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Simonton Beginning 2013 Regional Season at Norwalk
 NORWALK, Ohio (May 15, 2013) – Fan favorite Top Alcohol Funny Car driver Cassie Simonton enters this weekend’s Mickey Mart Rewards Cavalcade of Stars with renewed confidence in her KonRodzRacing.com Monte Carlo after near-career best numbers at the team’s last event in Charlotte, N.C. She’s looking to set new bests and win rounds in front of tens of thousands of fans this weekend.
“We’re staying positive going into this race; not letting the past two races get us down. The car ran 5.55 to win first round at Charlotte a few weeks ago, but we were trying to go further into eliminations. We went to the final round the last time we were at Norwalk, so we’ll try to use that data to keep our momentum going at this track. We also want a strong start to our 2013 regional season,” said the Minnesota native, who reached the final round at the Summit Racing Equipment Nationals at this track... [Read More]
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Booher Heads to Norwalk to Continue Quest for 5.2s
 NORWALK, Ohio (May 15, 2013) – As the NHRA Lucas Oil Series tour rolls into Norwalk, Ohio for the Cavalcade of Stars race at Summit Motorsports Park, Top Alcohol Dragster pilot Brandon Booher will be looking to improve the career-best numbers in his AB Construction dragster. Reassuring results at the last race in Indy lead Brandon to believe his carbon fiber missile can join the class’ elite in the 5.2-second range this weekend.
“For the most part, we’re just keeping it simple,” Booher said. “We know what we did at Indy went 5.34 at 271, so it would be silly to veer away from that for our first pass. I’m assuming the weather will be good and I know the track surface will be good. Our plan for the first run is simple - get down the track, get a decent spot on the qualifying order, and just build from there. I’d love to say it’ll run in the five-twenties this weekend. But if it runs 5.50... [Read More]
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Lombardo Racing Announces NEW “App” for the track…
 Brea CA. – The battle continues to heat up in Top Alcohol Funny Car as NAPA/Lucas Oil pilot John Lombardo Jr. closes the gap on national points leader Dan Pomponio. This weekend America’s Heartland welcomes the “Big Show,” the NHRA Mellow Yellow series to Topeka Kansas.
NHRA Drag Racing fans and all at Team NAPA can now stay up to speed on all the latest Lombardo Racing action. Team news, photos, updates, special events, schedules, even round by round results will populate the brand new Lombardo Racing App.
“We are excited to launch our brand new app here in Topeka. As our team, sponsors and fan base continue to grow we need to provide them a simple, easy, interactive application so they can get all our team updates, information, sponsor links, and special communications. Smart phones continue to amaze through connectivity and function-I get text messages now before we can tow back from a run.... [Read More]
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Demke Trying to Add Another Highlight to Heartland History
 TOPEKA, Kan. (May 16, 2013) – Top Alcohol Dragster frontrunner Chris Demke is entering the Kansas Nationals this weekend with assurance that his Jerry Maddern-owned car will make clean runs all weekend long. The Peen Rite/OSI/801 Racing blown alcohol dragster is coming off of a semifinal finish at Charlotte and number two qualifying position at the last race in Houston. Possibly as important as strong performances are healthy performances.
“I’m confident that our motor issues are behind us,” Demke claimed. “We proved that at Charlotte and on the two runs we made at Houston. We brought the car back to the shop, and for the first time in many months, the motor that was in the car was able to stay in the car. For Topeka, we can just concentrate on making the car go fast.”
The Southern California team is one of the few west coast teams making the trip to the heartland to race with... [Read More]
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Taliaferro to return to blown ‘roots’ in Topeka
 TOPEKA, Kan. – Former two-time NHRA Division 5 Top Alcohol Dragster Champion Mark Taliaferro will return to his blown ‘roots’ with his Markco Machine Works sponsored team during next weekend’s Kansas Nationals at Heartland Park in Topeka, Kan. Taliaferro, who has campaigned an A/Fuel dragster for the past three seasons will be returning to a blown alcohol combination with a brand-new Chip Nielsen chassis tuned by Tom Conway.
Taliaferro, from Odessa, Texas, returned to the Top Alcohol Dragster class with a Conway tuned A/Fuel Dragster in 2010 after taking 12 years off to focus on his family and business. He scored two divisional wins and two national event runner-ups since returning to competition. He finished a career-best 8th nationally last season.
With the resurgence of the blown alcohol combination, Taliaferro felt the urge to go back to the combination he raced throughout the ‘90’s with,... [Read More]
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Reichert scores second win in three starts in Indy
CLERMONT, Ind. – Former 5-time NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster World Champion Bill Reichert took another step to regaining his crown with a win during this past weekend’s NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series North Central Region opener at Lucas Oil Raceway in Indianapolis. The win was his second in three starts in his Rislone Engine Treatment backed injected-nitro dragster.
Reichert, from Owosso, Mich., qualified No. 1 with a 5.301 second elapsed time at 264.65 mph that would stand as low e.t. of the event. After qualifying was complete, rains moved into the Indianapolis area and forced the event to be pushed back a week. More rain was in store as the racers returned, leading to eliminations on Monday.
In round one, Reichert took out the nitro burner of Dave Hirata with a 5.417 at 261.78 mph, and then defeated Jared Dreher with a 5.431 at 258.62 mph in the semifinals. The final would be a battle of former US Nationals winners as Reichert squared off with Marty Thacker’s blown alcohol entry. Thacker, known for his quick reaction times got a small starting line advantage, but that was quickly negated as Reichert stayed consistent with a 5.426 at 252.90 to Thacker’s 5.469 at 260.61.
“After all these years, I’ve figured out how to let my experience work for me instead of against me on the tree,” said Reichert. “All you have to do is hit the... [Read More]
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Booher's Record Weekend Ends Early
CLERMONT, IN (May 8, 2013) – Top Alcohol Dragster competitor Brandon Booher showed the potential of his torque converter-equipped blown dragster at the NHRA North Central region opener in Indy over the course of the last two weekends. The event started with a record-resetting pass in the first qualifying session. However, a simple mechanical failure prevented the second generation driver from turning a solid qualifying effort into success on race day.
Booher drove his AB Construction/Torque Management dragster to a career-best 5.34 at 271 mph pass in the opening qualifying session at Lucas Oil Raceway. That run, which also reset Brandon’s record for quickest and fastest converter car, ranked the Illinois driver second on the qualifying sheet after the first session. Booher ended up fourth once qualifying was over, missing third by just one thousandth of a second.
Persistent rain storms delayed the start of eliminations to the following weekend. Teams were given the chance to make a test run on Saturday, with eliminations scheduled for Sunday morning. Booher took advantage of the test run, clicking off another five-thirty pass just shy of 270 miles per hour.
“The 5.39 should’ve been quicker. We were trying some things to pick up the sixty-foot time and it didn’t work. The speed was still impressive but all of the other numbers were weak,”... [Read More]
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Reichert, Bohl Win Indy North Central Opener
by Todd Veney/Pro Sportsman Association
 At the rain-plagued North Central opener in Indianapolis, five-time world champ Bill Reichert got his second win in three starts in Top Alcohol Dragster, and Andy Bohl became one of the few drivers in years to beat Frank Manzo in a Top Alcohol Funny Car final. Eliminations, already postponed a week, were run in their entirety on Monday after racers in all classes except the Top Alcohol Dragster and Funny Car headed home Sunday night following a long day sitting in the rain.
In the Top Alcohol Dragster final, Reichert left within thousandths of Thacker in a battle of former U.S. Nationals winners and scored with a consistent 5.42 opposite Thacker's close 5.46. "Bill's no fun to race anymore," Thacker said. "I've never seen anyone completely turn his reaction times around the way he has. If this was a couple of years ago, I would have beat him on... [Read More]
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Ham Claims Both National Records!
 In a weekend of mixed fortunes, Brisbane based racer, Steve Ham has cemented his name in Australian Drag Racing history by claiming both the national time and speed records for the hotly contested Top Alcohol Funny Car category.
Ham stunned onlookers during qualifying with a blistering 5.467 second run over the quarter mile to eclipse the former record of fellow Queenslander and Top Alcohol legend Gary Phillips, by over five hundredths of a second, returning in the first round of eliminations to back up the record with a 5.485 but at a groundbreaking 265.38 mph (427.08 kph) to seal the national speed record in the process.
The milestone run came at a cost however, with the right-rear tyre exploding as Ham crossed the finish line, sending the ECL Lubricants Funny Car towards the wall, ironically beside Phillips, who won the race on a holeshot.
“It was out of nowhere! I knew we’d run quick and... [Read More]
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Whiteley Runner-Ups to Extend Points Lead
 At the NHRA Spring Nationals in Houston, national points leader Jim Whiteley reached his fourth final in six starts this season to extend his lead in the national Top Alcohol standings to more than 50 points. Whiteley, the reigning national champion and defending event champ, had a commanding lead on Randy Meyer in the final until four blower studs failed around half-track, allowing Meyer to slip past him on the top end for his first national victory in six years.
Whiteley qualified No. 1, as he has at every race this year, and set low e.t., as he also has at every race this year, with a 5.26 in what turned out to be the only qualifying session. A downpour of almost biblical proportions washed out Saturday's scheduled qualifying session and the first round of eliminations and turned the Royal Purple Raceway pits into a quagmire.
With a close 5.34 to 5.40 first-round win with Texan James... [Read More]
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