, from Lake Bluff, Ill. Frank Gugliotta, from Mt. Airy, Md., rounds out the top five.

Pro Previews

Rob Atchison

Rob Atchison heads to New England on a roll!

London, Ontario September 6, 2005 “ Back to Back” IHRA Funny Car Champion Rob Atchison takes the Erickson Manufacturing Pontiac to Epping, NH for this weekend’s IHRA Amalie North American Nationals. Atchison has been on a roll with five final round appearances in a row with four victories. The London Ontario Canada native sits on top of the IHRA points in his quest for a third successive IHRA Funny Car title with a 127 point lead over New York State native Jim Sickles with just three races left in the IHRA/Hooters Championship Series. “ We can’t let up because no lead is safe with the quality of cars in IHRA Funny Car, “ stated Atchison.

“ We won here in 2003 and were runner-up last year so we are optimistic of a good showing here in Epping, ” stated Rob Atchison. We have made quite a few friends on the eastern seaboard and look forward to coming back here each year to race. This is a wonderful facility and I know the fans really like Funny Cars so we are looking to put on a good show for the New England fans.

The Erickson Manufacturing Pontiac has been hot so far in 2005 winning six Ironmen and one runner-up plaque along with qualifying # 1 seven times and # 2 twice in the first nine events in the IHRA/Hooters National Event schedule. The six Ironmen bring Rob’s seven-year career total to fifteen, which is good for fourth overall in IHRA career wins. For more information on the very important sponsors of Atchison Racing visit http://www.atchisonracing.com/2005Sponsors.html . and for more information on the Atchison Racing Team visit their Website. www.atchisonracing.com

Terry McMillen

InstiGator Heads To Amalie Country

Wednesday - September 7, 2005

Epping, NH - The New England area is well known for its scenic
country side, passion for baseball and abundance of fresh sea food. But,
as the summer begins to lose its sting and the New England air hints of
the fall season, drag racing fans know that it can only mean one thing.
It's time for the 10th Annual Amalie Oil North American Nationals. The
IHRA Hooters Drag Racing event will be contested September 9-11 at the
New England Dragway.

"The New England area has been Amalie country for over 80
years," stated Andrew Bornstein, Business Development Manager for Amalie
Motor Oil. "Our partners in that region provide over 100 retail outlets
for Amalie products." Amalie will host a hospitality tent trackside for
friends and partners during the event.

Area distributors are also participating in an Amalie promotion
during race week. Don Bosely, District Manager Northeast explains,
"Amalie is running radio spots all week in the New England area. Anyone
who purchases an Amalie product at one of the area distributors will get
a Amalie Oil InstiGator Die Cast car while supplies last."

Terry McMillen and his Amalie Oil InstiGator Funny Car, powered
by TORCO Racing Fuels, kicked off race week early with a radio
appearance Tuesday morning. "We're always excited about being here,"
stated McMillen. "We love getting here early and spending time with all
of our friends at VIP - Parts, Tires and Service, Sanel Parts Plus,
Robbins Auto Parts and Auto Value."

McMillen will make several radio and personal appearances
throughout the week. Radio appearances began Tuesday and will continue
through Friday when Terry spends time with Greg and the Morning Buzz.
The Morning Buzz is syndicated across New England, making it one the
regions top radio shows. "I spent an hour with these guys last year,"
McMillen said. "They're a fun bunch. Plus, we put Laura (one of the show
personalities) in the car last year. It made great radio."

McMillen and the InstiGator Funny Car will also make several
appearances throughout the week to show the car and sign autographs. On
Tuesday, Sanel Parts Plus hosted an event at their store in Exeter, NH.
Sanel Part Plus will also host an event at their Manchester, NH store on
Thursday.

On Wednesday, VIP - Parts, Tires and Service will host McMillen
at their Somersworth, NH store.

While it's a busy week for McMillen around the New England area,
he knows race week begins at the starting line on Friday. "We've got to
roll off of the truck ready to go," said McMillen. "In the past we've
had success here, but this is as big a race as any. You can bet that all
of the teams will going for it. There's no reason to conserve parts now.
It's time to put it all on the line."

McMillen qualified the InstiGator in the #4 position and made a
semi-final appearance in the 2004 contest.

Mike Janis

Elma, NY –With the new car blues still hampering the Eaton team this late in the season, Mike Janis and his crew attended the final PMRA (Pro Modified Racing Association) event of 05' this past weekend at Toronto Motorsports Park. Janis and his team used the event as a well-needed test session. "We still need to sort a few things out so, we took advantage of the PMRA's event being so close to home. We went in there with a mind set that this was just a test session for us but, once you’re in a race atmosphere you never want to lose. It was hard but, we were able to stick to our plans and kept flogging the car on every run," said team owner/driver Mike Janis.

While losing in the second round was upsetting to the Eaton team they left the Cayuga, Ontario, Canada facility with a better working knowledge of their 05' Stratus. "When we are at a national event we only have three runs to get in the show so, you're pretty limited on trying anything new. You have to be cautious and try to qualify so, anything new has to wait for an event like the one this past weekend," said cylinder specialist Joe Janis.

With the newly learned knowledge from their latest test session, Mike Janis and his Eaton sponsored team will bring a new game plan to the 10th Annual Amalie Oil North American Nationals in Epping, New Hampshire. "It all depends on what the track surface is like. Earlier this season we came up with a pretty good set up for the car but that set up doesn't work at every track. With the limited amount of runs on the car we never really had time to come up with a tune up for various track conditions. This past weekend gave us that opportunity. Now if the track throws us a curve ball I think we'll be able to get some wood on it," said crew chief Mike Janis Jr..

Qualifying for the 10th Annual Amalie North American Nationals will begin Friday, September 9th at 7:00pm during IHRA’s famous Night of Fire. Qualifying will resume Saturday with the second round at 3:00pm and conclude during the second “Night of Fire” at 7:00pm. Eliminations will begin Sunday at 11:00am.