LaFleur Racing made the long drive to the Inaugural NHRA event in Charlotte, North Carolina. Bruton Smith was able to build the new 60 million dollar facility in seven months and what a tremendous facility it is. We have raced at both of Bruton's other locations in Bristol, TN and Las Vegas and this one is comparable to Vegas. If you are a race fan, I am sure you have seen pictures either in publications or on TV. The weather forecast did not look very promising in the beginning of the week. Fortunately, for us racers, the weathermen missed the call and the weather turned out fine.

We made three time trial runs on Thursday and we ended up being very fast on our first session. The track was very well prepped and we had one of our best 60' times of the year, causing us to run way under the index going 9.840. So, we did what most racers would do and we predicted the car would repeat the same 60' and our second run would be spot on. As luck would have it, the 60' was not the same as the first pass. It went back to what the car has run all year and we ended up going slow on the second pass running a 9.926. The third run, we just missed the weather and we ran a 9.931. NHRA had a fourth session scheduled for us on Friday morning but because of the rain the night before and the pro schedule they dropped it and put us straight into first round eliminations. The weather was similar to our trial runs on Thursday, so we went up for first round with a lot of confidence anticipating winning the first round. Our first round opponent was no other then the world champion, Sherman Adcock. A few months earlier, we ran against Sherman at the division 2 points race in Valdosta, Georgia, defeating him at that event. When the light went green, Duane was .014 to Sherman's .012. As they approached the finish line, Sherman stuck the nose of his car just in front of Duane's, crossing the finish line at a 9.930 compared to Duane's slower 9.939 giving Sherman the win by .011. After talking with Sherman after the race, he told Duane the track was slower then he expected. Duane ended up losing .001 in the 60' which parlayed to losing .020 at the other end of the track. "We were still going to be slow, but a 9.919 would have made it tough for Sherman to get inside us at the finish line.”
This was the last event for LaFleur Racing and Duane will have to wait and see where he will end up in the standings in both division 3 and the national point's standings. Currently Duane is in 6th place in the North Central Division and 28th in the nation. LaFleur Racing has one more race on the schedule and that will be at their local track in Lancaster, New York on October 11th.

Once again, thanks for all your support and we appreciate everything you do for our team.

Heading into the 6th and final division 3 points race, Duane LaFleur and the team were sitting in 6th place in the North Central Division. Duane had a first round loss to better at this event in order to move up in the standings. The weekend started out hard and continued to get harder with each opponent. Duane's first round opponent was Steve Cohen. Fortunately for Duane, Steve was early on the tree going red by .004 giving Duane the win. Second round matched Lonnie Grimm from Arkansas. Duane and the team had the car dialed going .008 on the tree and a 9.900 for the win, also getting the "Perfectly Strange Award” at the same time. Third round was local racer Tommy Turner and again Duane went 9.906 and .019 on the tree. Fourth round was West Coast racer, Thomas Bayer. Duane had the starting line advantage .016 to .028 but Thomas had the better brakes during this round. "When I looked over Thomas was a half a car in front of me. Next thing I knew he was gone.” Thomas dumped into a 9.91o to Duane's 9.890. At the end of the weekend, Duane moved into 5th place overall and hopes to stay in the top 10 at the end of the season.

LaFleur Racing was all set for another good weekend at the BIG show at the US Nationals. Duane started things off right with a .010 reaction time and a 9.902 at the first time run of the event. Duane was ready and looking forward to first round. After completing three sessions of time trials, Duane was .010, .003 and .013 and the worst elapsed time was 9.923. Things were looking good. First round Duane kept things tight going .013 and a 9.910 on the breaks winning first round and qualifying number 8th out of 136 teams entered. Duane's second round opponent was Jason Kenny, a touring sportsman racer. Duane was ready for anything Jason had to throw his way and boy did Jason throw hard. Jason had the best run of the weekend of any racer in Super Gas going .000 with his reaction time and following that up with a 9.901 elapsed time giving him a .001 (one thousandths) package leaving Duane almost no room to sneak in. Duane was .019 and 9.896 but did not have enough to get inside Jason's run. Next outing for LaFleur Racing is the Inaugural event in Charlotte, NC on September 11-14. Hope to see you at the races and once again thanks to all the great sponsors who support LaFleur Racing.

This was the fifth NHRA Lucas Oil Points race of the season for LaFleur Racing. Going into the event, Duane was tied with Kenny Bowers for 5th place and was hoping to go rounds. The weather for Columbus, Ohio for the weekend was fabulous blue skies and sunny. Duane's first time run of the event was just what he was looking for running .008 and 9.907. This is just the way he wanted to start the weekend. Duane backed that run up with a 9.882 and on the third hit he went .005 and 9.912. First round eliminations was scheduled for Saturday afternoon and with 68 cars going for the win, Duane had his work cut out for him. Duane's first round opponent got the starting line advantage with a .007 and a .020 light, but was a little fast at the top end going 9.851. Duane reacted quickly hitting the brakes to take the win with a 9.956. Second round was a great match up for Sunday's eliminations, pairing Duane with Ray Connolly, who is ranked #1 in the country. After leaving the starting line, Duane had the advantage and needed every bit of it. Going into the 1000' mark Duane had a small advantage, but by the time they got to the mile per hour cone, Connolly had caught up to Duane. Duane hit the brakes "as soon as Duane saw his nose drop Duane lifted”. Unfortunately for Ray, he broke out by one thousands of a second running a 9.899 with a .047 light compared to Duane's 9.939 and a .020 light making it another close race at the finish line. Third round was against Eddie Arnold, who was coming off a semi-final finish from the Norwalk point's races. Arnold had problems during the run when his car would not go into second gear giving LaFleur the win. Fourth round matched LaFleur against Steve Eckard, who won the rain delayed Norwalk points race the night before. Eckard was first off the line and at the 1320 foot marker neither racer knew who was in front. Duane took the strip by .008 or eight thousands of a second but unfortunately it was on a double breakout, giving the win to Steve. Overall it was a good weekend for the team and after this event; Duane currently sits in 5th place in division 3 and 18th in the country.

Next stop on the schedule is Bowling Green, KY then the U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis. We hope to see you at the track and thank you for your continued support.

Lancaster, NY (July4th, 2008) Dunn Tire Raceway Park was the next stop for Duane and the team. This was the 50th anniversary event for Dunn Tire Raceway Park and with the stands full and a pit full of race cars LaFleur was ready to ht the track and make up for his third round loss in Norwalk, Ohio. This track is a 1/8 mile distance rather then the normal ¼ mile that is run in most events making the elapse time of 6.40 seconds for our category. First time run Duane was able to get close with a 6.396 @125 mph on Duane's second time run he tightened it up a little closer going 6.412 making him #1 qualifier. With there being an even number of cars first round Duane did not have the bye run that was scheduled for the second round that is if Duane was able to defeat his first round opponent. Able to get lane chose LaFleur put his competitor in the left lane and that worked out in Duane's favor. With his opponent having a .004 reactions time Duane needed his .009 to and was able to keep pace and getting the win going a 6.41 to the opponents 6.37. With the bye second round LaFleur went 6.38 and tested the track conditions to see what it would hold. Third rounds was at night in the dark and not wanting to red light Duane added .015 thousands to the delay box and good thing he did because his .006 to Kirk Perry's .056 was all he needed to push him under the index with a 6.36 to Duane's 6.43. This set up the finial round in Super Gas Brian Doan and Duane LaFleur had made it through the tough field of competitors and Duane was ready to finish the night off with a bang. After leaving the starting line LaFleur had a feeling that he had hit the tree very well "I looked over and could tell I was in front of Brian after letting go of the button”. That is a good feeling when you are the faster car and it ended showing at the finish line Brian went 6.31 to Duane's winning 6.39. It was a great night to win on the 50th anniversary at Dunn Tire Raceway Park where Duane started his racing career and to have his dad Dan with him made it event better. LaFleur Racing wants to thank all the supporters of the team Jiffy-tite, K&N, KD Kanopies and Valvoline. Next stop for the team is the division three points race in Columbus, Ohio on June26-28, 2008 hope to see you then.

Norwalk, Ohio (June 26-29, 2008) The Summit Racing Equipment Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio was the next stop for LaFleur Racing and a shot at moving up in the National points standings. Thursday started off sunny and blue skies with three time runs on the schedule. All three of our runs went very well and the car worked perfectly. Then came Thursday night and all heck broke loose with heavy rains and damaging winds causing trees to blow over snap in half and awnings and tents to go flying through our the racing facilities. Luckily no one was injured nor was there much damage to the race rigs or campers on the property. On Friday Super Gas was scheduled for two rounds of eliminations. Duane's first round opponent was Gene Norwood from North Carolina and a very tough racer as well. Unfortunately for Gene he went .004 red giving the round to Duane which had a very good run running just what he set up for which was a 9.885 giving him room at the other end if needed. Second round was a little tougher, paired up against Frank Miller and his Dodge Avenger. Duane was first off the line with a .013 to Franks .032 but Frank was a little off on his dial going 9.91 to Duane's on the brakes 9.93 for the win. Saturday we were schedule for our third and fourth rounds. Mike Fuqua was Duane's third round opponent but the rains started to fall in the morning causing a delay in the action. After about an hour delay to the start of the day the track was finial dry and ready to go. Things did not go as planned for LaFleur after having a .013 light the round before Duane went red by -.011 putting him out of competition for the remainder of the event. It just so happened that over half of the competitors in the left lane that morning red lit that round and after look at the time slip the track was better then it had been all weekend but it was to late to make and adjustments. It was still a great weekend for LaFleur Racing we did a promotional interview for K&N Filters and had the chance to spend time with Bob Harris from K&N through out the weekend supporting the K&N Pro Stock challenge as well. Duane and the team left the event in 2nd place in the Division 3 and also 22nd over all in the country.

Joliet, IL (June 13-15, 2008) Joliet Illinois was the third stop on the Lucas Oil point's race for division three this year. With Duane sitting in the #3 spot in Super Gas it was time to make up some ground and try to pull ahead in the points. After going through the many different areas that could have been causing Duane to have slow reaction time the team was read to go rounds in Joliet. After making two time trials Duane was able to make the Races for Christ top 8 shoot out. In the first round of the shoot out Duane had the better reaction time and got around his opponent and tried to tighten it up at the other end. Tighten it up he did but it was a little to much and Duane lost by .015 margin of victory. After that round Duane commented "I have lost a few races this season due to taking to much strip. If you don't try to tighten up you will never learn how to win”. After the third time run it was time to get down to business. The first two rounds Duane was able to get through fairly easy with both opponents having slower reactions times and wanting to take the strip allowing Duane to take the win. Third round Duane was matched with Terry Eckerd a multi time event winner. Terry won lane choice putting Duane in the left lane which played out well. Terry Eckerd was .020 running a 9.921 to Duane's .024 and a 9.905. Fourth round was the tough one for LaFleur if Duane was able to get the win over Steve Hoyt it would give him the bye into the semifinals. With a -.013 reaction time the weekend came to a halt but still a good weekend for the team. The current point's standings has Duane currently in second place in the North Central Division with only four races claimed.

Next stop for LaFleur Racing is the NHRA Summit Racing Equipment Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio. We look forward to seeing you their and once again thank you very much for your support.

The Torco Race Fuel's Route 66 Nationals in Joliet Illinois was the third NHRA national event for LaFleur Racing this season. After suffering two second round losses at the first two events it was time for a better showing in Illinois. The weekend was a very eventful one to say the least. Every day was either tornado watches or tornado warnings causing the event to be stopped over and over again. Even though a tornado never hit at the track they did hit 5 miles for the Joliet facility. After making our time runs we felt confident on the set up for first round eliminations. The only concern we had was reaction times for some reason many of the other racers had the same issues. You would hit the tree on one time session and then go out and have a fifty or sixty light the next round. With that being said first round Duane was .021 on the tree and with his opponent missing the tree with a .064 light Duane pushed his opponent to break out running a 9.88 to Duane's 9.97 run putting Duane into the second round of eliminations on Saturday. That is when the reaction time issue came back to bite Duane, his opponent went .018 to Duane's .087. What really added insult to injury was Duane ran a perfect 9.900 to his opponents 9.93 elapsed time. After a second lose due to a bad reaction time the LaFleur team went through and changed out the transbreak solenoid after checking many other areas that might have caused the poor reaction times the past two races.

The Summit Southern Nationals in Atlanta Georgia was the next stop for Duane and the LaFleur race team. This race did not have Super Gas scheduled so Duane and the team had to prepare to run in Super Comp at this event. So after a few minor changes to the Race-Tech 68 Camaro Roadster Duane went up for the first time run of the event. Running against Sherman Adcock on the first time run Duane started out where he left off the week before. Duane went .013 on the tree and an 8.906 giving him a .019 package and announcer Allen Reinhart let the entire Atlanta Dragway crowed know that a door car just made the best run of the first session over all the dragster entered this weekend. After two more good time runs LaFleur and the team prepared for first round on Friday. First round went Duane way with the fourth best run of the session going 8.905 and putting Duane into the second round scheduled for Saturday morning. Duane's weekend came to an end second round turning the red light on by a mere -.005.

Next up for the LaFleur Race team will be the Division 3 race scheduled for Norwalk, Ohio on May 16-18 and then off to Chicago, Illinois for the Torco Nationals and D-3 point race in June.

This was the second NHRA points race of the year for LaFleur Racing and a good one it was. After three qualifying sessions the team had the car dialed and read for first round. Duane's first round opponent Joe DeLuca went red by .008 but would have had a difficult time with Duane running a 9.901 with a .002 light giving him a .003 package and the number one qualifying spot and the bye in the second round. On the bye run Duane again hit the tree and ran a 9.884 giving him a great set up for his third round opponent. Third round Duane had the 2007 #1 Super Gas world champion Sherman Adcock but showing no mersey Duane had a better light and backed into Sherman running a 9.907 with a .019. Fourth round was the closest race of the weekend for LaFleur running division 2 racers Ralph Barrett. Barrett had a very nice run going .025 and a 9.908 but Duane had a .028 and a 9.903 for a .014 margin of victory. The fifth round was the hard one, after running 3 out of 4 rounds going 9.901- 9.907 Duane just missed getting the win light going 9.893 on the breaks bringing an end to a great weekend. Duane finished with a semi finials 4th place finish keeping him in the hunt for the division 3 points championship. Currently Duane is in 3rd place after two races in the South Central Division.

June 15-17 was the Division 3 Points race also at the Chicago location. We made a few changes to the car to get it to perform a little better. We changed front springs, struts and made a bar change in the foul link to try to get the car to leave with the front end in the air a little more then it was. The changes did help us and my reaction times came around to .009, .011 and .014. First round I went .004 to my opponents .041 and broke him out to a 9.87 to my 9.93. Second round was also a tight race, I went .016 to his .033 but missed the dial and he took the strip by .004. He also went on to win the point's race that weekend.

On June 7-10 LaFleur Racing attended the NHRA Torco Nationals in Chicago, Illinois. This was the first national event of the 2007 season us and with the Jeg's All-stars running at this event it brought racers for all parts of the country. After the three qualifying sessions we had the 68 Camaro on the 9.90 number. First round was a different story, during qualifying the temperature was 92° with a 30 mile per hours cross wind. Friday first round it was 68° with a 14 mile per hour tail wind. My opponent was .012 to my .020 and I took the strip by .003 the only trouble was it was on a double break out giving the win to him. On a good note we won the Best Engineered Award which did include a $1000.00 check and a Wally so it was not all bad at the National Event.

Stay tuned to this journal for information on LaFleur Racing and the building of our new car for the 2007 Season.