Although Jim Yates has experienced his share of ups and downs this
season, the driver of the Wiley X Eyewear Pontiac is highly optimistic
about his team's chances this weekend at the 27th annual Lucas Oil NHRA
Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway. Coming up on the schedule
are a pair of events at BIR, and the following week at Reading, Pa.,
where the two-time NHRA POWERade champion (1996-97) has a long history
of being extremely competitive, and he will try to capitalize on his 18
years in the sport to close out the 2008 season on a high note.

"There's a lot talk of being in the top 10 and making the Countdown,"
Yates said. "If we win a race between now and the end of the year then
our season will have been a success. Wiley X will be extremely happy,
Pontiac will be happy and we'll be happy because it sets the pace for
the level of competition we'll be able to provide next year. If we're
in a position where we have the performance level, we can make a lot of
those so-called contenders nervous. They're not only going to have to
worry about winning that round, but they're going to have to compete
against our team, and we're going to be at a level where we can be a
thorn in their side."

Kenny Koretsky’s Nitro Fish/Indicom Electric Pro Stock team is returning to NHRA competition at Brainerd, Minn., Friday.

Koretsky, however, will not be behind the wheel of the new-look Pontiac
GXP. Richie Stevens, who drove the car at Norwalk, Ohio, in June, was
at the controls during the team’s two-day test session at Route 66
Raceway in Joliet, Ill., and he will stay in the seat for this
weekend’s Lucas Oil Nationals.

Once upon a time, a class designated as Modified eliminator presented
drag racing fans with a harmony of small-inch, high-winding screamers
-- mostly comprised of those Doug Nash five-speed transmissions. These
classic home videos were shot at the old Houston drag strip in 1979 and
if you look you will spot classic names such as Billy Mansell and
Coleman Roddy, not to mention cameo appearances from nitro racers Tom
Hoover, Lee Shepherd and Shirley Muldowney.

When Terry McMillen isn’t busy racing his Amalie Oil Top Fuel
dragster, he’s busy participating with the sanctioning body and Rob Reeves,
owner and operator of the drag strip in Edmonton, Alb., locating and
procuring a source of nitromethane for the IHRA fuel racers.

The controversial supply and demand issue of nitromethane has hit an
all-time high within drag racing. McMillen has been monitoring the
recent situation in terms of pricing and availability.

With that said, McMillen is a qualified source to discus the latest happenings with nitromethane regarding drag racing.

Del Worsham and Ron Capps never thought post-race, relaxing dinner
conversations would amount to much. Little did they know their
impromptu attempts to solve the drag racing world’s problems would
spin-off into an additional supporting voice for P.R.O., to approach
the issues facing today’s drivers. A first meeting was held with all
but a couple of the current nitro drivers in attendance and even then,
they had previous commitments.

P.R.O. even sent out a letter of
support for the yet unnamed organization. One could consider this group
to be a representative for those who are Nitro drivers, and not team
owners at future P.R.O. meetings. The group does not include Pro Stock
teams at present.

The look on Robert Patrick’s face after losing a semi-final match to Pete Berner told the story. Nevermind the fact the

Robert Patrick has experienced a challenging title-defense season in 2008. (Roger Richards)

defending IHRA Pro Stock world champion had just turned
in his best performance of the year. The hole in his engine block spoke
volumes for the kind of season this has been for the veteran driver
from Fredericksburg, VA,
 
“We were ahead and then it just went bad,” Patrick admitted. “That’s
the kind of season we’ve had. But, I should have switched out engines
before we went up there, but there just wasn’t enough time for that. We
took a gamble and it bit us.”

NHRA Funny Car driver Robert Hight made the most out of his opportunity to get
the big league experience to

Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers

a Los Angeles Dodgers game.
Hight threw out the ceremonial first pitch to Automobile Club of Southern
California representative Jeff Prokop and soaked up the on-field atmosphere
prior to the first official pitch.

The Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum has announced the
appointment of Monique Valadez, as Manager, Education and Public
Relations.

Valadez joins the organization from the City of Pomona, where she
worked as the Public Information Officer for five years.  As the city’s
only Public Information Officer, she performed a wide range of
communications, marketing, event management and public relations
activities.

“Monique’s professional experiences position her as the ideal candidate
for the Education and Public Relations Manager position," said Tony
Thacker, executive director for the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports
Museum.  “She has strong ties to the community and key relationships
with the local schools, media outlets and community leaders.  We feel
that her expertise makes her a terrific fit for the Parks Museum.”

The
votes are in, and after five weeks of online voting for the JDRF-themed
design that will appear on Bob Tasca III’s Shelby Mustang Funny Car
during the NHRA U.S Nationals, a total of $84,542 was raised for
research for type 1 diabetes.

Over 300 designs were submitted for the online contest, and the top six
donation-earning designs have been submitted to the Ford judging table
for final selection. The winning design will be unveiled on Tasca’s
race car in downtown Indianapolis on August 28.

“The goal of this design contest was to help raise awareness for JDRF,
and with over $84,000 in donations from people from all across the
country, I think we accomplished that goal,” said Al Giombetti, Ford
Customer Service Division executive director. “We’re very excited to
have one of the top six designs on our car during the U.S. Nationals in
Indy, and look forward to continuing our partnership with JDRF.”

Top Fuel world champion Tony Schumacher was listed No. 1 in this week’s National
Speed Sport News Driver Power Rankings,

Tony Schumacher needs only three national event victories to tie Joe Amato's career victory mark. (Bob Pellegrini)

just ahead of NASCAR driver Kyle Busch.
Schumacher has eight wins in 15 races this season and clinched a spot in the
Countdown to 1 at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in Norwalk, seven
races before the cutoff point.

Schumacher is just three races away from notching yet another item in drag racing history.

After
completing a sweep of the NHRA’s “Western Swing” two weeks ago,
Schumacher is now just three wins short of tying Joe Amato’s Top Fuel
career victory mark, which stands at 52.

“Man, it’s hard to comprehend that we’re approaching that kind of a
record,” said the five-time world champion. “To be in the position that
we’re in right now really proves that the U.S. Army team is clearly one
of the best teams that’s ever been assembled in the history of the
sport.”