FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

OLD BRIDGE TOWNSHIP RACEWAY PARK, Englishtown, New Jersey
After the first day of action in the sixth and final NHRA
Federal-Mogul Northeast Series, David Strouse of nearby
Morganville, N.J., leads the field in Competition Eliminator
at 7.364 seconds in his B/Altered ‘93 Olds Cutlass. That
put him .606 under his 7.97 Index. He was followed ever-so-
closely by Santo Volpe of Euclid, Ohio and his A/Street
Roadster at a .604-under 8.076.

Things were equally tight in Super Stock Eliminator with the
SS/BA ‘69 Corvette of West Chester, Pa.’s David Thomas
running 9.247 second to put himself .953 under his 10.20
Index and Brian Tilburg followed with a .952-under 10.698 in
his GT/JA ‘88 Camaro.

In Stock Eliminator, Art Leong in his Brooklyn, N.Y., based
BF/SA ‘88 Dodge leads the early going with a 14.057-second
run. That puts Leong 1.193 seconds under and .121 better
than Evan Smith’s K/Stock ‘93 Mustang which turned 11.778.
There are currently 136 Stock Eliminator cars that have 
passed tech.

Racing ran late Friday when O.D Powell and his wild SS/AA
‘68 Barracuda went into a vertical wheelstand in the right
lane, came down headed to the right, crossed the track when
he corrected and hit the left hand retaining wall. The car
then rebounded back across the track and struck the right-
hand retaining wall before coming to rest about half track.
Powell was transported to a local hospital where he was
check over and released.

First round eliminations will begin tomorrow, Saturday, for
Comp, Super Stock, Super Comp and Super Gas. Also, the 260
mph Federal-Mogul Dragsters and Funny Cars will get their
first shot at the track at 3 p.m. and return for a second
qualifying run at 7 p.m.

Frank Manzo will be looking to further close in on the
Federal-Mogul Championship in Funny Car, but he will get an
argument from Bob Newberry and Tony Bartone, both of whom
are already in the pits readying the equipment.

Cliff Bozzelli is hoping to take the Federal-Mogul Northeast
title by outlasting John Rose, who currently trails the
Division 1 race by 33
points.

Saturday Qualifying Final:

Something Old, Something New

Jeanie Booz is not the first name that comes to mind when you
think about Federal-Mogul Dragster racing in the northeast.
That may change dramatically after this weekend. The
Blooming Glen, Pa.-based driver surprised everyone but herself
by qualifying No. 1 in a tough field by ripping off at 5.693,
244.65 mph pace in the car that won here last year in the well-
scrubbed hands of heart surgeon Dr. Jeremy Torstveit. The car
is now owned by Booz and her family and called simply Bitchin’.
Booz was neither Bitchin’ nor complaining after the run. “But
we still have to put a string of runs like that together,” she
said, keeping thing is perspective. Booz has already felt the
highs and low of the sport, having crashed a car previously in
Virginia leading to the team’s purchase of this car.

An interesting turn of events considering that Cliff Bozzelli,
who is fighting Rose for the Northeast Division title, qualified
in the No. 8 spot and will race Booz in round one tomorrow.

Federal-Mogul Funny Car qualifying, while less stunning, was
dramatic nonetheless as bob Newberry used a 5.672, 253.28 mph
that missed the track record by .02 of a second that pushed
track record holder Frank Manzo down to No. 2 at 5.726, 253.95
mph. Paul Gill and his beautiful ‘96 Avenger showed he is
becoming a force to be reckoned with by taking the No. 3 spot,
as did Tim Slagle in his Virginia-based Oldsmobile. Newberry
and No. 5 qualifier Tony Bartone are trying to stop the
inevitable: Manzo’s fourth Federal-Mogul Funny Car title.

David Strouse of nearby Morganville, N.J., still lead the
field in Competition Eliminator at 7.364 seconds in his
B/Altered ‘93 Olds Cutlass. That put him .606 under his 7.97
Index. He was followed ever-so-closely by Santo Volpe of
Euclid, Ohio and his A/Street Roadster at a .604-under 8.076.
Both won in the first round.

Things were equally tight in Super Stock Eliminator with the
SS/BA ‘69 Corvette of West Chester, Pa.’s David Thomas
running 9.247 second to put himself .953 under his 10.20 Index
and Brian Tilburg followed with a .952-under 10.698 in his
GT/JA ‘88 Camaro.

In Stock Eliminator, Art Leong in his Brooklyn, N.Y., based
BF/SA ‘88 Dodge leads the early going with a 14.057-second
run. That puts Leong 1.193 seconds under and .121 better
than Evan Smith’s K/Stock ‘93 Mustang which turned 11.778.
There are currently 136 Stock Eliminator cars that have
passed tech.

Final round eliminations will begin tomorrow at 10 a.m.
The 260 mph Federal-Mogul Dragsters and Funny Cars will get
their first shot at the track at noon.

 Final Qualifying for Federal-Mogul Northeast Series event in
Englishtown, N..J.

Federal-Mogul Dragster
1. Jeanie Booz, Blooming Glen, Pal 5.693, 244.65
2. Douglas Foley, Ossining, N.Y. 5.711, 246.66
3. Wayne Celko, Sayerville, N.J. 5.747, 245.90
4. Bruce Insinger, Dushore, Pa. 5.767, 243.85
5. John Rose Jr., Feasterville, Pa. 5.774, 241.24
6. Ron Still, Smyrna, Del. 5.785, 243.85
7. Rich McPhillips, Phoenixville, Pa. 5.815, 250.97
8. Cliff Bozzelli, Absecon, N.J. 5.834, 241.02
 --- Not Qualified ---
9. Gary Parks Jr., Mardela Springs, Md. 5.979, 223.06
10. Ken Winward, Wilmington, Del. 5.993, 231.83
11. Mike Kosky, Cuddy, Pa. 6.052, 195.70
12. Gil Christian, Stephen City, Va. 6.101, 227.19
13. Steven Cantrell, Wilmington, Del. 6.151, 200.74
14. Arthur Gallant, Waltham, Mass. 6.186, 215.93
15. Fred Ahrberg, Bergenfield, N.J. 8.117, 107.04
16. Bruce Horner, Bergenfield, N.J. 12.376, 63.11

Federal-Mogul Funny Car
1. Bob Newberry, Schenectady, N.Y., ‘98 Dodge Avenger 5.672, 253.28
2. Frank Manzo, Morganville, N.J., ‘98 Dodge Avenger 5.726, 253.95
3. Paul Gill, , Mass., ‘96 Avenger 5.752, 253.75
4. Tim Slagle, Fairfax, Va., ‘96 Olds Achieva 5.838, 244.38
5. Tony Bartone, Manhasset, N.Y., ‘97 Firebird 5.871, 246.93
6. John Sieger, Willingboro, N.J., ‘97 Achieva 5.893, 238.17
7. Fran Monaghan, Willow Grove, Pa., ‘97 Avenger 5.934, 242.63
8. Phil Burket, Jr., Yorkville, N.Y. ‘98 Avenger 5.949, 244,74
 --- Not Qualified ---
9. Jeff McCulloch, Oshawa, Ont., CAN, ‘98 Camaro 5.950, 233.32
10. Bunny Burkett, Sterling, Va., ‘98 Avanger 6.036, 228.92
11. Eddie Fisher, Milford, Conn. ‘95 Firebird 6.112, 233.60
12. Craig Gleason, Union, Maine, ‘95 Cutlass 6.115, 230.13
13. Bruce F. Peterson Jr., Wappingers Falls, N.Y., ‘98 Avenger 6.184, 224.62
14. Fred Tigges, Halbrook, Mass., ‘97 Camaro 6.196, 234.45
15. Bobby Martindale, Chester, Va. ‘93 Daytona 6.201, 194.83
16. Melinda Green-King, Norfolk, Va., ‘98 Avenger 6.385, 174.03
17. John Fiorini, Dalton, Mass., ‘93 Saab 6.564, 210.37
18. Sam Leland, Jarrettsville, Md., ‘96 Avanger 6.861, 152.57

Competition Eliminator
1. David Strouse, Morganvillem N.J. B/A ‘93 Olds Cutlass 7.367 (-.606)
2. Santo Volpe, Euclid, Ohio, A/Street Roadster 8.076 (-.604)
3. Dave Northrop, Perkasie, Pa., H/A ‘96 Cutlass 8.378 (-.582)
4. Al Ackerman, Saddle Brook, N.J. F/Dragster 8.326 (-.534)
5. Jules Schonberger, Philadelphia, Pa., H/A ‘91 Pontiac Grand Prix 8.434 (-.526)
6. Jonathan Aloisio, E/SM ‘92 Camaro 8.537 (-.523)
7. Rob Rossi, Woodbridge, N.J. A/A ‘92 Olds Achieva 6.861 (-.499)
8. Tom Ekroth, Mahway, N..J., C/A ‘94 Trans Am 7.755 (-.495)

Super Stock Eliminator:
1. David Thomas, West Chester, Pa., SS/BA‘69 Corvette 9.247 (-.953)
2. Brian Tilburg, Trout Run, Pa., SS/JA ‘88 Camaro 10.698 (-.952)
3. Howard Barsky, Levittown, Pa., SS/NA ‘57 Chevy 11.502 (-.948)
4. Ray Scardelli, Manalapan, N.J. GT/J ‘97 Ford Probe 10.436 (-.914)
5. Kenneth Horne, Fayetteville, N.C. GT/EA ‘97 Olds Achieva 10.043 (-.907)
6. Russell Linke, Olds Bridge, N.J. SS/JA ‘73 Corvette 10.412 (-.888)
7. Joe Scott, Sunbury, Pa. GT/IA ‘98 Firebird 10.625 (-.875)
8. Victor Santos, North Reading, Mass., GT/HA ‘85 Firebird 10.478 (-.872)

Stock Eliminator
1. Art Leong, Brooklyn, N.Y. BF/SA ‘88 Dodge 14.057 (-1.193)
2. Evan Smith, Old Bridge, N.J. K/S ‘93 Mustang 11.778 (-1.072)
3. Don Quinn, Rahway, N.J. J/SA ‘78 Nova 11.689 (-1.061)
4. Ray Valpreda, Lawrenceville, N.J. DT/SA ‘98 Dakota 12.503 (-.997)
5. Jim Penta, Greenville, R.I. D/S ‘97 Firebird 10.852 (-.948)
6. Dean Ribeiro, Candia, N.H., ‘77 Pontiac LeMans 12.507 (-.943)
7. Dave Ribeiro, Williamsburg, Va. L/SA ‘78 Firebird 12.060 (-.940)
8. Dave LeBrun, Uncasville, Conn., C/SA ‘69 Camaro 10.771 (-.929)

Manzo, Bozzelli Make Their Points

OLD BRIDGE TOWNSHIP RACEWAY PARK, Englishtown, N.J. -- It
wasn’t pretty, but Frank Manzo will take it.  He hit a 6.01,
245.85 in the final to stop Bob Newberry after both shook
the tires and waddled through the mid-part of the course.
Newberry shut-down when he got too far toward the center
line and Manzo recovered to take the win that he needed to
put a cinch hold of the Federal-Mogul title.

Manzo and Cliff Bozzelli each needed to perform well at
Englishtown to ensure ‘98 Federal-Mogul Championships, Manzo
nationally and Bozzelli divsionally.  The event was the
final of the six-race Northeast Federal-Mogul Series for
1998.  Both did what they needed to do.  Bozzelli, still
driving the car he purchased from Bob Jenkins’ chassis shop
in 1987, took the Northeast Division title when John Rose Jr.
lost in round one.  

But Bozzelli still showed no mercy in coming from the No.
8 qualifying spot and beating low qualifier Jeanie Booz,
Bruce Inzinger and Ron Still with a best of 5.633, 247.52
mph in round one.  His 5.719 in the final was just enough
to hold off Still who ran 5.727.  Bozzelli won Northeast 
Federal-Mogul Series events in Cecil County, Md., and
Numidia, Pa., to set himself up for the title with his
victory at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park.

In Competition Eliminator, Santo Volpe came from the No.
2 qualifying spot in his A/Street Roadster to win the
title over Dave Northrop’s H/A ‘96 Olds Cutlass.  A total
of 618 race cars in the Federal-Mogul categories featured
a huge field of 136 Stock Eliminator cars.

There was a very close finish in Super Gas as Jeff Brooks
beat Duane Fisher, 9.900 to 9.903.

ENGLISHTOWN RESULTS
DIVISION 1 INSTANT STATS
Old Bridge Township Raceway Park, Englishtown, N.J.

Federal-Mogul Dragster
 	W: Cliff Bozzelli, Absecon, N.J., 5.719, 241.15
	R/U: Ron Still, Smyrna, Del., 5.727, 242.02.

Federal-Mogul Funny Car
 	W: Frank Manzo, Morganville, N.J., ‘98 Avenger, 6.018, 245.85
	R/U: Bob Newberry, Schenectady, N.Y., 7.757, 120.57.

Competition
 	W: Santo Volpe, Euclid, Ohio, A/SR, 8.095, 157.45
	R/U: Dave Northrop, Perkasie, Pa., H/A ‘96 Cutlass, 8.385, 160.08

Super Stock
 	W: Mark Lawton, Liverpool, N.Y., GT/DA ‘87 Camaro, 11.976, 82.46
	R/U: Brian Tilburg, GT/JA ‘88 Camaro, foul

Stock
 	W: Bob Mullaney, Rockaway, N.J., R/SA ‘66 Impala, 14.206, 92.74
	R/U: Sterling Simmons, Midlothian, Va., E/SA ‘67 Camaro, 11.417, 116.02

Super Comp
 	W: Donald Butkiewicz, Perrineville, N.J., dragster, 8.987, 146.37
	R/U: Frank Maiolom Yonkers, N.Y., dragtser, 9.038, 160.79

Super Gas
 	W: Jeff Brooks, Fredericksburng, Va., ‘51 Henry J, 9.900, 144.21
	R/U: Duane Fisher, Bloomburg, Pa., ‘78 Camaro 280 Z, 9.903, 140.27

Super Street
 	W: Jerry Pierce, Albany, N.Y. ‘97 Olds Cutlass, 10.912, 139.43
	R/U: Bob Farrell, Pequannock, N.J. ‘69 Camaro, 10.878, 129.58