National Dragster back issues from April 2007:
Tobler steps down as Mac Tools crew chief
Apr 06, 2007; ... Rahm Tobler has resigned as crew chief of the Mac Tools dragster driven by perennial championship contender Doug Kalitta in fie NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series. Kalitta Motorsports' collection of nitro crew chiefs - Jim Oberhofer, crew chief of the Hillary Will-driven KB Racing LLC Top Fueler; ...
For Eric
Apr 06, 2007; ... For Eric: BP/Castrol has set up an e-mail address where fans and friends can send condolences to the family of Eric Medlen ....
Staging Light
Apr 06, 2007; ... Last week in this space, I asked for your prayers and thoughts for Eric Medien, who was grievously injured in a testing accident in Gainesville on the Monday following the ACDelco NHRA Gatornationals. This week, I'm sadly asking for those same offerings for his family and friends. We ...
Signed
Apr 06, 2007; ... Signed: David Powers Motorsports has partnered with Caterpillar and Houstonbased Mustang Cat for the 20th annual O'Reilly NHRA Spring Nationals presented by Pennzoil at Houston Raceway Park. Top Fuel driver Rod Fuller will sport the recognizable yellow and black colors of Caterpillar on his ...
Sign here
Apr 06, 2007; ... Sign here: A free NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series driver autograph session will kick off the April 12-15 SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The autograph session will be held at ESPN Zone ...
Automobile publishing icon Petersen dies
Apr 06, 2007; ... LOS ANGELES - Robert E. Petersen, an entrepreneur who single-handedly created the largest special-interest publishing company in America and was instrumental in the evolution of hot rodding culture, died March 23 at St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica, Calif., after a short but valiant battle ...
Cruisin'
Apr 06, 2007; ... Cruisin': The popular Twilight Cruise will return to The Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum presented by Automobile Club of Southern California April 4. The monthly cruise, typically scheduled for the first Wednesday of each month from April through December, will be held on these dates in ...
Funny Car racer Medlen succumbs to injuries
Apr 06, 2007; ... GAINESVILLE - Eric Medien, who had emerged as one of the most popular young drivers in the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series, succumbed March 23 to injuries suffered when his race car crashed into a guardwall during a test session at Gainesville Raceway four days earlier. He was 33. The ...
Cory Mac and J.R. fire up Bristol Motor Speedway
Apr 06, 2007; ... A double-barreled salute from Top Fuel racers Gory McClenathan and J.R. Todd during the pre-race ceremony at the March 25 NASCAR race at Bristol Motor Speedway was a huge hit with the 160,000 fans who packed the grandstands. McClenathan and Todd simultaneously fired their 7,000horsepower ...
Rule revision
Apr 06, 2007; ... Rule revision: Effective immediately, the use of methanol in nitrous Pro Mod entries is allowed in AMS Pro Mod Challenge competition. Recent rule changes allow nitrous cars unlimited engine displacement, which opens the door for new and different engines in the category. The NHRA technical ...
Muzzy, Schnitz continue Kawasaki efforts
Apr 06, 2007; ... Noticeably absent from the recent ACDelco NHRA Gatornationals was popular Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Ryan Schnitz (pictured) and team owner Rob Muzzy. While Schnitz was at home in Decatur, Ind., working at his family-owned motorcycle performance business and caring for his newborn son Carson, ...
Teammates
Apr 06, 2007; ... Teammates: Following a successful first season as an NHRA Xplod Sport Compact Racing Series team owner/driver, Marty Ladwig has expanded his race operation by signing rising star Julie Stepan, of Grand Prairie, Texas, as a team driver for the 2007 season, which begins March 31April 1 at ...
Honored
Apr 06, 2007; ... Honored: Kelsey Beimfohr, the 2005 Division 3 Jr. Dragster (8-9) champion and a weekly competitor at Illinois' Gateway Int'l Raceway, will represent Liberty Middle School at the Madison County Young ...
Quarter-milestone
Apr 06, 2007; ... Quarter-milestone: Died: former Division 7 Super Stock racer Ron Waite, 69, of a stroke, ...
Signed
Apr 06, 2007; ... Signed: Officials at Illinois' Gateway Int'l Raceway have signed Performance Plus Racing Fuels as the track's official fuel provider. Performance Plus Racing Fuels, a subsidiary of Tri-County Petroleum, will be the facility's pure pipeline to Sunoco Racing Fuels, dedicating a pipeline ...
Schedule change
Apr 06, 2007; ... Schedule change: Comp racers at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals in Atlanta wiE have their first qualifying run Thursday, April 26, at 4 p.m. followed by two qualifying runs Friday, April 27, at noon and 2:45 p.m. The first round of ...
Reminder on lower engine restraint devices
Apr 06, 2007; ... Competitors are reminded that lower engine restraint devices will be mandatory in certain classes at all NHRA POWERade national events. Beginning May 1, all Comp entries that have a wet>sump oil system must meet SFI Spec 7.2 or use an NHRA-accepted lower engine restraint device, and effective ...
Hammer Down
Apr 06, 2007; ... Pro Stock racer Dave Connolly has established a reputation for hammering the Tree as one of drag racing's leading holeshot artists, but if he were given a choice of another career, he'd still be involved with hammering, but in a different field where starting-line reflexes ...
SPLITSVILLE
Apr 06, 2007; ... It's the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals and you're in the staging lanes geared up for a pass down the legendary quarter-mile when you get the news: Your firesuit is split down the back in a very embarrassing area. Hillary Will knows your pain. "The ...
Show Me The Money!
Apr 06, 2007; ... As a Funny Car team owner/driver, Cruz Pedregon has a slightly different perspective on drag racing than he did as a hired driver. Asked what he considers to be the toughest thing about what he does, the former world champion was quick to ...
In Awe Of The Intimidator
Apr 06, 2007; ... Driving for legendary quarter-mile hero Don "the Snake" Prudhomme has given Top Fuel racer Lrry Dixon access other motorsports heroes, and he will never forget meeting the late Dale Earnhardt. "I met him at an Atlanta Cup race in the 1990s. 'Snake' was good friends with him, and we went up into ...
WHO MOVED MY CHEESE?
Apr 06, 2007; ... According to Funny Car racer Tommy Johnson Jr., drag racing has made him into a very organized individual. "Everything has its place, and if it's not there, I want to know why. I guess it comes from being around racing all of these years. Having your trailer, ...
NOT TECHNOLOGY DEPENDENT
Apr 06, 2007; ... Maybe it's because he was raised by a practical, no-nonsense father and mother, but Pro Stock racer Kurt Johnson really doesn't depend on today's modern-day conveniences. "When you get right down to it, everyone managed to get by just fine before any of the more recent modern conveniences were ...
The Art Of The Deal
Apr 06, 2007; ... After two decades behind the wheel, Top Fuel ace Cory McClenathan has received a lot of advice. "The best advice I ever got came from Kenny Bernstein, who told me to go out and find my sponsors instead of letting someone else broker it for me or rely on a team to acquire the sponsor. That way ...
On the Run
Apr 06, 2007; ... Things may not be going as well for our Skull Shine Top Fuel team as we expected since winning the season opener, but nothing is as bad as losing one of your best friends. Eric Medlen was my buddy. We hung out quite a bit at the track and away from the track. He lived only a mile up the ...
WOMEN ON THE MOVE
Apr 06, 2007; ... Following the example of Ashley Force and others, more young female racers are preparing for Pro careers by competing in NHRA's alcohol classes by Steve Waldron KATE HARKER Australian Kate Harker hasn't taken America by storm yet, but that's her plan. The 24-year-old daughter of ...
Eric Medlen remembered
Apr 06, 2007; ... Excerpts from the Professional funny Car driver's fellow racers, friends, and associates in remembrance off their fallen comrade The Coca-Cola Company: "Eric Medlen was a passionate example of living life with positive energy and spreading Ms attitude to those he came in contact with ...
On the Run
Apr 06, 2007; ... Following our strong performance in Phoenix, I felt we were in a pretty good position to win some races, and I still feel that way. Gainesville was a miscue and not indicative of the full potential of this team. Our Jerry Haas-built Pontiac GTO is extremely fast and one of the best cars I've ...
PROfile: Jerry Haas
Apr 06, 2007; ... Few individuals have had a more lasting effect on Pro Stock and other extreme-performance doorslammer categories than longtime chassis builder Jerry Haas. Just about every major Pro Stock campaigner has driven a Haas-built car at one time or another. Haas began building race cars in 1973 ...
New Products
Apr 06, 2007; ... Motorsports Plan-O-Gram The long awaited Jiffy-tite Motorsports Plan-O-Gram is now available through your local Jiffy-tite distributor at 5 percent off regular jobber pricing. Included are 10 of the top selling part numbers in clamshell packaging for either pegboard or slat-board ...
FEATURED FLYERS
Apr 06, 2007; ... JEREMY PRESTON WEST PALM BEACH, FLA. SUPER GAS . 76 CHEVETTE Jeremy Preston's '76 Chevette is the same car that he drove to victory at the 2005 ACDelco NHRA Gatornationals and the same car in which previous owner Ray VanMersbergen went four rounds at the same event in ...
Simpson Performance Products
Apr 06, 2007; ... Last December, Simpson Performance Products held a grand opening with a car show at its state-of-the-art firesuit manufacturing facility and Simpson World Store in Harbor City, Calif. The new faculty, not too far from the old one, is better located to serve the West Coast racing community. The ...
Top 10 Pro Stock Innovations
Apr 06, 2007; ... A list of the major developments that transformed Detroit's factory hot rods from nine-second near-stock vehicles to today's 6.5-second, 211-mph entries The original Pro Stockers that debuted at the 1970 Winternationals would compare closest with today's Stock entries. Built entirely ...
Bogacki wins three times at Atlanta Classic
Apr 06, 2007; ... ATLANTA DRAGWAY, Atlanta, Ga. (March 10-11) - Many Division 2 racers got to experience their first race of the season at the Demon Carburetion Atlanta Classic. Luke Bogacki cemented his points lead in Wheeler Sportsman and maintained his advantage in CSR Super Pro by winning Saturday's and ...
Membership Midway
Apr 06, 2007; ... In addition to becoming part of an exciting community of racers and race fans, NHRA members are entitled to many valuable benefits, explained each week in Membership Midway. Members should refer to this page often for news and updates that will help them receive the greatest possible value from ...
Remembering one of my favorite drivers
Apr 06, 2007; ... The Write Lane with Candida Benson My original plan for this space was vastly different from what appears here now. I had penned a piece on how the wonderful attitudes of those involved with drag racing make the sport far greater than any other. Eric Medlen epitomized that great spirit ...
The streak
Apr 13, 2007; ... The streak: The absence of John Force from the O'Reilly NHRA Spring Nationals following the death of team driver Eric Medien will not impact his qualifying streak, which now stands at 395 events. It had been 427 NHRA national events ...
Repaving
Apr 13, 2007; ... Repaving: Bristol Dragway officials have announced that the first 190 feet of the track - the concrete launching pad - will be replaced before the May 18-20 running of the O'Reilly NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals presented by Q. After extensive asphalt resurfacing and grinding in the off-season to ...
Winners
Apr 13, 2007; ... Winners: Drivers in the NHRA Xplod Sport Compact Racing Series completed a successful opening weekend of their 2007 season at Moroso Motorsports Park during the Palm Beach NHRA Sport Compact Nationals March 31-April 1 ....
Hired
Apr 13, 2007; ... Hired: Coghlan Motorsports has named Brady Kalivoda as its new driver for select races in the 2007 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series. With no committed funding entering the 2007 season, team owners Tim and Renée Coghlan believed it necessary to make the car available to anyone qualified to drive ...
Lucas picks up Tobler
Apr 13, 2007; ... Top Fuel driver Morgan Lucas (pictured) has hired three-time champion tuner Rahn Tobler as crew chief of his Lucas Oil dragster. Tobler, who spent the last three seasons heading Doug Kalitta's operation and tuned the standout Pro to 14 national event wins and two second-place finishes in the ...
Staging Light
Apr 13, 2007; ... Since early February, ESPN Classic has been airing repeats of NHRA national events from the mid1990s through the early 2000s. The programming, which is broadcast each weekday at 11 a.m., originally was scheduled to air through the end of March but recently was extended through the end of May. By ...
Making the list
Apr 13, 2007; ... Making the list: By qualifying No. 1 at the O'Reilly NHRA Spring Nationals presented by Pennzoil, Top Fuel racer Whit Bazemore became the 15th driver in NHRA history to earn low qualifying honors in Top Fuel and Funny Car; he was the low qualifier 29 times in Funny Car. The ...
New event
Apr 13, 2007; ... New event: California's Infineon Raceway will host three NHRA events in one week, including the recently added Sonoma County NHRA National Open, to be held Aug. 1 between the Fram Autolite NHRA Nationals (July 27-29) and the Cal-Steam/Kohler Division 7 NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event ...
Hemi champ
Apr 13, 2007; ... Hemi champ: Super Stock veteran Rick Houser drove Jim DeFrank's California Car Covers '68 Barracuda to the Mopar Hemi Challenge title during the Mopars At The Strip event, held March 30 at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Houser, who won last year's NHRA ...
Sony renews sponsorship of NHRA Sport Compact Series
Apr 13, 2007; ... With the focus on its Xplod brand of mobile electronics products, Sony Electronics has extended its sponsorship of the NHRA Xplod Sport Compact Racing Series for the 2007 season. Sony first sponsored an NHRA Sport Compact event in 2003 and has been the series' title sponsor since ...
Shocking
Apr 13, 2007; ... Shocking: Scotty Pollacheck recently rode the Killacycle electric motorcycle to a career-best 8.16, 155.87 during the All Harley Drag Racing Association event at Arizona's Firebird Int'l Raceway. Pollacheck's run is believed to ...
Hill to be inducted into Texas Motorsports Hall of Fame
Apr 13, 2007; ... Former NHRA Top Fuel world champion Eddie Hill will join several other inductees into the Texas Motorsports Hall of Fame during a ceremony at The Speedway Club at Texas Motor Speedway April 11. In addition, Texas Motor Speedway and Happy Hill Farm Academy have announced that legendary car owner ...
Comp index adjustment
Apr 13, 2007; ... Comp index adjustment: As the result of competition at the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event in ...
DRAW news
Apr 13, 2007; ... DRAW news: The Drag Racing Association of Women is currently looking for donations for its annual silent and live auctions, to be held June 9 at Chicago's Route 66 Raceway during the Torco Racing Fuels Route 66 NHRA Nationals. Popular auction items are racing collectibles, vehicle parts, ...
Quarter-milestones
Apr 13, 2007; ... Quarter-milestones: Born: to Division 3 Super Street racer Chuck Lundquist and his wife Nancy, a son, 9-pound Adam Charles, March 30. Born: to Division 2 Super Pro racer Stacy Blanton and his wife Debbie, a daughter, 6-pound, 10-ounce Shana Marie. Blanton Racing has painted many race cars, ...
Timing Is Everything
Apr 13, 2007; ... Pro Stock holeshot artist Dave Connolly knows that timing is everything on the starting line, but he also believes it translates to the rest of his job. Connolly, who has risen from a weekend warrior in the Sportsman ranks to one of the most respected Pro Stock drivers in the country, advises ...
GOING IN CIRCLES
Apr 13, 2007; ... Racing is in his blood, so it's not surprising that former world champion and second-generation racer Cruz Pedregon said he'd be competing in the World of Outlaws sprint-car series if he wasn't driving a Funny Car. "I like it, and I think I'd be good at it," said Pedregon who for the last three ...
Helpless
Apr 13, 2007; ... Rod Fuller made his name in Super-class racing, where today's electronics allow a driver multiple chances at the Tree and the ability to override the throttle stop, so getting back into Top Fuel after 10 years of winning in the Super classes was sometimes a study in helplessness. "The toughest ...
Scelzi Sez ... Sheen
Apr 13, 2007; ... Gary Scelzi, a multiple world champion and star of the popular "Scelzi Sez" segment on ESPN2 race broadcasts, is used to being in the spotlight. Who might he choose to have in the spotlight for the filming of his life story? "If somebody was unlucky enough to have to play me ...
Groundhog Day
Apr 13, 2007; ... When Larry Morgan won both the Pro Stock Challenge (formerly the NHRA King Demon Crown) and Monday's regular eliminations at the 1989 U.S. Nationals, he established a pre-race "routine" that he has followed to this day. Said Morgan, "We ran the Challenge on Saturday, so for the rest of the two ...
Signed
Apr 13, 2007; ... Signed: David Powers Motorsports has signed Ocean43.com, a new secure and private online system that allows people to store documents and connect with friends, family, and business associates, as an associate sponsor for its Top Fuel team. The Ocean43.com logos will be displayed on the rear wing ...
Show Me The MONEY
Apr 13, 2007; ... Larry Dixon gets a third-degree case of the irritations when it comes to the topic of driver-required sponsorships. "Why is it that it's only the driver who has to bring money to get a job on a race team?" he asked rhetorically. "I'd say that half of the drivers out there have that requirement ...
Galaxy Of Stars
Apr 13, 2007; ... What do Tom Arnold, Bill Cowher, Tom Brady, and Sandra Bullock have in common? All have hung out in the pits with Tommy Johnson Jr. "I know Tom Arnold because we're both from Ottumwa, Iowa, and he came to a match race I did back in '94 or '95," T.J. said. "I met Tom Brady and Bill Cowher along ...
Todd scores emotional fifth victory
Apr 13, 2007; ... Top Fuel driver J.R. Todd has endured the worst month of his life. March began with a professional loss when crew chief Jimmy Walsh left to work for another team, and Todd suffered a personal loss March 23 with the death of his close friend Eric Medlen. Todd, 25, showed his resilience ...
Healing in Houston
Apr 13, 2007; ... Todd, Capps, Line, Sarnpey pay tribute to Eric Medlen with emotional wins HOUSTON - Any time the drag racing community loses one of its more popular personalities, such as rising Funny Car star Eric Medlen, the recovery process can be a lengthy one. But a very important first step was ...
MEMORABLE MOMENTS
Apr 13, 2007; ... -20th annual O'Reilly NHRA Spring Nationals presented by Pennzoil, March 30-April 1, Houston Best race Joe Hartley-Dave Grubnic, Top Fuel semifinals Grubnic, near lane, jumped out to an early lead, but first-time semifinalist Hartley gradually reeled him in en route to ...
THE FINAL TAKE
Apr 13, 2007; ... The rain game: Anytime it rains overnight, teams are concerned that the track will have changed, and all of their hard work will be out the window. The problem is usually either that the rubber has been washed off the track or that water has seeped between the rubber and the asphalt or concrete ...
Lucas Oil Sportsman Capsules
Apr 13, 2007; ... complete results next week Top Alcohol Dragster Bill Reichert Reigning world champ Bill Reichert qualified No. 1 with a 5.23 at 278 mph and blew everyone away with a 5.103 in the semi's and a 284.75-mph speed (both national records) against Spencer Massey in the final. Reichert ...
PROfile: Steve Chrisman
Apr 13, 2007; ... Steve Chrisman's father would be proud. The son of legendary 1960s racer Jack Chrisman, who carved his path in history using an assortment of unconventional and groundbreaking entries, is racing in Top Fuel. He's doing it his own way and on his own terms, and he's having a ball. Six ...