ADRL Makes Most of ‘Tough Weekend’
MARTIN, MI (June 9, 2008) — It took a little outside-the-box thinking for the Flowmaster American Drag Racing League (ADRL) presented by the National Guard to nearly complete its 4th annual ADRL Pizza Hut Summer Drags at Knoll Gas Motorsports Park at U.S. 131 in Martin, Michigan.
Severe electrical storms interrupted Friday’s and Saturday’s scheduled qualifying and elimination rounds and ultimately damaged the western-Michigan facility’s starting-line equipment, though its timing system remained intact over the eighth-mile course. However, where most drag racing series would have called it a day, ADRL President Kenny Nowling took the radical step of instituting hand-signal starts for competitors in all four ADRL pro classes.
“We have fans here who waited out the rain with us, who came back today expecting to see a race, so that’s what we’re going to give them,” Nowling said. “Absolutely this has been a tough weekend, but that happens sometimes with any kind of outdoor event. I think we’re just lucky that there’s even an option—however unusual it may be—that allows us to continue. Besides, this should be fun. They’ll be talking about this for a long time.”
Given the remarkably rare circumstances, ADRL racers were offered the chance to opt out of the experiment without penalty, but with the decision to equally split the posted purse and championship points among all drivers still in contention, most agreed to race only for bragging rights and the coveted National Guard Minuteman trophy that accompanies each ADRL national event victory.
“I want one of those,” Pro Extreme driver Frankie Taylor said, pointing to the Minuteman. “Let’s race!”
With one round of Pro Extreme, Pro Nitrous and Pro Extreme Motorcycle in the books before the rains came and just an eight-car field in Extreme 10.5, all four ADRL classes had just three rounds to complete in what one team dubbed “the Arm Drop Racing League” (ADRL).
The experiment went quite well, with most drivers adapting quickly to the outlaw format made popular in 1950s hot rod movies. Mother Nature returned with a vengeance soon after the semi-finals were run, though, leaving only the four finals to be run at the ADRL’s next national event, scheduled for June 20-21, at Tulsa Raceway Park in Oklahoma.
Facing off beneath Nowling's upstretched arms will be Joshua Hernandez and Bob Mandell in Pro Extreme, teammates Billy Harper and Dennis Radford in Pro Nitrous, turbocharged import pilots Brett Rau and Gary White in Extreme 10.5, and Pro Extreme Motorcyclists Scott Gray and T.T. Jones. The arm-drop start will again be employed, just to keep things fair and consistent for the finalists, Nowling said.
“That was the most fun I’ve ever had at a drag strip,” he declared. “What a rush to stand up there and give the start signal to my heroes—and that’s what these guys are to me, heroes. The only complaint I have is that my shoulders and arms are killing me know. I’ll have to hit the weight room before we get to Tulsa.”
