HAWK POINT, MO (June 30, 2009)— The Tim McAmis Race Cars (TMRC) support trailer will be rolling into Topeka, Kansas, later this week for the July 3-4, Hardee’s Independence Drags III, the fifth stop on the 2009 National Guard ADRL Tour.

TMRC-built cars put on quite a show at the previous ADRL event three weeks ago in Martin, Michigan, where the rain-postponed Pro Nitrous final from Memphis was finally run featuring TMRC standouts Jim Halsey and Tim Savell from the Bankston Boyz in a thrilling side-by-side performance, with Halsey taking the win home to Maryland.

Rookie driver Khalid Al Balooshi also was impressive in his TMRC Camaro, covering the Martin eighth mile in a career-best 3.88 seconds at more than 193 mph in a clear testament to the superior quality and performance a McAmis-built race car delivers.

Also after a few days of testing, Pat Stoken in his Stoken Family Logging 68 camaro have made some huge strides toward getting back to race-winning ways and will be looking to turn their season around at Topeka. Stoken’s new TMRC Version 4 entry has imposed a bit of a learning curve on the team with its enormous horsepower being channeled through a significantly lighter race car than any he’s driven in seasons past, but once they start making consistent low-3.90-second passes, the round wins will come and Stoken may yet become a contender for the ADRL’s championship-deciding Battle for the Belts this fall.

Meanwhile, among the best-kept secrets in Pro Nitrous has been the admirable performances by Lee Atkins, Mark Malcuitt and John DeCerbo, who all qualified with torque-converter driven cars.

Joshua Hernandez and his National Guard Team Red guys will be in Topeka, too, showing off the TMRC-edition, Pro Extreme ‘57 Chevy that they debuted in Memphis last month with a 201-mph qualifying blast in just its second official ADRL pass.

So, if attending the ADRL race at Heartland Park Topeka this July 4th holiday weekend, please make sure to stop by the Tim McAmis Performance Parts trailer to get your hands on the latest in superior race car components.

Halsey scores fourth consecutive final, vows to turn up the heat in Topeka
June 15, 2009 - Havre de Grace, MD
After rain ended the action in the semi finals of the ADRL Memphis Drags II on May 23, Jim Halsey was on a mission to double up in Martin, MI, with hopes of winning two national events in the same weekend. Halsey completed exactly half the goal before rain once again shortened the event at hand.

On Saturday afternoon - under touch and go weather conditions - the finals of the Memphis event were in fact completed at Martin, MI, in conjunction with qualifying for the ADRL Ford Drive one event, the fourth of a ten race roster on the American Drag Racing League's national event circuit. Winning on a hole shot, Halsey took down Khalid Al-Balooshi in a thrilling semi-final match up. On the final run of eliminations, Halsey motored past the 68 Camaro of Tim Savell. Shortly thereafter, rain set in for the rest of weekend in Martin. Halsey, who won an IHRA National Event in 2008 at this same facility has experienced great success at Martin, be it a race to the 660 foot mark or full 1/4 mile competition.

The next event on ADRL's schedule will once again be a race within a race, with the rain-shortened outcome of Martin set to unfold at Heartland Park in Topeka, KS on July 3-4. "I'm not looking forward to the travel involved, but I'm pumped about competing at Topeka, and with a goal of doing what we set out to do at Martin - win both events," says Halsey, who's collected a total of 4 national event titles within the ranks of Pro Nitrous.

After taking delivery of his state of the art outlaw Camaro from Tim McAmis Race Cars last December, Halsey has clocked a best of 3.89 in eliminations, while touching 3.84 in a test lap at South Georgia Motorsports Park earlier this year. "Some of the competition is finally catching up to me, so it's time for me to start turning up the heat," says Halsey.

Despite his comfortable lead in Pro Nitrous points, coupled with the fact that he's gone to every final this year in ADRL competition, rumors are swirling that Halsey has yet to show his hand in terms of what this purpose-built outlaw car is really capable of. "Some of my competition thinks I've been laying back a bit, and quite frankly, they're right," commented Halsey.

Even though the Pro Nitrous category is extremely competitive, Halsey's consistency has made him the run-away performer this season. With Topeka less than a month away, Halsey hopes to continue fine tuning the set-up and maybe even show a little bit more of his hand in Kansas. "I've got something in my back pocket, and I'm just about ready to show it," declared Halsey.

June 15, 2009 - Englishtown, NJ
Records fell nearly every lap down the track, and just when you thought it couldn't get any better or quicker, it did. In the end, R2B2 Racing driver Raymond Commisso came out on the very top - qualifying number one, setting the world record for quickest-ever Pro Mod ET at 5.856 seconds, and ultimately winning the event in the quickest-ever side-by-side race.

Commisso took top qualifying honors on Saturday with a 5.894 at 244.60 mph, and the Toronto, Canada-based restaurant owner never looked back. His first round of eliminations netted a 5.896 over local-favorite Dave Hance, and in round two he took the line 22 inches in front of Mike Knowles who set a personal-best mark of 5.929 at 242.80 mph to Commisso's quicker 5.894 at 244.83 mph.

In the semifinals, Commisso was paired with Tommy Gray . The hype of what looked to be a monster matchup, however, quickly disappeared as Gray suffered engine problems and coasted down the track, watching Commisso deliver a sizzling 5.881-second performance and step into the finals where he would meet Danny Rowe.

Commisso took a slight starting-line advantage and pulled away from Rowe for the win and the National ET record, scoring an amazing 5.856 at 245.58 mph to Rowe's best effort of the weekend and new personal-best of 5.899 at 243.94 mph.

"What can I say," Commisso asked as he reveled in the day. "Everything just lined up for us today, and Al [Billes, crew chief] and all the team did an amazing job of tuning this car.

"Every lap just kept getting better and better, and when we reached the finals and I saw the win ight come on, there aren't words to describe how I felt. It has been since 2006 that I've been racing in NHRA competition, and this is my very first win - and it feels wonderful.

"I have to thank Roger Burgess for giving me this opportunity and for putting together such an awesome team - everything is first class and the very best. He is such an amazing man and has become such a close friend and mentor to me. I'm forever grateful," Commisso said.

June 11, 2009 - Englishtown, NJ
Sitting on the sidelines since last November due to lack of sponsorship funding, Troxel said she is "very anxious to get back behind the wheel in competition."

"It's been a tough year sitting out, watching everyone else race, it's exciting to get in the car and get back out and get to make some passes," Troxel said. "We've been out testing a couple times with the Pro Mods and just recently in the Voodoo Corvette that I'll be driving this weekend.

"I feel really comfortable in the car and I'm very excited to get out there and race," she said.

"I had driven an alcohol Funny Car and alcohol Dragster quite a few years ago, so I thought there would be a lot of similarities between those cars and a Pro Mods, and there are mechanically - shifting, doing a lot of that stuff - but I was surprised at the difference from the alcohol cars and the Pro Mod. There's always a learning curve involved any time you move from the different classes, and it's taken me a little re-programming to get used to what the car is telling me.

"I've most recently come from the nitro cars that make a ton of horsepower, but they also make a lot of down-force to use all the power, and in contrast, the Pro Mod cars kind of have the feeling of being really light and loose on the track. They get up on the tire a lot and turn a whole lot of rpm's. It's a whole different sensation from nitro," she said.

"Roger has put together a first-class operation, and I feel really fortunate to be a part of the R2B2 Racing team. He and Raymond [Commisso, Troxel's other teammate] have done such a great job this year, that I really feel like I'm trying to live up to the standards they have set. I'm hoping I can keep up with them this weekend.

"The idea of having three cars on the track is to gather a little more information, and hopefully benefit all three of us. It's going to be a great weekend, and I know we'll all do very well, especially with Al Billes calling the shots.

"I knew of Al when I was driving the Top Alcohol cars, and now that I get the chance to work with him, I'm realizing just what a great guy he is and how much he's done for the sport. It's been a lot of fun so far with all the guys on the team, they make me feel right at home, and it's been a really good learning experience.

"Now, I just want to put all that learning to the test and get out on the track and race," Troxel said.

Qualifying is scheduled for 2:30 and 5:30 p.m. Friday evening and 2 p.m. Saturday, with eliminations slated to begin at 5 p.m. Saturday evening and conclude Sunday afternoon

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TMRC Job Openings - [ Click here to return to the top ]

CNC Machine Operator
Duties include running CNC and standard lathes, mills, benders, etc. - Production of all types of parts and accessories for race cars - Fabrication shop located in Hawk Point, MO - Fax resume to 636-338-4309 - No phone calls or personal visits.

Salesman
Must be familiar with high performance cars and parts - Duties include phone and counter sales - Experience with drag racing would be a plus - Fabrication shop located in Hawk Point, MO - Fax resume to 636-338-4309 - No phone calls or personal visits.

TIG Welder
Must be able to produce welds that are cosmetically and structurally perfect on 4130 tubing and plate - Fabrication shop located in Hawk Point, MO - Fax resume to 636-338-4309 - No phone calls or personal visits.