Long-time John Force Racing crew chief John Medlen was admitted to
an Indianapolis hospital for discomfort in his chest late last night.
After an examination by doctors a routine medical procedure was
performed and a stent was inserted into his heart. 

This is the second such procedure for the 59 year-old. In 2002
Medlen had a stint inserted as a precaution and, as a result, missed
the NHRA national event at Seattle, Wash. He returned a week later to
resume his responsibilities at Sonoma, Calif. A year later, he won the
NHRA POWERade championship for JFR with driver Tony Pedregon.

There was a day that the element of surprise worked like a charm for Pro Stock racer Vieri Gaines.

Gaines, of Lakewood, Co., slipped into the 2008 NHRA Nationals in
Phoenix, Az., like a wolf in sheep’s clothing and proceeded to slay the
competition in a new Roger Holmgren-built Dodge Stratus that he
contends Helen Keller could cut a light in.

Gaines pieced together four above average elapsed times with a string
of reaction times that spanned as quickly as .007 to as slow as .02.

Mickey Thompson Tires & Wheels will continue their partnership with Billy Glidden Racing for 2009. Through this renewed
partnership, Glidden will continue to help Mickey Thompson Performance
Tires & Wheels develop new performance products, and Mickey
Thompson will provide financial support to Glidden to defend his ADRL
Extreme 10.5 Class Championship.

“Working with Billy Glidden is amazing,” said Ken Warner, VP Sales
& Marketing, Mickey Thompson Performance Tires & Wheels. “He
works very hard, and drives like no other racer I know. We get reliable
data from Billy that is used to develop and maintain the best
high-performance products. Billy is part of the Mickey Thompson family
and we want him to get out on the track and win.”

Gregory Pfiefer, the 14-year old son of former Torco Race Fuels General Manager Brian Pfiefer, is currently listed in critical but controlled condition at Bronson Hospital in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Gregory developed complications from the flu which led to his admission to the Pediatric intensive care unit. We'll have more details as they are provided by the family. Until then, please keep Gregory and the family in your prayers.

NAPA
AUTO PARTS store owner Tim DelCid, who was named the NAPA AUTO PARTS
Honorary Crew Member at the NHRA national event in Las Vegas last year,
was presented with a special Ron Capps autographed helmet at the recent
season-opening Pomona NHRA national event.

Mike Heffley, an employee at one of the Bakersfield, Calif., NAPA
stores owned by DelCid, and Fresno, Calif., NAPA wholesale manager Tony
Guerrero, surprised DelCid when they gave him the helmet in
appreciation.

"Tony and I got together and thought it would be a good thing to give
Tim a Ron Capps-autographed helmet," said Heffley, "and we made it
happen and dropped it on him at Pomona. He had no idea we were doing
this. I've worked for the same NAPA store for nine years and he's a
really good boss."

Wednesday’s announcement of new series sponsor for the NHRA Pro Modified series has many teams scrambling in preparation for the season-opener next month in Gainesville, Fla.

One of those teams that had been stuck in limbo belonged to Scott Ray, driver of the Ohio Crankshaft 1953 Corvette Pro Mod.

“The deal is done and now it is finally time to race." said Ray.
"Thanks to Roger Burgess, Tom Compton, Matt Brammer, and many others,
the Get Screened America Pro Mod Challenge is a long term reality. I
cannot wait for the first hit at Gainesville."

Ryan Hargett will be competing in a brand new 1970 1/2 Camaro during the 2009 season.

Hargett has commissioned Jerry Bickel Race cars in Moscow Mills, MO.,
to build the chassis cloaked with a new  Cynergy Composites body.
Hargett plans on primarily running Pro Nitrous with the ADRL and some
select IHRA Pro Modified and Outlaw events.

After completing his first season as Top Fuel team owner and driver,
Terry McMillen has set his sights even higher for the 2009 racing
season. McMillen was two for two in NHRA starts last year (Atlanta /
Las Vegas), including a spot in the fastest 1000ft field in NHRA
history at the fall Vegas event. McMillen's NHRA season will begin at
the Gator Nationals in Gainesville, Florida.

IHRA success also came often for McMillen and his Amalie Oil sponsored
machine. With four final rounds in a row (five total) and one win,
McMillen is planning to hit the ground running again this season when
they pull in to Baton Rouge for the IHRA season opener.

"We've worked harder and spent more money this off-season than we ever
have before," McMillen said from his Indiana race shop. "We've never
been more prepared to begin a season than we are right now."

McMillen hopes his off-season spending spree will pay big dividends.
Besides the usual parts and pieces required to make a Top Fuel Dragster
go fast, McMillen made a significant off-season acquisition in veteran
tuner Doug Kuch. Kuch, who stepped in mid-season last year as
consultant, will tune the Amalie Oil entry during the 2009 campaign.

$50,000 Up For Grabs Through Championship, Shootout Structure …

The new NHRA Pro Modified series sponsored by Get Screened America and
contested at ten NHRA Full Throttle Series events will operate on a
first come, first served, and spaces are filling up quickly for the 24
available spots. This news comes from series administrator Matthew
Brammer.

The series signed a contract that will ensure its existence through 2011.

“This is a really exciting time for Pro Modified fans,” Brammer said.
“There’s a lot of work to do in a short period of time before
Gainesville arrives and we are working double time to en sure all the
details are handled properly.”

If
you don’t think quitting nitro racing is like a junkie trying to kick a
drug habit, just spend a few minutes with former Top Fuel racer Paul
Romine. He’ll set you straight.

Sadly, he speaks from experience.

“I’ve tried building street rods,” Romine explained. “I’ve tried
fishing. I’ve tried Harley-Davidsons. I’ve tried everything there is
since I quit driving in 2003. It’s driving me crazy.”

Romine, who hails from Indianapolis, has reached a compromise with his
addiction. He’s not planning on returning to the cockpit of a Top Fuel
dragster, but a dose of nitro is certainly on his agenda.