1. Robert Cox – 4.23

2. Matt Reese – 4.53

3. Wes Blankenship – 4.56

4. Rick Reynolds – 4.58

5. Mike Smith – 4.69

6. Don Turner – 4.77

7. Kyle Ehorn – 4.80

8. Mike West – 4.88

9. Aaron Johnson – 4.93

10. Jim Parrott – 4.93

11. Scott Carter – 5.05

12. Domenic Friguglietti – 6.60

13. Dale Arbogast – 18.01

The first round of eliminations:

• Cox – Bye

• Smith over Parrott

• West over Ehorn

• Turner over Johnson

• Reese over Arbogast (Number 1 in Points)

• Blankenship over Friguglietti (transmission broke in qualifying)

• Reynolds over Carter

The second round of eliminations:

• West over Cox (Number 2 in Points)

• Smith over Reynolds (Number 4 in Points)

• Reese – Bye

• Blankenship over Turner

Semifinals:

• Blankenship over Reese

• Smith over West

Finals:

• Blankenship over Smith

So to recap
#1 in points (121 Points) Dale Arbogast broke his car the week before and brought a loaner that wasn’t competitive. (+10 = 131 Points)
#2 in points (108 Points)Robert Cox qualified #1, won his bye, then went out in round 2. (+ 23 Points = 131 Points)
#3 in points (90 Points) Kevin Hecht couldn’t make the last race.
#4 in points (82 Points) Rick Reynolds (+20 = 102 Points).
#5 in points (80 Points) Wes Blankenship (+51 = 131 Points)
I did the math for you so that you wouldn’t have to. That’s officially a 3 way tie in points for first place!
Now what!? It’s tie breaker time!

BONUS POINTS:
+3 for every event win
+2 for every event runner up
+1 for every event semi final

I wish we could have had a camera when they figured out that after bonus points there was STILL A TIE between Arbogast and Blankenship. What now? Tie Breaker #2! Who had the fastest ET of the season?

<drumroll> <suspense> <drumroll again>

Wes Blankenship is your 2019 Aeroquip Heads Up Series, VP Racing sponsored Drag Radial Class Champion!

It’s been a struggle for the Blankenship’s (Father Russ and son Wes) the entire year trying to get their car and new combo under control. Power wasn’t an issue, but applying it to the track has been a battle from the start. The countless times the tires spun at various parts of the track, the aborted passed, the testing…. it all paid off on this Friday when they ran personal bests, won the event, and clinched the Championship! It’s a shame that the car is just now starting to come around at the end of the season. I believe they are still just scratching the surface with this car. It’s my opinion that the car will go teens, but you know what they say about opinions. I’m hoping to sit down with Wes and Russ this winter to see what their opinion on it is and talk about whatever else might comes up.

There have been a lot of improvements to this class including some rule changes. I predict a couple more rules coming before spring to get the class to fit in with all of the LDR rules. The smaller 295 tire rule change this year was combined with contracting Total Venue Concepts for a better track surface. Although it is a smaller tire, the track’s drag radial class record was broken multiple times. The ET aren’t opinion based, they are fact based… …and the facts say, its an improvement!

Until this year, Brad Tyson had been racing in the Drag Radial Class. I could write an entertaining book on the different setups he’s tried along the way, but in an effort to keep this somewhat short I’ll get the point. Brad made some much needed chassis upgrades over the winter and had spent the summer trying to get it dialed in. He is running a 315 radial in the Outlaw 10.5 class now. In his third qualifier, his car got a little loose on the big end and ended up against the wall after a 4.29 at 179mph pass. It was one of those crashes that take your breath away until you hear the words from the announcer that the driver is out of the car. Fortunately, the car wasn’t as bad as it should have been. Brad was in good spirits and already talking about how soon he would have the car back out! Everyone here at Race660.com wants to send out positive vibes for Brad and his crew as they work to get their car back to the track!

Also in the Outlaw 10.5 class was Tim Slavens. If you aren’t familiar with Tim, just google his name and learn about one of the most impressive cars ever on a radial. Tim ended up winning the class over Bob Ross in the finals but was only able to get his car into the 4.30’s during the event. The next day, Tim stuck around and made some test hits which included what I believe is the record for Milan Dragway on radial with a 3.89.

Now on to the actual Drag Radial class! 

It wasn’t the day the weather forecast had been predicting. It rained in the morning and was overcast to start the qualifying rounds. The track had announced that it needed to make some changes in an effort to keep the event from running so late. Instead of 3 qualifiers, they only guaranteed 2 but would work hard to make the day run more efficiently in hopes to provide 3. Racers had to be a little more strategic with their qualifying passes to make certain they qualified well. In the end, the track crew did an awesome job of speeding up the program and were able to get 3 rounds of qualifying in even with an hour rain delay.

After 3 rounds, there were 15 cars qualified and EVERY car was in the 4’s. I’m hoping next month, we have a full all 4 second field with a bump. The top of that list in the number 1 spot was none other than Jim Monson. He decided to show up out of the blue and break the drag radial class record with his 4.25. Robert Cox qualified 2nd and Dave Harmer qualified 3rd.

These guys push their cars to the limit every month for a chance to take home some money. This year has been more rough on some race teams than others but across the board, its just been a rough year. This September we had a record number of cars break and it turned into a race of who could last the longest!

Round 1 of Eliminations:
Jim Monson had a bye, Matt Reese broke giving Mike Barran a bye, Robert Cox broke giving Mike West a bye, Dave Harmer broke giving Jim Parrott a bye, Karri Anne Beebe broke giving Wes Blankenship a bye, Ray Litz won over Aaron Johnson (spun at the line), Dale Arbogast won over Don Turner, and Kevin Hecht won over Rick Reynolds (spun at the line).

Round 2 of Eliminations:
Barran broke giving Monson a bye, Litz broke giving Arbogast a bye, Hecht won over West, and Blankenship won over Parrott.

Round 3 of Eliminations:
Monson broke giving Arbogast a bye, and Hecht won over Blankenship (spun at the line).

Finals:
Arbogast won over Hecht in one of the only side by side passes of the night in this class.

Great job from the Primer Nova team and Dale Arbogast to sneak into first place when the opportunity made itself available! Their car was consistently fast and went round after round. Will Arbogast’s 13 point lead be enough to hold off Robert Cox? We hope everyone is able to get their cars back together before October race. With 1 event left in the series, here are the points standings after September!

I think one of the best parts of the day for me was hearing track announcer Monte Kev, repeating over and over “That’s a new personal best” throughout all of the classes. Great job to all the racers and crews, the track personnel and Total Venue Concepts. We will see everyone on October 4th!

This is the fourth scheduled event in a six event series. May’s event was cancelled due to weather, June’s event ended early because of May Flies stuck to the track, and July ended early due to weather. This could be anyone’s Series to win! At the end of July, Matt Reese is currently the points leader over Robert Cox by 7 points and over Dale Arbogast by 9. In my opinion, Reese has been the MVP of the year so far. His car is running consistently fast and he’s been doing it seemingly under the radar.

As we inched our way closer to the August event, I made a few predictions:

1. There would be a bump spot (more than 16 cars) in Qualifying
2. There would be an all 4 second qualifying field
3. Robert Cox would win this month.

After the first round of qualifying (Q1), there were 16 cars (no bump), less than half of the cars went 4.XX, BUT Robert Cox was the number 1 qualifier with a 4.33 in the heat of the day. I might salvage being right 1 out of the 3 predictions. JR Gibson was number 2 with a 4.49, Dave Harmer number 3 with a 4.56, and points leader Matt Reese number 4 with a 4.68.

Going in to Q2, everyone is qualified with a time and I’m hoping to see some big tune ups get down the track and possibly get closer to my prediction of an all 4 second field. At this point I don’t think it is possible for this month but I’m still hopeful. It’s fairly warm out and the track has had the sun on it all day. Q1 track temp was 123 degrees and for Q2 it had only dropped to 121. When the qualifying round was over, I grabbed the Q2 sheet from the tower to see where everyone stood and realized that there were now 17 entries! I laughed a little that my prediction for a bump was right but then my heart sank as I noticed who was qualified #17. In the bump spot and not in the show yet was the team of Seher Schultetus Racing. I’d watched their Facebook updates through the week and they seemed doubtful they would have the car together in time. They had been struggling all year but all of the stars seemed to align and with some help and overnight shipping from Menscer they made it just in the nick of time. The top of the Qualifying sheet was Robert Cox still number 1 with a 4.33, 3 Time Track Champion Mike Barran number 2 with a 4.47, and JR Gibson in number 3 with a 4.49.

Going in to Q3 I’m feeling pretty good about my predictions. Robert Cox has the field covered by a tenth and a half, there’s a bump, and there are 10 cars in the 4’s and 4 of them not in the 4’s I know can run 4’s. It’s no secret that by the time Q3 comes around the track will always start to come around to nearly perfect condition as the temperature drops and the sun goes down. I know the big boy tunes are loaded in and Total Venue Concepts (Jason Ruckert this month) has the track prepped to hold them. The first pair down were Aaron Johnson and Rick Reynolds. I needed Johnson to run a 4 second pass to keep my prediction hopes alive but he only went 5.01. My disappointment was short lived as next to him Reynolds went 4.589 setting a personal best ET again this month. The drivers never get to see the crew celebrate a win light, a reaction time advantage or a personal best ET. It’s unfortunate because sometimes I believe it’s more valuable than any money they could win. These crews are as invested as the drivers are. Fortunately we were able to capture Rick’s Crew Chief Adam Tarrant after Rick set his personal best ET. Congratulations Rick and Adam!

After Reynolds pass, the rest of the field continued to qualify. There were some improvements but none of the cars I needed to run in the 4’s made it in the 4’s yet. As the lanes were being prepped for this round I stood in the staging lanes with a few guys. One of them was Chris Schultetus, he mentioned that because they were currently not qualified in the field the plan was to make an easy pass on 1 kit of nitrous just to get in the field. Then with a Chuck Norris style smile he said if they happen to spin again off the line again they decided Greg should get back into the throttle and give it all the kits they have. Here’s a video of what happened, and I assure you this video does not do it justice.

Last months fireworks were canceled due to the weather, but this months fireworks were sponsored by Seher Schultetus Racing. We hope they can get things figured out soon and get that car back to the standard it’s known for. This is a great group of guys, they have no quit in them and have tons of heart. I’m certain you will see them back next month and their car will be stronger than ever!

After the fireworks show the qualifying order was set.

1. Robert Cox             4.33 @ 180.09 mph
2. Mike Barran          4.47 @ 172.10 mph
3. JR Gibson              4.49 @ 156.61 mph
4. Dale Arbogast       4.52 @ 167.89 mph
5. Dave Harmer        4.54 @ 164.85 mph
6. Matt Reese            4.55 @ 162.48 mph
7. Rick Reynolds      4.58 @ 152.92 mph
8. Scott Carter          4.71 @132.83 mph
9. Kevin Hecht          4.74 @ 153.45 mph
10. Randy Darocy       4.86 @ 158.45 mph
11. Aaron Johnson     5.01 @ 141.22 mph
12. Mike West              5.02 @ 139.79 mph
13. Wes Blankenship 5.04 @ 164.43 mph
14. Mike Smith            5.07 @ 144.18 mph
15. Don Turner            5.11 @ 141.63 mph
16. Jim Parrott             5.17 @ 134.01 mph
    —————————————-
17. Greg Seher             5.58 @ 142.18 mph

Round 1 of Eliminations (E1)

Mike West over Dave Harmer (Harmer Broke)
JR Gibson over Mike Smith
Rick Reynolds over Randy Darocy
Dale Arbogast over Wes Blankenship
Aaron Johnson over Matt Reese
Robert Cox over Jim Parrott (Parrott Broke)
Kevin Hecht over Scott Carter (Carter Broke)
Don Turner over Mike Barran (Barran Broke)

Round 2 of Eliminations (E2)

Dale Arbogast over Mike West
Aaron Johnson over JR Gibson
Robert Cox over Kevin Hecht
Rick Reynolds over Don Turner

Semi Finals (E3)

Rick Reynolds over Aaron Johnson
Robert Cox over Dale Arbogast

Finals 

Robert Cox over Rick Reynolds

It was great to see Robert Cox win the Drag Radial class in the Aeroquip Heads Up Series at Milan Dragway. They have been fighting through their fair share of struggles and bad luck along the way, including a previous DQ on a bye run after they qualified number 1 in June over Matt Bell. Congrats to Cox and his crew on a job well done! The car is getting more and more consistent every month and if that continues through the next two events, we are looking at the new Track Champion in the Drag Radial Class. Only time will tell. Here are the points standings after this months events.

It’s fairly early to make any predictions for next month, but 2 out of 3 for this month isn’t bad. I feel like JR Gibson has a hotrod that should win an event and we can never count out the 3 time Champ Mike Barran. As we wind down the series into the cooler months, I can see Cox, Gibson and Barran making 4.20’s passes. Currently only Cox has been in the 4.20’s here. I would love to see an all 4 second field with a bump at some point this year!

As a side note, I see today that Tyler Crossnoe posted some rule changes for Limited Drag Radial (LDR). The Heads Up Series Drag Radial Class is in the process of adopting the previous rules, I’m curious if they will affect the rules moving forward. That being said, I don’t believe the changes would affect anyone currently racing in this Drag Radial Class.

We will catch you all next month! I hope to see Don Turner, Mike Smith, Moe Alfaqih, and Jim Parrott make the long trip again and keep the car count for this class high!

The points standings after July is as follows:

Round 1 Qualifying

The mid 90’s temperature combined with the upper 135+ degree track temperature made the first round of qualifying the slowest we’ve seen all year. If there was a bright side to the round, it was seeing the struggling 3 time Milan Drag Radial Champion back in the #1 spot again (5.01) just ahead of Aaron Johnson (5.21) with his Sunday Ice Cream Street Cruiser.

Round 2 Qualifying

Although, there was a brief mist of rain just before the second round of qualifying for Drag Radial, the conditions stayed essentially the same as round 1. The delay was less than 5 minutes. After a quick double check of the track, Tom and Kurt had us back to racing. Still number 1 qualifier, Barran improved to a 4.64, but Matt Reese (4.67) and Rick Reynolds (4.68) were right behind him rounding out the top 3. At this point, 8 of the 14 cars in the field were in the 4.xx’s after round 2 of qualifying.

Round 3 Qualifying

A big dark cloud brought in a 45 minute downpour that created a rain delay that lasted a couple hours. The track crew along side of Kurt Johnson busted their butt to get the track dry and prepped again. I was a little surprised they decided to finish out the 3rd round of qualifying because it had started to get late, but they were able to complete the round for all of the classes including Drag Radial. Alfaqih stole the number 1 qualifying spot from Barran with a 4.52, Rick Reynolds ran a personal best of 4.61 to take the number 2 spot, and Dale Arbogast right behind him with a 4.62. Barran wasn’t in the lanes for the third round to defend the number 1 spot.

Round 1 Eliminations

The bracket pairings were a bit confusing to me with 14 cars in a 16 car bracket. Normally the #1 and #2 qualifier would get byes in this situation, but they paired up the field of 14 cars with each other and then created a bye vs a bye as a pair to make up the 16 car bracket. By doing it this way, it changes the matchups which could have cost/won a racer a round win in points and the money. Matching up the #1 qualifier with the lowest qualifier in round 1 and then giving him a bye in round 2 if he wins doesn’t seem right to me. Although I found it odd, I didn’t hear any of the racers mention it when I was in the lanes after the pairings were posted. Round 1 of eliminations was underway! I took video from a different location, I haven’t decided which I like better. Let me know what your opinion is! Here is the first round of Eliminations.

The cars were in the lanes for round 2 when rain moved in and the event was ended early. The money and points were split among the winners of round 1.

I’ve been fairly vocal about how impressed I’ve been with Milan Dragway this year, especially with the Heads Up Series. The best decision was to bring Total Venue Concepts back again this year and lock them in for the 3 day weekend that includes every Heads Up Series event. I want to double down on that this month but also add to it. When I go through my photos and videos from the event, one thing stands out to me that I’ve failed to mention specifically before. Every picture and video regardless of the time of day or the temperature, Tom (the Commander and Chief of the starting line) is on top of every situation. He looks under every car, he watches every pass, he mops, scrubs, drags, sweeps, etc. Contracting Kurt Johnson and his crew was brilliant, but it in no way discredits Tom and his crew. Tom might be the hardest working and most alert track employee in the state and he’s been with Milan Dragway for as long as I can remember.

I’ll see everyone again August 2nd! When the points are updated, I’ll add them to the Facebook Page!

The first round of the event was the trickiest for the drivers as it was more of a tuning game instead of a power competition. The heat took its toll on the track and the LID crew was doing all they could to provide the best surface possible under the conditions. As I mentioned before, the pre-drawn matchups that were most anticipated never happened due to breakages before the event. I waited anxiously for the sun to go down so that the track would come around…(rewrite) I waited anxiously for the sun to go down because I’m fat, out of shape, couldn’t function, and thought I was about to die in the heat. The first round seemed to take forever with bye runs, track cleanups and anti-climatic pairings/races. In my opinion Rob Golobo was the favorite going in to the event and after 2 rounds of racing there was no reason to change my mind. Going in to the third round the field was now down to six (Rob Golobo vs Tom Swan(Scotty Goss), Jon Capizzi vs Rad Broaddus, John Burkett vs Sean Simpson). You can usually tell who the favorite is based on the betting at the starting line and there was no one betting against Golobo, Broaddus or Simpson who all advanced into the semis. Spectators had started to clear out as it was getting late from the cleanups that delayed the event numerous times. If you were among those that left, you missed two of the best races of the night. Simpson drew the bye in the semi finals while Broaddus had to race Golobo.  From my view at the 1/8th mile, it appeared that Broaddus was out on Golobo the entire way and had a car on him at the finish. It looked to me that Golobo was down a bunch of mph compared to previous runs but since I pre-announced his victory before the event, I needed to come up with some sort of excuse! In the finals it was Rad Broaddus and Sean Simpson. Although it was late many had left, there were still a good amount of spectators lining the track’s wall and gambling at the starting line. You never know if the cheers come from friends, family and crew of the car who wins or those that might have had a $20, $50 or $100 on the race. Either way, they typically celebrate together! Everyone watched intently as Simpson and Broaddus both came up on boost after pre-staging, they bumped in and let go of their button on green they left fairly close but it didn’t take long for the big Hemi power of Simpson to drive away from Broaddus. Simpson has an impressive hotrod! As a new fan, I’d like to see a grudge race between Golobo and Simpson. Ohhhweeeeee! Who You Like!? Payso, let’s get this going!

There had been a lot of social media buzz about both LID and Payso over the last year or so. LID has a newer owner and he is definitely not afraid to spend money to improve the facility. Every penny that I can see was spent for the benefit of the racers and spectators. I’m not talking about pulling a couple weeds and smoothing out the ruts in the old dirt road entrance, I’m talking about major renovations which included paving the entrance and pit area, adding spectator parking, updating the track surface, concrete walls, scoreboards, lights, etc. There are concrete foundation pads for what I believe to be more grandstands in the near future. I did hear a lot of people discussing the width of the lanes being too narrow, but I didn’t see one person touch the wall after getting out of shape. I also heard people grumbling about the staging lanes being unorganized. This will improve over time as bigger events give the crew more experience and the know how to handle it better. A couple members of the staff were a little abrasive and not as friendly as you’d expect from a small town grassroots type track environment, but employees can be trained and replaced if needed. I chalk a little of it up to the heat and the rest of it to being overwhelmed by the spectators in the lanes and down the walls. They have probably never experienced anything like that and it can be challenging. The track surface was great and the LID crew worked their tails off to keep the track clean and sticky. I’d be curious to see if this same crew can provide a track surface capable of holding the fastest 315 and 275 No Time cars that Payso’s events have the ability to draw in. My biggest concern would be putting one of those same cars down the narrow lanes. This track has a lot of potential and it’s worth taking the time to check it out as a racer or spectator for one of their upcoming events (Lapeer International Dragway Schedule).

If you think I’m ending this article without mentioning the retirement of Payso after his break up with Milan Dragway…then you’d probably be right. I have a ton of questions that would most likely never be answered so there’s no point in bringing up any old drama. We ALL knew Payso would be back anyway. I write articles for the love of drag racing and for the promotion of the guys that deserve the publicity but don’t get it. Addressing a topic like that would not benefit either. I don’t know if Payso will ever be able to put on another event the size of some of his previous year’s events but I can tell you without a doubt, Jay Payso is great for No Time/Grudge racing here in Michigan. He has accomplished things that others have said would fail. He’s been successful by being the innovator while others have failed trying to be the duplicator. The only thing we really need to know is that Payso and Milan have parted ways and both have happily moved on to bigger and better things. Payso posted on Facebook that he will put on a monthly event in his new home at LID. That sounds like a good partnership in the making and we are happy for both! We’re glad you’re back Payso, we need you!

~Photo Credit: Payso Productions, Sean Simpson

The Big Tire class ended up being a 7 car field. Cars I recognized were Jimmer Kline in his GTO, Del Butler in his Camaro, Bryant Goldstone in his Javelin, Dave Adkins in his Impala, and Ryan Hendrickson in his SVO Mustang. The favorite from the start had to be Hendrickson. His car is setup to compete regularly at the highest level of big tire No Prep. He has raced against just about every TV Street Outlaw, wins these type events regularly, and has the most experience in No Prep. We watched him win Judgement Day at Kil-Kare last month [Judgement Day No Prep – Kil-Kare Dragway (Recap)].

After two rounds of racing, It was Hendrickson vs Goldstone in a turbos vs turbos final. Hendrickson made a fast, clean pass while Goldstone went up in a cloud of smoke on the top end of the track.

The Small Tire class had 6 cars entered. The race of the night in this class ended up being Tony V in his 2000 Camaro against Justin Cyrnek in his 2013 Mustang in the Semi-Finals [Video Below]. Carl Stancell in his 1984 S10 Blazer had a bye into the finals with the winner of this race. The rain came as Tony and Carl were in the lanes for the finals, and they ended up splitting the money.

I mentioned that the Outlaw Street Car class had 20 entries. The field was stacked with racers like Jon Capizzi, Aaron Johnson, Mike Worden, Tom Hersch, Greg Seher, etc, but it was Justin Spiniolas, Kyle Jordan, and Mike Morelli in the semi finals when the event was canceled due to the rain. I wish I had some better videos/pictures, but I missed the first round due to the event starting early and there were no semi finals or finals. I believe this street car type class is growing in popularity and will have a place in just about any type of event. We are headed over to Lapeer International Dragway to cover Payso’s Street Car Showdown at the end of this month.

The rain has been relentless so far this year and it’s a shame that it deterred so many racers and spectators from this event. Considering the forecast, I think there was a decent car count.  I hope Motor State Distributing continues to put this event together in the future. This is a must attend event if they continue it in 2020.

I guess I’m going to keep this article short because honestly, I wasn’t very impressed. I can say there was a high caliber of cars, but the car count for this event was very low. A generous guess would be 30 cars and most of them taking turns breaking. Sunday’s festivities were rescheduled and ran simultaneously with Saturday’s. This added another 30 or so cars/dragsters. You can imagine my surprise the first time I heard the announcer call Super Gas to the lanes. I’m all for supporting the longevity of this sport regardless of what kind of drag racing it is, and there is room for drag racing of all kinds…BUT… I’d rather watch all 12 of the Fast and the Furious movies back to back twice before I willingly watch throttle stop index racing. With so few Import vs Domestic cars making passes, the only thing left to pass the time was watching these guys go round after round. Ironically, I was hoping Hector and his three Honda Civics with spoon engines would show up but apparently the T66 turbos hadn’t came in at Harry’s yet.

Anyway, moving right along, there were 3 cars in the Quick 8. This was 1/4 mile, heads up racing. The Semi Finals were El Jerry on a Competition Single due to a breakage of the 3rd car, and Skinny Kid’s Olds on a bye for being the number 1 qualifier with a 5.80. El Jerry is a turbo powered inline 6 cylinder that went 247 mph and lit the boards with a 5.87 on his pass. The Olds went 5.78 with the Billy Briggs Screw Blown Hemi but torched a head in the process. Keith Engling, Billy Briggs and the crew tuned that cylinder out between rounds and made a 6.05 pass on 7 cylinders for the win in the finals over El Jerry who ran into some issues mid track. Congrats to Jimmy Detrick for driving the Skinny Kid Olds to another victory.

The Quick 32 had around 16 cars in it and was also 1/4 mile, heads up racing. Quite a few of the cars entered were part of Jimmer Kline’s GoFast crew from up around Grand Rapids. I didn’t stick around to video the finals, but was told it was Ricky Rush over Derik Timmer. Rush went 7.08 @ 193.47 mph in his win. Rush’s car is a turbo’d 1.3 liter Rotary. If you aren’t impressed by that, then you might need to check out some throttle stop index racing.

This isn’t the Quick 32 finals, but here is a 7.15 pass Rush made earlier in the day.

So… that leaves the No Time Shootout. This was 1/8 mile, heads up racing. Sadly, the car count was down for this guaranteed $5000 payout sponsored by Garbarino Construction. As I mentioned earlier, Danny Garbarino put this shootout together and tried his best to get as many cars to enter as he could. He basically called out anyone on a 28 (that was 5″ bore or smaller) for some grudge action but couldn’t get any takers. A few of the guys who may have attended were filming out of town for Street Outlaws and others already committed to different events. Danny has had his car running great all year, but appeared to be having a rough day fighting some electrical issues. Of the 6 cars entered, Dave Strange ended up with the prize money beating Danny in the finals. After watching front wheel drive cars and throttle stop index racers most of the afternoon/evening, it was refreshing to see Dave yank the front tires of his Mustang and carry them down track.

If Jimmer Kline, Danny Garbarino, or the GoFast Productions crew from Grand Rapids are involved, you can always count on me supporting them. You can also count on me supporting all No Time racing here in the North. I wish the car counts were higher, but there doesn’t seem to be the draw here in Michigan for an event like this. I’m super impressed at the fans and crew that travel with the Import cars. Everyone gets geared up with their car and driver jerseys then they get together to have a great time. The majority of the fans were around the import car show, motorcycle show and stereo/sound competition. These sound systems provided Mexican music across the whole facility for the entire day. I even got used to the Mexican music that was playing but was VERY surprised to hear the only song in English played was Whitney Houston’s, “I Will Always Love You”. I don’t condone it and I’m not saying it right, but after the 37th time of hearing this song on repeat at ear piercing levels… …I can understand a little bit why Bobby did drugs and beat Whitney.

We will back to US131 Motorsports Park this weekend (June 15th) for the Motor State Knockout. The total payouts are $70,000 and will have Big Tire, Small Tire, Outlaw Street, Late Model Muscle Stock & Modified classes on a no prep surface.

]]> https://race660.com/aeroquip-heads-up-drag-radial-milan-dragway/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=aeroquip-heads-up-drag-radial-milan-dragway Sat, 08 Jun 2019 05:00:57 +0000 https://race660.com/?p=442 If you missed the previous article “Milan Heads Up Series – Drag Radial Preview” you may want to give that a quick read to catch you up to date.

The sun was shining, it was 82 degrees, and a light breeze was blowing gently through Kurt Johnson’s golden locks. As I made my way through the pits, there were two things being talked about. 1. Did you see that Matt Bell is here with his LDR car? and 2. It’s going to be a very fast field. The expectations were high and the excitement was real.

The track temp was up over 120 degrees for the first round of qualifying and the qualifying times represented that. There were only three cars that made it into the 4.XX’s zone. Robert Cox with a 4.44, Rick Reynolds with a 4.81 and Mike Smith with a 4.89. In the preview I wrote a couple months back, I neglected to mention Robert Cox. I’m not sure how I could forget him, but I did. Round two qualifying brought the field a bit tighter with six cars in the 4.XX’s zone and Cox still at the top. There were a couple major cleanups in the beginning of the third round qualifier, and time was on the side of those running radials. The sun had started going down, the track temp was near 85 degrees, Kurt Johnson gave his seal of approval, and the last-minute big boy tunes were thrown into their cars. Round three of qualifying placed all but two of the fifteen car field into the 4.XX’s zone (Edwards broke earlier after a 5.04 pass and West went 5.00). Remember how I forgot about Cox? He made certain I will never forget again as he set the Milan Drag Radial record in qualifier number three with a 4.27. This is the perfect time to mention that this year with the new rules set closer to Limited Drag Radial (LDR), these cars are now on a 295 tire max instead of a 315 when the record was previously set; This was also in the heat of June, not the cooler September temps. I believe Milan Dragway 100% made the right move with using the proper equipment and contracting Total Venue Concepts to prep this track. The ETs alone should be the only validation needed. The controversial rule change to switch (mostly) over to LDR rules was also a good move in my opinion. One of the arguments against it was that no new LDR cars would come for this smaller payout event. A canceled event in Kentucky created an opportunity for Matt Bell and Brian Edwards to compete here. Could there still be some arguments? Sure. Will I change my mind? At this point, No.

Round 1 might have been the most exciting racing of the night. Three time champ Mike Barran spun and Ray Litz drove right on by and took the win. Barran will be playing catch up with points but you don’t become a three time champ by buckling under pressure. Mike Smith pulled the front tires for 100+ feet wheelie in his loss against Reese. Reese had a very impressive day and it certainly did not go unnoticed by the field! Robert Cox sprung a leak after a healthy burnout for his bye run and wasn’t allowed to take the beams disqualifying him (by the rules) from the event. I stood at about 690′ videoing for the matchup between Dale Arbogast and Aaron Johnson. In my previous article I mentioned that Johnson, in his weekly driven street car, would keep the faster guys on their toes. This is exactly what happened! Johnson treed Arbogast, then Arbogast struck the tires. Johnson got out on Arbogast but Arbogast was coming on strong. At the stripe it was a margin of .011 (that translates into inches) between the two. Arbogast had 20 mph on Johnson and came around him at the stripe to take the win and advance. Johnson went 4.93 to Arbogast’s 4.89 in the best race of the night.

Round 2 went down in seemingly anti-climatic fashion. Gibson red lit in his loss to Reese, Arbogast had an electrical failure and was left at the tree by Litz, and Harmer had a bye because of Cox’s DQ. The only thing redeeming about round two is that Matt Bell reset the Drag Radial track record at Milan Dragway with a 4.26! Unfortunately, Blankenship got out of shape in the lane next to him, narrowly escaping the wall, and hardly anyone noticed the record being set. Thankfully, Blankenship was ok and his car was undamaged. Bell left the Milan record well within reach (he’s been better than a tenth faster). This fall, I believe the Milan drag radial record will go into the teens.

Here is where the story becomes almost unbelievable. I did not see the track claim one shoe from the prep, however, it claimed so many mayflies that the glued surface became slippery. I’ve never heard of such a thing! Milan has had snow, dew, water, and now it has had.. mayflies. Thanks a LOT Kurt Johnson! We’re left with only you to blame… for the new records… AND the “flypaper” radial surface (literally). I would have loved to see these guys race this event out, but not at the expense of their cars, or worse. It was a tough but good call by Milan based on the recommendation of Kurt.

Matt Reese, Matt Bell, Ray Litz, and Dave Harmer will chop up the money and the points. The mayflies were the only thing to beat these guys tonight. Great job, you’ve set the bar high in a class where the competition is strong! I’m already looking forward to July 5th, at Milan Dragway. Milan usually has a nice firework show, and a bonfire for the first Friday in July. Bring the family!

As a side note, Bob Ross also set a new Milan Dragway record in Outlaw 10.5 with a 3.97. I should also mention that Monte Kev did a fantastic job behind the microphone.

Here are the two rounds of action in Drag Radial, condensed into less than three minutes.

Here is how the field qualified:

1. R. Cox 4.27 @ 175.66
2. M. Bell 4.29 @ 187.35
3. JR Gibson 4.30 @ 180.08
4. M. Barran 4.44 @ 165.74
5. D. Arbogast 4.51 @ 166.93
6. M. Reese 4.56 @ 159.14
7. W. Blankenship 4.64 @ 139.25
8. D. Harmer 4.68 @ 158.65
9. R. Reynolds 4.68 @ 156.36
10. K. Hecht 4.69 @ 148.87
11. M. Smith 4.72 @ 144.79
12. A. Johnson 4.94 @ 143.66
13. R. Litz 4.99 @ 149.20
14. M. West 5.00 @ 139.78
15. B. Edwards 5.04 @ 141.60
16. Bye

Round 1:
#13 R. Litz Over #4 M. Barran
#6 M. Reese Over #11 M. Smith
#8 D. Harmer Over #9 R. Reynolds
#7 W. Blankenship Over #10 K. Hecht
#3 JR Gibson Over #14 M. West
#5 D. Arbogast Over #12 A. Johnson
#1 R. Cox DQ (Leaking Car, Couldn’t Break The Beams)

Round 2:
#6 M. Reese Over #3 JR Gibson
#2 M. Bell Over #7 W. Blankenship
#13 R. Litz Over #5 D. Arbogast
#8 D. Harmer Bye From DQ

4-Way Tie for 1^st Matt Reese, Matt Bell, Ray Litz, Dave Harmer

Re-using an abandoned airstrip, Onondaga Dragway first opened their gates in 1961 and was open until 1978. During that time it became one of Michigan’s most famous dragways. Don Garlits, E.J. Potter, Dick LaHaie, Connie Kalitta, Shirley Muldowney, Don Prudhomme… the list goes on and on of World famous drag racing legends that have raced this track, creating a rich and proud history for the community.

In 1978, the economy was struggling and the effects resulted in the track closing.

In 1985, an attempt to re-open fizzled before it really even started.

In 2007, Dan Pranshka was given permission by Ray Comer (land owner) to clean up and use what was left of the track to make some test hits with his prostreet Chevelle. Dan and some friends cleaned up what they could of the old blacktop and the fun began! People came out of the woodwork to watch him and his buddies having fun on this legendary track. The community’s presence was so strong that it became a problem to find parking for everyone that just wanted to watch and Dan had to turn people away. It is important to take note, at this point Dan could have continued to tune on his own car, by himself, using this abandoned dragstrip while keeping out any outsiders, but instead he took the weight of the community and the racer’s desire on his shoulders to move forward with a potential opening for business. Dan fought the Township to obtain a special use permit for a couple years. With the approval and support of the Township, Dan and Ray formed the New Onondaga Dragway. Over $300,000 was invested in rebuilding the track that opened again in June of 2013. The community showed up by the truck loads to support the New Onondaga Dragway.

It was also in 2013 when an injunction to close the track permanently was filed by a group of residents claiming the noise was a nuisance. This is where a lot of people say, “Who moves next to a drag strip and then complains about the noise”? Well, technically, this is the other way around-the track re-opened after people were already residing in the area. Although it is not common, the Judge placed the injunction on the track and it was forced to close until the case was ruled on. The case was then assigned to another Judge who felt the injunction was unfair for the track and required a bond from the Plaintiffs for over $300,000. This bond would be given to the track for lost income IF the case was ruled in favor of the track. I have NO IDEA how a case like this lasts 4 years, but it did.

In mid-2017, (Note: This is my Interpretation, but please see the court documents attached below) the Judge ruled that the track was indeed a private nuisance, however, it also found that the plaintiff used methods referred to as “unclean hands” while attempting to provide information for their case. This resulted in no winner and no loser of the case. Since the track technically did not win, it was not granted the bond money. The injunction was lifted and a couple weeks later the track re-opened again for business. At this point, the lawyer’s bill was near $340,000. The community saw this ruling as a win because they were able to open again.

In early 2018, Dan was diagnosed with cancer and in January of 2019, sadly, Dan passed away. At this point, the only person who took the weight of the community and the weight of the racers on his shoulders was no longer with us. At the worst possible time in their lives, this left behind family and friends struggling to find a solution for the future of Onondaga Dragway. Although Ray was a partner and now the sole owner of the track, he did not have an active role in operating the track. Dan had taken on this role. Ray found himself $340,000 in debt to a lawyer and a track that had no one to run it. The person who stepped in as track manager while Dan was fighting cancer in 2018, offered to continue with the role if it would help keep the track open.

It is my understanding that the plaintiff had a year to file an appeal of the ruling, and that during 2018, he filed that appeal. The plaintiff won his appeal in early 2019 sending the case back in front of the ruling Judge. It is also my understanding that this is exactly where we are now in the court processes.

So, it’s back to court right? Being owed a significant amount of money, the lawyer demanded $10,000 before he would consider continued work on the case. It is also my belief that the lawyer placed a lien on the track’s property for the amount owed. $10,000 was more than anyone could come up with and the additional upcoming lawyer fees were also out of question.

It is time to throw in the towel? If you are $340,000 in debt, looking at spending another significant amount of money on an outcome that is uncertain, and unable to operate the business yourself even if it is allowed to open; then I believe the smart business person licks his wounds and moves on (I have heard rumors of this being the situation). Unwilling to accept that as an answer and as a last resort, some friends of Dan and his family put together a GoFundMe page set up to directly pay the lawyer and then asked the community for help. The GoFundMe fundraiser is currently at just over $74,000 of the $500,000 it is asking for, but it has been stalled at this amount for just over a month. The good news is, as far as I know, the lawyer is moving forward with the court proceedings.

Cue the frustration, the anger, the misinformation, the accusations, the rude comments, the lack of patience, and mostly the confusion. Here is where things get personal to me. Dan and his family were/are my friends. I was there from the beginning in 2007 to help with getting the track set up, and also helped some with its operations. I stood next to Dan when he received the call in 2017 when he was informed that the court documents granted his ability to open the track. I am invested physically, financially, and mostly, emotionally. Every employee and friend at the track are in the same position. After the GoFundMe fundraiser, many other people are financially invested now too. This was/is the community’s track, it was run by racers for racers to provide a place in the community where everyone would be safe and welcomed. Onondaga Dragway’s proud history and recent memories are on the line but please don’t lose focus of the reality. Dan spent a ton of money, a ton of time, and a ton of sweat so that the community would have a place to call home and claim ownership of. Dan’s dream was not exactly to revive the old track, it was building a place where he was able to spend the weekends with his buddies and make new friends that shared in the same passion he had for racing. He wanted to bring people together, not tear them apart. We need to stand together, even through the confusion and ride this out together regardless of the outcome.

I have seen a lot of questions, maybe I can help with some answers. I would be lying if I said I did not have questions too.

Here are some things I know, moving forward, that may help with the spread of misinformation:

• There is currently no injunction on the track keeping it from opening, but the advice from the track’s lawyer is to remain closed until … until I am not sure when. I do not know why he advises this, but it was his advice and it looks like we are putting all our hopes and Dan’s dream on him like we did before.

• There have not been any court dates announced by the track and I was unable to find any information online.

• Signing or creating a petition will not make any difference. This is not about if the community wants the track or not. This is a legal matter. The community has already spoken loud and clear!

• People want answers to what their money has done or is doing… it appears to be paying off the existing debt to the lawyer so that he will move forward with the court proceedings. I came to this conclusion because at one point, his name was the recipient on the GoFundMe page.

Here are some things that I feel should stop:

• Stop any negative comments towards or about the track. It is a slap in the face to anyone who invested their money, their sweat and their emotions to get it opened in the first place. You would not have anything to be negative about if they had not gone through what they did to get the track opened originally. Find me a dragstrip that has reopened after its been closed for 30+ years. I will wait.

• Stop suggesting what you think the track, the lawyer, or the people supporting should do. It is clear to me the track has decided that its future is placed solely on the shoulders of this lawyer, and the outcome will be what it is. We  do not have to agree with that, but we must accept it.

• Those speaking on behalf of the track are not withholding any information from you, they just have no answers for you even when you demand them. They are people just like you and I, attempting a last-ditch effort to fight for Dan’s Dream and his legacy, the community’s track, and the longevity of the proud history and memories this track holds.

Drag Racers are competitors, but Drag Racers are also the biggest family I have ever seen or been a part of. This crazy passion we have unifies us, draws us together and allows us opportunities to help each other when it is needed. The way the community has come together during every fight Dan has taken along the way has been inspiring. I would hate for any of that to fall apart because you think you deserve answers when there are not currently any to give. If any updates are available, you can find them on the track’s Facebook page. I will also keep you up to date if I find anything out.

Here are the court documents, the GoFundMe page if you wanted to help, and the Track’s Facebook Page.

Public Court Documents – Mark_Cooper_vs_Raymond_D_Comer

www.gofundme.com/fight-for-our-community-dragway

The New Onondaga Dragway Facebook Page

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