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Capitol Racing: The Year in Review

2010 was a memorable year as the season was named the "Decade of Speed" for Rich Bailey's decade long association with title sponsor Capitol Auto Group. 2010 will be remembered as the year that the Capitol team let go of it's Top Dragster designation and would concentrate mostly on independent events in Medford, Woodburn and Top Eliminator West (TEW) events. TEW would eventually rename itself Pacific ProComp for 2011.

The car did not dip in the sixes in 2010 and ran a best 7.25 but the car didn't break any parts either and the team stayed in the black all year even on a modest budget. The team did face a mid-season blower rebuild by engine builder Art Mendoza but that was the extent of any engine or transmission problems all year.



The team struggled with the tune-up at the beginning of the year after a drastic blower change but the car began to come around by mid season which lead to a final round finish in Medford and a rock solid outing in Sonoma at the TEW Finals held in conjunction with the popular Pinks All Out series. This all lead up to a top five season finish in the Top Eliminator West series for Bailey and his team lead by crew chief Brent Sanford. The team lost Chris Wolertson but gained Tim O'Reilly and Mark Asbury as new crew members. Dave Berg also helped out when he wasn't running one of his own cars.

After a great showing in Sonoma, the team had a disastrous end to the season at the one NHRA event the Capitol team did enter, in Medford. It was there that an electrical problem caused the car not to fire or would shut itself off for no apparent reason. It was later found that the mag was grounding out and would shut the car off. The problem is being responded to in the off season.

This year, the car was featured at some new events as well as some old favorites including the Oregon State Fair for three days. The dragster was in two parades, Western Days, Show Biz, the Winter Rod and Speed Show, the Eugene Roadster Show, Stayton Summerfest, Liberty school, Bauman Farms, Hot Summer Flights, AWANA Grand Prix, and the wildly popular Night of Fire, which will go down as one of Salem's most spectacular car sows ever. Over 2000 people attended the specticle held in September which featured Ed the Outlaw Jones and the Top Fuel Dragster of Dean Alixander. In mid-summer Rich Bailey was featured in a cover story for Racers for Christ's quarterly national newsletter.

While every year has its own unique flavor, good and bad events, the goal in 2011 is for the Capitol team to take what it learned in 2010 and utilize that data so the performance is ahead of where it was this year at the start of next season. Based on available budget, the team hopes to do more traveling in 2011 and turn in a solid performance competing in the Pacific ProComp series while taking a shot at the title.

Brian Walburn Named Most Valuable Crew Member at Adam's Rib Team Award Dinner!


Brian Walburn excepts the Most Valuable Crew Memeber Award

Photos By Mark Asburry
The Capitol Racing team held it's annual race team Christmas dinner and private party at Adam's Rib Smoke House on Sunday night, December 12. The popular eatery was packed to capacity with sponsors, contributors, spouses and race team members who consumed all of the prime rib they could possibly handle.

The food was absolutely mouth watering and the race team would like to thank Mike and Katrina Adams for their outstanding hospitality and for the perfect holiday dinner as we are truly blessed to have them as a long time sponsor and partner in both the Night of Fire and Winter Rod and Speed Show. Mike is becoming known as the "Rib Man" around the racing world.

People mingled before and after the dinner. Rich Bailey (center) visits with the Pearson's owners of Salem Geeks, a Salem computer repair company.

The annual event began with a review of the 2010 season and a peak for what is planned for the 2011 season including a schedule heavy on Top Eliminator West events and a new partnership with the Children's Cancer Association. Team owner Rich Bailey then individually recognized all of the sponsors and told a few stories before two awards were dished out to race team members. The first was the "Olive Award" also known as the all-of-the-work award won by crew chief Brent Sanford for the second year in a row.

Mike Adams 'The Rib Man" who is already famous for his Ribs was a great host.

Next, was the Most Valuable Crew Member Award won by a stunned Brian Walburn who wasn't expecting the award. By the expression on his face it took a couple of seconds for him to realize his name was called out and he had just won. Rich Bailey explained that many factors are considered when selecting the award winner including dedication, sacrifice, professionalism and years with the team is also considered. Brian easily met all of the criteria necessary to win the award according to Rich.

Brian humbly accepted the award but told the crowd that Brent Sanford was most deserving of it. Rich then told Brian that it was a decision made by both Brent and himself and that he certainly deserved the award for all of the events, work on the car and on the trailer that he regularly does. Cap racing readers might remember that Brian has arthritis which sometimes limits what he can do but most of the time he doesn't allow it to slow him down.

People enjoyed each other's company as much as the food including Acacia Bailey in the foreground enjoying some garlic mashers.

Elvon Kauffman of RFC and Woodburn Dragstrip talked about the new track surface at Woodburn and his long friendship with the host. He then lead the group in a short prayer before everyone lined up for an incredible feast. The event was a big success as a good time was had by all. Capitol Racing would like to thank everyone that took time out of their weekend to be there and wishes everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Even the kids had fun including Christine "the Tweety Bird" Bailey and her friend Cali in the background.

Cap Racing Blog
Hollywood, the Ghost of Orange County, and the Distractions



For the first time in several years I took the family on a much needed vacation. Our destination? Southern California. We did our best to rescue California from it's economic problems and I think we did a good job of that. It was a great vacation as we began our trip in Hollywood. We walked around the tar pits before ending up on Rodeo Drive. There were a lot of people walking around the high rent district but nobody was buying anything or even going into the stores. One of those stores won't even let you inside unless you are a celebrity. No matter what those in Beverly Hills and Belair are telling you about conserving and watching your carbon footprint, they are still living high on the hog, living like there is no end to the party. Trust me on that.

We took one of those Hollywood tours which proved that and also saw one of those red carpet premiers for the new movie titled "Lottery Ticket". There was a big line of black SUVs and limos dropping celebs off in front of the Chinese Theater. It was pretty glitzy with lights, baracades and cameras everywhere. The whole scene is a cottage industry dedicated to the celebrity culture.

But once it got dark some of the shops east of the Kodak Theater began to close and down came the garage doors, grffiti and all, symbolizing the imitation of life that is Hollywood. The whole environment changed to seedy as tourists began to disappear and in their place were some scary folks doing drugs right on Hollywood Blvd. We couldn't get to our car quick enough which was several blocks east of where we shouldn't be. Beverly Hills are for those who made it. Hollywood are for those who didn't.

Aside from the rock band Rush playing in town, I wanted to see Tony Clifton, an obnoxious and ridulous night club act thought up by the late Andy Kauffman down on the Sunset Strip but this was a family vacation and we had the kids with us so that wasn't going to happen.

After Hollywood, it was off to Disneyland for two days. It was enjoyable but also amazing how long people will wait in line to ride Space Mountain as the wait time was 85 minutes. But most of the lines we waited in were not too bad in comparison. And here's a hint for those in the Theme Park business: YOU WILL SELL A LOT MORE FOOD AND BEVERAGES IF YOU YOU SELL THEM FOR LESS THAN DOUBLE THE PRICE! On top of the Magic Kingdom, Disney has a spectacular water show that's a must see attraction over in the California Adventure.

Then at about 11:00 PM on Saturday night we took the 5 to San Diego. It was a beautiful late night drive as we had KLOS 95.5 blasting in the background. As we were driving down the Interstate, Hotel California came over the airwaves then as we passed the Sand Canyon Exit, Ballroom blitz came on. Sand Canyon is the exit you would once take to get to Orange County International Raceway which paralleled the freeway from the mid 60's to the mid 80's before the land owner made it into an office park.

Suddenly I had this feeling that I was back in time. This would have been a prime August night for a big 64 Funny Car race, the PDA Championships or even a Fox Hunt event at OCIR. I thought for just a minute when I was riding with my parents back in 1975 and that same song, Ballroom Blitz came on the radio when it was a top hit and we were passed on the freeway by 240 Gordie Bonin's Bubble Up Pacemaker rig heading for a race some place. For just a second I could see the Blue Max and Hawaiian idling side by side with flames dancing in and out of the zoomies under the OCIR lights, just a few hundred feet from where we were now driving. How I wish OCIR was sill there. How I wish I was taking that Sand Canyon Exit to see one of those great events that OCIR was known for.

OCIR was in my opinion the anchor that made drag racing a popular sport in the 1970's. It was the engine that generated so many stories and cover shots in Hot Rod and Car Craft. It's where movies and TV shows were filmed. It's location had to be what got Revell and Hot Wheels interested in marketing drag racing. More importantly, OCIR fueled the industry with near by chassis shops, paint shops and engine component manufactures.

OCIR was drag racing's Mecca as it provided year round racing and it's lucrative payouts and guaranteed apearance money kept nitro teams in business. Names like McCulloch, Densham, Force, Prudhomme, McEwan, Leong, Gunn, Dunn and Lombardo, sponsors or not, all succeeded largely because of the presence of OCIR. But it's long gone and when it died drag racing as we once knew it died. The sport survived and in some ways became more professional. But that circus that we all enjoyed in LA, the Bay Area, Portland and Seattle went away forever. Now all we have are the memories. Driving by the former site of what started it all gave me a feeling of nostalgia and euphoria that I have not had in a very long time. It was a great feeling until reality set in.

We continued on to San Diego, Coronado and Sea World before heading back up to LA and Knott's Berry Farm. Then at the end of the trip a strange thing happened. I dropped off the rental car and this guy was unloading bags from his rental car and he looked familiar to me. Then I thought that's not the drummer from Johnny and the Distractions is it? No couldn't be. So I started quietly singing the words to the song Octane Twilight. You know the song "Put your feet on the Dashboard, turn on the headlights". Well, sure enough the guy walks over and says "Excuse me but what song were you just signing? I said Octane Twilight by Johnny and the Distractions". Well I was right it was Kevin Jarvis the drummer and he was blown away at what had just happened. We had a great conversation and I'm hoping we might be able to get him out to the track at some point. It was a fitting end to a great vacation. (OCIR photo by NHRA)

-Rich Bailey

To Read our Johnny and the Distractions Tribute Page go Here

OCIR Tribute Web Site Here

The Rocketeer is a Popular Attraction at the Hot August Flights Show at Airport

The Capitol Auto Group 'Rocketeer" Dragster was on display at the "Hot August Flights" Air and Car Show on August 7th at the Salem Airport. The car was a magnet and attracted a large number of young families throughout the event and there was very little time when the car was not being looked over or photographed as it was a constant flow of people all day. It was one of the better shows we have attended this summer and was the perfect venue to allow the kids to sit in the car, sign pictures and promote the upcoming Night of Fire, on September 3.

There was a great turnout of spectators, cars and plains but it was getting a little hot around mid afternoon on the apron where the car and transporter was located. Still, it was a great show. Thanks to Kris Cary and her son Patrick for their help in making this special appearance possible.

Cap Racing Visits Victory Racing Camp

The Capitol Auto Group Racing Team was featured at the Victory Racing Camp on Wednesday near Portland. The Christian camp is deigned for aspiring racers. Capitol driver Rich Bailey did a presentation on several areas of the sport and answered many questions. Also attending was Brian Walburn who spoke and answered questions from the young racers who raced each day at Pat's Acers an advanced Karting track near Canby.

Areas discussed included: On the track performance, safety, marketing, sponsorship and race car presentation. The kids got to sit in the car and each received a Cap Racing handout card, a dragstrip schedule and a coupon good for discount admission at any Woodburn Dragstrip event in 2010. This was the team's third visit to the camp and the only race team to make an appearance this year.

Bailey's Blog Sponsored by Image Action Wear
Red-Light-Itis Ends Otherwise Good Weekend at the Oregon State Championships


Photo by George Adams

I like to give away t-shirts and I like to give away handout cards but I hate giving away races which is exactly what I did this past weekend at the Oregon State Championships being contested at Woodburn Dragstrip. The car was all over the map in qualifying times as we tried different things to get the car to run quicker.

I knew that if we stuck with a .165 pill the car would run a 7.60, so I dialed-in a 7.59 just to be sure I had a little cushion. In the first round I met Randy Pressell who has been running pretty good lately so I had to be on my game. Brent reminded me several times not to red light. "No problem" I thought, "no way will I red light". But drag racing is a lot like baseball when you go up to bat as timing is everything and you don't want to be too early or too late. But the problem is that in drag racing there is one strike not three and you're out of there!

So I get up to the starting line and I flicker the stage light which means I went into the beam a little to deep. And sure enough, the lights come down I let go of the button and I go red just that quick. I kept my foot into it and what do I run? a 7.60. So, I was right on the money! And my opponent? He was off by three but he didn't have a great light so that round was mine for the taking and I didn't capitalize on it! Oh, had I only waited just a smidge longer, oh, had I only shallow staged this report would have been much different.

We came back at the end of the day to make a heads-up exhibition pass with my good friend Garry Fauble driving the Patriot car. Not only did I red light AGAIN (which didn't really make any difference in this case since it was exhibition) but Garry opened up an old fashioned can of whoop-ass on me and ran a 6.90 to my 7.59. I got pounded but I got a good look at his red parachute but the remaining crowd were glad to see another blown alcohol race.

This was a race where I thought we would show some improvement in the car's performance after two great weekends down south and we even brought out the God Father aka Ken Logan for a little advice! But the car just couldn't get out of the high 7.50's. Plan B for us now is to get the blower stripped before our next race in Medford, the Nitro Summer Fest on July 31.The God Father believes we'll see some improvement after having that done! I sure hope he's right!

But you know, maybe we need to keep this in perspective. As racers we always want to go faster and I'm no different but faster means more inconsistent runs and broken parts as we saw with some of the teams last week in Medford. We now have a car that's running 7.50's - 7.60's on every pass (as long as we keep the main jet at a .165 so) it's now very consistent without hurting parts. With our budget and the economy where it is maybe we need to be content on this new found consistency and leave it alone and enjoy what we are doing. It's not the banzai runs and low qualifiers we once enjoyed but maybe this is what we need in order to successfully compete in Top Comp and Top Dragster? Sportsman Drag racing is a sport where racers find their niche and become successful. Maybe we just found ours after being in the wilderness for a very long time.

Cap Racing Featured in National RFC Publication

The Capitol Racing team is featured in a great front page story in the Racers For Christ's latest national newsletter. To read it please go here: Team RFC Newsletter

The "Little" Engine the Could!
Capitol Car Goes to TEW Final Round in Medford


Photos by Andi McFarland

Persistence and some fine tuning got the Capitol car back on the right track in time for the Top Eliminator West race. The association's points race was held in conjunction with the Bi-Mart Night of Fire event at Champion Raceway held over the Fourth of July Weekend in Medford. This was an important event for us as we tested two weeks before the big race in order to iron out some performance issues. The TEW race meant so much to us after missing it last year that we chose to painfully sit out the Woodburn NHRA Points race to be sure we wouldn't have a broken race car the following weekend.

In the past, we have had a pretty good win record against other blown alcohol cars as opposed to our carbureted counterparts but this year in particular it would be a pretty tall order to beat the potent TEW cars. But anytime we have a chance to race heads-up against blown alcohol cars we're up to the challenge. That's the arena we like to play in although we need to continue to work hard towards getting in the six second zone once again. At this race we leaned out the engine more and even increased the blower overdrive to 39 percent but the car still didn't respond to the changes like we had hoped. However, this would be one race where consistency and keeping the parts together would trump strong six second performances until the final round.

The field attracted seven west coast entries for an eight car field and we would qualify second with a 7.58. Sadly, there was carnage before the beginning of eliminations so our first round was uncontested. In the semi finals the Capitol team faced Steve LaBurn based out of Southern California. LaBurn has run in the 6.40's before with his unique nitrous injected hemi powered rear engine dragster so he was an opponent to take very seriously. At the hit the Capitol car got out of the gate first with an .038 to Laburns .108. By half track, Laburn got loose and got on and off the throttle. Meanwhile I increased my lead and took the stripe with a 7.56.

In the final round, we faced the 800 pound gorilla of the meet, the J Ray Concrete car owned by Jimmy Ray out of the Sacramento area and driven by Aaron Wardell. They had been running impressive 6.30 passes through out the two day meet and on paper had us covered by over a second so we knew there was little we could do to beat them unless their car went up in smoke, red lit or went under the 6.30 index.

After the conclusion of a spectacular fireworks show the final rounds in all classes began. While our car has been getting down the track in the day time, after dark was a different story as the car had traction problems the night before. This time was no exception as the car smoked and rattled the tires right off the starting line. Meanwhile Wardell was long gone with another 6.30 pass for the victory.

Our next race is at Woodburn Dragstrip this coming weekend for the Oregon State Championships where we will be competing in the Top Comp Class. The race features Pro Mods, nitro burning Harleys and funny cars. Even though we're not in the sixes, the car is running consistent and not breaking parts. With the economy and our budget the way that it is, that might not be a bad place to be right now.

As always thanks to my crew chief Brent Sanford and his assistant Chris Wollertson for doing another great job. We had a great time and would like to thank the Clevenger Race team as well as all of the TEW teams towed to Medford for a fun weekend.

 

Massive Exposure On the 4th at Western Days


The Capitol car was parked in a prime location prior to the fireworks show.

After leaving Medford just after midnight following the Bi-Mart Night of Fire, the Capitol team drove all night, getting into Salem at 4:30 AM just before the sun came up. After getting three hours of sleep it was time to transport the dragster to Independence Oregon, a neighboring town that features one of the best Independence Day celebrations in the country. Once there, the car had to be unloaded and the trailer taken to the end of the four mile long parade route. Before the start of the parade, the Capitol car was judged "Best Auto Entry" which complimented our great showing the night before in Medford.

Along with the annual Christmas parade, the Western Days Parade is one of the best non-racing events we do all year in terms of exposure as there are always thousands of people along the route, sometimes three to five people deep in some places. As a result, this community event is a good way for all of our sponsors to get seen. Throughout the route there is a lot of picture taking and the usual shouts from the crowd to "fire it up!" as if it were really that safe or easy to do with a blown alcohol car.

Following the parade the car along with the trailer were displayed at the festival grounds where the fireworks display would take place later that evening. With all the interest in hearing the car lit up on the parade route, we decided to fire it up a couple of times before the fireworks began making a little noise of our own.

On the second fire-up we had the largest crowd ever around the car and we surprised one guy by randomly asking him if he would like to sit in the dragster during the fire up. He took us up on the offer and loved the experience. I'm sure he had quite a story to tell around the water cooler the next day at work.

Bailey's Blog Sponsored by Walery's Pizza
Capitol Team Makes Progress In Medford

As any of our regular readers know, our dragster has been running about as good as, well...the Spring weather we have been having...down right disappointing. It got to the point were we had to regroup after our last outing and the perfect opportunity for that came in the form of a late night invite on Thursday night from Jim Taylor the promoter of Champion Raceway in Medford. The problem with going to Medford was that put us at five race in as many weeks but quite honestly we couldn't go to another race until we figured out why the car was running as bad and inconsistently as it has so far this season. We looked bad out there running against two strong running cars, The Tiki Warrior at the Opener and Eddie Wells at the Fire and Thunder race and I'll be the first to admit it.

We had our friend Spud Miller at Fuel Injection Services check out our mag and box and it came back good so I figured outside of a bad torque converter it came down to more air, less fuel or both. With the chance to make as many passes as we wanted in an environment where there was no other outside influences to consider, Medford tooked like the place to be on Fathers Day weekend. So, on short notice Brent, Chris and I drove up to Woodburn Dragstrip on Friday night and got our rig that had been parked there for the points meet scheduled for next weekend and headed south Saturday morning.

One of the reasons why we love Medford is because of the people down there. Everyone from the spectators, the concession folks, the guy in the lanes, the announcer, the photographer and the guys at the top end really roll out the red carpet for us every time the Capitol Rocketeer Dragster is in town and this time was no exception. Jim Taylor wants a full field for his featured Top Eliminator West race so he was checking up on us and carefully watching every pass probably praying we wouldn't hurt anything before his big July 2-3rd event, and to be honest, I was praying too.

Going down there was a smart move and our prayers were answered. We made 4 out of 5 good strong runs and the car's ET improved on every pass. The only exception was the last run of the night on Saturday where I blew the tires off the starting line. I really spun the tires bad and chose to idle it through. Part of the problem was that I wasn't in my tracks correctly but the track was going away fastand it began to rain. They halted racing for the night after my aborted run.

On Sunday, I made my best run so far this year... a 7.50. I know that's still way off pace but here's the deal: we now know what we need to do before the big race. We need another pulley change as our boost is still at 18 pounds and we will go just a smidge leaner. The car responded to every step change we made and Brent and Chris did a very good job tuning the car and getting it turned around quickly. We got the spuddering to stop and now know we are getting close to the sweet spot which is pending on the corrected altitude at the time of the pill adjustment so we are no longer lost.

As a result of the last minute decision to test in Medford and our very limited budget for the rest of the year, we have decided not to run the Les Schwab Lucas Oil Divisional event in Woodburn since we are not chasing points and the car has to be ready to go for the Top Eliminator West event where we will be a featured car. I pushed to bring the TEW race to Meford a year ago only to miss it after the Rodeck was destroyed, so we didn't want to take a chance and miss it again this year. This is a difficult decision for us to make since the points meet means a lot to us but in the long run I think it's what we had to do to stretch our budget through the rest of the year as this cuts some of our costs in half. The good news is that we will be back to Woodburn for the Oregon Championships on July 10 -11 following Medford's Top Eliminator West race. I appreciate everyone's understanding.

-Rich Bailey

Dragster at Back-to-Back Saturday Events

The Capitol Dragster was seen at two shows Saturday beginning with the High School Show at the NW Vintage Car Museum at Antique Powerland and then the Opening of the Blue Moon. The Dragster was a big hit at the High School show and the Blue Moon Attracted a steady crowd all night. We met and visited with a lot of nice people at both venues.

Capitol Car "Shared" at Liberty School





It was sharing day in Mrs. Webb's class at Liberty School in Salem and Christine Bailey decided to bring Dad's dragster to school. Besides asking questions, the kids got to sit in the car and each received a race schedule and an 8x10 color publicity picture of the race car courtesy of Competition Printing.

Race Team Becomes Geeks as "Salem Geeks" Sign on as an Associate Sponsor

While being known as a “geek” back in high school wasn’t the best for one’s reputation, geeks today are well in demand - in the compute rindustry! One of the top geeks in town is Jared Pierson, owner of Salem
Geeks, a successful computer repair business. Salem Geeks offers computer repair, virus removal, system sales, parts and on-site support and training.

Pierson, a good graphic designer in his own right seems to be anything but a geek, but his humorous logo that features a nerd character with braces and big glasses along with the bright green and orange colors
have become a familiar brand around the Salem area.

While it’s obvious that Pierson has fun with his business’ image, misbehaving or crashed computers are anything but fun and can be quite frustrating but the good news is that Salem Geeks can take the sting out of a troubling computer experience with reasonable rates and speedy service. They work on both PC and Apple platforms. And best of all his friendly staff will be happy to answer questions and make the best recommendation for the consumer before they take in a machine.

The computers that ProMotion Motorsports use have all been serviced by Salem Geeks since they opened for business. “I used to panic any time our computers acted up but with Salem Geeks I never worry any more as sometimes just a call into Jared fixes the problem. Before they were in business, it was box up the computer and wait two weeks” said team owner Rich Bailey. “We are excited to add them as a marketing partner to our race team joining Capitol Auto Group and 1430 KYKN” he added.

Salem Geeks is located across from the Sunnyslope shopping Center on Liberty Road S. Call 503-362-GEEK(4335).

New Short Racing Video on YouTube!
New rock'n video made by Tyler Abbott from our exploits at the 2009 Fall Classic can be seen on You tube. Click Here to see it! That was a fun race!

 

Rain Takes a Nice Long Break During Iris Parade
It rained hard all night prior to the Keizer Iris Festival parade and then it rained again in the morning before the parade started. One had to wonder how few people would brave the cold wet weather to watch a parade in the rain. We went all out for the event and borrowed a beautiful new Toyota Tundra from Capitol to tow the dragster through the parade route. You can bet this beautiful truck was driven with kid gloves! After rain proofing the car with some regret that we even entered the parade, the clouds began to break up just an hour prior to the event was scheduled to begin. Then under partly sunny skies we took the plastic off the engine just as the parade began. And as usual the parade route was lined with a lot of people not to worried about the weather.



We were right behind Ashwell Racing's Top Alcohol Funny Car as we were both there supporting Walery's Pizza and all of our other fine sponsors at the event. Both entries received a lot of good feed back and picture taking from the crowd from the large crowd. We had the Tundra loaded up with neighborhood girls who livened up the crowd including Kali Hunter, who was up visiting our daughter from Springfield. Kali's dad Brent runs the Stereo Store in Albany and is one of our great sponsors.

After the parade was over, we loaded up the dragster and headed back to South Salem. Then the rain returned with a vengeance as it came down in sheets and there was even some hail. It was just a blessing that we had that short window of t-shirt weather when we did. Had we towed the car in that monsoon it would have been a disaster for us and all the other entries, not to mention the spectators and organizers. A big thanks to Brent and Chris for their help in making this another successful outing.

 

 

First Runs a Little too Fat as Team Trys Out New Engine Combo at Season Opener

The Capitol car makes its first pass of the season at the Season Opener.

By Rich Bailey, Photos by Andi McFarland
The good news is we got down the track at this past weekend's big Season Openner race at Woodburn Dragstrip but the bad news is the ET's were not at all satisfactory to what we had expected. To be honest since we were testing a new engine combination with a smaller blower size on Saturday, our expectations were not all that high to begin with and we thought it would be easy even with the smaller blower to get into the low 7's right away. The plan was to get a good first pass down the track utilizing a safe tune up and then tune it from there. We did just that with an underpowered 7.68 at 173 MPH. The run produced some bad tire shake which would partly explain the rather slow ET but it was at least a good baseline to start with.

For the second pass, we leaned it out more and went up to a 120 pill size which was the right direction to go but it still wasn't enough. The car sputtered some down the track giving us a poor 7.78 ET. Back in the pit, it was time to begin looking for the problem. We checked the timing and went through the fuel system and even replaced the cap and the wires thinking that it might be an ignition problem. On Sunday morning, we fired it up and the engine sounded great. We we were going to run Top Dragster when we got the chance to race Ron Huigli driving the popular Tiki Warrior Funny car instead. Being that's what we love to do and that's where the action is, we couldn't pass that up. We were confirdent that our problems were behind us with a leaner pill and new wires and a cap as the old one was pretty choroded. So we decided to race the beautiful Tiki car rather than race in the Top Dragster class.



In the first stanza, I got out of the gate first with a .033 to Huigli's close 0.39 but that's where it ended as the car experienced traction problems and continued to misfire so I got in and out of it. Hugli on the other hand ran a nice 6.90 ET. After the run it was back to the pits where we leaned it out even more, going to a 135 pill while looking at using a different ignition box. We were unable to come up with a new box but my friend Spud Miller did offer to test the box we had at his shop next week so we took him up on it. Meanwhile, there was still one more round to run with the Tiki Warrior. When we got up to the starting area my car would start. In fact, it wouldn't even turn over after some initial spins. So that was it for this weekend as it was nearing the close of the event.

Once we hear back from Spud on the ignition box, we'll be able rule that out. Between now and the next race we are going to change the bearings, fix our starting problem and increase the pulley size. The pill can be changed at the track and that will be determined by the air. Thanks to the everyone who stopped by with encouragement as we appreciate everyone's kind words. And thanks to Brent, Chris, Dave and Brian for all of their hard work. We plan to be back out at the Fire and Thunder race in June with a much better running race car. Looking back we should have made some of those changes sooner but as they say you don't make all of the changes all at the same time.

 

Capitol Car a Big Hit at Fire House
The Capitol Dragter was displayed this past Monday at the Keizer Fire Station. The car was a big hit with the kids and the parents who attended the annual event. We hope to have pictures soon.

Fun was had by all at Show Biz


This picture is worth a thousand words as Show Biz was a lot of fun again this year.

The Capitol car was displayed at Show Biz on Thursday and was once again a great attraction for folks who attended the popular and highly successful annual event. Show Biz is not only a trade show but also a social function as well. A lot of friends and sponsors showed up and there wasn't a boring moment...there never is at Show Biz. This grand event was open to the general public and was a lot of fun for all! If you missed it, be sure to go next year. Thanks to the Salem Chamber of Commerce and the helpers who helped load the car at the end of the show.

CAP RACING BLOG:
Team Demonstrates Marketability in Delivering Exposure One Relationship at a Time

Anyone that follows the going's on of the Capitol Race Team and this website realizes that this is not your usual race team and because all of us involved are poor working stiffs and not Country Club racers, we really can't do it any other way than display the car at any venue that will have us in order to generate a lot of public awareness for our sponsors. I'm not saying that other racers don't do what we do but few would accept such an aggressive schedule year after year. We've been doing this non stop for 13 years and it's an unusal way of life.

Our approach is simple: deliver the best advertising for the dollar not only in drag racing but in all types of advertising venues. What this means is we have to go beyond the call of duty and make new relationships one person at a time. It doesn't matter if the car is displayed or raced in front of 20 people or 20,000 people and we've done both, it's the individual relationships that are formed from what we do.

We "capitolize" on the fact that a lot of people see dragsters on TV but never up close until they see our car which then generates a lot of interest and allows us to to chat with those interested in the car and or the sponsors we represent. One of my teammates, Brian Walburn came up with a perfect name for these moments, he calls it "hands on marketing". How often can one have a conversation with a guy that hangs a billboard? With our billboard you can!

This past week was one of those times I drove my fellow team members crazy. There was work that had to be done to the engine but we had commitments to make, still everyone went beyond the call of duty to make sure the car was together and delivered to the events as I had promised. The first event took place at the A & W in Stayton as KYKN was doing a live radio remote. Now, I don't believe we have done an event in Stayton since the largely defunct Team Safety days, but this one had to be one of the wettest displays that we have done in quite some time and the wettest day so far in 2010. Never the less, the car was there as promised and what a great time we had.

The day of the event I received a box of our latest handout cards from Competition Printing in Tempe Arizona, and the quality of the card is remarkable, our best one yet. This was a great chance to test out the new cards on the KYKN staff as well as people that stopped by and every one really likes the new look of the card.

Even with the heavy rain on a Thursday afternoon we had quite a few local folks come by including a guy by the name of Scott that surprised me by bringing an older Cap Racing shirt to the event to get it signed. I don't ever recall meeting Scott before but I won't forget him after that. That made my day right there to sign that old shirt. Not only that but the free double bacon cheeseburger lunch provided to everyone that came down to the remote was great. Show me the bacon! I even got a few minutes of airtime out of the deal.



After the A & W event my vacation time was over and I went back to work. Meanwhile, Brent and Brian delivered the trailer to Morning Star Church for the "Pedal to the Metal" men's conference. That evening we came back and moved the dragster inside the church making it the first time a dragster has ever been inside the church, I'm sure. It was close but the car fit through the double doors with a few inches to spare.

Sometimes you don't know how well the car will be received at some of that events that we do but based on all the feed back and close inspections and endless questions I'd have to say the car was a big hit with the 200 plus men that were in attendance. I even got to do a presentation that seemed to go over well although me with a microphones can be a train wreck at times but I was definitely on my game this time around.

The event itself was a real life changer for many as Bob Vernon, a former LAPD Police Chief, was the speaker both days of the event. The retired Chief delivered a powerful quick paced presentation that every man needs to hear. His stories of being an LAPD officer on the street were sometimes priceless. To compliment the conference was a delicious steak dinner and breakfast prepared by none other than fellow drag racers Gary and Kathy White. How they made such great dinners for 200 people perfectly cooked and hot while it's cold and wet outside I'll never know but it was good! Hey Gary, ever think about going on the TV show Hell's Kitchen? While I'm at it on the kudos, I want to thank Brent, Brian and Chris as well as Art and Dave for their help in making the last couple of events possible.

Next, the dragster heads to Eugene on Friday for the Eugene Roadster Show. Following Eugene, we're back to maintenance before the season starts up here in the Northwest.

-Rich Bailey

 

Taylor Renews Medford Track Lease with County Commissioners



Big news from Medford! After three long days of negotiations, Jim Taylor was able to renew his lease of the Jackson County Sports Park dragstrip with the Jackson County Commissioners. Taylor reports that the negotiations were intense at times and a lot of the major issues stemmed over expected improvements to the facility known as Champion Raceway.

Both Taylor and the County were able to make some reasonable concessions and that improvements will be made to the pit area this year. Taylor has also been meeting with contractors and came up with a game plan to rid the pits of goat heads and loose gravel. But first, Taylor will be working on getting the schedule completed and then begin renewing and looking for more sponsors.

Taylor also confirms that there will be a Top Eliminator West race scheduled for July 3. The Capitol team plans to attend the TEW event as well as the Nitro Summerfest event in August.

The lease was awarded to Taylor just hours ago. Taylor's hard work to the track can not be overlooked as he has already put a lot of his own sweat into the facility including building a permanent restroom and showers among other projects. Thus, the renewal of the lease was well deserved. It's great to see the track in the hands of someone who truly loves the sport and the facility.

The track's website is http://www.championraceway.com/ .

Update: Medford has been awarded the final Division 6 date of 2010

A New Blown Alcohol Car in the Area

Garry Fauble dropped a line announcing he has a new blown alcohol dragster. The car has run in the 6.80's in Vegas. Garry hope to do a little match racing along with some other events. The car will make its local debut at the Eugene Roadster Show in March.

 

Our Take:
Arizona Tragedy Reinforces NHRA's Need to Slow the Fuel Cars Down....Now!

Could the sign be more obvious or ominous? What happened this past weekend should send everyone involved in the NHRA professional categories a flashing neon sign the size of a billboard that says: SLOW THESE CARS DOWN! You can explain the death of a driver or even a crew member as that's part of the risks involved in every level of racing, but no words can justify a fan walking through the pits looking for a concession stand only to get hit by a flying tire. I'm not trying to dramatize what happened in Phoenix this past weekend but it's time for action.

To NHRA's credit they have promptly responded with a remedy to every incident dating all the way back to Doug Herbert's famous Pomona explosion, where fortunately nobody was hurt. NHRA's fix for the problem was reducing the nitro percentage to 85 percent. But even with the changes, the cars performance never seemed to drop off and they just kept running quicker. Then, there was problems with the tires and as a result Darrell Russell crashed and died. Goodyear responded with a better tire which appears to have corrected the problem. Next, Eric Medlen died from what was claimed to be "vibration". More safety features were implemented to the cars as a result of Medlen's crash. And then in 2008 we lost Scott Kalitta. NHRA wasted no time and shortened the track length to 1000 feet since Kalitta ran off the end of the track and hit a camera boom after an engine explosion at mid track.

All of these incidents happened while the costs continue to go out of control and the fans now see a shorter distance race that's perhaps not as exciting. I don't claim to be an expert but I have a feeling that NHRA has run out of choices when it comes to allowing the show to go on without major changes to the engines themselves. Am I the only one who believes the underlying problem to all of these incidents is because these cars have to much horsepower? I don't think Antron Brown nor Don Schumacher Racing can or should be blamed for what happened as this is a problem that has been evolving for a long time and nobody has been able to get things under control. Antron was just the passenger when the wheel studs let go allowing the tire to launch like a missile.

There is some risk here as I write this as I work for a couple of top fuel teams but understand it's not the racing or the teams but an out of control sport that needs to be reined in before the insurance companies say no more. The spectator death that happened over the weekend is the first since a camera man (who really wasn't a spectator) was killed at Indy in 1979. So, when it comes to a safety record for the folks in the stands it's been very good...until now.

NHRA has been testing a spec engine aimed at controlling costs and preventing this on going carnage. From what I have heard the testing results have been good and the teams would be able to use existing parts. I think the time has come to put the new engine combination into service as there is two weeks before the next race and the season is just getting started.

When I was in Bakersfield a few months ago I saw 32 nostalgia nitro funny cars put on a great show with close side-by-side 250 MPH runs and no oil downs. What I'd like to see is NHRA mandate the nostalgia nitro funny car engine specs and go back to the quartermile again. These cars had more pop and cost considerably less money to run than a "big show" car. If NHRA mandated the nostalgia funny car engine it would also get the nitro classes off of life support because more people could afford to race them. But more importantly, the cars would be safer as we had three decades free of deaths to prove that and racing in the 70's was much more spectacular than it is now...they just weren't as fast.

- Rich Bailey

UPDATE: John Medlen from John Force Racing is working feverishly to invent a wheel tether that would keep the wheel on by implementing a steal cable that would hold the wheel on to the car. No word yet on if the tethers will be successfully implemented by Gainesville but hats off to JFR and NHRA for working on a fast solution to a serious problem. Even if this works, it's important for the health of the sport to get these cars slowed down thus more affordable to operate and get them back racing on the quartermile.

Read Other Editorials Here

 

Great Weather and Response Greets Capitol Car at PVA Outdoor Display

It's not often that the Capitol Auto Group Dragster is displayed anywhere other than an indoor show prior to the month of March. In fact, this was the first time that the car has ever been displayed outdoors with a month of winter left to go. The dragster was on display for a Paralyzed Veterans of America event held this past Saturday at the Kroc Center in North Salem.

With most of the PVA event being held inside, the Capitol car was parked right outside the main entrance of the beautiful new recreation center where a lot of people stopped to look at the car throughout the morning and much of the afternoon. The spring like weather made the event worth while and it was the first time the dragster has ever been displayed at the popular new facility which served as a great back drop (above) for a photo op.

The Capitol Team Supports Paralyzed Veterans of America
The Capitol team will be displaying the Paralyzed Veterans of America logo throughout the 2010 season. The servicemen that now belong to the PVA have paid a big price to keep this country free and it's a privilege to help them out any way we can.

What's New? So Long "Big Blue"

For the Capitol Team, the most noticeable change this year is the absence of "Big Blue" our big old 1471 blower. In its place this year will be a smaller 871 Littlefield supercharger. Gary Eickman made a few modifications that included a spacer that rises the injector hat over the rollbar.

The engine will also have a new crank support system for the new Bow Tie block already in the car. The mag will also need to be moved behind the blower for clearnce. Ah, the ol' domino effect - change one thing and then have to change three more. Other than some changes in the engine department, most everything else will stay the same.

Editorial: Our Take
AHRA Could Save the Sport and Give New Life to Independent Racers forced to Park

By Rich Bailey

Let's face it drag racing is expensive. Always has been and always will be. But when pro nitro racing costs $35,000 per race it gets to the point where it boarders on insanity that in the long run is not sustainable. It will only go as far as the sponsors allow it to as racing can't keep burning rubber down dragstrips paved with gold. We have all seen the door open to the regional independent racer now that there are less teams racing full time and that's good. But still, how can the independent racer afford it when you are talking about that kind of money per event?

Eastern Washington's Gary Omlin, driving Dean Alexander's Top Fuel Dragster would have a fighting chance to run a few races per year under the new AHRA. Currently driving their car in NHRA is cost prohibitive. There are a lot of racers like Omlin and Alexander looking for a place to race.

Earlier this month we saw the Snake reluctantly throw in the towel. Sadly, he's not the only one as each season there is another round of musical chairs where three more driver seats are pulled out and more teams are parked.

Last weekend I talked to Troy Moe of the newly reformed AHRA and while I can't discus all that was said I'm convinced that between the nostalgia movement and the new AHRA, independent nitro teams will have a home which means there will be more places to run other than the 24 event "big show". In fact AHRA won't book any NHRA top ten car which ensures the independent teams a place at the table.

To a much lesser degree, the same problem that independent pro teams have faced have also hit their blown alcohol counterparts. It use to be that a dragster similar to ours could run in a top alcohol class which we have done before in Spokane. Granted, we were not fast enough to win in Spokane but we qualified each time and held our own on the track. Now, running a Top Alcohol car is cost prohibitive and other than the former Spokane Raceway Park there are only a limited number of match races for cars like ours. So we don't really have a home either other than the Top Eliminator West Series.

Once again, Troy and his crew will come to the rescue with a wide open blown alcohol dragster class that doesn't require a high dollar top alcohol configuration. In fact, as I understand it, anything from a Top Eliminator West car to a current Top Alcohol car can compete. That's music to my ears. In addition, those tired of the super classes will be glad to know that many of the AHRA classes will forbid throttle stops and other electronic devices that have made a mockery out of some sportsman racing classes.

Mr. Moe is looking for tracks in the Northwest and my guess is that if his current "AHRA Reunion Tour" is successful, tracks with expired contracts will be looking to join the Spokane based alternative. But first AHRA has to prove itself this season and I believe that it can. There was a full house for IHRA's opener in Florida which should give other venues some hope that they don't need John Force to be able to pull in a large spectator count.

A prescription of independent top fuel cars, nitro funny cars, blown alcohol dragsters and no electronic classes worked well at Spokane Raceway Park before it became an NHRA facility and it will work well at other Northwest tracks too. If NHRA wants to keep heading in the direction they already are, thats fine as long as there are sponsors to make that happen but the rest of us need an alternative before the sport sucks itself financially dry.

The Capitol Car will be Displayed in Eugene Roadster Show, March 20-21

The Capitol Auto Group Dragster will make its first ever appearance in the Eugene Roadster Show. The big show is coming up on March 20-21 at the Lane County Fairgrounds in Eugene. Dennis Burri wanted to let racers know they are welcome and there is room for more entries. Dennis can be reached at 541-521-9007. Or you can download an entry form by going to the show's website at http://www.roadstershows.com/

Sponorship 101 is Back

We often get asked (and google searched) about how to find a sponsor. More sponsors equal a stronger sport. In these lean times it's tough for everyone looking for a marketing partner. As a service to everyone that has googled the subject or was affraid to ask here you go: Sponsorship 101

Great Review on the Twig Zeigler Film

There is a must read review on the new Twig Ziegler documentary on Go2Geiger.com. We are real proud of our own Chuck Stenberg who made another great racing film. Read the review here

Filmmaker Chuck Stenberg has sent a note to let everyone know that you can now watch his Twig Ziegler film on YouTube. This is a great film and those that have seen it have raved about it.
See it here

 

NGK Spark Plugs Renews with Capitol Team

NGK Spark Plugs USA has once again renewed for another season with Rich Bailey and the Capitol Auto Group Race Team. Like Royal Purple and King Bearings that also sponsors the Capitol team, NGK Spark Plugs are the best product available for the application and Bailey has been using them exclusively throughout his racing career. "It's always great to have a product sponsor and it's even better when it's a product you would use regardless. NGK is simply the best plug there is for any racing application. I can't think of a time when we have ever ran into a problem involving an NGK Spark Plug - They are just that good. We appreciate NGK's continued involvement with our team and their sponsorship of the recent Winter Rod and Speed Show" Bailey said. Check out NGK's hot website at www.artoffast.com

 

Royal Purple Synthetic Oil Renews with Rich Bailey for 14th Consecutive Year

For the 14th consecutive year Royal Purple Synthetic Motor Oil has renewed it's product sponsorship with Rich Bailey driver of the Capitol Auto Group dragster making it the longest sponsorship in the companies history. The company credits the sponsorship on Bailey's strong marketing program in the Northwest. Besides racing, the car is also seen at a lot of indoor shows and outdoor displays seen by a wide, diverse demographic which generate a lot of exposure for the Royal Purple brand.

Bailey has used Royal Purple for 13 years in his blown alcohol and injected alcohol dragster and credits Royal Purple for very minimal bearing wear thanks to Synerlec, a molecular component in the product that bonds to internal engine parts and guards the engine from wear caused by the extreme demands of the engine's performance of going close to 200 MPH in six seconds.

Royal Purple is available at most auto part stores including Schucks, Baxter's, Stuart's, NAPA, Pep Boys and Kenechts.

 

Capitol KYKN Car Shines at Home Show



The Capitol car shined like a diamond at the Mid Valley Home Show over the weekend thanks to team member Brian Walburn who got the car looking better than we have never seen it. The dragster looked so good that some thought it had never been down the dragstrip before. The car was a BIG hit as over 200 coupons for next weekend's Winter Rod and Speed Show was handed out. A lot of kids got to sit in it and a lot of questions about the car were asked. Thanks to 1430 KYKN for providing the space and even some radio air time on Saturday morning.

Racer Tommy Johnson Sr. Defeated Cancer With Alternative Medicine

MOORESVILLE, N.C. -- Ten years after Tommy Johnson Sr.'s oncologist told him to prepare to die because the chemotherapy treatments weren't working on his colon cancer, the Iowa native is enjoying life with his family and his grandchildren.

How did he beat the odds? Through exhaustive research that led him to an alternative medicinal regime currently shunned by government regulating agencies.

In Johnson's just released, self-published book “The True Story of How I Survived Absolute Terminal Cancer”, the former drag racer describes the emotional roller-coaster he faced while desperately trying to find a cure after being told he had only three months to live. In his 80-page, paper-back book, Johnson details the daily regime he uses to keep the cancer at bay, shares his medical records and talks about how the life altering event changed him personally. He also candidly expresses his opinion regarding a cure for cancer and why he believes the medical industry doesn't want to find one.

In this emotional rendition of his battle with colon cancer, Johnson encourages people fighting the dreaded disease to never lose hope and to take control of their destiny by researching alternative treatments. Written in the first person, Johnson honestly reveals every emotion he faced and the various thoughts that raced through his mind after being given his “death sentence.”

For more information on the $19.95 book, “The True Story of How I Survived Absolute Terminal Cancer” or to schedule an interview with author and cancer survivor Tommy Johnson Sr., call (704) 576-6971 or e-mail him at tjsr5757@msn.com.

Prudhomme Unable to Secure Funding Will Retire and Sell Off Team Assets

Word out of Indianapolis is that one of drag racing's greatest icons, Don "The Snake" Prudhomme, has announced his retirement after being unable to secure funding for his Top Fuel team. Prudhomme lost his major backer US Tobacco at the end of last season after the company was aquired by Phillip Morris and the Skoal and Cope brands can no longer be advertised other than the companies parent name (US Tobacco) in accordance to the tobacco settlement.

Prudhomme retired from drag racing as a driver in 1994 but continued on as an equally successful team owner. In the 70's it was the best of both worlds for Prudhomme, his rival Tom "the Mongoose" McEwen and others as revenue from both sponsors, match racing and personal appearances was enough to continue racing. But over the last twenty years the dynamics had changed as winning at all costs literally meant just that and fuel racing without a major sponsor became completely unsustainable.

Through 2007 the good times managed to continue in spite of spiraling costs as enough companies had big enough revenue streams to fund most teams in need of sponsors. Then the Evon Knoll - Torco Fuels bubble burst that fully funded or partially funded nearly half of NHRA and IHRA's professional teams. Prudhomme among others recieved partial Torco funding before the colapse. Then in 2008 the economy began showing signs of weakness which began to eliminate even more pro teams from competition.

In 2009, some independent teams saved the day and helped fill fields at events close to home with the chance of qualifying. But by most accounts nitro racing as we once knew it was in trouble as few sponsors or teams could keep pace with the rising costs. Now, in 2010 the year begins with the exit of what seemed to be one of NHRA's most untouchable teams.

At the US Nationals, Prudhomme made it be known that if a sponsor was not found for the 2010 season then he would retire from the sport for good and sell or liquidate his operation. At one point this Fall Prudhomme was optimistic he would be back as a sponsor would be found.

When asked at the California Hot Rod Reunion in October if he had found a sponsor for 2010, a somewhat cynical Prudhomme referred all questions to the people running his display and t-shirt trailer. Their response when asked if any progress had been made was that an announcement would come just as soon as they had something important to announce.

As both a driver and team owner, Prudhomme has won a combination of six National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) World Championships and 112 National Event victories in both Top Fuel and Funny car. Prudhomme's most successful years were from 1975 through 1979 when he captured national recognition by dominating drag racing a the wheel of his Army sponsored funny cars (pictured).

Below is a story written after Prudhomme's announcement in September that he might quit if a sponsor wasn't found for 2010.


A Look back at 2009

Perseverance and dedication kept the Capitol team on the right track ensuring good exposure in 2009, even in the face of adversity. With the heartbreaking death of Capitol crew chief Jeff Lauener, 2009 was not one of the team's best years. But inspite of some hard and difficult times, the team still managed to land on its feet at the end of the day.

In January, Rich Bailey and the Capitol team promoted the Winter Rod and Speed Show and displayed the dragster inside the Linn County Expo Center. The event was a giant success and raised close to $10,000 for a Corvallis girl named Cricket who has been battling cancer.

In February and March, the Capitol Auto Group car was down for maintenance and an engine rebuild which allowed enough time for the race team to put together Jeff Lauener's front engine dragster as it had been a part. This was at the request of his wife Kimberly, who wanted Jeff to see the car together after it had been repainted. The team then display the car at the Eugene Roadster show for their close friend and mentor.

In April, the Capitol car was on display for the first time at the Performance Jobber Trade Show at Portland Expo Center for Baxter Auto Parts and Performance Warehouse. Next, the team returned to the track and ran one of its best runs ever, a 6.79 in testing at the Tulip Festival Drags. In May the team did five events in just 10 days including appearances at Pringle School, the Salem Relay, the Keizer Fire Department, Show Biz and the Woodburn Season Opener. It was at the Season Opener where a connecting rod exited the block and destroyed the engine, but even against all odds, the race team would soon claw back and restore the performance they were accustom too over the last two seasons.

In June, the team traveled to Spokane for a NAPA Auto Parts event hosted by Jim Rugg and Royal Purple Synthetic Oil as a new engine for the car was being built by Art Mendoza. Besides the unexpected down time, June was a difficult month for everyone as Jeff Lauener the crew chief for the last three years had sadly passed away from the stroke he had a year prior.

In July, the team was back in the saddle starting with the Western Days parade on the fourth and then right after the parade the car was displayed at the fireworks show on the Salem Waterfront that same evening. Between the two events, tens of thousands of people saw the dragster in just one day.



The following weekend, the Capitol team entered the NHRA event in Woodburn but broke a lifter on the first run with the new engine and chose to withdraw from the race rather than chance debris in the form of needle bearings from the lifter doing any additonal damage. The new engine was rebuild again. The next event on the schedule was a motorsports seminar that driver Rich Bailey conducted for a group of kids at the Victory Racing Camp in Portland. The Victory Racing Camp event went very well. July wrapped up with a fairly high profile display at the Dallas Summerfest in Dallas OR.

In August, the team went to the Nitro Summer Fest race in Medford as a featured car but a freak thunder and hailstone storm ended the race before the first round ever began. It was reported that the storm caused thousands of dollars in damage and hail close to the size of golf balls even knocked a Medford race official to his knees and destroyed a Capitol crewman's tent. During the day the temps were over 100 degrees and nobody ever thought the race would end up raining out. But that was not all, on the way to the race two tires on the truck blew out, cracking the left back fender.



Back in Salem, the car was displayed at a pair community events including the National Night Out and a display and presentation at Schirley School. The car was then displayed for two straight days at the Summer in the City event held in downtown Salem. The following weekend the car was at the Night of Fire, the summer benefit car show that Bailey, Jim Billings, Mike Adams and Lee Morgan promotes. This successful event raised over $6.000 for a young girl with cancer. The team then did three more displays at Capitol Chevrolet and the Stereo Store in Corvallis.

At the end of August, team owner Rich Bailey announced that Chris Wollertsen would become a crew member replacing Jerry Abbott who chose to leave the team in July. Bailey also announced that Brent Sanford was officially the new crew chief replacing Jeff Lauener, who had passed away in June. Sanford was in the crew chief role much of the year but not officially out of respect for Lauener. Bailey made the decision based on Sanford's solid commitment to the team and his ability to focus and get the work done quickly. This lead to a favorable story about Sanford in the Keizer Times.

In September, the team with an official new crew chief returned to racing in a big way by qualifying no. 1 and going to the semi final round at the Fall Classic at Woodburn Dragstrip. The team then returned to Medford and raced at the Final NHRA event of the year qualifying 5th out of 34 cars but lost in the first round. After participating in an RV show at the Oregon State Fairgrounds and doing a display at the Albany Stereo Store, the team rolled through the Festival of Lights Parade in Downtown Salem and won the "Best Auto Entry" for the first time in ten years of being in the parade.

To end the year, Bailey announced that long time title sponsor Capitol Auto Group who would be back for an eleventh year and also announced the return of KYKN1430 as a major associate sponsor. One of the brite spots of 2009 was the team's web site which saw a dramatic increase in traffic thanks to promotions like 64 Funny cars, a feature story on Cristan Powell and an interview with "240 Gordie" Bonin. Traffic has doubled over 2008 and is now close to one million hits for the year.

Other recent stories can be found by clicking here