FEATURED FLYERS

National Dragster, Sep 10, 2004

LOGAN WERNET

CLEAR LAKE, IOWA

STOCK

'62 FURY

Logan Wernet and childhood friend T.J. Diekema partnered last year on a classic '62 Fury that had been part of Diekema's family for years. Diekema, 35, has owned the car since he was 17. He bracket raced it for years and in 1998 undertook the arduous task of turning it into an NHRA-legal Stocker.

"I'd been wanting to build one for years, and T.J. and I decided to combine our time and money," said Wernet. "It's running pretty well, and we're not doing too bad."

The car, which is sponsored by Ron Minert's Harley-Davidson in Mason City, Iowa, has been in the Diekema family for nearly 30 years - since the day Diekema's uncle John bought it at a police auction for $15. It had been the property of a since-forgotten rock band that abandoned it after a gig in town.

In his national event debut at the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals in Brainerd, Wernet runner-upped in E/SA class eliminations, qualified No. 14 in a Stock field of nearly 100, and went a couple of rounds in eliminations. One week earlier, he went four rounds at the Division 5 event in Scribner, Neb.

"I've been around drag racing for 17 years, but I'd never driven anything before this," he said. "Driving is easier than I thought it would be, except for the Tree. I'm striving to be consistent, but I still don't know what it takes to go from a .110 light to a .010."

The car is powered by a 383-cid engine from Jeff Stealy of Stealy Performance and Johnny Diekema. "Uncle John" Diekema is the tuner, and Tom Diekema (T.J.'s dad) also plays a big part. The engine is fed by inline four-barrel carburetors and fired by an MSD ignition. Behind the firewall is a Pro Trans Torqueflite three-speed transmission, Dynamic converter, John Calvert rear springs, Cal Method traction bars, Hoosier tires, Cragar wheels, and Mark Williams disc brakes.

"It's a group effort of friends and family," said Wernet, who thanked Glen McIntire and Paul Hejna. "T.J. and I get a bunch of help. It takes a lot of time and money, but the camaraderie with the other racers is what makes it so fun. It's addicting."

JOE DEMARAIS

MAPLE GROVE, MINN.

STOCK

'70 BUICK GS STAGE 1

In the 1970s and 1980s, Joe DeMarais was one of Minnesota's more successful E.T. racers, but over the last decade, he has focused his efforts primarily on NHRA Stock racing. DeMarais, who operates a heating and air-conditioning company in Maple Grove, Minn., raced a green Buick GS in Stock until April, when he sold that car and purchased the ultra-clean black Stage 1 '70 Buick GS featured here.

"When I decided to get into Stock, [current Pro Stock driver and former Stock national champion] Jason Line talked me into buying my first Buick," said DeMarais. "Then, I saw this car last year, and I had to have it, so I sold my green car and bought this one.

"This car is a true Stage 1 Buick, which makes it pretty rare," he added. "In fact, I'm waiting for the day when some Buick fanatic threatens me with bodily harm for turning it into a race car. Thankfully, this car is so clean and so well engineered, I could put it back on the street pretty easily."

The car was originally owned by Darren Gould, who works as an engine builder for Performance Concepts in Maple Grove. Gould later sold it to Comp driver Tom Schmidt, who in turn sold it to DeMarais.

"Darren started building this car 10 years ago; it is a complete body-off restoration," said DeMarais. "There isn't one nut or bolt that hasn't been replaced. It even has an [NHRA certified] roll cage, so I could race it in Super Gas if I wanted to."

Gene Pearson and Gould built the high-compression 455-cid engine, which is NHRA rated at 390 horsepower. The engine uses JE pistons, Comp Cams drivetrain components, and a carburetor from Line Performance. Jason Line also dyno-tested the engine, which has powered the car to a best of 11.12 in D/SA trim.

The car also features a Rossler Turbo 400 transmission, which was freshened by Jason Line's father Lawrence, Wilwood disc brakes, Strange spool and axles, Monocoque wheels, and Hoosier tires.

"This car came from the factory with a ram-air hood, but I haven't put it on yet," said DeMarais. "That's my next project, so I know the car is capable of running a lot quicker than it has. This combination still has a lot of potential."

In addition to his wife Donna and his brother Mike, DeMarais thanked Tom Schmidt, Lino Performance, Super Comp racer Ed Shaunessey, and Jamie Ticht.

LARRY SEXTON

WHITE HOUSE, TENN.

COMP

'03 G/A CAVALIER

Every area of the country has people like Larry Sexton: well known and been around forever in their own neck of the woods; not so well known, if at all, outside of their own bailiwick. Sexton, 60, has been racing for 46 years, mostly in Comp, but he did drive a Top Alcohol Dragster in the mid-1980s before his wife's declining health forced him to take a 15-year sabbatical from the sport. He returned this year with a C/A '03 Cavalier for which he built the engine that's what he does for a living, everything from drag racing engines to tractor-pull engines to airplane engines - and welded together the Pro Stock-style chassis from a Jerry Bickel kit.