Edward
W. Kowalczyk, age 36, of New Egypt died Wednesday, February 11 at
Virtua Memorial Hospital in Mt. Holly. Born in Somerville, Ed was
raised in Whitehouse, NJ before living in Jackson and then moving to
New Egypt in 2004.

Ed was a graduate of the New York Military
Academy in Cornwall-on-Hudson, NY and served in the US Navy and was
Vice-President for Integrity Roofing Service in Rahway. Ed was an avid
drag racer at Atco and Englishtown Raceways in New Jersey and many
other racetracks throughout the country. He was a member of the
National Mustang Racing Association.

Twice in her career Laurie Cannister has won a world championship only
to have her eliminator discontinued prior to the title defense season.
The first time it happened, she picked another division to race in.
This time she picked another sanctioning body.

With that said, IHRA Alcohol Funny Car champion Laurie Cannister and
the Kalbones team will compete in the NHRA’s Top Alcohol Funny Car
division during 2009.

 “We are very excited to be able to race again,” said the 2008 IHRA
Professional Driver of the Year. “Of course, we wanted to get back out
and go for back-to-back IHRA Alcohol Funny Car Championships, but that
wasn’t to be. Thanks to team owners Kevin and Wendy Sims, they are once
again providing us with everything we need to be as competitive as
possible in 2009.  The only difference is it will be an NHRA schedule.”

David Allen of Sewickley, Pa., headlines this weekend's NHRA
Division 2 LODRS event in Bradenton, Fla., leading the pack in Comp
Eliminator qualifying. 

Allen grabbed the Comp Eliminator top seed with Pat Ross, Avon Lake,
Ohio, hot on his heels. Anthony Bertozzi of Ashland, Va., last year’s
event winner, sits back in the No.10 spot of the competitive field.
Local Bradenton favorite and Pro Stock powerhouse Dave Connolly hopes
to take his '34 Chevy to Sunday’s Comp Eliminator winner’s circle out
of the No. 7 spot.

Super Stock is lead by Nashville, Tenn.
resident Jack Huff with Brian Oakes, Williamstown, N.J., looking to
advance on his No. 2 position. Randy Wilkes of Zanesville, Ohio,
Bradenton’s 2008 Super Stock event winner, is trying his luck in the
Stock Eliminator class qualifying in the middle of the pack. Bud Rowe
from Bridgeton, N.C., wheeled his ’94 Camaro to the top qualifying
position.

The AHFS is used to review and evaluate runs in Stock and Super
Stock for possible horsepower adjustments. The review is conducted
twice per racing season. The two reviews are compiled individually so
the data is not cumulative. Runs included in the AHFS database are
limited to final qualifying runs (Q data) and final elimination runs (E
data) at NHRA national events only. (At events where class eliminations
are run, all runs are included in the AHFS database. Only the first
round of class is part of qualifying and therefore is part of the "Q"
database.) The "Q" data and "E" data files are the official data
gathered by the NHRA timing system and processed through the NHRA
Information Technology department. NHRA "Q" data and "E" data are the
only data files used for the AHFS.

The first review period includes data from national events 1 through
12 and the second period includes runs from events 13 through 24. The
following procedure is used in reviewing run data:

The Cornelius Police Department, which has supported Doug Herbert’s
B.R.A.K.E.S. organization since it was founded, is now aiding the
charity in its mission of promoting safe and responsible driving by
putting a B.R.A.K.E.S. license plate on each of its patrol cars.

“By putting the license plates on their cars, the Cornelius Police
Department is helping us remind teens to drive safely and we are
grateful for their support,” said Doug Herbert, NHRA drag racer and
founder of B.R.A.K.E.S.  “When teens are on the road and they see a
B.R.A.K.E.S. license plate, window decal or bumper sticker, they are
reminded of the consequences that can result from unsafe driving.”

Due to the weather this past weekend during and the delayed final rounds at the Kragen O'Reilly NHRA Winternationals the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series TV show will not be aired this Sunday as originally scheduled.  The new air date for the Lucas Oil Sportsman show will be one week later, Sunday, February 22 form Midnight to 1 a.m. EST on ESPN2.

Doug Kalitta and Ron Capps had each waited more than a year for their “next” win so what was a couple more days, right?

The rain-plagued season-opener at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona didn’t
end until Tuesday, but the wait was worth it for Kalitta and Capps who
were rewarded for the perseverance with season-opening wins.

Kalitta’s was his first since Richmond 2007 (26 races); Capps’s win was his first since St. Louis 2007 (40 races).

Kalitta’s win was particularly poignant.

Outlaw 10.5 racing icon Mike "the Hitman" Hill will likely be out of competition unless an eleventh hour reprieve provides the necessary
funding to compete in ADRL competition. The team was close to signing a
new sponsorship which would have allowed their participation, but that
deal has fallen through just weeks before the season-opener in Houston,
Tex.

A third place finisher within the ADRL’s Extreme 10.5 division, Hill
faces of the unenviable challenge of seeking major backing in an
already stressed economy.