SATURDAY MORNING, MARCH 2, 1968

DRAG RACING at the Lakeland Strip tomorrow will draw Ed Schartman (left) and his mechanic, Amos Satterlee, with their supercharged, single over-	head cam Mercury Comet from Cleveland, Ohio. The Schartman car will be matched with the Taylor-Collins Barracuda of Memphis in the feature.

Drag Opener Will Feature Ranked Cars

   The season opening drag competition at the Lakeland Strip tomorrow will feature a match race involving the Taylor-Collins Barracuda based in Memphis and Eddie Schartman's Mercury Comet from Cleveland, Ohio, both nationally ranked.

   Gates at Lakeland, located on Interstate 40 at the Canada Road exit, will open at 8 a.m. with racing scheduled to start at 2 p.m.

   Schartman's supercharged single overhead cam car is ranked No. 2 on national drag racing polls and the Taylor-Collins machine, which will be driven by Larry 'Pineapple' Reyes, is No. 7.

   Schartman has recorded speeds of 190.47 miles per hour, covering the standing quarter mile in 7.81 seconds. The Barracuda has reached 193.86 mph with an elapsed time of 7.83 seconds.

   The Taylor-Collins car is powered by a supercharged 426 Hemi Chrysler engine.

   A record number of gassers, super-stock and stock cars are expected to be entered in tomorrow's competition.

   Improvements costing more than $25,000 have been made at the Lakeland facility which is regarded as one of the top 10 in the country. About 125,000 attended the races at Lakeland last year.

   Seven major races are scheduled in Lakeland's Mid-South Championship series this season when drivers will be competing for more than $150,000 in purses.