(6-18-2013) BRISTOL, TN – Rickie Smith made it back-to-back wins at Bristol Dragway, beating Troy Coughlin on a holeshot on Sunday in the finals of the NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series at the 13th annual Ford NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals presented by Tri-Cities Area Ford Dealers. The race is the fifth of 10 races in 2013 for NHRA’s popular 250-mph doorslammer touring series.

After winning at legendary Thunder Valley in 2012, the King, N.C. native held off a hard-charging Coughlin, the 2012 NHRA Pro Mod Series world champ, in the final, running a 5.991 at 240.47 mph in his IDG Chevy Camaro to claim his second straight victory in Bristol. Coughlin ran a quicker 5.984 at 246.26 in his JEGS.com Corvette, but Smith’s better .061 reaction time sent him to the win, his first in the 2013 season.

“This has been a good track to us over the years and it’s a great deal to win here,” said Smith, whose name is listed on the Legends of Thunder Valley at the track. “We’ve been blessed here and to go out and win every now and then, it’s just a major accomplishment for us.

“We had a rough weekend and we were just trying to save the engine each round, but we’re glad and just so happy to get this win.”

After winning his first-round matchup against Chris Juliano on Saturday, Smith, who qualified second, started Sunday with a second round victory against Pete Farber, going 5.994 at 240.38. In the semifinals, Smith faced off against Robert Patrick and his Ford Mustang, powering to a 6.418 at 169.23 to advance to the finals.

With the victory, Smith also

(6-18-2013) BRISTOL, TN – Danny Rowe, driver of the Agave Underground Pro Modified Camaro, parlayed his number-one qualifying effort at Bristol Dragway into a strong semifinal round finish at the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals and – more importantly – made a big move in the championship points standings.

After qualifying first with a 5.958-second, 242.76mph quarter-mile blast, Rowe met Clint Satterfield in the opening stanza. Rowe was off the starting line first and never waivered, moving on to the quarterfinals with a 6.004/243.59mph effort. Rowe then dispatched turbocharged frontrunner Eric Dillard before meeting with another turbocharged racer – Troy Coughlin – in the semifinal round. Rowe again had the advantage at the starting line, but couldn’t quite hold off Coughlin, who snuck around him at the 1,000-foot mark, taking the win with a 6.001/246.53mph pass over Rowe’s 6.028-second, 241.8mph run. Coughlin’s margin of victory was a mere 0.0123-seconds, approximately four feet.

Although shy of his goal of repeating his 2011 final round appearance at Bristol Dragway and this time scoring a win, Rowe made a tremendous move in the points – making the jump from ninth to fourth and straight back into title contention.

“Of course, we’d have loved to win this one, but I really couldn’t be happier about all the ground we made up in the points chase,” said Rowe, who is actually tied for fourth place in the points with Mike Janis. “We came up a little short there in the semis against Troy [Coughlin], but, again, we can’t feel too bad about the progress we made

(6-18-2013) HARTSVILLE, SC – Robbie Matthews driving the Kauffman Motorsports ‘57 Chevy scored the win Saturday night at Darlington Dragway. The Kauffman Motorsports Team has now won the Sonny Greer Memorial event two years in a row.

"First I want to dedicate this race to Lucy Kauffman, Kip’s Mother. She passed away last week. We won this one for her. She will be missed," said Robbie Matthews.

"We had a very strong car all day," continued Matthews. "We had one hiccup and had to change a transmission but other than that we had a good night. All the guys on the crew really worked hard and the results showed."

When the second and final round of qualifying was over at "The House Speed" Robbie Matthews sat atop the field with a 3.959 at 190.93. With that E.T. Robbie captured the Tommy Mauney Race Cars number 1 Qualifier award. The eventual runner-up Greg Godwin was #2 with a 3.969 at 184.12. Ric Fleck tied Godwin with a 3.969 but his mph was 183.26 so he got the #3 spot. Alan Pittman posted a 3.998 at 182.81 to nab the 4th spot. The #5 qualifier was Ed Hoover with a 4.044 at 175.40. Posting a career best 4.148 at 175.40, Russell Miller ended up 6th. James Linton Jr put his Duster in 7th with a 4.239 at 174.68. Anchoring the field was Robert Sellers with a 4.292 at 170.06. Failing to qualify was Danny Blankenship, Steve Bray, Ervin Rose, Dwayne White and Dave Leonardo. Dennis Jordan and Carol Long both had engine problems and couldn’t make the call.

When the call was made for the first round of eliminations was made

(6-13-2013) BRISTOL, TN – Danny Rowe certainly earned his Father’s Day gift during the recently completed NHRA Summernationals in Englishtown, New Jersey, where he qualified No. 1, but missed elimination day when he chose to fly home to California for his youngest daughter’s high school graduation. But now he’s looking to make up lost ground in the NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series points chase with a big outing at Bristol Dragway.

“We’re not worried about the points,” says Rowe, checking in from the pits in Thunder Valley, home to one of his personal favorite racing facilities. “The way I look at it is that the situation’s no different now than it ever is – you want to win every race. Nobody is running away with the points, which speaks to how competitive NHRA Pro Mod is right now, so we’re going to take it one round at a time, one race at a time, and let the chips fall where they may.”

Rowe, who is currently ninth in the championship points standings, 68 points behind leader Kenny Lang, could change the dynamic dramatically with a win in Bristol – not at all out of the possibility for the Agave Underground Tequila Pro Mod team led by veteran crew chief Jimmy Rector.

“We’ve had a consistently fast race car, so we’re here in Bristol with a lot of confidence,” Rowe continues. “There are a lot of great teams out here. The competition in this series seems to ratchet up a notch every year – any car that qualifies is capable of winning. This Agave Underground team has demonstrated from the start of the season that we’re frontrunners, though, and at this level you’ve got to expect to win,

(6-11-2013) ST. LOUIS, MO – Some scheduling conflicts are causing Keith Haney Racing to shuffle the deck a little for this weekend's X-DRL X-treme Gateway Showdown, but the team's namesake is confident in the hand he'll be dealt at Gateway Motorsports Park.

As usual Haney will take the wheel of his red, nitrous-injected Lucas Oil Chevy Camaro, and normally Monroe Guest is behind the wheel of the black Lucas Oil Camaro, but prior commitments have Guest out of the country this weekend.

To fill that vacant seat, Haney didn't have to search very far.

"Doug Riesterer has been helping tune our cars all year long and is a championship driver in his own right," Haney said. "Since Monroe couldn't be in St. Louis with us this weekend, Doug is a great choice for the black car."

While assuming driving duties, Riesterer will also continue to tune both cars alongside Brandon Pesz.

"We want to keep both of our cars in front of our fans and sponsors," Haney said. "Doug is one of the best Pro Nitrous drivers in the country, so I convinced him to drive for us this weekend. With Doug driving and tuning, I think it'll also help me as a driver with my race car. Doug will be getting a lot of track information first-hand, which will help both cars significantly."

Haney's team has put a lot of focus on whipping the black Camaro into shape in recent weeks.

"My red car has been running phenomenally well, almost perfect, but we've been struggling to get the black car to that same level," Haney said. "I put seven hits on the car out at the racetrack a

(6-12-2013) BRISTOL, TN – Mike Janis Racing is coming off their big win just two short weeks ago in Englishtown, New Jersey and are ready for action again. MJR is heading to Bristol, Tennessee this weekend for the NHRA Ford Thunder Valley Nationals. MJR is sitting 5th in the NHRA Pro Mod Championship Points Standings, a mere two rounds out of 1st place.

“We are extremely excited to get back on the track” said Mike Janis Jr., GM/Crew Chief for MJR. “This Valvoline Professional Series / Mike Janis Superchargers Camaro has been running awesome and we plan to bring our “A” game again this weekend. We worked overtime these past two weeks in the shop to make sure everything will be just right. Our goal is to be standing in the winners circle again come Sunday evening, said Janis Jr.”

“Race Car Specialties of Warren, Michigan built us a really great hot rod” said Mike Janis, Owner/Driver for MJR. “We only have about twenty runs on this new Chevy Camaro and are finally just starting to scratch the surface of what we feel it will be capable of. Without all of our great partners supporting us, none of this would be possible. We are working with each and every single one of them on a constant basis to continue to drive awareness for their brand, while providing them with measurable sales and ROI. This is an exciting time to be involved with MJR, said Janis”

Qualifying for Pro Mod at the NHRA Ford Thunder Valley Nationals starts Friday, June 14th at 5PM and 7PM. The 3rd and final qualifying session will be Saturday, June 15th at

(6-11-2013) ST. LOUIS, MO –Chances are, if someone is driving a fast and successful door car, it was likely built in the St. Louis area, making the X-DRL’s debut in the city and at Gateway Motorsports Park the perfect opportunity to honor the chassis shops of Jerry Haas Race Cars, Jerry Bickel Race Cars, Tim McAmis Race Cars and Garrett Race Cars. Combined with other area chassis shops, it represents many of the biggest names in the chassis-building industry – and when it comes to door cars, in the world. These companies are state-of-the-art chassis shops producing incredible race cars driven by the top names in the sport across the world. The cars are extremely remarkable in their attention to detail and innovation, and feature many of the most impressive features in any car in the sport.

Just as incredible is that all of them are located in the St. Louis area, making it a hotbed for doorslammer racing. All have incredible facilities as well, offering a multitude of services, and, combined, this foursome sells more than 100 new cars a year. Considering practically every car is more than $100,000, that’s quite the undertaking. That doesn’t even factor in the paint shop, body shop, parts shop and more, making them all successful businesses, not only in drag racing but in the entire St. Louis area. Without question, St. Louis is a mecca for area chassis builders, making the X-DRL’s X-treme Gateway Showdown the perfect time to give them the spotlight.

JERRY BICKEL RACE CARS
Located in Moscow Mills, Missouri, JBRC averages around 26-28 new car builds per year, plus all the