NHRA Funny Car racer Tony Bartone had plenty of reasons to be worried when primary sponsor
Lucas Oil Products informed team owner Jim Dunn they weren’t returning
in 2008 as primary sponsor on the team. Though he had reasons, he never
subscribed to any negativity.

“I never doubted John Dunn,” Bartone said of the team’s manager and
marketing agent. “He is relentless when it comes to finding sponsors. 
He kept digging out back and came up with a great sponsor called
Canidae Natural Pet Foods.  We're glad to have them aboard.”

For the first time in his professional career, Bartone is the front-man for a non-automotive sponsor.

Classic Rickie Smith Super
Modified Maverick was a rare gem …

Ever had a classic car you
regretted selling?

Ask seven-time IHRA Rickie
Smith about the classic 1974 Maverick that got away. The car drove for team
owner Keith Fowler.

The same 351 cubic inch
Ford Maverick that he drove to so many IHRA Super Modified titles subsequently
forcing the sanctioning body to cancel the class due to lack of participation
turned out to be a special edition Jack Roush car.

Smith said the car wasn’t
his to sell, but had he have known the rich history – he might have been
inspired to scrape his nickels and dimes together and purchase the ride, if
only to store away in his shop.

Recently Smith was
contacted by the new owner of the car who resides in Knoxville, Tennessee. He
brims with excitement when discussing the owner’s reported plans to restore the
car.

Aeroquip® Performance Products will begin their fifth season of their involvement with Mike Janis Racing.

"Both Mike Janis Racing and Aeroquip are proven winners," stated
Aeroquip Business Manager Paul Grandsko. "Mike and his team approach
racing much like we at Aeroquip approach our business. Understanding
and adapting to changes along with continuing development have put both
Mike Janis Racing and Aeroquip at the top, and for those reasons we are
happy to be involved with Mike and his team for the fifth straight
season."

Armed with a totally new race car, The Ajax Engines Pro Modified Team
driven by Scott Wildgust plans to be a major factor in the 2008 Pro
Modified Racing Association tour.
 
Scott“We’ve stepped up to the next level,” said Ajax team owner Kirk
Silbermann recently. “We’ve got the next level of car, and along with
running all the PMRA events we plan on running the new car in IHRA
events.”
 
The Ajax car is a 1967 Camaro-bodied Pro Modified, powered by a Brad
Anderson 526-cubic inch Supercharged Hemi engine on a G-Force Race Cars
chassis.
 
“The G-Force chassis is more aerodynamic,” stated Silbermann. “It’s a
state of the art car,” adding that the car is better suited for driver
Scott Wildgust. “Scotty fits better in this car than the old one. He’s
more comfortable.”
 
“This new car is definitely better for me,” said Wildgust, who drove
the previous Ajax entry in last year’s PMRA circuit to a second-place
tie in the point standings. “This car I’ll be able to see out of,” he
added, noting that his vision was quite restricted in the previous Pro
Modified.

Doug Herbert, owner and driver of the SnaponFranchise.com Top Fuel
dragster, will be participating in a local seminar to help promote safe
driving.

After losing his sons, Jon, 17, and James, 12, in an automobile
accident just one month ago, Herbert has made it his mission to help
prevent other parents,  families, and friends from experiencing what he
has been feeling since the tragic loss of his boys.

Herbert, already in the process of developing BRAKES, a program to
promote safer driving among teenagers, hopes speaking at seminars such
as this will help save lives.

Aeroquip Business Manager Paul Grandsko announced today that Aeroquip® Performance
Products, the number one performance
hose choice of racing enthusiasts worldwide, has agreed to become the title
sponsor of Milan Dragway's popular Friday Night Heads-Up Series. Officially, the series will be entitled the
"Aeroquip® Performance Products Friday Night
Heads Up Series."

John Zappia is using his home track
knowledge as a weapon against 11 other Top Doorslammers competing in the 37th
Chill Westernationals this weekend at the Perth Motorplex. The event is Round 5
of the ANDRA Australian Top Doorslammer Championship, and the Striker Monaro is
in top form after running three consecutive five second passes to finish
runner-up at the recent Summernationals at Western Sydney International
Dragway.

Zap leads the current Championship
by 143 points with three rounds to go, and his Zappia Racing Team is keen to
stay on top and secure the Championship for the season.

"Our plan is on track for this
weekend after a great Summernationals", said Zap this week in Perth, "Finally
the HQ Monaro is five second reliable, and we learnt a lot about how to make it
even quicker over the week in Sydney. Several teams broke through into the
fives, but no other team has done it consistently on all three major tracks
yet".

Nostalgia drag racing’s biggest event, the March Meet (Mar. 7-9, at
historic Auto Club Famoso Raceway), is celebrating its golden
anniversary this year. Not surprisingly, the world famous 50-year-old
event is also golden to the Kern County economy, worth millions in
tourist dollars. Based on last year’s super-successful event, it’s
estimated that the 2008 race could bring more than $6.5 million. 

As teams complete their preparations for the three-day speed festival,
hoteliers, restaurateurs and local shops are among those who will get
ready to count the money coming into the county, according to Blake
Bowser, a member of the board of the Bakersfield Convention and
Visitors Bureau and vice president of Auto Club Famoso Raceway, which
hosts the annual event. Bowser said “the March Meet is Bakersfield’s
biggest event and draws more than 30,000 spectators. We have racers and
fans coming to Bakersfield from Europe, Australia, Canada and all over
the U.S. and they spend a lot of money in this county. Our merchants
know this and they spread out the welcome mat. Auto parts stores,
hotels, grocers, restaurants and gas stations will feel a direct
impact, but the influx of money will continue to spread throughout the
county.”

World renowned spinal technology company K2M, Inc. announced today a new
partnership as an associate sponsor on all four of the nitro-fueled,
7,000-horsepower race cars that comprise Kalitta Motorsports, a legendary
professional drag racing team founded and owned by drag racing icon Connie “the
Bounty Hunter” Kalitta and based in Ypsilanti, Mich., just minutes from the
Detroit city limits.

Kalitta Motorsports fields entries for Doug Kalitta, driver of the Mac Tools
Top Fuel dragster, Scott Kalitta, driver of the DHL Funny Car, Dave Grubnic,
driver of the Kalitta Motorsports Top Fuel dragster, and Hillary Will, driver of
the KB Racing, LLC Top Fuel dragster in the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series
that traverses the United States for 24 national events between February and
November.

The 2008 season will mark the 24th
year of competition for the Alcohol Funny Cars from the California Independent
Funny Car Association. Last year 34 active teams competed in at least one event
in the 2007 season. Looking forward to the 2008 Season, CIFCA currently has
added 3 new active teams while only losing 7th place points finisher
Chris Bennett who is moving up to Nostalgia Funny Car. In addition to the new
teams, some of the returning teams to CIFCA have made significant changes for
2008.