Last Friday 15-time Full Throttle Funny Car champion John Force, along with 2009 Full Throttle Funny Car champion Robert Hight, Courtney Force, and Brittany Force spent the afternoon at Valadez Middle School in Placentia, California.  The team arrived at the school at 1:00 pm to meet with 90 students who won the school’s SOAR Award, which recognizes good behavior and excellent citizenship. Those select students participated in a meet and greet with the drivers along with getting an up close look at John Force’s Castrol Edge Ford Mustang Funny Car and Brittany Force’s Super Comp dragster.  Some students were also picked to sit in the cars. At the end of the meet and greet the students were given gift bags that included JFR team caps and autographed hero cards from all the drivers.

Simpson Performance Products, the industry brand in racing safety for more than 50 years and Safety Solutions, Inc., backed by 18 years of restraint engineering knowledge have joined forces. United by the common mission of making the sport of racing safer, the acquisition of Safety Solutions gives Simpson Performance Products a broader racing safety portfolio and enhances opportunities for future growth and development within the industry.

Professional bracket racer Luke Bogacki enjoyed another phenomenal season in 2010.  Bogacki, who has earned a reputation as one of the top competitors in big dollar bracket competition over the past decade, directed his focus to the NHRA Lucas Oil points chase for the first time in his career in 2010.  His results were similar to those he’s experienced in seemingly every series and form of competition he’s tried his hand in, as he enjoyed great success along the NHRA tour.
 
Bogacki started his season with a Super Comp victory at the opening Division 2 Lucas Oil Divisional event of the season at Bradenton Motorsports Park back in February.  A week later, he drove to runner-up finishes in both Super Comp and Stock Eliminator at the Gainesville LODRS.  He added two more runner-up finishes in Stock (Atlanta, GA and Cordova, IL) and a pair of victories in Super Comp (Bowling Green, KY and Reynolds, GA) at the divisional level.  The strength of those finishes earned Bogacki the NHRA Division 2 crown in both Super Comp and Stock Eliminator.

Shannon Jenkins will take a second-place finish for now, so long as the end result is different.

The Pro Nitrous standout has had enough of runner-up finishes in 2010 after taking second in the American Drag Racing League (ADRL) World Championships to Al-Anabi Racing teammate Burton Auxier.

That was enough motivation for Jenkins to come prepared to Doha, Qatar for Round One of the Arabian Drag Racing League, which took place last weekend at Qatar Race Club. He had his ’68 Camaro ready for the first of the eight-race series, earning the top qualifying spot and posting the best E.T. of the weekend in the class.

Roy Hill is feeling happy, healthy and invigorated as the next chapter in a long life of drag racing unfolds before him.  

“I guess the biggest announcement is that Roy Hill’s fine and having a ball,” the Sophia, NC, native states. “We just picked up a body in white, took it to Jerry Haas, and we’re going to build a Super Stock A stick car and an A automatic car. An announcement will be made shortly about the drivers.”

The former Pro Stock and Pro Mod racer and now drag racing school operator is currently putting together what eventually will be a three-car NHRA Super Stock team with backing from Phoenix Construction’s James Finch, who also fields Phoenix Racing entries in NASCAR’s Nationwide and Sprint Cup series.

Terry McMillen knows where he stands on the issues, but he was a bit unsure about where he should stand Tuesday, Nov. 2 at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
 
The Hoosier Thunder Motorsports owner-driver never had needed to know before. He's usually in the cockpit, absorbing the moment of a Top Fuel staging and launch sitting just inches above the pavement, the crowd a colorful blur in his peripheral vision, the grey ribbons of racing surface stretched out straight in front of him, tempting him.
 
But 23-year-old Austin Lambright was bringing McMillen's Amalie Oil Dragster through the staging lanes, rolling it up to the starting line, eager to make his first pass in the nitro-burning beast after five years of building its engines, working on its superchargers, packing its parachutes, and sending McMillen on five-second thrill-rides.
 
Shop mate Tad Heflick was watching it all from the tow vehicle but couldn't avoid having to dodge the pacing McMillen, too.

National Hot Rod Association Top Fuel owner-driver Terry McMillen distinguished himself this year as a crossover from the IHRA Alcohol Funny Car ranks who kept the track clean all season long, brought some enthusiasm, and barely missed the Countdown by a razor-thin margin at the final qualifying race.
 
But even more refreshing is the Hoosier Thunder Motorsports owner's approach to having driving teammate Austin Lambright, who'll double as his car chief and engine builder. Naturally, he will welcome the extra data, but that isn't why he'll field a second car for five races in 2011. For McMillen, it's all about marketing, serving his economic partners, and helping the sport grow.
 
McMillen might project thunder with his lightning-quick, 7,000-horsepower Amalie Oil Dragster and his storm of gusto. But his real contribution is a sunny outlook about the future of drag racing and a fresh-breeze effort to train young mechanics and drivers, attract non-traditional partners, and encourage the NHRA and his colleagues to work together to support each other in this tough economic climate.

Dragon Racing Fuels and Performance by Fisher Racing are launching an Internet-based contest, for racers and drag racing fansalike, in which the grand prize is a Two-Day Super Class at Frank Hawley’s Drag Racing School.

The “Fueling Your Passion” Contest (www.fuelingyourpassion.com) officially kicks off on December 8, 2010 with entries being accepted through November 15, 2011. In addition to the Grand Prize, Snap-On Tools and other swag are also up for grabs. Over $2700 in total prizes will be awarded.

The Grand Prize for the “Fueling Your Passion” Contest will give the winner an opportunity to earn their competition license while working with Two-Time NHRA Nitro Funny Car World Champion Frank Hawley.  The Super Class consists of two days of classroom instruction, use of driving gear, and six runs in a Super Comp dragster or Super Gas Firebird*.

This past weekend at the John Force Racing headquarters and museum in Yorba Linda newly crowned 15-time Funny Car world champion John Force welcomed race fans to his 13th annual Holiday Car Show. The event benefitted the California Highway Patrol’s “CHiP’s For Kids” toy drive. Official totals from the drive have yet to be announced.