ADRL.us - News and Information

May 28, 2008

ADRL.us Adds RSS Feed

O’FALLON, MO (May 28, 2008) — The Flowmaster American Drag Racing League (ADRL) presented by the National Guard has added RSS Feed capability to its popular www.ADRL.us Web site. Essentially, RSS (Rich Summary Site or Really Simple Syndication) offers an easy, free, scheduled method of distributing a concise list of headlines, update notices, and sometimes content to subscribers using personal computers, laptops and even palmtop devices.

“This is just one more step toward making ADRL.us a daily ‘go-to’ destination for our fans and racers,” ADRL Vice President of Communications Ian Tocher said. “Our online readers are very Internet-savvy and this means they’ll now be able to learn of ADRL.us updates more quickly and easily. I hope many, many readers will take the opportunity to explore what the new ADRL RSS feed has to offer.”

ADRL.us is providing two distinct RSS feeds, with one delivering official press releases and the other updates of the popular Agent 660 column. Icons to view and subscribe to both RSS feeds are located at the bottom of the ADRL.us homepage.

May 27, 2008

ADRL Considers Spec Fuel for 2009

O’FALLON, MO (May 27, 2008) — In an effort to keep racing cost effective, the Flowmaster American Drag Racing League (ADRL) presented by the National Guard is “seriously considering” the implementation of a specified “spec” fuel starting in its 2009 season, series president Kenny Nowling said. The decision would affect racers in all three ADRL full-bodied car classes—Pro Extreme, Pro Nitrous and Extreme 10.5—as well as its unique Pro Extreme Motorcycle class.

“No agreement has yet been reached, but we are currently in serious discussions with VP Racing Fuels, the Official Racing Fuel of the ADRL, to become our spec fuel supplier for all four classes in the future,” Nowling said. “VP has supported racing throughout its history like few others. They’re dedicated to providing good performance and value in the form of top quality products for fair prices, so it just makes sense for us to take the next step with them.”

The ADRL announced VP Racing Fuels as its Official Racing Fuel last December and the company now stations a fuel truck at each ADRL national event, offering a full range of fuel products available at special “event only” pricing that is lower than the prevailing retail cost.

VP Racing Fuels also is a contingency sponsor with the ADRL, providing financial bonuses to racers who win or finish as runner-up with VP fuel in their tanks. To be eligible for the contingency awards, teams must purchase from VP at the event site a minimum of 30 gallons of methanol or 10 gallons of racing gasoline for cars, or two gallons of racing gasoline for motorcycles. The race car or motorcycle also must prominently display a VP Racing Fuels decal on each side of the vehicle.

“We’re very excited about the prospect of VP becoming ADRL’s spec fuel starting in 2009. We also look forward to supporting racers both through our Official Fuel sponsorship and with contingency awards, but we need them to work with us by making their purchases at the track. Racers will stand to benefit not only from the awards, but also from the testing and tuning they’ll accomplish this year in preparation for a spec fuel next year,” said Steve Scheidker, VP’s Director of Marketing. “If racers have any questions about VP fuels, our on-site technicians will always be happy to help them, or they can contact the appropriate VP regional office or e-mail our Tech Support group at tech@vpracingfuels.com.

May 24, 2008

ADRL Offers Double Shot of Adrenaline

O’FALLON, MO (May 24, 2008) — Every time the stars and cars of the Flowmaster American Drag Racing League (ADRL) presented by the National Guard take to the track they deliver “Adrenaline on Asphalt” and now a double shot of adrenaline is also available over the Internet. Just one day after the debut of the online version of official ADRL publication Adrenaline: The Magazine, the second installment of Adrenaline: The Series, the ADRL’s official one-hour video show, became available for online viewing or downloads.

“When we rolled out Adrenaline: The Series last month we weren’t quite sure what to expect, but the response has been nothing but positive,” ADRL Vice President of Communications Ian Tocher said. “I’ve heard from so many racers and fans who said they loved the content and appreciated the flexibility to sit down and watch the show whenever they liked, whether all at once or in segments as they found the time.”

The latest edition of Adrenaline: The Series features race coverage, interviews and behind-the-scene reporting from the recently completed 4th annual ADRL Hardee’s Georgia Drags at South Georgia Motorsports Park. It chronicles the record-setting run to the Pro Nitrous race title by Mopar man Billy Harper, the dominating second-straight Pro Extreme win by Joshua Hernandez, and the home-state heroics of Mike Hill and Coodee Thomas in Extreme 10.5 and Pro Extreme Motorcycle, respectively. The show also depicts the debut of several new cars and drivers to the ADRL, highlighted by the '63 Corvette of Extreme 10.5 star Steve Kirk Jr., who reset the class E.T. record at the South Georgia strip with it without even previously hitting the test track!

Adrenaline: The Series features drag racing hall-of-famer Ted Jones with the round-by-round call, color commentary from ADRL President Kenny Nowling and trackside reporting by famed drag racing journalist and historian Bret Kepner. With links to the show at www.ADRL.us, the ADRL’s official Web site, Adrenaline: The Series is hosted at www.DragRacingOnline.com.

The new, online presentation of Adrenaline: The Magazine offers a sophisticated, page-turning interface complete with sound effects, but also the option of viewing clickable thumbnails of the magazine's pages that lead straight to each two-page spread.

“This puts Adrenaline: The Magazine in front of so many more people,” Tocher said. “Making Adrenaline available online benefits everyone—our fans, our racers and our sponsors—since every single page is there for viewing or downloads.”

Twice as much ADRL action equals twice as much Adrenaline. And who doesn’t need a little more excitement in life?

May 20, 2008

ADRL’s ‘Guarding Our Youth Experience’ Encourages Valdosta Students to Achieve

VALDOSTA, GA (May 20, 2008) – Hundreds of Lowndes High School students had the opportunity to interact with American Drag Racing League (ADRL) star Joshua Hernandez (right) May 8, as he gave several presentations describing his Army National Guard-sponsored ’57 Chevy, his career as a professional race driver and how safety governs his decisions both on the track and on the road.

Hernandez, based out of Houston, Texas, has been drag racing professionally for the last four years and racing in the Sportsman classes since 1990. He was accompanied at the school by Sergeant First Class Donald Cuervo, an educator with the U.S. Army National Guard who offers classes on goal setting, drug and alcohol awareness, and career selection.

“We try to give our students multiple opportunities to see the real life application of what they learn in school,” LHS Automotive Technology Instructor Don Faircloth said. “We also feel it is important for students to be exposed to a variety of educational and career options throughout their high school experience.”

Through its Guarding Our Youth Experience, presented at each of nine national-event communities this year, the ADRL is providing students with real-world driver safety instruction from professional race drivers and law enforcement officials, and fostering safe driving awareness through personal stories from several people affected by automobile-related accidents. Another goal of the Guarding Our Youth Experience is to introduce students to careers in the automotive and motorsports industries, such as engineering, marketing and mechanical opportunities. (ADRL/Ian Tocher photo)

May 16, 2008

ADRL Reinstates Harper’s Record-Setting Run

O’FALLON, MO (May 16, 2008) — Officials of the Flowmaster American Drag Racing League presented by the National Guard today announced they are reversing their May 10 decision that disallowed Billy Harper’s 3.917-second elapsed time (E.T.) in round two of Pro Nitrous eliminations at the 4th annual ADRL Hardee’s Georgia Drags at South Georgia Motorsports Park (SGMP), near Valdosta, GA. The reinstatement of the pass also means it becomes the new, official ADRL Pro Nitrous E.T. record, lowering it from the 3.93 Harper ran in winning the final round over Dan Parker at the eighth-mile event.

“First and foremost, we want to apologize to Billy Harper and his entire race team, sponsors and fans for the confusion and any negative reactions they may have experienced,” stated ADRL Vice President of Competition Bubba Corzine, the official who made the initial call. “We’re all human and in the heat of battle we sometimes make mistakes. This was one of those times.”

On Friday night (May 9), Harper had his first qualifying pass disallowed after it was discovered his car’s engine containment blanket, designed to catch oil and parts in the event of a major engine failure, was hanging too low and affected the track’s incremental timing beams, leading to an unrealistically quick 3.82 E.T. that even Harper’s team members agreed could not be counted. So when Harper posted a .968 60-foot time and ran 2.59 to half-track, the quickest incremental E.T.s in the history of the class, against teammate and crew chief Dennis Radford on raceday, Corzine thought a similar timing issue had surfaced, especially since the engine blanket again appeared loose at the end of the run.

Following the Hardee’s Georgia Drags, ADRL officials visited Harper’s race shop in Paducah, Kentucky to examine and take measurements of his 2001 Dodge Viper. In addition to its engine blanket, of particular interest was the car’s front wheel stagger, which measured less than one-inch difference, well within ADRL tolerances.

“I want to make perfectly clear that Billy Harper and Dennis Radford are honorable, first-class competitors who have never had any previous issues of this nature,” Corzine said. “But there was an incident in qualifying and then an unfortunate series of coincidences in that second round of eliminations that called for an immediate decision. However, upon further inspection and review, we now know the 3.91 was a great, legitimate pass and Billy and his team deserve the record and recognition that goes with it.”

Harper said he understands how ADRL officials could have been initially skeptical of his numbers, but stressed his team would never seek an unfair advantage and appreciates the decision to reverse the call. “Especially for Dennis and the rest of my crew, they work so hard to get the job done,” Harper said. “I’m impressed the ADRL is willing to make this change.”

Series president Kenny Nowling added that he, too, wanted to apologize to Harper and his team for “any doubt these set of circumstances have created.”

“As Bubba said, we all make mistakes, but as a sanctioning body we have worked tirelessly to protect the integrity of the competition within the ADRL and will continue to vigorously do so,” Nowling pledged. “Moving forward, we will be adding staff to our tech department in an effort to minimize incidents like this in the future.

“Our racers work far too hard and put too much on the line for our mistake to cost them the records or rewards they truly deserve,” he continued. “Some people have encouraged me to just let the record stand as it is, but unlike some series in the past we want to remain open to examining and even reversing a decision if the situation calls for it. I firmly believe the only real mistake is the one you could correct, but don’t make the effort and this is one of those cases.”

Nowling also took the opportunity to announce a rules change affecting all ADRL cars. Currently, a minimum three-inch ground clearance is required from whatever portion of the vehicle’s body or chassis breaks the staging beam to 12 inches behind its front axle centerline, with a minimum two-inch clearance for the remainder of the vehicle. Starting at next month’s ADRL national event at Martin, Michigan, a minimum two-inch ground clearance will be allowed from the car’s front axle centerline to its rear end.

“This should take care of any future problems in this area,” Nowling stated. “But it has been brought to my attention that although all competitors in all three ADRL door-car classes are required to have an engine containment system and have it installed for tech inspection, some teams have apparently chosen to make runs either in testing, qualifying or eliminations without the system installed. This will not be tolerated.

“Effective immediately, ADRL officials will be doing random checks in the staging lanes during all on-track sessions to ensure these containment systems are in place. If any individual—with no exceptions—is found to have come to the lanes without the containment system installed and within the new two-inch ground clearance, he or she will be disqualified from the remainder of the event and will forfeit any points or purse from the event in question. The second time any individual has a similar infraction, he or she will be suspended from the remainder of the ADRL season involved.

“As far as we’re concerned, these engine containment systems are as important to a racer’s safety as their helmet, so there will be no warnings, no excuses and no exceptions,” Nowling declared. “You wouldn’t forget your helmet, so don’t forget the engine blanket.” 

May 15, 2008

Outlaw Clothing Nabs Jamie Hancock

(5-14-2008) LAGUNA HILLS, CA – Jamie Hancock isn’t just the reigning ADRL Pro Nitrous World Champion. He’s the new face of Outlaw Clothing Company. With a history of quick and consistent passes in his 2004 Chevy Corvette and the youth and mainstream marketability it takes to promote a street wear brand like Outlaw Clothing, Hancock is the perfect fit for the budding new company.

“For a young guy like me, this is a great opportunity,” said Hancock, who spent last weekend battling it out with the best of the best in ADRL Pro Nitrous competition. “Getting any sort of marketing partner for a drag racing team is a bit of a struggle and for a young, relatively new racer it’s even harder. Outlaw Clothing came to me and said they were looking to work with younger drivers to help build their brand – I couldn’t pass up the opportunity.” 

When it comes right down to it, Outlaw Clothing couldn’t have picked a better person to represent their brand. Considering the on-track performance, the quality car and Jamie being in the early stages of his career; the partnership with Outlaw Clothing promises to be a long and fruitful one. 

“When we sat down with our team to start pursuing athlete and driver endorsements, Jamie was one of the first people to come to mind,” said Wes Buck, President of Outlaw Clothing Co. “While we’re interested in the entire drag racing demographic, our goal is to introduce a modern street wear brand to the drag racing market – bring a new sense of style to this sport.” 

The first member of the Outlaw Clothing Syndicate, Hancock will represent the Outlaw brand on and off the track. Jamie’s outgoing personality compliments the image Outlaw Clothing Co. is after perfectly.  

“We make no bones about it,” said Buck. “Jamie is a young, clean-cut, well spoken kid that has an interest in modern trends and fits our brand to a tee. This is our first foray into athlete sponsorship, but I think we made the right decision with Hancock. As both of our programs grow, his race team and our company, we’ll be able to expand what we do with his team. Our plan right now is to bring on at least three more drivers to represent our brand. We did some scouting in Valdosta during the ADRL event and will be doing more in the coming weeks – we encourage those interested to visit us online to apply for sponsorship on our website.”

Information regarding Outlaw Clothing Company and Jamie Hancock can be found at www.outlawclothingco.com

May 11, 2008

Local Racers Lead the Way at ADRL 4th Annual Hardee’s Georgia Drags

VALDOSTA, GA (May 10, 2008) — Georgia’s own Mike Hill and Coodee Thomas rewarded the huge partisan crowd at South Georgia Motorsports Park (SGMP) with wins in Extreme 10.5 and Pro Extreme Motorcycle, respectively, May 10, at the 4th annual Hardee’s Georgia Drags staged by the Flowmaster American Drag Racing League (ADRL) presented by the National Guard. Joining them in victory lane were Pro Extreme star Joshua Hernandez and new Pro Nitrous record holder Billy Harper.

Hernandez qualified his National Guard-backed ’57 Chevy seventh and raced past fellow Texans Gaylen Smith and Frankie Taylor before taking out John Stanley in the semis to reach Quain Stott and his ’63 Corvette in the Pro Extreme final. Hernandez was on his game, taking a .026 advantage off the starting line and blasting to a 3.82-seconds pass at 195.87 mph over the SGMP eighth mile that also set low elapsed time (E.T.) for the weekend and gave Hernandez his second-straight ADRL national event win. Meanwhile, Stott suffered traction trouble and was forced to shut off early after reaching the final from the 16th and final qualifying position.

“I owed Quain that one,” Hernandez said, referring to a final-round loss to Stott at the same track two years ago. “We were ready for him. I knew it was going to run a good number because once Jimmy (Oddy, crew chief) and the boys found the right tune-up for the hot track they weren’t going to let go.”

Harper, a former Kentucky gubernatorial candidate, had his first qualifying attempt disallowed after the undercarriage of his 2001 Viper adversely affected the track’s timing equipment, but he put together an excellent 3.95-seconds pass to secure the top spot and unofficially set a new class E.T. record in the third and last session. In the second round against teammate Dennis Radford, Harper had another disallowed E.T. due to timing issues, but was permitted to continue and lowered the mark to 3.94 seconds in the semis against Randy Weatherford. That run eventually served as the back-up within the required one percent for an official record after Harper set the new standard to 3.93 at 186.67 mph with his win over 2005 ADRL Pro Nitrous world champion Dan Parker in the final.

“We faced some adversity this weekend, but our team led by Dennis Radford’s tune-up did a great job,” Harper said of his career-first ADRL win. “Hopefully, we’ll be doing this again soon.”

Washington, Georgia’s Hill was the only number-one qualifier who also managed to pull off the race win. After relatively easy wins over Elliott Thompson and reigning class champ Steve Gorman, Hill needed a better reaction time to overcome the E.T. advantage of Michelle Wilson in the semi-finals. That set up a titanic clash for the final against long-time rival Steve Kirk Jr., who earlier established a new class E.T. record of 4.26 seconds in his debut with a new ’63 Corvette.

Unfortunately, it was over at the starting line as Kirk’s engine suffered problems with its nitrous system while Hill streaked to the win in 4.28 seconds at 173.61 mph.

“This feels really good. We were breaking little things on the car just about every run, so we really had to work hard for it,” Hill said. “This was not an easy win, that’s for sure, but I think that makes it that much better.”

Thomas, from Ellenwood, Georgia, said he was “thrilled” and “relieved” to finally break into the win column after two previous final-round appearances. After qualifying his 2003 Hyabusa fourth he went through Ron Clark, T.T. Jones and number-one qualifier Billy Vose to meet Matt Prophit in his first ADRL final-round appearance. Thomas left first and led all the way to the finish line, posting a 4.31-seconds effort at 167.74 mph.

“It took us a little while to get our chassis and wheelie bar set-up figured out to where it would go straight, but once we got that it went pretty smooth,” Thomas said of his march to the win. “Hard work is what got it done for us.”

The ADRL returns to action June 6-7, with its 4th annual Pizza Hut Summer Drags at Knoll Gas Motorsports Park at U.S. 131 in Martin, Michigan.

May 2, 2008

Fire Safety at Full Throttle – Fire Safety Books to be Distributed Free at ADRL Michigan Event

O’FALLON, MO (May 2, 2008) — To help create fire safety awareness among children, the Flowmaster American Drag Racing League (ADRL) presented by the National Guard is teaming up with Rescue 1 Fire Safety for Kids and Pizza Hut at the 4th annual ADRL Pizza Hut Summer Drags June 6-7, at Knoll Gas Motorsports Park at U.S. 131 in Martin, Michigan. With promotional support from ADRL and funding provided by Pizza Hut, Rescue 1 Fire Safety for Kids will be distributing 30,000 free fire safety activity books.

The collectible books feature high-quality animation with an ADRL theme that provides children and their families with high-octane fire safety lessons and activities. The fire safety activity books will be distributed free at the Martin, Michigan ADRL event and at regional Pizza Hut locations.

“This is the kind of community-based program that the ADRL feels honored to be involved with,” ADRL Vice President of Communications Ian Tocher said. “We commend Rescue 1 Fire Safety for Kids and Pizza Hut for delivering such an important message to the people of Western Michigan, and for doing so in such a fun and entertaining manner.”  

Rescue 1 Fire Safety for Kids, ADRL and Pizza Hut also will be providing area fire departments, schools and other community partners who participate in the program with the special edition fire safety activity books. For more information on Rescue 1 Fire Safety for Kids or fire prevention please visit www.firesafetyforkids.org.