Friday, June 24, 2005
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

California racer favored in LVMS event

Thornton posts fastest speed in series history at 223 mph this year

By JEFF WOLF
REVIEW-JOURNAL

Ed Thornton says his 1957 Chevrolet would be legal to driver public thoroughfares with different tires.

Replace the rear slicks with tires approved by the Department of Transportation and Thornton would have little trouble merging onto the freeway with his Chevy, which needs about 6.5 seconds to reach 220 mph in a quarter-mile.

"It's a full-on road car," said Thornton, who lives in Chino Hills, Calif. "To make it legal for the street, it probably just needs DOT tires. It already has working turn signals, headlights. And it doesn't have (windshield) wipers."

But the 3,000-pound Bel Air has a 447-cubic-inch Chevy engine that uses two turbochargers to produce 2,600 horsepower on racing gasoline. It also has a Jerry Bickel-built chromemoly tubular chassis so it doesn't share much with a street car.

Thornton will be the favorite to win the Pacific Street Association's Summer Nationals tonight and Saturday night at Las Vegas Motor Speedway's dragstrip, where his top speed of 223 mph in February became the fastest-ever in the series.

And not unlike everyday street cars, computer settings are more critical than carburetor settings.

Thornton's car uses a MoTeC engine management system to control the fuel injection system and turbos, and he credits tuner Shane Tecklenburg of Huntington Beach, Calif., with his success.

"Shane's pretty much the genius behind the computer system. I just get in and floor it," Thornton said.

• LVMS BULLRING -- A 40-lap Late Models feature will highlight Saturday's NASCAR Weekly Series at Las Vegas Motor Speedway's Bullring.

Doug Hamm leads the Late Models standings with 290 points, with Doug Matter and 17-year-old rookie Dustin Ash tied for second with 271. Through six races, Hamm has won four and Ash two.

Also on the card are Chargers (30 laps), Legend Cars (25 laps), Bombers (40 laps) and Bandoleros. Spectator gates will open at 5 p.m., qualifying will begin at 6 and racing at 7:15. ...

Although Spencer Clark took the Super Late Models points lead at the Bullring from Mike Cofer last weekend, Cofer has taken the lead in the NASCAR Weekly Series Division III regional standings.

Cofer has one win and six top-five finishes for Quality Motorsports.

The next Super Late Models race is the "Night of Fire" on July 3. ...

The speedway announced Thursday that Super Late Models driver Nick Parmelee has been fined $250 and suspended from the Bullring until July 2 for an incident in Saturday's race, when he rammed the back of another car during a caution period.

He was not allowed to compete in that night's second race in the division. ...

A lightning strike about a month ago critically damaged the Bullring's scoreboard, and after running the past two races without one, the speedway will have a temporary one for Saturday.

Until a new electronic board can be purchased and installed, a temporary manual scoreboard will be positioned in the infield to inform fans of leaders and how many laps have been completed.

• MOTORCYCLES -- The Western Eastern Roadracing Association's West Coast region will have two days of motorcycle racing this weekend on the road course at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

A four-hour endurance race will highlight Saturday's racing on the track, located outside the first turn of the speedway's 1.5-mile tri-oval.

The WERA National Challenge event is Sunday with the first of 16 races scheduled to begin at 12:30 p.m.

Admission is $20 for the weekend and $10 for Sunday only.

For information: wera.com or FastrackRiders.com.