Capitol Auto Group Racing

It's a Race Against Time and Murphy's Law is in the Lead But We're Finally Catching Up

I'll be honest it's been a rough week. As some of you know the piston company held us up for five weeks and as a result we missed the Tulip Race and with the domino effect like it is we're close to missing the Season Openner. It's not like we are wasting time either. As soon as something related to the engine is completed we move on to the next task.

We are now in the engine building phase and nothing has worked out according to plan. Either parts were manufactured wrong, we were sold the wrong part, or a mistake was made on my end. Not a good thing to be going through just days before the Season Opener at Woodburn Dragstrip. A part was broke in half before it was even open out of the package, lifters were stolen in transit via Fed Ex, only not to work anyway which was contrary to what the tech guy said, a part was manufactured wrong (they quickly took care of the problem) but still costed us hundreds in overnight shipping charges. Head studs we're the wrong size which was my bad on that but thanks to Chris Marshall, we got a set so we were able to knock that one put of the park.

But the good news is, the short block is together and now these other problems have been quickly remedied. So chances are good that we will likely we'll be able to put this behind us and make some runs this weekend. We've pulled rabbits out of a hat before and had a good outcome in the end and hopefully this time around will be no different. Racers all struggle it's just the name of the game.

I'm just excited to get the car back together and get back in the car again. It's been a long winter.

Pacific ProComp adds Champion to Schedule

Champion Raceway will be hosting a Pacific ProComp points event on July 6-7 during the Night of Fire Drags. Pacific ProComp is an open "run what you brung class" but it's mostly made up of blown alcohol dragsters and occasionally a funny car or two. The teams will make one pass on Friday July 6, then qualifying continues on Saturday with eliminations Saturday night.

Last year, Steve Laburn made the tow all the way from Orange County and took the win over the Capitol team which runner upped the last two years in a row. Hopefully the third year will be the charm.

Racers: If you have a car that can run a low seven or a mid to high six second pass you are welcome to pre-enter. Email us here

Facebook Floppers and Flyers

Here is a great side-by-side shot of Al Bergler's Motown Shaker racing former world champ Shirl Greer. In fact, Greer was the first driver to win an NHRA World Championship based on a points system when Winston came on board in the mid 1970's. Photo by Scott Smith

Editors note: we are helping ourselves to some great vintage pics that have been popping up on Facebook lately. These pics only stay up here for a couple of days each so be sure to check back often to see what might be featured next!

Cap Racing Update: An Engine Comes Together

We finally got the pistons at the beginning of last week and then sent them on to the machine shop, who got everything completed on Friday. Once everything was loaded up late Friday, Richard and I headed over to Bend in the new truck so our crew chief Rick Klampe could begin assembling the engine. I can't say enough about the guys down at Automotive Machine. They really treat us good and I highly recommend them. Also, Rick will do a meticulous job assembling the new bullet.

This is the first engine that we have put together in-house since Art Mendoza and the late Jeff Lauener have been with us. Art continued to support us by assembling the engines but he has been very busy with his own team so we are now building the engines ourselves. The benefit to this is we'll now have a better understanding as to what we have unlike a program similar to Pro Stock where the engines were built at a remote location and then delivered to us. We benefited greatly from Art's expertise but we needed to better understand the engines we were using inside and out. I also think there will be a greater feeling of ownership building them ourselves.

Once Rick is done with the engine, we'll go back to Bend and get it and then Richard, Brent and I will install it. Then on the following weekend, we'll be heading to the season opener on May 19 and 20 at Woodburn to test it. I know it's going to run great as this is a brand new engine with new parts. I have full confidence in our team in putting it all together and the transmission has already been inspected by our transmission expert Jeff Marsh.

Oh yeah, I mentioned Brent. Brent Sanford is going to be helping us this year at some of our local events and RFC's Dave Cookman is going to help out when he can when we go on the road. Brent and Dave will be our truck drivers and help out where we need them.

-Rich Bailey

Tentative Capitol Racing Schedule

May 19-20	SEASON OPENER Woodburn Dragstrip
June 9-10	ROSE FESTIVAL DRAGS Woodburn Dragstrip
July 1	NITRO NIGHTS UNDER THE LIGHTS Renegade Raceway
July 7	PACIFIC PROCOMP Southern Oregon Dragstrip *
July 27-28	NIGHT OF FIRE Woodburn Dragstrip
July 13-15	NHRA REGIONAL Woodburn Dragstrip
August 18	NAPA NIGHT OF FIRE Spokane County Raceway*
Sept 15-16	PACIFIC PROCOMP Sacramento Raceway or Fall Classic
Oct 6-7	PACIFIC PROCOMP Redding Raceway

Show Schedule:
May 27	Racer's for Christ Event Forest Grove Assembly of God, Forest Grove OR
TBA	Royal Purple Event Stuarts Auto Supply, Salem
TBA	Volcanoes Event Volcanoes Stadium, Salem
Aug 3	Night of Fire Car Show People's Churc,h Salem
Aug 4	Mid Valley Cruise in Assembly Of God, Albany

NEW !!! THUNDER IN THE PIPES: #5
Beyond Anyone's Wildest Dreams-----the Happening Really Took Place
By Jim Rockstad

The nice weather can often increase the participation so much that some of the racers get short-changed while others just want to be part of the excitement. It’s a tough balance to maintain with over 700 cars, you just run as many as you can during the time allowed.

We tried other things like keeping track (with a mark on the side window) the amount of qualifying runs each vehicle gets. Once they hit a certain number we would not allow them back into the lanes until eliminations. No matter how hard you try it is a ton of vehicles and hard to organize that many. It was success boiling over!!

We used to have All High School Drags tee shirts and would sell out of them faster than we could restock them. On the financial side of this type of event, it was the greatest risk- return event SIR had ever seen. This type of event generates a whole new group of car buffs in their early teens which brought many of them back weekly, for years to come at SIR. Our weekly grudge drag races throughout the summer would always be loaded with a group of high school drag racers. Once they learned how…away they went for great fun. (NHRA are you listening?)

I remember hearing an interview by Pat Austin as he claimed the high school drags were what had got him into the sport many years ago. Austin went on to top fuel and funny car fame later on in his professional career. And there has been many more that caught the bug at the high school drags and then continued on up the ladder in the sport.

I have never heard of anyone else in the USA putting in the effort we did in high school drag racing. Other tracks have now, and will have, high school drag racing but here in the Northwest there has never been anything like what took place at SIR back then. It was one of the largest events we had, least risky for weather and potential problems and no doubt, one of the coolest to be involved with.

It literally became something on a level that I had never heard of. My daughter, Maren, went to Liberty High School and a notice came right over the pa system right there in one of her classes…..”high school drags at SIR tonight”. It was just the “in thing” to do even if you didn’t like racing, just go there to support your school….and to be cool.

You’d think that with all these young kids mixed together from all of these different schools….and in competition, there would be major problems with crowd hassles. That was just not the case. They were there to have a good time and cheer on their friends and fellow students and, of course, hope that their school wins it all.

The King County Sheriffs would stop by and look around to make sure things were going okay. We always had a uniformed security guard at the ticket gates just so everyone entering would see that some guards were on duty. Other than that we didn’t need any security at all.

In all my years of promoting high school drag racing I never saw a scuffle or had any sort of problem like that. It was all about supporting your school and having fun.

I always felt that the NHRA was “missing the boat” on high school drag racing. No doubt, their Junior Dragster program is a good one. Many current NHRA racers have come from the Junior Dragsters program which certainly is a good building block for the future of the sport. But how many times have you ever seen over 6,000 in attendance and over 750 vehicles competing at a Junior Dragster event? Never.

As the crowds at NHRA National events continue to get older and older, is this the sort of drag racing interest that lies in high schools across the country. Better yet, is this one key to the future of the sport that the NHRA has never figured out? Could be.

The All High School Drags were beyond belief at SIR.

Thunder in the pipes: I became a different human being in August of 1977----Part #1

Our New Pet!

This Raccoon was seen in our backyard this morning and then climbed one of our large fir trees. This picture was taken while he was up about 25 feet staring down at me. Raccoons are pretty common around here. Once we saw one standing on the side walk eating a Doritos from the bag, scooping them up and chomping down with not a care in the world.

Pacific ProComp Coverage:
Stroupe Wins Cool April Nights in Redding

2012 season champion Butch Stroupe took full advantage of a short field to take the Cool April Nights title away from Makinna Clevenger in the final round when Clevenger's throttle cable came broke. Stroupe was right on the money all weekend and had a .004 light and ran a 6.601 in the final which equaled an .005 package.

In round one, Makinna sawed the tree down with an .002 light and ran a 6.77 but lost the blower belt at 1100 feet. But she won the race on a hole shot to Steve Laburn, who made the long all the way from Orange County! Steve had a respectable .026 light and ran a 6.75 but it wasn't enough. Makinna was able to cover him by .008 at the stripe.

On the other side of the ladder, Stoupe got a single when Curtis Clevenger couldn't make the call after breaking on the final qualifying pass.

Qualifying
6.68.........Butch Stroupe
6.78.........Makinna Clevenger
6.82.........Steve Laburn
6.62.........Curtis Clevenger

Blue Max Originator Harry Schmidt Passes

Harry Schmidt who started the long line of legendary Blue Max Mustang funny cars passed away from cancer. Schmidt was always an owner and hired Raymond Beadle to drive the car after Richard Tharp left in the early 70's. Beadle eventually bought out Schmidt in 1976 and went solo until the early 90's. He later came back with a nostalgia version of the famous blue and yellow Blue Max Plymouth Arrow that still runs today.

Night Of Fire Car Show Returns in New Location

The Night of Fire Benefit Car Show returns in 2012 but to a different location. This year the event will be held on Friday night, August 3 at The People's Church on Lancaster Drive in Salem. The event will once again feature Ed "the Outlaw" Jones' Stagecoach wheelstander fire show (pictured).

This year the event benefits former discjocky Bobby D who has bone cancer. Also vendors can reserve a space by calling 503-370-9164.

For further information contact us here

UPDATED: Rattlesnakes in the Willamette Valley? You Bet!
It's Time to Drag Out The Rattlesnake Story Again

So what's the fascination with these rattlers? They are sometimes deadly and get real mean if you step on one, they scare the hell out of people, they're exotic looking and quite rare where we live here in the Willamette Valley. That combination makes snakes a great conversation at a cocktail party. Well, Maybe not.

But, when the warm weather comes along there is often curiosity and questions regarding if there are any rattlesnakes in western Oregon, more specifically in the Willamette Valley. The answer is more than you think! Western Rattlesnake dens do exist here in small pockets usually in rocky buttes and crevasses usually facing south throughout the Willamette Valley mostly east of I-5. Areas where rattlers have been spotted include Mehama, Stayton, Lebanon, Brownsville, Eugene, Springfield, Pleasant Hill, Dallas, Monroe, Lacombe, Wren (near Philomath) swimming in the Willamette River and even Lake Oswego for Pete's sake! Who would have guest that one?

Yep, Oregon's richest zip code, the town that Bruce Springstien was once married in had a rattlesnake problem when three different rattlers were found near the baseball diamond at Lake Ridge High School back in the fall of 2007. The problem was bad enough that the City of Lake Oswego has added a section on their web site about what to do if you encounter a rattlesnake. Wow!

In Wren, which is due west of Corvallis, there have been multiple sightings of rattlesnakes including a pair of them sunning themselves in the middle of a road. Another was found in someone's garage and a horse was bit. A snake expert thinks the snakes may have been planted there and have since multiplied. So, watch where you step in Wren. In Lacombe a gardener was bit twice in one day! And believe it or not, a former Captiol Cap Racing crew member was struck at on Thomas Creek Road just last year. In Stayton, rattle snake sightings are well known around a gravel pit there. The Statesman Journal even did a story on it in the 70's.

One graduate student found three dens of rattlers near Lebanon and recorded 73 western rattlers. After finding out about the snakes, the property owner blasted the dens with dynamite after never seeing a rattler on his land in 50 years. A story in the Oregonian last year said that more people get treated for snake bites on the western side of the Cascades than the eastern side of the state where most are known to live.

In Springfield, a vet's website mentions they occasionally treat rattlesnake bites. In Eugene, a boy was bit hiking at Spencer's Butte which is known for rattlesnakes. In fact, there is a sign at the trail head warning of rattlers and Spencer's Butte is just above downtown.

Here at the Bailey compound we don't have many snakes although I saw a red racer last year and our Siamese cat Pookey has brought a garder snake home before. Occasionally, we get a visit from a hobo spider that can also be menacing and can actually cause more long term problems than being bit by a rattler! Hobos are a fairly big brown spider that doesn't climb walls. Both the ladies next door on both sides of us have got bit. One spent time in the hospital!

Back to our subject matter, rattlesnakes are known to frequent the grounds of Champion Raceway near Medford as there have been numerous sightings there throughout the years. One was even killed in the pit area at the NHRA event.

This isn't scientific evidence that they exist here but if you have searched the internet deep enough it is evident that these bad boys are alive and well in the foothills and some farm land around the valley. To see some pics of rattlers found east of Salem near Silver Falls State Park click here

The Capitol Truck of the Week: 2007 Chevy Duramax

Take it for a virtual spin here!

Tired of towing trailer and barely getting over those hills in Southern Oregon? Are you prevented from towing long distances because of the cost of gas? I know we were! Perhaps it's time to upgrade to this ultra clean Chevy Duramax dually. This truck is so clean it has only 24,861 miles on it! This Chevy Silverado is like new and is accented with beautiful custom wheels!

Bodystyle: 4 door Truck Crew Cab
Engine: 6.6L V-8 cyl
Transmission: 6 Speed Automatic
Ext. Color: Light Autumn wood
Mileage: 24,861
Stock Number: Z4648B
Vin: 1GCJK33667F549225
Model Code: CK30943

Capitol Racing Update: Lots of Upgrades

Until this past weekend its been about two months of intermittent rain showers which is normal for the Pacific Northwest. Every year we say it's worse this year than the past year but the truth is we all have selective memories. What this means is that as usual racing in the Northwest has been kept to a minimum so far in 2012. So, what's new with the Capitol team? Plenty. There hasn't been a season where we have made as many major upgrades to our team as we have this season.

First and foremost we are building a new Rodeck engine and that should be completed next weekend as long as the pistons come in early this week. Next, we have purchased a new generator after both the generator in the trailer and our back up went bye-bye. Last year, we found ourselves bagging for power at the end of the season. Not this year! This new generator is so big it's on wheels and equipped with handles to move it.

The other big news is our transportation has changed as well. Now, we will be traveling in style and will be pulling the trailer with a bright red Chevy Duramax truck we got through Capitol. It's a used truck but it's in mint condition and I can't wait to drive it. Thanks to my new side business I can now afford a car payment. As always everyone at Capitol has been great to work with as they always are.

So, our old white Chevy truck is no more come Monday or Tuesday. It did us well for the most part and we have had it since 2005. But, it was having trouble barely making it over the passes and when the price of gas was forecasted to get over $5.00 a gallon I knew that if we planned to go anywhere farther than Woodburn we would need something that got better mileage. The truck just had the injectors replaced which was a problem with the early Duramax trucks. Plus, it runs and looks great. To be honest, I didn't think the old truck represented Capitol very well in the last couple years so now is the time to make the change.

Finally the bad news: we won't be ready for the Tulip Festival due to the delay in getting pistons so we will aim for testing in early May.

- Rich Bailey

Champion Racers Enjoy Successful Reopening

Champion Raceway in Medford had a successful reopening this past Sunday even though some rain moved through the area late in the day, cutting the event short. Racers raved about the track conditions and the outstanding traction at the starting line. The race also attracted a good amount of spectators too. Not bad for a test-n-tune. New track operator Bob Lidell must be pleased.

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Capitol Auto Group Racing, Drummer Pat Gesualdo and D.A.D. Team Up for "Drive for A Cure"

Rich Bailey and the Capitol Auto Group Racing Team has added Drums and Disabilities as one of the charities they will work with in 2012. Drums and Disabilities (D.A.D.) was founded by celebrated drum virtuoso Pat Gesualdo. The program uses it's groundbreaking Drum Therapy techniques as a therapeutic tool to help children with autism, and numerous disabilities.

Psychologists, School Systems, and Therapists on a Global basis use the D.A.D. Program to help children fight Autism and related disabilties. Numerous celebrities, sports stars, and corporations such as the NY Giants, TD Bank, the WWE Superstars, and Sony, among others, join with D.A.D in their efforts.

Gesualdo, who beat a severe battle with a disability as a child, is the pioneer of Drum Therapy, and has worked on music industry projects with members of Kiss, Halford, and Deep Purple, among other Legendary musical artists.

Gesualdo came to Bailey as a client looking for help with his sponsorship program and the two immediately hit it off. Bailey will display his car for D.A.D. and will sport the D.A.D. logo on his blown alcohol dragster.

"Besides drag racing I love doing what I can to help kids with disabilities and cancer. Plus, I'm a big rock-n-roll fan so this was naturally something I wanted to get involved with. Once I learned of Pat's background and how drumming helped him, it clicked that this is something beneficial to kids" Bailey said.

'It is a great honor to work with Rich Bailey and The Capitol Auto Racing Team to help even more disabled children and their parents," Says D.A.D. President/CEO Pat Gesualdo.

ABOUT D.A.D.
D.A.D. (Drums and Disabilities) is a 501(C)(3) non-profit organization. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and his Administration helped celebrated Drum Virtuoso Pat Gesualdo launch D.A.D. in New York City schools. For more information, please contact D.A.D. Program World Headquarters at 973-725-5150, or info@dadprogram.org.

Official D.A.D. Websites
www.dadprogram.org
www.myspace.com/dadprogram
www.myspace.com/patgesualdo

Resurrect Orange County International Raceway Next Door at the Old El Toro Air Base!

Orange County International Raceway was the center of drag racing until the track was closed by its landlord, the Irvine Company in 2003. Orange County had so many big funny car shows a year that it kept a lot of race teams, paint shops and parts manufacturers in business. The track was also used for countless photo shoots and was the background for TV shows and movies. Since it's closing there has been no other race track in Southern California to replace it. Fans have made due with two races at Pomona but between March and October there is no nitro or even blown alcohol racing any where in the southland other than up north in Bakersfield.

Nearly thirty years later, there have been some grand proposals for a new super track and a couple of small tracks in Fontana and Irwindale have actually been built only to close down because of noise or financial reasons. And recently, a fatal street race has got people asking why LA doesn't have an alternative to the deadly temptation of street racing? With no tracks the kids are taking it to the streets once again and giving legit racers a bad name.

In playing with Google Earth the other day I was looking over where OCIR use to stand and then I noticed that near by El Toro Air Base is now abandoned and is appropriately now called "Orange County Park". There were some trailers parked on one of its landing strips but other than that there was little else. I immediately thought "Are you kidding me! What an opportunity! Why isn't NHRA, Charley Allen, the Force Clan or a group of LA racers proposing to convert part of this old air field into a dragstrip?

And what a time to propose a new track! A time when street racing is back in the news and the entire southland is with out a weekly operated track. Plus the area is in an industrial area with great freeway access and just a stones throw away from where OCIR use to be. It's a no brainier. Why hasn't this been proposed to the County? I'm sure if it had I would have heard something.

I can imagine not building another cookie cutter super track but a retro looking track with a tower just like the original Champion Tower at OCIR. And design the stands with backing to minimize the noise and then resurface the strip and start racing. You could do it in the time it would take to come up with an environmental impact statement to build a track some place else! Could you imagine opening night with a big show of nostalgia nitro funny cars and fireworks? I would drive 1000 miles for that even if I was down to my last 200 bucks.

It's time someone sparked the flame and asked the question why hasn't someone proposed makings a portion of the old El Toro Air Base into the new Orange County International Raceway and bring drag racing back to its birthplace in Southern California.

-Rich Bailey

As Usual, I Have Some Explaining to Do!

At the start of the year everything was uncertain. I even disconnected from someone on facebook wanting to know my plans for the season. I just didn't know and didn't even know what to say so I deleted that conversation. Everything was definitely up in the air but one thing we knew was that we wanted to race. But with high gas prices on the horizon and no races on the schedule it looked like it was a good time to sell the car and buy a nostalgia car which is inexpensive to operate and there are more events close by and more races organized for them.

So, I put our rear engine car on www.racingjunk.com to see if we could sell it but with over 600 dragsters for sale I knew our chances were slim. Two months later and no bites on the car, we're past the point we can make the transition to a new class so I have pulled the car off the market. But, that's OK. Since putting the car up for sale all has changed, all of our sponsors returned, Medford will reopen and and there are some other events we have lined up too.

Right now our biggest road block is waiting for new pistons to be custom made. Our machinist, Glen Adams from Automotive Machince was getting ready to balance the engine when he noticed that three pistons had cracks on the bottom of the skirt. So, we are sidelined until the new pistons from Arias are made and then shipped. Then it will be a race against time as usual to have everything completed in time for the season. In the mean time, if you see our dragster on Racing Junk, fear not, we'll be back racing it this season...as soon as those new pistons are made.

-Rich Bailey

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Lidell Confirms One Year Track Acquisition

Bob Lidell, the current promoter of Redding Dragstrip in Redding, CA, has announced that he and the Jackson County Commissioners have come to terms on the reopening of Champion Raceway for the 2012 season. Also, it has been confirmed by Curtis Clevenger, the President of Pacific ProComp that there will likely be a Pacific ProComp event on July 7. More on this soon.

Below is parts of Bob's announcement on facebook:

Yesterday I met with John Vial and Steve Lambert. After some negotiating we came to a one year agreement with their verbal approval. They told me it was OK to make the announcement. The agreement still has to be signed by the Board of Commissioners to be put into "Law" and that should take about two weeks.

They told me the County would be doing some cleanup and painting on the buildings to make everything nicer. We still need some help with winter cleanup to make the Strip look very nice prior to opening. There is a drainage problem in the shut down area that needs to be addressed - important. There are a few people that know about this already. I, or my wife and I, will be coming up hopefully next week. We want to have a meeting with all interested parties. Jim Taylor will be bringing down all of the remaining items that we will need to open the Strip.

I will schedule the meeting as soon as I know when he is coming down. I see there is 142 members but all won`t show up. John Vial offered the auditorium room at the County yard that would hold everyone. Butch recommended Abbys Pizza but I don`t if it is large enough to hold all of the people that may show up. Would all you Facebook folks please spread the work about this upcoming meeting? We will be going over the details that all of you are wondering about. A few things that were brought up: We will stay NHRA at least for this year, the Strip name will remain Champion Raceway for this year and the first race on my tentative schedule is Orientation and a Street Legal race on April 13 barring any major complications. Don`t get ahead of ourselves about a bunch of these improvements - With the large expense of buying Jim`s necessary items and only having a one year contract with the County there won`t be any major improvements done without some major contributions from the County or private citizens.

I hope it does not bug them too much but let John & Steve with the County know how much you appreciate them for stepping up and providing some of the major items needed at the Strip. They REALLY do care.

Now we can move forward working as a team to get our Strip up and running. We can set up work days that will accommodate everyone`s different schedules. We look forward to meeting and working with all of you. Thank You, Bob & Joye Lidell

Help My Friend Bobby D and His Fight with Cancer

Back when I had my front engine dragster I was sponsored by KSLM "Good Time Oldies" which eventually was sold and became a sports radio station. During that time when it was a I occasionally did guest appearances on the air and did live remotes with a DJ named "Bobby D".

Bobby was a great guy to work with...a real character bursting with personality. He was fun to be around and we loved to talk about the radio business. Bobby worked at several local radio stations over the years and ended his radio career at KRKT in Albany.

Sadly, I found out he has been diagnosed with bone cancer when he went to see the doctor about back problems. Bobby has no health insurance. You can help my old friend out by making a donation at any Key Bank under the name the Bobby D Medical Fund.

A Challenge to All Racers That Want to See Our Sport Grow in These Difficult Times

By Rich Bailey

When I'm out and about with the Capitol Auto Group Dragster I meet a lot of people curious about the car and the sport but like a lot of us when it comes to trying something new if there is no constant information about the activity we forget about it and opt not to go. The stands at all motorsports events are a little thin these days and even though most tracks are privately owned we are stake holders, as in if the tracks doesn't survive we don't either.

We can't talk to everyone but one thing that the public sees is our trailers heading down the freeway. And what a great advertising tool it is! So, I was in the hot tub and I got to thinking what if everyone did a little advertising on the back of their trailer to support their local track? What if everyone put a slogan on the back of their trailer promoting their local track? If we could lead those that are already curious about our sport to the track's web site maybe we could get a few more fans in the seats. So, here at Capitol Racing we are going to plant an idea into as many heads as possible that pass us on I-5. We are going to put a decal on the back of our trailer that says:

FOR AFFORDABLE FAMILY EXCITEMENT
VISIT WOODBURNDRAGSTRIP.COM

That way these potential fans might hop on to the track's web site when they get home and find about the next big race and all the other info they would want to know before going. And the more racers that did this, the more successful this would be. Before you say "well I'm not going to suck up to the track" blah blah blah... let me remind you that you don't know what you got till it's gone. This year alone several tracks have closed. And anyone can read below about the strong feelings racers have since Medford was closed.

Is my idea and end all? Nope. But we are experiencing hard times to some degree and we all need to support our local tracks whether it's here in Oregon, Denver, or where ever you are from.

One other thing you can do is get a hand out full of schedules and display your car at a local auto parts store on a Saturday. It doesn't have to be a top alcohol funny car. In fact, a lot of customers would appreciate seeing a door slammer. The track doesn't have to set this afternoon display up...You can take the initiative. All you have to do is give the parts store a call. I do these parking lot displays all the time for Royal Purple. It's easy and fun. As long as the store doesn't have to pay for the visit, nine times out of ten they will be happy to have you there even at a moments notice. Many people will stop and talk and get a schedule from you. Who knows you might even pick up a sponsor.

Let's do more to get people out to the race track. You may not own it but you do own a race car that goes down it. I challenge you to make it happen!

Clear Signal Signs with ProMotion Motorsports

Clear Signal, a Salem area based company that performs both Dish and Direct TV home satellite installations based on the consumer's choice, have signed with ProMotion Motorsports. Clear Signal tested the waters with the Capitol Racing Team last summer and have decided to be a part of the racing team the entire 2012 season. In addition to Dish and Direct TV, they are a Clear authorized dealer.

ProMotion Motorsports is very excited to have Clear Signal on board along with the return of their marketing partners from last season. With the additional help of Clear Signal, the team hopes to have a great 2012 racing season.

Salem area home owners that would like to switch from cable to satellite can call 503-585-2101

Has this been a missed element for the future growth to the sport of drag racing?

When I became the Drag Racing Manager at Portland International Raceway in the early 70’s, I looked for ideas that would help the existing program grow. I knew that the new major events would go through a complete change and Doner would be overseeing that side of it so the smaller events was where I felt I needed to direct my efforts. By making them stronger and bigger made sense.

The late Al Beachell, former Drag Racing Manager at PIR, was a very able promoter of the smaller, weekly drag races that I was investigating. He had promoted Woodburn Drag Strip for many years and had been producing the program at PIR from 1970 through ‘72, so he was well-versed in the sport. To improve much on the weekly events was a lot harder than I had ever anticipated after all he was called the “Grand Daddy” of e.t. bracket racing throughout the Northwest.

Here in the Northwest, the balance of weather and curfew hours was always a huge issue. To get an event to grow would mean using up more event time, that is, if you increase the competitors. So the best thing is to increase the spectator count for success. More people watching the races is better than increasing the car count…as you can only go so far with too many more entries and then you can’t complete the event.

Don’t get me wrong, we always wanted to have as many entries as we could but the curfews we deal with in this business get really complicated with a large turnout of racers. Many times we had to hold-over several cars to the next week as the curfew put a stop to the race. There is many variables that cause the curfew to be a real headache.

In early 1973, I was approached by a few anxious high school students from Benson High School, which was an all-male high school at the time in Portland, asking if they could have their own drag racing event at PIR. In those days there were ample dates available on the calendar at PIR to fit in some other type drag racing event to just see how it would do. It could be sort of a test for a program that they wanted to be involved in. There was a shop teacher involved from Benson so it made sense to me to see what would take place. With a shop teacher overseeing the group I was confident that the event would be well organized and the racers would not be goofing-off somewhere. It all needed to be serious.
…...but, of course, fun.

At the event, Benson came out in force but still that was just a small group of cars…but interesting enough a large group of fans were there cheering them on…hmmmmmm! Usually, these-type of races (grudge drag racing) have very few fans watching them at all. Not this time around.

As I watched (and learned), I thought what if we encouraged other schools to be involved so they could run against Benson in sort of a showdown that might really generate a huge audience to watch. That very day started something that was beyond my wildest dreams.

No kidding….a successful high school drag racing program would expose hundreds of young “car buffs” to the race track which would increase the entire base for all drag racing events during the season. And when the larger, major events came along these high school participants would have an interest in the sport and just might come to watch the really fast cars.

An event of this type was perfect for what I was attempting to do, the way I saw it.

The first thing I needed to do is come up with a plan on how to run an All High School drag race at PIR. We would be dealing with absolute amateurs, mostly, as they might have just learned to drive last week or last year. Their exposure to drag racing has probably been just about zero. If this program is too complicated it might be something that they would just walk away from. But if it was fun and easy that just might be the key to getting them involved for the long haul…..including other events we will have.

It was going to be a simple format: Shoe polish the name of your school on the back window of your car; show some i.d. to our tech workers that proves you are a legitimate high school student, then you must compete in a reasonably safe vehicle. After that, just get in line and get it on! That is about as easy as it could be and the way it should be. I also felt I needed to discourage illegal-type street racing through our program as it often times leads to bad results on the highways, for both the participants and sometimes, even the bystanders.

If this program is going to succeed it needs to be safe, fun, easy to do and discourage any type of racing on the street. All of these parts should allow for a great future for this whole program…...I hope, after all, I am pioneering something here that has been mostly untouched in the sport.

Part #2 Portland had a huge street drag racing problem and (blindly) I had been part of it.

Last season we did the impossible by replacing an engine in less that a week after discovering a crack in the cylinder wall of our block. I say impossible because it was quite an endeavor for a team with limited financial resources and time to get an engine built in four days but we did. We didn't have a back up engine like you see on TV, just a block and we lost a set of lifters some place between Salem and Bend.

We accomplished our goal but it sure took its toll on me emotionally as I finally ran out of patience when we needed that last little part at 3:00 PM on Friday in order to race the next day in Medford

and it couldn't be purchased locally. Add to that my mom was in the hospital, I found out that day a close friend had died of cancer, and the car also had to be fired up at a show that night. Plus, there were a whole lot of other things that had happened as well earlier in the week as well. It was a real pressure cooker for sure.

It wasn't like it was a race that it didn't matter if we were there or not. We were expected to be there and we needed that one part or all the work we did Sunday through Thursday of that week would have been for nothing. I made the trip to Portland that Friday only to get in a traffic jam and that was it! But I was determined not to give up! In the end it all worked out as we made our race and even went to the final round.

Fast forward to this year and we have managed to come up with enough parts to build two engines. The first will be a 540 aluminum Chevrolet Rodeck that we hope will get us through the entire season. This block will have very good parts in it including Isky lifters that don't utilize those pesky needle bearings, a "new" Callies Crank and new Howards Rods. The second engine will be a "garage motor" that we will use only if we find ourselves in a similar position like I described from last year.

The second engine will also be a Chevrolet 540 and the same cast iron block we ran this past season but with Fowler Rods and SRP Pistons. My theory is that our Rodeck will stay together if we have another back up engine ready to go. It's called "Murphy's Law in reverse."

This will be the first year that we have ever had a back up anything and I imagine guys like me with similar budgets that have two engines has a garage motor as their back-up. What do you want to bet?

The driver is also getting supercharged as I'm working out and eating better. Our very close friends Mike and Donna Oneill loaned me a some gym quality exercise equipment and I'm working out nearly every day. My goal is to be a leaner meaner driver this year.

Stay tuned for more updates!

Capitol Auto Group, a Salem, OR based auto dealership comprised of Chevrolet, Cadillac, Toyota, Scion and Subaru have opted to renew their marketing program with ProMotion Motorsports. This season there will be an added emphasis on Capitol Chevrolet's Parts Department. "True Capitol Performance" will be used on the team's website, www.capracing.com, on hero cards and on t-shirts. "We are excited to once again carry the Capitol brand on the side of our blown alcohol dragster for the twelfth year. Now, the season can't come quick enough" said Rich Bailey, driver and team owner.

The car will retain its current look that was debuted in the middle of last season. "The car showcases Capitol's identity better than the previous two years so we have chose to leave the wrap on for the entire 2012 season" Bailey said.

Last year the team finished fourth in the Pacific ProComp points standings but since the series will be competing exclusively in California this season, the team will be staying in the Northwest and will race in Woodburn, Spokane and Yakima. It's possible the car will compete at the Governor's Cup at Sacramento Raceway in the fall, but it will depend on how well the financial resources are holding up at the end of the season.

Capitol Auto Group is building a new facility on the Salem Parkway that now includes a Toyota and Scion dealership. Chevrolet, Cadillac and Subaru will be located in the new complex later this spring. Capitol's new facility is a hot topic and people all over the Salem area are excited about the location. "It's important for us to continue to participate in as many events as possible to help keep Capitol's name front and center. We strive to take the racing exeprience out to the community and hope that people will walk away with a good feeling about Capitol after allowing them or their kids to sit in the race car" Bailey added.

Capitol joins 1430 KYKN, Royal Purple Motor Oil, King Engine Bearings, Marsh Canby Racing Transmissions, DR Audio and NGK Spark Plugs USA to have officially renewed with the team this year.

Craig Smith, one of the last active Top Fuel Dragster pilots in the Northwest is now the lease holder of Spokane County Raceway. Smith is no stranger to Spokane County Raceway, having won many AHRA Top Fuel titles at the facility and is dedicated to making the track a success as a result. He is the third track promoter in as many years and will take control of the multi-purpose facility beginning in February. “We are looking forward to a great summer of racing at Spokane County Raceway” Smith said.

Craig Smith will serve as the General Manager while Cindy Gibbs takes on the roll of public relations and marketing. Jim Black will continue as track manager.

Among the improvements Smith now has in the works includes resurfacing the track and adding a new drag that will be the same as the ones now used by NHRA to prep the national event tracks. “In recent years there has been major issues with the traction at SCR. We’re going to get that back under control and make this track a safe place to race again” Smith said.

In addition to physical improvements to the track, Smith will be bringing top fuel and nitro funny cars back to SCR, both a fan favorite in Spokane. Also under his leadership, local bracket racers will see an increase in the winner’s purse, matching other tracks in Central and Eastern Washington. “We appreciate our local racers and want to keep them right here by increasing the winner’s share of the purse” Smith added.

Racers and fans can go to http://www.spokanecountyraceway.com for racing information.

NGK Spark Plugs Returns to Cap Racing

NGK Spark Plugs returns to Cap Racing in 2012 joining Royal Purple Motor Oil and King Engine Bearings. NGK is the perfered spark plug for nearly every alcohol team in drag racing and we are fortunate to have them return with so much competition from other teams for product sponsorship.

Our Facebook Time Capsule

Take a look at out Facebook Photo Page. it's like a time capsule that shows a lot of pictures from different events. Click_Here

The Winter Rod and Speed Show, January 7, 2012
Winter Rod and Speed a Big Success

While the Winter Rod and Speed Show started with a lot of behind the scenes drama several months ago, the Billings and Bailey event was a big success anyway as the popular show broke our previous attendance record with over 3,400 people that came through the front door and at least 100 vendors and exhibitors entering through the back door, totaling over 3,500 people, All were looking for something affordable and fun to do after the holidays.

Thanks to the local newspapers and radio stations KLOO, Joe Radio and KRKT in Albany, as well as KYKN in Salem, the word of the upcoming show got out and the public responded big time. The crowd wasn't disappointed either as there was something for everyone at this year's show from the replica "Bat Car" and "Tow Mater" to sports celebrates Charlie Sitton and Scott Haskin signing autographs. Haskin stayed for the entire event and appeared on three radio shows prior the event. But the big stars were the cars, most from mid valley car clubs. Over 115 cars took part in this year's event.

The show discourages stanchions while allowing the owners to sit with their car which encourages a lot more social interaction. In fact, it's said that the Winter Rod and Speed Show is one of the most lively indoor shows on the west coast and judging by this year's show that claim is spot on. This year, the socializing started on Friday night with an exhibitor's pizza feed and reception as nearly 100 exhibitors and vendors chowded down on 20 giant pizzas.

Another popular feature of the show was a model car contest promoted by Stan Reeser and model car expert Ed Janaury, both of Springfield. Some very good entries were displayed to the delight of the crowd.

Winning awards was Ted Dodge with his Merc recieving the King of the Show Award, the Rollin Oldies Car Club who won the Club Participation Award, Frank Durham for Outstanding Individual Participation Award, and a fellow from Siletz who won the Long Distance Award.

A special thanks to Bicoastal Media, Wilson's NAPA Auto Parts, KYKN and Burgerville for their support of this year's show.

Quarterflash New Years Eve Concert Photo Gallery
Photos from the Aladdin Theater New Years Eve show Click Here

NHRA got a much needed shot in the arm as Toyota is stepping up their involvment in drag racing and will be sponsoring the NHRA Supernationals in Englishtown NJ. Read more here

THUNDER IN THE PIPES
Rain stories Part #4
Sorry Charlie No Money Just Bills, Bills and More Bills…….What a Tough Way to get Started

I took over as General Manager for IRP (International Raceway Parks, Inc.) on Labor Day weekend in 1976, just four weeks after the rained-on 64 funny car event – and just as all the bills came rolling in from the gigantic grandstand installation. Welcome to Seattle, Rockstad!

What a reality check as I “hit the ground running (or is that stumbling?)” That was a really tough winter to get through. I tried everything I could do to make some dollars throughout the winter months. We had nearly zero dollars as we attempted to spread the payments on the bills through the winter. I spent much time on the phone or meet

ing with those holding outstanding bills to try and buy time to get by.

I was forced to talk my head off to get by until we could pay everything off. It certainly wasn’t a lot of fun.

Well, with one of the radio stations I offered to let them hold the keys to my SIR-leased car just to get on the air for the NHRA Fallnationals in September. My offer was never accepted and we did get the air time which helped pay some bills. Theirs came first, of course.

I even co-produced a five-day car show at the Seattle Center, but it certainly wasn’t the most lucrative event ever done. The end result was some very important cash flow in February as we inched our way through the winter months trying to get to the 1977 racing season.

At least I knew going-in that this car show event wouldn’t get rained out…That was a good feeling. An event with a roof over its head was a good sight for me, that’s for sure.

As I assembled the 1977 racing schedule, I was able to require the different car clubs and the motorcycle groups to have deposits of 50 per cent down on their contracts, mostly for those events that used the SIR road course. That turned out to be a smart move on an annual basis because the number of clubs was growing.

I learned a lot going through the winter that year with the trials at hand. My hope was to never witness that big of a financial mess again. There had to be a way to get the company in a more protected position so this doesn’t happen again. It took about a dozen years for me to get the company into a positive yearly cash flow to offset the problem of running out of dollars in winter.

There was an old story about “rain money” (in our business these two words should not be used together…..if it rained, there was no money!!) Anyway, when Doner and the late Steve Evans were involved in the production of those early major drag races in the Northwest, a rain-out took place…..unfortunately, a most common occurrence over the years.

As that rainy mess continued, Doner and Evans headed for Doner’s home on the east hill of Kent. Once there, they got to jokingly betting on who would call them first wanting rain money. After much debate, the consensus was that Charlie Allen of All-American Boy funny car fame would be the first to call. Soon the phone rang and Evans picked up the phone and said, “Hi Charlie”. (This was a time long before any caller id existed). Low and behold, it was Charlie Allen in an effort to receive some rain money. “Hey Charlie, it rained and there is no money……just debt!

Oh, how we wish that the complications of rain-outs were that easy....but not so!

Royal Purple and King Bearings Return

We are very pleased to announce that we have renewed our product sponsorships for another year with two great national companies including Royal Purple Synthetic Oil and King Engine Bearings.

The Capitol Team has the longest running Royal Purple sponsorship in the companies' history as they have been with our team since the beginning, over 15 years ago. King has been with us for eight of those years. Both companies make high quality products that work together to take the abuse of our blown alcohol engine.

Taylor Drops Bid to Keep Champion Raceway

Promoter Jim Taylor has called it quits and Champion Raceway won't reopen unless a new track operator is found. A call in to Jim Taylor confirms that he has dropped his bid to continue to operate the Medford, Oregon facility. Meanwhile the Jackson County Commissioners are looking for a new promoter and has sent out a request for proposals.

Jim did say he would work with the new lease holder to make it a smooth transition if one is found. There is at least one potential operator interested in the track and Jim hopes he honors the new schedule he has already put together for 2012. Jim sited a lack of support far giving up. The track needs surfacing on the track at the very least to be operational.