Brown’s fortunes turn for the better

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1:17 AM Friday, August 14, 2009

The drag racing season has taken a slight turn for the better for Clearcreek Twp. driver Rick Brown in recent weeks.

Brown, pilot of the Don Rettich-owned PDI Communication Chevy S-10 pickup in the NHRA’s Competition Eliminator series, is currently ranked 17th in the nation. He’s also ranked fourth in the NHRA’s Division 3 racing series.

“After some challenging suspension problems and a newly installed manifold during the races at Norwalk, Topeka, Joliet and Stanton, Mich., things took a turn for the better at Columbus,” Brown said in a recent e-mail. “We managed a No. 5 qualifying position and a great runner-up finish. We made it to the final with a .018 reaction time average only to red-light in the final.”

It was Brown’s first red-light of the season. He lost to Bruno Massel, who many readers might know as the host of SPEED channel’s “Truck U” television show.

“Now we go chasing points and wins at Cordova, Ill., Bowling Green, Ky., and then straight to Indy for the Grand Daddy of Drag Racing — the U.S. Nationals.”

Rick’s right about the U.S. Nationals. Like visiting the Grand Canyon, you’ve got to see it at least once. Drivers from all over the country make the trek to Clermont, Ind. It’s the largest drag race in the country in terms of entries. Racing runs through the week and the entire Labor Day weekend. According to the National Hot Rod Association, more than 1,000 competitors are expected.

Lightning fast at Tri-State

The big winner in last weekend’s drag racing at Tri-State Dragway was the lightning bolt that knocked out the track’s electronics systems the night before Sunday’s racing. As a result, the Sunday event had to be canceled.

TSD officials say everything’s back in order now and the Aug. 16 regular program of sanctioned NHRA bracket racing is set to go.

With driver’s points in the Jeg’s Junior Dragster Series counting toward the TSD track title, the race in the junior dragster division has tightened up considerably in recent weeks.

While Samantha Lee of Cincinnati still remains atop the points standings, her lead has been whittled down to a mere 15 points ahead of Amelia hotshoe Harley Patrick. Defending track champion Kenny Carson Jr. of Lebanon is just 25 points out.

John Cook of West Chester Twp. still leads the Super Pros division; Amelia’s Kevin Bishop leads Pro over current No. 2 Jeff Seither of Fairfield by 50 points; and Hamilton’s Ken Barton continues to lead the Amsoil Street racing division.

As always, tickets are $10 for fans and crew. Kids 11 and younger get in free.

Gates open at 9:30 a.m. Sunday, with time trials starting at 10 a.m. and eliminations beginning at 1 p.m.

Grand-Am Rolex Sports Cars headed to Indy, too

That same week that the U.S. Nationals are going on, race fans are invited to head into Speedway, Ind., for the first-ever test of the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road circuit.

Using the same track layout as the motorcycle grand prix, Daytona Prototype teams and GT class teams will race. According to the series, the test is being used “to gauge the level of interest of holding a sports car event at the facility among fans, teams and media.”

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