Cayuga International Super Pro regulars Bill and Shawn Morrell have debuted a new machine to replace their popular Opel GT. The father and son team unveiled the car recently which had been two years in construction. The homebuilt late model Pontiac Firebird features a chome moly chassis and a steel body with a fiberglass front clip. The Morrell's will hit the trail in Super Pro/Pro Comp using a naturally aspirated 468 CID Big Block Chevy for power. The team anticipates 8.7 secs elapsed times at 155+ mph. They cite valuable help from good friend an fellow Cayuga racer Wayne Sipos for the final product. (Photo courtesy of : Rob Potter)

Canada's Paton Racing had a remarkable first outing with their new nitro-burning "99 Car" during last weekends rescheduled Matco Tools Super Nationals at Englishtown, NJ. The event was the first for Todd, Tony and Barry as independents in the Pro class. While Canadian race fans collectively held their breath in anticipation -- the Paton's delivered and then some! Their first two laps ever with the 1999 Camaro-bodied car produced times of 5.187 secs 286.86 mph and 5.018 secs at 302.21 mph on consecutive test runs on Friday. Todd then won his first round match over Dean Skuza on Saturday before the car smoked it's tires against Del Worsham in round two. "We were a little unsure of what we should expect given this team and car was put together in only about two weeks," said Todd Paton. "I'd have to say we exceeded our expectations -- we're pretty happy with our effort first time out." The Paton's received valuable tuning assistance from veteran Ron Swearingen during the event. Paton Racing will now begin an aggressive search for sponsorship -- their goal being a full NHRA Winston tour in 2001. Hopefully corporate Canada will be along for the ride! (Bruce Biegler photo)