Old Bridge Township Raceway Park
Englishtown, N.J.
May 1-2

Golden Eagle Mfg. has scored another victory and third place finish in Pro FWD, a third place finish in Hot Rod and a victory in Sport FWD!

With the prediction of rain in the thirty to forty percentiles, all were on their toes when race day was upon us. Saturday May 1st turned out to be a great day for racing, having nothing but clear skies and cool temperatures. I was sure, as you all were, that Sunday was going to rain out. As I awoke and looked outside the window of my hotel room, I had a great view of a slightly wet parking lot, and a perfectly blue sky with small white clouds. Looks like this race weekend was a success by weather standards, and the performance of the race teams themselves was in the same category.

Golden Eagle Mfg. sponsored race teams captured two wins this race, Saturn Motorsports in Pro FWD and Jason Hunt in Sport FWD. In addition, we also captured two thirds, Bergenholtz Racing in Pro FWD and Gardella Racing in Hot Rod.




 

 

 
 

Pro FWD

Lisa Kubo – Saturn Motorsports

Winner - Lisa Kubo – Saturn Motorspoprts
This is an amazing year for this young team. Saturn motorsports has won yet another NHRA Sport Compact Event making that their fourth consecutive victory ( 3 NHRA and 1 NDRA ). Every time Lisa has hit the track this year she has placed #1 qualifier, has gone on the win the class and has broken a record making her very difficult to catch for anyone else in the Pro FWD category. This event was a repeat of those past events and Lisa and her team are on one of the most successful rolls ever as she ran nothing but 7-second blasts all weekend long. This team really has things figured out and I cannot put into words how great it is to be able to be a part of this team. They truly are some of the most genuine people in this racing series and We here at Golden Eagle Mfg. are so pleased to be able to contribute whatever we can to this team. Go Lisa, we hope to aid in your victory.

 

 

 

 

Ed Bergenholtz – Team Bergenholtz

3rd place - Ed Bergenholtz – Team Bergenholtz
Consistency is key, and Team Bergenholtz has had to fight problem all the way, but has managed to keep themselves in the 3rd place points position with another 3rd place finish. Plagued with mechanical problems, Ed blasted an 8.44 pass with only 142 MPH. The low MPH tells them that the car was way off its mark and that there is a lot of potential in the Mazda 6.

“That car really has what it takes to run in the 7’s. Once you guys figure out the mechanical issues, I truly believe that your car will be tough to beat” say Gary Kubo after looking at the teams time slip. He added that he has never been able to run that fast with the types of problems that Team Berhenholtz was experiencing. The team hopes to have things figured out before Colorado. They will be taking a race off to get a grip on the engine program and do some testing while in CA.

 



 

Hot Rod

Gary Gardella – Gardella Racing

3rd Place - Gary Gardella – Gardella Racing
This man is on a mission. With Crew Chief John Perry behind all of the phenomenal times, and Gary taking care of making the car go down the track, this is one of the most competitive teams on the circuit. Running an eye popping 8.08, Gary has proven that it doesn’t take a million dollars to be competitive, it takes a million ideas, and Gardella racing has a surplus of them. The disco dancing rollerskate king on NJ has proven that the little guy can really give the big teams like GM a run for their money. A great job for Gardella racing.

On a side note, I would personally like to thank Gary Gardella and his father, Gary Sr., for their kindness in letting us use their equipment and facilities to get our car done. We could not have done it without your help. Also thank you to County Line Autobody for fixing our front end after damaging it in FL. You are the best.

 

Sav Leone – Leone Racing

Sav is building a new car for the 2004 season to compete in the NDRA drag racing series. We hope to hear a lot from him later in the year. Best of luck to you Sav!

 

All Motor

 Vince Tiaga – Team Bergenholtz

Team Bergenholtz will be debuting their all-motor class entry at the NHRA Las Vegas race in July. We hope to see some great number from this car.


 

 


 

Sport FWD

Jason Hunt – Hunt Racing

Winner - Jason Hunt – Hunt Racing
Jason seems to like being on top. Another victory in Sport FWD, Jason just keeps adding to his accolades. Winning the event and taking home another victory is exactly what Jason was looking to do. We hope to have a full insider editorial on Jason Hunt and his ride to bring you in the near future. Until then, if you see Jason at the track, try to get his autograph. This guy is going places and we are proud to be able to help. Great Job Jason and team!



 


This weekend also brought to a couple of Golden Eagle teams, the opportunity to be seen on TV in front of 1.15 million viewers in the NY, NJ area. Having a small feature on the Fox morning news show “ Fox and Friends “, Ed Bergenholtz and Gary Gardella, along with GM sponsored racers Nelson Hoyos and Marty Ladwig, were interviewed and asked to talk a little bit about our sport of Import Drag Racing. It was a great success for our industry and an even greater success for Golden Eagle.

“We have the best teams anyone could ask for! “ exclaims Vince Tiaga, Product Manager for Golden Eagle Mfg. “ We have always had luck choosing teams that not only perform well, but that also have the personality and dedication to be recognized as the best in the business. Congrats to all Golden Eagle Sponsored teams. You guys are #1 “