"Fast" Jack Beckman, driver of the Valvoline/Mail Terminal Services
Dodge Funny Car for Don Schumacher Racing in the NHRA Full Throttle
Drag Racing Series, will appear on the Sept. 17 PINKS All Out show
which airs on SpeedTV.

The segments featuring Beckman were filmed this summer at Maryland
International Raceway in Mechanicsville, Md., in which Beckman
presented the Valvoline Coveted Spot Award, and was invited by the show
to present a $10,000 check to the winner of the event in the winner's
circle.

An estimated 12,000 fans were on hand in the grandstands to watch the event, at which Beckman signed hundreds of autographs.

On Monday evening, following the NHRA U.S. Nationals, public relations manager Skip Allum released
the following statement from team owner Don “The Snake” Prudhomme,
which is reproduced here in part. Not included are Prudhomme’s comments
regarding his team’s performance at Indy, as that’s not relevant to the
remainder of the statement, which appears to
reference CompetitionPlus.com’s coverage of his original Saturday press
announcement during which he announced that his team was seeking either
an investment partner or buyer in light of the end of his sponsorship
from U.S. Smokeless.

Virginia Motorsports Park will once again fly the IHRA banner, as announced last evening by the sanctioning body.

The
multipurpose facility is located in Dinwiddie, Va, just outside of
Petersburg, returns after leaving in 2005 to host an NHRA event.

“We are thrilled to be back with the IHRA. We think that our
business model moving forward is a perfect fit with what they have
planned,” said Bryan Pierce, General Manager of Virginia Motorsports
Park. “We want to provide fun, affordable family entertainment and we
think the IHRA represents that. From that standpoint I think the two
are a great fit.”

Roy Johnson, father of Pro Stocker racer Allen Johnson, says his son gets his competitive spirit honestly – from his mother Revonda.

“She’s just as competitive of a spirit as I am,” said the elder
Johnson, whose talents as an engine builder are showcased by his son’s
front-running Mopar.

Johnson began racing in the 1960s and concluded his career in 1986. The
Greeneville, Tenn.-based native primarily raced IHRA competition
because that was the predominant series in the region. He won two world
championships and finished runner-up twice. His success was garnered
during consecutive seasons beginning in 1975.

John Force would like to set the record straight.

Some of the words the 14-time National Champion used in the article Force: I’d Had Enough of It published on CompetitionPlus.com did not accurately describe actions he took concerning the NHRA and PRO.

Just when you thought the prospect of facing Frank Manzo couldn’t be any more daunting, it did.

Manzo was granted a release from his Lucas Oil contract at the end of
the 2009 season in order to drive an Al-Anabi Racing Top Alcohol Funny
Car and to race for Sheikh Khalid Bin Hamad Al Thani, a member of the
ruling family of Qatar, this according to a press release posted on
NHRA.com.

Don Garlits had a good time racing at the 55th Annual NHRA U.S. Nationals in Clermont, Ind. And, even though drag racing’s elder statesman was eliminated early in Stock class eliminations, he had the time of his life.

A man known for his exploits behind the wheel of a nitro-guzzling Top Fuel dragster, Garlits drove one of the new Hemi Dodge Drag Pak Challengers within the A/Stock Automatic division.  His 10.432 elapsed time, -.868 under the class index, was 144th in the 128-car field.

The Pedregon Brothers are still awaiting a response from NHRA President
Tom Compton on their proposal to settle the controversy of the tenth and final berth in the Funny Car portion of the Countdown-to-One playoffs.

They propose the spot should be reopened by the NHRA to allow Cruz
Pedregon, the defending series champion, to settle the controversy with
a one-race playoff tiebreaker race with Robert Hight during the first
session of qualifying at next weekend’s NHRA Carolinas Nationals in
Concord, N.C.

“Obviously there’s a lot of controversy surrounding this issue,” Cruz
said. “Let’s face it. We were no longer in control of our destiny. We
got beat I can accept that. The only thing I am disputing is the race
that determined the top ten position. That’s where the spotlight needs
to be, nothing more and nothing less. Everybody knew what was going to
happen on that race before it happened.

One can’t blame Marcus Smith for trying to capitalize on the near
fisticuffs incident between John Force and Tony Pedregon during the NHRA U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis on Monday afternoon.

Smith is the President of Speedway Motorsports Inc., owner of zMax
Dragway in Concord, N.C., and site of next week’s NHRA Carolinas
Nationals. Monday evening he sent out a press release offering $20,000
for a grudge race between Force and Pedregon in a winner-take-all
setting.

Force and Pedregon engaged in a shouting match in the shutdown area of
O’Reilly Raceway Park over a controversial semi-final match between
Force and John Force Racing teammate Robert Hight. Hight clinched a
berth in the NHRA’s Countdown-to-One playoffs with the victory
eliminating Pedregon older brother and defending series champion Cruz
Pedregon.

Like many top-flight Top Fuel dragster drivers, Hillary Will was left
without a ride for 2009 as a result of the economic downturn.

Roger Richards

The 29-year-old Will is at the U.S. Nationals this weekend, keeping her name in drag racing.

“I’m enjoying racing,” Will said. “I love to be out here. I’m a fan.
I’m a teammate and I’m here supporting all my teammates and racers and
having a good time.”

Will finished fourth last year in the points, winning the Topeka (Kan.) race, driving for Ken Black.