Epping, NH – The New England area is well known for its scenic country side, passion for baseball and abundance of fresh sea food.
But, as the summer begins to lose its sting and the New England air hints of the fall season, drag racing fans know that it can only mean one thing. It’s time for the 10th Annual Amalie Oil North American Nationals. The IHRA Hooters Drag Racing event will be contested September 9-11 at the New England Dragway.
“The New England area has been Amalie country for over 80 years,” stated Andrew Bornstein, Business Development Manager for Amalie Motor Oil. “Our partners in that region provide over 100 retail outlets for Amalie products.” Amalie will host a hospitality tent trackside for friends and partners during the event.
Area distributors are also participating in an Amalie promotion during race week. Don Bosely, District Manager Northeast explains, “Amalie is running radio spots all week in the New England area. Anyone who purchases an Amalie product at one of the area distributors will get a Amalie Oil InstiGator Die Cast car while supplies last.”
Terry McMillen and his Amalie Oil InstiGator Funny Car, powered by TORCO Racing Fuels, kicked off race week early with a radio appearance Tuesday morning. “We’re always excited about being here,” stated McMillen. “We love getting here early and spending time with all of our friends at VIP – Parts, Tires and Service, Sanel Parts Plus, Robbins Auto Parts and Auto Value.”
McMillen will make several radio and personal appearances throughout the week. Radio appearances began Tuesday and will continue through Friday when Terry spends time with Greg and the Morning Buzz. The Morning Buzz is syndicated across New England, making it one the regions top radio shows. “I spent an hour with these guys last year,” McMillen said. “They’re a fun bunch. Plus, we put Laura (one of the show personalities) in the car last year. It made great radio.”
McMillen and the InstiGator Funny Car will also make several appearances throughout the week to show the car and sign autographs. On Tuesday, Sanel Parts Plus hosted an event at their store in Exeter, NH. Sanel Part Plus will also host an event at their Manchester, NH store on Thursday.
On Wednesday, VIP – Parts, Tires and Service will host McMillen at their Somersworth, NH store.
While it’s a busy week for McMillen around the New England area, he knows race week begins at the starting line on Friday. “We’ve got to roll off of the truck ready to go,” said McMillen. “In the past we’ve had success here, but this is as big a race as any. You can bet that all of the teams will going for it. There’s no reason to conserve parts now. It’s time to put it all on the line.”
McMillen qualified the InstiGator in the #4 position and made a semi-final appearance in the 2004 contest.
InstiGator Improvements Not Enough For Norwalk
Norwalk, OH – The Amalie Oil InstiGator Funny Car, powered by TORCO Racing Fuels, sees improvement at the 24th Annual Skull Gear World Nationals but falls short of desired goal. “Every time we pack up for a race, we expect to win it,” said McMillen.
Eighteen Funny Cars showed up at the famed Norwalk Raceway Park to qualify for one of the eight available spots. While racing for eliminations on Sunday, the competitors reset the #5 IHRA Quickest Fields in Funny Car record with a 5.957 second field, leaving McMillen and his InstiGator just .005 short. “No doubt, we’re disappointed,” said McMillen. “There hasn’t been much rest for this team,” explained Tad “TV” Heflick, Co-Crew Chief, “and we won’t rest until the Amalie Oil InstiGator is back in the finals.” Co-Crew Chief, Brent “Skinny” Lidgard added, “This car has run in the ‘.80s and it will run in the ‘.80s again.”
The team enjoyed an eventful week, participating in the “Thunder in the Streets” event. McMillen also spent time Thursday on Cleveland’s popular WMMS and WXTM radio stations before heading to Toledo for an in-studio TV interview during the evening news. “Thursday was a great,” said McMillen. “It’s a fun way to promote the race and Amalie Oil, eRaceFuels, Flatout Gaskets, NGK Spark Plugs, MSD, Performance Graphics, Powershield Coatings and Crane Cams.”
The next stop on the Hooters IHRA Drag Racing Schedule is the 10th Annual Amalie Oil North American Nationals brought to you by Auto Value Stores. The event takes place September 9-11 at the New England Dragway in Epping NH.
Amalie Oil InstiGator Thunders Into Norwalk
Cleveland, OH – Terry McMillen and his Amalie Oil InstiGator Funny Car, powered by TORCO Racing Fuels, will thunder into Norwalk, OH to begin race week a day early. The annual “Super Bowl” of Hooters IHRA Drag Racing kicks off Wednesday, August 24 with “Thunder In The Streets”. “We never miss “Thunder In The Streets,” explained McMillen. “It’s an outstanding event that the whole community embraces – it just wouldn’t be Norwalk without it.”
The 24th Annual Skull Gear World Nationals (August 25-28) kicks off as beautiful downtown Norwalk closes down Main Street as many professional teams, including the InstiGator, showcase their cars along this picturesque slice of Americana starting at 3PM. “This event has grown so much since it started 9 years ago,” added McMillen. “It’s really something for the families and fans of northern Ohio.”
“Thunder In The Street” includes family friendly activities, plenty of food, and Mike Albert and the Big E Band to cap off the evening. Also included in the day’s activities are a 5K run, a hot rod cruise, and plenty of Harleys.
While being involved in the pre-race events is always motivating for the InstiGator Team, McMillen never loses sight of the goal. “We’ve got a huge race here,” said McMillen. “Everyone marks the calendar for Norwalk Raceway Park. I would imagine that we’ll see competitor car counts approaching or surpassing one thousand. That’s allot of cars – but we’ve got our work cut out for us in Funny Car.”
While two-time IHRA Funny Car Champion Rob Atchison and his team continue to add to their points lead, everyone knows that the season is far from over. In a pre-race interview with IHRA.com, Atchison said, “IHRA Funny Car is a tough class loaded with talent so no lead is too large to overcome. Last year we trailed by the same amount of points that we are ahead and we fought our way back to win the championship.” McMillen commented, “On one hand that gives us encouragement, on the other hand we know that those guys aren’t letting up for a minute. Unless they’re going to start using an anchor for a wheelie bar it’s going to be up to us to race around them.”
The action in Funny Car begins Friday.
InstiGator To Romp In The Swamp
Grand Rapids, MI – It will be hard to find a mud puddle during this weekends TORCO Racing Fuels Northern Nationals at the beautiful US 131 Motorsports Park. But, if you’re the Gator and it’s your home track, there’s nothing quite like a swamp to make you feel at home. 
Terry McMillen and his Amalie Oil InstiGator Funny Car, powered by TORCO Racing Fuels, splash into Martin for a little romp in the swamp on the eight stop of the Hooters IHRA Drag Racing series. “It’s our home track, we’ve tested and raced more here than anywhere,” explained McMillen. “It’ll be a great weekend for TORCO and all of their associates, we certainly plan on putting on a show for our fans and sponsors.”
McMillen has proven he can pilot his machine the 1320 feet of drag strip at the northern Michigan track, making semi-final appearances two out of the last three seasons. “We’ve had success at this track,” McMillen added. “We’ve got to go rounds starting now to stay in the championship hunt”.
The InstiGator team found inspiration this week from the many fans and competitors that sent emails of encouragement, including one from a funny car competitor reminding the team that they are only 25 points behind last seasons pace, which ended in a career best third place finish.
The Elkhart, Indiana driver who always finds time for fans will be participating in media day, Thursday, August 18 and will be in a midweek feature article in the Grand Rapids Press. “This is what racing is all about,” said McMillen. “We’ve got the best fans, they’re always there to cheer us on and I can never say enough about our partners. Andrew and the gang at Amalie give us the best chance to compete with their entire line of oils and lubricants. While there’s bit a lot written about him lately, no one can ever say enough about Evan Knoll and all that he has done not only for this team, but all of drag racing. Mark at Flatout Gaskets has been behind us and a big reason we are competitive week in and week out. I wouldn’t run anything but Flatout Gaskets on my cars! Roy at Crane Cams has been there for us all year long and Jon at NGK Spark Plugs and Joe at MSD and Jack at Performance Graphics and all of the people that work hard at Powershield Coatings.”
The TORCO Racing Fuels Northern Nationals is contested August 12-14 at the US 131 Motorsports Park just outside of Grand Rapids in Martin, Michigan. For more information contact:
http://hoosierthunder.com
http://www.us131motorsportspark.com/
InstiGator Leaves Hungry In Fastest Funny Car Field In IHRA History
Cayuga, ONT – The 4th Annual AC Delco Canadian Nationals produced the fastest field of Funny Cars (5.930) in IHRA history, surpassing the previous record of 5.938 set during the 2003 World Finals in Rockingham. Terry McMillen and his Amalie Oil InstiGator, powered by TORCO Racing Fuels, fought among the 16
teams for a spot in the 8 car field, coming up just 0.018 seconds short.
“We’re struggling right now,” explained McMillen. “For the past three races our summer set-up has been off. We’ve been working hard, but we’ve got some more work to do. We’ll be testing more this week.”
The InstiGator team made an encouraging pass during Friday’s qualifying attempt. “Our first hit on Friday had us very optimistic,” Terry added. “We were back to our early season horsepower performance, we just couldn’t get it to stick to the track.”
As the Hooters IHRA Drag Racing series completes the first half of the season, the InstiGator team has had phenomenal performances this year providing two final round, two semi-final and one quarter-final appearance. “We’re still very hungry. There are a lot of rounds left to be run before this season is over,” said McMillen. “We can’t thank our partners enough. Without companies like Amalie Oil, TORCO race Fuels, Flatout Gaskets, NGK Spark Plugs, MSD, Performance Graphics, Powershield Coatings and Crane Cams none of this would be possible.”
The InstiGator team had an opportunity to appear on Hamilton’s popular morning show CH Morning Live, Thursday before the race. “I knew that show was popular,” commented Terry. “It was great to have all of the fans tell us that they liked our segment on the show.” Terry was also featured when Mike Perry of IHRA.com covered the pre-race event.
The next stop on the Hooters IHRA is the 24th Annual TORCO Racing Fuels Northern Nationals contested August 12-13 at the US 131 Motorsports Park in Martin, Michigan. McMillen commented, “This is our home track and one of our partners premier events. We’ll be ready.”
Quarter-Final Appearance For Amalie Oil InstiGator
Milan, MI – Terry McMillen and his Amalie Oil sponsored Funny Car, powered by eRaceFuels made a quarter-final appearance in the 3rd Annual Dukes of Hazzard Motor City Nationals. With summer’s unpredictable weather, the Hoosier Thunder Motorsports team fought hard to find the right combination to get the Hemi powered entry quickly down the Motor City quarter mile.
Crew-chiefs were challenged to find a set up that would work with Mother Natures moods. Quick moving patches of clouds and rain would be followed by periods of hot sun and high humidity. “My crew did a great job,” commented McMillen. “Our times were consistent all weekend long. We just couldn’t find that tenth of a second we needed.”
McMillen piloted the InstiGator to the number eight qualifying position on his best run of the weekend (5.983 ET) which saw the car slow through the traps after losing the blower belt with a top speed of 218.94 MPH. “We looked at our incremental times after that pass,” explained co-crew chief Brent “Skinny” Lidgard. “That would have been a pass in the .80’s.”
The end of qualifying set up the showdown between McMillen and London Ontario’s two-time IHRA Funny Car Champion and current points leader, Rob Atchison. McMillen continued his season long dominance of the tree with a reaction time of 0.046 against Atchison’s 0.090. McMillen’s hole shot wouldn’t be enough to overcome Atchison’s machine. Atchison would go on to claim the title for the Motor City Nationals.
Co-crew chief Tad “TV” Heflick reflected after the match with Atchison, “We torched a head and banged the #2 cylinder pretty hard, but we were toe-to-toe with Rob through the 1/8 mile.” The Hoosier Thunder team will be testing this Saturday in Martin, MI at the US 131 Motorsports Park Bar’s Leaks Funny Car Nationals. “Not only is this a great event,” commented McMillen, “it’s a great opportunity for us to dial in our summer tune-up before the eRaceFuels Northern Nationals here at US 131 Motorsports Park.”
McMillen would like to thank the partners of the Hoosier Thunder Motorsports, InstiGator team which include Amalie Oil, eRaceFuels, Flatout Gaskets, NGK Spark Plugs, MSD, Performance Graphics, Powershield Coatings and Crane Cams.
The seventh stop on the Hooters IHRA Drag Racing series is the 4th Annual ACDelco Canadian Nationals, contested at the Toronto Motorsports Park in Cayuga, Ontario July 29-31.
Funny Car Points Race Heats Up With Summer
Milan, MI – The old song says, “Summer is here and the living is easy”. While it might be time for lemonade and back yard cookouts with friends in your neighborhood, the Hooters IHRA Funny Car points race is hotter than Daisy Duke hosting a car wash in Milan, Michigan. 
The 3rd Annual Dukes of Hazzard Motor City Nationals could be the turning point for many teams as the IHRA season reaches the half way point this July 15-17. Terry McMillen and his Amalie Oil InstiGator, powered by TORCO Racing Fuels, continues to challenge perennial Funny Car Champions Mark Thomas and Rob Atchison. Atchison and Thomas have seven championship titles between them. “It’s still anyone’s championship,” remarked McMillen. “We’re planning on a race to the end.”
While some might think that McMillen’s comments are cliché, fans won’t have to look far back into the history books to see that the Funny Car championship has gone down to the last race the past 3 seasons. This season appears to have all of the makings for a season long battle for the championship, but with an interesting twist. What’s normally a 2 team fight down the stretch has turned into a 4 team battle which includes McMillen and Jim Sickles.
“There’s a lot of fight left in this Gator,” commented team co-owner Rhonda McMillen. “While this has been a great run so far, we’re far from finished.” Team co-crew chief, Tad “TV” Heflick agrees, “We’ve got our sites on an Ironman and a championship.” Brent “Skinny” Lidgard, co-crew chief added, “Our sponsors have been great, they deserve the extra attention.”
The InstiGator team partners with high quality, high performance companies like Amalie Oil, TORCO Racing Fuels, Flatout Gaskets, NGK Spark Plugs, MSD, Performance Graphics, Powershield Coatings and Crane Cams.
McMillen has had past success in the Motor City. In the 2004 event, the InstiGator team qualified third and went on to a semi-final appearance. “It’s time for us to make our move,” McMillen explained. “Now is the time. Everything is new on this car now. We’ve got the set up we want.”
McMillen and the InstiGator Funny Car will also be participating in Milan’s first Thunder in the Streets. The event made famous at Norwalk, OH brings IHRA drivers and cars onto city streets. “Communities love this opportunity to get up close to their favorite drivers,” added Jim Walczak, Hoosier Thunder Motorsports Marketing Director. “It’s great for the event, the teams and the sponsors.” The Milan event will feature a concert with Certified Angus, a classic car cruise presented by Back Street Cruizers and Miss Washtenaw County. Kids can expect arts, crafts, clowns and balloons.
Funny Car Points Race Heats Up At Mopar Canadian Nationals
Grand Bend, ONT- As summer sets in and the weather heats up, so does the race for points towards the 2005 IHRA Funny Car Championship. The 6th Annual Mopar Canadian Nationals proved to be as hot as the summer for the Amalie Oil InstiGator, powered by TORCO Racing Fuels.
Although Grand Bend Canada usually enjoys temperatures in the mid to low 70s, during the race teams were challenged to work with temperatures nearing 100 degrees and with a corrected altitude exceeding 4000 feet.
Terry Mc Millen, pilot of the 1999 Dodge Avenger, narrowed the points margin by defeating the defending world champion, Rob Atchison in the first round. Mc Millen’s semi-final appearance, coupled with a Mark Thomas first round loss to Jim Sickles tightens up the points race for the top four drivers leaving Mc Millen, Thomas, Sickles and Atchison within roughly 2 elimination rounds of each other. “This is one of the closest points races I can remember after 4 events”, Mc Millen recalled. “With less than 50 points between us, you can bank on the IHRA funny car class being a battle to the end.”
During elimination rounds the InstiGator car was equipped with a SPEED TV “in-car camera” to catch all of the action. The show featuring Mc Millen and his InstiGator will air on August 13th and again on August 15th at 4PM and 5PM respectively.
“Anytime that we get an opportunity to do these types of special projects – we jump at the chance,” explained Mc Millen. “The fans love seeing what goes on inside the Amalie Oil InstiGator during the race. Of course our sponsors love the attention it brings to the team. We’ve got the best partners in the business. When you talk about quality, everyone thinks of Amalie Oil, TORCO Racing Fuels, Flatout Gaskets, NGK Spark Plugs, MSD, Performance Graphics, Powershield Coatings and Crane Cams.
The next race in the IHRA Hooters Drag Racing series is the 3rd Annual Western RV Nationals presented by TORCO Racing Fuels. Mc Millen had an outstanding race at the 2004 event, finishing in the runner up position with a final round appearance. “We have always run well in Edmonton! We hope to continue that string,” exclaimed Mc Millen. “Track owners, Rob and Kim Reeves have spent many hours re-doing the track surface and facilities. We would like nothing more than to put the Amalie Oil InstiGator powered be TORCO race fuels in the winners circle. Evan Knoll President of Torco is keeping the hair clippers by his side.” When Terry wins, Knoll is providing a free hair cut, which is part of a year long standing bet.
Western RV will join the InstiGator marketing team in Edmonton again this year. “Western RV is the title sponsor for the Rocky Mountain Nationals, we’re proud to be associated with them,” stated InstiGator Marketing Director Jim Walczak. “Not only is Western RV Canada’s largest RV Dealer, they’re also number 1 in fun and they enjoy providing a way for families to make memories.” Mc Millen added, “We worked with Craig Amstead last year and we both enjoyed tremendous success. We have the time of our lives when we’re in Edmonton with the Western RV family.”
The 3rd Annual Western RV Rocky Mountain Nationals will be contested June 24-26 at Budweiser Motorsports Park in Edmonton, Alberta Canada.
For more information visit:
Western RV
Budweiser Motorsports Park
McMillen Continues Quest In Canada
Elkhart, IN – Terry McMillen and his Amalie Oil InstiGator Funny car, powered by TORCO Racing Fuels, race into Grand Bend, Ontario Canada for the fourth stop on the Hooters IHRA Drag Racing series. Currently third in points and trailing second by just 26 points, McMillen takes his career best start and his InstiGator team to Canada as they continue their quest towards the IHRA Funny Car Championship and the team’s first Iron Man.
With two final round appearances in the first 3 races things look promising for the team. “We’ve enjoyed the journey so far,” explained McMillen. “We’ve been successful in getting to the final round and we’re thankful for it. But, we’re getting into the ‘heart’ of the season. These next few races will set the tone for the rest of the year – we plan on being right in the middle of it.”
The InstiGator team is associated with high performance partners, including: Amalie Oil, TORCO Racing Fuels, Flatout Gaskets, NGK Spark Plugs, MSD, Performance Graphics, Powershield Coatings and Crane Cams. Rhonda McMillen, team co-owner, commented, “We’ve had a lot of great exposure for our team and our partners so far this year, it’s exciting to be in the race for the championship.”
The Grand Bend Motorplex is home track for two-time IHRA champion Rob Atchison and will prove to be a challenge for the InstiGator team. Terry commented, “Anytime that you have to go a drivers home track and take a win from him, it’s going to be tough, but this Gator is hungry. We’ve had a chance to face Rob twice in the finals and if we earn the opportunity to face him again in Grand Bend it will be a great show for the fans.”
InstiGator Growls Back At Richmond With Second Final Round Appearance
Richmond, VA – Terry McMillen and the Amalie Oil InstiGator, powered by TORCO Racing Fuels, growled back into the IHRA Funny Car points race at the Virginia Motorsports Park. The event marked the second time in three races that the team has made a final round appearance. The InstiGator team leaves Virginia third place in IHRA points.
“It was a great week for our team,” exclaimed an excited McMillen. “Anytime that you get a chance to go rounds, it’s a good thing. It’s good for us, it’s great for our sponsors.” The week leading into the 5th Annual AC Delco Nationals kept the team very busy. An appearance at West Mifflin, PA’s Clara Barton Elementary School began the week as McMillen was the featured speaker at the school’s anti-drug assembly.
McMillen also completed a television spot for Hotrodnewz TV that will air later in June on Fox Sports Net.
The Amalie Oil InistiGator Funny Car, powered by TORCO Racing Fuels was honored to appear on a poster inserted into a special edition of Saturday’s Richmond Times-Dispatch. The Times-Dispatch also included coverage of the InstiGator on Sunday’s front page (The paper has a Sunday circulation of more than 225,000). “We’ve got some of the best partners in the racing industry. Our job is to bring exposure to all of our quality partners, including Amalie Oil, TORCO Racing Fuels, Flatout Gaskets, NGK Spark Plugs, MSD, Performance Graphics, Powershield Coatings and Crane Cams,” said McMillen.
The Gator Growls
The race started Friday afternoon as team InstiGator made it’s first qualifying attempt. “We set the car up little soft for the first pass,” explained Co-Crew Chief Brent “Skinny” Lidgard. Our goal was to get a down the track with a good ET and not hurt the car.” The InstiGator posted a 6.163 ET which would qualified the team in the 9th position, but not good enough to make the new eight car field.
The second qualifying attempt provided a brief bit of excitement, but ultimately proved uneventful. After the car launched, a quick release mechanism malfunctioned, allowing the steering wheel to remain in McMillen’s hands, unattached to the car. 
“Needless to say that will get your attention,” stated a surprised McMillen. “It’s never happened to me before, but other drivers shared their experiences with me. I’m just thankful that we were able to keep the car off of the wall and out of the other lane.”
The Amalie Oil InstiGator would have a final attempt Saturday morning to make the event where 19 other Funny Car teams would fight for one of the eight available spots.
“The gloves were off,” stated Co-Crew Chief Tad “TV” Heflick. “We had one chance left and we weren’t going home early!” The final qualifying attempt paired McMillen against two-time Funny Car Champion Rob Atchison. McMillen took a hole shot and turned on the win light, placing the Amalie Oil InstiGator team solidly in the field in the second position with a 5.864 ET at 240.21 MPH. “While it wasn’t an elimination round, it felt good to get a win light against Atchison and more importantly to get a number 2 qualifying spot,” said McMillen. “My crew chief’s, Skinny and TV Tad, haven’t had a day off in a while. Our whole team including Rhonda, Carrie “CareBear”, TV Dad, Charlie, Jim and Zak did a great job. Our team is coming together and our team work is getting better. We know hard work pays off.”
McMillen eliminated 5-time World Champion Mark Thomas and Jim Sickles to make it to the final round for a rematch of the Amalie Oil Texas Nationals finals against 2-time World Champion Rob Atchison. McMillen registered phenomenal reaction times all through eliminations (.023, .019, .037), but even a hole shot against Rob Atchison could not change the final outcome. “We’re still chasing that elusive Iron Man. If we keep putting ourselves in the path of opportunity like this, we’ll get our Iron Man. Right now we’re concentrating on consistency and working towards the championship,” said McMillen. “We’re in a good spot, it’s only getting better from here.”