A prime example of what could go wrong and what did go wrong on Friday the 13th at the NHRA ACDelco Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla.

Veteran Super Stock racer Larry Griffith took delivery of the second Dodge Challenger Drag Pak by Mopar® on March 9 from Dennis Guest,
dealer principal of the South Oak Dodge Chrysler Jeep in Matteson, Ill.
Griffith’s original award-winning 1968 Dodge Dart package car restored
by Joe Hilger, former Chrysler Vice President of Global Service, was
also on display at the delivery. In addition, this event marked the
ramp up to full production for the Challenger Drag Pak for Chrysler LLC.

Turbo Pro Mod racer Mike Moran recorded the first known doorslammer five-second run yesterday at a test session in Valdosta, Ga.

Moran's Monte Carlo stopped the timers at 5.97-seconds at 250 miles per hour.

With cold and rainy weather in the forecast for this weekend’s IHRA
Raiders Pro-Am event in Farmington, the three-day points meet has been
rescheduled one week later on the weekend of March 20-22.

Supercharged racer David Allen was the quickest of the sportsman
qualifiers on Thursday during the NHRA ACDelco Gatornationals at
Gainesville Raceway in Gainesville, Fla.

Allen, competing in the
BB/AM division, thundered the quarter-mile to a 6.857 elapsed time,
-.653 under the index, to beat out Glen Treadwell's D/Econo Dragster.
Treadwell was -.616 with an 8.014. There are 33 entries in competition
this weekend with two more sessions left.

Kenny Lang, the reigning IHRA Pro Mod Champion, has made a jump 'to the
other side' and will try his hand in NHRA competition this weekend as
the Get Screened America Pro Mod Challenge presents its first race at
the ACDelco NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla. Lang will be
sponsored in his efforts by Roger Burgess and ProCare Rx.
 
"Roger and I started talking last weekend in Baton Rouge at the IHRA
event, and if it wasn't for him we wouldn't be here. I hope we can work
something out for the long-term, because I'd definitely love to run
NHRA the whole season," Lang said.
 
Lang and Burgess have more than a love of NHRA drag racing in common:
the two are powered and tuned by the Canadian powerhouse Al Billes.
Lang said that Billes was his biggest asset in winning the championship
last season and had hoped he would be able to race more NHRA events
this year with Billes’ help. Off-season changes, however, seemed to
make that unlikely.
 

Father-Son Team Rumble Sends Early Pro Nitrous Message … 
 
The competition should have known to watch out for this potent combination. 
 
When the track gets marginal that’s when the Pilchers, Johnny and his
father Billy, are at their best. The Pro Nitrous contingent found that
out the hard way during the final qualifying session of the ADRL
Dragpalooza V in Houston, Tex., as Johnny blasted past the competition
to claim the first No. 1 qualifying effort of 2009. 
 
Everyone else might have been surprised, but for the Pilchers the
performance came as no shock. 

Pete Berner has been a fan-favorite for many years, but his most
adoring fan comes from a rather unlikely place – his competition! Five
year old Emily, or Emmy as she likes to be called, is the granddaughter
of fellow Pro Stocker racer Dean Goforth, and she’s also become
Berner’s #1 fan. Dean Goforth, along with son Cary (Emmy’s uncle),
pilot the Dean’s Casing Service Mountain Motor Pro Stockers. They, like
many of the IHRA racers, are a family-oriented team with huge family
involvement and support. Granddaughter Emmy attended last weekend’s
Mardi Gras Nationals where she cheered Berner on every round, decked in
one of Berner’s shirts, and waiting with excitement to give him a
thumbs up. Although she was a little shy at first she quickly got
comfortable enough around Berner to throw in a hug with her thumbs up
and pose for pictures with her grandpa Dean and Berner.

Pro Mod driver Joe Baker left his mark on the Gatornationals last year,
walking in as a first-timer in Pro Mod Challenge competition and taking
the win.  The Lend America/Matco Tools-sponsored driver is anxious to
repeat his accomplishment this weekend in front of his family and
friends as the Get Screened America Pro Mod Challenge presented by
ProCare Rx opens the season at the ACDelco NHRA Gatornationals at
Gainesville Raceway.