Current IHRA Top Fuel points leader Spencer Massey will make his NHRA Top Fuel debut behind the wheel of Mitch King’s Bexar
Waste sponsored entry during this weekend’s O’Reilly Super Start
Batteries Fall Nationals at the Texas Motorplex just south of Dallas,
his home track.  The Ft. Worth native will also pilot his trusty A/Fuel
Dragster in the Top Alcohol Dragster category this weekend.
 
Massey, 25, is excited about making his NHRA Top Fuel debut at his home track.
 
“I’m certainly excited about getting to make my NHRA debut at the
Motorplex,” said Massey.  “I’ve dreamed about getting to race at this
level my whole life.  This is the place where I saw my first Top Fuel
car way back in 1987.  This is where the dream began.

Throughout his Hall of Fame career, Warren Johnson has been one of the
leading innovators in the sport of drag racing. 

When not behind the
wheel of his GM Performance Parts Pontiac GXP, he can be found deep in
his research & development work, searching for ways to improve his
team’s performance.  It is a long and labor-intensive process,
involving hours of experimentation, the results of which are not always
readily apparent to others.

However, as the POWERade Drag Racing Series heads to the Lone Star
State for this weekend’s O’Reilly Fall nationals, Johnson wanted to
acknowledge the significant contribution made by someone else, namely
Texas Motorplex owner Billy Meyer, who  22 years ago introduced the
sport to the all-concrete racing surface.

“What is often overlooked when discussing racetracks is how Billy Meyer
was essentially a visionary, building the first concrete racing
surface, which still stands today and on which we’ll race our GM
Performance Parts GXP this weekend,” said Johnson.  “At the time, I
remember he was roundly chastised for doing it, but today a concrete
track is the direction many of the newer tracks are taking, including
the state-of-the-art facility we just left in North Carolina.

On Monday, September 22, at 12:00 noon, the online registration
process for the K&N Worlds Best Air Filter 35th Annual Halloween
Classic presented by Harland Sharp will start. At that time, any racer wishing
to compete at the Classic simply has to log on to the Summit Motorsports Park
website (www.summitmotorsportspark.com) and
register for the event. If you don’t happen to own a computer, you probably have
a friend or family member that does, and they can help walk you through the
registration process. Open registration will last for 12 hours, from 12:00 noon
until 12:00 midnight. At 12:01am on September 23, the process will be over, and
there will not be another opportunity to register. After that time, you will be
a spectator.

Police are investigating what track official deems as isolated incident …

At least one drag racing fan won’t likely forget the time they walked
near Kurt Johnson’s Pro Stocker during the inaugural NHRA Carolinas
Nationals in Concord, N.C.

The unsuspecting race attendee was struck by a golf ball as they walked
through the pits on Sunday, the fourth day of the national event.

ZMAX Dragway publicist Adrian Parker confirmed the incident took place,
but said the incident was isolated. He declined to provide the name of
the victim.

The following are the funeral arrangements for Pro Modified racer Steve
Engel who passed on Sunday, the result of injuries sustained in a
racing accident during the NHRA U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis.

Calling him “one of my honest-to-God heroes,” American Drag Racing League (ADRL) President Kenny Nowling vowed to honor
the memory of race driver Steve Engel, 49, who died Sep. 14, at
Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis. Engel succumbed to complications
from severe back injuries sustained in a high-speed crash Aug. 30,
while competing in an NHRA Pro Modified race at O’Reilly Raceway Park
in Clermont, Indiana.

“Any time we lose a member of the drag racing community it’s very
difficult; however, this is especially tough since Steve was not only a
member of and competitor with the ADRL, but also someone I had known
for several years and considered a personal friend,” Nowling said.
Engel last raced with the ADRL in August 2007, at Norwalk, Ohio, in the
eighth-mile series’ Pro Extreme class. “My heart goes out to Steve’s
wife, Tonya, and his young sons, Stevie and Michael, at this obviously
difficult time.”

Coverage of this Sunday’s O’Reilly Super Start Batteries Fall Nationals, the second race in the six-race Countdown to 1 NHRA Playoffs, will begin at 8:30 p.m. ET (on ESPN2HD).

A pair of southern gents named Gustav and Ike have delayed the debut of
the new Kent Services and Trucking Pro Stock team scheduled for this
weekend’s NHRA event at the Texas Motorplex, and with those delays the
team is now looking for a late season debut at either Richmond, VA or
Las Vegas NV.

In the days just prior to hurricane Gustav making landfall in southern
Louisiana, the team had completed construction of their new race shop
on the grounds of No Problem Raceway in Belle Rose. Little did anyone
know that the eye of Gustav would pass directly over the new race shop
and that electrical service would be lost for days at the new facility.
While the shop survived the storm, the loss of electricity and the
combined effects of localized flooding and storm damage forced the team
to concentrate on personal safety and matters other than engine
development and race car preparation in the days following the storms
hit.