When Pete Berner scored his first point this weekend, it effectively eliminated Frank Gugliotta
from championship contention in the Pro Stock division. Gugliotta
repaid the favor by snaking away 25 points by not only winning the Last
Man Standing award but also backing up a new record.

Berner had established the front end of a new world record with a
6.278-second lap when Gugliotta stepped up with a 6.270 which was
backed up with an earlier 6.291 elapsed time.

Gugliotta considers himself a friend to both championship finalists
Berner and second place Jeff Dobbins, but on this evening he had to do
what he had to do.

First-round pairings for professional eliminations Sunday for the
World Finals presented by CapeFearWheels.com at Rockingham Dragway, the
11th of 10 events in the 2008 Knoll-Gas Nitro Jam Drag Racing Series. 
Pairings based on results in qualifying, which ended Saturday.

Top Fuel -- 1. Bruce Litton, 4.583 seconds, 304.87 mph  vs. 5.
Tim Boychuk, 4.735, 304.60; 2. Spencer Massey, 4.644, 310.98  vs. 6.
Terry Haddock, 4.773, 286.07; 3. Bobby Lagana Jr., 4.688, 288.39  vs.
7. Scott Palmer, 4.854, 289.26; 4. Terry McMillen, 4.691, 310.63  vs.
8. Mike Strasburg, 4.947, 315.56.

Jeff Dobbins has heard himself referred to as an underdog all season and with one race left in the IHRA season, he became one literally.

Dobbins’ wife Cindy decided to sew her husband an outfit bearing a
striking resemblance to the cartoon character and he wore it prior to
the final Pro Stock qualifying session at the IHRA World Finals in
Rockingham, N.C.

Jim Halsey became the first official five second nitrous doorslammer in the history of the IHRA when he laid down
a 5.972 elapsed time at 237.00 miles per hour to lead the first
qualifying session at the IHRA World Finals in Rockingham, N.C.

This marked the sixth consecutive five second run for Halsey, the five prior coming at an outlaw event in Englishtown, N.J.

“We made some changes (to the overall combination) prior to the IHRA
race in Epping because we knew it was going the wrong way,” Halsey
admitted when asked about finding the right combination to crack the
five second barrier. “It was getting bad. We could never find the right
combination. We tested before Englishtown and got it to run very well
and I was very happy because it wouldn’t even run at our place. The
weather was great there and the track was amazing. The weather was the
biggest factor.”

Terry Haddock Nears IHRA Nitro Funny Car Championship

Qualifies #1 at IHRA World Finals in pursuit of first career
title; Spencer Massey also sits on edge of clinching championship in
the Top Fuel division. Tony Bogolo (Alcohol Funny Car), Tommy D’Aprile
(Pro Modified) and Frank Gugliotta (Pro Stock) also grab top-qualifier
honors at Rockingham Dragway

The
2008 IHRA Nitro Funny Car world championship is basically Terry
Haddock’s to lose. He will head into Sunday’s final eliminations at the
IHRA World Finals in Rockingham with a 67-point lead over rookie Matt
Hagan (Christiansburg, Virg.) in the battle for the world title.
Haddock, who will face Hagan in the first round of eliminations, does
not necessarily even have to defeat Hagan in their match-up Sunday…all
he has to do is keep the track dry and hope Hagan does not win the
event and set a world record in the process.

If you’re looking for the thunder and lightning of Nitro Funny Car,
then you’ll most likely need to look elsewhere than the IHRA.

Aaron Polburn conveyed this grim reminder to the Funny Car teams in a
meeting on Friday at the IHRA World Finals in Rockingham, NC. He didn’t say the class was done but unless a major
sponsor is procured, it’s as good as done.

Point leader Terry Haddock isn’t sold on the reality of the
eliminator’s demise. The point leader believes this meeting was a
wake-up to the industry what lies ahead if major sponsorship isn’t
obtained.

“I don’t think it’s all doom and gloom,” Haddock said Friday after the
meeting. “I think they are fishing for a sponsor, kind of like we all
are. We just have to wait until the first race to see what happens. I
think you will also see major changes on the other side, NHRA, as well.
We have a current NHRA legal car right now, so we’ll go run over there
or we’ll run Top Fuel over here, it doesn’t matter.”

Clear skies and cool weather projected for action-packed Saturday schedule at Rockingham Dragway  

Professional IHRA drivers have waited a month to get things started at
the IHRA World Finals as four of five 2008 world championships will be
settled this weekend at Rockingham Dragway. After a weather front blew
into the region, bringing heavy rain with it, they will have to wait
one more day.

All Friday professional qualifying sessions were washed away at the
IHRA World Finals. Racing will pick up as scheduled Saturday, with the
first professional qualifying session slated to commence at 2pm. The
pros will get another shot at the track during the Wendy’s Night of
Fire starting at 6pm, after which the pro fields will finalize.

  The
Series, which is headlined by the powerful Top Alcohol Dragster and Top
Alcohol Funny Car classes, features 44 races across the country
throughout NHRA's seven geographic regions. Competitors in
eight classes in the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series vie for divisional
and national championships and a share of the year-end purse worth more
than $560,000.

NHRA has released the 2009 NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series schedule.

In addition to the alcohol-powered categories, the Series features NHRA's Comp, Super Stock, Stock, Super Comp, Super Gas, and

Super Street

classes. Each
division also runs a Top Sportsman and a Top Dragster series in
conjunction with its Lucas Oil events, and a Sportsman Motorcycle
Series presented by Harley-Davidson is contested in selected divisions.

2007 IHRA Rookie of the Year Jeff O’Neill will make his first Top Fuel
appearance of the 2008 campaign at this weekend’s IHRA World Finals in
Rockingham, NC. O’Neill, who piloted Bruce Litton’s second entry to a
string of successful outings in 2007 (including a runner-up finish in
his first IHRA event and a 6th place finish in the season long World
Championship points standings), was sidelined for the season when the
team was unable to secure the necessary funding to compete in 2008.

For the IHRA World Finals this weekend, O’Neill has agreed to a
one-race deal with Sipple Family Racing. Sponsorship for the event will
come from Numidia Dragway.

“I’m so excited to get back in the seat of a Top Fuel car,” exclaimed
O’Neill. “Last season was like a dream--getting affiliated with Bruce
Litton and his entire team; then having immediate success in Top Fuel,
and consistently having a competitive car all season. It all happened
so quickly and everything just fell into place. This season we haven’t
had the same opportunities, and I’ve gotten to see the other side of
it; the countless cold calls and dead ends that are part of the
sponsorship search. It’s been frustrating, but I’ve learned a lot.
We’re very close to inking a deal that will put me back in competition
next season, and allow us to do so at a high level. I cannot wait to
make that announcement!”