Nitro Dogs Racing

Come and me Sal Ramos ” The Freakin Rican”.  This is your chance to meet the World Famous Funny Car racer and see his new car.

There will be fun for all.  We look forward to seeing you there.

Remember to support the sponsors. all racing sponsors are appreciated.

If you are interested in adding your name to this fantastic Funny Car please contact Sal through this blog, or visit his web site listed on the blog roll.

Come visit Sal Ramos The “Freakin Rican” in Houston.  Sal Ramos will be previewing his Funny Car at the following location in Houston. Come one come all and enjoy the fun.

Sal will there signing autographs and giving out tons of free items.  The Freakin Rican is partly sponsored by this web sit and Predator Check, a Texas based web site that allows you to know where sex offenders reside.  They can be found at www.predatorcheck.com

Sal’s team mate Vern Wallace will also be there as he readies himself to take the wheel of the funny car.

Come out enjoy the fun and have a ball…. Remember racing is for the track not the streets.

First let me thank you all for all the support we receive concerning the Nitro Dogs blog.  In the past few days I have received an email from the NHRA stating we are not to use any of their material in our blog.  I tried to explain to them we are just trying to further the spirit of drag racing but, they are not reasonable people.

So…we are now going to rely on all of our friends and family in the drag racing community to help us from all the tracks to help us in getting the best info to you on a timely manner.

So start sending us anything and everything drag race related to blog@nitrodogs.com and we will review and start adding that to our post.

We will still use certain info from the NHRA but would rather have you the racer and the fans give us the scoop.

Looking forward to what the new day will bring and all the new friends we will have.

As a side note you will no longer be able to access the NHRA from our site as we were sending 1000’s of visitors to them a week.  Since we can no longer utilize their info we feel it is only fair that they can no longer use our blog for their gain.  Sorry for the inconvenience this may cause.

Baytown Fields set for Sunday, Antron Brown Leading the Top Fuel Class with a 3.819 ET, Cruz Pedregon in Funny car with a 4.07ET, Jason Line in Pro/Stock with a 6.544 ET and Andrew Hines in Pro/Stock Bike with a 6.889 ET.

Other Mentionable, in Funny car Ashley Force Hood #3, Tim Wilkerson #4 and John Force #6

In Pro/Stock the Favorite Dave Connolly driving the Nitro Fish car of Kenny Koresky could only run a # 20 position and Hometown Girl Erica Enders didn’t make the Houston Spring Nationals Field.

Tomorrow Weather should be Cool But clear for a Great day at the Hometown Race for Many of Us, See You Out There

Houston ,Texas Baytown,  The rain came in and squashed the second session so all the Pros had to settle for One Hit today, The Al-Anabi Boys Lead by Alan Johnson Could only muster up a # 14 in Top Fuel and #9 in Nitro Funny car, with Ashley Force Hood held on to #1 and Tim Wilkerson # 6, other Mentionables were Antron Brown with a # 2 Spot, going into Saturday’s qualifying, Let see what the Weather brings and if the ladders Change ,Stay Tuned……………..

After a slow start to the first 3 races Tim Wilkerson feels confident that he’s headed on the right track to getting back to his Championship form, he  told associate and Last years Sponsor Sal Ramos yesterday while Boarding his flight to Houston, Wilkerson also stated that his alliance with Bob Tasca III has helped him information wise with setting up his Levi,Ray,and Shoupe Shelby Gt Mustang and applauds Bob Tasca III on his First win in Nitro Funnycar in the recent Gainesville Race, Tim always enjoys the Houston Race as he is a favorite among the Texans, Going into qualifiying he looks for a Good Position with the predicted lower temperatures on Friday and Saturday.

Kenny Bernstein, right, and son Brandon enjoyed much success during their long run with Budweiser sponsorship and now will focus on findng a new partner.

The recent announcement of Anheuser-Busch’s decision to end its relationships with Kenny Bernstein Racing and NHRA after a 30-year partnership was met with mixed emotions from the team and NHRA.

The decision was not unexpected, given the recent acquisition of Anheuser-Busch by InBev, a Belgian beer company, which brought speculation about how the sale would affect Budweiser’s sponsorship programs in all of sports. The team is now able to move full speed ahead on procuring sponsorship for the 2010 season.

“We are proud of our long-term sponsorships, not only with Budweiser, but we’re also celebrating our 31st season with LaPaz party mixes, 22nd anniversary with Mac Tools, and our seventh season with Lucas Oil,” said Kenny Bernstein. “We believe that taking a proactive role in initiating programs and promotions that help sell product and build brand awareness has been an integral part of retaining our sponsorship associations through the years.

“Coupled with the success we’ve had on the racetrack while flying the Budweiser colors, including six NHRA championships and 85 national event victories between Brandon and me, it’s a very attractive opportunity for another sponsor,” Bernstein said.

NHRA was not surprised by the decision. NHRA had been tracking the progress of A-B’s recent acquisition by InBev and the formation of Anheuser-Busch InBev and anticipated potential changes that might come under new ownership. NHRA was informed that Budweiser’s decision was made to redirect dollars to a non-sports-enthusiast audience.

“The beer category is one of the most coveted at NHRA and we believe provides an incredible opportunity for a brand to take advantage of the unique attributes available through association with NHRA,” said Gary Darcy, NHRA senior vice president-sales & marketing. “With a highly loyal fan base, NHRA delivers a younger, more diverse fan base than other motorsports.” A Scarborough Research poll released in 2008 positions NHRA as having one of the youngest average fan bases of all major sports, three years younger than NFL and stock-car racing, five years younger than open-wheel racing, and three and a half years younger than the U.S. population.

Kenny Bernstein Racing plans an aggressive full-court press to secure a sponsorship for Brandon, who has 17 victories and holds the distinguished record of having the most successful career launch of any Funny Car or Top Fuel driver in NHRA history. “We’re passionate about the sport of NHRA Drag Racing and plan to continue if we can secure sponsorship. We are moving forward with the search for a replacement so that we can field an NHRA team in 2010 with Brandon as the driver. Having owned teams in NASCAR and CART, we have always felt that NHRA Drag Racing affords the best value for the sponsorship dollar,” said Bernstein.

It goes without saying that NHRA works extremely hard to ensure that every sponsor sees a strong return on investment in its association with the sport. “NHRA worked with everyone at Budweiser throughout our relationship to develop and execute programs that would increase the value of association and return on investment,” said Darcy. “We are aggressively pursuing opportunities within the category in hopes to make an announcement for the 2010 season.”

Bernstein echoed his desire to move forward in 2010, pointing out his formula for success that spans the better part of three decades. “We pride ourselves on ethics and integrity. We recognize you can’t have success without good people, and we have a skilled staff that offers the opportunity for a turnkey program that is inclusive from marketing and sales to public relations, highlighted by a race team that is professional and capable of winning on Sunday,” said Bernstein. “We are dedicated, committed, and willing to go the extra mile. We have been one of the marquee teams in this sport, and we bring with us 30 years of fan base. NHRA Drag Racing is our home, and we’re going to put forth every effort to find sponsorship and continue to field a competitive team here.”

Funny Car driver Bob Tasca III followed his first Professional pole position Saturday with his first Pro final and his first Pro win before a packed house at Gainesville Raceway during the 40th annual ACDelco NHRA Gatornationals. The race is the third of 24 in the 2009 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series.There were more firsts of a different nature as 44-time series winner Larry Dixon won his first title as a driver for Alan Johnson in Top Fuel, and, with his Pro Stock Motorcycle win, Hector Arana earned the first points lead of his career. In Pro Stock, Jason Line backed up his Kragen O’Reilly NHRA Winternationals triumph to extend his points lead.

Larry Dixon

There was little doubt that the potent combination of two past world champs, Dixon and Johnson, would yield race wins, and the two wasted little time. After a disappointing DNQ at the rain-shortened season opener, the two sealed the deal at the year’s third race by defeating Cory McClenathan in the final round, 3.89, 311.05 to McClenathan’s traction-plagued 4.57 pass.

“It’s hard to win these races, especially with a brand-new team,” said Dixon, who has now won the Gatornationals four times, though not since 2002 despite twice reaching the final since then, in 2005 and 2007. “They can have all the notes they want from last season, but you don’t have the same parts they had last season. They don’t have the same blowers or the same clutch discs, and anyone who runs a fuel car will tell you that each of those parts has its own personality and you have to learn that personality and understand it, and they’ve been able to do that.

“I know how hard it is to make these cars go down the track, but they make it look easy. It’s an amazing group. Alan Johnson is a genius, and Jason McCulloch is working right underneath him, and I’m happy for him to get his first win. I’m also happy for sheik [team co-owner His Highness Sheikh Khalid Bin Hamad Al Thani] and to be able to get his first win the third race out. I’m honored to be driving the car.”

Dixon, in his first season driving for Johnson and the new Alan Johnson/Al-Anabi team, qualified No. 1 with a 3.886, then bettered that number in round one with a sizzling 3.882 to beat fellow former Gatornationals champ Doug Kalitta. Dixon followed with a 3.86 to trailer Morgan Lucas and a 4.09 to beat last year’s runner-up, Brandon Bernstein. Dixon’s run would have been much quicker had not the blower belt broken; fortunately for Dixon, Bernstein had already smoked the tires. Dixon’s final-round appearance was his seventh at Gainesville Raceway and the 84th of his career.

McClenathan opened his Sunday with a 3.92 to beat local favorite Michael Gunderson, then defeated Don Schumacher Racing teammate Tony Schumacher, who had won the last two Gatornationals with Johnson tuning. Both drivers had to pedal their throttles after losing traction, but McClenathan’s Todd Okuhara- and Phil Shuler-tuned Fram dragster chased down Schumacher for the win. In the semifinals, Cory Mac ended the Cinderella bid of second-generation racer Bobby Lagana Jr., whose Tire Kingdom dragster had upset No. 2 qualifier Spencer Massey and Phoenix winner Antron Brown. Not only has McClenathan never won the Gatornationals in his prolific career, but until this year, the 34-time national event winner had never even reached the final round here.

Bob Tasca III

Tasca defeated good friend Tony Pedregon to claim his first Funny Car Wally, driving around Pedregon’s better leave to take the win with his Motorcraft/Quick Lane Mustang, 4.20, 280.72 to 4.53, 210.90.

“Tony is my best friend – I was the best man at his wedding – and I can’t tell you what he means to me, ” said Tasca. “Our families are going to Disney World tomorrow – my wife is his wife’s best friend, too – and he hugged me before the final and said, ‘B, either way, we’re going to Disney tomorrow, but if you win, you’re buying dinner.’ [After the final], he gave me a big hug. I know he was so proud to see me achieve this win, and I know he wanted to win as bad as I did, but I know he was real happy for me.

“To qualify No. 1 and beat Tim Wilkerson, John Force, and Tony Pedregon to win your first race, it’s just awesome. It’s a tribute to the whole program. Today is a culmination of 27 races, and we’ve had our struggles as a team, including me as a driver. We’re just determined to do well, and I can assure you that this won’t be our last trophy. We have a championship-caliber program.”

Tasca guided his Chris Cunningham-wrenched Ford to a series of steady if unspectacular passes to the final. He rode a pair of 4.19s to beat Jim Head and teammate Wilkerson; the win against Head in round one was by a whisker-thin .004-second. He then used a semifinal 4.17 to best 14-time world champ Force to reach the final. Tasca had appeared in four finals in Top Alcohol Funny Car and won two.

Defending event champ Pedregon, who had not won a round in the season’s first two races, reached the Gatornationals final for the second straight season with his Dickie Venables-tuned Quaker State entry. Pedregon beat two-time Gatornationals champ Ron Capps on a first-round holeshot, 4.19 to 4.16, then slid to a 4.23 win against Del Worsham. In the semi’s, the 67-time finalist ended Matt Hagan’s bid for his first final-round appearance on a tight 4.160 to 4.161 count that was only close on the scoreboard after Pedregon’s four-hundredths-quicker launch.

Jason Line

Line, last year’s Pro Stock runner-up here to Jeg Coughlin, went that finish one better and did it on a holeshot against Allen Johnson, 6.614, 209.20 to 6.607, 209.01, to win by a fender. The title is the 17th of his Pro career.

“The engine-guy side of me is really upset that I had to win on a holeshot,” said Line, who also won the Gatornationals in 2005. “We’ve really struggled all weekend. We did not run good. [Mike] Edwards made us look bad. Hats off to him, he’s driving really good. But it was a great win, and I’m very excited. For me to do this good this early in the year, it hasn’t happened before, so I’m excited. I’ve been driving pretty good, and knock on wood it stays that way.

“The guys did a good job because we did not have the best car this weekend. I was thinking to myself before the weekend started, the guy who drives the yellow car, Mr. Coughlin, very seldom does he win having the best car, and we need to do the same thing because you’re not going to have the best car every weekend, and you’ll have to step up some other part of it, and for me, it’s the driving part. I’m doing the best I can, and I thank the guys for working with me at the shop because they really do try to help me.”

Points leader Line, who also won this year at the season-opening Winternationals, reached his 36th Pro Stock final with the Summit Racing GXP with a string of low-6.6-second passes. After beating former world champ Jim Yates in round one with a 6.605, Line zipped past Kurt Johnson with a 6.612 and upset-minded Rickie Jones with a 6.617. Earlier in the day, Jones had defeated low qualifier Edwards on a holeshot.

Allen Johnson, racing on mother Revonda’s birthday, looked strong in reaching his 15th final in the Mopar-sponsored Dodge with a pair of 6.61 passes but dodged a bullet in the semifinals when his car got loose on the launch. He fought for control then chased down Greg Stanfield, who had the misfortune to lose the engine – and his significant lead – at the top end.

Hector Arana

Arana, a 19-year veteran of the Pro Stock Motorcycle class, scored his second NHRA national event win by defeating the low qualifier, Matt Smith, in the final round, 6.97, 191.40 to 7.13, 185.51, after Smith’s bike faltered on the top end.

“Last year, the bike was just as good as it is now, but I wanted to win so bad after winning the first one, and I was trying too hard and made some mistakes,” admitted Arana, who is the points leader for the first time in his long career. “I looked back and decided I just needed to relax.”

Arana’s Lucas Oil Buell, which carried him to his first win just last season in Norwalk, was the bike to beat all day. After qualifying No. 2, Arana sped to a 6.935 in round one, which was low e.t. of the meet, to defeat Junior Pippin, but he needed a break to light the win lamp after a tardy .186 light. Fortunately for him, Pippin’s bike bogged just after his holeshot launch. With new life, Arana steamrolled to passes of 6.942 and 6.981, both the quickest of the round, to beat reigning season champ Eddie Krawiec’s Harley and Shawn Gann. Arana also gave up a big lead to Gann after a .120 light but ran him down to win by .0016-second.

“I knew I had the fastest bike and didn’t want to push the Tree,” he explained. “I wanted to win this race. I red-lighted on my last qualifying run Saturday and couldn’t sleep last night thinking about that. It feels awesome to prove that last year wasn’t a fluke, and I want to win some more.”

Smith, in his first race aboard the Nitro Fish Suzuki for Don Schumacher Racing after campaigning his own Buell the last two and a half seasons, raced to his second Gatornationals final and the 21st of his career from the No. 1 spot he captured Friday. Smith, the 2007 event runner-up, defeated red-lighting Ryan Schnitz in round one, then ran 7.02 and 7.03 in the middle rounds to best 2005 Gatornationals champ Steve Johnson and former three-time world champ Andrew Hines, the 2004 event winner.

Larry Dixon and Mike Edwards, low qualifiers three weeks ago in Phoenix, lead the Top Fuel and Pro Stock fields, respectively, halfway through qualifying at 40th annual ACDelco NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway.Bob Tasca III has the fastest Funny Car so far while  Matt Smith is atop the Pro Stock Motorcycle field.

A very full Friday crowd packed the venerable facility for the event, the third of 24 events on the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series  schedule, basking under most sunny skies.

Larry Dixon

Dixon is halfway to his second straight No. 1 qualifying position after wheeling the Alan Johnson racing-Al-Anabi dragster to the top spot with his first-session 3.902 pass. Crew chief Johnson won the race last season while tuning for Tony Schumacher and beat Dixon in the semifinals of that race.
“I think from the first two events we went to, the air is quite a bit better here, but because of the track temperature, you have a lot less grip,” said Dixon. “I would assume that most of the teams that got down the track had to calm the car down to let it get down the track. It was real close to get that .90 on the board and at least get us qualified in the top 12. That’s always important. The next run we went up there and slowed down a little bit. I didn’t get a chance to talk to the guys to see why or what they were trying, but two runs down the track, that’s real good for us.”

“I wouldn’t think [the number will hold], I think cars should run better the more they get adapted. It seems like in years past here at Gainesville the first day is a little bit slower than the second day. I don’t know why, obviously the heat and we haven’t run here in a year, but the second day everything normally picks up and the team seems to adapt better to it and you have more shots to fire at it. I think you’ll see 80s tomorrow. I wouldn’t expect a .90 flat to hold up.”

Brandon Bernstein, who won this event in his rookie season in 2003 and was runner-up last year to Schumacher, jumped his Rob Flynn-tuned Budweiser dragster from the fourth spot to the No. 2 slot behind Schumacher. Veteran Cory McClenathan, who has never won the Gatornationals in his successful career, is third with the Fram dragster at 3.93.Class rookie Shawn Langdon sits fourth with the Lucas oil Slick Mist entry at 3.94, just ahead of Schumacher, who smoked the tires on his morning pass but improved to a .944 in the afternoon.

Points leader Antron Brown, winner of the Phoenix event, is the No. 6 qualifier, just ahead of rookie Spencer Massey and Joe Hartley. Urs Erbacher of Switzerland holds down the 12th spot with a 4,043 pass.

Among those drivers not in the field heading into Saturday’s final two qualifying sessions are former event winner Doug Kalitta and legendary Top Fuel racer Chris Karamesines, who is making his first NHRA start in two years.

Bob Tasca III

Tasca leads a trio of Mustangs corralled atop the Funny Car chart with an opening salvo of 4.124 from his Chris Cunningham-tuned Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford. If he holds on to the top spot, it will be the third-generation racer’s first professional No. 1 qualifying berth.

“The weather is going to be great all weekend,” said Tasca. “It really comes around with the cloud cover. It really doesn’t matter what the temperature is, track temperature is what’s critical. We’re hoping it’ll hold up but hey, we could improve. The good thing about running a 4.12 is you have the data and you can look at it. There were a lot of things in that run that we could have improved upon. It was a real safe 4.12. If the conditions come our way tomorrow, we’ll try to improve it.

At the end of the day, Chris and the guys give me a great hot rod and the driver is here to do his job. [We ran] 4.12 in that first session right out of the box and then we came back with a 4.18. We were trying something, and that’s a luxury you have when you’re at the top of the pack and you’re the No. 1 qualifier. It showed us some promising stuff, it didn’t improve the performance of the car but the track wasn’t as good as it was the morning session. If we have a chance to approve, it’ll probably be the earlier session tomorrow. I think that afternoon session will be too hot.”

Behind Tasca on the sheets are seven-time Gatornationals winner John Force and his Castrol Edge Mustang at 4.153 and Force’s teammate, Mike Neff , who continues to run strong even in the absence of sidelined crew chief John Medlen. Neff’s Drive One Mustang ran 4.154.

Points leader Ron Capps, undefeated through the first two events of the 2009 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series, jumped from the 15th spot to fourth with a strong 4.156 despite having his NAPA Auto Parts Dodge dart for the guardwall near the finish line. One of Capps’ Don Schumacher Racing teammates, Matt Hagan in the Shelor.com Dodge, is right behind him at 4.157 for the fifth spot. Behind them is yet another Mustang, the Castrol GTX machine of Ashley Force Hood sat 54.179. Del Worsham and Jeff Arend round out the top eight.

Mike Smith, in the Tire Kingdom Monte Carlo, holds down the final transfer spot to Saturday’s qualifying with a 12th-best 4.247. Among those who will need to battle their way into the field Saturday are former national event winners Robert Hight, Jack Beckman, Jerry Toliver, and Jim Head. Hight, second in points entering the event, has had a rough outing so far in the Automobile Club of Southern California Ford. He banged the blower on the launch of his first run and came to a halt 100 feet downtrack, then smoked the tires on his second pass. His 5.57 is just the 16th quickest of the 17 entries to make runs Friday.

Mike Edwards

Edwards, like Dixon the low qualifier at the schedule’s most recent event, the Lucas Oil Slick Most NHRA Nationals in Phoenix, continued his hot streak as he screamed to the top of the Pro Stock pack in the second qualifying session with a 6.585. He was joined in the 6.50s by Greg Anderson’s 6.595 as both blew past first-session leader Allen Johnson’s 6.600. Edwards, flying the colors of Applied Racing Technology at this event, had been the No. 2 qualifier after the day’s first session behind Johnson with a 6.622.

“I’m not really used to this to be honest with you,” said Edwards. “It’s very rewarding to have these kind of results after the effort our team put in last season and over the winter. I’m just really appreciative of everything. Kathy and Derek Steinbach from A.R.T. are here today and what a great way to show them off here in their homestate [of] Florida. They’ve been on our car for eight years, and I’m real tickled for them and to have them on board. We made up the whole car for them this weekend because we wanted to do something real special for all the dedication they’ve given us, and it turned out real nice for them.

“There will be some faster times tomorrow,” he added. “I don’t know if we can get any better than that tomorrow but we’re going to try. It depends on the weather but I think the first session tomorrow is going to be real good.”

Behind the two Pontiacs and Johnson’s Dodge are Anderson’s Summit Racing Pontiac teammate, Jason Line, at 6.620 and reigning series champ Jeg Coughlin’s Chevrolet at 6.623. Larry Morgan has the next fastest Dodge with a sixth-ranked 6,627 while the event sponsor’s flagship, Kurt Johnson’s Cobalt, and Greg Stanfield’s Attitude Apparel Pontiac round out the top half of the field. Steve Spiess holds the final provisional spot with a 12th quickest 6.659.

Improvements generally were slight if at all for the factory hot rods in the warmer afternoon session, with Justin Humphreys’ four-hundredths leap, from 6.70 to 6.64, being tops, though it wasn’t good enough to put him in the quick 12. He, along with nine-time Gatornationals winner Warren Johnson, V. Gaines, and Rickie Jones, will need to run quick Saturday to make the show. Twenty four Pro Stocker made qualifying attempts.

Matt Smith

Smith, in his debut with the Don Schumacher Racing stable, ran 6.945 in Friday’s first session aboard the NitroFish Suzuki after more than two years astride his own Buell entry and held on through the afternoon’s slower session for the provisional pole position with two sessions still to go.

“That’s a good start to the season and if we can continue like that tomorrow we’ll be good,” said Smith, who made just seven runs on the bike before the race during testing. “We left three- or four-hundredths on the table on that first run, so if the conditions are similar tomorrow morning, we could run a 6.90 or .91. This Nitro Fish Suzuki that Don Schumacher has put together is pretty awesome, so I have to thank everyone on the team for giving me a chance to do this.

“The Buell is like a tractor in that it vibrates and makes no rpm – we run like 9,000 rpm – while the Suzuki will turn 13,500 nice and smooth, so it’s totally different. The clutch is different, the throttle is different, so it’s a big adjustment.”

Smith was joined in the six-second zone four other riders, led by 2008 Norwalk winner Hector Arana, who clocked a 6.957 aboard the Lucas Oil Buell. 2007 event winner Karen Stoffer, sporting new yellow paint on her GEICO Suzuki, is third with a 6.963 and is followed on the sheets by Angie McBride, Smith’s fiancée, who rode his 2008 machine to a 6.963, and former Gatornationals champ Andrew Hines, who ran 6.991 on his Vance & Hines/Screamin’ Eagle Harley. All of the six-second passes were recorded in the first session.

As it was in Pro Stock, not many riders improved in the afternoon session, though Wesley Wells did open a few eyes by improving by nearly five-hundredths, from 7.082 to 7.034, which ranks his Suzuki ninth. Ahead of him and behind the six-second runners are Craig Treble’s Suzuki (7.007), defending series champ Eddie Krawiec’s Harley (7.007), and two-time Indy champ Steve Johnson’s WyoTech Suzuki (7.024). Although he’s not currently in the field, Ryan Schnitz also impressed with a 7.17 aboard the Team Muzzy Kawasaki ZX-14, a career-best time for the rare machine.

Among those not in the field heading into Sunday are defending event champ Matt Guidera and 2008 rookie of the year candidate Junior Pippin.

The 2009 ACDelco NHRA Gatornationals will mark the 40th anniversary of NHRA’s annual March classic, and looking back over its long and illustrious history, it’s safe to say that it’s been crammed with well more than 40 years of memories and history.

You might remember that at last year’s event, banners were hung on the main grandstand at Gainesville Raceway to salute five of the event’s more memorable moments: the first all-team Funny Car final (Leonard Hughes versus Larry Reyes, 1970); Don Garlits’ debut of the Swamp Rat XXX Top Fueler and subsequent breaking of the 270-mph barrier (1986); Darrell Gwynn’s final Top Fuel win (1990); Kenny Bernstein’s shattering of the 300-mph barrier (1992); and Andrew Hines’ toppling of the six-second barrier in Pro Stock Motorcycle (2005).

That hanging handful of history only scrapes the surface of what remains one of the most storied events on the calendar. In fact, it would be easy for me to compile a top 25 list of memorable moments, heck, maybe even a top 50.

What? Was that a dare you uttered? A challenge? Ha! How about 40? Twenty today, and 20 Friday. Such a deal.

For the record, Gainesville Dragway – as it was known then and for several years afterward – officially opened for business Dec. 7, 1968, for a two-day event patterned after a points meet, and it didn’t take long for the track to get into the record-breaking business. Southeast legend Bo Laws set four records with his Corvette to lead the way. The iconic three-story tower was part of the opening-day landscape, as were a short-lived 80-foot crossover bridge that spanned the staging lanes and sponsored finish-line scoreboards similar to those at Indy. It didn’t take long for NHRA to award the new jewel of the Southeast with a national event, which it did the following June in anticipation of 1970’s much-heralded Super Season. It became the season’s second event on the calendar – a de facto East Coast season opener – and remained that way on the schedule until 1989, when the new Houston event was moved between it and the Winternationals. A year later, when the Phoenix event was moved from the fall to February, the Gainesville event became the fourth race on the schedule and stayed there until 1999, when the spring Houston race was moved behind it due to weather concerns.

Okay, but on to the rich and wondrous history of the event itself. Some of these I read about in magazines in my youth, some I saw on television, and others I have witnessed personally during my Gators-going tenure here. It seems fair and reasonable to do this chronologically rather than to try to rewrite a list that’s already begun.

Leonard Hughes, near lane, beat temporary teammate Larry Reyes on a holeshot in the 1970 Gatornationals Funny Car final.

1. As noted above, it was an all-Candies & Hughes Funny Car final at the debut event in 1970, but what few know is that runner-up Reyes, fresh off his Winternationals win in Roland Leong’s Hawaiian, was still employed by Leong, and they ran the race as C&H’s partners. Hughes was driving the team’s new Barracuda, and Reyes saddled up in the ‘69 car, which actually was the better of the two cars. It was never really discussed historically (until now), but Reyes was “asked” to lose the final round to Hughes as the team was working on a big sponsorship. One only has to look at the e.t.s — Hughes defeated Reyes on a holeshot, 7.29 to a shutoff 7.12 – to get an inkling that something wasn’t kosher (a fact to which all parties now confess), but the real shame is that had Reyes not aborted his final-round pass, he would likely have recorded the class’ first six-second pass.

2. All three Pro finals at that first event were decided by holeshots. In addition to Hughes’ gatejob, Dave Chenevert won Top Fuel – and the only Wally of his career — against Jim Paoli, 6.74 to 6.61, and Bill “Grumpy” Jenkins bagged Pro Stock with his ‘69 Camaro on a 9.90 to 9.86 tally against Ronnie Sox. As appropriate as it would have been to have the state’s finest racer, Garlits, win the debut event, it didn’t happen because despite outclassing the field in every sense – he ran in the 6.50s on four passes when no one else could even run one — he broke the transmission.

3. Jimmy King, of King & Marshall fame, also won the only Top Fuel crown of his career the following year, also on a holeshot, 6.90 to 6.80 against Sarge Arciero. For the second straight year, Garlits qualified low but went home without a trophy.

After dominating the first two Gatornationals but coming away winless, Don Garlits won his first of four Gators titles in 1972.

4. In 1972, Garlits finally scored the first of four Gatornationals Top Fuel titles in typically “Big” fashion: He ran 6.15, the quickest time in class history, earlier in the day, then ran 6.17, 243.90 (the fastest speed ever) in the final to beat the 6.24, 238.09 of national record holder Clayton Harris in what was then the quickest and fastest side-by-side race in history.

5. Chevrolet fans rejoiced at the 1973 event, where the late Jim Bucher earned a piece of history as the first Top Fuel racer to set the NHRA national record with Bowtie power, a sizzling 6.07 in round two against Carl Olson. Unfortunately for Bucher, a cracked cylinder head led to a blower explosion in the final, giving the win to Herm Petersen, whose win was the – stop me if you’ve heard this before – only one of his long career. Both ends of the national record were broken in all three Pro classes, with Pat Foster (Funny Car) and “Dyno Don” Nicholson (Pro Stock) winning the event after setting records.

The Butch Maas-driven Mickey Thompson Grand Am met a fiery end in 1973.

6. Also in 1973, Butch Maas, in Mickey Thompson’s sleek Grand Am, and Jim Nicoll, in his Speed Equipment World Vega, both rode out nasty top-end fires. Maas – whose career will be featured in this column in a few weeks – and the smoldering wreck came to a photographic stop right next to the track’s “The End” sign.

7. More history was in store at the 1974 event, where Wally Booth scored the first Pro Stock victory for car manufacturer AMC after his Hornet stung the field, including final-round opponent Jack Roush (yes, that Jack Roush) and the new Gapp & Roush Mustang. Usual driver Wayne Gapp wheeled their trusty old Pinto to the No. 1 qualifier spot but lost early to Bob Glidden. It was the (say it with me) only final-round appearance of Roush’s driving career.

Don Prudhomme brought back his Indy-winning ‘Cuda in 1974 to win the Gators.

8. The 1974 Funny Car final was notable for the body styles of the two finalists. Prudhomme had debuted an aerodynamically slick and trick Vega at the Winternationals but hated the car and later sold it to Tom Hoover. Prudhomme dragged his trusty ol’ “plain Jane” ‘Cuda out of mothballs, painted in his new Army livery, and whupped the Gators field. In the final, he beat Don Schumacher, who had tossed the body off his own aero-influenced Super Shoe Vega in qualifying but patched it up for eliminations.

9. Prudhomme also won the 1975 Funny Car title in one of the weirder final rounds in class history. “The Snake” was shut off on the line for an oil leak, which appeared to give Tom Prock – father of Robert Hight crew chief Jimmy – a solo to what would have been (all together now!) the only win of his career. Unfortunately for Prock, his final dry hop to the starting line broke the rear end. Officials gave both racers 45 minutes to make repairs, which for “the Snake” meant repairing the oil-pan gasket, and Prock and company couldn’t change out the rear end in time. Prudhomme soloed to what was his second of six wins (in eight events) that season.

10. As tough as it is for us, the Warren & Coburn faithful, to fathom, James Warren only won two national events in his fabled Top Fuel career, the second of which was at the 1976 race. The Ridge Route Terrors, whose only other Wally was earned in a front-engine car at the 1968 Winternationals, were runner-up to Frank Bradley at the 1976 Winters, then beat Chevy stalwart Bucher in the final in Gainesville. Gary Beck recorded the track’s first five-second pass that year with a 5.92. This year, of course, we’ll see its first three-second run, albeit it at 1,000 feet.

“The Snake’s” Army Monza, one of the winningest cars in NHRA history, won the Gatornationals back to back in 1975 and 1976.

11. Also in 1976, Prudhomme won his third straight Gatornationals crown and, in the process, became the winningest driver in the sport’s history with 16 wins, breaking his tie with Garlits. Prudhomme won seven of the eight events that bicentennial year, losing only in the final round in Indy to Gary Burgin.

12. “240 Gordie” Bonin began one of the oddest courtships with Gatornationals glory in 1977, when he won his first title (imagine that!), powering the Bubble Up Trans Am to low e.t. and top speed (6.19, 238.72), then won the race every other year through 1981. Bonin singled for the 1977 title after Roger Lindamood was unable to return after destroying the engine in his Color Me Gone entry in beating red-lighting Prudhomme in the semifinals. The final-four loss for Prudhomme, who battled the flu all weekend, was his first non-final-round appearance in 13 straight national events spanning three seasons.

13. The bridesmaids finally got hitched at the 1978 event as Dale Pulde, a two-time runner-up in Funny Car in a seven-year career, and Frank Iaconio, who had logged four Pro Stock runner-ups, each scored his first national event win. Pulde slid the War Eagle Trans Am past Billy Meyer’s Aqua Slide ‘n’ Dive Arrow to claim his initial Wally, and Iaconio got a gift from low qualifier Glidden, who red-lighted in the final.

14. Garlits won his second straight and third Gatornationals title in 1978 in one of his few cars that was not black. His Donovan-powered digger, painted blue and white, escaped with the victory after low qualifier Kelly Brown – who would win the season championship that year – lost the engine just off the line and Garlits smoked the tires to a 6.55.

15. Brown took it one round further the following year as his star continued to ascend, but few could have predicted the future trajectory of the 1979 Top Alcohol Dragster winner: Joe Amato. The plucky Pennsylvania pilot won his first of 57 titles – 52 of which were in Top Fuel – with his Hurst/Airheart dragster after competing in Top Alcohol Funny Car. Amato also won the Gatornationals in 1981 in TAD and four times in Top Fuel –1984, 1987, 1991, and 1997 – to put him among the event’s winningest drivers. Only Warren Johnson (nine) and John Force (seven) have more Gatornationals wins.

Bob Glidden won 85 national events but only won the Gatornationals twice, the final time in this Plymouth Arrow in 1979.

16. Here’s one that makes you go “Huh?” Glidden won Pro Stock at the 1979 Gatornationals with his Plymouth Arrow, which was newsworthy in and of itself because he beat Ronnie Sox in the first all-Mopar final since the 1973 Springnationals (where Butch Leal beat Don Carlton) and because in 63 more wins before his 1997 retirement, he never won the Gatornationals again.

17. Prudhomme won Funny Car again in 1980, but only after the heroic efforts of NHRA Competition Director Steve Gibbs with the Safety Safari, who concocted a witch’s brew of a traction compound to rescue a very green track and almost blew himself up in the process. For years afterward, a dented saucepan with the words “Desperate men do desperate things” lettered on it hung in Gibbs’ office. Gibbs’ reward? Prudhomme unleashed one of the greatest on-track assaults in history with five five-second runs, including an astounding 5.93.

18. Len Imbrogno, who decades later would work for NHRA, took a wild ride in Funny Car qualifying in Kenny Thornburg’s Centurion Pontiac Trans Am. After a wheelstand on the first attempt, he crossed the centerline on his second pass. Things got decidedly worse Saturday when Imbrogno got out of shape due to excessive tire shake and made a hard right turn into the guardrail, launching the fire bottle like a bottle rocket, before sliding the length of the course along the guardrail.

Jeb Allen finally broke Don Garlits’ six-year-old class mark of 5.63 with a 5.62 at the 1981 Gatornationals.

19. The 1981 Gatornationals was another performance barnburner. Eventual world champ Jeb Allen, who won Top Fuel the year before, ran 5.62 to finally supplant the 5.63 recorded more than five years earlier by Garlits at the 1975 Supernationals as the quickest run in Top Fuel history.

20. Shirley Muldowney won her first of two straight Gatornationals Top Fuel crowns at the 1981 event, where she bested Jody Smart in the final round. The following year, she denied Garlits in a classic final-round showdown.

Okay, there are 20 without even breaking a sweat. And in just the first 11 years of the race! Are you impressed yet? Twenty more coming your way Friday — at this rate, I may need 60! — when I’ll be filing from G-ville, where I travel Thursday.