Sources have confirmed noted tuner Alan Johnson's contract with Don Schumacher Racing runs through the end of the season and that's inspired a pair of two-car nitro teams, one foreign and the other domestic to begin the courtship. The domestic Top Fuel team that has made a serious bid for his services certainly has the resources to pull off such a free agent acquisition but the foreign start-up effort is said to wield a $10 Million dollar budget for a two-dragster operation.

CompetitionPlus.com has requested a list of the names from the NHRA Review Panel who upheld the $100,000 fine levied Don Schumacher Racing for a nitromethane infraction. The NHRA reponded to the email but never listed the names of those involved in the process.  What CompetitionPlus.com has learned is this impartial committee was comprised of an NHRA divisional director, a manager of an NHRA-owned drag strip and an employee who works out of the Glendora, Ca., office.

Multiple sources in the know have confirmed the NHRA have purchased two containers of Chinese nitromethane and since the NHRA declines to speak on any of the issues, this item remains in the rumor mill. With that said, did the sanctioning body buy this product at the same price as the other distributors selling at a lesser rate? And, will they do the honorable thing and sell the product through the distributor at the lesser rate? Or, will the product get the rumored mark-up to $2,000 in time for Indy?

Those listening to the audiocast or in attendance at the NHRA Fram-Autolite Nationals in Sonoma, Ca., couldn't help but notice the downtime in the first nitro Funny Car session. While the cause of the delay was announced to be oil from a Pro Stocker, several prominent crew chiefs told CompetitionPlus.com the real problem was in the traction compound that was applied to the Infineon Raceway racing surface. Apparently, the mixture had an adverse affect.

When the IHRA announced in 2006 that a facility would be built in Mansfield, Ohio, the event was expected to take the sting out of losing flagship facility Norwalk Raceway Park, now renamed Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park. That was the plan at the time. With the state of the current economy, CompetitionPlus.com has learned the proposed drag strip facility could be finished.

A reliable source tells CompetitionPlus.com that veteran Funny Car driver Terry Haddock will try his hand in Top Fuel during select NHRA/IHRA events this season. We are told this car will also serve as a rent-a-ride and will feature a competitive combination. Haddock has finished in the top five for the last two seasons within the Funny Car division, so the dragster should be capable of running against the best.

According to numerous sources, the PRO Board meeting at Norwalk on Friday covered a number of major topics, with there being heated discussion on at least two of them.  Kenny Bernstein will leave his post as the organization’s leader at the end of the season, and is apparently trying to install former NHRA Top Fuel, Funny Car and Pro Stock Racing Director Ray Alley in his stead.  Alley has a long time personal relationship with Bernstein, and most recently worked for him as the original tuner of the Monster Dodge, a job that failed to last longer than two or three races. 

Sources have indicated that the NHRA has called for a conference call with their national event tracks and one of the topics on the agenda focuses on the shutdown and sand trap area. CompetitionPlus.com has been told by a reliable source that changes will soon be made to the way the sand traps are currently configured. Those changes could likely range from the type sand utlized to the length of the area.

Sources indicate that talks are already underway with the ADRL to bring in an Extreme Pro Stock division. Could this be the mass defection of the IHRA's Pro Stock? There's a good chance, we are hearing, the XPS division could run a limited schedule in 2008 before becoming a full-fledged class in 2009. 900-inch engines and three-second runs?

A reliable source told CompetitionPlus.com that the top ten drivers in IHRA Pro Stock signed a pact prior to the first qualifying session in Budds Creek, Md., agreeing they were going to skip the IHRA Rocky Mountain Nationals in Edmonton, Alberta unless reasonable travel benefits could be arranged for the teams. We'll have more on this subject as it develops.