Third-year Funny Car Racer Taking His Lumps Early in 2009 …

Where does the time go?

One might find it hard to believe that perennial Funny Car championship
contender Jack Beckman is in only his third full season of driving on
the Full Throttle Drag Racing Series, because he’s left quite a mark on
the sport in those forty-nine national events.

The former sportsman world champion has earned six national event wins
in 12 final rounds, set two national records (one has since been
eclipsed) and finished third in the 2008 point standings.

Pro Stock driver Dave Connolly will make his 2009 NHRA Full Throttle
Drag Racing Series debut this weekend at the O’Reilly Spring Nationals
in Houston.  But he will be driving Kenny Koretsky’s colorful Nitro
Fish Dodge instead of the familiar Cagnazzi Racing Charter
Communications Chevrolet Cobalt

Connolly, one of the category’s best, has been sidelined by the current
economic downturn for the first three 2009 Full Throttle Drag Racing
Series events, so he accepted the offer to drive Koretsky’s car.  But
not before receiving approval from Victor Cagnazzi, his team owner, and
General Motors, which supplies the Chevrolets he usually drives.

As he prepared to donate a custom wheelchair to a crippled child,
Darrell Gwynn flashed back to speeding 290 miles-an-hour across the
finish line.

“It’s like winning a race today,” the former National Hot Rod
Association world champion told the parents of the bright, blue-eyed
2-year-old with a debilitating muscular disease, as she zipped across
the living room in her new $26,000 motorized wheelchair.

Until then, Madison Smith -- suffering from a hereditary disorder that
prevents her from crawling, walking or running -- could hardly move on
her own in her suburban Fort Lauderdale, Fla. home.

Darrell Russell party open to drivers, crew, and fans

The top teams in drag racing will get together for a special party
Friday night at Houston Raceway Park to remember local hero Darrell
Russell and raise money for The Eric Medlen Project and Racers For
Christ. Fans are welcome to join in the fun and hang out with their
favorite drivers in a casual atmosphere.

"We've been working with the Russell family and Rob Geiger to put
together a fun party where racers and fans can just hang out and enjoy
each other's company," said Seth Angel, general manager of HRP. "The
main idea is to remember Darrell and the others who have lost their
lives doing what they love, like Eric Medlen, Scott Kalitta, and Blaine
Johnson, just to name a few, and celebrate their lives."

Martin A. Brown - better known as Marty, and one of the founders of Quick Fuel Technology, lost his courageous battle with cancer this past weekend.

A devoted family man, a fierce competitor on the drag strip, and savvy
businessman, Brown will be greatly missed by his loving family,
friends, and colleagues.

The Carolina Speed is getting in the fast lane of National Hot Rod Association Pro Stock Motorcycle racing this year.

The Charlotte-based Arena Football team will be an associate sponsor on
Angie McBride’s Nitro Fish Pro Stock Buell for her Full Throttle Drag
Series events, the team announced.

McBride, a King, N.C. resident, will be competing in select NHRA
races.  She is a rising star in the sport and looking forward to having
the Speed football team on her side

When Jeg Coughlin surveys the Pro Stock landscape in 2009, he sees several improved teams and an increased level of competition overall.

That just makes the two-time defending NHRA Pro Stock world champ
hungrier to secure his third consecutive NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing
Series crown. It is a feat that only three drivers have been able to
accomplish in the history of the 200-mph category: Bob Glidden, the
late Lee Shepherd and Greg Anderson.

However, Coughlin knows that in order to join that elite group of
drivers in the NHRA record books, he’s going to have his work cut out
for him. He understands the quickest way to win a championship is to
win a bunch of races.

After Alan Johnson Al-Anabi Racing Top Fuel driver Larry Dixon won the 40th annual AC Delco NHRA Gatornationals
in Gainesville, Fla. on March 15, team owner Alan Johnson traveled to
Doha, Qatar to deliver the race-winner’s trophy.

The trip was planned before the team won at Gainesville, but with
Dixon’s Top Fuel win, the trip became the perfect opportunity to
deliver to trophy to team partner Sheikh Khalid Bin Hamad Al Thani. 
Johnson returned to the United States late Saturday night.

“It was cool to be able to give him the trophy in person,” Johnson
said.  “He came to the hotel the first night we were there, and we gave
him the trophy; it was great!  He was definitely excited that we won a
race in our third attempt because he knows how this sport works. 
Starting a team is one thing, but being competitive is completely
different.  We knew we could do it, but we didn’t know how long it
might take.”

Eighteen Pioneers of Drag Racing will be receiving Legion of Honor
awards presented annually by the National Nostalgia Drag Racing
Association at the 8th Annual Musclecar Madness at the York Reunion
which will be presented at the York Expo Center, York Fairgrounds, 334
Carlisle Ave. on July 10-11, 2009.
 
For the first time in the history of the awards presentations two teams
will be receiving awards during the popular awards ceremony which is
presented on Friday, July 10th at 6 p.m.
 

Tommy Phillips of Forney, Texas accomplished a rare feat by winning the Super Comp and Super Gas titles during this weekend’s sixth annual JEGS NHRA Cajun SPORTSnationals, held at No Problem Raceway Park in Belle Rose, La.