Of the numerous highlights for Morgan Lucas at the upcoming 54th annual
Mac Tools U.S. Nationals, none will accentuate those moments more than
his fund raising efforts for Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Central
Indiana, where he will auctioning on eBay two first-rate Lucas Oil VIP
tickets to Saturday’s Indy racing events on August 30 entailing viewing
of the two professional qualifying sessions and the Ringer’s Gloves Pro
Stock Bike Battle extravaganza.

The winning bidder will also have access to the comfortable and
spacious Lucas Oil Hospitality accommodations as a guest to have lunch
from their plentiful buffet prepared by noted racing chef, Matthew
Krebs, while dining alongside the powerful Lucas Oil dragster pit area.

At this time last year, Charles Carpenter was hoisting his second Iron Eagle trophy of the season after winning the Flowmaster American Drag Racing League’s inaugural event at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park in Norwalk, OH.

This year, he is looking to defend that championship and grab his first
win of 2008 at the 2nd annual Ohio Drags. After appearing in the final
round of the last three races he has entered, including the last two
ADRL events, Carpenter would like nothing more than to break through
for that first win of the season in Norwalk.

Matt Hagan's first season behind the wheel of a Knoll Gas Motorsports Nitro Jam series Nitro Funny Car has been punctuated with
the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. After a meteoric rise to
the top of the field in the beginning of the year by winning events at
Rockingham and Edmonton, Hagan has struggled in recent events and even
failed to qualify for the Northern Nationals earlier this month.

Top Fuel driver Doug Foley has confirmed his reservation for Foley
& Lewis Racing to compete at the "Bellagio of Drag Strips," the
nickname given to brand-new zMax Dragway, for the upcoming inaugural
Carolina NHRA Nationals, which run Sept. 11-14. Foley will race with
the support of Senecal Construction of Alamance, N.C., a commercial
drywall contractor near
Greensboro.

"It's really exciting to have the chance to race at zMax Dragway at the
first race ever held there," Foley said. "I saw the place in person
during a family vacation earlier this summer and it looks every bit as
good as everyone says it's going to be. I can't wait to see the
finished product and to race our Senecal Construction dragster down the
track.

"Ron Senecal stepped up big for us so we could make this event and
we're going to do our best to bring some attention to his drywall
business."

Rinnai,
the world's leader in tankless hot water heaters, has joined forces
with Bob Gilbertson's nitro Funny Car team for the Inaugural Carolinas
Nationals at zMAX Dragway on September 11-14, 2008.

The Rinnai tankless hot water heater is a state-of-the-art,
energy-efficient water heating system that uses a gas powered heat
exchanger to heat water on demand.  Compact in size, the innovative
technology heats water only as needed, and unlike antiquated hot water
tanks that heat and reheat the same water 24 hours a day, the Rinnai
system is more efficient as it only heats water when it is needed
resulting in energy savings of up to 50% for the average homeowner.

The popular and
highly-successful Mail from Home program instituted by Mail Terminal
Services in 2007 as part of the company's support of the Valvoline/Mail
Terminal Services Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car driven by Jack Beckman
will be featured on the car at the U.S. Nationals Aug. 29-Sept. 1 in
honor of the U.S. troops overseas.
 
The Mail from Home program allows fans and competitors an opportunity
to sign unique cards in the Don Schumacher Racing hospitality area and
at a kiosk within the U.S. Army Racing Zone at NHRA national events
with messages to the U.S. troops overseas, which are then distributed
free to war-zone camps by MTS. The number of postcards distributed by
MTS so far in 2008 is expected to exceed the 90,000 mark that was
reached in 2007.
 
"It became evident starting in Denver (July 11-13) that the Mail from
Home program was really gaining a lot of momentum," said MTS President
and CEO Rodger Comstock. "And in Brainerd (Aug. 8-10) a new record of
1800 cards collected in one day was set, with an overall record of over
5000 cards for the weekend.

Last
year's crowd for the ADRL national event at Summit Motorsports Park was
impressive, especially after three rain delays, but the 2nd annual ADRL
Gatorz Ohio Drags this weekend (Aug. 22-23), is expected to draw a
record-setting number of fans to the 45-year-old, drag-racing facility
in Norwalk, Ohio.

Last year, the inaugural visit of the
Flowmaster American Drag Racing League (ADRL) presented by the National
Guard to Summit Motorsports Park had “the makings of a magical event,”
according to track president Bill Bader Jr., but seven inches of rain
the week before and three rain delays on raceday put a slight damper on
things.

“By rights that event should have got crushed,” Bader said. “But it
didn’t. In fact, we still had more than 20,000 people in the stands at
one point and to get that kind of turnout with that kind of forecast is
really a testimony to what the ADRL does.”

Following is an update on the condition of Michael Knudsen, the clutch
technician on the DSR Mopar/Oakley Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car team:
 
Michael Knudsen sustained first- and second-degree burns to his lower
legs and left hand last Thursday, Aug. 14, at Maple Grove Raceway when
several propane tanks used for a portable track concession stand were
knocked over and a gas line ruptured. Knudsen reached to turn off a
valve on one of the tanks when a pilot light on a gas grill is believed
to have ignited the propane escaping from the ruptured line.

Call it a miracle, call it what you want, but call it a masterpiece …

Bobby Bennett Photos

"This
state-of the-art facility is another testament to Speedway Motorsport’s
commitment to race fans, racers and motor sports fans everywhere." - Marcus Smith

If
anyone really doubted Bruton Smith could pull off the miracle of
putting together the greatest drag strip in the world in less than
seven months, those doubts have been laid to rest.

He did it.

Bruton Smith took drag strip construction to the next level, a level that is likely to stand for years.

As a handful of media members and dignitaries sat on neatly positioned
chairs in what is expected to be the left lane of drag strip No. 2, the
Pro Stockers of Jeg Coughlin Jr. and Dave Connolly did burn outs
slicing through the ceremonial ribbon, replacing the more traditional
ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Four lanes of quarter-mile concrete await the first side-by-side-by-side-by-side three second nitro run.

Bruton Smith and son Marcus Smith chat prior to the ribbon cutting ceremony.

Maybe it's because Billy Meyer will forever be, first and foremost, a
racer. Maybe it's because he knows he can do more. Maybe it's simply
because he cares about the racers more than the bottom line.

The reason isn't important. What matters is that Meyer – owner and
president of the all-concrete quarter-mile Texas Motorplex – continues
to make safety improvements to the track in preparation for the 23rd
annual O'Reilly Super Start Batteries NHRA Fall Nationals to be held
Sept. 18-21.

One of the biggest additions to the track will be an extended run-off area after the finish line.

"Even though we have one of the longest tracks and sand trap areas in
the sport, we decided after the Scott Kalitta accident (at Englishtown,
N.J. in June) that we should extend our safety area as much as possible
just because you never know," Meyer said. "Right now our sand trap is
about the length of a football field and we are extending our so it
will be three times as long. The walls are going to not only be taller
than the height on the track, but the walls also are going to continue
to narrow down to be able to funnel a car into a safe zone eliminating
the chance that a car hits anything.