National Dragster back issues from May 2008:
NHRA enters strategic alliance with IMG to enhance sponsorship efforts
May 02, 2008; ... GLENDORA, Calif. - Global sports and entertainment company IMG has entered into a strategic alliance with NHRA, the world's largest motorsports organization, to assist the premier drag racing sanctioning body as its exclusive outside sponsorship marketing agent. IMG will work alongside the ...
Jenkins, Arfons to be inducted into Int'l Motorsports Hall of Fame
May 02, 2008; ... TALLEDEGA, Ala. -Former NHRA Pro Stock champion Bill "Grumpy" Jenkins and NHRA racing pioneer Art Arfons will be inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame when it holds its black-tie 2008 Induction Ceremony Thursday, April 24, at the Speed Channel Dome, adjacent to the ...
Parks, Lavoie star at Hot Rod Heritage Series event
May 02, 2008; ... The Nostalgia Sportsman Shootout, race two of the 2008 NHRA Hot Rod Heritage Racing Series, took place April 19-20 at Auto Club Dragway in Pontana, Calif. Scott Parks won Junior Fuel over J.D. Zink, and Claude Lavoie captured A/Fuel with a final-round conquest of Nick Norton. Kern Ratdoff won ...
Staging Light
May 02, 2008; ... The historic Chain of Rocks Bridge, with one foot in St. Louis and the other on Chouteau Island in Madison, spans the mighty Mississippi River and connects the two diverse cities. Built in 1929 (and relegated to foot and bicycle traffic after the New Chain of Rocks Bridge was built just upstream ...
Signed
May 02, 2008; ... Signed: Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Angie McBride and Indicom Electric have signed a sponsorship deal for the next three NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series events. McBride has been searching for a sponsor for the 2008 season to continue her first full season in NHRA competition. Indicom Electric ...
Prelude to Prelude
May 02, 2008; ... Prelude to Prelude: Ron Capps will compete at the Prelude to the Dream race at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio, June 4. The charity event for late-model dirt race cars will feature more than 25 worldrenowned drivers battling for dirt supremacy. HBO will present the pay-per-view event live, and ...
Auction
May 02, 2008; ... Auction: The Drag Racing Association of Women will host its annual auction June 7 during the Torco Racing Fuels Route 66 NHRA Nationals at Route 66 Raceway in Chicago. DRAW is in need of items for the live and silent auctions. The items that are popular at the auctions are racing collectibles, ...
Upgrades
May 02, 2008; ... Upgrades: Under the guidance of facility manager Larry Crispe, all of the asphalt on Bandimere Speedway's quarter-mile dragstrip was replaced with concrete. Track officials ...
WEEKLY TUNE-UP
May 02, 2008; ... What you need to know this week Upcoming events Summit Motorsports Park Norwalk (May16-18) Houston Raceway Park Houston (May 16-18) O'Reilly NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals Bristol (May 16-19) This week on ESPN2 O'Reilly NHRA ...
Sportsman star Carrillo to step up to Top Fuel
May 02, 2008; ... Sportsman racing veteran Grog Carrillo will step into NHRA's Professional ranks later this season with a new entry in Top Fuel. Phoenix-based Carrillo, a former national event winner in Super Conip with a string of successful sponsorship programs, including Mobil, Coors Extra Gold, and Zima ....
Pedregon leads drag racers at Long Beach Grand Prix Pro/Celebrity Race
May 02, 2008; ... Nwo-time and defending NHRA POWERade Funny Car world champion Tony Pedregon finished fifth in the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach Pro/Celebrity Race on Saturday, April 19. He was first amongst drag racers - Whit Bazemore finished sixth overall, and Marty Nothstein finished eighth - and second ...
Scholarship
May 02, 2008; ... Scholarship: In an initiative to demonstrate its commitment to young adults who share a passion for cars and vehicle care, Vaivoline has announced a scholarship program to aid students in pursuit of an automotive technical career. Known as the Valvoline Automotive Technical Scholarship, the ...
Signed
May 02, 2008; ... Signed: Former NHRA POWERade Funny Car world champion Cruz Pedregon has teamed up with Rislone Engine Treatment for the 2008 season and beyond. The 1992 champ will rely on Rislone's oil ...
Bristol Challenge
May 02, 2008; ... Bristol Challenge: On Saturday evening, May 17, during the O'Reilly NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals presented by Q, NHRA drivers, including Tony Schumacher, Gary Scelzi, Ron Capps, Jeg Coughlin, Greg Anderson, Jason Line, and Doug Kalitta, will take part in the NHRA Circle Track Challenge, a ...
Speaking out
May 02, 2008; ... Speaking out: Snap-on Tools Top Fuel driver Doug Herbert spoke at a second Choices and Consequences seminar April 22 at Michael Waltrip's Raceworld USA in Cornelius, N.C., to help promote safe driving. After losing his sons, Jon, 17, and James, 12, in an automobile accident just a few months ...
Extended
May 02, 2008; ... Extended: Toyo Tire U.S.A. Corp. has extended its contract with Top Alcohol Dragster, Super Comp, Super Gas, and E.T. racer Thomas Bayer for the 2008 season. Bayer has competed on Toyo Proxes drag slicks for many years, winning several championships along the way. He won the Super Comp ...
Event news
May 02, 2008; ... Event news: Division 3's London Dragway has scheduled its second annual Bluegrass Nationals for May 9-10, which will feature some of the fastest eighthmile cars in drag racing. The Pro Top Outlaws will be making their second visit to the Laurel County dragstrip along with jet Funny Cars. Also, ...
Motorsports expo
May 02, 2008; ... Motorsports expo: The inaugural Racer's Expo will be held Nov. 14-16 at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, Nev. The Racer's Expo will cover all forms of motorsports, including drag racing, stock cars, open wheel, road racing, and even purpose-built machines, such as Bonneville Salt Flats land ...
Farewell
May 02, 2008; ... Farewell: Former Top Fuel racer Bobby Hightower, who came to fame in Jesse Perkins' Cow Palace Shell dragster and other rides in the early 1960s, died April 11 at his home in Stratford, Okla., after a lengthy illness. He was 72. Hightower was born in 1935 in Hollis, Okla., and lived his early ...
Comp index adjustments
May 02, 2008; ... Comp index adjustments: As the result of competition at the NHRA Lucas oil Drag Racing Series events in Cecil, Ga., and Indianapolis, the ...
RACING on the Cardboard Quarter-mile
May 02, 2008; ... If kids today want to buckle into John Force's Castrol GTX Ford Mustang and take on Gary Scelzi, all they have to do is fire up the PlayStation 2 and drop in a copy of ValuSoft's NHRA Drag Racing: Countdown to the Championship video game, and away they go. For kids growing up in the ...
The Return Of 'the Professor'
May 02, 2008; ... Newfound horsepower indicates that six-time NHRA Pro Stock champion Warren Johnson still has a few lessons to teach to his younger competition INTERVIEW We just slowly got there, and we're all at the same point right now. After suffering seven DNQs in the last two seasons ...
On the Run with John Force
May 02, 2008; ... I'm finally getting back to where I can drive my ol' hot rod - my Castrol GTX Mustang - and not too bad, either. It's a great feeling. I want to take a moment to thank my sponsors for sticking with me: the new ones, Old Spice, Lokki, and Sanyo, and the ones who've been part of our family ...
On the Run with Tim Wilkerson
May 02, 2008; ... There's almost nothing better than winning an NHRA POWERade national event, and our recent victory at the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals was a well-earned team effort. Even after such a long drought of going to the winner's circle - and we've come close a couple of times - the car has been ...
LIVIN' THE DREAM(S)
May 02, 2008; ... PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE RIDER KAREN STOFFER WORKED HER WAY UP THROUGH THE SPORTSMAN RANKS AND MADE A NAME FOR HERSELF AS A PRO COMPETITOR WHILE SUCCESSFULLY MAINTAINING A HIGH-STRESS, 60-PLUS-HOUR-A-WEEK CAREER IN A VASTLY DIFFERENT REALM. MAYBE YOU REALLY CAN HAVE IT ALL. Karen Stoffer ...
Billy Williams: 1945-2008
May 02, 2008; ... Former Pro Comp national champion, nitro racer won 10 NHRA national events, including back-to-back U.S. Nationals titles by Kevin Mckenna Billy Williams, who won the 1979 NHRA Pro Comp championship and twice scored at the U.S. Nationals, died April 14. He was 63. Williams had ...
PROfile: Randy Green
May 02, 2008; ... To the casual observer or those who may be new to NHRA Drag Racing, Randy Green's name and face may be unfamiliar, but those who work in the sport and have been around awhile know him quite well. The 2008 season marks Green's 25th year working in drag racing, and during those years, he has ...
New Products
May 02, 2008; ... Extended-length Wheel Studs ARP has added new extended-length wheel studs for '05 and newer Mustangs to its roster of driveline components. Offered for both front and rear-wheel applications, these wheel studs provide an extra measure of safety when custom wheels with thicker-than-stock ...
O'Reilly Auto Parts
May 02, 2008; ... The year was 1957. Chevrolet launched its classic '57 Bel Air, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, and a father-son duo launched O'Reilly Automotive, a family-owned auto-parts store that would become one of the nation's largest auto-parts retailers. C.F. and C.H. "Chub" O'Reilly, along ...
Isbell finds A/Fuel much to his liking
May 02, 2008; ... Jeff Isbell still has a long way to go to catch his daughters, but it's a start. Isbell, whose daughters, 17-year-old Rebecca and 14-year-old Alexis, have won more than 100 firstplace trophies between them racing Jr. Dragsters, claimed his first drag racing trophy of any kind with a ...
Ficco survives red-light outbreak, wins second title
May 02, 2008; ... Like any other NHRA racer, Lou Ficco Jr. would never turn down an event win, no matter how bizarre, luck-driven, or statistically improbable the circumstances leading up to it turned out to be. Still, he said he was just glad he finally got to race someone at the SummitRacing.com NHRA ...
Payne doubles down in Vegas
May 02, 2008; ... When things are going Jay Payne's way, he has the ability to make winning back-to-back national events look easy. The alcohol-class veteran impressed many but surprised few by following up his score in Houston with a win at the ninth annual SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las ...
Luneack dedicates victory to fallen friend
May 02, 2008; ... Just a few weeks prior to Greg Luneack's win at the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals in Las Vegas, tragedy struck friend and fellow Pacific Division Super Stock racer Mark Tallent, who succumbed to an aggressive form of cancer that he had been fighting. Tallent was just 48 years old and left ...
Shaul's powerful Plymouth is class of Vegas field
May 02, 2008; ... They say that there's no such thing as a sure bet in Las Vegas, but when John Shaul staged against Clark Holroyd in the Stock final of the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals, he was feeling more confident than a poker player holding a fistful of aces. With more than two-tenths in the bank in a ...
Balough breaks jinx, wins first in 13 years
May 02, 2008; ... When asked to compare his recent victory at the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals to his only other major triumph, in Sonoma in 1995, Randy Balough answered, "No contest: It was a lot sweeter this time because I was wondering if I was going to win again." Balough came close last year when ...
FEATURED FLYERS
May 02, 2008; ... Chris Naffziger * Las Vegas * Super Gas * '70 Nova Most drag racers develop an attachment to race cars they have campaigned for many years, and that is especially the case for Chris Naffziger, who has owned and raced his '7O Chevy Nova since he was a junior in high school in 1990 while ...
Nebraska track champions honored at Kearney banquet
May 02, 2008; ... KEARNEY RACEWAY PARK, Kearney, Neb. (March 29) - The Nebraska raceway ended the season with a banquet, which awarded their 2007 track champions. This year, the event occurred later than usual. Former track manager John Albers, who stepped down to pursue other business interests, was in ...
SEMA Street Rod/Replica Vehicle bill on the move
May 02, 2008; ... The cumbersome and often confusing task of titling and registering a street rod or replica vehicle in Iowa just got a whole lot easier after Gov. Chet Culver signed the SEMA Street Rod/Replica Vehicle bill into law. Under the new measure, qualifying vehicles are registered as the same model year ...
Membership Midway
May 02, 2008; ... 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 ...
Brown, Bishop, Benson are first-time winners
May 02, 2008; ... GATEWAY INT'L RACEWAY, Madison (March 29-30) - Despite weather that was anything but springlike, Division 3 kicked off its 2008 season with the NHRA Spring Sportsman Challenge XVI at Gateway Int'l Raceway. Highlighting the two-day event were victories by Jeff Brown, who claimed his first Jegs ...
From The Director's Chair
May 02, 2008; ... Another busy season of NHRA Drag Racing has begun in the North Central Division with the NHRA Spring Sportsman Challenge XVI National Open kicking things off March 29-30. Speaking of which, I would like to thank the Gateway Int'l Raceway crew for its efforts in battling the elements to have a ...
Dart Dash Top Sportsman invitational returns to Atlanta
May 02, 2008; ... The NHRA Top Sportsman Dart Dash will return for its fourth annual run at the 2008 Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway April 24-27. The special Top Sportsman invitational will include last season's top 10 points finishers from each of NHRA's seven ...
Ohio Crankshaft to sponsor Fast Four Showdowns
May 02, 2008; ... The Ohio Crankshaft Fast Four Showdown in Top Sportsman and Top Dragster will once again be part of the Saturday night extravaganza during the second annual NHRA Lucas oil Drag Racing Series B'Laster Cavalcade of Stars presented by Budweiser at Summit Motorsports Park May 16-18. NHRA ...
Spitzer Race Cars renews Top Alcohol qualifying bonuses
May 02, 2008; ... The Spitzer Race Cars Top Alcohol Low Qualifier program will return for its fourth straight season. Low qualifiers in Top Alcohol Dragster and Top Alcohol Funny Car at the division's NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series events will receive $500. In addition, Spitzer Race Cars will recognize ...
Steve Schmidt Competition Engines to reward low qualifiers
May 02, 2008; ... Steve Schmidt Competition Engines will sponsor qualifying awards for this year's NHRA Dart Top Sportsman Racing Series and NHRA Spitzer Race Cars Top Dragster Series. The No. 1 qualifiers in Top Sportsman and Top Dragster at each event will ...
NitroPlate Bounty Hunter program extended
May 02, 2008; ... The NitroPlate Bounty Hunter program, introduced in 2006 by NitroPlate's Mike Fuqua, will return for the third straight season at the North Central Division's NHRA Lucas oil Drag Racing Series events beginning with the season opener at O'Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis. A $100 bounty bonus ...
Pit Pal Products to continue Perfect Dial-in program
May 02, 2008; ... Pit Pal Products has extended its sponsorship of the Perfect Dial-in program for NHRA Jegs Super Quick Series, NHEA Dart Top Sportsman Racing Series, and NHRA Spitzer Race Cars Top Dragster Series events. Pit Pal Products will award $100 to the first driver who records a winning perfect ...
Coan Engineering back as sponsor of low qualifier bonuses
May 02, 2008; ... Coan Engineering will continue its support of NHRA Sportsman racers with the renewal of its low qualifier bonuses at each of the 2008 North Central Division NHRA Lucas oil Drag Racing Series events. Coan Engineering, one of the performance leaders in automatic racing transmissions and ...
Comp bonus fund, year-end shootout added
May 02, 2008; ... A special Comp noncontingent purse bonus fund and year-end shootout program have been added to this year's North Central Division NHRA Lucas oil Drag Racing Series. A total of 14 sponsors have collectively added $3,650 in noncontingent award bonuses to each event. Each finisher in the ...
Gebhardt's Trailer Sales renews as Bounty Hunter sponsor
May 02, 2008; ... Jacklyn Gebhardt's Trailer Sales has renewed its sponsorship of the noncontingent Bounty Hunter bonus program for the North Central Division's 20th anniversary season of the NHRA Jegs Super Quick Series. The $100 Gebhardt's Trailer Sales Bounty Hunter bonus will be up for grabs at each ...
The Land of the Giants
May 02, 2008; ... Back in the early days of Pro Stock match racing, any engine with more than 500 cubic inches of displacement was labeled a mountain motor. Now, a new generation of 800-cubic-inch engines has turned those old mountain motors into molehills. Displacement is king in the land of the giants ....
Full Throttle to sponsor Pro series beginning in 2009
May 09, 2008; ... ATLANTA - In the world of heads-up Professional drag racing, perhaps nothing exemplifies the dog-eat-dog nature of the sport better than the words "Go Full Throttle or Go Home!" Beginning in 2009, that's exactly how NHRA's Professional series will be branded after Coca-Cola North ...
'We were looking for a way to really take Full Throttle to the next level'
May 09, 2008; ... Below are questions and answers from a post-announcement teleconference with NHRA President Tom Compton and Coca-Cola Vice President/General Manager-Water & Energy Brad Goist. Q: Tom, tell us about the announcement. Compton: As you know, six years ago we announced the ...
Staging Light
May 09, 2008; ... It wouldn't be hyperbole to call the Funny Car final at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals one of the most exciting final rounds in NHRA history. To be sure, there have been other amazing final rounds in NHRA history, when more was on the line - Joe Amato and Gary Ormsby ...
Returning
May 09, 2008; ... Returning: Mike Ashley, co-owner with Roger Burgees of Gotham City Racing's two-car Funny Car team, will return to NHRA Funny Car competition for the next five events, beginning at the O'Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals. "We've only been running our second car at select events," said Ashley. "It's ...
Countdown update: Force extends lead
May 09, 2008; ... Soon enough, everyone's attention will begin turning to the drivers hovering around the bubble, but for now, all eyes are on surprise Funny Car points leader Ashley Force. One race after becoming the first woman to lead the NHRA POWERade Funny Car standings, the 25-year-old daughter of NHRA icon ...
Tribute
May 09, 2008; ... Tribute: Alan Bradshaw and Vis Viva Living Force Energy will celebrate the late Darrell Russell's life by debuting the special-edition Tribute to a Champion-Never Forgotten Top Fuel dragster at the O'Reilly NHRA Midwest ...
Sponsored
May 09, 2008; ... Sponsored: David Rampy, the winningest driver in Comp history and one of just 12 drivers in NHRA history with more than 50 career wins, will have his Comp roadster and Camaro Stocker sponsored for the balance of the year by professional golfer Boo Weekley. Rampy, whose season was threatened ...
Charter teams with Connolly/Cagnazzi Racing in Pro Stock return
May 09, 2008; ... After sitting out the first five events of the 2008 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series, Dave Connolly returned to NHRA Pro Stock racing at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals with major sponsorship from Charter Communications. Todd Stewart, Charter Communication's Corporate Vice ...
Former Top Fuel championship team owner, driver Markley dies
May 09, 2008; ... Former NHRA Top Fuel world championship car owner and driver Gaines Markley died April 24 at Highline Medical Center in Seattle after a lengthy hospitalization. He was 66. Markley, who competed out of Federal Way, Wash., raced blown dragsters on gasoline and nitro beginning in the 1960s ...
New column
May 09, 2008; ... New column: This week marks the debut of a new semi-regular column in National DRAGSTER, authored by Sportsman superstar Dan ...
Named
May 09, 2008; ... Named: After an exhaustive review of 4,365 entries in a naming contest for Lowe's Motor Speedway's new dragway, Speedway Motorsports officials have selected zMAX Dragway @ Concord as the official name for the state-of-the-art facility. Wanda Exum, of Greensboro, N.C., and Carl Hackley, of ...
Resigned
May 09, 2008; ... Resigned: Former NHRA Pro Stock champ Bob Glidden has left the RaceRedi Motorsports Pontiac GXP team after attending his last race with the operation in Las Vegas. Family members said that Glidden "needs time off to take a break. He worked very hard over the ...
Child's play
May 09, 2008; ... Child's play: Before heading to Atlanta, where he reached the semifinals for the first time in his rookie season, Funny Car driver Bob Tasca III made a stop in Dearborn, Mich., to participate in Ford Customer Service Division's Bring Your Child To Work Day. The driver of the Motorcraft/Quick ...
First win
May 09, 2008; ... First Win: Eddie Ware collected his first victory in the Jegs ProMod Challenge with a convincing win over first-time finalist Roger Burgess at Atlanta Dragway. The two Georgia-based racers were close for the first half of the race before Ware drove away to take the stripe with a quick 6.055 to ...