5th Annual CB Performance Pro Stock Nationals
For 2006, it wsa in Indianapolis, and Williamsburg, Virginia's Ollie Frey won it, as well as half of the $8,500 purse

Since JayCee Enterprises' Jack Sacchette started the Pro Stock Nationals in 2002, it's been a roving 1/4-mile race, and at a different dragstrip. The first two were tied to IDRC (Import Drag Racing Circuit) events (San Antonio, Texas, then Phoenix, Arizona), followed by a hook-up to the NHRA Sport Compact (Summit Series) race in Ennis, Texas. In 2005, though, Jack enlisted a new title sponsor, thanks to Rick Tomlinson of CB Performance, and decided to try another IDRC race, this time in July at Maple Grove Raceway in Mohnton, Pennsylvania, but come race weekend, the CB Pro Stock Nats were rained out. Instead of throwing in the towel, Sacchette still had time to pull-off a postponed event, and negotiated with Warren Hill of ECPRA (East Coast Pro Racing Association) to have this once-a-year race on October 29th, at Virginia Motorsports Park in Dinwiddie, Virginia, with an increased $7,000 purse.

For 2006, Jack worked it out with Eric Stiner of CSCDRA (Central States Compact Drag Racing Association), and got the green light to bring the CB Pro Stock Nats to INDY! With that great news of being able to race on Saturday, August 19th, at the legendary track (home of NHRA's U.S. Nationals), Jack and CB Performance, along with associate sponsors, upped the purse to $8,500. The first new associate sponsor to sign-up was Judy Kawell (of Kawell Racing Engines), followed by continued support from prior contingency sponsors - Rancho Performance Transaxles, Brothers Machine Service, Ron Lummus Racing, German Autowerks, Fasrnu Race Team, JayCee Enerprises, HarmonRacing.net, Manton Pushrods, Rimco, Quality German Auto Parts, Frey Racing Engines, East Coast Pro Racing Association, Vee Dub Parts Unlimited, and Chico Performance Racing.

On Friday, August 18th, the weather was fairly nice, with typical Indiana humidity, and the track was being prepped for Friday night racing, but . . . it rained. First thing Saturday morning, the track personnel were at it again, getting rid of a big puddle of water at the top end, with anxious racers awaiting the call to the staging lanes. Unfortunately, us VW people had to share the facility with a Truck & Import show (with race classes too), but we were some-what patient, and had to wait for the officials. It was overcast and some rain was forecast for Saturday, but we were lucky and didn't see the wet stuff for many hours.

In the meantime, as we were parked in the Pro pits, the CSCDRA car show was shaping up, the CB Performance crew set up their booth and sold quite a few parts, T-shirts, and hats, not to mention answering many questions about all their wares.

Also, during the delay, there were some serious concerns among the Pro Stock VW drivers. Basically about one driver. Damon Harmon came all the way from Irving, Texas with his famous (and winning) Quarter Toy 2 Split Window, as well as his latest acquisition (ex-Steve Shook Pro Stock Bug) now Quarter Toy 3, in hopes of driving both cars. Well, over a month prior, all ECPRA members voted againsts it, but still Damon was persistent. This made some drivers frustrated, to the point of packing up and heading home, so Warren Hill tried to calm everyone down. This went on for nearly two hours, with Virginia's Tay Woykowski waiting in the wings: he brough his NHRA Competition License, helmet, gloves, and suit, just in case he'd be summoned to drive QT3, for his very first time. Sure enough, Jack Sacchette stepped-in and simply said, "One car, one driver, and that's it." If that wasn't enough drama, there was even a Pro Stock driver, who showed up without his racecar, wearing an anti-Pro Stock driver T-shirt, what we don't need!

With the biggest ever, VW heads-up one-class purse of $8,500, and the fact that racing at Indy is historic, for some reason, there were only 8 Pro Stock VWs in attendance. Two Ghias made it, one owned by Gene Collier of Payton, Ohio, and the other belonging to Mike Ulrich of Wisconsin. The six other competitors included: Ollie Frey of Williamsburg, Virginia; Warren Skaggs from Winfield, West Virginia; Hamilton, Ohio's Brian Drew; Damon Harmon out of Irving, Texas; Marshall, Virginia's Tay Qoykowski; and Jason Pointer, who came all the way from Haltom City, Texas.

Qualifying didn't start until noon, where the first pair-up was Mike Ulrich in his "Daddy's Toy" Ghia that broke, so Ollie Frey got with the program and clicked-off an impressive 9.92 @ 134.26 mph. Then Gene Collier lined-up his Ghia next to Tay Woykowski (who had only fifteen minutes to get used to Quarter Toy 3 and make his first ever pass in Damon's "other car"), who got to the lights with a 10.27/130.76 to Gene's 11.19/123.07. Next up, Jason Pointer ran a 16.78/51.49, while Damon Harmon posted an 11.46/108.34. In Round 2 of qualifying, it was 3:00 pm, Ollie's car broke, and Gene Collier posted a 10.72/124.34. Breakage was prevelant again for Mike Ulrich, but not for Skaggs as he ran a quicker 9.99/133.13. Then Jason Pointer had a bye, recording a better 12.28/111.80, while Tay "treed" Damon and got the the lights first with a 10.09/133.09, to Damon's quicker 10.07/133.86. At 3:30 pm, Round 3 saw only Ollie in the staging lanes, the starter called him up, so he pre-staged, staged, and then launched like a rocket, with a huge wheelstand, and ran 12.07/87.87. Fifteen Minutes later, the rest of the Pro Stock drivers came to the line; Pointer ran 12.82/99.36 to a 9.96/96.51 by Skaggs. Damon and Tay were paired-up again, with Harmon getting to the finish line first, as in 10-flat @ 133.88, and Woykoski turned-in a 10.33/127.08. Gene Collier had a bye-run, ending up with a 10.69/124.89.

With more truck and imports going down the track, plus CSCDRA's three VW brackets making their rounds, and the Lauffers trying their darndest to put mega-horsepower down to the ground via their turbocharged dragster piloted by Kris Lauffer (at 4:50, he did an 800-foot burnout, then ran a crowd-pleasing 6.88/199.02!), it wasn't until 7:30 before the first round of Pro Stock VW. Jason Pointer broke at the line, but Harmon made it to the finish with a 12.04/75.33. Then Skaggs and Ulrich went at it; Warren stayed in with a 10.09/133.88, to Mike's losing 11.40/119.84. Gene Collier raced Tay Woykowski, and Tay got the win light with a 10.48/116.00, and Gene posted a 10.67/124.60. Because Brain Drew's car could not make it to the line, Ollie got a bye and ran a 10.39 e.t. at 132.46 mph. Then in the semis, at 8:30 pm, it was Skaggs vs. Harmon, where Warren had a clean run of 10.12/131.43, while Damon had his hands full with a top end spin-out (but he controlled it, barely missing the guardwall) and posted a 10.24/109.49. The other two semi-finalists were Tay and Ollie; Tay encountered clutch problems and only mustered a 16.04/52.81, while Ollie ran his quickest pass of the day - 9.85 @ 134.32. The final happened at 9:15 pm, but it was a great race between Ollie Frey and Warren Skaggs! They both had their game faces on, with their cars "tuned to perfection" and put on a quick, and fast, side-by-side race. Ollie's reaction time was .097 to Warren's 0.98, with a 60-foot of 1.302 to Warren's 1.329, 1/8th-mile time of 6.146 to Warren's 6.205, and it was a close one at the lights, with Ollie stopping the timers at [email protected] and turning-on the win light, to Warren's best of the day, a 9.834/134.63. What a race!

You had to be there to not only witness the quickest, normally aspirated, all-motor (no power adders) 1/4 mile Pro Stockers, but take-in the facility's hugeness of the newly named O'Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis, and think back to the days when VWs were actually at the U.S. Nationals getting recognition, along with the big names or NHRA drag racing history. Hmmm, wouldn't it be awesome to have the CB Performance Pro Stock Nationals at Indy again, like in 2007? But then again, it hasn't been at the same place two years in a row, so only Jack Sacchette knows the answer to that question. Stay tuned, we will.