Booher set the pace for the weekend in the opening qualifying session, running 5.386 at 267 miles per hour. He struggled in the second session, but so did the rest of the thirteen-car field, which included Division 3 champions Bill Reichert and Marty Thacker. Running in front of a sold-out crowd of over 45,000 fans, Brandon clicked off a 5.403 at 268 mph pass during the final qualifying session on Saturday night. No one beat his first elapsed time, so he would enter Sunday’s eliminations as the number one qualifier for the first time in his four-year TAD career.

“To take it out of the trailer and run that quick was awesome. It’s always nice to get down the track on the first qualifying run. To be in the top half is great, but to be number one is as good as you can hope for. I was trying to push the elapsed time a little lower over the course of the weekend but the conditions just weren’t there. The rest of the alcohol cars proved that; everyone else was struggling to make power,” said Booher, who utilizes a torque converter instead of the class-standard clutch.

Hopes were high leading into Booher’s first round matchup with Paul Fishburn. No problems were apparent until the AB Construction/Torque Management car lost oil pressure on the starting line.

“The oil pump locked up on me just before I went in to pre-stage. It was fine when we warmed it up in the pits. I did the burnout, backed up, revved it up, then I watched the oil pressure drop to zero as I was getting ready to pre-stage. I let it run for a second then said something to my dad over the radio. He saw the belt shredding as the motor was running so I shut it off,” Brandon recalled.

The former Junior Dragster driver had no choice but to shut the motor off to avoid damage. Fishburn went on to shake the tires early into his single run – adding salt to Booher’s wounds.

“You’re racing the eighth qualifier, your car isn’t running, then you sit there and watch your opponent shake the tires eighty feet out and shut it off. It’s tough. We have the solution, but you hate to find these things first round.”

The weekend had its positives despite the early exit, according to Brandon.

“We got a lot of great data from the three runs we were able to make, so I think we’ll go into Joliet stronger than we’ve been at the past two races. Hopefully we can parlay the success we’ve had in qualifying into eliminations. If we can do that, we have a car that’s capable of winning rounds and winning races.”

Booher Racing is a Champaign, Illinois-based Top Alcohol Dragster team, competing in the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series. Former Junior Dragster driver Brandon Booher pilots the family-owned AB Construction blown alcohol dragster. The team owns the world record for quickest and fastest converter-equipped TAD. Booher Racing receives support from Motorsports Unlimited, Goodson Tools, Spitzer Race Cars, and Torque Management. To learn more about Booher Racing, please visit www.nitronate.com/booher.

For news and results throughout the 2013 season, follow Booher Racing on Facebook (www.facebook.com/booherracing) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/booherracing).

Hoover, won the first ever Farmington Quick 8 Cup back in 1990, driving his then Super Shops Chevrolet Camaro. Hoover, “the best kept secret in the south” will be driving the Paul Trussell super charged Chevrolet Camaro in the Quick 8 Pro Mod Race. “ Nothing could be better than to have one of the true pioneers of Farmington Quick 8 racing as apart of this special Reunion race” said former track owner and event co-promoter Mark Joyce. “Ed did a lot of winning back in the early ‘90’s not only at Farmington, but all over the south and me and Denise is proud to have him aboard for the event”. Joining Hoover in the battle for the Quick 8 Pro Mod reunion victory will be the 17x Champion of drag racing Todd Tutterow , behind the controls of his yet to be determined Galot Motorsports entry. You’ll just have to be in attendance to find out as “King Tutt’s Galot teammate Kevin Rivenbark will join him in his Pontiac Firebird. Long time Pro Mod veteran Randy Weatherford in his WS Construction Nitrous fed Camaro will be on aboard along with his teammate Andy Beal of Thomasville, NC in his Super Charged Corvette. The Williams Family Motorsports Ford Mustang and former Quick 8 champion Todd Howard will have the blue oval ready for the war. Local favorites Keith Floyd of Lexington, NC in his Super Charged Camaro and Jamie Chappell of Boonville, NC in his Nitrous fed Corvette will be in the Farm house along with long time veteran heads-up warriors Torey Cagle from Georgia and JR Ward from Virginia.
These drivers and more will be battling for a $4,000.00 to Win paycheck, with runner-up receiving $1,200.00, Semi-finalist $1,000.00 and First round losers $750.00 each. Quick 8 qualifying gets kicked off early at 12:15 PM, round two at 2:15 PM and final round scheduled at 4:15 PM. Besides the Quick 8 Race and Celebrity shootout, the stars and cars of Tony Brown’s Pro Tree Racers Association series will be in the house. PTRA classes featured will be 4.90 Index Door Cars, 4.90 Index Dragster, 6.0 Index, 7.0 Index, True Street, Performance Street, Pro Tree Eliminator, Street Eliminator and Pro Tree Junior Dragster.
Don’t miss out…..on ONE BIG DAY….ONE BIG DRAG RACE and ONE BIG
NOTE: There will be a special Quick 8 PRO MOD Test session on Friday, May 24

The special thing about the Farmington Quick 8 Pro Mod reunion is that the event will give former and current Pro Mod racers, Engine Builders and Sponsors an opportunity
To compete in their “Street Legal” vehicle for charity. The Big Brothers and Big Sisters Celebrity Shootout will feature an all-star list also including two legendary engine builders Gene Fulton of Spartanburg, SC and Sonny Leonard of Lynchburg, VA. Both Fulton and Leonard are former Farmington IHRA Modified Eliminator winners and build some the Quick 8 Pro Mod drivers competing in the events engines. Also scheduled to be on hand for the Quick 8 Pro Mod Reunion Celebrity Charity Shootout is former Don Plemmons driver Buzz Varner, former Quick 8 champion and car owner Jerry Williams, Dark Horse racing ace Thomas Dunford, EOPM director Rick Moore, Turbo man Rod Houck, the “Mail Man” Charles Harris, super tuner and racer Charles Terrell and Charlotte, NC’s Memphis Smith. “We are so glad to have these guys as early pre-entries for our celebrity shootout for Big Brother and Big Sister said event co promoter Denise Tutterow. This is a wonderful charity and even some of the kids will be on hand to witness their first Farmington Quick 8 Pro Mod race. Anyone interest in racing this charity event can still enter up to the 3 PM first round of time runs for the race on Saturday, May 25th, Contact Denise 336-399-5114 or Mark Joyce 336-480-8481.

NOTE: Special Quick 8 Pro Mod Test Session on Friday, May 24th, Time from 12 noon till 6 PM. $100.00 each driver. You may stay over into the afternoon and night till 10 PM for Farmington’s regular Friday Night Thunder Street Car & Motorcycle event.

Event Schedule, Saturday, May 25th
Gates Open at 8 AM
Time Runs start at 11 AM
Quick 8 Pro Mod Qualifying at 12:15 (Rd1)
Grill Out Contest starts at 1PM ends at 6 PM
Fun Zone events start at 11 AM to 8 AM (Located in between the two Concession stands)
Quick 8 Pro Mod Rd 2 at 2:15 PM
Celebrity Pro Mod Drivers “street car” Shootout Time Runs start at 3:00 PM
Quick 8 Pro Mod Rd 3 at 4:15 PM
Celebrity Shootout Elimination’s at 5:30 PM
1st Rd Quick 8 Pro Mod Elimination’s at 6:15 PM
Announce Grill Out Contest and other Award winners at 7:00 PM
2nd Rd Quick 8 at 8:15 PM
Finals at 9:15 PM

“We haven’t been running quite as well as we want yet this year, but hopefully some of the changes that we made over the last few weeks have fixed our issue. We have been racing here for years and I really like Cordova so it will be nice to get this Powersource Transportation Corvette back out on the track,” said Snyder.

Snyder and the Team are no strangers to winning at this track, in fact his first ever pro win came at the facility in 2000 when he was racing in the Pro Outlaw class.

“We have raced everything from Jrs, to IHRA, to the Top Alcohol Funny Car there. It is one of the few tracks that seems to keep changing with us. Hopefully, at the end of the day on Sunday we will be hoisting the trophy with our first win of the 2013 season.”

Qualifying for the event begins on Saturday morning and continues throughout the day, with eliminations on Sunday. For up to date information please log onto www.dragracecentral.com.

The Snyder Motorsports Race Team would like to thank their associate sponsors Lencodrive Racing Transmissions, R & R Racing Products, Flatout Gaskets, NGK, Lucas Oil, Snyder Auto, VP Racing Fuels, JE Pistons, PSI Springs, Long Printing, Goodson and Jeg’s for their continued support this year.

Please visit the Snyder Motorsports official website at www.snydermotorsports.com.

Powersource Transportation, Inc. satisfies a unique niche within the trucking industry by providing a power-only source for hauling empty or loaded trailers or trailer-mounted equipment. From mobile concrete and asphalt plants to entertainment/tour transportation and military trailers, Powersource gives owner operators the opportunity to pull a wide variety of high-paying freight without loading, unloading or tarping. Powersource is always looking for professional owner operators to join their fleet of independent businessmen. To learn more about our major sponsor Powersource Transportation, Inc. and job opportunities please log onto www.powersourcetransportation.com.

Submitted by: Shanna Snyder
Contact email address: shanna.bell@cnoinc.com

1. What was the first official White House car? (all answers are below)
2. Who opened the first drive-in gas station?
3. What city was the first to use parking meters?
4. Where was the first drive-in restaurant?
5. True of False? the 1953 Corvette came in white, red and black.
6. What was Ford’s answer to the Chevy Corvette and other legal street racers of the 1960s?
7. What was the first car fitted with an alternator rather than a direct current dynamo?
8. What was the first car fitted with a replaceable cartridge oil filter?
9. What was the first car to be offered with a “perpetual guarantee”?
10. What American luxury auto maker began by making cages for birds and squirrels?
11. What car first referred to itself as a convertible?
12. What car was the first to have its radio antenna embedded in the windshield?
13. What car used the first successful series-production hydraulic valve lifters?
14. Where was the world’s first three-color traffic light installed?
15. What type of car had the distinction of being GM’s 100-millionth car built in the US?
16. Where was the first drive-in movie theater opened and when?
17. What automobiles were the first to use a standardized production key-start system?
18. What did the Oldsmobile designation 4-4-2 stand for?
19. What care was the first to place the horn button in the center of the steering wheel?
20. What US production car has the quickest 0 to 60 MPH time?
21. What is the only car to appear simultaneously on the covers of Time and Newsweek?
22. What was the lowest priced mass produced American car?
23. What is the fastest internal combustion American production car?
24. What automaker’s first logo incorporated the Star of David?
25. Who wrote to Henry Ford:
    “I have drove fords exclusively when I could get away with one. It has every other car skinned, and even if my business hasn’t been strictly legal it don’t hurt anything to tell you what afine car you got in the V-8“?
26. What was the first production V-12, as well as the first production car with aluminum pistons?
27. What was the first cat to use power operated seats?
28. Which of the Chrysler “letter cars” sold the fewest number?
29. What car company was originally knows as Swallow Sidecars (aka SS)?
30. When were seat belts first fitted to a motor vehicle?
31. In January 1930, Cadillac debuted its V16 in a car named for a theatrical version of a 1920s film seen by Harley Earl while designing the body. What’s that name?
32. Which car company started our German, yet became French after WWI?
33. In what model year did Cadillac introduce the first electric sunroof?
34. What US production car has the largest 4-cylinder engine?
35. What car was reportedly designed on the back of a Northwest Airlines airsickness bag and released on April Fool’s Day 1970?
36. What is the Spirit of Ecstasy?
37. What was the inspiration for MG’s famed octagon shaped badge?
38. In what year did the “double-R” Rolls Royce badge change from red to black?

And the answers are …

1. What was the first official White House Car? A 1909 White Steamer, ordered by President Taft.
   
   
2. Who opened the first drive-in gas station?  Gulf opened up the first station in Pittsburgh in 1913.
   
3. What city was the first to use parking meters? Oklahoma City introduced parking meters on July 16, 1935.
   
4. Where was the first drive-in restaurant? Royce Hailey’s Pig Stand opened in Dallas, Texas in 1921.
   
5. True of False? the 1953 Corvette came in white, red and black.
   
6. What was Ford’s answer to the Chevy Corvette and other legal street racers of the 1960s? Carroll Shelby’s Mustang GT350.
   
   
7. What was the first car fitted with an alternator rather than a direct current dynamo? The 1960 Plymouth Valiant.
   
8. What was the first car fitted with a replaceable cartridge oil filter? The 1924 Chrysler
   
9. What was the first car to be offered with a “perpetual guarantee”? The 1904 Acme from Reading, PA. Perpetuity was disturbing in this case, as Acme closed down in 1911.
   
10. What American luxury auto maker began by making cages for birds and squirrels? The George N. Pierce Co. of Buffalo who made the pierce Arrow, also made iceboxes.
    
11. What car first referred to itself as a convertible? The 1904 Thomas Flyer, which had a removable hard top.
    
12. What car was the first to have its radio antenna embedded in the windshield? The 1969 Plymouth Grand Prix
    
13. What car used the first successful series-production hydraulic valve lifters? The 1930 Cadillac 452, the first production V16.
    
14. Where was the world’s first three-color traffic light installed? Detroit Michigan in 1919. Two years later, they experimented with synchronized lights.
    
15. What type of car had the distinction of being GM’s 100-millionth car built in the US? March 16, 1966 saw an Oldsmobile Tornado roll out of  Lansing, Michigan with that honor.
    
16. Where was the first drive-in movie theater opened and when? Camden, New Jersey in 1933.
    
17. What automobiles were the first to use a standardized production key-start system? 1949 Chryslers.
    
18. What did the Oldsmobile designation 4-4-2 stand for? 4 Barrel Carburetor, 4 Speed Transmission, Dual (2) Exhaust.
    
19. What care was the first to place the horn button in the center of the steering wheel? The 1915 Scripps-Booth Model C. The car was also the first with electric door latches.
    
20. What US production car has the quickest 0 to 60 MPH time? The 1962 Chevrolet Impala SS 409 did it in 4.0 seconds.
    
21. What is the only car to appear simultaneously on the covers of Time and Newsweek? The Ford Mustang.
    
22. What was the lowest priced mass produced American car? The 1925 Ford Model T Runabout sold for $260, $5.00 less than the 1924 model.
    
23. What is the fastest internal combustion American production car? The 1998 Dodge Viper GETS-R, tested by Motor Trend magazine at 192.6 MPH.
    
24. What automaker’s first logo incorporated the Star of David? The Dodge Brothers of Detroit, Michigan.
    
25. Who wrote to Henry Ford:
    “I have drove fords exclusively when I could get away with one. It has every other car skinned, and even if my business hasn’t been strictly legal it don’t hurt anything to tell you what a fine car you got in the V-8“?
    Answer: Clyde Barrow (of Bonnie & Clyde) in 1934
    
26. What was the first production V-12, as well as the first production car with aluminum pistons? The 1915 Packard Twin-Six. Used during WWI in Italy, these motors inspired Enzi Ferrari to adopt the V12 himself in 1948.
    
27. What was the first cat to use power operated seats? Power operated seats wer first used on the 1947 Packard line.
    
28. Which of the Chrysler “letter cars” sold the fewest number? Only 400 of the 1963 300Js were sold. Chrysler skipped “I” because it looked like a number 1.
    
29. What car company was originally knows as Swallow Sidecars (aka SS)? Jaguar, which was an SS model first in 1935 and ultimately the whole company by 1945.
    
30. When were seat belts first fitted to a motor vehicle? in 1902, in a Baker Electric streamliner racer which crashed at 100 MPH on Staten Island!
    
    
31. In January 1930, Cadillac debuted its V16 in a car named for a theatrical version of a 1920s film seen by Harley Earl while designing the body. What’s that name? The “Madam X”, a custom coach designed by Earl and built by Fleetwood. The sedan featured a retractable landau top above the rear seat.
    
32. Which car company started our German, yet became French after WWI? Bugati, founded in Molsheim in 1909 became French when Alsace returned to French rule.
    
33. In what model year did Cadillac introduce the first electric sunroof? 1969.
    
34. What US production car has the largest 4-cylinder engine? The 1907 Thomas sported a 571 cu. in (9.2 liter) engine.
    
35. What car was reportedly designed on the back of a Northwest Airlines airsickness bag and released on April Fool’s Day 1970?
36. What is the Spirit of Ecstasy?
37. What was the inspiration for MG’s famed octagon shaped badge?
38. In what year did the “double-R” Rolls Royce badge change from red to black?

With all of those details in the light of day, it’s a proud moment for Tim Wilkerson as the NHRA Mello Yello tour heads to Topeka this weekend, for the 25th Annual Kansas Nationals. One quick glance at the points standings shows Wilk in fifth place, but it also shows him as the top Ford driver in the class, albeit his lead over Ford stablemate Courtney Force is a razor-thin two points. Still, leading the Ford contingent into Topeka is a good thing, and being on a hot streak is even better. Over the course of the last three races, Wilk has picked up seven round wins and seven spots in the standings, and those seven round wins are more than the rest of the Ford contingent combined. Wilk, however, sees this moment as just that, a snapshot of one moment in a long season.

“When you race a Ford Funny Car, you’re going to spend a lot of time talking with the guys over at John Force’s operation, and we’ve always spent a lot of time working with Bob Tasca’s group, so you get to know what they can do,” Wilk said. “It’s a lot of fun to head to Topeka as the top Ford team, but all four of those other cars are more than capable of going on a tear that can turn the entire standings upside down. We’re just happy to be hot right now and do Ford some good.

“We have nine round wins at this point, and I was thinking back to last year and couldn’t even remember when we won our ninth round. Turns out it was Seattle, in August, so we’re definitely headed in the right direction this year and we’re just focused on getting better every week. If we do that, and stay focused on what we’re doing, the points will come and the wins will come. We’ve been the runner-up in our last four finals, so I hope we break through here at some point, and we’ll put this Ford in the Winner’s Circle.”

The NHRA Mello Yello season features a long haul through 18 races in the regular season, and throughout those months teams are battling to earn enough points to stay in the Top 10 in order to make the playoffs. With Topeka being the eighth race of the year it’s still early and there are a lot of points left to be earned but, just like in other sports, an early win counts just as much as one on the season’s last day. Just one year ago, after Wilk struggled in the early season, he needed a miraculous rally at Indianapolis to earn his playoff spot on the final day. This year, he hopes to be in a much more secure position.

“Every point counts, from the rounds you win in April to the bonus points you get during a qualifying session in June,” Wilk said. “Last year we were just horribly inconsistent, and every time we’d have a good day and think he had a handle on it, we’d struggle at the next race. This year, once we got some things sorted out we got over the hump a little bit, and we’ve been pretty good here for a few races. It’s a tough sport, though, and every driver in the class can tell you about the last time they had a slump and couldn’t buy a round win. It happens, and it happens to everyone.

“The key for us is to just be what we are and be the best we can be as the LRS Ford. We’re not a team that tries to set track records or run low e.t. every round. We try to take care of our parts, get in the show solidly, and hopefully be in the top half and win some rounds. If we do that, there will be days when the track comes to us and we’ll win a lot of rounds. Houston was kind of like that. We had a good handle on a track that was giving everyone else fits, and we almost won the thing. We’ll just go to Topeka and get back to work, and we’ll see how it plays out.”

The moment is now. It’s simply a snapshot of this point in time, when the Mello Yello tour is nearing the halfway mark in the regular season. Tim Wilkerson leads the powerful Ford Racing contingent in points and round wins. As snapshots go, it’s a nice one to look at for the Levi, Ray & Shoup team and the legions of Wilk’s Warriors around the world.

###

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Team Wilkerson Racing
NHRA Nitro Funny Car

http://www.timwilkerson.com

Before we get into the ins and outs of the 3-D Fast Cut™ System, let’s look at a little history. Grinding is one of the earliest methods for machining valve seats along with the Neway Valve Seat Cutter. These methods all machined a single angle at a time which could be time consuming.  Multi-angle seat cutting first appeared in the Goodson catalog in 1991 when cutter bits and tooling from mira® were added to the product line. The first multi-angle cutter blades (FT-blades) appeared in the 1994 Goodson catalog and the 3-D Fast Cut™ system was born in 1997. The rest, as they say, is history.

One of the advantages of the multi-angle cutting systems (like the 3-D Fast Cut) is that you can cut more than one angle at a time. Blades are made from tungsten carbide for their cutting performance and long life. Blades can also be customized; if you need a specific profile, it’s not a problem. Blades can be sharpened and if they get chipped or can’t be sharpened any longer it won’t cost you and arm and leg to replace them.

Another advantage is that the tooling and blades are pretty much interchangeable from one system to the next. This means that the 3-D Fast Cut™ tooling you can buy from Goodson is fully compatible with any you may have from Kwik Way or Peterson or Rottler or Serdi or ….

The biggest disadvantage to the whole multi-angle cutting system, regardless of who makes it, is initial investment. Once you get started, though, you can add blades or holders as you need them and soon, you’ll have an impressive range of tooling.

Over the years since the 3-D Fast Cut™ first appeared in the Goodson catalog, there have been a lot of updates and improvements to the tooling. You can now find Ball Heads that are smaller, larger or wider than the standard body. With all of these modifications, it’s now possible to cut seats that range from .550” up to 3.150”. All with the same basic seat cutting system.

One of the newest modifications to the 3-D Fast Cut™ system is the Micro tooling that enables seat cutting in very small bores. To accommodate these “micro” seats, the standard tip holders and the tips have been modified to fit (see picture at left showing relative blade sizes) without sacrificing cutter integrity or interfering with the combustion chamber wall. We didn’t forget the valve guides in the equation either. The 3-D Micro Tooling fits .236” top pilots that are available from .156” to .277”.

Just as we’ve added tooling over the years, we’ve added cutter blade profiles. In the 1994 catalog we showed a whopping 23 cutter profiles. Today (at least as of this writing) we stock 120 different profiles for everything from lawnmowers to land movers. As we said before, custom profiles are available (see back for more information).

The tech department (the guys who handle the majority of our new product research and development) did some creative thinking and came up with some other uses for the 3-D Fast Cut™ tooling. They like to say, “It’s not just for seats anymore.” With the addition of some custom holders, it’s possible to cut spring pads, contour bowls and drive counterbore cutters on your guide and seat machine.

One of the most interesting variations of the 3-D Fast Cut tooling was introduced in 2006 as a means of removing valve seat inserts.

As you can see, the 3-D Fast Cut™ system is a versatile and useful system to have in the shop. If you have an idea for how to expand the program even more, give us a call at 1-800-533-8010.

For more information about 3-D Fast Cut™ or any other technical topic, contact the Goodson Techxperts™ at 1-800-533-8010 or visit the Technical Library on our website.

For the third consecutive race, qualifying was limited to just two sessions and Wilk continued to show that he’s not only just fine with that format, he actually seems to excel at it. Here, it was a pair of fine runs on Friday, a 4.123 and a 4.089, that placed him fourth on the grid, following an identical fourth in Charlotte and a No. 2 spot in Houston. All were accomplished with only two qualifying runs.

“We’ve timed this pretty well, in terms of the car and the clutch coming around for us, because it might’ve been a different story if the car was still giving us fits like it was earlier in the year,” Wilk said. “Right now, it’s just nice and consistent and we feel like it will go down the track every time, so only making two runs has been okay with me. It’s lousy to get rained on, and it wasn’t any fun to have this race postponed a week, but if we can qualify this well and only make half the qualifying runs, that’s a good thing for the bank account, at least.

“We’re also starting to put some good mile-per-hour on the board, with a string of 307s here, and that’s pretty good for us. We’re not known as a big speed team, because we don’t tune the car that way, so running 307 means we’re not chewing up too many parts and not dropping too many cylinders. We’re on a pretty good little run right now, and my guys are earning their paychecks with the quick turn-arounds while we’re going rounds on race day.”

With the rescheduled Atlanta race being run under the threat of precipitation, the pressure was on to service the cars quickly as a number of small rain showers were in the area all day, and one such shower caused a delay between rounds one and two. Wilk faced Alexis DeJoria in the opening round, and he cruised to a 4.139 at 307.79 to get the win light. That set up a second-round date with Jack Beckman, who grabbed lane choice with his 4.122 in round one.

“That little rain shower might have really been a good thing, in terms of the track because it was a little sketchy out there in round one, but after the Safety Safari dried the track and dragged it again, things were pretty even with the lanes and you could get down either side,” Wilk said. “If there’s a better lane during any given round, that’s just the way it is and that’s drag racing. That’s why you want lane choice. It wouldn’t be fair to the teams that already lost if they went out there in the middle of a round to try to make it even. But, with the rain, it gave them a chance to prep things a little more, and they gave us a terrific track to race on. The track was great.”

In round two, after that rain delay and track prep, Wilk’s self-proclaimed “bracket car” went A-to-B again, putting a solid if unspectacular 4.142 on the board to vanquish a tire-hazing Beckman. It marked his third consecutive trip to the semifinals, and fourth such effort on the year. It also matched him up with No. 1 qualifier Matt Hagan, who had posted a bit of a lucky win with a 4.663 in round one but then bounced back to trounce John Force with a 4.104 in round two.

Hagan reprised his 4.10, this time with a 4.106 to end Wilk’s day in the semifinal. The LRS Ford suffered through its first bit of tire smoke on the weekend, and Hagan tore away to punch his ticket to the final.

“Once again, my guys busted their tails to get us there, and we had a lot of help from Bob Tasca’s guys again, so it would’ve been nice to get back to the final and maybe finally get this bridesmaid’s dress off with a win, but it just pulled the tires loose there going by the tree, and for no good reason that I can see,” Wilk said. “That’s the same motor we put in the car for the final in Houston, and that was the only time we smoked the tires there. We’re thinking about taking this thing home and burying it in the backyard, because it’s not being very hospitable to us. A good day though, and the numbers are starting to add up.”

Here are just a few of those numbers. Wilk is now 9-7 on the year. Last season, he didn’t win his ninth round of racing until August 5, in Seattle. Once he gets out of the first round on race day, Wilk appears to be a lock to advance as far as the semifinals. He is 4-0 in round two this season. He moved up a notch to the fifth spot in the Mello Yello standings, but just as importantly he continued to put some space between himself and those chasing him, while he edged closer to those at the top. Just four races ago, he was 12th. As an example of nearly insane consistency, his qualifying speed in Atlanta was 307.58 mph, the exact same speed he qualified with in Houston. Even Wilk’s reaction times are trending positively, as he posted .090, .087, and .079 in Atlanta.

It’s all beginning to add up for Tim Wilkerson. Next weekend, in Topeka, he’ll try to keep the math moving in the right direction.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Team Wilkerson Racing
NHRA Nitro Funny Car

http://www.timwilkerson.com

Wilk and his team took advantage of the postponement by making a quick sprint back to their shop in Springfield, Ill. after the first attempt to race in Atlanta was called off last Saturday morning.

“I guess if you’re going to get rained out, doing it this way and calling it on Saturday morning is the way to do it,” Wilk said. “If we sit there and watch it rain for three days, and then the towel finally gets thrown in on Sunday night or even Monday, it’s almost not worth it to head back home, but this time we loaded up our duallie with as many parts and as we could, wrapped a tarp over the bed, and took off for home. We went to the final round at Charlotte and Houston so we had a lot of stuff that needed to be serviced, but we originally figured we could get through Atlanta and then work on it all during the week off between Atlanta and Topeka.

“With the re-run happening this weekend now, and with Topeka right after it, we needed to reload so we went on a little road trip and got back to Illinois. We left our pit completely set up, and we’re ready to go if Mother Nature cooperates this time around. It’s looking pretty good, and we’re eager to get going. We might as well make the most of it, now that we’ve come back here to try it again.”

There will be one day of pro qualifying for the rescheduled Summit Racing Equipment Southern Nationals, on Friday. Sessions are set for 2:00 and 4:00, with Top Fuel preceding the Funny Car class. Final eliminations will begin at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, and will follow the standard race-day format.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Team Wilkerson Racing
NHRA Nitro Funny Car

http://www.timwilkerson.com

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,” Booher claimed.

Once eliminations finally started Monday afternoon, Booher’s all-volunteer crew was short a few members who had to return to work. This led to a mix-up in the pre-race routine that hurt the car’s first round performance. Brandon and opponent Jared Dreher left the starting line with almost identical reaction times, but the AB Construction/Torque MGMT. car went up in smoke shortly after. Dreher went on to win the round.

“Everything went smooth all weekend, even the test pass,” Booher said. “Then we had a timing malfunction first round, which caused the car to go up in smoke. It was a simple mistake that we learned from, but you hate to learn stuff first round. We have a car that was 110% capable of winning the race, but you need to win the round before you can win the race. Sort of a sour way to end a great weekend, but nothing is hurt, we know what the solution is, and we’ll take that knowledge going forward into Norwalk.”

Despite the early exit, the opening qualifying effort was reassuring for Booher and the family-owned team.

“All of the hard work, taking the weight off, and the new converter technology – it’s finally putting us where we need to be. We can unload the car and be competitive. The 5.34 is impressive I suppose, but the 271+ MPH speed was most impressive to me. To have top speed of the event when guys like Perry, Thacker, and Reichert show up, over two separate weekends, shows the capabilities that we have to make horsepower. The next race is in Norwalk, and I know there will be plenty of racetrack there. I’m hoping for five-twenties at Norwalk. I know it’ll run twenties. It ran .930 to the sixty foot on the 5.34 run – we should be .890. When we get the sixty-foot picked up, everything else will pick up down the line,” Booher said with confidence.

Brandon thanked the crew – Aaron, Pete, Drew, Cam, John, Ed, and wife Shannon – as well as Ken Juszczyk’s Motorsports Unlimited, Spitzer Race Cars, and Goodson Tools.

Booher Racing is a Champaign, Illinois-based Top Alcohol Dragster team, competing in the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series. Former Junior Dragster driver Brandon Booher pilots the family-owned AB Construction blown alcohol dragster. The team owns the world record for quickest and fastest converter-equipped TAD. Booher Racing receives support from Motorsports Unlimited, Goodson Tools, Spitzer Race Cars, and Torque Management. To learn more about Booher Racing, please visit www.nitronate.com/booher.

For news and results throughout the 2013 season, follow Booher Racing on Facebook (www.facebook.com/booherracing) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/booherracing).

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Thanks,
Nate Van Wagnen
NVW Motorsports Promotion
440-986-1480

www.nitronate.com

The professional classes will make two qualifying runs next Friday (May 10) and eliminations will be held on Saturday.

Tim Wilkerson comment:

“You had to be here to know how raw and ugly it was, and the worst of it hadn’t even gotten to the track yet,” Wilkerson said. “They made the right call, because we could’ve easily sat here until Tuesday or Wednesday, waiting to run. This way, we can leave our transporters here and head home for a few days, then all meet up again at the end of the week to try to make this happen. Only getting the two qualifying runs is always tough, but that’s the way it’s been at the last two races and we’ve done okay, so I’m not complaining. We’re all in the same boat on that deal, and if we stayed here any longer we were going to need a boat. We’ll see you next Friday.”

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Team Wilkerson Racing
NHRA Nitro Funny Car

http://www.timwilkerson.com