Friday night's O'Reilly Auto Parts Race Your Ride #8 started under threatening skies, again! However after a brief twenty minute light rain, the skies started to clear and Staff quickly dried the track. We were back to racing with a beautiful night. That is Dan Garry and John Haut above.
Before the rains came, Dave Harris came to the line with the car looking different from past years.
Before the rains came, Dave Harris came to the line with the car looking different from past years.
I later learned that in the off-season, they switched the engine over to a supercharger, which added another 100 HP. They also made numerous changes to the chassis. Dave stated, "I have been trying to get the car to run in the 7's for five years!" Congratulations Dave, as the car ran a 7.747 @ 178.83 mph.
During the rain delay, I was walking the pits when I saw John Schober sitting in his dragster getting it ready to run. A short time later the car exited the tunnel and approached the line. John was not in the driver's seat! I looked around to see who was missing and it was Liz Manaseri, John's granddaughter. Liz is apparently converting from a junior dragster to a full size one. She drove well, getting better as the night rolled on.
During the rain delay, I was walking the pits when I saw John Schober sitting in his dragster getting it ready to run. A short time later the car exited the tunnel and approached the line. John was not in the driver's seat! I looked around to see who was missing and it was Liz Manaseri, John's granddaughter. Liz is apparently converting from a junior dragster to a full size one. She drove well, getting better as the night rolled on.
Another car came rolling through the tunnel, which I hadn't seen in a while. It was the Mustang of Tyler Alley. I saw his sister-in-law, Miranda, and my first thought was where is her newborn son Corbin! After confirming he was at the track, I asked about Tyler's car and learned it had a new motor, going from a 302 C.I. to a new small block with a lot more horsepower.
And yes there is a picture of Corbin!
Testing this night was Top Sportsman driver Robbie Van der Woude. Robbie made a great burnout, however as he launched from the line, the car bogged down and stopped. I guess this is why you test!
Testing also this night was the nostalgia funny car Tiffen & Hess Goldigger. It made only one pass, but it was a pretty good one.
Emily Ballard with her crew chief Cody Medeisis was out in her Camaro attempting to license for the ET Bracket of less than 10 seconds. Something looked different and I confirmed with her dad, Mike, there were new wheels on the car. She was running well except on one run where there was a problem with the rev limiter. That was quickly fixed. While she made a several runs, her fastest was a 10.04. She needs a 9.99 to license. I spoke with Cody and he stated they were having an issue with a slipping belt. As soon as they get that fixed she should easily break 10 seconds.
On Sunday in conjunction with the Rockett Brand Racing Fuels ET Bracket race #4, the NHRA Junior Drag Racing League will be running its first race of the season. There were four Junior's testing.
Dave and Maria Kocher were out testing with Plane Insane II. Dave made a couple great runs and appears to be ready for Sunday!
It was a good mix of street cars and race cars that allowed for a great night of racing. It was a fun night! Here some more images from the night's action.
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