After 28 different war stories from sixteen different story tellers, the second annual CompetitionPlus.com War Stories Showdown has whittled down to the best two story tellers for the 2008 - 2009 competition. This final round features the No. 10 seeded Pat Musi against the top-ranked John Force in a battle for the trophy. Read both stories and cast your vote at the bottom of the page.

We've received this first look of the V. Gaines Kendall Oil-sponsored
Dodge Stratus. Gaines will be running Larry Morgan horsepower in 2009.

Following an active off season that included trips to New York and Orlando, nasal surgery, and a recent ownership change, sophomore
Top Fuel sensation Antron Brown is certainly ready to go drag racing.
Brown and his Mike Ashley Racing/Matco Tools Top Fuel team will prepare
for the 2009 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series at the National Time
Trails at Firebird International Raceway Jan. 23-25.
 
"I'm thrilled to finally get to the race track and fire up this Matco
Tools dragster," Brown said. "I'm so ready to get out of the midwest
and the cold weather, and get to some warm weather and see the sun, and
put the off season behind and start 2009 on the right track.
 
"Testing is very important to our race team because we want to start
strong this season. I'm really looking forward to working with my new
crew chiefs, Brian (Corradi) and Mark (Oswald), and learning how they
run the car and getting to know their personalities. Having good
chemistry with the crew and crew chiefs is very important to me, so I
really want to get to know my guys and get this Matco dragster down the
track at Phoenix with some quick E.T.s."

Defending NHRA Top Fuel world champion, Tony Schumacher, began preparing for the 2009 Full Throttle Drag Racing Series
season with a three-day test session at Palm Beach (Fla.) International Raceway last weekend.

Working with a new crew chief in Mike Green and a brand new team,
overall, Schumacher still managed to produce low elapsed time and top
speed by the final day.

“We had an awesome weekend,” said the Chicago-area resident. “Given the
fact it was the first time we worked together, it was a terrific way to
kick things off. The crew guys are great and Mike Green is brilliant.
We all worked extremely well together. There’s not much to complain
about when you put up the kind of numbers that we did.”

Over
three days, the U.S. Army team made 11 runs, trying different
combinations along the way. Schumacher’s best 1,000-foot pass was
3.812-seconds at 317.05 mph.

Mike Ashley Racing (MAR) and the Matco Tools Top Fuel team have
partnered with Jim Dunn Racing to offer NHRA fans the ulitimate drag
racing hospitality experience. Jim Dunn Racing and its Canidae Funny
Car will be pitted adjacent to the Matco Tools Top Fuel dragster for
the 2009 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series, it was announced today.

The Iron Eagle Club hospitality area, a 3,800-square-foot structure,
was introduced two years ago to host Matco Tools distributors and their
loyal Matco customers. Last season, the Iron Eagle Club hosted more
than 14,000 guests. The partnership between MAR and JDR will see more
than 1,800 Canidae guests join Matco Tools and other MAR sponsors at
the IEC during the 24-race NHRA Full Throttle season.

Two-time IHRA Champion Abandons His Longtime Stomping Grounds …

Mike Janis has served many years as an iconic member of the IHRA’s Pro
Modified fraternity with an occasional appearance on the NHRA tour.
This season the two-time world champion from Lancaster, N.Y., plans to
open a new chapter of his racing career.

Janis joins a number of racers committing to a full ADRL tour in the Pro Extreme doorslammer division.

The 19-time IHRA national event winner has already begun steps to
convert his proven high helix combination over to that of the
outlaw-oriented screw supercharger.

Pete Berner's Quarter-Max.com Team will renew their commitment to Quarter-Max® Chassis and Racing Components' customers
in the 2009 season by again being the Quarter-Max® parts source at IHRA
National Events. Berner will house a variety of the most essential
Quarter-Max® products in his racing operation hauler. With Berner and
Quarter-Max® owner Rick Jones both wishing to provide the best service
possible to IHRA racers and customers, they are excited to renew the
partnership that allows Berner to house parts out of the
Quarter-Max.com Pontiac Motorsports rig.

If
you prefer the modern day old school Funny Cars over the current
creations competing on the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing series, then
drag racing website owners Mark King (Nostalgia Funny Car news) and
Dean Murdoch (SpeedZone Magazine.com) will soon have a calendar that
caters to your preference.

The two are combining forces to present a unique Nostalgia Funny Car
calendar featuring 12 of the most popular cars of this type in North
America.

Such a project comes natural for Murdoch, who has been in the forefront
of producing Drag Racing calendars for the last nine years and has
produced close to 30 different ones in that time. Among his pass
ventures includes Top Alcohol calendars, Super Stock Hemi calendars,
Pro Mod calendars and Top Sportsman/Doorslammer calendars have proven
to be very popular amongst the various teams seeking added exposure
that comes along with such a venture.

In an ongoing effort to assist in curtailing escalating costs
associated with the operation of professional nitromethane category
vehicles (Top Fuel and Funny Car), NHRA has implemented the following
testing limitations for the 2009 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series
season.

Unlimited testing for Top Fuel and Funny Car teams will be permitted
until the 2009 season opener at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, Feb. 5,
2009.  At that point, and during the 2009 NHRA Full Throttle Drag
Racing Series season (Feb 5 to Nov 15), professional nitromethane teams
will be limited to a maximum of four (4) one-day test sessions.  This
policy applies to both the team and driver.

Last Year’s IHRA Champion Becomes This Year’s NHRA Champion in Waiting …

Forgive Spencer Massey if he appears a bit awestruck these days.

The sophomore Top Fuel driver who already has an IHRA Top Fuel world
championship to his credit still finds it hard to believe that he’s got
the driving gig that many would die for.

In less than 12 months, he’s gone from being a rookie on the IHRA
circuit to the driver for Don “Snake” Prudhomme on the NHRA circuit.

On Wednesday, Massey was driving around his new home of Brownsburg,
Ind., making last minute arrangements and finishing up some errands
before hopping a plane to Phoenix for his first test session as
Prudhomme’s driver.