Joe Newsham aka “New Jersey Joe” is one of few front running 10.5″ Outlaw racers that sets records and w1ns without drastic support from an employing engine builder or chassis builder like so many front running 10.5 Outlaw cars.

Unfortunately, at last weekends Englishtown raceway held “Shakedown at E-town” extravaganza, Joe ran into some unfortunate top end luck after riding the rear wheelie bars well past the 330′ mark.

Joe, albeit banged up, lived to see another day.  Watch the video’s and see the reason why NHRA’s new mandated SFI chassis rules are indeed working.

Thanks to John Fore for the leading pic, you the man.

Newsham Crash Angle 1

Newsham Crash Angle 2

For years and years manual transmissions have always been the red headed step child when it came to aftermarket development.  This was even worse when you had to rely on your favorite brands supplier to come out with stronger replacement parts.  In the 60’s GM had the Muncie, Chrysler had the A-833 and Ford had the Top Loader.

From the 1980’s until recently we witnessed  TREMEC take a majority of marketshare by  being placed in everything from 5.0L Mustangs to the late model Dodge Viper ACR.  But what if you needed to put one behind your not-so-stock power plant?  The only option has been to step up to an automatic which usually consisted of variations based on the GM 3-speed TH400, GM 2-speed Powerglide or the Chrysler 727 Torqueflite.

The import companies ?  LOL  There is a reason why all the fastest Toyota Supras use GM  transmissions.

Automatics are great for drag racing but what if you want to bang your own gears ?  Mcleod has the answer.

After 3-years of development, and leaving 1 stress-tested and busted dyno in its wake, Mcleod has debuted the M-800 5-speed manual transmission.  A clean sheet design that was meant to be  a drop in replacement for Mopars A-833 4-speed from yore. The front plate and rear tail shaft can be changed to replace GM 4-speeds, Ford Top Loaders and T-5’s.

The M-800 is good for 800 ft/lbs of torque, uses all forged internals and has a 32-spline output shaft.  Mcleod is so sure of this beast that they have tagged it with a 1-year or 12000 mile warranty.

From toilets to wedding bands, carbon fiber has certainly made an impression on the right people for it come this far.

It can also only help prices come down for us car guys that told everyone about it in the first place.  How far have prices come down?  The 3.5 gram titanium / carbon fiber wedding band is only $30.00 and you would never notice it was on your finger!!

Fresh from Rick Jones race cars in Galesburg, Ill. comes the first new Dodge Avenger Pro Stocker that will replace the aging Dodge Stratus R/T that has been in commission since 2003.

Designed in-house by Chrysler Group LLC with a strict emphasis on actually appearing like a factory Avenger, the team used tooling and resources that were also used on the street-going version of the Dodge Avenger to keep a distinction between the two; while also being aerodynamic and better than  the previous Stratus R/T body.

“The introduction of the new NHRA Pro Stock Dodge Avenger will invigorate our Mopar-powered Pro Stock racers,” said Jim Sassorossi, Director—Mopar Global Parts Sales and Marketing, Chrysler Group LLC. “The production Dodge Avenger is a perfect template for the drag strip. The Dodge Avenger’s bold styling and aggressive looks communicate the performance capability of the Dodge brand’s mid-size sedan. ”

When asked about keeping the car appearing like a factory Avenger:  “Our team worked within NHRA’s rules to balance aerodynamic performance goals and maximize Dodge Avenger identity,” said Joe Vitous, SRT & Motorsports Aero-Thermal Manager. “The new Mopar Dodge Avenger meets or exceeds the aero goals we established.”

While we would have obviously preferred them to use a scaled Challenger, we can appreciate the fact that Chrysler needs to sell mass amounts of Avengers, and needs to push this car more than the lower volume niche Challenger.

Under Fiat control the Avenger and Sebring have been green-lighted until 2012, but will feature facelifts and new interiors between then and now, so expect an updated Pro Stock version in the not to distant future.

In the line of high-impact limited quantity colors such as Hemi Orange and B5 Blue is Detonator yellow.

Detonator yellow is reportedly going to be the rarest yet as the production window will be open the shortest period compared the the two colors before it.  After yellow will be plum crazy purple.