Legendary race team returns home for Mardi Gras Nitro Jam
BATON ROUGE, La. (May 1, 2012)
– It is one of the most important names in drag racing history and this
weekend at the Mardi Gras Nitro Jam presented by Domino's Pizza at
State Capitol Raceway the world famous "Candies & Hughes" AMSOIL
Prostalgia Nitro Funny Car will return to competition right where the
legend began – in the heart of Louisiana.
Founded
by Paul Candies and Leonard Hughes of Houma, La., the legend of Candies
& Hughes has spanned six decades and has included multiple
championship and national event victories with both the IHRA and NHRA.
The team has included numerous drivers spanning that timeframe including
the likes of Hughes, Mark Oswald, Richard Tharp, Dave Settles and Leroy
Goldstein in both Top Fuel and Funny Car. In addition to collecting
dozens of wins over the years, the team also registered many firsts
including being the first team to win the Winston championships in both
Top Fuel and Funny Car and the only team to win both NHRA and IHRA
Winston championships in the same year.
Fans of drag racing history will enjoy seeing the 'Candies & Hughes' Funny Car back in action
Today
the famous Candies & Hughes machine is owned by Jim Broome of
Tucson, Ariz. and piloted by Mike Savage. Savage has enjoyed keeping the
legend of Candies & Hughes alive and even returned the famous
machine to its winning ways earlier this year at the Arizona Nitro Jam
in Tucson with a victory over defending AMSOIL Prostalgia Nitro Funny
Car World Champion Peter Gallen. Savage has added two more runner-up
finishes to his resume in 2012 to head the Funny Car standings entering
the Louisiana event this weekend at State Capitol Raceway.
The
2012 Mardi Gras Nitro Jam presented by Domino's Pizza will take place
May 4-5 at State Capitol Raceway. The event will feature four nitro
classes including Pro Fuel Dragster, AMSOIL Prostalgia Nitro Funny Car,
Nitro Harley and Fuel Altered in addition to the wild Outlaw Pro Mod
class. The event will also feature an incredible show featuring jet
dragsters, jet funny cars, the 30,000 horsepower Shockwave jet semi, the
Chevy Rebellion wheelstander and the Louisiana debut of the monster
truck drag race between Grave Digger driven by Randy Brown and Teenage
Mutant Ninja Turtle drive by Joey Parnell.
But
it will be Savage and the famous "Cajun Cuda" of Candies & Hughes
that will be the real star of the show as one of the most famous
machines in drag racing history returns home for two huge days of racing
this weekend at State Capitol Raceway.
For more information on the Mardi Gras Nitro Jam visit www.nitrojam.com
