The only thing missing from Mike Edwards 2009 resume to this point is an NHRA victory. Behind the wheel of his team's Pontiac GXP, he has started this year's campaign almost like a pre-season script every racer hopes for.
 
In the first four stops on the NHRA tour, Edwards has earned a
runner-up finish, back-to-back No. 1 qualifiers, and in Houston reached
the semifinals while recording the fastest speed in NHRA history and
becoming the first driver to eclipse the 212 mph barrier.

This week Rockingham Dragway plays host to three days of drag racing
with Test and Tune Street Drags on Friday night, 1320X, a celebration
of the American muscle car on Saturday, and Phantasm Motorsports Street
Wars 2009 on Sunday.

Friday night will offer time runs for all street cars, race cars or
motorcycles. Gates will open 4 p.m. with quarter-mile time runs
beginning at 6 p.m.  Unlimited time runs will continue until 10. 
Admission is $10 and only $20 for car and driver to run.  

From the producers of “Pinks, All Out,” the popular Speed TV franchise, 1320X
features eighth-mile drag racing along with a custom car show and the
live music of Peace Pipe. Executive Producer and former PINKS co-star
Nate Prichett will serve as race director along with his brother Adam.

Monday, March 30, 2009 at 3am the Vintage Fuel trailer was stolen from 7445 Dean Martin Drive, Las Vegas, NV.

David Hope and John Hammock of Vroom Racing have joined forces with  Breast
Cancer Foundation of the Ozarks, BCFO, Springfield, MO.  Hope will  wear the
Pink Ribbon for BCFO while competing in the Pro Stock Motorcycle class  of the
NHRA (National Hot Rod Assoc.) Full Throttle Drag Racing Series.

Hope came up with the idea of sharing a marketing program with a non-profit
for Vroom Racing. “With the economy so unpredictable right now, we realized
that  a joint venture with such a great organization that serves our regional
area  would be a positive experience for both Vroom Racing and BCFO.”

Four women drivers competing in the NHRA are teaming up to bring a unique and supportive program
to the US Military troops and their families. Dubbed 'Team Troops'
their mission is to give back to those that are serving in the military
by providing free tickets and a day at the races to service members and
their families.

Tina Stull, Kate and Diana Harker, and Peggy Llewellyn are no strangers
to adrenaline, they know the pressure to perform, and thrive on the
excitement of winning. This season these women have teamed up to share
their racing experience with the members of the US military by giving
away over 32,000 tickets to NHRA Drag Racing events.

Beginning with the upcoming IHRA Spring Nationals at Rockingham
Dragway, IHRA will establish World Records in both the Top Sportsman
and Top Dragster classes. This will be the first recognition of
official E.T. and speed records since IHRA created the categories. 

“These classes have evolved into the two quickest, fastest, and most
elite of the sportsman classes,” said IHRA Vice President of Racing
Operations Skooter Peaco.  “Last season the competitors wanted 32-car
fields and we made that change, which really elevated the level of
competition. These classes showed more solid car counts last year than
any other classes we have, despite the thinking by some that the 32-car
qualified fields would discourage competitors from coming out.

CompetitionPlus.com reported a rumor last weekend that V. Gaines was developing a new in-house engine program. The veteran Pro Stock driver confirmed with CompetitionPlus.com today that he plans to debut the first of his engines at this weekend’s NHRA SummitRacing.com Nationals in Las Vegas.

This confirmation officially concludes a long time association with engine builder Larry Morgan.

“Larry has been there with us for a long time and helped us earn a
couple top 10 finishes,” Gaines said. “Larry is and will always be a
friend and a great engine builder.”

Las Vegas-based Technicoat Companies will be the primary sponsor this weekend, April 2-5, on the
8,000-horsepower, nitro-fueled Top Fuel dragster driven by Doug Kalitta
for the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor
Speedway. A special edition, one-off Technicoat paint scheme will adorn
Kalitta’s 300-mph machine for this weekend’s festivities.

Technicoat Companies specializes in hi-tech performance coatings and
floorings, wearing surfaces for pedestrian traffic and vehicular
traffic, as well as new and existing roofs. Technicoat’s President Bob
Coffman and C.O.O. Glen Williams, a.k.a. “the Cowboys”, are fixtures in
the Team Kalitta pit area at most NHRA national events with their
trademark cowboy hats. Technicoat Companies and Kalitta Motorsports
began their marketing partnership near the end of the 2002 NHRA season.

The question had been asked of Von Smith before, but it had more meaning for him last week in Bahrain.

“I bet I was asked if I had ever wrecked a car before at least a
half-dozen times,” said Smith, driver of the Al-Anabi Racing Pro Mod
Extreme 1957 Chevy.  “And I’ve always said ‘no, knock on wood.’  And
they always want to know what that means.” 

Well, there’s no need to knock on wood anymore.  Smith took an
unplanned, upside-down ride in the first round of eliminations.  He
emerged from the untoward incident virtually unscathed, but the Chevy
that won the previous week’s race at the Qatar Racing Club in Doha,
Qatar – with team owner Sheik Khalid Al Thani watching – was badly
battered.

Bill Bader, Jr., president of Summit Motorsports Park, made surprise announcement at a press conference
today that the famed facility in Norwalk, Ohio will have a dome for the
2010 racing season. The construction of the dome will be covered with
an $80 million grant in economic stimulus funds approved by United
States president Barack Obama.

In a hastily prepared press conference at the track, Obama presented
Bader with a check for $80 million before Obama departed on Air Force
One for London to attend the G20 economic summit meeting. The funds for
the dome construction are from the American Recovery and Reinvestment
Act of 2009.