SAVING GAS FOR THE LONG HAUL
I remember when I was a kid, diesel fuel was way cheaper than gasoline. Now the opposite is true, and I wonder if the refining processes have changed so much that the diesel costs more to make, or they figure the signs of folks going to diesel with all the veg oil talk, and they are herding us to the "cheaper" gas.
If it weren’t for long drives (like tomorrow I will drive 100 miles each way for a show) I would look into electric for around town. I guess the only way at the present would electric around town, then break out the gas car for longer trips.
Richard Burbick
Sebring, Florida
HOFMANN TRIBUTE
The racing community has lost a true drag racing legend in Al Hofmann! He could and did do it all. I had always hoped that he would return, maybe in a nostalgia car... Rest in peace, my friend.
Mark Possinger
Cabot, Arkansas
HOFMANN TRIBUTE FROM TOMMY JOHNSON SR.
Too bad about Al Hoffman; way too young to pass on. The sport will miss him.
Tommy Jr. would not be where he is today (driving for two high profile teams over the past eight years) had it not been for Al choosing him to drive his and Helen's "way under-funded" F/C the year after Joe Gibbs closed down his F/C operation and Tom Jr. was left without a ride.
We were at Cordova, Jr. was racing his S/C car at the IHRA event and Al called from E-town. He had just fired Christen Powell and wanted Jr. to drive for him (as Al was driving for Jim Dunn that year). Jr. took that VERY under-funded operation and put it on the pole at Indy. THAT...."dropped the jaws" of ALL the high financed "big teams" as well as the whole racing world!
Soon after that John Force told Tom Jr., "Kid, you really DO want to race don't you if you'll drive for an under-funded operation like that after driving for the high profile team of Joe Gibbs!" Snake and Bernstein MUST of thought the same thing?
Al was good for drag racing too with his rivalry with Force.
I was hoping to see Al at Lowe's Motor Speedway's Auto Fair here in Charlotte in two weeks as Al came for it all the time buying old cars. I ran into him there a couple times.
He'll be missed by many, especially our family for what he did for Tom Jr.
Tommy Johnson Sr.
Mooresville, North Carolina
HOFMANN TRIBUTE
What a loss. Rest in peace, Al.
Lew Butler
Z307
Pataskala, Ohio
"Go Bucks”
ON HOFMANN, FREY AND WALLACE
Hey Burkster...your words about Al Hofmann "wrang" home...in Al's earliest funny car days, he used to regularly come to our shop...and buy-"borrow" 15-20 gallons of nitro at a time...just had to love him...a straight up...no "frills", rough around the edges, man's man! Kept in touch periodically over the years...and yep, Al would still tell ya like it is!!
In my years on the planet...just way too few real dudes like Al...he will be missed...a bunch...
"Frantic" Fred Frey and Steve "might" be onto something...have a fresh Tommy Grove Ford fuel motor and a few pieces ...and the mean$. If we truly could "book" the stuff regularly back east...geez...a real 100% Ford Funny Car again!
Lastly...surely happy for Dave Wallace...recognized...as he should be...beyond the politics.
Drake Viscome
Vindicator Ford Racing
ANDRA GETS IT; NHRA DOESN’T
Once again we see a situation where a governing body is only interested in what THEY want and not what the racers and the fans want - the same people who are the bread and butter of NHRA and give them the profits they want.
I cannot believe the Pro Mods are not considered a professional class when here in Australia Top Doorslammer enjoys stature second only to Top Fuel. This was a class that started life as a rag tag bunch of racers in the ‘80s with their supercharged street weapons called "The Wild Bunch" at Willowbank Raceway and over the years grew in popularity to the point where the governing body, ANDRA, saw the benefit of their presence and elevated them to a Group One (professional) category.
The same is now happening with "Supercharged Outlaws" which again originally started as a Willowbank Raceway exhibition class and now enjoys being a mainstream ANDRA category. It is now proving to be a breeding ground and stepping stone for future Top Doorslammer racers. Where once there were only a handful of TD cars Australia-wide there are now 40 - at any given meeting in the series there is always more than twice the number of cars vying for the number of places available in the field.
NHRA, wake-up and smell the tyre smoke - pull your heads out of your tail-pipes and do something for the future of your sport!
Adam Foreman
Brisbane, Australia