CARLSON ANKLES SCHUMACHER, NHRA PRO STOCK
Shaun Carlson, who was one of the only NHRA professional class drivers whose appearance, age, and appeal reached the coveted Gen Y crowd, has apparently ended his NHRA Pro Stock experiment. The personable Los Angeles area driver, who is under contract with the folks at Mopar, made his mark as a driver in the Sport Compact and drifting arenas. He has had less success in his efforts to drive a Mopar Pro Stocker for the Don Schumacher organization.
In a copyrighted story for NHRA.com Carlson reports that he will be going to the Mopar-backed Ray Evernham Nextel Cup team as a fabricator, engineer, and test driver. In the Agent’s opinion there is no way to sugarcoat this -- NASCAR’s gain is certainly NHRA’s loss. (Darr Hawthorne photo) [8-10-2006]
APMA GOES BACK-TO-BACK
The Automatic Pro Mod Association (APMA) is staging back-to-back events over the next two weekends, visiting Silver Dollar Raceway in Reynolds, GA, this Saturday (Aug. 12) and Carolina Dragway in Jackson, SC, on Aug. 19. Spectator admission is just $15 at each race, with qualifying scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. at Reynolds and 7 p.m. the next week. The Agent is hoping to make it out to at least one of them. (Ian Tocher photo) [8-10-2006]
THE CAPTAIN WILL BE BACK AT THE WHEEL
Multi-team owner Kenny Koretsky is going to return to the driver’s seat of his Pro Stock Dodge Stratus for the first time since his horrific accident with Chevy driver Bruce Allen last October in Ennis, Texas. Koretsky told the Agent’s operative as recently as the Mopar Mile-High Nationals at Denver that he still had some health issues from the crash last year. Evidently those issues have been resolved. Koretsky sustained head, back, arm and hand injuries when his car struck Allen’s airborne car near the finish line at the Texas Motorplex.
He could have returned sooner but says he decided to “keep Mike (Thomas) and Dave(Northrop) in the cars until the time was right. I feel fine physically but I’m sure I’ll be a little nervous. It’s like falling off a bike. You just get back on it.
“Tell my fans that ‘Captain Chaos’ will be driving at Brainerd thisweekend,” said Koretsky, referring to his (some say well-deserved) nickname.
“The fans helped me make this decision. If I had $100 for every fan who asked me when I was going to start driving again, I’d have enough money to run the team for a year.” [8-10-2006]
KEYES SERVICES SET
Services for Rockey Keyes will be held at the Crespo Funeral Home, 4136 Broadway (713-644-3831) in Houston, TX, on Friday, August 11 at 7:00 p.m. Keyes was killed in a crash on Aug. 5 at Houston Raceway Park. Friends and fellow racers are encouraged to make donations to the Drag Racing Association of Women and Racers For Christ in his memory. [8-10-2006]
