Quain Stott has come a long way in IHRA competition. From his humble
beginnings of racing on a shoestring budget to making the most of a
modest one, the Inman, S.C.-based driver scored a world championship in
2006 and picked up nine national event victories in 14 finals.

After entering his 144th consecutive event at Rockingham, N.C., Stott
says he's made a tough decision regarding his future. He’s walking
away from the series in 2009, at least in terms of chasing a
championship.

Stott says the troubled U.S. economy didn’t make the decision. He’s
adamant that customer service or lack thereof from the sanctioning body
did. He’s under the impression his comments won’t be taken seriously.

Terry Haddock began the IHRA World Finals in Rockingham, N.C., with the grim reality that nitro Funny
Cars would likely be out in 2009 under the IHRA sanction. By Sunday,
that meeting was a forgotten memory.

He was the world champion.

The Lend America-sponsored Haddock claimed the 2008 IHRA Nitro Funny
Car world championship Sunday by defeating rookie Matt Hagan in the
first round of eliminations.

What
do Cindy McCain, wife of Republican presidential nominee Sen. John
McCain, five-time Olympic gold medal swimmer Aaron Peirsol, and
Carolina Nationals winner Steve Johnson have in common?

Answer: aThe NASCAR Bank of America 500 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway
drivers' meeting. That's right, all three were introduced last Sunday
at the drivers' meeting prior to the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Lowe's
Motor Speedway.

Johnson, who won the inaugural Carolinas Nationals last month at zMAX
Dragway at Concord, was their guest to spend his off-weekend at Lowe's
Motor Speedway and take in a NASCAR Chase for the Championship event.
It was a thrill for the motorcycle racer, who's always been a NASCAR
fan, but it also provided him with the opportunity to mingle in the
suites, fly in the Army’s sky diving simulator and build relationships
that could prove beneficial to his race team and POWERade drag racing.

The Meatball giveth and the meatball taketh away.

Veteran Pro Stock driver and event low qualifier Frank “The Flying
Meatball” Gugliotta preserved Jeff Dobbins chances to contend for the
eliminator world championship on Saturday in Rockingham, N.C., only to end them a day later.

Dobbins faced Gugliotta needing only one more round than Pete Berner in
order to clinch the title following the latter’s first round exit.

Gugliotta swiped 25 points from Berner on Saturday therefore keeping Dobbins in the race.

Lawson Claims First National Event Title

Dale Creasy Jr.’s replacement driver captures Nitro Funny Car title at IHRA World Finals;

Two-time
defending IHRA Nitro Funny Car world champion Dale Creasy Jr. saw his
season end due to injuries sustained in an accident at the June Rocky
Mountain Nationals in Edmonton. John Lawson, who drove the Creasy
Family Motorsports #2 car at select races last season, slid into the
top car’s seat to finish out the year. He ended the season with a 
flourish, claiming the Ironman at the season-ending IHRA World Finals
in Rockingham.

Lawson tool a solo pass to the championship when Jack Wyatt, the other finalist, could not answer the call for the final round.

Unofficial point standings (top 10) for IHRA professional categories
following the World Finals presented by CapeFearWheels.com at
Rockingham Dragway, the 10th of 10 events in the  2008 Knoll-Gas Nitro
Jam Drag Racing Series -

Top Fuel

1.  Spencer Massey, 918; 2.  Bruce Litton, 829; 3.  Terry McMillen,
760; 4.  Mike Strasburg, 738; 5.  Bobby Lagana Jr., 713; 6.  Kevin
Jones, 483; 7.  Tim Boychuk, 400; 8.  Scott Palmer, 342; 9.  Mitch
King, 217; 10.  Chris Karamesines, 128.

Final round-by-round results from the World Finals presented by
CapeFearWheels.com at Rockingham Dragway, the 11th of 10 events in the 
2008 Knoll-Gas Nitro Jam Drag Racing Series:

TOP FUEL:

ROUND ONE -- Bobby Lagana Jr., 5.432, 174.75 def. Scott Palmer,
broke; Mike Strasburg, 4.730, 255.97 def. Terry McMillen, 7.124,
124.03; Spencer Massey, 4.748, 307.16 def. Terry Haddock, 4.876,
251.95; Tim Boychuk, 4.669, 310.55 def. Bruce Litton, 4.638, 300.06;

SEMIFINALS -- Strasburg, 5.220, 251.67 def. Massey, 5.917, 169.19; Boychuk, 4.845, 288.33 def. Lagana Jr., 10.224, 80.82;

FINAL -- Boychuk, 4.853, 273.05 def. Strasburg, 7.650, 103.18.

As the 2008 IHRA drag racing season draws to a close, Bobby Lagana, Jr., Scarsdale, N.Y. Top Fuel
driver, is looking to close out his season on a positive note. Lagana
has a unique sponsorship deal in place as the independent political
group “Race Fans for Change” has secured a deal with Lagana to be the
primary sponsor on his car for the season finale.

“An old friend of ours is using his knowledge and experience to promote
a country-wide effort to spread information regarding the state of our
economy and ideas for the working class to address these issues,”
Lagana said. “This group, Race Fans for Change, is working to bring
awareness to race fans everywhere and encouraging them to get out and
vote. Racing fans are the backbone of our country and definitely the
backbone of our sport. I love the fans at Rockingham and I can’t wait
for them to see what our new sponsor is all about.”

Former Sport Compact racer turned NHRA Pro Stock driver Matt Hartford
finally got his crack at racing an IHRA Pro Stock car during the IHRA World Finals in Rockingham, N.C.

Hartford filled
in for the departed Rob Mansfield who left the Dingman Motorsports
Wilson Manifolds entry.

Hartford was one of three drivers proposing to bring turbocharged sport
compacts back in 2006. The outcry of complaints led the IHRA to kill
the idea before it came to fruition.

He finally got a chance to feel what the mountain motor racers feel during the course of a run.

When Pete Berner scored his first point this weekend, it effectively eliminated Frank Gugliotta
from championship contention in the Pro Stock division. Gugliotta
repaid the favor by snaking away 25 points by not only winning the Last
Man Standing award but also backing up a new record.

Berner had established the front end of a new world record with a
6.278-second lap when Gugliotta stepped up with a 6.270 which was
backed up with an earlier 6.291 elapsed time.

Gugliotta considers himself a friend to both championship finalists
Berner and second place Jeff Dobbins, but on this evening he had to do
what he had to do.