Mike Molea wins two in a row!! Mike Molea wins in Mission Canada. This was the best AA/Supercharged racing so far this year. Qualifying saw a battle between Joel Matton and Bill Fitting for the last qualifying spot. Fitting won with a 7.340 to Joel’s 7.345. The next close eliminator happened in the semis when Mike Molea ran a 6.974 to Mitch Chamberlin’s 6.970. Mike won with a .005 better reaction time (.013 to a .018). The other semi battle was won by Canadian Brent Harris when the Anderson Team came up a bit short. Talking about Brent, he installed a new engine for this race and ran his first six second pass in his super cool 33 Willys Gasser. The final battle was set between Molea and Harris. Both cars eased into the staging beams, with the engines revved to 5,000 RPM’s.  Brent leaves just a bit early and receives a red light, giving Mike the win.

 Mike Molea wins again at Woodburn Drag Strip. The Molea Family cruises through the field to make it two in a row. The first round match between Mike and Gary Reinero may have been the race that could determine who wins the 2009 AA/Supercharged Championship. Unfortunately for Gary he spun the 17 inch wide Goodyear’s at the hit of the throttle giving Mike the win.  Mike went on to defeat Howard Anderson to place his Willys in the finals. On the other side of the elimination ladder rookie Joel Matton was sawing through the field to meet Mike in the final. Not a bad showing as the rookie reaches his first final in his first AA/S season. The win was not to be as Matton’s luck ran out when his Chrysler Hemi leaked oil on the track during the burn-out, giving Mike the win when the officials asked Joel to shut his engine off.

 What a Great Season, Great Fans, Great Tracks and Great Sponsors. Thank You all for supporting the Baddest of the Gassers. See you in Medford, Oregon for the final race in our 2009 season, August 29 and 30^th.

July 5^th 2009

Spokane, Washington

 Scott White finds his way to the Winners Circle for his 1^st win in 09.

New AA Race at the newest race track to open in the Great Northwest. Bucky Austin and  Jay Livingston invited our Association to entertain their fans over the 4^th of July. What an awesome facility, great parking, super track, with all the amenities of a NHRA Facility.

First round paired low qualifier Gary Reinero with Troy Owen. Troy was unable to move into the staging beams with his beautiful Legends 41 Willys, giving Gary a free pass to the semi’s. Best Dad Molea cut Fitting out of the running with clean ¼ mile flight. Scott White moved on when Joel Matton could not fix his broken car in time and Mitch Chamberlin received a Lucky break, moving him into the next round.

Round two saw Gary Reinero eliminate Mike Molea after Mike turned on the red light. Scott White improved his performance and drove by Mitch Chamberlin, setting up the final round.

Scott White laid down his best pass of the weekend with a 6.86 to take the win while Gary’s Yellow Austin slowed when his engine loss power.

 Congratulations to Scott White and his great crew.

 Special Thanks to The Spokane Raceway Crew for a great weekend.

A Great Big Thank You to our new race fans in Spokane.

June 21, 2009

Woodburn, Oregon

Reinero Wins his first race for 2009

 Woodburn, Oregon is the hot spot for Blown Alcohol Gasser action, Gary Reinero style. Race number two mixes up the hot pursuit for the 2009 title Baddest of the Gassers. Every event has its challenges and this one was right on par with Mike Molea having the wedding of his son to attend, four hours away, right in the middle of qualifying on Saturday. With the gracious ok from his fellow Association Members, Mike was allowed to make a qualifying run on Sunday Morning. His tune-up was good for the number three spot in the elimination ladder. Under normal circumstances, all qualifying must be done on Saturday, leaving Sunday for eliminations only.

 Joel Matton entered his new very black 38 Chevy and qualified in the number 7 spot. Joel had a little help, as the engine in his AA Car is non other than the McGee/Bryson engine that squirted their beautiful 33 Willys down the race track so many times in the 90’S.

First round saw Bill Fitting back for a rematch with Mitch Chamberlin and this time it was Fitting to the finish line first. Low qualifier Howard Anderson paired off with Troy Owen and won this round, advancing to the semi’s. Mike Molea eliminated new comer Joel Matton. And Reinero speed away from Scott White to move on to his next opponent.

Round two saw Gary Reinero continue his splendid performance taking out Bill Fitting with his very best elapse time ever a 6.74. Howard Anderson missed the winners circle when the Best Father,  Mike Molea laid down a 6.91 for the win.

 The final was set, Reinero places the yellow Austin on a straight path to the winners circle.

 Congratulations Gary and his super crew.

 We can’t wait to be back in Woodburn in August.

5/20/09

The AA/Supercharged Racers kick off the 2009 season with their first race at the Woodburn Dragstrip Season Opener. With the temperatures above normal for the Oregon area, Gary Reinero opened up the qualifying with a 6.81 and kept the number one spot to himself for Sundays eliminations. With Gary being the only racer to lay down a number in the 1^st round of qualifying, the rest of the field went to work tuning up their Hot Rods for round two of qualifying. Mad Mike Molea came out looking to take the number one spot away, but came up short with a good number at 6.97. Mitch Chamberlin with the All Purple 41 Willys qualified number 3 with a 7.07 and Troy Owen driving The Legends 41 Willys rounded out the top four with a 7.08.

Sunday is always an unpredictable day, all the teams review what they learned during the Saturday qualifying and are able to apply this knowledge to their race cars on Sunday. The outcome is usually positive with all the teams improving. Anderson for one qualified with a 7.21, but came out Sunday to show the world that his Hot Rod was ready for action. Howard laid down a 6.93 pass to eliminate Mad Mike Molea. Mitch Chamberlin lined-up with Bill Fitting. Bill had trouble staging his car and went in deep, with Bill in trouble at the starting line, Mitch left first and beat the 33 Willys to the finish line. Here is what I mean by improving on Sunday. Bill had a new clutch set-up in the car for this weekend. On Saturday he slipped the clutch in both qualifiers placing him seventh, then on Sunday with some help from a friend doubled the clutch pressure and ran a 7.32, shutting off early after seeing his opponent cross the finish line first. Number one qualifier Gary Reinero eliminated Scott White and the two new drivers in the Association lined up together with Troy Owen doing a great job driving to his first win against Monty Grubb. 

As all the AA/S  Racers know the word unpredictable is often used to describe what will happen during eliminations. The number one qualifier Gary Reinero lined-up with Mitch Chamberlin in round two of eliminations. While bringing his car into the stage lights, Mitch went too far, and was awarded a red light, which is given out when you go through the lights while staging. Now Gary knows he has this one in the bag and blasts off on another good pass until that word unpredictable raises its ugly head. Gary’s car broke a connecting rod slowing his car to a high seven second run and virtually eliminating him from being able to move on and win this event. Anderson had some good luck, when his opponent, Troy Owen was unable to bring his car back for this round of eliminations.

The final round of eliminations was another easy one for Howard Anderson as Gary Reinero was unable to fix his broken engine and return for the final round.

We would like to welcome a veteran racer Monty Grubb to our Association. Monty had a great weekend racing his beautiful 33 Willys Truck that he completely rebuilt, frame and all to race with the Baddest of the Gassers AA/Supercharged.

With the Great Spirit of a fellow racer in all our hearts, we will always have our dear friend and racing buddy Dana Wilt riding with each of us every time we travel down the quarter mile. His good friend and racing partner Dave Owen will continue on with the last great love Dana enjoyed, The Legends 41 Willys Race Car that they both enjoyed racing together. Dana showed all who knew him how to fight, love and live while facing his fight with cancer. Thanks Dana. 

The final word  is A BIG THANK YOU to our fans and the crew at Woodburn Dragstrip for another great weekend racing in the Northwest. We will all be back at Woodburn on June 20^th  and 21^st to continue this Great Gasser Action.   (Bill Fitting)

8/25/08 

Just like last year Champion Raceway hosted the final race and very similar to last year the AA Championship came down to the wire at this race. The drama was intense with Chamberlin, Reinero and Anderson looking to be the 08 Champion. Round one of eliminations saw the White Team finally get a handle of the elusive performance of their beautiful Willys, while ending Mitch Chamberlins chance at the championship. Reinero makes his first move by winning this round, beating Dave Thompson in a close race. Anderson makes his intensions known by beating the entry of Dana Wilt and setting an unbelievable speed record of 208.75 MPH.

 Round 2 the semi final action was where the 08 championship could be decided. With only two championship contenders left, Reinero and Anderson meet at the line in a race that could decide who would be the Champ. Like I said the drama was intense and what happened next was uncanny to say the least. Reinero and Anderson stage,  both of these Hemi Engines screaming as everyone anxiously waits and then the Baddest Austin in AA History jumps the light and giving the win and possibly the championship to the Anderson Team. Scott White advanced his green Willys through round two by beating Ron Nahas who’s car found the lane a little hard to hold onto, requiring him to make the right choice and abort the run.

 The Final now set with Anderson and White making Howard’s dream of being the 2008 Champion one race away. Scott had the ever important opportunity to choose which lane he would use, by virtue of the fact he was the fastest car from the round preceding this final race. This seemed too be the Golden opportunity for Scott to win his 1^st race in 08 and it was. Scott made a clean 6.81 pass to win the final.

 But wait by Scott winning,  this caused the 2008 Championship to wind up in a tie. With no predetermined tie breaker rule in our Association, Anderson and Reinero were both asked if they would like to race each other to determine who the 2008 Champion would be. Both Drivers agreed. So this seems easy, but remember that lane choice had a big effect on the final and now because Reinero had not raced, it was now a question of who would have lane choice. To resolve this, Reinero was given the choice to make a single pass in the left lane to see if he could beat Howards previous run of 8.13 against White, or Reinero could choose to give Howard lane choice and not make a single run to determine lane choice.

Gary chooses to make the pass and it was a good 7.17 pass that gave him lane choice. So now the stage is set with both cars to come to the line at 6:45 pm for the Championship Final. As Gary is servicing his Austin, he finds that a roller lifter has broken and he cannot make the call for the final, making Howard Anderson the Baddest of the Gassers for 2008.

 Another race to mention was one that put AA Wild Bill in the seat of a Jr. Dragster that belongs to one of our many Jr. Drag Racing Friends. What a ride, right on the ground with a one lunger pounding at your back. Stage lights set green light on (red for Bill) and Snap down the track at 80 mph at the 1/8.  Congratulations to his very savvy opponent who just won her class final Katie and her Lucky Rabbit who takes the win.

 The end has come and another great year of racing is over. All of our members cannot say Thank You enough to;

 The AA/ Fans ~  Mission Raceway ~  Woodburn Dragstrip ~  Champion Raceway ~

 Langley Loafers Car Club ~  Frybe Specialty Foods ~  Profile Grinding and Machine ~

 BBC Steel ~  N Fuel N ~  Enderle Fuel Injection ~  Crane Cams ~  Strange Engineering ~

 Littlefield Blowers ~  Childs & Albert ~  Evergreen State Electric  ~  Joy Construction ~ 

 Advanced Drainage Systems ~  B & J  Transmissions ~ Whites Heating & Sheet Metal

 ~ Anderson Sierra Pipe ~  Superior Glass Works ~  Racepak Data Systems ~

 Golden Fire Pellets ~ Jackson Brothers Videos

 Remember check out our ever changing web-site aasupercharged.com  (by Bill Fitting)

8/19/08 

Race number 4 Mission Canada

Howard Anderson and Team win the 2008 Langley Loafers B.C. Canada Drag Race.

Leaving America to race in the beautiful Country of Canada is a great experience. Ask Howard Anderson he will tell you this was one of his best weekends of the year. Right off the trailer Howard set the mark to beat with a 6.73 at 206 miles per hour. In a following round he lowered the mark to 6.66. Picture perfect qualifying doesn’t always translate into the same results in eliminations. 

Sunday Drag Race Eliminations placed the barn door 38 Chevy of Howard against the stellar field of both American and Canadian Racers. Convincingly Howard kept the tires planted during each winning round, while continuing to exceed the 200 MPH barrier.

The final race saw the very familiar face of  Fuzzy Reinero lined up with the infallible team of Anderson. With the final stage set, Howards Hot Rod kept up the pace by eliminating the Yellow Austin and taking home a very valuable win that put the team in 1^st place for the 2008 points race.

 A very special Thank You to the Langley Loafers who are very gracious hosts of this spectacular event.  In addition the winner’s trophy was outstanding. Saving the best for last a big Thank You to Frybe, this specialty food company provides a feast for the AA/Supercharged Racers every year, that is always a hit with our racers.

Race number 5

 2008 Points leader Gary Reinero and 2007 Champion Mitch Chamberlin meet in the final at one of our favorite race tracks, Woodburn Drag Strip.

This event put the spotlight on Gary and Mitch as they cut a path through a field of worthy opponents to reach the final round. Along the way they took on Dave Inglis in the 53 Stude and Dave Thompson in the Bad Habit 41 Willys in the semi rounds before advancing to the final.

In this highly competitive world of man and machine, occasionally the machine alone determines the outcome of events. This unusual outcome happened when these two very competitive professional racers were not able to bring their cars to the starting line for the final race. This unheard of and very rare event placed this final race in a situation that will probably never be seen gain, with both Gary and Mitch receiving a runner-up finish.

 A big Thank You to Woodburn Drag Strip for hosting three of our races this year. We can’t wait to return next spring and do it again.

 The Final Race

As we enter the final race for 08 we have 3 teams that are knocking on the door of opportunity to be the 2008 Champion. Gary Reinero leads the way, with Howard Anderson in second followed by Mitch Chamberlin in third place. Champion Raceway in Medford, Oregon will be the drag strip where the 2008 Champion will be crowned on August 23^rd and 24^th. Come join us for the Final Gasser Event for 2008 at beautiful Champion Raceway.

6/26/08  Unpredictability is always the source for excitement when your pushing Blown Alcohol Gassers to there limits. After record breaking performances from both Howard Anderson, new low E.T. Woodburn record holder at 6.71 and Scott White new Woodburn MPH record holder with a stout 207 MPH, number six qualifier Gary Reinero fought back to win his 1st race in 2008.
 
Converting 1600 plus horsepower into sub six second 1/4 mile performance when your 48 Austin wants to go left instead of straight forced Gary to use his superb driving ability to qualify his unhappy Hot Rod. After Saturday qualifying Gary knew if he wanted to have a shot at winning he would need to re-tune his chassis for Sunday AA/Supercharged  Eliminations.
 
Sunday at high noon Gary's day starts out with being presented with the prestigious Danny Kilcup Memorial Award "for the preservation of Oldies Style Drag Racing." Gary joins the likes of Jack Coonrod, Mel Bryson, Wayne Harry to name a few who have received this honor in years past.
 
After the award was presented Gary suited up to ready for his 1st race with Scott White, Gary caught a break when the record breaking 41 Willys of White's overpowered the rear tires causing Scott to lift and Gary to win.
 
Next round placed the beautiful 33 Willys of Mike Molea against Gary. Gary earned his keep when he placed a giant hole shot on Mike to win the round with a slower 6.99 to Mike's 6.93.
 
Final round saw a new face at the tree. After two races with frustrating engine failures Ron Nahas faced down Gary. This time Ron had the hole shot but Gary with his Austin running straight as a string powered past Ron to win his 1st race in 08. 
 
A new event happened Saturday Night when the White Family always trying to make the weekend more enjoyable for everyone organized a pot luck dinner for all the AA families and friends. It was a dinner we will remember for a long time. Maybe if we are lucky, it will become a new happening at the races.
 
We can never say Thank You enough to our friends at Woodburn Drag Strip, who provide an excellent track and awesome time for our Families and Hot rods. You our fans make all this happen so again with great pleasure we say Thank You.
 
Thanks again to all our great sponsors. See you in Mission for race number four.  (Bill Fitting)

6/5/08  Spirits were high at Champion Raceway the Home of the 7th annual HotRod Gasser Nationals. Jim Taylor and the Champion Crew did an outstanding job providing all the racers with a great time and a very cool free BBQ Saturday Evening. Unfortantlly the cool days were not conducive to providing the track conditions needed for these high powered Blown Alcohol Gassers. On Saturday a few teams managed to post some respectable times in qualifying with the Anderson Team setting low e.t. of an 7.13. Late Saturday Afternoon Thunder Showers washed away the good track conditions we had, then on Sunday Morning, cold temperatures eliminated any chance of having a race track capable of providing traction for these over powered old cars.
 
As a salute to both the outstanding crew at Champion and to all the great fans in attendance, our AA/Supercharged Racers made a parade lap down the quarter mile one at a time Sunday Afternoon to say Thank You for supporting our AA/Supercharged Blown Alcohol Gassers.
 
A big Thank You to all the Great Fans and Race Tracks we race at,
The Northwest is the Best Place To Race.
 
See you in Woodburn June 21 & 22.  (Bill Fitting)

5/24/08  Congratulations to Howard Anderson as he wins the 1st race of 2008 with a victory over our 2007 Champion Mitch Chamberlin.
     First our sincere Thank You to our AA/Supercharged Fans. Because you enjoy our Blown Alcohol Gassers, we were invited to Woodburn Drag Strip to participate in their prestigious 2008 Season Opener. We also sincerely Thank The Woodburn Management and Crew for a fantastic weekend of racing.
     The weekend AA/Show started with Gary Reinero setting low E.T. in round one of qualifying with a stout 6.90, followed by Howard Anderson at 7.03 with Chamberlin rounding out the top three at 7.31. These were great numbers considering the unusual heat.
     Round two of qualifying demonstrated the remarkable ability of the White Team to produce low e.t. and the number 1 qualifying spot of the event with a 6.84 e.t.
     Sunday is race day and as is not unexpected, the Gassers Guys really can mix things up. We start the elimination process with the quickest 8 qualified cars from Saturday. Mike Molea our number 5 qualifier reached deep in his magic bag to upset the number one qualifier and advance to the next round by beating Scott White. Next Howard Anderson crossed the finish line 1st against Dave Thompson from Medford. With the next pair ready to go, Gary Reinero beat Ron Nahas from Reno with an e.t. of 7.10 even though he blew two rods out of the engine during the race. Last Mitch Chamberlin gave Bill Fitting the rear view of his beautiful 41 Willys Gasser, thereby advancing Mitch to the next round.
     The Semi Round was an easy one for the Chamberlin Team. With the 48 Austin of Reinero unable to face off with Mitch because of his blown up engine, Mitch was given what is called a by-run or single run to the final eliminator. Because the AA/Supercharged Association is here for the entertainment of our great fans, Scott White put on a show for the fans by racing Mitch, even though he could not win. Now it was Anderson's turn to race Mike Molea. Mike was obviously looking to upset Anderson, but with so much determination, Mike left the starting line just a little  too early, before the green go light came on, giving the win to Howard.
     The final was set Anderson and Chamberlin ready to show the world who was the Baddest of the Gassers on this warm day in Oregon. Door handle to door handle side by side these two worthy opponents battled down the quarter mile until the Rod Eliminator showed his face again. Mitch lost the rod in cylinder number 2 while Howard went on to win the race with a 6.91, his best e.t. of the weekend.
 
Congratulations to the SIERRA PIPE RACING TEAM!
 
Come see us in Medford on May 31th as the battle for the title Baddest of the Gassers continues.  (Bill Fitting)

5/13/08:  AA/Supercharged racers are excited to get the new season underway.  The group will open 2008 competition with a trip to Woodburn Dragstrips 34th annual Season Opener.  This will be the groups inaugural trip to this event, but the track is not unfamiliar.  Woodburn has hosted the group at both their nostalgia races in previous seasons.  With weather forecasts looking promising, a full field is expected.  Mitch Chamberlin will begin the defense of his first AA/S points title against some of the stiff competition.  Give the Woodburn crew a call at 503-982-4461 for ticket information and tell them you want to see the Gassers!

3/11/08:  AA/Supercharged Racers, Howard Anderson, Ron Nahas and Gary Reinero attended the 50th running of the NHRA March Meet. Eleven cars entered the event along with three of our our AA/S Blown Alcohol Gasser Guys looking to qualify in the top eight.
 
Anderson qualified for the number 4 spot with a 6.77 on his second attempt, after having a loss of traction on his first attempt. Ron shook the tires real hard on his first qualifier which put him in position number 6. Ron's 41 Willys second qualifying attempt produced a 7.03 e.t. which put him in the number 7 spot. Gary's Blown Alcohol Austin had some severe tire shake on his 1st attempt. His second try at the Famoso pavement produced a 7.12 e.t. leaving him in the number 9 spot.
 
On Sunday, March 9th, the Anderson Team faced Rich Roberts in round 1. Howard's beautiful 38 Chevy came up short when a bent intake valve caused him to lose a burst panel.  Ron faced off with the notorious Chris Abbey Corvette. Ron's 6.96 e.t. netted him a spot behind the Vette.
 
Nahas and Reinero plan to test at Sacramento March 15th.    (courtesy of Bill Fitting)