The new ownership of the Union County Motorsports Park in Union, South
Carolina continues to progress at a rapid rate. Under the leadership of
Curtis Teems, the facility is expected to complete in the fall with a
full schedule for 2009. The facility, located in the upstate of South
Carolina, is expected to be in operation for the 2009 season.

Three-time IHRA Alcohol Funny Car champion Rob Atchison is about 19 days away from being a father.

“Looks like I’ve got to grow up and get a real job,” Atchison joked. “I
think I’m more nervous about that than I am about making the car go to
the finish line. I’m sure I’ll figure it out. The baby doesn’t know
that I’m a rookie.”

NHRA Pro Stock
Motorcycle rookie Angie McBride and Indicom Electric have signed a
sponsorship deal for the next three NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series
races. McBride, who sits seventh in the POWERade Championship point
standings, has been searching for a sponsor for the 2008 season in an
effort to continue her first full season in the NHRA.

Not only is Indicom Electric sponsoring McBride, but her teammate, 2007 champ Matt Smith, as well.

The Flowmaster American Drag Racing League (ADRL) presented by the
National Guard announced today that its 2nd annual Shelor.com Spring
Drags have been postponed from Apr. 25-26 to June 20-21. Although new
tickets reflecting the June 20-21 dates will be printed and
distributed, all tickets bearing the original April dates will be
honored.

“Unfortunately, the entire Tulsa region has been inundated with heavy
rain over the past several weeks which has left the spectator parking
and overflow pit parking areas oversaturated with water and unusable,”
ADRL President Kenny Nowling said. “If it were to stop raining right
now and not rain again through next weekend we would still not be able
to utilize a large majority of the spectator parking areas. What makes
this decision so difficult, though, is the amount of work my staff and
the staff at Tulsa Raceway Park have put in distributing tickets and
working to establish relationships with local businesses and sponsors.”

It was scheduled to be the ADRL’s first visit to Tulsa Raceway Park,
but track owner Dan Guterman said he agrees with and supports the
ADRL’s decision to postpone the event.

IHRA Pro Modified racers Scotty and Scott Cannon launched a
new website ScottyCannonRacing.com in conjunction with this weekend’s IHRA
Spring Nationals.

“It was time for us to update our online information to help
us in our search for the right marketing partner,” Scotty Cannon, a six-time
Pro Modified champion. “We also want our fans to have a place to keep us with
us as well.”

Palmer, Janis Grab First Day Qualifying Leads at IHRA Spring Nationals in Rockingham

Scott Palmer's Friday evening run cemented him atop the Top Fuel qualifying order.

Surprising Scott Palmer grabbed the provisional No. 1 position in the
featured Top Fuel category and Mike Janis put his 1967 replica Pontiac
Firebird on the provisional “pole” in Pro Modified Friday in the first
day of qualifying for Sunday’s 37th annual IHRA Spring Nationals at
Rockingham Dragway.

Palmer was clocked in 4.645 seconds at 296.83 miles per hour on a run
on which his car ricocheted off the guardwall just past the finish line.

Officials from the National Hot Rod Association have told Torco’s
CompetitionPlus.com that there is no truth to the Internet-circulated
rumor that Bruton Smith is in the process of purchasing the
organization and/or its assets. They acknowledge that Smith and NHRA
president Tom Compton did meet at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
during last weekend’s Summitracing.com Nationals, but portray that
meeting as nothing more than a normal get together between the
sanctioning body president and the owner of any track at which a
national event is being staged.

Sometime
waiting by the phone for something to happen can be an agonizing
experience. IHRA Alcohol Funny Car racer Laurie Cannister hopes she
never has to endure the same experience again.

In 2002, Cannister’s independent effort of fielding a professional team
out of her pocket came to an end after a handful of races but not
before she exhibited a wealth of marketing potential.

For five years, Cannister did her very best to will the phone to ring.
Her efforts paid off last year when a Virginia Beach, Virginia-based
couple, who owns a grilling sauce company took a chance on her.

 Cary Goforth grew up watching his father Dean run up and down drag
strips around the Midwest. His earliest recollection is in his toddler
years and by the time he reached ten he was considered a seasoned
aficionado of the sport.

Never did he envision in those days of assisting his dad with the
family’s classic Road Runner and Camaro they would end up the only
father and son tandem actively competing in IHRA Pro Stock.

“Everything he did was appealing to me,” Carey said. “He was my hero
and I always loved watching him drive. Even though we race in the same
class, I still find myself running up to the line to watch him run.”

Dean put in many years racing in the formative years of the Super Gas
classes and won an ADRA [formerly AHRA] 9.90 title before stepping up
to the IHRA Pro Stock division in 1986.