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2001
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| Racing In a Straight Line | LOCAL DRAG RACING CREW AND KARNAC HEADS FOR THE GATORNATIONALS
By Robin Smith Meiser
Race engine builder Dan Miller loves racing, be it the oval track or the drag strip. At one time, he was the tech man at Charlotte County Speedway and had a reputation for being tough but fair. If you were running an illegal car, he disqualified you and that was the end of the story.  Miller has been known to disqualify the cars of people he built the motors for; he doesn't care who you are. What's right is right and what's wrong is wrong, plain and simple.
Miller gave up being a tech man to become the crew chief for Pine Island drag racer, Al Peters, a 25-year veteran of the sport. The team heads to Gainesville this weekend for the 32nd Annual Mac Tools Gatornationals, one of the longest running events in the NHRA Winston Drag Racing Series. Peters and Miller have made this trek more than once through the years with Peters' 1969 Chevrolet Camaro. A winning combination, the two took second place in Orlando just last weekend in the J and K stocks.
Peters, an NHRA World Series champion in 1984, started racing in Connecticut and set several world records. Through the years he has won six national events in the J and K stock division, as well as three division championships. He moved to Southwest Florida in 1989 with wife, Rose Mary, and continues to win events, including the 1998 IHRA Winter Nationals.
This year, Peters will be attending a special event when he competes in Gainesville for past champions in celebration of the National Hot Rod Association's anniversary. That is one of the perks of being an NHRA champion. KARNAC, in its attempt to report on more far-reaching motorsports events, will also be heading to this event and reporting on the entire Gatornationals Weekend.
The first official NHRA event was held at the parking lot of the Los Angeles Fairgrounds in 1953, while founder Wally Parks was president of the sanctioning body. In the half-century since then, NHRA drag racing has become the world's largest motorsports body, with over 80,000 members and events that are held at more than 140 member tracks.
The speeds have increased tremendously in the years since then. In 1992, Funny car champion Kenny Bernstein became the first to break the 300 mile-per-hour barrier. By 1999, top speeds had risen to 330 mph thanks to Tony Schumacher.
Drag racing fans that feel the need for speed can get more information about the Gatornationals by calling 1-800-884-6472 or visiting www.gainesvilleraceway.com. To learn more about the National Hot Rod Association, visit www.nhra.com. You can order tickets for the event that runs March 15-18 from Ticketmaster at www.ticketmaster.com.
-Robin Meiser
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