Roger Burgess remembers a weekend, last year, when he joined a group of
friends attended the NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville, Florida. While
his associates were mesmerized with the thunderous sounds of the
nitromethane-burning entries, the Atlanta, Ga.-based businessman was
infatuated by the antics of the Pro Modified division.

So infatuated was Burgess, founder of ProCareRX, he went out and
purchased himself a Pro Modified car to call his own and a few more for
good measure.

“I actually wanted just one and I ended up buying a few of them,”
Burgess said as he laughed. “I specifically watched Pro Modified run
that weekend. They just looked like they were having a lot of fun.”

Yes, former IHRA Pro Stock champion Steve Spiess is racing in NHRA Pro Stock this year. No, he’s not doing it exclusively.

Spiess was running Pro Stock during the IHRA Spring Nationals in Rockingham, NC, and fared quite well, qualifying tenth.

Team
Jegs racers Jeg Coughlin and Troy Coughlin hosted Top Fuel racers Cory
McClenathan and J.R. Todd Monday at their annual Jegs outing at the
Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

The four drag racing stars
and several of their friends, family, and media members spent the day
learning how to drive the school's high-performance Acura TSX A-Spec
sport sedans. Retired Formula One driver and MOSCC instructor Tommy
Byrne gave the group plenty of classroom instruction before turning the
drivers loose on the famous 15-turn, 2.4-mile road circuit.

"We
have a lot of things we do each year with our various sponsors, but
nothing compares to Jegs Day at Mid-Ohio," said McClenathan, a Team
Jegs racer who put his Fram dragster in the winner's circle of the last
NHRA POWERade event in Las Vegas. "It's something I look forward to
even though, once again, I'm flat worn out. I'm aching in places I
didn't even know could ache."

Paul Blevins, one of the successful
campaigners in NHRA's Modified class with a U.S. Nationals title, world
championship, divisional championships, and national records to his
credit, and later a standout racer in the Pro Stock ranks, died April
22.

Blevins, who ran his cars out of the respected Duffy's
Performance Specialties shop on the East Coast, was a four-time
Division 1 champion and multi national record holder in Modified with
string of Modified production racecars.

Pro Stock Motorcycle racer Steve Johnson has only had three weekends
off from competition and to the seasoned rider from Irondale, Alabama,
the layoff has been long enough. 

“It seems like forever since we’ve raced,” said Johnson, who will
compete in this weekend’s NHRA Southern Nationals. “I know it’s really
only been about three weeks, and our team has been really busy, but
there’s nothing like real, on-the-track competition to keep your blood
flowing.
           
“We’re ready for this coming weekend, believe me.  We’ve been testing
four times since we raced in Houston, and while we did find some things
that will improve our performances, I’m not going to go out on a limb
and make wild promises.  I’d rather wait and see how quick and fast we
are in Atlanta, and take it from there.”
           
The goal this coming weekend is to make four good qualifying runs on
Friday and Saturday, and then win two or three rounds of racing on
Sunday.  “Yeah, we’d like to win all four rounds, but we have to be
realistic,” Johnson said.  “If we can make it to the semifinal round
we’ll know we’re headed in the right direction.  That’s a realistic
goal for us right now.  It’s extremely tough competing against the
Buells and Harley-Davidsons because they have a significant cubic inch
advantage over the Suzukis.  We’re not discouraged by that, though.  It
just makes us work that much harder.”

With five races of the 2008 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series under his belt,
Doug Herbert, owner and driver of the SnaponFranchise.com Top Fuel dragster,
anxiously awaits the first race near his North Carolina
home.

Just a few short hours away from
Herbert’s business and race shop in Lincolnton, N.C., Atlanta Dragway has always provided a
golden opportunity for friends and family members to watch Herbert traverse the
quarter-mile in his 8,000 horsepower hot rod.

“I’m looking forward to Atlanta for several
reasons,” said Herbert. “We went to our first final of the season here last
year, so doing that again would be cool, only this time we want a win instead of
a runner-up.

Two-time Pro Modified World Champion has special
inspiration this weekend

Driving an 8,000 horsepower, nitro-burning
Funny Car can provide an excellent school of higher learning for a drag racer.
The challenging of harnessing the inordinate amount of horsepower through a
short wheelbase chassis demands the best from a driver and the experience can
make even the most seasoned driver better for the experience.

What would happen if some of NHRA's biggest stars decided to
try their luck at one of NASCAR's most famous tracks? The answer to
that will be determined Saturday, May 17, as Bristol Motor Speedway
welcomes drag racing's best in their quest to tame the World's Fastest
Half-Mile.

Bristol Dragway plays host to the O'Reilly NHRA Thunder Valley
Nationals presented by Q May 16-18, and this year a number of NHRA
drivers will get a chance to do something most of them never have: take
on the legendary half-mile oval.

On Saturday evening, after a full day of action at Bristol
Dragway with speeds topping 320 mph and elapsed times of less than five
seconds, drivers will venture -- at a slower pace -- across the creek
to Bristol Motor Speedway.

Bob Yoak’s friends wondered if he’d fallen and hit his head and this
prompted his return to IHRA Pro Stock as a team owner. Yoak teamed with
his son Jon during the 1990s to win two world championships.

Yoak has made a grand return with veteran driver Frank Gugliotta. Thus
far in two IHRA events, the pair have been a threat to win.

“I haven't been doing it since 2002, and I got an opportunity to come
back with Frank, and I couldn't be back with any better person to drive
and tune and help,” Yoak said. “I guess that's one of the main reasons,
plus I just kind of love to be out here.”

A little known factoid is this weekend’s return was not the first time
Yoak and Gugliotta had teamed up. Six years ago they teamed up on a Pro
Stock venture before Gugliotta was signed by Steve Thodos.

U.S. Army Top Fuel driver Tony Schumacher will pay tribute to the U.S.
Army Reserve’s 100th anniversary during round six of the NHRA POWERade
Drag Racing Series this weekend in Commerce, Ga. His Top Fuel dragster
will carry special 100th anniversary decals which include the tag line
– Army Reserve, 100 Years Strong.

“This is a big weekend for us all around,” said Schumacher. “Aside from
reaching a career milestone, I’m looking forward to helping honor the
U.S. Army Reserve. Obviously, we want to win this race to for all of
those men and women who have sacrificed so much for our freedom.”

The history of the Army Reserve dates back to April of 1908 when
Congress established the Army’s first reserve force. Today, the Army
Reserve consists of 205,000 soldiers and is an operational,
expeditionary and domestic force that is an essential piece of the U.S.
Army.