Monitoring horsepower in all the different of types of classes is a never-ending process for NHRA officials. Presently, NHRA officials are mulling over changes that may have to take place in Stock and Super Stock.

According to NHRA rules, the NHRA Index System is used to handicap cars running in the various NHRA classes. The index for each class is based on past and potential performance. Comparing the index for the two classes involved in a handicap race will provide the handicap difference for the start of the race. Super Stock and Stock class cars can break out and therefore are given the opportunity to dial under their index.

“We’re looking at the possibility of making changes to the (Stock/Super Stock) program,” said Danny Gracia, NHRA’s National Technical Director. “When new cars are introduced manufacturers supply us with certain horsepower ratings and it will take us some time monitoring their performance to determine what  the actual horsepower might be. In a perfect world, we could take all of them to a dyno and come up with a better answer. Right now, we’re using what the Ford and the Mopar representatives gave us in good faith, and we used their horsepower numbers. This is not the first time this has happened. It happened in the 90s with the Pontiacs with the 350 motors they had. They rated them at 275 horsepower and actually they ended up at 325 horsepower. We go by what the manufacturer gives us. We (NHRA) have never, as long as I have been here, just automatically added horsepower to somebody without evaluating their on track performance first.”

Extreme 10.5 star Dan Millen didn’t win either race in the ADRL’s latest two-in-one event, but he still left Norwalk, Ohio, on a successful note.

A second-round appearance in the rain-postponed completion of Dragstock VII at Summit Motorsports Park last weekend combined with a runner-up finish in the Ohio Drags IV portion vaulted Millen from 11th place in points past Eric Stubbs and Michelle Wilson and up to the eighth and final qualifying spot for the series’ championship-deciding Battle for the Belts next month in Texas.

Additionally, the Michigan-based racer officially lowered the class ET record to an incredible 3.82 seconds, which narrowly missed backing up his even quicker 3.78 run in qualifying number one for the Ohio Drags.

“I’m not going to lie, I was really nervous we weren’t going to make it into the Battle for the Belts. I most definitely thought we had started one race too late,” Millen admitted, referring to sitting out much of the first half of the season while sorting out his blown Hemi-powered 2010 Mustang.

Delayed by overnight vandalism and make-up qualifying runs, then forced into hurry-up mode by an approaching storm, Dave Hance's ADRL.us Shakedown at E-Town VIII packed plenty of drama into a shrinking window of opportunity Sunday.
 
Tim Lynch (Outlaw 10.5), Chip King (Blown Pro Modified), Khalid Al Balooshi (Nitrous Pro Modified), and record-setting Pete Berner (Mountain Motor Pro Stock) made the most of it at Englishtown, N.J.'s Old Bridge Township Raceway Park.
 
They joined Mike Stawicki (1/8-Mile Challenge), Sam Gottier (Heavy Street), Mel Nelson (Drag Radial), and Brian Ferrari (8.50 Index) in the winners circle.

Acclaimed drag racing neophyte, Buddy Perkinson is beginning an endeavor in the Competition Eliminator class and the legends of the sport have better take notice on the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing series.

At this weekend’s Toyo Tires NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway in Reading, Pa., the 19-year-old Perkinson is optimistic in matching and even surpassing his Competition Eliminator quarterfinal finish at Indy last month. Driving his Larry Morgan-owned 2007 Dodge Straus comp eliminator is a natural link for the Prince George, Va., resident in his progression up to the professional ranks.

NHRA and Atco Raceway officials postponed racing this morning at Atco Raceway. The tentative plan is to return to Atco Raceway in two weeks on October 16-17 to complete the event. Round one of eliminations were completed on Saturday in a few classes, as was final qualifying for the remaining classes. Additional details will be posted on the NHRA Northeast Division website when they become available.

The NMRA put on a great show of racing at Beech Bend Raceway in Bowling Green, Kentucky the weekend of October 1-3.  Huge wheelstands, record-setting passes, and championship-clinching battles took place in all classes, with most championships coming down to the wire.

In the Turbonetics Pro Outlaw 10.5 class, Conrad Scarry lit the clocks with an outstanding 6.68 to lead the field of five into the elimination rounds.  With Mike Murillo hot on his heels in the points chase, Scarry had no margin for error, and he came out blazing on elimination day.  Scarry stunned the crowd with a 6.57 at nearly 216 MPH in round one and then locked up the class title against Jim Brown with a 6.62.  By the time the final round rolled around, the track was cold, and Murillo spun, handing Scarry the event win with a 6.63 at over 213 MPH.

John Macdonald entered the weekend with a slim points lead over five-time class champion John Urist in the ProCharger Super Street Outlaw class.  Macdonald topped the qualifying ladder with a 7.28 on Friday.  However, on that pass Macdonald torched a cylinder head, and he and crew chief Kim Mapes of Motorcity Motorsports made the sixteen-hour round trip drive back to Michigan to repair the castings.  He returned to competition before hurting the engine again in the quarterfinal, putting his title hopes in the hands of Chip Havemann.  Urist proceeded to put a 7.41 on the board to Havemann’s slowing 9.04, wrapping his sixth class championship in the process.

Keep up with the action from the Shakedown at E'town event hosted by Raceway Park in Englishtown, NJ., live audio and video feed courtesy of Dragstory.com

Benny Alfonso, a Blown Pro Modified racer from Bohemia, N.Y., was in critical condition overnight Sunday following a top-end crash during the ARDL.us Shakedown at E-Town VIII at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park at Englishtown, N.J.
 
Alfonso reportedly was conscious, alert, and talking with emergency medical personnel while the rescue team was extracting him from his '68 Firebird with the help of the Jaws of Life equipment. He was transported to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in nearby New Brunswick.
 
Alfonso was admitted to the hospital, and according to nursing supervisor Karen Spooner, he is listed in critical condition. She was not permitted by law to say whether Alfonso is scheduled or had undergone surgery or to disclose the kind or extent of his injuries.