One year after the tragic death of NHRA Funny Car driver Scott Kalitta, a concerted effort on
behalf of the NHRA and Old Bridge Township Raceway Park officials has
resulted in the Englishtown, N.J. facility implementing a run-off area
similar to those in Pomona, Indianapolis and Charlotte.

A wider and more elevated safety net spans from one side of the track
to the other and is clearly visible from 2,243 feet away. That is just
one of the more noticeable improvements to a part of the track that has
been relentlessly criticized over the last year.

“It was a combination of our efforts, Wayne McMurtry (NHRA) and the
University of Nebraska,” said Graham Light, NHRA Vice President of
Operations. “They have done a phenomenal job here and did exactly what
we asked of them. We’re very happy with what we see.”

Ever wonder why Ashley Force Hood has been so dominant in 2009 NHRA Funny Car qualifying? The No. 1 qualifying
efforts provide the second generation drag racer with her most peaceful
moments during an event. During the cart ride from the pits to the
press room for the post qualifying press conference gives her time to
decompress.

Knowing qualifying number one gives her that moment is why Ashley  had
a broad smile on her face when she nailed the throttle of her Castrol
GTX-sponsored, Ford Mustang during Friday qualifying at the NHRA
SuperNationals in Englishtown, N.J.. Her intuitions were rewarded with
a 4.071
elapsed time at 303.37 miles per hour to land atop the field headed
into Saturday.

Nothing says mojo like a No. 1 qualifier.

Allen Johnson scored an impressive Pro Stock victory at the NHRA
Summernationals two weeks ago and proclaimed that he’s found his mojo.
He’s so proud of it that he showed it off in first day qualifying at
the NHRA SuperNationals in Englishtown, N.J.

Johnson covered the quarter-mile in 6.607 seconds at 208.23 miles per
hour to beat out this season’s strongest qualifier, Mike Edwards, who
was only .003 off of Johnson's Mopar-sponsored Dodge Stratus. If the
run holds it will mark his first of the season and the seventh of his
career.

Racing kicked off today at Top Gun Raceway for the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag
Racing Series, part of this weekend’s Octane Fest Motorsports Festival
in Fallon, Nev.

In Top Alcohol Dragster it was Kevin Wayman of South Jordan, Utah,
jumping on top with a lap of 5.582 seconds at 255.48 mph. Wayman is
followed by fellow Utah racer Jaren Mott of Salt Lake City running
6.012, 237.18 and Dennis Swearingen, Rolling Hills Estates, Calif., in
the No. 3 position at 6.037, 232.59 mph.

In the first rounds of qualifying at Route 66 Raceway, Top Alcohol
Dragster driver Bill Reichert, Owosso, Mich., and Top Alcohol Funny Car
pilot Mick Snyder, Demotte, Ind., took the No. 1 qualifying positions
in their classes.

Reichert is coming off a big win in the 25th Anniversary JEGS Allstars
last Saturday here at Route 66 Raceway during the NHRA UA Route 66
Nationals.  The reigning NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series National
Champion laid down a lap of 5.282 seconds at 269.89 mph for the top
spot and is followed by Jim Whiteley who won the national event last
weekend here in Joliet.

Snyder drove to the opening round top spot in his ’09 Mustang with a
time of 5.625 seconds at 256.80 mph with Davenport, Iowa, racer Chris
Foster right on his heels at 5.654 at 251.91 mph.

The NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series makes its inaugural stop at
Spokane County Raceway this weekend for the third of seven events in
Northwest division competition. The foundational event will feature
more than 300 cars in eight categories striving to obtain the
prestigious Wally trophy and points leading to divisional and national
championships. The division’s Auto Max USA Top Sportsman Series, Top
Dragster Series and the Sportsman Motorcycle Series presented by Harley
Davidson will also run in conjunction with the event.

Rob Harrison of N. Vancouver, B.C., led the Comp Eliminator field after
Friday’s qualifying passes. Harrison, who has won the last two Mission
Raceway divisional events, hopes to take his ‘05 Cavalier back to the
winner’s circle on Sunday. Super Stock racer Byron Setters, Red Deer,
Alb., grabbed the No.1 position while Tacoma, Wash., resident Bill
Edgeworth and his ’77 Firebird took the pole in Stock.

The 15,000 members of the vaunted 350-year-old Fire Department of New York (FDNY) will be saluted by world champion drag racer
Jay Payne via his FireIce Top Alcohol Funny Car at this weekend's 40th
annual United Association NHRA SuperNationals at Old Bridge Township
Raceway Park.

Payne only recently added FireIce as the title sponsor of his 260-mph
hot rod but he's already felt the embrace of firefighters from
coast-to-coast.

"I've always admired and respected our nation's firefighters and to
have a car that is designed to basically say 'thanks for all you do' is
a really cool thing for our team," Payne said. "There are firefighters
all over the country so we have a built-in fanbase everywhere we go,
and New York City has one of the largest departments in the world so
we're really excited to be here with our new 'teammates.'"

IHRA Kicks Off Fourth Race of the Season ...

In
preparation for this weekend’s Sooner Nationals, drivers and IHRA crew
members were out in full force Friday afternoon getting ready for two
days of edge-of-your-seat drag racing action Saturday and Sunday at
Tulsa Raceway Park.

And part of that excitement was a day-long media tour throughout the Sooner state.

Elite Motorsports Pro Stock points leader and Oklahoma native Cary
Goforth was the focus of Friday’s Tour of Tulsa, visiting several media
outlets throughout the Tulsa area in preparation for this weekend’s
action.

Coverage of the 25th annual JEGS Allstars race will air from 12:30-1:30 p.m. ET this Sunday on ESPN2. The show will include action in all eight Sportsman categories and include excellent footage for the two in-car cameras JEGS installed in two of the competitors racecars.

Drag racing is an emotional sport and Friday during qualifying at the NHRA SuperNationals, a single nitro run testing the limits of those emotions.

Jeff Arend, who succeeded Scott Kalitta as driver of the DHL Toyota
Funny Car, opened Friday’s nitro session with a single run in honor of
the driver who lost his life at Englishtown last year.

Arend ran after a video tribute to Kalitta played on the ACDelco Vision big screen.