In an effort to enhance its status as the premiere Sportsman event of
the year, organizers of the 25th annual JEGS Allstars race will
randomly select two lucky racers to carry ESPN2 in-car cameras for as
long as they survive in the event, slated for June 5-7 at Route 66
Raceway near Chicago.

The blind drawing for the winners of this special privilege will take
place Friday evening during the special bar-be-que dinner for the 64
JEGS Allstar participants, which will be held in the hospitality
village.

Darren Morgan Racing capped a triumphant return to WSID, the track where Morgan survived a horrific accident in December, by claiming their maiden ANDRA Gold Christmas Tree.

Top Fuel was intense at the Karcher Nitro Champs, presented by Shannons
- and it was the man from Mildura that stood proudly atop of the Nitro
heap.

“What an amazing weekend,” beamed an elated Morgan in a post-race television interview.

On Thursday, May 14, it will be more important than ever for some of
the NHRA’s top stars to make sure they drive straight in Bristol. 

They won’t be driving their powerful machines to the finish line in
Thunder Valley, but making sure their opening shots land on the fairway
during the Sixth Annual Bristol Dragway Celebrity Golf Benefit at the
Country Club of Bristol.

The tournament, which sees many NHRA racers compete for the coveted
Darrell Russell Cup, benefits the Bristol Chapter of Speedway
Children’s Charities and takes place the day before the first round of
qualifying for the Thunder Valley Nationals.

Last year’s tournament featured 20 drivers and raised more than $25,000
for various charities throughout Northeast Tennessee and Southwest
Virginia.

Melanie Troxel said her objective was to gain experience behind the
wheel of a Pro Modified. Monday afternoon she gained a bit more than
she bargained for at Gateway International Raceway.

Troxel, an NHRA national event winner in both Top Fuel and Funny Car
divisions, crashed behind the wheel of Raymond Commisso’s 5.8-second
Pro Modified entry. She was uninjured in the accident.

“I went out and shifted the car into second and it tried to spin the
tires pretty hard,” Troxel recalled on her third run behind the wheel
of the 2,500 horsepower race car.

“It just got out of hand and it became a combination of a not-so-good
situation and my inexperience,” Troxel admitted. “I just didn’t have
enough laps.”

Mike Edwards doesn’t want a valuable message lost in the midst of his recent success.

It’s a message that transcends any No. 1 qualifying effort or round win.

Through a relationship with Young Life, a Christian-based
non-denominational youth organization, Edwards reaches out and provides
encouragement to teens when others may turn their back on them. Mike
Edwards Motorsports calls itself a “Team on a Mission,” and provides
trips to camp for every round win. Several drivers, companies and
individuals have stepped up the plate to make the program work. In
2008, the project was able to send 140 kids to Young Life camp for a
week.

The Young Life logo can be seen plastered across the hood of his car,
but Edwards and his team receives no financial support from Young Life.

Race officials for the Street Car SuperNationals IV, a street legal style event hosted by The Strip at Las Vegas have increased the winner's purse of two popular classes. The Outlaw 10.5 winner will now receive $10,000 while the Xtreeme Drag Radial/TT-5 winner will earn $5000.

The event is scheduled for November 19 - 22, 2009. 

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God Speed Ministry will hold a Memorial service for Shirley Blankenship, the IHRA Employee who recently lost her battle with cancer on Saturday, May 9th, 8:00 - 8:30 a.m., at the God Speed Ministry pit area during the IHRA Piedmont Pro Am event.  Everyone is invited.
 

NAMPA RACER SCOTT STEPHENS SCORES WIN AT FIREBIRD RACEWAY’S LUCAS OIL DRAG RACING SERIES EVENT

The 39th Annual NAPA Auto Parts Ignitor presented by Dan Wiebold Ford,
a round of the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, is in the books.
Although most of the final rounds were delayed a day by rain, it was
worth the wait for the racers who ended up in the winner’s circle
Monday, including Nampa’s Scott Stephens who earned the Top Sportsman
win.  Stephens was joined in the winner’s circle by Super Stock racer
Steve Wann of Modesto, Calif., and Clarance Bidniack, a Stock
Eliminator competitor from Edmonton, Alb.

Stephens had qualified his ’98 Monte Carlo in the No. 11 spot and beat
top qualifier Curt Geise of Auburn, Wash., in the semis.  In the final
he squared off against No. 10 qualifier Robert Matthews, Gig Harbor,
Wash.  Stephens made a 13.033-second, 64.96 mph pass when Matthews
red-lighted in his ’67 Nova.

When Cary Goforth entered the 2009 racing season, he knew that he had a
team that could be competitive and possibly contend for a few wins.

He just didn’t know that it would all happen so fast.

After years of coming close, Goforth finally broke through with his
first career victory last weekend at the IHRA Spring Nationals at
Rockingham Dragway and the reaction as he exited the car told the story
of just how long this win has been coming for Goforth and his team.

Although they are worlds apart, NHRA drag racing and Avoca Elementary
School share one thing in common…testing. On Tuesday, May 5, Avoca
students, just days removed from their TCAP tests, will visit Bristol
Dragway to watch NHRA Pro Stock drivers test their tune-ups for the May
15-17 Thunder Valley Nationals.

To earn their trip to the track, the students had to meet reading goals
assigned by their teachers. The students, excited by the prospect of
visiting the dragway, took the challenge and 265 met their goals and
will be in attendance to watch NHRA’s best make practice runs.

Bristol Dragway President and General Manager Jeff Byrd challenged the
group to read 70,000 books during the course of the school year. To
date, Avoca students have read 67,900 books.  Melinda Loveday, Avoca’s
librarian, feels confident the group will reach Byrd’s goal.