Bracket racket

National Dragster, Mar 21, 2003

Pat Burget, of Carson City, Nev., has been racing his front-engine dragster for 10 years and has won at Top Gun Raceway in Fallon, Nev., and the Goodguys Jim Davis Memorial race At Sears Point Raceway in Sonoma. Last year, he competed in Nostalgia 3 (a 9.60 E.T. class) at Goodguys events. Buzz at CSM Chassis will backhalve and update his Blue Weasel entry, which will have a new blown, alcohol-injected, small-block Chevy and will compete in Nostalgia 2, an 8.60 E.T. class.

After helping him race for many years, Burget's 17-year-old daughter, Amanda, will begin her own stint behind the wheel this season. She will field a Bantam named The Wild Thing in Hot Rod 1 at Goodguys events and in Sportsman at Top Gun Raceway. The car has a 408 big-block Chevy and runs in the 10-second zone.

Allen Racing Enterprises in Utica, Ill., is prepared to run a freshened 516 Chevy engine and TSI transmission in its rear-- engine dragster this season. The team -- composed of driver Jay Allen; his wife, Pam; and his parents, Gary and Judy - is sponsored by IBEW Local 176 Union Electricians & NECA Electrical Contractors, F.A.S.T. Helmets & Fresh Air systems, White's Pit Stop, and CantStealit.com. The group will compete at big-money bracket races throughout the Midwest and at Illinois' Route 66 Raceway, where Jay finished fifth in the 2002 standings.

Jay and Pam spent the off-season participating in the sport of curling, in which people slide 42-pound granite stones over 100 feet of ice toward a target circle.

Pat Weber, a four-time Sportsman champion at Iowa's Tri-State Raceway, will pilot a '71 Charger, which is powered by a 360-cid small-block Chrysler engine and has an Edelbrock intake, Demon carburetor, Doug Thorley headers, and Tanz-Tech 904 transmission. The street-- legal car will feature new graphics from The Body Shop. The car has recorded a best of 13.35 at 102 mph in the quarter-mile. In addition to reclaiming the Sportsman title in 2002 - he also titled in 1998, 1999, and 2000 - Weber won Tri-State's Race of Champions and runner-upped in the King of the Track race.

Weber's older brother, Mike, will drive a '63 Polara in Pro at Tri-State, where he has scored four top five finishes in that class. Mike's entry is powered by a Harvey Performance 440-cid big-block Chrysler. During the off-season, Siegwarth Motorsports made chassis and suspension improvements to the car, which has run a best of 10.88 at 125 mph on the quarter-mile.

The brothers' father, Dick, will serve as crew chief on both cars. They thanked Bob Mazzolini and Biondo Racing.

Les Walden, of Canterbury, Conn., and Harry Austin, of Norwich, Conn., will team again in 2003 and will bracket race their '69 Camaro throughout the Northeast The car will have a fresh 427 engine and a new single carburetor and TH 350 transmission. Last year, the car ran consistent 10.50s and is expected to record quicker times this season. Walden and Austin will both drive the car by competing in two classes. The pair thanked Smallridge Motorsports for its support.

The five-car Phil Veldheer Racing team, which includes drivers Phil Veldheer, Tom Tilton, and Jeff Jalving, has been working nonstop since racing ended last year. All five of the team's engines were rebuilt, and two spare small-block Chevy powerplants and a spare Oldsmobile 455 bracket engine were added. Steve Morris Racing Engines in Muskegon, Mich., did the machine work on the powerplants; Jim's Performance Transmissions in Eaton Rapids, Mich., rebuilt the team's five transmissions; and Kevin Hoffman worked on the cylinders of the three Oldsmobile engines.

Veldheer's Cutlass has larger SI valves and new Hedman Hussler headers, Weld wheels, Demon carburetor, and Competition Products roller springs.

Tilton's Olds 442 features a new Be Cool radiator, bigger Bullet camshaft, and larger SI valves and Demon carburetor.

Jalving's Olds 442 has a bigger Bullet camshaft and larger SI valves and Demon carburetor.

A number of improvements were also made to the team's two Stockers. Mike Borr's J/SA entry has a new Bullet camshaft and cylinder heads from Bud Rowe, and the team's '69 G/SA Camaro has a new Bullet camshaft and Moser Engineering Wilwood disc brakes. Veldheer and veteran Stock competitor Don Holben will split driving duties on the G/SA.

This year, Advantage Auto Glass, Pittman Asphalt Maintenance, West Michigan Pressure Washing, and West Michigan Towing will join the team's numerous sponsors.

In addition, the team purchased a 28-foot Sportsman trailer from W&M Trailers. The group plans to race from April to October and will test-n-tune its cars at Mid-Michigan Motorplex in Stanton, Mich. The entries will be displayed more than 40 times this season and will participate in at least six parades.

Wagons of Steel will unveil a new race wagon in 2003, a big-block '67 Coronet dubbed Blue Velvet, that will compete in Pro at Division 6 tracks and will complement the team's popular '66 Plymouth Belvedere wagon, Helvedere.

Constructed entirely in-house, Blue Velvet will use the same stone-age technology as the Helvedere, but it will have a Scribner Welding-narrowed Dana 60 third member and a 10-point Art Morrison roll cage. The new car will be powered by a DG Machine-prepared 440 that should produce low-11-second runs or better.