National Dragster back issues from November 2007:
NHRA launches first home video this decade
Nov 02, 2007; ... NHRA Countdown to the Championship 2007 Year in Review set for early December release GLENDORA, Calif. - You watched the drama unfold all season long in the 2007 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series, and now you can relive the excitement of the inaugural NHRA POWERade Countdown to the ...
Force leaves hospital, returns to Southern California
Nov 02, 2007; ... YORBA LINDA, Calif. - After 27 days at Baylor University Medical Center following his Sept. 23 crash at Texas Motorplex, 14-time NHRA POWERade Funny Car world champ John Force returned to his native Southern California Oct. 20 to continue his rehabilitation. Force, 58, suffered a ...
Staging Light
Nov 02, 2007; ... Well, here we are, 263 days after we left Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, returning to the scene of the CARQUEST Auto Parts NHRA Winternationals, which kick-started the 2007 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series. It's the 43rd running of the Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals and ...
Burkart to finish season for Force?
Nov 02, 2007; ... After successfully test driving the Castrol GTX Mustang Funny Car of injured superstar John Force at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Phil Burkart Jr. could be named interim driver for the car at the ACDelco Las Vegas NHRA Nationals and the season-ending Auto Club of Southern California ...
Honored
Nov 02, 2007; ... Three longtime NHRA vanguards, former vice president and competition director Steve Gibbs and Eileen Daniels and her late husband and former Division 3 Director Bob Daniels, were honored Oct. 21 at the 2007 East Coast Drag Times Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Henderson, N.C. Gibbs ...
Schedule change
Nov 02, 2007; ... Schedule Change: ESPN2 will broadcast the 2007 NHRA POWERade Awards Ceremony Sunday, ...
Reunion
Nov 02, 2007; ... Reunion: The Legends of Speed Motorsports Group will host its 30th Anniversary Reunion Saturday, Nov. 17, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at The WaUy Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum. The event, which commemorates the last race contested at Irwindale Raceway in 1977, is open to the public and will feature ...
Debut
Nov 02, 2007; ... Debut: Former Sportsman racer James Day will make his Funny Car debut at the ACDelco Las Vegas NHRA Nationals behind the wheel of Dave and Lynda Smith's Funny Car. Chris Nance will serve as Day's crew chief. The 29-year-old, who grew up watching his father Richard Day compete in his Screamer ...
Lucas Oil season titles going down to the wire
Nov 02, 2007; ... The 2007 NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series championships in Top Alcohol Dragster, Top Alcohol Funny Car, and Comp have been clinched, but the Super Stock, Stock, Super Comp, and Super Gas titlists are yet to be determined. No championships were decided during last weekend's Division 2 event at ...
Roster change
Nov 02, 2007; ... Rob Lundberg, of Sicklerville, N.J., will be Division 1's Sportsman representative at the NHRA Summit Racing Series National Championship in Pomona, replacing Sean Riccardi, who is unable to attend ....
Flying high
Nov 02, 2007; ... Flying high: Pro Stock driver Erica Enders took a 60-minute flight Oct. 23 with the U.S. Air Force's Thunderbirds demonstration team at Nellis Air Force Base. Flying in a Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon with Maj. Rob Skelton at the controls, they weaved their way across ...
Hemi champ
Nov 02, 2007; ... Hemi champ: Charlie Westcott Jr. claimed the $5,000 Mopar Hemi Challenge title during the Pennsylvania Dutch Classic Division 1 National Open held at Maple Grove Raceway in Reading. Westcott drove his War Fish Barracuda to an 8.52 best during eliminations and won the final with an 8.56 over Matt ...
NHRA Xplod champions crowned in exciting fashion
Nov 02, 2007; ... Four NHRA Xplod Sport Compact Racing Series championships were settled during eliminations at the NHRA Sport Compact World Finals in Pomona Oct. 20-21. Gary Gardella (Pro FWD), Brent Rau (Modified), Kenny Tran (Hot Rod), and Norris Prayoonto (Honda Tuning Magazine All Motor) won their first ...
Jolted
Nov 02, 2007; ... Jolted: Hillary Will and her associate marketing partner Jolt Energy Gum, a product of GumRunners, have teamed for a promotion that will have Will and her KB Racing-owned, Kalitta Motorsports-managed Top Fuel dragster featured prominently on packs of Jolt Energy Gum. Inside every pack is a ...
Speaking engagement
Nov 02, 2007; ... Native Australian Dave Grubnic, affectionately known as "Aussie Dave" to NHRA fans, will be the keynote speaker Oct. 23 at K2M's national sales meeting. "It is truly an honor and a privilege for me to be the keynote speaker for K2M," said Grubnic. "Andy Rock and Mike Parkman from K2M and many of ...
America's most wanted
Nov 02, 2007; ... America's most wanted: The Dinwiddie County (Va.) Sheriff's Office is asking for the public's assistance to help solve the case of a tractor theft from Lowery's Tractor Sales, located at the intersection of Boydton Plank Road and Route 460, just north of Virginia Motorsports Park, on Oct. 6. A ...
Addendum
Nov 02, 2007; ... Addendum: For additional items that should have appeared in the Automatic ...
Farewell
Nov 02, 2007; ... Farewell: Legendary Los Angeles Times motorsports reporter Shav Glick died Oct. 20 after a lengthy battle with cancer. He was 87. The only two-time winner of the NHRA Media Award (1977 and 1985), the personable Glick was more than just a sports reporter from a major metro daily newspaper ...
Quarter-milestone
Nov 02, 2007; ... Died: Division 7 E.T. racer Jason Whiteneack, of injuries sustained in a highway accident. Whiteneack ...
WHAT, ME WORRY?
Nov 02, 2007; ... Confidence in his team means everything to Tony Schumacher, and the reigning NHRA POWERade Top Fuel champ says being able to rely on it pays big dividends for him as a driver. "What happened last year is the best example I can provide." he said. "Before getting buckled in for the last run of the ...
My Favorite Places
Nov 02, 2007; ... When he's not on the NHRA POWERade tour racing his 333-mph MTS Funny Car, "Fast Jack" Beckman works at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona. He won his first national event title at the historic facility in 1998 and clinched the Super Comp national championship there in 2003, so it stands to reason that ...
Riding With The Stars
Nov 02, 2007; ... Popular Pro Stock Motorcycle racer Steve Johnson recently took a ride in the Indy Racing Experience two-seater around the 2.38-mile road course at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Ala., with Indy 500 veteran Davey Hamilton at the controls of the open-wheel machine. Johnson, the 2005 Mac ...
Can You Sign My Dog's Dress, Please?
Nov 02, 2007; ... Walk by Funny Car rookie Ashley Force's pit area at any time during a race weekend, and there is usually a very large crowd waiting to meet the rising star and get her autograph. With the many autographs she signs over the course of a weekend, Force gets many unusual requests. "[In Gainesville ...
GIMME MORE
Nov 02, 2007; ... Pro Stock rookie Justin Humphreys, the 2005 NHRA Xplod Sport Compact Racing Series Modified champion, first became addicted to drag racing behind the wheel of his four-door '03 Lexus 300, which is powered by a twin-turbo inline-six engine. "I remember going to Atco ...
A DOG'S LIFE
Nov 02, 2007; ... "I'd love to be reincarnated someday as a dog," said petloving Top Fuel ace Cory McClenathan. "I want to be fed and cleaned up after rather than doing the feeding and cleaning ....
On the Run
Nov 02, 2007; ... We're now down to the last two events in the 2007 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series. Fortunately for the U.S. Army Top Fuel team, those two events include us in the Countdown to One. Admittedly, we had to fight, scratch, and claw to get into and then stay among the top four in the ...
PROfile: Tony Shortall
Nov 02, 2007; ... When speculating who is among the next generation of crew chiefs, Tony Shortall is considered to be at the forefront. Shortall, 40, the assistant crew chief on the Fram dragster driven by Cory McClenathan, continues to work his way up the ranks and hone his craft as a tuner. Shortall's ...
On the Run
Nov 02, 2007; ... With all the adversity we've gone through this year, especially losing Eric [Medlen] and almost losing John [Force], for us to be in the final four of NHRA's Countdown to the Championship is really special, and our Auto Club team is proud to be representing John Force Racing and all of our ...
Countdown to One interview: Top Fuel
Nov 02, 2007; ... Q: Larry Dixon, you're in first place entering the Countdown to One. You have three wins, three runner-ups, and 3,030 points. What ere your thoughts about the last two events for the championship? LD: Well, obviously, I'm excited about being a part of it, and all four of us have a shot ...
Countdown to One interview: Funny Car
Nov 02, 2007; ... Q: Tony Pedragon, you enter the Countdown to One in first place with three wins this year and a runner-up. How about an opening statement? TP: We're in some very good company to be in the top four. It's a big achievement. I have my car set up, and I glanced over at Tony Schumacher's ...
Countdown to One interview: Pro Stock
Nov 02, 2007; ... Q: Dave Connelly, you're in first place. You had eight wins this season, which leads the category, and you're won five straight, including all four races during the Countdown to Four. Can you talk about trying to maintain this enomoous momentum coming like the last tow races? DC: We're ...
Countdown to One interview: Pro Stock Motorcycle
Nov 02, 2007; ... Q: Andrew Hines, you are in first place, have a category-best four wins this season, and will begin the Countdown to One with 3,030 points. What are your thoughts in these last two races and defending the championship? AH: I can't wait to get back to Vegas. We won that race last year. It ...
Pierce, Harker claim alky wins; Paul almost doubles
Nov 02, 2007; ... In took an extra day to complete due to rain, but in the end, the final Division 4 NHRA Lucas oil Drag Racing Series event of the season at Thunder Valley Raceway Park in Noble, OkIa., proved to be worth the wait, especially for the 11 champions who were crowned. Included among the winners were ...
Texas Raceway regains title; Nash repeats
Nov 02, 2007; ... TEXAS MOTORPLEX, NHRA Summit Racing Series Finals (Div. 4) - After a two-year absence, the Killer Bs team from Texas Raceway finally regained its lofty ranking as team champion in Division 4 with a narrow one-point victory over the surprising team from Cherokee County Motorsports ...
Brandenton wins team title by a landslide
Nov 02, 2007; ... SOUTH GEORGIA MOTORSPORTS PARK, NHRA Summit Racing Series Finals (Div. 2) - Racers representing Bradenton Motorsports Park won the overall team championship at the Division 2 NHRA Summit Racing Series Finals at South Georgia Motorsports Park, and when the final points were tallied, it wasn't ...
Las Vegas holds off Famoso for title
Nov 02, 2007; ... THE STRIP AT LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY, NHRA Summit Racing Series Finals (Div. 7) - Team Las Vegas managed to withstand a strong bid by Team Famoso to win the overall team title. The Las Vegas team's hopes came down to Super Pro racer John Phlegar and his '63 Corvette against the '67 Camaro of ...
Automatic Transmissions Special Issue Addendum
Nov 02, 2007; ... The Lencodrive allows racers to combine the Inherent advantages of the Lenco transmission design with a torque converter in place of a dutch. The basic model is a two-speed version with reverse that can be expanded to three-or four-speed configurations with additional cases. All cases are ...
The Automobile Club of Southern California: Carrying forward Parks' vision
Nov 02, 2007; ... Back in the formative days of the National hot Rod Association, it was the vision of Wally Parks and his fellow hot rod enthusiasts to make drag racing safer by legitimizing the sport - taking it off the streets; providing structure, safety, and organization; and creating partnerships with law ...
Scigliuto leads the way for Team Bradenton
Nov 02, 2007; ... NHRA SUMMIT RACING SERIES FINALS (Div. 2) - The team from Bradenton Motorsports Park won the overall title at the Division 2 NHRA Summit Racing Series Finals, and the biggest contributor was newly crowned Super Pro champ David Scigliuto. The former Marine, who now works as a financial advisor in ...
FIVE MEMORABLE FINALS
Nov 02, 2007; ... Long before Tony Schumacher made "The Run" in 2006, title runs were going down to the wire NHRA's Countdown to the' Championship guarantees that every Professional championship this year and every year in the foreseeable future comes down to the final day of the season. Old-school drag ...
New Products
Nov 02, 2007; ... FAB9 Systems For Mustangs Chris Alston's Chassisworks now offers complete FAB9 systems that directly replace factory axle housings and rear suspensions in '79-'04 Mustangs. These super-strong, lightweight FAB9 housings are available in stock or narrowed widths and accept either OEM or ...
Good fortune finally smiles on Kent
Nov 02, 2007; ... NHRA SUMMIT RACING SERIES FINALS (Div. 2) - Billy Kent has been bracket racing for almost two decades, and it seems that the lack of a good break kept him from reaching the winner's circle. Said Kent, "We won a few races at our home track, U.S. 19 [Dragway] in Albany, Ga., but something always ...
Sportsman win redeems Peeler's earlier foul
Nov 02, 2007; ... NRA SUMMIT RACING SERIES FINALS (Div. 2) - After red-lighting in the semifinals of the High School class earlier in the day at the Southeast Division NHRA Summit Racing Series Finals, Chris Peeler was determined not to make the same mistake twice. Peeler, who turned 17 just days after the NHRA ...
Candy prevails in all-Hagadorn final
Nov 02, 2007; ... NHRA SUMMIT RACING SERIES FINALS (Div. 2) - No one who has ever won the NHRA Summit Racing Series Finals has felt less pressure heading into a final round than newly crowned Division 2 champ Candy Hagadora. Waiting to take a bye run in the semifinals, Hagadorn sat in the burnout box and watched ...
Aguayo comes from behind to win championship
Nov 02, 2007; ... AUTO CLUB DRAGWAY, Fontana, Calif. (Sept. 15-16) Reigning Lucas Oil Super Comp Association series champion Danny Aguayo overcame a 62-point deficit to then leader Gary Forkner to win the series championship for a second straight season. Aguayo snagged the title with a 10-point margin over ...
Morse, Chase, Fisher among winners at Challenge event
Nov 02, 2007; ... National DRAGSTER Challenge COLES COUNTY DRAGWAY U.S.A., Charleston, Ill. (Oct. 7) - Gary Morse scored in Super Pro over Craig Minor. Morse ran a 5.96 (5.95 dial) in his '77 Vega to defeat Minor's 4.93 (4.91) from his '07 JC Cars dragster. Jeff Blickensderfer, Al Peavler, and Jim Falbe ...
Racers fight for top spots as season nears end
Nov 02, 2007; ... King of the Track KEARNEY RACEWAY PARK, Kearney, Neb. (Sept. 22-23) - The weekend was full of racing with the third Quick 32 series event sponsored by Mike Moss Racing, the Saturday Street Legal Shootout, the Saturday Night Jackpot event, Sunday's 11th week of points racing, and the NHRA ...
Competitors put on great show at Governor's Cup
Nov 02, 2007; ... SACRAMENTO RACEWAY PARK, Sacramento, Calif. (Sept. 22-23) - The 38th annual Governor's Cup treated fans to great performances in Nostalgia Top Fuel, Funny Car, and all Sportsman classes. Fourteen front-engine Top Fuel dragsters made qualifying attempts with six entries hitting the ...
Grubbs overcomes odds, collects biggest victory
Nov 02, 2007; ... NHRA SUMMIT RACING SERIES FINALS (Div. 4) - Things couldn't have gone much worse for Kevin Grubbs in the biggest run of his 10-year bracket-racing career. The Red River Raceway Super Pro champ had just defeated Randy Tanksley to capture the Division 4 Super Pro championship, but standing between ...
Lewis wins again, misses Pomona trip (again)
Nov 02, 2007; ... NHRA SUMMIT RACING SERIES FINALS (Div. 4) - Jimmy Lewis is the ultimate good sport. The Forney, Texas, driver, who won the Super Gas national championship in 1998, won the Division 4 Pro championship for the second time in seven years and for the second time won't be making the trip to Pomona ...
Clark picks biggest race for first win
Nov 02, 2007; ... NHRA SUMMIT RACING SERIES FINALS (Div. 4) - Regardless of how many wins Dennis Clark ends up with, chances are he'll never top his first Unless, of course, he wins the national championship, which he'll have an opportunity to do after his surprising victory at Texas Motorplex. Clark, who ...
Douglas having fun with first win
Nov 02, 2007; ... NHRA SUMMIT RACING SERIES FINALS CDw. 4) - Lyndsey Douglas' win at the NHRA Summit Racing Series Finals puts her a little bit ahead of the game in the overall scheme of things. The No Electronics-Street racer has only been competing in the category for a year, and she has only been racing for ...
Red River's Nash successfully defends title
Nov 02, 2007; ... NHRA SUMMIT RACING SERIES FINALS (Div. 4) - Even the nation's greatest bracket racers face tremendous odds in repeating as NHRA Summit Racing Series Finals champions in consecutive seasons. Talented Motorcycle rider Micheal Nash did the improbable by adding his name to that short list one season ...
Mink, Morris, Brinegar slam door on competition
Nov 02, 2007; ... OHIO VALLEY RACEWAY, Louisville, Ky. (Oct. 6-7) - Super Stock veteran Dean Mink was the top dog at the annual NHRA Doorslammer National Open, taking the final round when Rodney Maiden went red by 12-thousandths of a second in the final. Mink, 72, the 1982 Southern Nationals Super Stock champion, ...
DeBartolo's Mopar outlasts large field for win
Nov 02, 2007; ... NHRA SUMMIT RACING SERIES FINALS (Div. 7) - If the pre-race favorite was determined by numbers alone, Tommy DeBartolo faced some pretty stiff odds by driving one the very few Mopar-powered entries in a program overwhelmed by General Motors small- and big-block powerplants. After the six rounds ...
Gray strikes gold in Race of Champions
Nov 02, 2007; ... NHRA SUMMIT RACING SERIES FINALS (Div. 7) - After coming in a mere five points short of being able to compete in the Race of Champions event last season, John Gray set out on a mission to make the top four in points at Infineon Raceway and compete at the NHRA Summit Racing Series Final for a ...
Dreher notches emotional win
Nov 02, 2007; ... NHRA SUMMIT RACING SERIES FINALS (Div. 7) - With four previous Division 7 NHRA Summit Racing Series Finals victories over the last 14 years, Greg Dreher has been down this road before, but this time, he had angels watching over him as he launched ahead of Gary Hairfield and ran a slim ...
Win caps Cragun's near-perfect outing
Nov 02, 2007; ... NHRA SUMMIT RACING SERIES FINALS (Div. 7) - Mike Cragun had the kind of weekend at the Division 7 NHRA Summit Racing Series Finals most racers dream about, finishing as runner-up on Sunday and winning Saturday's Race of Champions to earn a spot in the NHRA Summit Racing Series National ...
Membership Midway
Nov 02, 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 ...
One Last Time at the Place It All Started
Nov 02, 2007; ... Every event at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona is a home race for me. Though I don't remember it because I was barely more than 1 month old, the first drag race I attended was the 1984 Winternationals. That was also the last race in which my dad Mert competed in a fuel Funny Car. Dad had a ...
Staging Light
Nov 09, 2007; ... The Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals will bring to a close the 2007 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series season and the inaugural year of the Countdown to the Championship, and as the masses assemble at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona one last time this year, we'll be doing so without ...
Fuller claims $100,000 Technicoat Shootout win
Nov 09, 2007; ... "Hot Hod" Fuller bagged one of (Iran racing's biggest one-daj purses with h thrilling holeshol victory over Melanie Troxel Saturday of the ACDelco Las Vegas NHRA Nationals lit win the Technicoat Top Fuel Shootout at The Strip at l.as Vegas Motor Speedway. Fuller's 1.527 at 329.99 niph ...
Signed
Nov 09, 2007; ... Signed: U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Co. will sponsor Don Prudhomme Racing's Top Fuel dragster, driven by two-time NHRA POWERade world champ Larry Dixon, in 2008. It will be U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Co.'s first participation in Top Fuel since Prudhomme's 1994 Final Strike retirement season in the Skoal ...
Debut
Nov 09, 2007; ... Debut: Four-time and current All Harley Drag Racing Association Pro Stock champion Junior Pippin is set to make his debut in Pro Stock Motorcycle at a the Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona. Pippin plans to compete in the entire 2008 NHRA ...
Clash cash
Nov 09, 2007; ... Clash cash: Tim Tindle is $25,000 richer after defeating Jay Payne in the final round of the Pro Care RX Pro Mod Clash held during the ACDelco Las Vegas NHRA Nationals. Tindle ran as quick as 6.02 in his early round wins over Scott Ray and John Russo but needed ...