*6th September:* Eurodragster.com's US Correspondent Ed O'Connell tells us that as things stand ex-pat UK Top Fuel racer Smax Smith isn't qualified for this weekend's IHRA round at New England Dragway after yesterday's event schedule was tweaked:

I knew the run schedule included qualifying for all Sportsmen, two rounds of Pro Stock and Pro Mod, one round of Alcohol Funny Car. There was speculation that the first nitrous car into the fives may happen if the track and air were good. The day was sunny and beautiful but at 89 F a lot warmer than a typical September day and way more humid with Hurricane Hanna pushing moist tropical air ahead of it. I know the adjusted altitude was over 1000 feet and the track is almost at sea level. Most importantly, I was on a mission as US correspondent for the venerable Eurodragster.com to find Smax Smith.

At 1:00 pm the nitro pits seemed extremely relaxed, as I check each TF Dragster to see who was driving, as I am not that familiar with the IHRA players. All except one TF had a driver name on them so I asked a young man assembling a clutch who drove that car. He replied that he did and I realized he was Bobby Lagana Jr. I asked if he knew whether Smax was at the event and he said he didn't think so as he hadn't seen him and his name wasn't on the entry list he had seen which included eight TF and nine Nitro FC. My friend Submarine Boy said "You guys are doing a lot of work considering that you don't run till tomorrow". Lagana replied "No, they are running Nitro tonight so we will have one qualifying session in case Saturday is a washout". We thought how cool, a day of nitro at alcohol prices (Friday was only $25).
©Eurodragster.com
While walking the pits in the afternoon, TF driver/owner Bruce Litton saw my Mantorp Park shirt and was asking me all sorts of questions about European drag racing. He said he always wanted to race over there and asked if I knew of anyone who could help him out with determining the cost and method of transporting a TF car to various FIA events. He holds an FIA licence as he has raced in Japan. He seemed like a really good guy. I said I would ask Eurodragster.com as you might know or know of someone who knows the cost of transport. He said he has a very exact knowledge of what it costs to run the car, but getting around is a mystery. He has a huge trailer which he thought might not be appropriate to ship or travel Europe in.

The sessions went off amazingly well for Epping, with very few delays.
Mike Castellana, in a nitrous car sponsored by the same Qatar deal Alan Johnson is involved with, ran a 6.01 in the thick but cooler night air.
The nitro session went off like clockwork with eleven nitro FCs - one had no time as he left before the tree was activated, wasting a very nice clean run and probably over a thousand dollars - and eight TFs, with a bump of 8.42. After the Pro sessions ended at 9:30 they ran the first rounds of Sportsman eliminations up to curfew, since the storm is definitely motoring up the coast. I decided to roam the Pro pits and get a few nighttime work shots.

I was just about to leave when in the pit of the Tim Horton's Doughnuts (a Canadian doughnut chain) TF car I saw a guy dumping a pan of oil who could have been Smax. I asked if he was and he said yes. I told him I had been warned by Tog that he might be there and he said he had emailed Eurodragster.com earlier in the day and asked you to keep an eye out for his kids who are at Santa Pod. I said "That's funny, Tog told me to keep an eye on you". Smax said that he and his race car were six hundred miles away from Epping when, after sleeping late and enjoying a leisurely breakfast, he got a call that TF's first (and maybe only) qualifying run would be Friday night and not Saturday as originally scheduled. He said there wasn't much he could do to get to the track on time and with his being the ninth car shooting for an eight-car field he was doomed unless there is a session today. We talked to Smax for about 10 minutes until he was called to dinner. He is quite a character. The announcers, being optimistic as they must, assured us that they would be two more nitro qualifying sessions on Saturday.

That is where it stands now, and as I have been typing the rain has let up considerably so there may be window in here for one more chance for Smax to get in the field. Maybe they can get a run in during the calm that comes when the eye of the hurricane passes over us. If there is racing today, I will be back to check it out.

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