With temperatures dropping to the low 40s and winds at 20 to 30 mph forecast for the entire day, ADRL officials reached the decision this morning to postpone the Montgomery event to a date yet to be determined.

The final rounds of Pro Extreme and Pro Nitrous from last year’s rain-interrupted season ender at Kennedale, TX--that were supposed to be completed at Montgomery--will now be carried over to the ADRL’s next race May 4-5, at Valdosta, GA. (Or at least that’s the current plan.)

2 p.m., 04/14/07, MONTGOMERY, AL
* All action at the Shelor Motor Mile ADRL Spring Drags has come to a halt with heavy lightning in the area. The rain hasn’t started yet, but forecasters are calling for a severe, but relatively brief storm. ADRL officials fully intend to resume the event once the storm passes.
* Virginia’s Matt Hagan confirmed he and Todd Tutterow had a “handshake agreement” for Tutterow to take over as full-time crew chief on Hagan’s Pro Extreme Camaro, but after a testing session at Motor Mile Dragway last week Tutterow decided against the move, citing his own business and racing responsibilities. The two remain “friends,” however, said Hagan and Tutterow was spotted hanging out at the Hagan pit. Meanwhile, Hagan ran his two quickest 1/8-mile passes yesterday, a 3.99 and 3.96 in testing.
* Last night at a local eatery, Chip King hinted to DRO that he may have a major sponsorship announcement coming soon. He declined to name names, but his car was sporting Flowmaster livery at Montgomery and his pit was directly across from the big Flowmaster display on the manufacturer’s midway, so draw your own conclusions!

It looks like the lanes will open for business at 11:30 a.m. with open testing until 3 p.m. Billy Glidden is already in line and ready to get the day’s action started.
The ADRL’s new Pro Extreme Motorcycle class will have two qualifying sessions today. The bikes were the only ones to have an official qualifying round on Friday.

John Lynam and his Lil Red Corvette left first against Dwayne Watkins in round two of the rain-postponed Kennedale eliminations, but slowed while Watkins made a tough-to-beat 3.91 at 180.83 mph. (Ian Tocher photo)

QUARTER FINALS
Bubba Stanton (W) 4.05/152.56
Kelly Martin 6.76/72.23

Dwayne Watkins (W) 3.91/180.83
John Lynam 4.98/100.77

Brandon Pesz (W) 4.04/177.65
Joey Martin Broke

Josh Hernandez (W) 3.87/191.65
Bobby Booth – 4.22/135.25

SEMI FINALS
Dwayne Watkins (W) 4.31/144.60
Bubba Stanton 4.44/147.83

Josh Hernandez (W) 3.94/188.71
Brandon Pesz 4.04/174.96

Driving T.J. Harrill's '41 Willys, Terry Housley left way too early in the semis with a .095 red light against Burton Auxier, but Auxier crossed the centerline, so Housley was awarded the win based on drag racing's “first or worst” rule. (Ian Tocher photo)

QUARTER FINALS
Stan Allen (W) 4.08/180.18
James Hancock III 4.38/151.10

Harold Martin (W) 4.24/158.73
Dennis Radford 4.31/157.97

Burton Auxier (W) 4.31/155.89
Billy Harper 4.29/157.72

Terry Housley (W) 4.38/155.46
Shannon Jenkins 4.54/130.15

SEMI FINALS
Harold Martin (W) 4.48/129.31 mph
Stan Allen 28.19/48.48

Terry Housley (W) 4.07/176.78
Burton Auxier Disqualified

Shannon Jenkins launches hard in his Pro Nitrous GTO at Montgomery Motorsports Park. (Jeff Burk photo)

• Bubba Stanton made a strong 3.95 pass at 183 mph in his Pro Extreme entry. His Pro Nitrous car hasn’t made an appearance yet.
• As of 5 p.m. an ADRL record 85 entries made up the Pro Extreme, Pro Nitrous and Extreme 10.5 lists
• Prior to the ADRL’s arrival in Montgomery, track operator George Howard had the track ground and resurfaced.
• Jamie Hancock is here to qualify his family-owned Vette in Pro Nitrous competition, but his father, James, will be racing the car this evening as the ADRL runs eliminations to complete last year’s season ender at Kennedale, TX, that was cut short by inclement weather. We’ll have complete results from the delayed Kennedale event in the a.m.

EARLY TESTING NOTES
• Michael Neal Jr. is the early leader in Pro Extreme testing at Montgomery Motorsports Park with a 4.01-seconds pass.
• Billy Glidden is on the grounds with his Mustang entered in the ADRL’s new Extreme 10.5 class. He pulled up to the lanes for a testing pass, but pushed back without firing up.
• Pat Musi is here, too, making his ADRL debut with his GTO in Pro Nitrous, featuring a new Musi-built engine (above) with Sonny Leonard Hemi-Chevy heads and fuel injection from EFI. Musi joins Harold Martin as the only EFI entries, and told DRO that he’d like to run more ADRL events if sponsorship could be secured.
• Troy Critchley’s Pro Extreme Corvette has a new PSI “gooseneck” screw blower in place of the roots-style unit it previously sported.
• Defending ADRL Pro Extreme Battle of the Belts champ Bubba Stanton is here driving Roger Henson’s “Widow Maker” Corvette, but also entered his own ’63 Corvette in Pro Nitrous
• ADRL official Bubba Corzine said at least 12 Extreme 10.5 cars have already arrived, with more entries expected.

Charles Carpenter leads the Pro Nitrous points race after winning the season opener at Houston last month.

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (April 12, 2007) - This weekend’s Flowmaster American Drag Racing League event has a new name and a new set of dates. Now all that’s needed is some cooperation from Mother Nature.

The ADRL returns to racing with the inaugural Shelor.com Motor Mile Spring Drags, Friday through Sunday at Montgomery Motorsports Park.  The event essentially replaces the ADRL’s annual SpeedTech Winter Drags, which were plagued by weather-related problems in each of the three years the event was run. That included this year, when the Winter Drags, originally scheduled for Feb. 16-18 at MMP, were cancelled in the week leading up to the event. That was enough for ADRL President Kenny Nowling to decide to officially retire the Winter Drags concept and begin anew with the Spring Drags.

“After fighting the weather in February for three consecutive years, we have decided to close the books on the Winter Drags for now,” Nowling said last month. “SpeedTech has been a great partner for the event, and they will continue to serve as a major sponsor of the ADRL.  As much as we like getting an early start to our season, pushing back the date for our opener is the best thing to do for our race teams, fans and marketing partners.”
The re-scheduled Shelor.com Spring Drags are the second of eight events on the 2007 ADRL schedule. Last month’s RacingJunk.com Dragpalooza III event at Houston Raceway Park became the season-opener when the Winter Drags were cancelled. The event represents the ADRL’s first trip to Montgomery in its four-year history.

The Springs Drags will also feature the concluding eliminations rounds of the 2006 ADRL World Finals, which were rained out last fall in Kennedale, Texas, making the event almost a two-for-one special. The World Finals make-up races, which will begin with the quarterfinals round in both Pro Extreme and Pro Nitrous, will be held Friday and Saturday at MMP.
Added together, the Spring Drags and the conclusion of the 2006 World Finals also mean that quite a few points will be on the line in the ADRL’s AlphaTrade Battle for the Belts competition. Due to the nature of the ADRL points-scoring format, which sees the final event of the season also determine that season’s champions, all points scored in the World Finals make-up at MMP will count toward the 2007 ADRL standings. A Pro Extreme or Pro Nitrous driver who reaches the late rounds in both events could come away with a bonanza of 800 to 1,200 points for one weekend’s worth of work.
The Spring Drags will also feature the debut of the Pro Extreme Motorcycle class, which joins Pro Extreme, Pro Nitrous, and Extreme 10.5 as a full points-earning class for the 2007 season. The ADRL introduced Extreme 10.5 as a full-fledged class at the season-opener in Houston.
The Spring Drags get under way Friday with open testing for all four professional classes at 1 p.m. local time, with the quarterfinals and semifinals of the World Finals scheduled for later that evening. All three rounds of Spring Drags qualifying will be held on Saturday, a day that concludes with the final rounds of the World Finals. Sunday is reserved for Spring Drags eliminations in all four classes, beginning at 12:30 p.m.

Mike Bell (Pro Extreme), Charles Carpenter (Pro Nitrous), and Rodney Rosenstiel (Extreme 10.5) are the early leaders in the 2007 AlphaTrade Battle for the Belts points races after winning their respective classes at Dragpalooza III in Houston.

AlphaTrade Battle for the Belts points standings
(through 1 of 8 events)

Pro Extreme
1. Mike Bell 533
2. John Lynam 439
3. Josh Hernandez 338
4. Todd Tutterow 241
5. Jason Scruggs 240
6. Bobby Booth 237
7. Bubba Stanton 232
8. Steve Engel 231
9. Bil Clanton 136
10. Troy Critchley 135

Pro Nitrous
1. C. Carpenter 533
2. Thomas Meyers 431
3. Shannon Jenkins 340
4. Johnny Pilcher 337
5. Doug Riesterer 238
6. Keith Baker 235
7. Terry Housley 228
8. Jamie Hancock 226
9. Mike Castellana 141
10. Rickie Smith 139

Extreme 10.5
1. R. Rosenstiel 481
2. Marcus Birt 329
3. Mary Baltzell 232
4. Bill Jewett 226
5. Steve Kirk Jr. 183
6. Michelle Wilson 130
7. Chad Wilson 128
8. Larry Webb 127