Streets Of Fire Red Bluff
	Photo By RAP :: Race Action Photography

The annual Nitro Nationals event delivered all the promises Mother nature could muster up.
Acceptable wind factors, temperatures ranging in the high ninties and clear, cloudless skies.

The racers came armed with promises, and convictions, and a few sported new boats.

Some teams sought out sponsors, some sought a trophy, others sought to break and make new records.

The Red Bluff event has been known to be a record hound, and this year proved no different.

Streets of Fire, commonly referred to as the show and shine, brought out thousands of people. Some were so impressed they actually participated in sponsoring a boat. Fans got to sit behind the wheel, while everyone watched the fastest boats on the planet sit still as the thunderous roar of fired up engines filled the sky.

On Saturday the gloves were on the wheel, and the foot to the floor, especially for Heidemann, Swanson and Ishimaru.

Johnny Heidemann, earned the #1 qualifing spot, for TAF #641 Nightmare. He ran a record breaking run, that would need to be backed up on Sunday.

John Swanson ran a menacing 225.50 MPH pass, in the TAH, named Urban Menace, and was hoping to run a second one, to get the official recognition of being the fastest TAH on the quarter mile. The one certainty of Saturday was his run made him #1 qualifier in TAH.

World Champion, and #1 qualifier, TFH driver, Dale Ishimaru had no problem running a record ET and a record MPH pass, in a qualifying run of 4.696 seconds at 263.62 miles per hour. The real problem for him and all these guys would be doing it twice during the weekend to claim their space on the liquid hall of fame and oust the current record holders.

Saturday finished without a hitch. The pits were filled with the smell of Hickory Smoke and racing fuel, and the sound of adrenalin driven racers echoed accross the lake.

Sunday was Saturdays twin in more ways than the weather, except today the gloves were off.

The boat count was in the sixties, including 16 Super Stocks (circle boats), and 3 Personal Watercraft. The 46 drag boats to battle on lake Red Bluff, fell into the classes of Top Fuel Hydro, Top Alcohol Hydro, Top Alcohol Flat, Pro Mod, Pro Comp Eliminator, Pro Eliminator, Top Eliminator, Modified Eliminator, Stock Eliminator and River Racer.

Water skier, Theresa Wallace, attempted to make a 100mph barefoot pass. Theresa unfortunately had difficulty getting past the timing clock on both attempts.

Most drag boat #1 qualifiers started knocking off the competition one by one.

The fastest vehicle to run half track was Toxic Rocket, owned by Joe Cassidy. Pilot, Glen Wilson, may have given the photographers whiplash as they tried to follow his daring passes. To prove the run was no fluke Glen ran it twice. The final time was during the semi-finals when Glen Wlson and Dale Ishimaru shared the lanes for the second time. Glen beat Dale in half track speed again, and Dale Ishimaru was going for the record run (back up), when he crashed. Toxic suffered substantial body damage from the impact of the parts and motor, from Problem Child.

Dale Isimaru was airvacced to the local hospital, and endured several tests, x-rays and a cat scan. He was in extreme pain for two hours during the extensive tests, but once they were over he was put on morphine.

Sources who were present at the hospital confirmed rumors that Dale did have substantial damage to his second vertebra, and the decision is pending if he will undergo surgery locally or be transported to Torrence, for surgery near home. The surgery will be done asap and Dale is expected to have a full recovery within three months. At that time the doctors will evaluate the possiblility of Dale returning to drag boat driving.

PE, Laff 'N Gas, went airborn at 1/4 track and Shawn Needham, sporting a few bruises, was later returned to his pit area, minus the boat.
Laff 'N Gas, was out for the count, Rescue laid it to rest, near the island until the races were over.

Darrin Christle, without much warning, found himself inverted, in the Lucas Oil drag boat. TAH #628, owned by James McClure, was named Fair Warning. The boat broke in half after getting out of shape at the top end of the track. Darrin walked out the hospital door with a few stitched cuts on his hand, and a mild concussion.