Nick smith

HARTFORD -- In one way of looking at it, a gala fundraiser that drew business and political elites to honor a former elected official in a minor league baseball park on the coldest night of the year was just that, a gathering for a charity, like so many. On the other hand, the firepower at Dunkin’ Donuts Park Friday night to applaud Shawn T. Wooden, who served one, 4-year term as Connecticut’s state treasurer, would impress anyone familiar with politics, business and the civic power structure -- especially in the Black community -- in and beyond Connecticut. And that raised an obvious question. “Shawn Wooden was always committed to Hartford,” said U.S. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, the Brooklyn, N.Y. Democrat who’s minority leader in the House of Representatives and likely the future House speaker when and if the Dems win back that chamber. Wooden and Jeffries are pals from NYU law school. “He had so many opportunities to practice law across the country including at some of the … [Read more...] about Dan Haar: A flashy gala raises money — and speculation about a high-profile CT political career

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 5 A certain fortitude is required to dine at the Boiling Crab during crawfish season. By 6 p.m. — early for dinner in Houston — a line will have clotted the foyer and spilled onto the front sidewalk. “It will be 45 minutes,” a harried waitress may tell you as she inscribes your name in a crumpled notebook. That’s a short wait at this wildly popular restaurant fronting the Viet Hoa shopping plaza, which dominates the intersection of Beechnut and Beltway 8 near Houston’s new Chinatown. As the evening darkens, knots of cars snarl the parking lot and a vexed security guard directs rapper Chamillionaire’s custom pickup truck into a tight space. Curb-sitters step out for sodas; a few procure beers to sip in the car. In the entryway, kids peck at handheld video games while the grown-ups talk into cell phones, everybody breathing deeply of the garlic-and-brine aroma gusting from the … [Read more...] about Boiling Crab

Listen to this article The kid who won a championship in his 2010 Mello Yello Drag Racing Series rookie season has now won five of the category’s eight 2017 races, earning his fifth victory of the year at the 30th annual Toyota Sonoma Nationals held this past weekend at Sonoma Raceway. Until this season, it was just LE, brother GT and father Gary Tonglet traveling from race to race by truck. “Last year we were working on the bike, driving to a lot of places… it was a lot of time involved,” Tonglet said. There was a lot of stress involved in making every race and earning his stripes as a firefighter, Tonglet’s weekday job. Toward the end of his 2016 championship season, Jerry Savoie of WAR realized the best way to amplify his NHRA program was to add another motorcycle. “My crew chief suggested it,” Savoie said of Timothy Kulungian, who makes the tuning decision for both motorcycles. “When you look at a lot of teams out here that are making eight runs in qualifying when we … [Read more...] about Will Tonglet earn his second NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle title?

Listen to this article Lucas Oil Raceway may not occupy even half the size of its neighbor to the east, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but for the Labor Day weekend each year, it becomes a community of racers that closes the summer racing season, just as Indy at Memorial Day acknowledges the start. These are the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals, held this year for the 62nd time on 261 acres filled with varying degrees horsepower and torque. A flock of speed demons from around the country (and occasionally from overseas) converges west of Indianapolis to celebrate straight-line racing. The action started on Wednesday August 31st and continues through Labor Day on September 5th. The final spots in the $100,000 Traxxas Nitro Shootout for both Top Fuel and Funny Car were decided through a drawing at Indianapolis’ Monument Circle on Wednesday. While the popular online vote went to Clay Millican (TF) and 16-time Funny Car champion John Force, a random drawing decided the two … [Read more...] about NHRA’s Big Go at Indianapolis sets field for playoffs

Listen to this article Brownsburg, Ind. – Courtney Force won the lucrative Funny Car portion of the NHRA Traxxas Nitro Shootout and Matt Hagan secured the No. 1 qualifier Sunday at the 62nd annual Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis. Clay Millican (Top Fuel), Bo Butner (Pro Stock) and Angelle Sampey (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also were No. 1 qualifiers in their respective categories at the 18th event of 24 on the 2016 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series schedule. The Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals is the final race of the regular season. Funny Car Force sprinted to a $100,000 payday in her Traxxas Chevy Camaro SS by posting a 4.018-second pass at 266.04 mph to defeat teammate Robert Hight’s 4.596 at 180.09 at the controls of his Auto Club of Southern California Chevy Camaro SS during the final round of the specialty event. This is Force’s first final round appearance at the NHRA Traxxas Nitro Shootout and her fifth time in the … [Read more...] about C. Force wins Funny Car portion of NHRA Traxxas Nitro Shootout

Listen to this article TOP FUEL Schumacher claimed his 82nd career win when he powered his U.S. Army dragster to a 3.806-second pass at 317.64 mph to beat Steve Torrence’s 3.803 at 325.06 in his Capco Contractors / Torrence Racing dragster during the final round on Monday. The most successful driver in NHRA Top Fuel history also became the most successful driver in Lucas Oil Raceway history with his 10th career victory there. Schumacher outran Tripp Tatum, DSR teammate and reigning champ Antron Brown and Sonoma event winner J.R. Todd in the earlier rounds before facing Torrence. “I didn’t see [Torrence] for one second but I heard him,” said Schumacher. “It was a great final round; the fans got a close race. It’s been such a great career and it’s been so much fun. I’ve had great teams, one after another, and it’s a blessing to be a part of this and have a chance. I love my job and I love drag racing cars.” Schumacher, who also won the Top Fuel portion of the lucrative NHRA … [Read more...] about Schumacher, Hagan, McGaha and Hines clinch US Nationals

Listen to this article For the NHRA’s Mello Yello Drag Racing Series competitors, bringing home the Wally trophy at Lucas Oil Raceway outside Indianapolis means everything. Heck, even qualifying for this race isn’t easy: anyone who has a chance to make the field will come to this place and try, and so there’s always a surge in entrant numbers. Recently it’s been tough to scavenge sufficient competition to make a full field of 16 for eliminations for the Mello Yello 24-race campaign. Racing at the top is always expensive and partnerships that work are often tough to find. But for the 62nd annual Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals, there were plenty of “go hard or go home” racers on the 261-acre premises. There were a healthy 20 Top Fuel dragsters, 19 Funny Cars, 19 Pro Stocks and 23 PS Motorcycles. And so there was bumping in and out of the field and upsets that changed the scope of the six-race Countdown to the Championship playoffs that start in Charlotte next week. … [Read more...] about U.S. Nationals drama is a taster of what’s to come

Listen to this article It’s also the youngest of the professional categories and, while Top Fuel, Funny Car and Pro Stock each race 24 times during a season the runs from February through much of November, Pro Stock Motorcycle (PSM) has 16 races, starting at the third contest of the year, the Gatornationals at Gainesville, Fla. in March of each year. That doesn’t mean PSM is any less competitive than its three brethren, nor does it mean there’s less combativeness between competitors, all thinking the other guy gets a better break. No, PSM is a tense and terse battleground - and for the Countdown to the Championship, it races at the same six venues allocated to the other pro classes. The players in Pro Stock Motorcycle There are four primary motorcycle manufacturers vested in NHRA’s Pro Stock Motorcycle class: the long-lived Suzuki’s TL1000 and GSXR; Erik Buell’s XB12R, Victory’s Gunner and the Harley-Davidson V-Rod. Only two of these manufacturer’s motorcycles are … [Read more...] about Hines gunning for sixth Pro Stock Motorcycle title

Listen to this article Force, who has also won two more Funny Car titles as a team owner – with Robert Hight in 2009 and Tony Pedregon in ’03 – has scored two wins this season but heads into the Countdown points reset with a 90pt deficit to Don Schumacher Racing’s Ron Capps, having finished the ‘regular’ season in eighth. As a result, this weekend’s NHRA Nationals at zMax Dragway in Charlotte, N.C., will see Force’s PEAK Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car team gaining Jason McCulloch in sharing the tune-up duties with crew chief Jon Schaffer, while Nick Casertano will continue his day-to-day duties of crew management. The move brings McCulloch back to his Funny Car roots after over a decade winning championships in Top Fuel. McCulloch used to work on his father’s Funny Car before switching to Top Fuel. Said Force: “Growing up in California I always felt like my heroes – Don ‘Snake’ Prudhomme, Tom ‘Mongoose’ McEwen and Ed ‘The Ace’ McCulloch – were the boys of Southern … [Read more...] about Force recruits McCulloch for title fight