South Georgia Motorsports Park presented the Eastern Spring Test
Nationals February 25-28.  This event is designed to allow racers from
all series to test prior to the major national events in the eastern
United States. With the NHRA limitations on nitro testing this year,
the doorslammers stole the show, although alky dragsters and one funny
car participated.  Quarter-mile and eighth-mile Pro Mods, Outlaw 10.5s,
Drag Radial cars, Pro Mod cycles, snowmobiles, and sportsman cars
provided thrills for four days on the SGMP all-concrete quarter mile.

After taking the top qualifying position at the Emerald Coast Outlaw
Winter Nationals in Holt, Fla., 2008 NHRA Promod Rookie of the Year Joe
Baker bested his competition and took home a resounding event victory,
the first in the 3-round ECHO (Emerald Coast Heads Up Outlaw) Series.

”This is just great,” said an elated Baker after the race.  “We stayed
to our game plan for this race, and it worked.  We were up against cold
weather and a cold track, just like everyone else.  We didn’t put down
any big numbers, remained consistent throughout, and it paid off.”

Baker qualified No.1 after making a stellar 4.05, 180 mph pass and
backed it up with a 4.02, 182 mph lap while defeating Mike Neal during
the second round of eliminations.

It was almost too cool for words.

When Don Wootton climbed out of his nitro-injected ‘69 Camaro after its
maiden voyage he stopped for a moment to find the right words to say.

“It’s hard to explain in words how cool this is,” said Wootton. “It
makes a tremendous amount of power. When you leave the starting line it
doesn’t quit.”

Despite having lasted a mere 70 feet, the debut run of the National
Guard ADRL’s first nitro-injected Pro Extreme entry went according to
plan.

The team had discovered the cause of Friday’s problem that led to the
engine shutting off after the burnout and after a nearly four hour wait
in the staging lane on Saturday, it was show time.

Eliminations are complete from the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series
event held at Firebird International Raceway. Top Alcohol Dragster
pilot Shawn Cowie of Delta, B.C., and Top Alcohol Funny Car driver Sean
O'Bannon from Ontario, Calif., took home the goods.  This event
concludes the first of seven in Pacific division competition in which
racers earn points towards divisional and national championships.

Cowie ran a 5.385-second pass at 267.80 mph in the final defeating the
No.2 qualifier, Del Cox Jr. of Downey, Calif., who shut it down
mid-track. This is Cowie’s first win of the season and jumps out to the
early lead of divisional competition.

O’Bannon went up against Doug Gordon of Paso Robles, Calif., in the Top
Alcohol Funny Car final and ran a time of 5.678 seconds at 255.19 mph
to take the victory.  O’Bannon, who ran preseason testing at the track,
took the No.1 qualifying position all the way to the winner’s circle.

The Champion Speed Shop Special is set to run the March Meet at Famoso
Raceway in Bakersfield, California. The 51st running of the premiere
nostalgia drag racing event will mark the official end of a six year
hiatus of the legendary nitromethane powered Chevrolet dragster from
the nostalgia AA/FD drag racing ranks.

The latest incarnation of the Champion Speed Shop Special continues the
tradition of lightweight small block Chevrolet powered dragsters set in
motion by Jim McLennan in 1953, and carried on by son Bobby McLennan
into the modern era. The Champion Speed Shop Special will be driven by
Adam Sorokin, whose own father Mike Sorokin drove The Surfers front
engine top fuel dragster in the sixties.

John Montecalvo is back on track after the long winter break. He’s left
the wind and cold of New York for some southern heat and sunshine to
test before the Mountain Motor season starts next weekend. Montecalvo
began testing Thursday at South Georgia Motorsports Park and has
already laid down some good numbers. He has run consistently in the
6.30 range, with each pass progressively faster than the last. His best
lap thus far in testing eclipsed the standing world record MPH, 223.95,
when he laid down a 6.281 at 223.99. Montecalvo has spent the first
part of his time in Georgia testing in IHRA legal form. He will also
test the car in ADRL trim to get a good eighth mile tune up, since he
plans to run with both sanctioning bodies.

 “This is the first time I’ve been in the car since the IHRA World
Finals [Oct. 2008]. It feels good to be back. The car has been working
great and we’ve laid down some good numbers so far. We’ve got more
testing to do this year since we want to have a good quarter and eighth
mile tune up to run both ADRL and IHRA. I’m looking forward to
competing with both organizations.

Mike Ashley Racing, who fields the Antron Brown-driven Matco Tools
dragster on the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series circuit, has
officially launched its website www.mikeashleyracing.com it was
announced.

On the heels of the announcement of a three-year deal for the
fan-favorite Get Screened America Pro Mod Challenge presented by
ProCare Rx NHRA exhibition class, competitors have flocked to join the
series and compete for a share of more than $350,000 in prize-money.
With just two weeks before the cars hit the quarter-mile, the field is
nearly full for the season-opening event March 13-15 at the ACDelco
NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla.
 
Competitors already accepting invitations include past world champions
Jay Payne and Shannon Jenkins along with: Burton Auxier, Joe Baker,
Roger Burgess, Mike Castellana, Raymond Commisso, Tommy Grey, Chip
King, Mike Knowles, Harold Laird, George Landis, Taylor Lastor, Brad
Personett, Danny Rowe, Rickey Smith, Rick Stivers, Al Suggs and Tim
Tindle.

In the final rounds of qualifying at Firebird International Raceway,
Top Alcohol Dragster pilot Mark Niver of Phoenix, Ariz., and Top
Alcohol Funny Car driver Sean O'Bannon, Ontario, Calif., held onto the
No. 1 qualifying positions in their classes. Their times from Friday’s
qualifying were sufficient enough to stay atop of their fields going
into Sunday’s final showdown. This weekend’s NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing
Series event is the first of seven in Pacific division competition.

Niver
remained at the top of the Top Alcohol Dragster ladder Saturday night
with his run of 5.350-second, 264.23 mph.  Del Cox Jr. of Downey,
Calif., remained at the No.2 spot with Shawn Cowie, Delta, B.C., moving
up to third.

When 2008 IHRA Funny Car World Champion Terry Haddock crossed the finish line for the final time at the World Finals in Rockingham last October, little did he know it would be the last time he would do so in a Nitro Funny Car.

But while most drivers in a situation such as his would have simply thrown in the towel, Haddock brushed it off and did what he has been doing his entire life.

He took lemons and made lemonade.

With the Nitro Funny Car class on hold for the upcoming season, Haddock switched to Top Fuel for 2009 and has high hopes that he can have the same kind of success this year that he found driving a Funny Car to an IHRA championship last season.