Huge Field Ready to Race at Holley NHRA National Hot Rod Reunion, June 13-15

Record 460 cars to compete in several Hot Heads eliminator classes, including Top Fuel. Exhibition runs include Rat Trap vs. Nanook

Rat Trap

Gibbs said Carl "Cannonball" Johnson, who won the 1958 NHRA event in Oklahoma City, is driving down from Rockford, Ill. to compete in his Sterling nostalgia Fuel Altered. It's Johnson's 50th year of racing and he still has his Wally Parks-signed pit pass from the '58 race.

Speaking of the unpredictable Fuel Altereds, "fans will be itching to see Nostalgia match races, such as the Ron Hope's Rat Trap vs. the Dave Hough's Nanook," said Gibbs. "These are two legendary cars that really put on a show for fans. It's these types of races that make the Reunion so special."

On the Top Fuel side, Thompson, who won the 2007 California Hot Rod Reunion, is coming all the way from Visalia, Calif. for the event. It's the first time he's raced at NHRR, according to Gibbs. Also coming east again will be High Speed Motorsports of Anaheim, Calif., which has four consecutive victories in the Nostalgia Top Fuel category at NHRR. Troy Green, who took over from three-time champion Sean Bellemeur last year and won, will again be the driver for HSM.

Adam Sorokin, who finished as runner-up to Bellemeur in 2006, will challenge Green for the title in Brian Van Dyke's RB Entertainment Special from Tulare, Calif. Sorokin, who lost in the first round at the 2007 Reunion, is the son of the late Mike Sorokin, who drove the legendary "Surfers" top fuel dragster in the late 1960s.

Murray, who survived a spectacular fire at last year's Reunion, is making his 6th consecutive trip to the event and is still looking for his first title.

But those won't be the only Nostalgia Top Fuel cars competing in the Hot Heads Eliminator drag racing at NHRR.

The "Orange Crate" fueler owned by Dale Suhr and Roger Lechtenberg of Waterloo, Iowa was the winner at 2003's inaugural National Reunion. A new "Orange Crate" was built for the 2007 event and it'll be primed to return to victory lane.

Other Nostalgia Top Fuel Dragsters include David Pace and Brad Green's "Speed Merchant" from Siloam Springs, Ark.; Ernest McClain's Tri State Racing "Mill Road Boys" car from Elkton, Md.; Jeremy Hasket's "Backyard Guys" car from Charlotte, N.C.; Randy Bridges of Virden, Ill and Julius Hughes II in the "Zot 5" from Atlanta, Ga.

In addition to the event purse, the Top Fuel dragster drivers will be shooting for the low elapsed time qualifying position and a special trophy and cash prize being awarded by racing veterans Fred Frey and Jim Fox, in honor of the late Paul "Dodger" Glenn. Glenn drove funny cars including the "Iceman" Vega and the Frantic Ford Mustang II. He held NHRA Top Fuel license #128 and Funny Car license #126. Glenn died in a crash of the Frantic Ford in 1978.

Qualifying on the ¼-mile dragstrip in all classes, plus exhibition runs, will be held on Fri., Jun. 13 and Sat., Jun. 14, with final eliminations set for "Sunday, Sunday, Sunday, Jun. 15, Father's Day.

The 6th annual Holley NHRA National Hot Rod Reunion, June 13-15 at Beech Bend Park in Bowling Green, Ky., is a 3-day festival of speed, hot rods and American automotive enthusiasm. Produced by the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum, presented by the Automobile Club of Southern California and located in Pomona, Calif., the Reunion is part of the museum's "living history" philosophy, which works to bring to life the sights, sounds and people who made history in the early days of drag racing, land speed racing and the golden age of American car culture. 

Unique among motorsports events, the Reunion honors some of the top names in hot rodding from the past and features a fabulous array of cool drag cars, street rods and customs of the historic and present-day hot rod eras.
 
Those purchasing their credentials at least three weeks before the event receive significant added value including a "goodie" bag, Reunion program, commemorative dash plaque and a colorful and collectible plastic souvenir credential. Three-day credentials ($55 each) are available at 800/884-NHRA or through an application on the Museum's web site at http://museum.nhra.com. Individual tickets are available day-of the event. Cost per person: Friday, $20; Saturday, $20; Sunday, $15. Children 15 and under are free when accompanied by an adult.
 
The Reunion features a wide variety of activities and events, including:
 
-   Hot Heads Eliminator NHRA vintage drag racing, featuring some the sport's most famous and historic cars and drivers, racing in such classes at Nostalgia Top Fuel, Funny Car, Altereds, Supercharged Gassers, Classic Super Stock, Hot Rods and others.
 
-   Street rod "show 'n shine," presented by SoffSeal, with thousands of gleaming pre-1972 hot rods, custom cars, classics and muscle cars. "Memory Lane" will have a display of nostalgic race cars.
 
-   Open house at Holley, Thurs., June 12, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m., followed by the Heacock Classic Insurance Show 'n Shine cruise to the Holiday Inn University Plaza, the host hotel. A ribbon-cutting ceremony will take place at 5 p.m.
 
-   National Hot Rod Reunion Reception, held at the Holiday Inn University Plaza's Sloan Convention Center ballroom on Friday evening, June 13. Open to everyone at no charge, it's a tribute to the Reunion's Grand Marshal and Honorees and a chance for fans to meet some of drag racing's heroes.
 
-   Cacklefest on Saturday evening, where nitro-burning historic, front-engine top-fuel dragsters and other classic race cars are push started just like in the "old days."
 
-   The Swap meet and Reunion Midway filled with manufacturer exhibits and demonstrations
 
-   A separate amusement park with rides and games for all ages adjacent to the park.
 
Information, including a full activities schedule, entry forms and tickets, is available through the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum at http://museum.nhra.com or by sending a post card or note to NHRA National Hot Rod Reunion, 1101 McKinley Ave., Bldg, 3A, Pomona, Calif. 91768.  Requests can be emailed to themuseum@nhra.com.
 
 Proceeds of the Holley Hot Rod Reunion benefit the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum. Celebrating its 10th anniversary and named for the founder of the National Hot Rod Association, the Parks Museum presented by the Automobile Club of Southern California houses the very roots of hot rodding. Scores of famous vehicles spanning American motorsports history are on display, including winning cars representing 50 years of drag racing, dry lakes and salt-flat racers, oval track challengers and exhibits describing their colorful backgrounds.
 
The Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum is open Wednesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., PST. Current NHRA members are admitted free and Auto Club members enjoy a $2 discount. Admission for non-members is $7 for adults, $5 for seniors 60 and older, $5 for juniors six through 15, and free for children under the age of five. The Museum is also available for special group tours. The Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum is located at Fairplex Gate 1, 1101 W. McKinley Ave. in Pomona. For further information on special exhibits, museum events or directions, call 909/622-2133 or visit http://museum.nhra.com

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