After showing a tiny bit of vulnerability in the first two rounds of
professional qualifying, point leader and defending JEGS ProMod
Challenge champion Josh Hernandez returned to form early Saturday
afternoon and posted the quickest pass in Pro Mod history, a stunning
5.900 at 242.71 mph, to earn the Ohio Crankshaft Low Qualifier Award.

Funny how 24 hours can change a situation.

Following Friday’s second session, defending NHRA World Champion Jeg
Coughlin Jr. was No. 13, outside of the provisional 12 carried into
Saturday’s final sessions at the NHRA Virginia Nationals in Richmond.

No problem for the thirteen-time NHRA Pro Stock world champion as he
went all the way to the No. 2 spot, losing the top spot on speed to
nemesis Greg Anderson.

Coughlin's 6.554 elapsed time at 209.10 mph also set a Virginia Motorsports Park elapsed time record.

Greg Anderson has been in some knock-down drag out Pro Stock battles before, but this weekend takes the proverbial cake. The downtrodden Anderson picked the perfect time to peak in the 2008 season.

“I’m very happy with the car and we really struggled in the hot and
humid conditions,” Anderson admitted. “We ran really well when the
conditions were cooler, but when it heated up we got a little bit lost.
I think it’s playing good back into our hand, but everyone else seems
to have gotten a good handle on it too.

Team Plans Agressive Approach To Rest Of Season ...

Cruz Pedregon made a historic run at Virginia Motorsports Park to put him atop the Richmond field.

Pedregon and crew chief Rahn Tobler decided before the event that it
was time to go-for-broke in their quest for the 2008 POWERade title and
accordingly the duo uncorked a candidate for NHRA's top pass of the
year.

Together they posted the quickest elapsed time of drag racing's
1,000-foot era when he blasted down track Saturday afternoon with a
4.041-second pass at 306.88 mph that earned his team the No. 1
qualifying position heading into Sunday's eliminations.

Title chase heats up considerably in JEGS ProMod Challenge

Just when it looked like Josh Hernandez would streak away to his second
straight championship in the JEGS ProMod Challenge, the series came to
Virginia Motorsports Park and everything went haywire.

Instead of closing out his rivals at the third annual Virginia NHRA
Nationals, Hernandez inadvertently opened the door for top contender
Tony Pontieri, who through one round of eliminations was more than
happy to walk through the portal and put some considerable heat on the
class leader.

Pontieri fired the first salvo Friday evening when he qualified No. 1
while Hernandez struggled slightly to get down the track under full
power. But showing championship form, Hernandez regained his swagger in
Saturday's final qualifying session when he ran the quickest Pro Mod
pass in history -- a whopping 5.900 at 242.71 mph -- pushing Pontieri
into second place on the grid.

CRUZ PEDREGON DELIVERS A STUNNING NO. 1 QUALIFYING RUN IN FUNNY CAR

Schumacher, Anderson also earn provisional poles at fourth of six races in the Countdown to 1

Cruz Pedregon bolstered his flickering championship aspirations
Saturday with a stunning 4.041 at 306.88 in his Advance Auto Parts
Toyota Solara to claim the No. 1 qualifying position in Funny Car at
the Virginia NHRA Nationals.

Tony Schumacher (Top Fuel) and Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) rounded out
the No. 1 qualifiers at the 22nd of 24 NHRA POWERade Series races this
season and the fourth race in the six-race NHRA Playoff, the Countdown
to 1.

In a move to continue to grow and improve his racing team, Bob Tasca
III will add Marc Denner as Assistant Crew Chief to the Tasca Racing
team roster for the 2009 season. Denner will join current Crew Chief,
Chris Cunningham, with tuning duties on the Motorcraft/Quick Lane
Shelby Mustang Funny Car.

“I’m really honored to be able to join Tasca Racing next season,” said
Denner. “I’ve got a great relationship and history working with Chris
and a lot of guys on that team and it’s going to be good to team back
up with them for the 2009 season.”

Denner, who has spent the past 12 seasons working within the Worsham
Racing organization, is currently Car Chief on Del Worsham’s Funny Car.
With the recent announcement of Worsham moving to a new team next
season, the timing was right for both Tasca and Denner to make this
addition to the race team for next season.

Today's video classic rewind comes from home movie footage with sound
shot at the 1978 IHRA Dixie Nationals in Commerce, Ga. There are some
rough spots in the flick which opens with Big Daddy Don Garlits and
then goes into Pro Comp with Dale Armstrong's AA/DA. Then a good
portion of Modified eliminator ensues with a sprinkling of the old
Modified Compact VWs and Karman Ghias. There's even a rare appearance
by the Chi-town Hustler.

Ben Bray has revealed the exciting new look for remainder of it's
2008-2009 ANDRA Top Doorslammer Championship campaign. The car was
unveiled in Bathurst as part on the Supercheap Auto 1000 festivities.

Team patriarch Victor Bray was understandably thrilled when the covers
came off Ben's Monaro CV8Z - to reveal the striking new livery.

"We couldn't be any happier than we are today unveiling this car as
part of the Supercheap Auto 1000. It looks fantastic and together with
Ben's performances at round one of this season's championship, the
outlook is exciting," Victor said.

Ben explained, "The Monaro CV8Z has a very vibrant racy red livery
which blends perfectly with his outlook of the 2008-2009 Top
Doorslammer Championship. This is my seventh full season in a Group 1
category and also with some of my sponsor partnerships, like Castrol
EDGE, Hogs Breath Café, Sidchrome, and Karcher. Their importance to my
Top Doorslammer Championship programme is reflected with their
prominence on the car".

Mike
Castellana earned his place in drag racing history Friday night by
becoming the first Pro Mod driver in history to record a five-second
pass in a nitrous-assisted doorslammer at a sanctioned race. Competing
in the JEGS ProMod Challenge at the third annual Virginia NHRA
Nationals, Castellana powered to a 5.963 at 237.84 mph in his Al-Anabi
'68 Camaro to thrill the crowd at Virginia Motorsports Park.

Castellana had been the leader for the most part in the race to the five second barrier with a 6.000 lap in IHRA competition.