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Click on car for Info LATEST NEWS   FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - VICTORY DATE REVISION 02/05/10: BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (Feb. 2, 2010) – It’s a dream come true for drag racing fans. The sport’s greatest name is coming to the nostalgia drag racing’s most famous event. Fourteen-time NHRA Funny Car champion John Force – the winningest driver in drag racing history – has been named Grand Marshal for the 52nd running of the March Meet, Mar. 5-7 at Auto Club Famoso Raceway in McFarland, Calif. (about 20 miles north of Bakersfield). “We’ve had some big names as Grand Marshals at the March Meet,” said Blake Bowser, vice president and general manager of the Kern County Racing Association, operators of Auto Club Famoso and producers of the March Meet, “but John Force is in a class by himself. He’s a living legend and the greatest Funny Car racer of all time. This will be a real treat for fans.” Bowser said it would be a homecoming of sorts for the 59-year-old Force, who cut his teeth on the drag racing circuit by competing in Bakersfield back in the 1980s. Force won the iconic March Meet back in 1984. Although a schedule has not been set yet, Bowser said that the colorful racing legend will sign autographs for fans on Sat., Mar. 6 and Sun., Mar. 7. “John’s a larger-than-life type of guy, and that’s why fans love him,” said Bowser. “He came from humble beginnings as a truck driver and now he’s the most popular drag racer in history. Having him as the Grand Marshal of the March Meet is unbelievable.” John Force Career Highlights * Winningest driver in drag racing history with 126 tour victories. * Winner of a record 14 series championships (1990-91, 1993-2002, 2004, 2006). * Winner of 10 consecutive NHRA Funny Car championships (1993-2002). * Selected as Driver of the Year for all of American motor racing in 1996 by a national panel of motorsports journalists, the first drag racer ever so honored. * Won 13 races, appeared in 16 final rounds and won 65 elimination rounds en route to the 1996 championship. All are NHRA single season records. * Accepted the John Bolster Award for lifetime achievement at the 2005 AutoSport Awards in London, England. * Has appeared in an NHRA record 202 final rounds. * Has been named to the Auto Racing All-America Team selected by members of the American Auto Racing Writers and Broadcasters Association 14 times and set a record with 10 consecutive appearances (1993-2002). * Has earned the Jerry Titus Memorial Award as the All-America driver receiving the most votes from the AARWBA membership a record four times, most recently in 2002. * Started a record 395 consecutive events before failing to qualifying for the 2007 SummitRacing.com Nationals at Las Vegas, Nev. * Only driver to have won 1,000 racing rounds. * Returned to racing in 2008 and finished seventh in points after being seriously injured in a Sept. 23, 2007 crash at Dallas, Texas. *Has won at least one NHRA tour event for 22 consecutive seasons. * Has finished in the Top 10 24 consecutive seasons. * In 1990, claimed first career championship, beating Ed “The Ace” McCulloch (and then crew chief Bernie Fedderly) by today’s equivalent of 43 points. * In 1987, earned first NHRA career victory at the Molson Grandnational at Montreal, Canada, beating Ed McCulloch in the final. * In 1978, qualified for his first NHRA national event (World Finals at Pomona, Calif.) before losing to Gordie Bonin in first round. John Force Personnel File * Date of birth: May 4, 1949 * Hometown: Yorba Linda, Calif. * Sponsor/Car: Castrol GTX High Mileage Ford Mustang *Crew Chief: Austin Coil/Bernie Fedderly Career * Wins: 126 * FC: 126 * Career Final Rounds: 202 * FC: 202 * Career Best E.T.: 4.060 * Career Best Speed: 309.77 * Wife: Laurie; * Daughters: Adria (6/4/69), Ashley (11/29/82), Brittany (7/8/86), Courtney (6/20/88) * Height/weight: 5-foot-11, 190 pounds * Hobby: Storytelling * Notable: Daughter, Ashley, competes against him in Funny Car class; daughters Brittany and Courtney compete in Alcohol Dragster. * Enjoys riding his Harley-Davidson motorcycle and collecting Elvis Presley memorabilia * Drove trucks and became a television pitch man for a truck-driving school during early racing career * Also owns the Funny Car driven by Robert Hight Now celebrating 52 years of racing, the March Meet is a three-day speedfest that enthusiasts call ‘the jewel of Nostalgia Racing.’ It attracts drag racers and spectators from around the world and also includes a hot rod car show, swap meet and a vendors’ midway. The 2010 March Meet is also the first race of the Hot Rod Heritage Series, the NHRA’s 9-race nostalgia racing series. Fans can purchase a Super 3-Day Pass for $75 online now at www.autoclubfamosoraceway.com and pick them up at the track the week of the event. There are no service charges for tickets purchased online. Individual day tickets for the event will go on sale Mar.1, but will be available only at the track. Ticket prices are $25 for Fri., Mar. 5; $30 for Sat., Mar. 6; and $30 for Sun., Mar. 7. Auto Club members also receive a $ 2 discount off daily admission tickets by showing their cards when they purchase tickets at the track. Daily tickets for children ages 7 to 12 are $10 and kids 6 and under are free when accompanied by an adult with paid admission. The Kern County Racing Association (KCRA) operates historic Auto Club Famoso Raceway (just north of Bakersfield, Calif.) and promotes a full schedule of races year round, including the world famous March Meet, Mar. 5-7, 2010, is the recognized Mecca of nostalgia drag racing. For more details, visit www.autoclubfamosoraceway.com.     02/03/10: If you don't think the March Meet is a big deal, think again. Add another bad hot rod making the cross country trek to compete at the premier independent event in drag racing. The Nitrodiction top fueler will be there with Howard Haight behind the wheel all the way from Albany, NY. The crew is led by Pete Jensen, Mike Cavelli and Bill Graney tuning the car owned by Jim Didio and Alan Aroneck. This brings the Top Fuel head count to over 20 cars.     02/03/10: Darrell Teford checked in to report the CHRR winning Overtime Special of Tedford & McGee is ready to do it again. Based just 40 miles from the fabled track at Famoso, the team checked out the engine (finally) after their big win and found they pinched 3 ringlands in the October final. That fixed, same bearings back in, same tune up - lets race.     02-/03/10: A sneak preview of the new body being built for the High Speed Motorsports fueler by Bruce Dyda of DRE in Gardena, CA. It will be done, painted and lettered for Brad Thompson's debut in the car at the March Meet.     01-30-10: Jim Murphy is already chomping at the bit to make another bid for an historic 5th March Meet win. Among other changes to his WW2 Racing top fuel car, Murphy traded in his controversial "Enderle Big & Ugly" fuel injector for a more period correct Enderle upright. More than cosmetic, the switch will allow better vision for Jim at 260 MPH. With his grandson Michael in the car they fired it up yesterday getting everything ready to test before the March Meet. "Everything went quite well, I am pumped to go run it". Stated Murphy. Jim also has a lot of nice parts for sale at: WW2 Racing Parts For Sale     For immediate Release 44 amp Mag is approved for an evaluation period on Nostalgia 426 engines. AA/FD Members voted to allow an evaluation period on the use of the 44 amp Mag in the 426 Chrysler engine. The vote result was submitted to NHRA for approval and was granted this week. A number of rumors have been circulated regarding the vote and how it was handled. The AA/FD association informed NHRA that a rule change would be voted on regarding the testing of the 44 amp mag for the 426 engine. During our discussions, NHRA was in complete support of the associations vote outcome, pro or con. If I were to describe the involvement of NHRA regarding the AA/FD / Heritage Series rules, it would be this: From the safety side of things, very involved. From the performance side:   1. If it is to make the cars run faster, very involved.   2. If it is to create parity and fairness, they support the association's guidelines. The mag vote has been discussed for a very long time. Hopefully, this evaluation period will provide us the information needed to make a final vote in the future. Below is the actual language that was voted on and approved. This rule change is for a temporary evaluation period only. The start date of the evaluation period is 3-1-2010; the ending date of the evaluation is 8-16-2010. At the end of the evaluation period, a rules committee (to be formed by AA/FD members) will evaluate the performance of the 426 cars running the MSD Pro Mag 44. The committee will gather input from the teams running the mag as well as other teams within the association. The committee will then form a recommendation for the association to vote on. The vote will be to allow or disallow the MSD Pro Mag 44 for the remainder of the 2010 season. Thank you, Bob McLennan AA/FD Bobbynitro@aol.com     01/16/10: It's official, the "Mr Boston" AA/FD will make the cross country trip west to compete at the March Meet in Bakersfield. The Dave Tuttle California Chassis car will be coming home so to speak as Tuttle has his shop In Northern Californa. Even though they have only made a handful of passes with the car, they'll try their hand competing against the best cars in the land. Tom "Tuna" Steed will be at the wheel.       01/15/10: Guess who's coming to dinner? This is a sneak preview of the newest entry into the Nostalgia Top Fuel ranks. Larry Gotelli is building the chassis and Pete Kaiser and Pickett are doing the motor. They don't know if they will make the March Meet or not. If they do, Gotelli will be in the seat. Updates to follow.     FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE High Speed Motorsports Names New Driver For 2010 January 13, 2009 - Anaheim, CA - High Speed Motorsports has announced that Top Fuel veteran Brad Thompson will drive the High Speed Motorsports Nostalgia Top Fuel Dragster for the 2010 NHRA Hot Rod Heritage Series season. Thompson is a previous Nostalgia Top Fuel Champion, with a 2008 NHRA National Hot Rod Reunion win and NHRA California Hot Rod Reunion wins in 2005 and 2007. He is the first member of the coveted 5.60 Club and also a member of the 260 mph Club. "Brad is a great driver with the same kind of passion for the sport of drag racing as we have," said High Speed CEO Dale Singh. "I have no doubt that with his driving ability and our race car we will have the team to watch in 2010." Thompson has held track records at several locations as well as low et at three March Meet events (2005-2007) with wins at Firebird and Sacramento. "I am looking forward to the 2010 season," Thompson said, "with the tremendous knowledge and combined resources of two championship teams we are setting out on our quest for another Wally." HSMS will run the complete 2010 NHRA Hot Rod Heritage Top Fuel Series along with the annual trek to Beech Bend Raceway Park in Bowling Green, Kentucky which they won for the 5th time last year. Current plans call for Thompson to make his HSMS debut during a Bakersfield test session February 20-21.     GREEN LEAVES HSMS FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 12/30/09 Anaheim, CA - High Speed Motorsports C.O.O. and Team Manager announced today that Troy Green will be leaving the team effective immediately to pursue an opportunity to drive a funny car. Green took over the driving job from Sean Bellemeur in 2007 and proceeded to win an unprecedented 4th National Hot Rod Reunion for the team... a feat he accomplished again in 2009. However, the highlight of his career thus far was winning the 2008 NHRA Hot Rod Heritage Racing Series Top Fuel Championship. "Troy was a huge asset to our team". stated Shelar. "He was not only an excellent driver but also a great mechanic. He will be missed and we wish him nothing but the best in his new endeavor." A new driver will be named after the first of the year. With a list of top notch shoes putting their names in the hat it won't be an easy decision.   Bartone Bros. Join NTF Ranks in 2010 Bartone Bros. Racing is currently thrashing on putting together all the parts and pieces to compete in Nostalgia Top Fuel in 2010. They expect delivery of a new Uyehara chassis in the next few weeks and hope to be able to test prior to the March Meet. Tony Bartone will be driving during the HRHRS points meets and Tony Lebor at selected non points races. Michael Bartone attended the 2009 NHRR in Bowling Green and was instantly hooked. He also attended the CHRR in Bakersfield stating, "I found a great group of guys who who were very helpful and receptive. With the help of Steve Boggs tuning my brother and I are looking foward to a great season of fun and hopefully a little success." More on the teams progress as its released.     Complete Coverage  2009 California Hot Rod Reunion - 8 pages - 2100 photos     NHRA HOT ROD HERITAGE RACING SERIES ANNOUNCES 2010 SEASON WITH ADDITION OF NEW EVENT IN BOISE, IDAHO GLENDORA, Calif. (Dec. 8, 2009) – NHRA Hot Rod Heritage Racing Series officials announced today the 2010 NHRA Hot Rod Heritage Racing schedule, which includes an additional event at Firebird Raceway in Boise, Idaho. The Napa Auto Parts Ignitor has been added to the event schedule for the 2010 season, and will be held April 30-May 2 at Firebird Raceway. The event will feature Nostalgia Nitro Top Fuel dragsters. The event addition brings the schedule to a total of nine races for the 2010 season, which will begin with the March Meet, March 5-7 at the famed Auto Club Famoso Raceway in Bakersfield, Calif. “A fixture at the Ignitor for four decades, we’re looking forward to the event celebrating its 40th Anniversary next May with the dramatic sights and sounds of ‘Nitro,’” said Bill New, general manager, Firebird Raceway. “As the second stop for Top Fuel in the NHRA Hot Rod Heritage Series, we feel this will further enhance and elevate one of the premier events on our racing calendar.” In addition to Boise, the series will make stops at Auto Club Dragway in Fontana, Calif., The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas, Sacramento Raceway in Sacramento, Calif., Speedworld Dragstrip in Wittman, Ariz., and will finish the 2010 season where it all began at the California Hot Rod Reunion at historic Auto Club Famoso Raceway. “We’re looking forward to our third year of the NHRA Hot Rod Heritage Racing Series and are grateful for the support shown from our affiliate tracks around the country,” said Steve Gibbs of the NHRA Hot Rod Heritage Series. “The series combined with the Hot Rod Reunions and the NHRA Wally Parks Motorsports Museum demonstrates NHRA’s commitment to maintaining the history of our sport.” The NHRA Hot Rod Heritage Racing Series consists of two nitro categories: Nostalgia Top Fuel dragsters, Nostalgia Funny Cars, and two groups of additional classes. Group 1 includes Jr. Fuel, A-Fuel, AA/Gas, and 7.0 Pro, while Group 2 includes NE I, NE II, NE III, A/Gas, B/Gas, C/Gas, D/Gas and Hot Rod. Each class will run a combination of events in which they will score points toward the championship. Groups 1 and 2 will conclude their points earning events at Speedworld Dragstrip with Champion’s presentations taking place at that event. Group 1 cars will continue race at the CHRR as a non-points event for them. The NHRA Hot Rod Heritage Racing Series was developed in 2008 to help preserve NHRA's rich history and tradition while providing racing opportunities for those enthusiasts who enjoy nostalgia drag racing competition. Headquartered in Glendora, Calif., NHRA has 80,000 members and 140 member tracks nationwide. As the primary sanctioning body for the sport of drag racing in the United States, NHRA presents 23 national events in the U.S. featuring the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series, NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series and NHRA Get Screened America Pro Mod Drag Racing Series. Two NHRA-sanctioned bracket racing series provide competition opportunities for drivers of all levels: the NHRA Summit Racing Series and the NHRA Drags: Street Legal Style presented by AAA. NHRA also offers the Jr. Drag Racing League for youth ages 8 to 17. In addition, NHRA owns and operates five racing facilities: Gainesville Raceway in Florida; Atlanta Dragway in Georgia; National Trail Raceway in Ohio; O’Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis; and Auto Club Raceway at Pomona in Southern California. For more information, log on to NHRA.com, or visit the official NHRA pages on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. 2010 NHRA Hot Rod Heritage Racing Series Top Fuel Schedule     McGee Wins 2009 CHRR Green Runner-up Harris 2009 Hot Rod Heritage Top Fuel Champion   Bakersfield, CA - 10-16-18, 2009: The 18th edition of the California Hot Rod Reunion is in the record books and for the Top Fuel cars it ended with a very popular win for Rick McGee who got the best of Troy Green in a close final setting low ET of the event in the process. McGee captured his first win since the 2004 CHRR title with a convincing 5.761 (career best ET - low ET of the meet) at 247.38 by beating the 2008 HRHS champ, Green who ran a game 5.91 at 252.17. After qualifying #2 with a first career best 5.862, McGee went on beat Ed Schwartz, Adam Sorokin and Rick Williamson to earn a spot in the final. Green came out of the #5 hole to get the best of Denver Schutz, Rick Rogers and Brett Harris to meet McGee for the 6 PM showdown. Rick White entered this final race of the season with a 56 point lead in the NHRA Hot Rod Heritage Racing Series and was an odds on favorite to not only win the championship but the event as well. With only 17 cars competing the very last thing anyone expected was the lone DNQ to be White. With only two qualifying sessions one only had to get down the track with an 8.20 or better but in the first session White got out of the groove and crossed the centerline. With one shot left Big Blue left like a rocket then smoked the tires and broke a rear end leaving White to coast to an 8.36. This left the door open for Brett Harris who was #2 in the standings. After qualifying #1 with a 5.80 Harris went just as far as he needed (2 rounds) to pass White and win the championship by nine points. 2009 NHRA Hot Rod Heritage Racing Series Top Fuel Champions Complete Coverage  2009 California Hot Rod Reunion - 8 pages - 2100 photos         2009 Boise Nightfire Nationals Full race report and photos     WHITE DOMINATES GOVERNORS CUP Takes commanding lead in point chase Sacramento 09/26/09: In a nutshell: Only ten cars showed, but only nine ran because Nitro Fever will need to be front halved after hitting the wall last month at Sacramento during a match race with a jet funny car. The crew did not see the damage until they started working on it for this event. Cheetah IV showed with the MSD mag, but Bobby (McClennan) said they had to put a Mallory in if he wanted to play; he tested with the MSD but later switched to the Mallory. Patterson decided to stay home over the late model hemi mag controversy. Qualifiers (times close but not exact on all): 1. Harris 5.70 (new track record) 2. White 5.71 (ran 262 in Q1 for track record) 3. Murphy 5.90 4. Sorokin 5.92 5. Williamson 5.94 6. McLennan 6.01 (?) 7. Murry 6.06 (brand new car) 8. Malde 6.27 9. Cox 6.37 DNQ) Harris over Malde White over Murry Murphy over McLennan (5.83) Sorokin over Wiliamson (5.88) White over Murphy (new track record by White-264 mph) Sorokin over Harris (Harris went 5.69 for new track record but was DQd for clipping a cone). White over Sorokin (White ran five 5.7s-two in Q and three in E-all between 5.71 and 5.76. Right now it is White and Harris -- everybody else is just on the outside looking in; Chuck Neal and Jack Harris seem to be the only ones who have this deal figured out. Even Murphy admitted that it is going to be tough for him to get that extra tenth right now. Full Race Report     Running Wild Racing gets a new car! Brendan Murry the parts broker from racecarparts.com recently received a new chassis from Rooman Motorsports in Brownsburg, Indiana. The new car features all the modern tricks with the classic styling of the sixties! It features custom paint by Brendan (the first in 20 years) with some help from a few friends at PPG and his backyard buddies. Recent testing with the Alan Johnson cylinder head big block Chevy netted very good early and 1/2 track numbers. Team confidence is high going into the Govenor's Cup Championships at Sacramento Raceway September 17 &18. A special thanks goes out to: Rooman Motorsports Blower Shop Titan Speed Engineering PPG Paint Victory Machine Billet Fabrication Arias Pistons RBS Dougs Headers Brooks Rods Akerly & Childs East West Engineering Simpson Safety SCE Gaskets Jet Car Bob Smith NGK Spark Plugs Victor Aviation New Century Performance King Bearing Alan Johsnson Performance     High Speed Motorsports is proud to announce that their NHRA World Championship Nostalgia Top Fuel dragster graces the currently cover of drag racings premier magazine - Drag Racer. The November 2009 issue that hit newsstands and mail boxes this week (09-17) also has a great feature story about the team - "Going Green" (Champs Become the Target) with more great photos. The issue also has an extensive layout on the RB Entertainment - Champion Speed Shop "Batmoblie" top fuel car driven by Adam Sorokin. If you are not a subscriber, pick up an issue at your local media outlet today!       WW2 Racing Shop Tour     More News at AAFD Media   Official publication of AAFD

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