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2007 PHOTOS PAGE
Notes from Bowling Green:
The Drag'n Wag'n & I
made the
trip to one of my favorite tracks, Beech Bend in Bowling Green, KY.
Last year we lost in the first round so we had to improve to defend our 2006
Points Championship. On Monday before the race, we installed a new
torque converter and we were happy with the results. Friday
I have had better
weekends racing! Saturday morning I left the house at 5 a.m. and
drove through pouring rain with the new 2-Car trailer to Bowling Green.
Thanks,
CHRYSLER CLASSIC Notes from Chrysler Classic in Columbus:
The theme of this
weekend was "Rain, Rain Go Away...!"
Thanks,
NMCA COLUMBUS Notes from NMCA in Columbus: We had a tough
weekend racing. Joe Ewing and I left Friday night about 8 p.m.
See ya at the races, Doug Duell Jim Netherland
Jeff Day
Jeff Day
Jeff Millward
Brian Merrick
HOT ROD POWER TOUR
2007 Notes from Mopowered Tour 2007: WOW, what an evening!
June 6th, the Hot Rod Power Tour stopped in Evansville. From 6 O'clock
till the wee hours of the morning, Evansville Chrysler hosted a cruise in
for Mopars only. It was quite
CHRYSLER CLASSIC Notes from Pittsburgh Raceway: Busy, Busy,
Busy...What a weekend! 5-Races, 2-Cars, 1-Driver, it was lots of Fun.
Friday morning, I arrived at Pittsburgh Raceway about 8:30 a.m. and got a
gre
Thanks, and see you at the races!,
CHRYSLER CLASSIC
This weekend
 I
went to Martin, Michigan to Knoll Gas Motorsports Park to race in the
Chrysler Classic. The track is one of the nicest dragstrips around,
if you have not been there you must go sometime, its nice.
 The
weather was good and there was a ton of race cars. We had 29 Max Wedge
cars. I started the weekend chasing a intake leak on the wagon on
Friday. We resealed the intake and everything seemed to be ok. But late on
Saturday the car would not idle
and the 60 foot time went away. Saturday night I got beat in the first
round of class. Saturday in the Barracuda I spun the tires and got beat
in the second round. Sunday was not much better.
We adjusted the CalTracs on the Barracuda and it seemed to help on the one
time trail. But in eliminations we adjusted the rear shocks and had
terrible tire spin in the first round. In the wagon I lost first round to
 Fred
Rader in his super clean 64 Dodge. Fred thumped me with a .012 light and
it was over. My light is to ugly to post on the internet. As the day
progressed my friend Mike " Mr. Aruba" Dechicco met Fred Rader in the
final. This is a great race between two good racers but Mike won, his
first win this season. Congrats Mike and Fred. With Mikes win he has
caught me in the the points chase with two races to go. Hopefully in
Joliet I can get back on track. We will be at the mopar nats our next
race.See you at the track, Doug Duell
MOPAR NATIONALS
Again,
 I
made my annual trip to the Mopar Nationals. To me, this is more a
festival and celebration
of the Chrysler Heritage
 than
a Big Race. I
love to go to this race event because of the Big Crowds. Before I
left, we serviced the Drag'n Wag'n and the Barracuda. We found that
the thrust
bearing was out in the Barracuda, so
I left it at home and
took the Yellow Viper. I left Wednesday evening and arrived at
National Trails Raceway in Columbus, OH about 2 a.m.
The
gates opened at 8 a.m. and I found a great
 parking
spot; its very important to get a good spot for an event of this size.
On Friday, I worked on the Wagon all day with Damon from Diamondback
Engines; the Drag'n Wag'n would only go 10.16 at 132 MPH. On
Saturday,
 the
wagon ran much better with a 9.96 at 135 MPH.
I won in the Class Run Off, beating the only other A/NSS car. In the
Viper Shootout, there was a 9 car field and in the semi-finals,
 I
went .011 RED. In the first round on Sunday, I raced Alex Cortezzo
in his
 '63
Belvedere against
the
Drag'n Wag'n; I took a
BIG NAP at the tree ...and lost.
Alex went 10.55
on a 10.50 index, I went 10.03 on the 10.00 index.
See you at the track, Doug Duell
MONSTER MOPAR
Monster Mopar Notes:
Just returned from a
long weekend in St. Louis. This race is special, because it is the
 "DAVE
 DUELL
CLASSIC"
Nostalgia Super Stock
Nationals.
I arrived on Thursday
at 8 a.m. at Gateway
Raceway in St. Louis. Clay Kossuth and I parked trailers all day in
the rain. By Saturday, we had 69 NSS cars signed in. The wagon
ran very well at 9.93 and
over 136 MPH.
 Saturday
class eliminations were cancelled
because of the rain.
 Saturday
evening, we had our dinner for the NSS
 Racers
and Sponsors. We gave away a print of Dave Duell and the
 Original
Drag'n Wag'n to all racers; we also auctioned off 5 numbered prints and
raised $6,000 for the
Santa Clothes Club
 here
in Evansville, IN (this was Dave's favorite charity). Special thanks
to Don Childers and his Crew from
Photo Sports USA
for creating this framed picture (http://www.photosportsusa.com/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=56)
. Sunday, the
 weather
finally turned nice and the racing was great. I
got beat in the Second Round by Charlie
Kuestner in his '59 Chevy. Jeff Millward ran a 10.00 back to back in
the quarter finals & semi-finals, but then he discovered all his torque
converter bolts had fallen out and
 was
not able to make the final round.
 Russ
Behers made a bye run in the finals in his Super Clean '66 Plymouth!
Overall, even though we had rain, it was a great weekend. I need to
thank ever yone
that helped with last weekend. With our sponsors help and all the
racers, we had an event that went off without a hitch!Thanks, Doug Duell
p.s.
WATCH DOUG ON THE REALITY SHOW
CHRYSLER CLASSIC
Long... Long Race Weekend at Summit Park:
I had a fun, long race
weekend at Norwalk's Summit Raceway Park last weekend. This was the
 Final
Race in the Chrysler Classic Series. I was tied for 1st Place with my
buddy
 Mike
DeChicco "Mr. Aruba". Friday, the air was good and the Drag'n Wag'n
ran 9.92 on both time runs. We had class runoffs Friday Night; I
lost in the
 final
round at 2:30 a.m. (Saturday Morning)!
 This
event had over 600 race cars and it took forever for time runs and class
run offs. At 3:15 a.m., I got back to the hotel for a few hours rest
and was back at the track at 9:30 a.m. Saturday was the make-up race
for the Chicago event that was rained out.
I made it to the 3rd Round when I ran against
Dan Brewer in his '64 Plymouth. Dan is a tough racer, so I knew that
I had to have a good light. I beat Dan off the line with a .039 tree
against Dan's .060, but Dan went 11.507 on a 11.50 index... I broke out at
9.99 on the 10.0 index (Good
Job Dan!). Jeff
Day went on to win the Saturday event and
put himself in the
points
 lead
by 1-Point. Sunday eliminations came and were exciting! I
was in the first pair
of Max Wedge cars down
the track. I had a .005 Red light and was out
Sunday's Race... and the Points Championship.
Jeff Day, Mike DeChicco also got beat. The Door was open to Fred
Rader in his Clean '63 Dodge to win the Championship. He had to win
 4-Rounds
to overcome the lead.
Fred was up to the challenge; he not only won the Points Championship, but
the whole event... GREAT JOB FRED! The Drag'n Wag'n ended up third
in the 2007 Chrysler Classic
points after winning
the Championship in 2006. Overall, I had a great weekend, despite
colder weather and late nights... it was Drag Race Heaven.Thanks, Doug Duell
CLICK
BELOW
NMCA
BIG WIN in Memphis:
Friday, I headed down
to Memphis and got to the track about noon. The place was packed and
the weather was perfect.
 I
made a qualifying pass Friday afternoon and went 9.87. Saturday, we
got 2 passes, the air was great and I went 9.89. Sunday, we got to
the track and really did not know how fast the Drag'n Wag'n would go.
The weather was excellent and I was having trouble getting the car to run
the 10.00 Index. 1st Round, I ran D.W. Hopkins, the current points
leader
in NMCA NSS Class. D.W. broke out and I advanced to the 2nd round to
run my good friend Jeff Millward in his '64 Plymouth. Jeff has
 had
my number the last few times
we raced so I had to step it up. I got Jeff slightly on the tree and
we ran side by side down the track. I nipped him at the stripe by
.015 of a
second (3.42") and my win light came on. On the third round, I ran
Dave Schultz in his '65 Dodge. Dave went 10.04 on his 9.75 Index
with fuel pump issues. Next round was the semi's and I got Dan
Cossey in his Perfect '64 Plymouth. Don went Red and the Drag' n
Wag'n was in the Final. I ran Richard Morris in a '65 Chevelle.
Richard's car is ver y
nice and also was the number 2 qualifier. Well in the
final, I got lucky; I had a terrible light, but Richard went
10.962 on his 11.00 Index. W hen
I saw that I was not going to pass the Chevelle,
 I
dumped him
hard. The Drag'n W ag'n
went 9.968 on the 10.00 index. I got very lucky, but if you are
going to win, you need a lucky break, and I got mine in the
final round.
Tech and Pictures went on to 10:30p.m. and I got back home at 5:30 a.m.
This is the final event of the
 year
and it feels good to end up with a win. I want to Thank All the
Sponsors and my Great Friends
that race Max Wedge and NSS. I have had a fun year! Now it's
time for maintenance on the Drag'n Wag'n and Barracuda. Next on to
my newest project, a '64 Dodge A100 pick-up truck. Las Vegas event
is only 5 months away, it will be here before we know it.
Thanks, Doug
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afternoon,
the Drag'n Wag'n went 9.77 at 137.81
M.P.H. We
won our class runoff in the 10.00 A/MAX WEDGE Class. Sunday
Eliminations were a blast! The Drag'n Wag'n made all the way to the
final round where we were
defeated by none
other than "DOUBLE O" Joe Ewing in his '63 Dodge.
We
had a great weekend
racing and seeing our friends.
Also we picked
up v
aluable
points in the CHRYSLER CLASSIC Series.
Check out the photos from the weekend
at Beech Bend
Notes from Bowling
Green - NMCA:
It rained in the morning which
gave me time to hit the PitPal truck to outfit my New Trailer. The
rain finally stopped and Saturday afternoon we got 2 qualifying runs.
The Drag'n Wag'n did not run well, it went 10.17 then 10.07 on a 10.00
Index.
The
car surged at high RPMs and ran poorly. We checked everything we
could, but could not find the problem. 1st Round was Sunday at 10:30
a.m. and I had DW Hopkins in his beautiful 64 Thunderbolt. The Drag'n
Wag'n could only muster a 10.10 and the Ford went 9.77 on a 9.75 Index and I
was Out. I put the wagon in the trailer but the transmission did not
feel right. After I got home, the car would not go into reverse to
back out.
I had to remove the driveshaft to roll it out of
the trailer into the
garage. I spent the afternoon pulling the tranny out of the car, but I
will get it fixed by next weekend to make sure the Drag'n Wag'n is back in
shape. We need to be ready in two weeks for the Chrysler Classic.
I
arrived in Columbus Friday morning at National Trails Raceway. It was
a Chilly 39°F,
but is warmed
quickly and we got in a couple of practice runs. Since our last
outing, the Drag'n Wag'n transmission has been out
twi
ce.
The wagon surged badly in high gear during
both runs. The floats were out of adjustment and on Saturday,
the Drag'n Wag'n
picked up 4 M.P.H. to 137 M.P.H. Saturday I Won in class eliminations
and picked up valuable points.
Sunday, the rains came
and left, the sun would come out and then it would rain again. We
finally ran 1st round of eliminations at about 4:00 p.m. I had no
other than my good friend Tim Frees in his 1963 Plymouth Wagon. Last
year at this ev
ent,
we ran in the finals on Father's Day. Tim's red light last year gave
me the win. So this was a great 1st round match up; I was fired up!
Tim is a great racer
and I had to be on my game. Tim got me on the tree, but he ran a
11.496 on the 11.50 Index. The Drag'n Wag'n ran 10.04 on the 10.00
Index and took the win light. Then the rain came again. At 7:30
p.m., the event was called, but the good news...we left Columbus with the
points lead after two events. As you can see from the photos,
I took
my '67 Barracuda. I'm getting better with the Trans Brake, but I've
got a ways to go yet. I did win in the 1st Round of the PRO Class, but
the rain washed out the rest of the event. Overall, I had a great time
racing and seeing all my racing buddies at one of my favorite tracks,
National Trails. The owners of the Chrysler Classic, the Blakenship
Family, put on another Great Event! We had 41 Max Wedge Cars and they
had 24 Hemi Cars. It
was a great time this weekend, despite a few rain drops. Next race...we'll be heading back to Columbus in two weeks for NMCA.
We
went just south of Columbus and drove into National Trails early
Saturday morning.
The weather forecast did not look to good, but the rain held off till about 4
p.m. The
Drag'n Wag'n qualified 4th in a 21 car field with a 10.010 on a 10.00 index.
The Barracuda
went a 10.18 at 132 MPH, it's best run ever! Saturday
evening, the rains came and went, but Sunday we got lucky and
the track stayed dry. I had Doug Poskevich
(right)
in his '66
Ford against the
Drag'n Wag'n in the First Round. Doug Poskevich had .013 light against
my bad light and a 9.998 on a 10.00 Index... I was out!
The good news,
Joe Ewing
(right)
beat
Jeff Hoslick
(left)
in the finals to claim the winners purse, Congrats Joe!!
The Barracuda was doing great until the 4th round when I let go our the
trans-brake button; the 8 3/4" rear end let go. This week, we will
order a Dana
60 rear end to avoid this problem again. Overall, we had another great
time at Columbus! June 6th, the Hot Rod Power Tour is coming to
Evansville, IN. That evening, we will have a MOPAR Cruise-In here at
the Dealership (Evansville Chrysler Kia Mazda Volvo). We are expecting
200+ cars for this event so don't miss it. I've have got some work to
do on both race cars, but we will be ready for the Chrysler Classic in
Pittsburg.
a
full day of events.
In
the morning, we moved all the cars off our lot. Mopar contracted with
a company to set up a Huge
movie screen to show
movie scenes that featured Mopar Cars. Indy Cylinder Head brought a
huge display and also brought Charley Blankenship's '64 Plymouth. Herb
McCandless showed
up with his '61 Chrysler along with about 200 cars. Hardees and
the Hornville Tavern donated their food sales to The Santa Clothes Club and
Albion Fellows Bacon Center. Over $1,200 was raised for these two
charities. In the middle of all of this action, I got a call from Rob
Wol
f
of Mopar Collectors Guide. A friend he was traveling with lost the
(number's
matching)
motor in his 1970 RoadRunner
(right).
I told
Rob Indy C
ylinder
Head was here and
we could help. Cutting through the chase
a deal was made between Indy Cylinder
Head and the owner of the
RoadRunner
and then... the thrashing was on! We started at 9 p.m. and at 3:15
a.m., the
RoadRunner had a 451c.i. 580 H.P. Indy W
edge
to complete the
Power Tour.
Look for
coverage in Mopar
Collector's Guide of this
quick engine swap at
Evansville Chrysler. Special
Thanks
to the Employees
of Evansville Chrysler & Ace Mopar Club for all their
help. Without them,
this
event would not
have happened. I'm going to stop writing now, I went to bed
at 3:30 a.m. and
was back to work
at 6:45 a.m.,
needless to say, I am beat! But, it was worth it because this was a
great event! Check
out all of the cool photos below by
at parking spot. Both cars ran great, the Wagon went 9.88 and the Barracuda went a best 10.18 at 132 m.p.h. A Dana 60 rear end with 4.10
gears is new in the Barracuda. The rear end change did not hurt
the cars performance, but might have helped. Friday night, I
entered
the Barracuda in the No-Box Gamblers Race. In the second round, I red
lighted with a -.001 Light. This Chrysler Classic was a double 
points
race with racing on Saturday & Sunday. On Saturday in the 3rd Round,
the Barracuda had a .002 green light, but lost when I went 10.30 on a 10.26
dial-in. This car is still having traction problems we need to work
with. I had better luck in the Drag'n Wag'n. First round, I had
to race my buddy, Mike DeChicco. I got by Mike
and got a "Bye" run next round. Third round, I had "00" Joe Ewing.
I owed him since
Bowling Green when he thumped me in the final round. Well, Joe did not
go double "00", he was red... to red to post the numbers on the internet.
Next,
I was in the semi-finals against Jeff Millward. Jeff had a great light
and went 10.01 on the 10.00 index. I had a .040 Light and broke out
going 9.986 on the 10.00 index. Jeff went on to win the Saturday race,
Congrats Jeff!
Mike and Joe made me buy dinner
Saturday
evening after I beat them. Sunday came and I lost 2nd round in the Barracuda when I
went .03 off my dial in. In the Wagon, I again had Mike DeChicco in
the second round. I know he would be ready for me. I was ready
for a great race, but I had a .002 Red Light.... OUCH! Jeff Day ended
up Winning Sunday's Race... Good Job Jeff Day! Overall, it was a great
weekend. I made 22 drag runs and we had perfect weather. I left
Pittsburgh with the points lead with 3 races to go. I don't have
another race till July 20th. I will do some much needed shop cleaning
and car maintenance in this down time.
