The Get Screened America Pro Mod Challenge presented by ProCare Rx once
again returns to Madison, Ill. and Gateway International Raceway,
a mere five minutes from downtown St. Louis and a stone's throw from
the mighty Mississippi river. The premiere Pro Modified series joins
the O'Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals this weekend and will feature 17 of
the nation's best drivers all competing for a coveted Get Screened
America Warrior and a $10,000 prize.
 
Contestants in the ninth Pro Mod Challenge event at Madison include:
Burton Auxier, Joe Baker, Roger Burgess, Mike Castellana, Raymond
Commisso, Chip King, Mike Knowles, Harold Laird, Kenny Lang, Taylor
Lastor, Jay Payne, Brad Personett, Danny Rowe, Rick Stivers, Tim
Tindle, Kirk Wilmes, and Andy McCoy.
 

The Stevens Family Racing Top Fuel Dragster will return to NHRA competition this weekend at the O’Reilly’s Midwest Nationals in Madison,
IL.  The team has named Kevin Jones, former driver for IHRA Top Fuel
team owner Doc Sipple, has been named as the driver. The team has been
out of action since the 2007 U.S. Nationals due to a lack of funding,
but team owner Dave Stevens and his marketing team have been hard at
work trying to put together a program that would enable them to get
back on the track.    

The team enters the event with a one race deal from Boiler-Tek, Inc., a long-time associate sponsor, as their primary sponsor. 

Doug Kalitta hopes to become all-time win leader this weekend at Gateway International Raceway.

Kalitta,
driver of the bright yellow, 8,000-horsepower, nitro-fueled, No. 50 Top
Fuel dragster, will try to become the first four-time Top Fuel class
winner at Gateway Int’l Raceway this weekend, May 1-3, during the
annual running of the O'Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals in Madison, Ill.,
just across the Mississippi River from St. Louis.

Kalitta collected the champion’s trophy in St. Louis in 2001, and then
in back-to-back seasons, ’03 and ’04. No driver has collected more than
three professional class wins at GIR since it opened in 1996.

The "Eats" section in the May 4th issue of AutoWeek magazine has an article entitled "Food Guy, Car Guy, Fun Guy" and features celebrity Chef Guy Fieri. Included in the section is a piece called "Road Food" penned by Team JEGS chef Nicky Morse.

Jeff Arend, driver of the bright yellow, 8,000-horsepower DHL Toyota
Solara Funny Car, and the DHL team are gearing up to salute the U.S.
military with special activities prior to and during this weekend’s,
May 1-3, annual running of the O'Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals at
Gateway Int’l Raceway in Madison, Ill., just across the Mississippi
River from St. Louis.

Today, Wednesday, April 29, Arend and the DHL pit crew will make a
special appearance at Scott Air Force Base, near Belleville, Ill., with
their nitro-fueled, 300-mph coupe, from 11:00 a.m. (CT) ‘til 1:30 p.m.
U.S. Air Force personnel, including special guests, Brig. Gen. S. Taco
Gilbert III and Major General William Johnson, USTRANSCOM, will
experience the Earth-rumbling power of the DHL Funny Car when its
engine roars to life at noon.

Aeromotive recently hired Steve Swanson as part of their team.

Swanson joins Aeromotive Fuel Systems as Sales Manager, heading up all
WD and Jobber Sales with management responsibility for the nationwide
network of Aeromotive’s independent sales staff. Steve brings unique
experience in several areas of the performance marketplace including
retail, wholesale distribution, sales and marketing management. Steve’s
tenure in the industry spans more than 36 years and includes service on
the SEMA Board of Directors and a member of several SEMA councils and
committees.

Scott Palmer and team can’t wait to start their season off and get back to St. Louis.

“We couldn’t make it to Gateway last year because of the chassis
update, and it was hard to miss.  We’re only 4 hours from the track, so
it’s a local race for me,” Palmer explains.  “So it’s a brand new year,
and now we’ve got a brand new car and brand new paint job.  We’ve been
cleaning and organizing all winter to make sure everything’s in order
and looks good.  We want to start the season off right.”

“Everyone on our team is a big hockey fan, and since St. Louis is home
of the Blues, we wanted to wish them a congratulations on their playoff
finish this season.  Hopefully we keep some of that momentum going for
us!”

Long regarded as the pioneer of the modern day ezine, Cole Coonce has released his latest book titled Top Fuel Wormhole, Volume 1 of the Cole Coonce Drag Strip Reader.

A number of changes and one major addition have been made to the John
Force Racing Fan Cruise III scheduled for December 31, 2009 – January
4, 2010. The biggest addition is the announcement that 14-time Funny
Car champion John Force will be joining the cruise. Now all four John
Force Racing Funny Car drivers (Force, Ashley Force Hood, Robert Hight
and Mike Neff) will be aboard the Carnival Elation cruise ship for five
days and four nights. The cruise departs from San Diego, California and
will now be setting sail New Year’s Eve for Cabo San Lucas in Baja,
Mexico.

“I’m excited because if you know me you know I don’t take vacations,
I’m a little bit of a workaholic. God knows I need a vacation.  But
when the opportunity came along thanks to the Auto Club that not only
allowed me to be on a beautiful cruise ship heading to Mexico but be
with my family, that made it all the more exciting. I also get to be
with my fans, and that’s fun for me, because that’s what I do every day
at the races.  I’m with my family and with my fans, the only difference
is I won’t have my race car.  But for five days we will be sharing the
wide open sea together and a taste of Mexico,” said Force.

Bob Tasca III fulfilled his goal set in November 2007, win a Wally and bring it home to Dearborn, MI.  Tasca completed the first part of the promise in Gainesville and last week he delivered on the second part by visiting the sponsors’ headquarters.  Tasca recognized the loyal sponsorship of Motorcraft and Quick Lane since the program launched nearly two years ago and presented Ford Customer Service Division with a