Newsletter by Bob Johnson 877-221-1419 January 2016 Next Race: January 30-31, 2016 at Auto Club Dragway Mike Blodgett Jr. wins Pro Gas Championship Shootout Title to Randy Balough Dave Meziere, Ryan Herem win final races of 15
Mike Blodgett Jr. Wins Pro Gas Title First of all I want to thank my entire family for everything they do for me that has made it possible for me to enjoy life and race The Kickin Chicken Vega for the last 21 years. This includes my lovely wife, Beth, my wonderful daughter, Sydney, my terrific parents, Mike and Mary, and my awesome brother, Matt and his beautiful wife Suzanne. I m very fortunate that I get to spend so much time with these people. I would like to confess (or at least remind everyone) that I do very little to nothing when it comes to work related to our race team other than drive the Vega. All of the hard work; the long days (and nights) getting the car, trailer, and motorhome ready is performed by Matt. And this is often done after completing a 10-12 hour day repairing or restoring cars and boats for his paying customers. Matt is definitely the MVP of our team! I would like to thank Darryl Duncan at Carroll Shelby Goodyear Tires, Glen Sander at Sander Engineering, John Stephens at Napa Auto Parts of Long Beach, and Kevin Kleinweber at Hughes Performance for all the support they have provided us throughout the years. It s great to have these people on our team. I would also like to thank the third Blodgett brother, Steve Parsons, for dropping everything he is working on to fix my problems every time I run to him in a panic! Lastly, I would like to thank Les and Jeannette Harris for presenting our Champions with possibly the coolest Grand Prize in drag racing! Our trip is booked and we are certain to have a blast in Maui. I m looking forward to the 2016 Southern California Pro Gas Season. It s great to have Auto Club Dragway back in full-swing and to have an Association that is run by the racers for the racers. With our new leader, Kitty, and her loyal assistant Ray, 2016 is sure to be the best Pro Gas season ever!
Introduction Letter From your So Cal Pro Gas President Most of you know me but for those who don t my name is Ray Cordeiro and I will be the new President for the So Cal Pro Gas Association for 2016. I am very pleased to announce the board of directors, Ryan Herem, Kevin McClelland, Dave Meziere and Pete Zak. We have all been working to put together a good racing program for 2016. We would like to thank Greg Ventura and his board for all their hard work in the past. We would also like to thank Dave Gotts for setting up our new website: www.socalprogasracing.com. We are still in the building process so if anyone has any suggestions or questions please contact me at cordeiro7566@gmail.com, or contact any of the board members. We are all approachable and we welcome all suggestions. Our goals are to provide a safe, friendly and efficient racing experience for all of us to enjoy. An association is made up and defined by all its members. We would like to get back to our 50 plus car counts and maybe in the future be able to put on a 10 race series like we had in the past. We still have the highest payouts of any association and the champion for the year will win a Hawaiian Vacation, courtesy of Les and Jeanette Harris. We are all looking forward to a great 2016 race season. Saturday January 30th after the first race of the season will be the 2015 Pro Gas Banquet at the Auto Club Dragway. It will be lots of fun as always hope to see you all there! Ray Cordeiro Sponsors Needed Event trophy and #1 Qualifier trophy sponsors are needed. The cost will be $100 per event, per trophy. Shootout event sponsors are also needed. We need to raise $3200 for the shootout. Special Thanks to: K&N Filters & Lucas Oil for Sponsoring the 2015 Pro Gas Finals Meziere Enterprises for Sponsoring the 2015 Meziere Cool Down Nationals Auto Meter, Craig Dales Racing, and Cordiero Motorsports for sponsoring the 2015 Pro Gas Shootout The season-opening Russ Harris Memorial Race will be January 30, 2016. The event, sponsored by Harris Motorsports, is in memory of a great Pro Gas supporter, Russ Harris, who in 1995 was named the Pro Gas Person of the Year. That same year, Bobby Harris, Russ s son, won the series championship. Next Race: January 30, 2016 Harris Motorsports Russ Harris Memorial Race January 31, 2016 K&N Filters/Lucas Oil Products Winternationals Warm-up
Randy Balough stops Val Jr. for Pro Gas Shootout Title a.007 better light, and took the win at 9.907, 158.80 to Torres second best of 9.928, 149.17. Randy also won the Shootout in 2008. By Bob Johnson Auto Club Dragway Sept. 13, 2015 Randy Balough drove his 63 Corvette roadster to a final round win over 2014 series champion Val Torres Jr., 9.907, 158.80 (.012 reaction time) to a losing 9.928, 149.17 (.019 r.t.). The Pro Gas Shootout was sponsored by Auto Meter, Craig Dales Racing, and Cordeiro Motorsports. First round action included Travis Balough beating Brenden Herem in a double-breakout race, Val Torres Jr advanced as Mike Blodgett Jr s Vega had mechanical issues, Randy Balough used a.006 light to end Mike Boner s day, and Randy Fabbro squeezed a.002 reaction out of his Pinto, defeating Ray Cordeiro. In the semifinals, Travis and Randy Balough met up, with Randy using a.009 light to send son Travis back to the pits with a perfect 9.900 run that wasn t enough to make up for his.096 light. Fabbro pulled a.009 reaction in his semi-match with Val Jr., but lost with a 9.93 to Val s winning 9.911. Randy and Val Jr., squaring off in the final of the Pro Gas Shootout promised to be a great race and it was. Randy had Randy Balough defeated son Travis in the semifinals. Val Jr defeated Randy Fabbro in the semifinals, 9.91 to a 9.93. Randy had a.007 better light in the Pro Gas Shootout final, and took the win with a 9.907 to Val Jr s 9.928.
Meziere wins Pro Gas Cool Down Nationals at Fontana By Bob Johnson Auto Club Dragway Sept 12, 2015 Dave Meziere won the 2015 Southern California Pro Gas Association annual Meziere Pro Gas Cool Down Nationals at Auto Club Dragway, defeating Dennis Sato in the final round. Driving the 05 Chevy Cavalier that also won the 2015 NHRA Pacific Division Super Gas Championship, Meziere won the event that was sponsored by the Meziere family and Meziere Enterprises. Hollis Colleasure was the top qualifier for the event, logging a 9.902 in preliminaries for the top spot. Greg Bonds was second with a 9.907, and eventual runner-up Dennis Sato was third at 9.908. Northern California racer Mike Collins was fourth at 9.914. Highlights of round one included championship contender Brenden Herem posting a perfect 9.900 with his win over Greg Bonds, Mike Blodgett Jr., defeated Mike Lang, and Ryan Herem, also in contention for the series title, lost to Gene Carter. In round two, Brenden lost with a.001 red-light and 9.903 to Val Torres Jr, and Blodgett Jr., defeated Shootout champion Randy Balough. Dave Meziere defeated Greg Ventura in the semifinals on a double-breakout, 9.880 to a 9.870. Dennis Sato won his semifinal match with Darryl Mitchell, Jr., when Mitchell broke-out. Sato had mechanical woes on the run, and was unable to race in the final against Dave Meziere. Dave Meziere won the Meziere Enterprises Cool Down Nationals, while the Meziere-sponsored drag of Aly Clark won the SCEDA Third round action opened with Dennis Sato defeating Blodgett Jr., Dave Meziere advanced after a double-breakout race with Ray Cordeiro, and by.002 seconds, Greg Ventura went to the semi in a double-breakout with Val Torres Jr. Darryl Mitchell, Jr., got a bye into the semi. Meziere went to the final after winning another double-breakout race, this time with Ventura, 9.880 to a 9.870. Dennis Sato went to his first Pro Gas final the hard way winning on Mitchell s 9.893 breakout after his Camaro broke a transmission on his pass. Dennis Sato enjoyed one his best outings in Pro Gas, but was unable to repair his Camaro in time for the final against Meziere, who took the win and Meziere Pro Gas Cool Down Nationals title on a final round bye run. What a season Dave Meziere has had. The 2001 SoCal Pro Gas Champion not only won the Pro Gas event his family-owned company sponsored, he also won the NHRA Pacific Division Super Gas Championship.
Ryan Herem wins K&N Filters/ Lucas Oil Pro Gas Finals Finishes season in second place By Bob Johnson Auto Club Dragway Sept 13, 2015 Mike Blodgett Jr held off challengers Ryan and Brenden Herem to win the 2015 Southern California Pro Gas Championship, despite Ryan Herem winning the season-ending K&N Filters/Lucas Oil Pro Gas Finals at Auto Club Dragway. Blodgett won the title and the Harris Motorsports-sponsored vacation to Hawaii by a mere 10-points over Ryan Herem and 11-points over Ryan s dad, Brenden. Randy Fabbro showed that his vintage 78 Pinto still has what it takes in 9.90 class racing, as he qualified on top with a perfect 9.900, followed by Brad Pierce s Corvette with a matching 9.900. The top seven qualifiers were all on the number, including Greg Martin, Val Torres, Jr., Mike Boner, Hollis Colleasure, and Ray Cordeiro. In the second round, Blodgett Jr., lost to Gene Carter, a loss that Mike thought crushed his chances of winning the championship, as both Herem s advanced. In the third round, Brenden lost to Randy Balough on a.007 breakout, and Ryan won by defeating Darryl Mitchell. Other third round winners included Bob Hefley and Don Ruble, Jr. Randy Balough opened the semifinals with a win over the Napa, Calif., racer Hefley, as he drew a.003 red-light with his 02 Corvette. Ryan Herem went to the final when Ruble Jr., broke-out. In the final, Ryan had a.003 better reaction time over Balough, and got the double-breakout win at 9.881, 150.50 to a second best of 9.863, 156.55 for Randy. This was Ryan s third final of the season with the Canyon Racing Corvette. Ryan Herem credits Goodyear Tires, Moser Engineering, FTI Transmissions & Converters, Shortline Express Markets, Jegs Automotive, California Car Cover, Ron s Rear Ends, Jones Engine Development, and Autometer Data Loggers. Special thanks to Whitney Shields, Willie & Carolyn Herem, and Brenden and Cheri Herem for their efforts with his racing operation. Ryan Herem defeated Don Ruble in the semifinals. Ryan Herem stopped Shootout winner Randy Balough in the double-breakout final round.
Position 2015 SoCal Pro Gas Points Name R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 R7 R8 TOTAL 1 Mike Blodgett Jr. 84 52 74 63 52 325 2 Ryan Herem 30 74 74 52 85 315 3 Brenden Herem 62 85 74 41 52 314 4 Travis Balough 30 85 41 63 41 260 5 Val Torres Jr. 73 41 63 52 30 259 6 Hollis Colleasure 30 63 85 41 30 249 7 D Rubble Jr. 41 41 52 41 63 238 8 Brad Pierce 62 52 52 41 30 237 8 Randy Balough 40 41 41 41 74 237 10 Mike Wibilshouser 62 52 30 30 41 215 11 Kevin Mc Clelland 40 41 30 63 30 204 12 Ray Cordeiro 40 30 30 52 41 193 13 Dennis Sato 30 30 52 74 186 14 Michael Boner 30 52 41 30 30 183 15 Mike Blodgett Sr. 30 41 41 41 30 183 16 Paul Wiechmann 30 52 30 30 41 183 17 Randy Fabbro 30 41 30 30 41 172 18 Val Torres Sr. 63 41 30 30 164 19 Kate Hepler 30 41 30 30 30 161 20 Mike Lang 30 30 30 30 41 161 21 Greg Ventura 30 63 30 123 22 Daryll Mitchel 85 30 63 52 115 23 Dave Meziere 30 85 115 24 Pete Jimenez 41 41 30 112 25 Karen Comstock 40 30 30 100 26 Keith Monogue 95 95 27 Greg Vining 30 30 30 90 28 Evan Kowalski 52 30 82 29 Gene Carter 30 52 41 52 82 30 Greg Martin 30 52 41 30 82 2016 Pro Gas Schedule As always subject to change Jan 30-31 April 23-24 May 28-29 July 9-10 Aug 6-7 Auto Club Dragway Auto Club Dragway Auto Club Dragway Auto Club Dragway Rain Date/special event
Pro Gas Sponsors www.knfilters.com www.lucasoil.com Harris Family Racing Les and Jeannette Harris