It took all of ten seconds
for Tony Pedregon to say he wasn't saying anything past the statement

Tony
Shortall and Dexter Tuttle discuss Friday's qualifying for Tony
Pedregon . Pedregon landed fifth provisionally after two sessions. (Les Welch)

he had released to the NHRA concerning the departure of long-time crew
chief Dickie Venables and assistant crew chief Kurt Elliott.

“Dickie and I sat down this past week to discuss the direction of our
program and what would be the best long-term plan for the Quaker State
Racing team,” said Pedregon, in a prepared statement for the NHRA. “We
will miss Dickie, and we wish him well. He’s been a great asset and
leaves us on the best of terms. We are currently evaluating potential
crew-chief candidates and hope to name a new crew chief soon. In light
of these circumstances, my focus will be on making a smooth transition
and preparing for the Countdown to the Championship.”

Cory McClenathan raced to the Top Fuel qualifying lead Friday at the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway.

Bob Tasca III, Mike Edwards and Karen Stoffer also were qualifying
leaders in their classes at the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series
event, the 16th of 18 races in the NHRA regular season.

For one very special night, an area of the Cagnazzi Racing shop
normally reserved for the preparation of 200-mph Pro Stock race cars was
transformed into a very special meeting place, with hundreds of people
gathering to help a racer in need.  The Todd Bevis Benefit, which was
held this past Saturday in Mooresville, NC, drew friends, family
members and former teammates from as far away as Texas and New Jersey,
who enjoyed an evening of music, food, drink and companionship in
support of a well-respected member of the motorsports community.

Karen Stoffer couldn’t bring herself to say it; but she wanted to, she just couldn't.

A Pro Stock Motorcyle rider knows when they reel off a good run, and a
7.084 elapsed time at 187.54, was the best of the 20 bikes attempting
to gain one of the available twelve provisional spots during first day
qualifying at the NHRA Lucas Oil Nationals in Brainerd, Minn.

“I would say perfect pass but there’s no such thing as a perfect pass
when you are a racer,” Stoffer said, of the pass which was also tied
with Hector Arana. Her quicker speed put her in sole position atop the
field.

Bryan Pierce is playing the waiting game and hanging in the balance is the future of the drag strip he manages.

The general manager for Virginia Motorsports Park, an NHRA-sanctioned
Full Throttle Drag Racing Series national event host facility located
in Dinwiddie, Va., is waiting to receive the final answer on whether or
not the NHRA plans to renew his contract for 2010 and beyond.

“We have an ongoing contract right now,” Pierce said. “And, we are waiting on it to be renewed.”

Canadian
doorslammer racer Gary Racich has taken delivery of the first Pro Mod
style 1970 Barracuda in Canada. The car is the handiwork of Jeffers Pro
Cars.

Once Cory McClenathan makes one qualifying pass in the FRAM Tough Guard Top Fuel dragster this weekend at the 28th annual NHRA Nationals at Brainerd (Minn.) International Raceway, he will have clinched a spot in the Countdown to 1 playoffs.

Winning the event is what "Cory Mac" is also aiming to accomplish. He's
been close this season in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series,
having reached the final round three times so far without taking the
trophy. That, two semifinal finishes, 20 round wins and one pole
position have placed him squarely in fifth place in the points rankings.

"The objective for me is still to go to every race and try to win,"
said McClenathan, the 1997 Brainerd Top Fuel champion and runner-up
last year, "and if we can end up moving up in points before the
Countdown starts, that would be the optimum objective for me." The
playoffs for the top 10 in points begin following the U.S. Nationals on
Labor Day for the final six events of the season.

Terry Housley, a former IHRA Top Sportsman world champion and two-time
ADRL Pro Nitrous National Event Winner, will be piloting the Folson,
Ca.-based, Ballance Racing '53 Corvette at this year’s Street Car Super
Nationals, Nov 19-22 at "The Strip" at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in the
Hughes Performance Pro Street class..

Joining the team as well for the Super Nationals will be Terry's son
Blake, who joins the established team of Mark, Bryan, Chris and Irv
Balance.

“Adding Blake Housley will give us the much needed experience to
compete at this very competitive race," says team owner Irv Ballance.
"We're all really excited about the additions to our team and look
forward on improving on our semi-final finish at last year’s SCSNs."

NHRA announced today it has reached an agreement with K&N
Engineering, Inc., to renew its sponsorship of the popular K&N
Horsepower Challenge, a lucrative bonus event for Pro Stock
competitors. The bonus event will adopt a new qualifying procedure
where a special fan vote will determine the final driver to make the
starting lineup and a special fan promotion will center on a
Harley-Davidson giveaway.

The K&N Horsepower Challenge is a special race-within-a-race bonus
program for the top Pro Stock drivers in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag
Racing Series. The K&N Horsepower Challenge will continue to be
conducted at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in Norwalk,
Ohio. The race features a special elimination pairing with eight Pro
Stock drivers in the field, including seven who accumulate the most
points in qualifying during the 24-race Challenge series and one driver
who is selected to the starting lineup for the event via a special fan
vote.

Tony Shortall got a call Thursday morning. By midnight he was in Brainerd, Minn., for the NHRA Lucas Oil Nationals.

Shortall confirmed with CompetitionPlus.com that he will be helping two-time Funny Car champion Tony Pedregon with his Funny Car team this weekend in the absence of tuners Dickie Venables and Kurt Elliot.

Venables and Elliot reportedly left the team days before the event, but as of Friday morning there was no official team statement available. A call to Pedregon was not returned before this story was uploaded.