The management at Palm Beach International Raceway has announced
that Sunday's nitro testing at the facility located in West Palm Beach,
Fla., will be open to the public. There is a charge of $20 for the
event which lasts from 10 AM until 4 PM.

On hand are the fastest
drivers in the world with the likes of current NHRA Top Fuel champion
Tony Schumacher as well Larry Dixon (in Alan Johnson's Al-Anabi
dragster) and Cory McClenathan. A healthy sampling of Funny Cars
including such names as Tim Wilkerson, Bob Tasca III, Ron Capps, Jack
Beckman and Jeff Arend are all expected to make testing laps. 

Team
owner Don Schumacher announced today that tuner Lee Beard will join
Don Schumacher Racing as team manager for the 2009 NHRA Full Throttle
Drag Racing Series. Beard's responsibilities will include overseeing
the operations of each of the six pro teams under the DSR umbrella as
well as the in-house research and development programs at the DSR
facility in Brownsburg, Ind.

Beard previously worked for DSR
as crew chief from 2001-2005, tuning Whit Bazemore to 12 Funny Car
wins in 28 final rounds. He's been a crew chief since 1976 and has
tuned both Top Fuel and Funny Cars to 57 NHRA national-event
victories. His record also includes a Top Fuel crown with the late
Gary Ormsby in 1989, and he was instrumental as a team manager when
Cruz Pedregon won the 1992 Funny Car championship. He has also tuned
for Ed McCulloch, Kenny Bernstein, Cory McClenathan, Rod Fuller and
most recently Antron Brown. Beard drove Top Fuel dragsters and Funny
Cars in the early '70s and was named the Crew Chief of the Year and
Person of the Year in 1989 by Car Craft Magazine.

Larry Dixon moved into his new home on Friday.

Showing up for his first day on the job as the driver of the Alan
Johnson Racing/Al-Anabi Motorsports Top Fuel dragster, Dixon was
sporting a broad smile.

The veteran driver is in his maiden test session with the team. The
move is a substantial one for Dixon who had been under Don Prudhomme’s
employ for a little over twenty years. He bought out the remaining time
on his contract to drive for Johnson.

Longtime Ford Super Stock Racer John Calvert to Run Special Edition Mustang in Stock

John
Calvert has raced NHRA’s Super Stock for a long time; thirty-five years
to be exact. Next month in Pomona, the diehard Ford racer will be one
of four drivers to experience a once in a lifetime opportunity.

Calvert is one of four drivers expected to debut Ford’s new race ready
Cobra Jet package during the NHRA Winternationals in Pomona, Ca. The
four cars are owned by Brent Hajec, a Ford enthusiast, Calvert
explained, who purchased several of these special edition machines and
then farmed out four of them.

SPEED TV has revised the show times for the four hours of coverage it's
devoting to the fourth annual Whelen Geoff Bodine Bobsled Challenge.
The first race will begin airing at noon, Jan. 18, with the second show
starting at 4 p.m., Jan. 25.

While the usual testing venues in Gainesville, Fla., and Valdosta,
Ga., were in the midst of a southeastern freeze, the newly rennovated
Palm Beach International Raceway in south Florida was just the right
temperature for some of the leading nitro racers. CompetitionPlus.com
contributor Bill Walters will be on hand with all the action over the
course of the weekend. Our veteran lensman Roger Richards will be there as well with a
full gallery posted.

Recognizing the tough times currently faced by our fans across the
country, and their desire to continue to enjoy the thrill and
excitement of attending NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series events,
NHRA has announced several fan relief programs for the 2009 season
including reduced priced general admission tickets, children 12 and
under free, and a military appreciation offer. 

The fan relief program will be available at all NHRA company owned
facilities in Pomona, Gainesville, Atlanta and Indianapolis, as well as
at additional participating national event tracks.  The program will
begin with the Kragen O’Reilly NHRA Winternationals, with details on
subsequent events to be announced after the season opener.

At the Kragen O’Reilly NHRA Winternationals at Auto Club Raceway at
Pomona, Feb. 5-8, NHRA has announced $20 adult general admission
tickets in a special section of the west-side spectator grandstand.  
The $20 ticket is available through advance purchase only, on a
first-come first-serve basis, by calling (800) 884-NHRA and mentioning
“fan relief offer” when ordering to take advantage of the discount. 
NHRA is making available 1,500 tickets per day at the $20 price,
representing a total of 6,000 tickets for the four-day event.

ADRL officials have announced today that nitromethane injected
big-block engines – commonly referred to as A/Fuel motors – will be
legal for use in the National Guard ADRL Pro Extreme class beginning in
2009.
 
"I think this is something that will be real exciting for the fans,"
said Bubba Corzine, ADRL Vice President of Competition. "Watching the
flames rise over the roof of the car at night will bring a whole new
level of excitement to the ADRL."

Top
Fuel racer Darren Morgan wants to make his comeback this Friday and
Saturday in the best possible fashion – with a win at round two of the
ENZED International Nightfire New Year Series at Willowbank Raceway.

Morgan and his crew have built his new Rocket Industries/Wicked Quick
dragster from scratch to have it ready for a test run today ahead of
tomorrow’s qualifying, less than three weeks after the Boxing Day crash
that saw his Top Fuel machine completely destroyed in Sydney.

Morgan walked away with no injuries except a briefly sore finger, but
the team has had a long haul ahead of them to get the new car built and
the accompanying parts inventory together for their Willowbank Raceway
assault this weekend - today proving they have risen to the task.

NHRA Pro Stock Car Owner/Driver and retired NBA player Tom Hammonds is
credited as guest contributor for February 2009 Ebony's column "For
Brothers Only."  "For Brothers Only" is a monthly column that shares
motivational life messages and experiences aimed at male readers. 

"When Ebony approached me with the opportunity to write an
inspirational piece for "For Brothers Only," it was a no-brainer," said
a reflective Hammonds.  "Once again, I am very excited to be able to
share encouraging words, as it pertains to my life's experiences in a
publication that is a staple in American and African American heritage."