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Tax Bracket Racing 2005 News Archive
Helmet Winner Announced as Tax Bracket Racing Raises $3,000
Vinnie Scores Semi-Final Finish at Dutch Classic October 16th- In only his third time in the car this year, Vinnie scored a semi-final finish in Super Street at the Dutch Classic held at Maple Grove Raceway. Vinnie, who last saw a round of competition behind the wheel of Tax Bracket Racing’s 1987 Ford Thunderbird at the K&N Filters Supernationals in June, used solid reaction times and finish line driving to equal his best career finish. “I am thrilled with the way we ran this weekend,” Vinnie remarked. “I am disappointed that I couldn’t go all the way, but the car ran well and I drove well.” Vinnie coupled a .009 light and a 10.901 run on the 10.90 index in round one to take the win over Neil Vaccaro. After scoring a double breakout win against former Division 1 Super Street champion Mike Guiliano in round two, Vinnie had the single in round three. In the quarterfinals, Vinnie won another double breakout decision against opponent Guy Hansen before losing a double breakout race with Gary Federico in the semi-finals, 10.83 to 10.87. “I had a bit more room to get on the brakes in the semis, but we didn’t expect the car to pick up what it did that round,” Vinnie said. “The wind was floating between a cross and a tail all day, and that round we think we caught a huge tailwind. Either way, we had a good day and I feel great going to the Atco LODRS event next week.” While Vinnie was mowing them down in Super Street, Frankie took a tough first round loss to T.C. Smith in Super Comp. Frankie, who ran a 9.07 and an 8.77 in time trials, ran into problems in the first round. “I went to mat the throttle on the starting line and it went into the lean bog we had earlier last year,’ Frankie said. “I pumped the throttle a few times and finally got the car to come up, but by that time the tree was coming down. I was later than I wanted to be, but I thought that if the car ran what we set it up to run I might be able to pull it out at the finish line. Then the car coughed a couple of times when the throttle stop came off and I knew at that point it was pretty much over.” “I saw him roll around me at 1100 feet, and I got that sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. I did what I could upstairs, but when the car is going an 8.92 flat out and you are .036 on the tree, your options are pretty limited. It’s frustrating because we felt like we had a good chance this weekend, but we will get the problem fixed and get the car squared away for next year. I was hitting the tree well this year and I was comfortable in the car at the finish line. Vinnie ran real well this year in the few races he competed in, so I am confident that with the changes we will make during the off season, both Vinnie and I stand a chance of picking up a win next year.” Frankie Nearly Scores Again at Division 1 Bracket Finals October 1st- For the second time in as many years, it was a near miss by Frankie Cicerale and the Tax Bracket Racing team at the Division 1 Bracket Finals. After scoring a quarterfinal finish in 2004, Frankie, the 2002 Division 1 Street champion, made it to twelve cars before suffering a close loss to Jason Franks. “So close yet so far,” Frankie said. “I was good on the tree and the car was very consistent, we just got caught at the finish line.” In round four Frankie earned a slight advantage over Franks on the starting line, .034 to .042. At the finish line thought, Franks locked up the front brakes, cutting Frankie loose and taking the win when Frankie ran out by three hundredths of a second. “I was watching him the entire way and saw him lock the brakes up right at the first cone,” Frankie said. I had enough room to stand on the brakes, but for me to have won I would have had to lock them up as well, and I won’t race like that. It hurts, but I’ll take the loss and come back and play another day as opposed to taking a chance of blowing out a front tire and stuffing the car in the guardrail.” Vinnie had a tough weekend, as he took first round in both the Race of Champions and in final eliminations. “I was looking forward to doing well, but we just ran into guys at the wrong time,” Vinnie said. “The car wasn’t as consistent as we would have liked it to be, and I was good on the tree but both of my opponents were killer. I am disappointed, but hopefully next year we can make up for it.” Frankie Closes Island Dragway Season With Win September 24th- Frankie spent his last weekend at Island Dragway as the defending Street track champion exactly where he wanted as he scored a five round win in Street to close out the season at the northern New Jersey race track. Frankie, who also made it to the quarterfinals in Heavy, racked up his fourth victory of the year with a final round triumph over Dave Nowak. “I was starting to wonder if I had lost my touch,” Frankie joked. “The car has been running well as of late, but the last two final rounds I made it into, I couldn’t close the deal. It felt great the see the win light finally come on in a final.” After using solid reaction times and finish line driving, Frankie lined up against Dave Nowak in the final. Nowak, behind the wheel of his seventeen second Chevy Blazer, made Frankie wait almost twelve seconds on the starting line in his Nova. After earning nearly three hundredths of a second on the starting line, Frankie took the win when Nowak broke out. “I felt I was pretty good on the tree because my lights all day were dead consistent. I got around him real late and tried to make it as close as I possibly could. I actually messed up and give Nowak the stripe back, but I was lucky because the holeshot caused him to run out. Like Warren Johnson says, there are no pretty losses and no ugly wins, so I can just say thanks that things worked out in the end.” “This is going to give us some momentum going into the Bracket Finals,” Frankie continued. “Delmar has always been a good track for me, so hopefully we can turn the win light on all the way to the Winner’s Circle and make the trek out to California.” Vinnie Clinches Track Championship With Win September 10th- Going into the last weekend of the Island Dragway points season, all Vinnie needed to do was show up for the third round of competition and he would clinch the 2005 Island Dragway Street championship. In typical fashion, Vinnie eliminated all doubt as to who would win the title when he eliminated everyone he faced on his way to his sixth win of the year and the title. “The weekend was tough because we were also racing at the Englishtown Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event,” Vinnie said. Dad and I had to make a decision to either stay at Raceway Park and run the first round of Super Street and let the championship fall where it may, or give up the LODRS event and go to Island and try and clinch. When we found out that they had already run Super Street, we decided to stay for the long haul instead of trying to clinch and get back to Raceway Park, and I couldn’t be happier with how things turned out.” Vinnie, who last won a track championship in 2002 behind the wheel of his old Jr. Dragster, needed to make it to the third round to mathematically eliminate eventual points runner-up Bob Gay. “When we won second round, I knew that we had clinched the championship,” Vinnie commented. “When Frankie clinched last year, he won the race the same day, so I wanted to do the same thing. When I got past John Eric Juray in the final, it was icing on the cake.” For winning the title, Vinnie receives an Island Dragway Gold Card, a champion jacket, a Matco Tools toolbox, and a berth in the coveted race of Champions event at the upcoming Division 1 Summit E.T. Racing Series Bracket Finals. Vinnie also as the distinction of being the second person in Island Dragway history to win a track championship in both the Jr. Dragster category and a full size race car category. “I am looking forward to the Race of Champions,” Vinnie said. “I was lucky enough to win it in the Jr. Dragster in 2001, and would love to win it in the Monte Carlo. That would top off the year in fine fashion.” Vinnie Takes Points Lead Back as Frankie’s Woes Continue July 9th- Tax Bracket Racing’s Vinnie Cicerale used a quarterfinal finish in Street to take back the points lead this weekend while brother Frankie’s gremlins continued. Vinnie’s finish, compounded with a second round loss by Rosie Schmon, gave Vinnie the top spot as the second half of points at Island Dragway kicked off. Frankie looked to have his problems solved as his 1968 Chevy Nova ran flawlessly the first pass down the track. Things changed for the 23 year old, however, as the driveshaft broke apart in the lights on his first time trial in Heavy. The broke driveshaft sidelined his venerable Nova, and for the second time this year, Frankie was seen behind the wheel of the team’s tow vehicle when the call for first round came. “It’s like what Al Pacino said in The Godfather Part III,” Frankie joked. “Just when I thought it was over, I get sucked back in. I was feeling great about the weekend, but when I felt the car shimmy at the thousand-foot mark, I had a sinking feeling in my gut because I knew what the vibration was. A few seconds later, we all knew what the problem was this weekend as I left driveshaft parts all over the shutdown area.” “I’m thankful that the driveshaft didn’t dig into the ground and send me for a ride and that I didn’t take out any transmission lines or anything,” Frankie continued. “I think my chances of pulling off the repeat is pretty much down the tubes, but everyone from third through tenth is pretty tight, so if we can get the car fixed and get everything worked out, I am confident we can pull off a strong finish to the year.” For the first round of eliminations, Frankie, already at a huge disadvantage driving his backup ride, was paired up with brother Vinnie. After gaining a slight .034 to .037 advantage on the starting line, Vinnie was able to get around Frankie for the win. “I knew I needed to come up with something on the starting line, so I made a few moves, stabbed the truck in pretty deep and came up with an awesome light,” Frankie said. “If I had a time shot with the thing I might have had a chance, but it wasn’t meant to be.” “A few people thought that Frankie dumped the race to me, but that isn’t the case,” Vinnie said afterwards. “He told me before the race he was going after me to kill me, and if he had a chance to run the truck before first round and dial it a bit better, he could have definitely have taken me out.” Frankie and Vinnie will be back at it at Island Dragway next weekend as the points chase continues. Frankie Does Double Duty at Lebanon Valley July 3rd- Frankie was forced to do double duty at the recent NHRA Division 1 Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event at Lebanon Valley Dragway, as brother Vinnie was unable to make the trip with the rest of the Tax Bracket Racing team. After earning his crossover Super Gas license in Vinnie’s 1987 Ford Thunderbird the Thursday before the race, Frankie drove the Thunderbird in Super Gas and piloted the teams 1994 Pro Start Dragster in the Super Comp category. Unfortunately for Frankie, his time in both cars was ended after the first round of competition. Frankie put together a great .024 package in the first round of Super Comp, but his .014 light and 8.910 pass couldn’t get the job done against Mike Trangone’s killer .006 light and dead-on 8.907 run. Frankie then got beat on the starting line in his first round Super Gas match up with Pete Luciano, and broke out with a 9.88. “It was fun doing double duty, but it was tiring as well,” Frankie said. “We got the dragster to come around, and even though we only made six or so passes with the Thunderbird in Super Gas trim, both cars did everything we expected and wanted them to. It’s disappointing we didn’t get the first round win light with the dragster because seven out of ten times and .024 package will turn on the win light, but we took a huge step in the right direction with the car. The car is back to normal, and this is the most comfortable both Dad and I have been with the car in a long time. I can’t wait to see what we can do with it for the rest of the year.” “The Thunderbird was a flat out blast to drive,” Frankie continued. “I have never driver a door car faster than my Nova, and all of the cars I have driven have always run mufflers, so it was a different animal when I let go of the button in the T-Bird. I was laughing all the way to the finish line my second pass in the car because it was cool to pull the wheels up like I did. I just wish I could have hit the tree a bit better in the car because I wanted to drive the car some more.” “It stunk that I couldn’t be there,” Vinnie said. “Some work commitments came up and I couldn’t go, but I’m proud of the way Frankie drove the Thunderbird. Hopefully he will let me behind the wheel of the dragster now!” The next LODRS event the team will travel to will be the re-located Maple Grove LODRS event in August. Vinnie Wins as Frankie’s Troubles Continue June- It was a bittersweet weekend for the Tax Bracket Racing team as Vinnie Cicerale nailed down another Street victory while Frankie’s troubles continued. Vinnie closed on points leader Rosie Schmon on the final day of first half points with the win, while Frankie continued to hang on in the top six despite the mechanical woes. Vinnie used savvy top end driving and solid reaction times to bring home his third fourth Street win of the year. With the victory, Vinnie is less that one round behind Schmon going into the last half of the year. “This win was a boost for all of us, Frankie included,” Vinnie said. “We got a bit behind when we ran the national event at Englishtown last weekend, so it was nice to get back into the hunt with the win. Hopefully I can keep the momentum going and get back into the points lead for good.” While Vinnie was mowing them down in Street, Frankie once again ran into trouble when the transmission lines on his Nova started to leak. Frankie was able to get out of round one of Street against a red lighting Scott Hackusa, but after the leak was too much to chance a run in round one of Heavy, Frankie was shut off before he could enter the burnout box in round two. “I keep saying it over and over again, but there isn’t much more I can say other that this is very, very frustrating,” Frankie said. “It was awesome to see Vinnie win, but I know that if the car stayed together, Vinnie and I could have possibly met in the final. The only thing I can look forward to is that Vinnie had a ton of trouble early on last year and came back to finish second in points, so that’s what I am reminding myself of.” The Tax Bracket Racing team will travel to Lebanon Valley Dragway next weekend for the NHRA Division 1 Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event. Tax Bracket Racing Leaves Englishtown Empty Handed June 20th- What looked to be a promising weekend was over Saturday night as Frankie and Vinnie Cicerale lost early on in eliminations at the K&N Filters Supernationals at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park. Frankie lost in the opening frame of Super Comp by a mere .004. Frankie, who had the better of the two reaction times, .015 to .032, ran further off the 8.90 index and just barely missed getting the win light. “It’s tough because the car was a bit slow all weekend and we didn’t really get caught up to it,” Frankie said. “I felt really comfortable in the car, and my lights have definitely come around since we got the car to consistently stay in the beams on the starting line now. I should have done a few things differently upstairs, but when you are there it’s a split second decision. I went with my gut and my gut was wrong. It’s heartbreaking because I have always wanted to win here at Englishtown, even more so on Father’s Day.” Vinnie managed to go one round farther then brother Frankie as he recorded the third best package of Super Street eliminations in his round one victory. Vinnie nailed down a killer .004 reaction time and ran a 10.91 on the 10.90 index in the team’s 1987 Ford Thunderbird before red lighting against eventual winner John Maggulli in round two. “I am disappointed, without a doubt,” Vinnie said. “The car was running well all weekend and I was doing fine on the tree. I just hit it a little harder against Magulli and turned on the red light. Like I said, I am disappointed, but we were able to get the car out, and it is so much calmer than what it was when we had the accident at Atco. The car pretty much drives itself now, which will help me to focus more on doing my job. Hopefully this is the worst finish we have all year.” Tough Weekend for Tax Bracket Racing June 5-6th- It was a tough weekend for the Tax Bracket Racing team as drivers Frankie and Vinnie Cicerale suffered early round losses both Saturday and Sunday. Vinnie, coming into the weekend fighting for the points lead, took close second round losses in both Street and Heavy on Saturday, and then lost again in the second round during Sunday’s $10,000 Footbrake Invitational. “I am disappointed for sure, because I was really looking forward to doing well this weekend,” Vinnie said. “Things just didn’t mesh this weekend and we got beat, but there is still a lot of time left in the season.” Frankie had even worse of a weekend. By the time the smoke cleared, Frankie ended up driving four different cars in two days as transmission problems plagued his 1968 Chevy Nova. After having linkage problems after the second time trial in Heavy, Frankie was forced to run the team’s tow vehicle in the first round of Street. Even though he scored a sizeable holeshot over opponent Bob Gay, Frankie was unable to turn the win light on. He then came back to run Tom Wood’s Ford Thunderbird in Heavy, where he also lost in the opening round. On Sunday, things seemed to be looking up as the Nova looked to have been repaired, but once again, problems arose, and Frankie got behind the wheel of brother Vinnie’s 1981 Chevy Monte Carlo. Frankie was able to survive the first round, but a breakout run in round two put him on the trailer and ended his weekend. “It’s just another case of a small part causing us to be unable to show what we really can do, and that is go rounds,” Frankie said afterwards. “It’s very frustrating because the car has been on kill all year and I have been pretty solid on the starting line, but the breaks aren’t going our way. Little things keep cropping up, and when we do manage to get the car down the track, I’m losing by a hundredth or less. All we can do is just keep our heads up and keep pushing a long.” Rain Washes out Saturday Action May 28, 2005 - After making the first time trial this weekend, the Tax Bracket Racing team watched the rain fall as Mother Nature was the winner this weekend. The points program at Island Dragway was rained out, but the team loaded up and headed to Old Bridge Township Raceway Park on Sunday, May 29th, to get some test time in with the dragster and the Thunderbird. Vinnie, making his first trips down the racetrack in the team’s Super Street 1987 Ford Thunderbird since the Atco Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event last October, was very happy with the results of the test session. After making an aborted first pass, Vinnie came back and ran three successful passes, one of which resulted in a .006 package. “It was nice to get back in the car,” Vinnie said. “We made some changes to the car to try and avoid the problem we had at Atco, and everything we changed worked. The car is dead consistent, goes straight, and works well. I’m looking forward to getting back into competition with the Thunderbird because we did so well at the end of last year.” After making a few changes after the first two passes, Frankie and the team got a handle on the dragster and made two good passes before the day ended. “For the first two passes, the timing in the motor was off so we were down speed and horsepower,” Frankie said. “Once we figured out what the problem was, the car came right around. The last two runs were good. We got some great data, and I got used to hitting the pro tree again, so we should be okay for Englishtown.” The team plans to continue testing with both cars in preparation for the K&N Filters Supernationals at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park June 16-19. Frankie Scores First Heavy Win, Vinnie Records Another Late Round Finish May 21, 2005 - After watching brother Vinnie score wins in both Street and Heavy this season, Frankie joined the party this weekend as he scored his first win of the season with a win over Rick Constable in Heavy. After red lighting in the first round of Street by .001, Frankie focused on Heavy and went a tough seven rounds for the win. Using a string of good reaction times to get out of the opening rounds, Frankie used a small holeshot to get around Bob Green in the quarterfinals. Frankie was then able to overcome Frank Armando’s .004 light in the semi-finals, holding Armando off at the finish line for the victory by a mere .0005. Frankie was ready in the final and drilled the tree for a .004 light, but didn’t need it as Constable pulled out of the beams too soon, fouling away his chances of victory and giving the win to Frankie. “I was a bit bummed after the first round of Street because the red-light was so close,” Frankie said. “I hate losing in the first round, especially on a red-light, but I knew I needed to re focus and go after it in Heavy. To pull off the win, the first of the year for me and my first in the class, was definitely a great way to forget about the red-light.” “All of the losses this year have been close, and this weekend was no exception,” Frankie continued. “I am still sitting in the top five in Street points, the car is running well, and I’m driving well so I can’t complain at all. I just have to stay calm, not let the pressure get to me, and keep plugging away.” While Frankie was doing the job in Heavy, Vinnie made it to the semi-finals in Street before his consecutive round win streak in the class was ended at 18 by a parts failure. Vinnie, who was scheduled to race Rosie Schmon in the semis, was shut off on the starting line when a fitting broke on a fuel line. “It’s disappointing because I felt great about the round and the whole day,” Vinnie said. “It was an important round because Rosie is second in points behind me and a chance to try and extend the points lead was wasted, but it could have been a lot worse. If Frankie hadn’t seen the leak, it would have been bad news had the fuel hit the headers. I’ll chalk this up to misfortune and come back next week.” Cicerale Brothers Run Into a Wall of Water May 15, 2005 - The latest battle between the Cicerale brothers wasn’t won by Frankie or Vinnie. The winner this time was Mother Nature as she unleashed a torrent of rain just as Frankie and Vinnie were leaving the starting line in the final round of Street. Vinnie, who was racing in his sixteenth straight round of competition in Street, stretched his points lead as second place Rosie Schmon got put out in round one. With losses by Tom Woods and Bob Gay in rounds two and three, respectively, Vinnie was able to gain some breathing room in the points. “It would have been a great race, but that was thrown out of the window after Frankie and I left the starting line,” Vinnie said. “I saw a few drips on the windshield as I was staging, but I thought it would hold out. When we got to half-track, it was raining really bad, and I knew it was time to pull the plug. I looked over at Frankie and started giving him the cut sign just as he was doing the same to me, so we aborted the run.” “There wasn’t a reason to try and finish the race,” Frankie said. “Vinnie and I are smart racers, and we both know that there is no reason to jeopardize ourselves and our equipment to try and finish a race in conditions like that, especially when we are racing against each other. We both had a great day, and to try and force the issue in a scenario like that would have proved to be disastrous.” Vinnie, who took a first round loss in Heavy, is looking forward to next week. “We ran well today, and things are falling into place and going well right now,” he said. “If I can keep the momentum going, we will be in great shape as the season progresses.” “Hopefully this weekend was the turning point for us,” Frankie said. “We had another tough loss in Heavy first round, but the pivotal round was round two in Street against Jason Kemp. It was a close double breakout race, but for the first time all year it went my way. After that, everything else seemed to fall in line. I made a great decision in round three against Bob Larrison, and that gave me the bye to the final. We made up a lot of ground on everyone ahead of me in points, so hopefully I can use this as a springboard to try and chase down Vinnie.” Vinnie Falls One Round Short of Double-Double May 8, 2005 - Last week, Vinnie Cicerale accomplished something that many would consider difficult to do when he scored a double up win in both Street and Heavy at Island Dragway. While that may have been difficult, pulling off a double double can be considered almost impossible, yet Vinnie came one round short of doing it again as he was the winner again in Street and the runner-up in Heavy. On the strength of strong and consistent reaction times, Vinnie went five round in Street to gun down Rosie Schmon in the final round to not only win his second straight event in the category, but to also move into the top spot in the points standings. After winning his twenty-fourth straight round, Vinnie came right back to the lanes to face Anthony Fetch in the final round of Heavy. Vinnie gave it his best shot, but Fetch’s perfect reaction time proved to be the ringing of the bell, and Vinnie was relegated to the runner up spot. “We had a great run,” Vinnie said afterwards. “To go twenty four straight rounds is tough. I was driving well today and the breaks went our way. They were moving the show along really fast at the end to try and get the show completed before the curfew came, so we ran the last three rounds of competition within twenty minutes, and it took its toll in the Heavy final. The car was running off and with Anthony’s light, it would have been tough to win. I am proud of the way we have run the past two weeks, and with the added bonus of taking over the points lead in Street, I can’t complain.” While Vinnie was marching to the final rounds in both classes, Frankie had another good finish. After taking a narrow first round loss to John Murphy in Heavy, Frankie made it to the quarterfinals in Street before losing a close double breakout race to Schmon. Frankie, who came into the race sitting fifth in points, was held at bay as everyone above him in the standings advanced out of the quarterfinal round. “I had a good day, don’t get me wrong, it is just a bit frustrating at times,’ Frankie said. “Last year a lot of the closer races seemed to fall in my favor, but this year that isn’t to be. All of my losses this year haven’t come from lack of effort; it has just been a case of the thousandths going to the person in the opposite lane. I am driving really well on both ends of the track and the car has been dead consistent, it’s just that I always seem to be under by a few more thousandths than my opponent. I’m in good shape considering because the losses have come later in the day, so the damage is minimized. I’ll just keep plugging away and try and stay within striking distance because eventually, the tide will turn.” Vinnie Scores First Ever Double April 16, 2005 - After suffering early round losses one week ago, Vinnie Cicerale and Tax Bracket Racing made the ultimate rebound as Vinnie scored double victories in Street and Heavy this weekend at Island Dragway. Vinnie, behind the wheel of the team’s 1981 Chevy Monte Carlo, recorded a six round victory in Street and a seven round victory in Heavy for his first ever double-up weekend. “This is awesome,” Vinnie said after the final. “I drove the top end well and all the breaks went my way. This is a great way to come back from last weekend.” Vinnie scored a final round victory over Frank Maffiore in Street, and half an hour later, came back and gunned down Bob Beucler for the win in Heavy. “Both of the guys I faced in the final rounds were tough,” Vinnie continued. “Mr. Maffiore was right there all day, and so was (Heavy opponent) Bob Beucler. Then to come around and take home the Heavy win was awesome. I saw that Bob had beaten Frankie in the quarterfinals, and I was determined to not let him get us both.” While Vinnie was going through both fields, Frankie had a decent day himself. Frankie took a tough second round loss to Bob Gay in Street when Gay put together a .019 package, but managed to grind out a quarterfinal finish in Heavy. “I’m happy for Vinnie and happy that I did as well as I did today, but I just didn’t come through in the clutch,” Frankie said. “The (quarterfinal) race with Beucler was for the bye into the final, and I just flat missed the tree. It hurts because I feel like I crashed the party, but we did well overall.” The win by Vinnie vaulted him upwards in the Street points standings, while Frankie hangs on in with a third and second round finish to his credit. “Hopefully next weekend we can go four for four and race each other in the final,” Vinnie said. Tax Bracket Racing will once again be at Island Dragway next week for competition in the tracks points program. Tax Bracket Has Tough Opening Weekend April 8, 2005 - It was a tough weekend for Tax Bracket Racing and drivers Frankie and Vinnie Cicerale as early round losses and mechanical troubles took their toll during the opening day of points at Island Dragway. With both Frankie and Vinnie competing in the Heavy and Street categories, both were looking for a successful weekend, but when the smoke had cleared, the best finish for either of them was Frankie’s third round finish in Street. Vinnie took a tough first round loss at the hands of Dave Nowak in Street, and after a first round triumph over Steve Sisko in Heavy, Vinnie was put on the trailer in round two by Joe Lisa. “I was okay on the tree today, but I got caught late a few times, and it cost me,” Vinnie said. “I have never done well the first weekend of the season, and this year was no different. I am just going to have to come back strong next week.” Frankie got out of the first two rounds of Street, but mechanical gremlins cost Frankie not only his third round race in the class, but the first round in Heavy also. “It’s a shame because I was feeling very comfortable in the car,” Frankie said afterwards. “Once we got the car dialed in, it was doing everything we expected it to, and I was drilling the tree. I felt like we could do well, but it just wasn’t meant to be.” “Both Frankie and I decided that since the Thunderbird isn’t going to be ready for either of the first two Open races, we would concentrate on the Nova and the Monte Carlo,” Vinnie remarked. “We won’t miss a week of points until the first divisional event at Maple Grove on Memorial Day weekend, so hopefully this will be our only bad week and we can go some rounds and give ourselves some breathing room.” Tax Bracket Racing will try again at Island Dragway next weekend in both Heavy and Street eliminators. Tax Bracket Racing Readies Itself for 2005 Following a successful 2004 racing season, Tax Bracket Racing is getting itself ready for the upcoming 2005 season, in which drivers Frankie and Vinnie Cicerale will again compete for points at Island Dragway in the Street category, as well as battling for the divisional crown in Super Street, Super Comp, and possibly Stock Eliminator. Both Frankie’s 1968 Chevy Nova and Vinnie’s 1981 Chevy Monte Carlo will have new bullets under the hood for the start of the season. The Monte Carlo will sport a new 383 Chevy small block built by Gil Davis and John Zulla. “The motor we had in the car last year was good, but it wasn’t quite as consistent as we would have liked it to be,” Vinnie said. “The new motor will be have a bit more displacement, but will also have a few different thing to make it more consistent.” After putting nearly six hundred runs on his old motor, the 406 built for the car in 2000, Frankie will stick with much of the same combination for 2005. “The old motor was definitely getting tired,” Frankie said. “It was dead consistent, but we were starting to lose a few miles per hour, and with the amount of runs on the motor, it was time to make a move before we ended up hurting it.” Following the accident at Atco, the team’s Super Street Thunderbird will have a new nose and front clip before it takes to the track in April. “We punched the nose in when the car got into the guardrail at Atco, so Tommy DePascale is going to work his magic and make the Thunderbird ready to go again,” Vinnie said. “We are thinking about possibly changing the paint scheme a bit, especially where the fade occurs on the quarter panel, but we will see how it goes. We have all the parts; it’s just a matter of getting things together. Once Glenn (Winzer) gets the framework for the front clip built, we can hang the fenders and nose on the car and take it to Tommy to get it painted along with the right side of the car and the rear quarter panel. We are going to have the car checked out once it’s done getting painted to make sure nothing else got bent on the frame, and drop the pan to the motor to make sure that it’s still in good shape, but most of the damage to the car was cosmetic, so it should definitely be ready to go by the first open in April.” The Tax Bracket Racing Super Comp dragster will see some minor changes for 2005. “We are going to put in Biondo’s new delay box, which is much easier to work with than the one we have in the car,” Frankie said. “Other than that, we are going to rewire parts of the car to make it easier to trace electrical problems, which we had some difficulty with the past few years. Other than that, the only other thing we need to do is shorten the roll cage and figure out a way to either tighten the chassis or add more weight to the front end of the car to keep it from yanking the wheels out of the beams.” In addition, either Frankie or Vinnie will possibly make a few appearances driving the B/SA 1969 Chevy Camaro owned by Ralph and Adam Landolfi. “Adam had back surgery a few months ago, so he doesn’t know if he will be able to drive the car for the beginning part of the season,” Frankie said. “All of this is still way up in the air, but if we get the go ahead, you just might see me or Vinnie behind the wheel of the Camaro a few times this year, but right now nothing is definite.” “I am definitely looking forward to this year,” Vinnie said. “I am sitting in the top five in All-Stars points, and we definitely had the Thunderbird on kill the last couple of races so if we can keep the momentum going, hopefully we can score a win in the car this year and finish well in the points. As for the Monte Carlo, I would love to keep spoil Frankie’s title defense this year and win a championship of my own. A trip to California wouldn’t’ be too bad either.” Frankie is looking to regain the success he had in the Super Comp car a few years ago. “We have hit a rough patch in the dragster the past two years, mostly due to mechanical gremlins,” Frankie said. “I know the car can run well, and I we have proven in the past we can run well, win races, and finish in the later rounds, so hopefully we can do in 2005 what we did in 2002, and improve on it. I would also love to be the first repeat Street champions at Island.” “I missed going to California for my birthday this year, so hopefully we can end up back out there again this yea, either for me or Vinnie. That would be awesome.” Tax Bracket Racing will open the season the first weekend in April at Island Dragway. Frankie Accepts Award at Island Dragway Banquet Frankie accepted the award for the 2004 Street title at the Island Dragway banquet on February 26th. In addition to a championship jacket, which he received at the Bracket Finals, Frankie also was awarded a championship trophy, an Island Dragway “Gold Card”, and a Matco Tools tool box. “This is pretty cool,” Frankie said. “We had a good year and the banquet is not only a cap to last year but the beginning to 2005 as well.” The “Gold Card” Frankie earned is good for fifteen free entries into Island Dragway for the 2005 season. “The card is a big deal because we can use the money that we would have put out for entrance fees for other things we need,” Frankie said. “The tool box is also a nice touch. I had a choice of what I wanted, so I figured I would start from the bottom and move my way up and I chose the rollaway. It’s pretty nice; I just need the tools to go in it now.” Frankie wasn’t the only one to get his award for his efforts. The top three points earners in each category (Jr. Dragster, Motorcycle, Street, Heavy, and Super Pro) were recognized. Vinnie, who finished second in the points standings, was awarded a “Silver Card” for his points finish. “Just like Frankie said, this card will help us out this year,” Vinnie remarked. “Both of us will pretty much be racing for free this year, which is a cool deal. I really liked his tool box though; I think I’m going to have win me one.” Tax Bracket Racing’s Website Gets Overhaul for 2005 After a five year stint, the Tax Bracket Racing team’s online home has had a complete renovation, thanks to the efforts of Frankie Cicerale and family friend and website developer Mike Sawyer of Mike Sawyer Motorsports. “I put the old site together almost five years ago, and it was a good design,” Frankie said. “It was time for a change though, and when Mike and I put our heads together, we came up with something that looks really good.” Previously a predominantly yellow and black scheme, Sawyer went with a complete different color scheme incorporating the colors used on the racecars. “The team’s colors are still black and yellow,” Frankie said, “but we wanted something that related to the cars. Mike came up with the overall design and color scheme, and it looks great.” Featuring a new header, colors, and navigation bar, the new website will be easier to navigate. “The old site had a lot of problems with photos loading, the way the articles came up on the screen, and a host of other things. Mike suggested going with something that would be pretty easy to work with, so that’s what we did.” In addition, Sawyer cleaned up the images on the website, along with adding some new images and pictures as well. “The new website is much more informative, and a lot easier to work with,” Frankie stated. “The driver bio’s are much clearer, there is a lot more information about the cars, and the pictures have all been compressed into easier to navigate pages.” Now located at www.taxbracketracing.com, the team hopes the new look will help raise awareness of the team and draw in new sponsors. “We didn’t want to go after some of the bigger sponsors until the new website was up and running,” Frank Sr. said. “Now that the website is working and looks as good as it does, we can pursue some funding for the 2005 racing season.” Frankie Nearly Makes it Three Straight at Division 1 Bracket Finals Frankie almost made it three straight Bracket Finals wins for Tax Bracket racing as he made it all the way to the quarterfinals before taking the loss to eventual Division 1 Bracket Finals winner Mike Barber. Vinnie also faired quite well, losing in round three. Frankie went out in round two of the Race of Champions event, losing to Jeremy Mansford in the round. Frankie returned the favor to Mansford in round one of competition as he used a better light to get the win. Frankie got the easy pass in round two as his opponent fouled out, and Frankie’s .010 light in that round gave him the bye run in round three. After taking the freebie, Frankie got the nod to move into the quarterfinals when opponent Elise Harhart fouled out in her Impala. The day ended for Frankie in the quarterfinals when Barber’s .000 light and 12.008 run on his 12.00 dial was better than Frankie’s .032 light and .04 over 12.04 (12.00 dial). “I knew Barber could run under the break (12.00 seconds), so Dad and I made the decision to change some things in the car before the quarters,” Frankie said afterwards. “I knew I was on the tree pretty good and the car was dead consistent all weekend, so I figured that a decent light and a good job driving upstairs would get me the round.” It wasn’t to be though. “I knew when I left I was good on the tree, but I looked over in high gear and Barber was right with me,” Frankie continued. “I had to make a decision at that point, so I did what I had to upstairs. It was just a case of making the right decision at the right time, but not having the race go my way. It’s disappointing because I felt so good about the event. Delmar has always been a good track for me, both in the Nova and the Super Comp car, so I felt confident, but feeling confident won’t help change a guy’s .008 package, that’s for sure.” Vinnie also had a good weekend, as he went three rounds before taking the loss. “I just messed up,” Vinnie said. “I had the guy on the tree by a bundle, I just took a freight train worth of finish line. A couple more hits on the throttle would have got me the win, but it wasn’t’ meant to be. I’m disappointed because I lost a race that was definitely winnable, but I’m happy as well. We had a good season.” Frankie Beats Out Vinnie for 2004 Street Title It’s another one-two points finish for Tax Bracket Racing as Frankie held off brother Vinnie to take home the 2004 Island Dragway Street Eliminator track championship. Scoring seven wins and suffering only one first round loss, Framkie finished almost 1000 points ahead of Vinnie, who used two wins and numerous late round finishes to hold of Don Long and John Eric Juray for the second spot. The track championship is Frankie’s second such title, and first in a full size racecar since stepping out of the Jr. Dragster ranks following his 1999 championship season. By winning the 2004 Street title, Frankie became the first driver in Island Dragway history to win championships in the Jr. Dragster and full size ranks. “This is awesome,” Frankie said. “Last year was tough for me. The year before (2002) we had an awesome year winning the Bracket Finals and all. Last year I was seventh in points and only scored one win, so to rebound like we did this year is amazing. I was worried about Vinnie the last few weeks of the season because he was driving well, but I knew that if I stuck with the same game plan that I came into the season with, things would work out.” Vinnie, who also finished second to Frankie when Frankie won his only Jr., Dragster title, was also thrilled. “We had to overcome a lot of adversity with the car this year, so to finish where we did is pretty cool. I wish we could have done better, but we were breaking things left and right this year, so to be where we were in the end is a mark of how well we work as a team.” The Tax Bracket Racing team will look to make it a three-peat at the Bracket Finals this year as Frankie and Vinnie both qualified for the event. In addition, Frankie is looking forward to competing in his very first Race of Champions event. “I had the joy of watching Vinnie race in the RoC seven times, so I’m looking forward to doing it myself for the first time,” Frankie stated. “Hopefully I won’t have to wait as long as Vinnie did to win one.”
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After months of anticipation, the winner of the 9/11 Tribute Helmet was drawn at the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event held September 9-11 at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in Englishtown, NJ. George Hindy pulled the winning ticket before the National Anthem on Sunday, September 11, and it belonged to Division 1 Super Comp racer Ernie Kendall.