Sportsman Videos now posted (PLEASE be patient as they are big files and are intended to be viewed by people with fast Internet connections such as cable or DSL. The small versions should be fine for most viewers, but if you demand the best in on-line drag racing videos, come here about 3:00 a.m. on a Sunday and click on the bigins. We here at HH feel this to be perhaps the biggest and best sportsman drag videos you'll find anywhere on the web. It's the shape of things to come around here as we move towards becoming THE premier drag racing video site. Sponsors who desire this kind of exposure feel free to contact us for future promotional opportunities.) e-mail Larry Pfister
As a treat for all our Stock and Super Stock fans we are proud to present hi-quality Quicktime broadband video highlights from the biggest NHRA sportsman race of all time. Please note that these clips were simply chosen at random. We have ten hours from this one race alone, so if you are looking for anything in particular hold off your requests until we get caught up sometime in January 2003. Then we can possible do custom tapes if we have enough of what you seek.
And please remember all of these clips (and photos) are all copyright © 2002 Larry Pfister. Repost them or redistribute them in any manner is a crime and will be treated as such.
Now in preperation for our up-coming (January 2003) video featuring the best of West Coast Stockers and Super Stockers we bring you these clips:
1. Action from Friday's early morning sessions. You will see (in order) Steve Wann's big wheelstand and 10.91 run in the Rettig Bros. C/SA 1970 440 GTX. Next up is a A/S record holder Robert Pond in his 427 1967 Farlaine from Riverside CA beside Les Norton from South Jordan Utah driving his '64 Savoy A/SA. Pond runs a 10.48 (remember these are factored numbers) with Norton running a 10.70. The 1971 440 Challenger of Las Vegas' Gary Kestler is next, the B/SA hammering out a 10.81. The B/SA '68 Mustang of Rusty Hall then runs 10.78 in the Sweeney Texas-based ride followed by Richie Pauley who wheelstands his way to an 11.05 in the C/SA '68 Fomoco. Next is a battle of the giants with Kevin Helms' '69 396 Camaro B/S beside Eric Waldo's C/S 428 Mustang. The champ from Mineola Texas runs 11.02 while the Richland WA driver has an 11.17. This clip ends with another big Ford, the B/S '69 of Palmdale's Don Keen who cards a 10.84.
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2. Ok it's Super Stock time, again from Friday's first session. We begin with a couple of buddies, Ritch Ahrens from Greely Colorado in his high-flying GT/EA '85 Firebird and Los Lunas New Mexico driver and engine builder Gary McGlasson behind the wheel of his wheestanding SS/HA '69 Camaro. We then get a nice view of Mike Blackstone's new SS/BS '90 Oldmobile, followed by a match-up featuring Regina Saskatchewan's Abe Loewen in his SS/DM '98 Grand Am beside Harry Holton's grandson Jared Jordan in the family's big Hemi '65 Belvedere. Major horsepower makes for Major wheelies here. Speaking of Hemis we then get to see Jerry Jenkins side-by-side with Joe Teuton Jr's SS/BA Plymouth. Two more eh cars are up next with Sid Bonnecarrere in the famous Cajiun Flyer from Gray Louisiana and Phil Mandella in Dave Raybourn's Upland CA-based Dart. We continue this show for all those Hemi-lunatics out there with the class record holder Michael Ogburn in his gorgeous Cuda, then all the way from Uxbridge Mass. is Al Smyth in the Porta Tree sponsored SS/A Cuda. We end with yet more Hemi thrills as we're treated to a some large air from the SS/AA Dart of Las Vegas' own Gord Loeffler.
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Come back later for a bunch of way cool stuff including some wild wheelies, Comp records and more.
3. We received a few requests for some Comp video, and since the field was so awesome here at Vegas we put this lil bit together. See new D/AA record holder Sean Dodd from Lewisville Texas lead things off, then Chester Virginia's Hurley Blakeney drags out his wild six second 200mph AA/AT '95 T-Bird. New A/SM record holder Roger Brogdon then makes a hit in his beautiful 373 inch 2002 Cavalier out of Tomball Texas. Next up is a night shot of Scott Geoffrion wheeling Blakeney's turbo Mustang on about it's best flire-breathing pass of the weekend. We end this clip with our Top Comp video of the event. Bob Israelson has been seen here before, so we know to never take the camera off the bottled Flashback '69 Camaro. This will show you why as he splits an intake manifold completely in half just off the line in ahuge, but brief ball of fire. Bob was ok.
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4. More Stock comin' at ya leading off with a real treat. Jerry MacNeish from Eldersburg Maryland has restored the '68 Camaro Dave Strickler took to the Super Stock World Championship in 1968. It was here looking better than it ever did when Strickler had it (according to one old timer!) and we were all over it. Look for a detailed look and interview in the upcoming video. Here we see it come in under the big Strip sign and make a bitchin' run under the lights beside the wheestanding Nova of Kennewick Washington's Mary Ann Method. We then see Norton's A/SA again, this time at night. One more time for Robert Pond too...how 'bout those flames out the headers! It's then wheelie time as we present Keith Lynch's Nova and a '70 Mustang we're sorry we cannot identify just now. To finish we give ya a worm's eye view of former World Champ Al Corda and the wheestand of the night by Clinton North Carolina's Bobby Warren in his D stick Pontiac.
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5. You say you want more? Ok, we're gonna give you more! How's this? Abe Loewen against Kerry Angeles' Fountain Valley California-based SS/GA '69 Firebird on an evening qualifier at LVMS. And this! John Galina of nearby Henderson Nevada in his '87 Grand National on the way to a stumbling (imagine if it hadn't??) SS/DX mark of 8.17/171.31 in the quickest and fastest Super Stocker or them all. Then there's a unique pairing for the Fomoco fans. Chad Guilford from Highlands Ranch Colorado in his GT/EA 1984 Mercury Cougar beside the 351-powered SS/BM '91 Probe of Don Bevers out of Tuscon AZ. Another cool Ford, the GT/LA 289 inch '93 Mustang of Grace Howell from Aiken South Carolina against a Camaro we don't have a name for follows. It's stick car wheelstand time again as Phoenix AZ driver Kip Martin stands up his SS/L '64 Mustang, but has a problem. One more Hemi as the Cajun Flyer lives up to it's namesake, and we finish this clip with the quickest eh run of the weekend, Jerry Jenkins' 9ohoh.
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6. Sunday stuff begins with world champ (and new B/SR record holder 7.99/164.12) Don Stratton Jr. from Belloit Ohio in his round one match with west coast hitter Jeff Gillette of Benicia, CA in his B/ED. The Jenkins Competition prepped D/D of LaFayette Indiana's Brian Browell (who also set a record here at 7.24/184.11) then goes up against number one qualifier Jeff Taylor from Lumberton North Carolina in his C/SMA 2002 Cavalier. The hits just keep on cumin' as we feature new A/SMA record setter Mike Trumble Jr. of Pasadena Texas then end this one with perhaps the most unusual drag racing vehicle on the face of the Earth. Mark Foster at the wheel of a Sterling car you'll have to see to believe. Watch closly as the AFD bends in totally the opposite direction of anything else (it bows into a U shape on launch).
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7. Sunday Super Stock action starts off with the baddest truck we've ever presented, Billy Leber's Tonawanda-based SS/TB '00 S10 that runs a 9.501 on a 9.50 in round two. It's wheelstands west when we see Bill Blakeney's SS/HA '68 Camaro leave before the '92 SS/BS version of Doug Lambeck and get the round two victory as Lambeck takes it waaaaay out there. LaVerne CA driver Fred Moreno then comes up with his SS/GA '69 428 Mustang to give us another great show, followed up by Dan Fletcher's familier SS/IA Camaro from Churchville New York. We get one more look at Ogburn who is seen getting by Teresa Butner in another round two hilight. We move from there to later in the evening to see a round four race between Don Studley's GT/TC Dakota and the SS/G Mustang of Jon Calvert who shows us maybe the biggest bumper-whacker of the day. Last, and certainly not least, is the heavweight champion of west coast wheelstands, Bryan Broaddus of Yorba Linda CA in his SS/FA 454 powered 1971 Monte Carlo.
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8. We finally end this bandwidth bashing with a shorty featuring some first and second round Stocker stuff. Jeff Hefler in the F/SA Buz Post '98 Firebird from Mansfield Texas stands it up just before Steve Wann gives us another. Mary Ann Method's big one is follwed by the A/SA Camaro of Las Vegan Dale Howard then the B/SA Mustang of Rusty Hall from Sweeny Texas is seen against the A/SA '64 Savoy of Gene Mosbek from Elk River Minnesota.
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Pro Photo Notes: The 2002 NHRA AC Delco Las Vegas Nationals on The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway was a fantastic drag race. It was here on Sunday October 27 that Larry Dixon was crowned the first Powerade Top Fuel champion and where Jeg Coughlin Jr. and Angele Savoie secured their own championships in Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle.
A total of 26 Fuel Dragsters attempted to qualify with the bump a quick 4.719. All but two of them over 300mph. In the Funny Car class it was all John Force and team mate Tony Pedregon as they met in the final with the Champ winning and extending his slim points lead that will be decided in Pomona the following weekend. Twenty five floppers tried to be among the four second 300mph field of sixteen.
The Pro Mod class provided us with a first look at many of the eastern cars and drivers who rarely make it out west. Needless to say we were impressed.
The hh still cam came out of the box for one of the very few times in 2002. You'll notice we took a lot of the pros and a lot at night. We've always said "once you see nitro at night, you'll never care about it in the daylight again", and when you're at a place with lighting like this...oooooooh baby! Our video sportsman coverage would begin the following weekend, so don't fret over us turning against the little guys.
We were at the event just Friday and part of Saturday, so missed a few sessions, but hey, it is Vegas and we had Don Henley tickets Saturday night...
While there are many sites that post photos, videos and results from this event, we have once again taken the extra step and provided to you what we feel are some of the highest quality still images available. We don't do this kind of thing very often because film is not cheap, and the work required to produce images like this is not easy. We simply think that if you're going to do it, do it the best you possibly can.
Again we thank LVMS Strip Manager Chris Blair, NHRA Div. 6 Director Mike Rice, NHRA Division Six Photographer Rich Carlson and Speedzone Magazine's Dean Murdoch for making much of this possible. Also we cannot leave out our host SuperWebHost.com for providing us with all the space and technology required for everything we do. Without them there would simply be no HH.
The photos below are rather large, so hang in there and enjoy our exclusive coverage on our one and only National Event of 2002. Each caption is your link to the image, and they are in no particular order, and please use your back button to return here.
Top Fuel:
Tony Schumacher qualified number four with a 4.589/323.27. He met Dixon in the final going down .469/4.674/314.75. Here he's seen in two qualifying shots. 1 2
Odessa, Washington's Craig Smith was the only Division Six TF entry. Unfortunately his 4.948/287 was good for just the 23rd position. Regardless, his AirCat entry looked awesome and we got three great shots. Click a number for each one. 1 2 3
Dave Grubnic went 4.640/318.02, good enough for nineth. He could not best Russell in round one.
The wheelstanding Jim Head ran 4.732/291.26 to miss the show by two spots.
The eleventh qualifier John Smith got in with a 4.671/298.01 but lost to Cowin in round one.
It was Kenny's final run down THE STRIP. While this writer refuses to call him 'King' (in recognition of Jerry Ruth) the big red beerwagon looked good qualifying in the four spot with a 4.577/321.50 but lost to Cha Cha in round one. Two pics here 1 2
Speaking of Shirley she was here on a one/two race deal with a diecast sponsor, hence the 'Peanuts/Lucy' paint scheme. Knowing the ole girl don't come cheap makes one wonder just how much of a mark-up there is on those little metal toys... She did not disappoint her many fans running 4.688/301 on her first (and only) Friday qualifier. Though she got by Kenny, Sarge put her in the box in round two in a decent race. 1 2 3 4
Another Div. 5 Utah name, Garth Widdison ran 5.000/279.15
Funny Car:
Ok somebody tell me who this is...
Bob Bode made it into the sixteen spot at 4.930/302.82 then lost to Sarver in round one.
Johnny Grey just missed with a 4.965/311.49
That boss being the one...the only Johnny Force. The old trucker made it look easy qualifying fourth at 4.829/310 then racing to wins with times like 4.92/304, 4.80/323, 4.84/320 before a final round win over his 'kid' TonyP 4.82/305. We have a number of cool Force pics cause we couldn't decide what not to post. 1 2 3 4
Tony Pedregon was in KISS Kar number two and looked to be the dude to beat qualifying second at 4.786/322.73. The second Force bracket car ran 4.85/314, 4.89/307 and 4.92/310 before a runner-up 4.86/301 final. 1 2
'Swell' Del Worsham qualified seven at 4.856/318.84 before loosing to a Tony holeshot in round two.
Pro Mod:
The legendary Bill Kuhlmann from Wentzville MO was the first alternate with a 6.405/217.46.
He's seen here again beside the number two qualifier Thomas Patterson during qualifying.
Salem Oregon's Lee Smith missed the show despite a fine .443/220.33
Andy Neyer lead all west coast boys with a 6.379/225.00 but lost in one to Patterson.
Poway California's Randy Hagerty was thirteen with a 6.474/219.58.
Dennis Radford was awesome. The Baker City Oregon driver qualified eight with a 6.396 at a stunning 227.73 that stood as top speed. Nitrous Viper drew winner Jenkins in round one. 1 2
How cool was it to see the famed Iron Horse of Johnny Rocca here in Vegas!?! The Leesburg Virginia-based '49 Merc ran 6.376/220.91 to qualify fifth then lost to Ashley in round one. 1 2 3 4
West coast veteren John Scialpi could only muster a 6.483/215 here good for number fourteen.
Mitch Stott was here with his awesome '63 Corvette too. Mill Springs NC driver qualified third at 6.298/224.81 and went to the finals loosing to Jenkins with a 6.31.224. 1 2
Pro Stock (Car & Bike):
John Smith qualified seventh at 7.366/186.20, lost in one to Scali.
Jeggy Jr also won the race and the crown.
The northwest's JR Carr was off pace here with only a 7.04/195
