Bartlett, IL - One great thing about having your own web site is that I get to tell the "real" story. The season is over and I certainly bit off more than I could chew. After a successful championship season in the NMCA EZ Street in 2002, I decided to pursue both the NMCA Limited Street and PRO Extreme Street classes with the hopes of ending up on top of both. I know... I know... It was a little cocky of me considering the talent in both classes. So it was a humbling experience finishing #3 in PRO and #8 with the NMCA. Don't get me wrong. I'm still pretty happy where I ended up. When you're competing against racers with the skill and power of Gary Rohe, Tony Orts, Phil Hines, Bill Trovato, Frank Mewshaw and Nick Rinehart, you better be on your game. Unfortunately, I wasn't.

I did end up with one win and two runner-ups and I actually had a shot at the PRO Extreme Street title coming into Memphis 100 points behind the leader Nick Rinehart. Because of our inconsistent program all year, I knew I would have to meet him before the final round. After qualifying 5th, we would meet him 2nd round in the 16 car field. I was so looking forward to the next round with Nick that I forgot about Donny Hastings so I got a little trigger happy and red lit (by a lot). That knocked me back into third place since Tony Orts made it to the final round. Oh well. I was right behind two classy guys that I consider friends. As far as Limited Street, I just didn't have what it took to complete with these talented racers. We'll have to see what happens next year with the rules for the blower cars. During these coming winter months, I will evaluate many avenues to put us in the proper position to claim a championship in either class.

I would like to thank the companies that stepped up this year to help out with my program:

Jon Phillips at Nitrous Express
Jeff Prock at Applied Nitrous Technology
Don Stanley at TSI
Billy Carroll at Wilson Manifolds
Patrick James at Pro Systems
Todd Ryden at MSD Ignition
Joe and Mike at Alston Race Cars
Jeff at Fast Times Motorworks
Carl Robinson at Weld Wheels
Greg Stokes at Pro Action Cylinder Heads
Mike Chlopek at Motive Motion (Custom Headers and Exhaust)
Paul Schiavon at PAS Enterprises 1-847-542-1966 (Electrical & Wiring)
Joe Lanute at American CNC Addison, IL 630-628-6490 (Custom Machining Work)
Donny Sperling at Collision Technique Ctr Inc Wauconda, IL 847-487-9055 for the body and paint work

I would also like to thank all of the class and contingency sponsors for both NMCA Corteco Limited Street and PRO Vortech Extreme Street:

Autometer
Barry Grant Fuel Systems
Comp Cams
Holley HP Carbs
Mickey Thompson Tires
TSI
MSD Wires
NX Nitrous Systems
Hurst Automatic Shifters
VFN
Dart Block
Summit Log Book
Edelbrock Intake Manifolds
Hooker Headers
J&W Ultra Bell and Case
Weld Wheels

And you certainly can't do this alone. Special thanks to my crew both on the track and off:
Eric Vanberkum, Pat McGowean, Joe Kosiba, Mike Miller, Nick Scavo, Mom, Dad, Jeremy, Taylor, and especially my wife Sue.