Drivers from the NHRA and GM Racing made their annual stop at the world-renowned
James Whitcomb Riley Hospital for Children on Thursday. The GM Racing program
has made the yearly visit to Riley Hospital a part of its Mac Tools U.S.
Nationals weekend since 1999. It is the second time this season that a GM Racing
contingent of drivers has spread good cheer at a children's hospital in
conjunction with a locally held national event. Earlier this year, a group of
drivers made a visit to the Pediatric Specialty Clinic at Shands Hospital in
Gainesville, Fla., and later this fall a similar children's hospital visit is
planned for Las Vegas.

Signing autographs, and visiting with the kids and
their families on Thursday were Kurt Johnson, Melanie Troxel, Marty Ladwig, Greg
Anderson, Jason Line, Cory McClenathan and Hillary Will.

Some photos are just too good to caption. This one ought to fuel speculation.

A FITTING TRIBUTE TO A CHAMPION

Very
few epitomized a peaceful spirit better than Eric Medlen and the
releasing of doves in honor of the Eric Medlen Project was a special
tribute. 

In a special ceremony at John Force Racing's
Brownsburg, Indiana-based shop, plans the Eric Medlen Project, a
48,000-square foot building adjacent to the team's race facility were.

The Eric Medlen Project ultimately will house a chassis shop, paint shop, and
engine shop providing proprietary parts for JFR's Ford Mustang Funny Cars and
A/Fuel Dragsters.

As incredible as the plans for the Eric Medlen Project are, it was the bronze statue of Medlen's likeness that stole the show.  

Visit our special ERIC MEDLEN PROJECT Photo Gallery .

Rickie Smith and his Skull Gear Chevy Cobalt have been absent from the
NHRA circuit this year as Smith has been running on the IHRA's mountain
motor Pro Stock tour. Smith however, is looking to mix things up a bit
in the Pro Stock class this weekend at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals.

“Tricky Rickie" is not only known for his superb driving skills, but
his incredible ability to make a racecar get down the track. As one of
the best tuners around, Smith is hoping to make the field this weekend
in Indy.

“Indy is the race that everyone wants to win,” Smith said. “We have
been racing in the IHRA this year, and ended up having this weekend
off, so I said what the heck. All the nuts and bolts have come together
over the last week, so we will see what we can do.”

The Eric Medlen Tribute Room at John Force Racing East in Brownsburg, Ind., will
be open to the public on Thursday, Aug. 30, from 4-6 p.m., Eastern time, to
accommodate fans attending the 53rd annual Mac Tools U.S. Nationals.  The room
features photographs, original artwork, collectible cars, Eric Medlen’s personal
memorabilia, trophies and other tributes from racers including Ron Capps, Tommy
Johnson Jr. and J.R. Todd.  One wall is devoted to banners signed by race fans,
another to Eric’s rodeo heritage and yet another to Eric and his dad, John
Medlen, who will oversee The Eric Medlen Project at John Force Racing, Inc. 
John Force Racing East is located at 498 Southpoint Circle, facing Northfield
Drive.

Rookie NHRA POWERade Series Funny Car driver Ashley Force was voted “Hottest Female
Athlete” by AOL users and now faces NFL Quarterback Tom Brady, of the New England Patriots, for the overall title of
“Hottest Athlete in Sports.”

Force defeated IRL’s Danica Patrick en route to the
title. Voting continues through Monday, with the winner to be revealed
Wednesday.

The surprising part of
it all is that Force had no idea she was even in the contest.

“I actually
didn’t find out until I had already gone to the second round, and a girlfriend
of mine that I had grown up with, sent me a text and she said, ‘I voted for
you,’ and I didn’t know what she was talking about,” Force said. “And then a
couple of other people sent me phone messages and texts and finally I asked the
people at work – because we’re on the road a lot and I’m not able to get online
very often when we’re traveling – and they looked it up and they found out. It
was kind of a surprise.

“I didn’t know
that they were even doing the contest, so I had to get online and check out all
the different people that were in it – and I’m sponsored by Oakley and there
were a couple of other athletes sponsored by Oakley, so it was cool to be in
that contest with them. The fans at the races, once they caught on and were
hearing about it, they were pumped up as well to have a drag racer in the mix.”

David Powers Motorsports will locate its new team
headquarters, garage and testing facility in Brownsburg, Indiana, creating 42 new jobs.

The award-winning race team will
invest more than $3 million to locate its new 30,000 square-foot facility here
and will begin hiring engineers, technicians and logisticians later this
year.

“Motorsports has a rich history
and a bright future in Indiana," said Governor Mitch Daniels. "We'll continue to
encourage motorsports companies from across the country and around the globe to
locate and expand here as we build Indiana's reputation as the motorsports
capital of the world.”

David Powers Motorsports fields
the two-car Top Fuel operation of drivers Whit Bazemore and Rod Fuller. Fuller
leads the NHRA Top Fuel points standings heading into this weekend’s NHRA U.S.
Nationals at Indianapolis’ O’Reilly Raceway Park, while Bazemore, a 20-time NHRA
winner, ranks seventh in the class.

Following the
NHRA Mopar Mile-High Nationals, Jerry Toliver claims to have left a damaged Toyota body (complete
with titanium bracing) for a trucking company to pick up and transport for
repair.

Members of
Warren Johnson’s crew reportedly mistook the body for abandoned and began to
dissect parts of the body, removing the titanium and cutting off the nose and
roof sections.

When notified
of the incident, Toliver immediately contacted local law enforcement
authorities. He was then informed that members of Warren Johnson’s crew had
done the damage to the Toyota Solara body.

Last season Frank Manzo captured his 10th NHRA Lucas Oil Alcohol
Funny Car championship after driving the Lucas Oil Chevrolet to six
national-event victories (including his eighth U.S. Nationals title) and seven
final-round appearances. On the eve of trying to defend his crown at this year's
53rd U.S. Nationals at O'Reilly Raceway Park in Indianapolis, the
Morganville, N.J., resident finds himself in the thick of another championship
battle and in a virtual dead heat with fellow Alcohol Funny Car standout Jay
Payne. So far in 2007, Manzo has captured national-event victories at Atlanta, Brainerd (Minn.)
and Reading (Pa.), and this past weekend at Cecil County Dragway
(Md.) he
scored a much-needed divisional-meet victory to keep his Lucas Oil title hopes
firmly alive. Manzo's national-event win at Reading was his
70th all time and only four other drivers in the history of the sport
(John Force, Warren Johnson, Bob Glidden and Pat Austin) have reached that
mark.

Manzo currently holds both ends of
the national record for the Alcohol Funny Car category setting an elapsed-time
mark of 5.454 seconds last October at Virginia Motorsports Park, and a speed record of 265.74 mph earlier this
year at the ACDelco Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla. While driving down to Cecil County
Dragway (Md.) last Thursday from his home in
New Jersey,
Manzo talked about his run at an 11th NHRA Lucas Oil Funny Car
championship and the upcoming U.S. Nationals.

The GM Performance Parts LSX Shootout (held as a part of the Nitto Tire NMCA
World Finals in Memphis, TN, at Memphis Motorsport Park - Oct. 11-14, 2007) is
still seven weeks away, but the momentum is building fast.  As the time closes
in on this inaugural event, more and more heads-up, index and True Street racers
-- all relying on LS power -- are finalizing plans to attend this first-ever
event.  Hundreds of LS-powered auto show enthusiasts will also descend on the
Memphis area this weekend to compete for special LSX Shootout car show awards
and winners jackets both days - Saturday and Sunday.  Many of these competitors
are planning to join the LSX Shootout Tours (2) that depart from Chicago and
Dallas on Oct. 11th and head to Memphis for the BIG event!