Doug Foley has been transported
by ambulance to West Haldimand General Hospital in nearby Hagersville,
Ontario, for testing and observation following a crash during the Top
Fuel final round of the IHRA Canadian Nationals. Foley was conscious
and talking.

We couldn't help but think of an old experience in backing up a car when we saw our old buddy Mark Carrier backing up driver Cory McClenathan. This one dates back to August of 2004 in Norwalk, Ohio.

One of the popular
rumors blanketing the Texas Motorplex surrounded Melanie Troxel and her plans
for 2007 and beyond. Scuttlebutt suggests her sponsor Evan Knoll will withdraw
his program from DSR and possibly head in a new direction with his driver intact. While no one close to
the issue will discuss anything at this point in time, Troxel has tuned out the
rumors.

“We get caught up in that as a team and we try to ignore all of
it,” Troxel said. “It’s really something that we’re not that involved in. It’s
stuff that other people are involved with and it’s our guess as to whether any
of it is true. It would be a big mistake for us to get caught up in that while
we still have a chance at winning this championship. These opportunities don’t
come around that often.

Mike Ashley warned the press corps after Friday’s qualifying press conference
that his Knoll Gas – Torco Race Fuels team was going to be a force to be
reckoned with. Sunday his words proved prophetic.

The two-time Pro
Modified champion, in his first full season as an NHRA POWERade Funny Car
driver, drove his Brian Corradi-tuned machine to his first career final round
before losing a tough match against top qualifier Robert Hight. Ironically, it
was Hight whom Ashley beat for his first career round victory in Las Vegas last
season.

BME
Engineering driver Alan Bradshaw has a new look and it could
potentially land him a role in a science fiction movie. Bradshaw has
orange eyes.

If you're the team owner and your veteran backer-upper is on the injured reserve list, what do you do? Mark Carrier was pressed into action when normal point man Brian Olson was injured earlier this week in a non-racing accident. Olson was assisting a friend with his home, which had burned down, when he fell 13-feet into the basement sustaining various injuries. Once Olson returns, he will resume the role. Carrier was having so much fun that he might not relenquish the role so easily.

Let the record reflect that at 5 PM, September 24, Don Schumacher smiled for the
first time this season as a result of success earned by his Pro Stock
team.

Schumacher made the decision earlier in the month to join forces
with Team Mopar teammate Allen Johnson and the results were enough to make the
beleaguered team owner happy.

“It certainly has turned my Pro Stock
operation around,” Schumacher said. “There’s a lot of work left to be done on
both our car and Alan Johnson’s. It’s a good deal and we’ve certainly worked
hard to get it to this point.”

Schumacher and Johnson intended to debut
their joint effort in Reading but rain delays enabled them time for two test
sessions in preparation for the Dallas debut.

With the immediate success
of this venture, winning driver Richie Stevens couldn’t help but wonder why Schumacher and Johnson
didn’t take this route earlier.

“It makes you wonder,” Stevens admitted.
“We started out with Bob Glidden doing our engines and Bob is a helluva engine
builder but Don didn’t feel like he was doing things the right way. He brought
in David Nickens and felt the same way. He’s got Roy and Allen Johnson now and
we tested very well. I’m surprised that mark Ingersoll adapted to the car and
everything so immediately. We made four good runs in a row and that won it for
us.”

Ron
Krisher had considered going to a Mopar for 2007 but the thought of being tarred
and feathered in his hometown just didn’t set well with the veteran Pro Stock
racer.
Krisher would have been in a rather uncomfortable predicament had
he opted to travel the Mopar route.

“I live where they build the Cobalts,”
Krisher, of Warren, Ohio, said. “People get a down-home feeling back at home
about this car. The survival of the whole community depends on the Cobalt and it
wouldn’t be good to come out with a Dodge. I don’t think that would go over well
with a Dodge - especially with some of the local government functions that I get
involved in. You have to watch out for your bread and butter.”

BERNSTEIN, HIGHT AND STEVENS EARN VICTORIES AT O'REILLY FALLNATIONALS

Brandon Bernstein and Robert Hight moved into their respective championship chases Sunday with convincing wins at the
O'Reilly Fall Nationals presented by Castrol Syntec at the Texas
Motorplex near Dallas.

 
Both men started and finished the day third in the points, but not
before gaining some serious ground on the category leaders at the 19th
of 23 races in the $50 million NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series.
Bernstein is now just 40 points out of the Top Fuel lead, while Hight
closed to within 93 of Funny Car's top spot.

In Pro Stock, Richie Stevens scored his first victory in more than five
years. Bernstein's fourth victory of the season and 12th of his career
came at the expense of Rod Fuller, while Hight pulled away from
first-time finalist Mike Ashley at half-track to earn his third win of
the year and fifth overall.

SHELLY PAYNE IS FIRST FEMALE TO WIN

PRO MODIFIED NATIONAL EVENT

Shelly
Payne has driven everything from a Top Alcohol Dragster to a Top Fueler
but a Pro Modified doorslammer has proven to be a formidable challenge.
This weekend she effectively broke down the barriers to become the
first female champion in the five-year history of NHRA AMS Pro Modified.

Payne
defeated a formidable list of challengers that included Mike Bell, her
husband Jay Payne and Thomas Patterson before getting the best of Troy
Critchley in the final round.