The first three races of the six-event NHRA Countdown to 1 championship playoffs have produced three different winners in

The
victory at Memphis gave Mike Edwards his sixth multi-win season, and
with a top-10 finish already in the bank, the 1981 NHRA Modified
champion is now working toward his fifth career top-five finish.

the
Pro Stock category and added some extra spice to the 2008 POWERade
title chase. The three Pontiac GXP drivers that have shaken things up
in the factory hot rod category, Justin Humphreys, Greg Stanfield and
Mike Edwards, have the front runners looking back over their shoulders
and straining to see what might be coming next.

Mike Edwards is the series' most recent Pro Stock winner. The strong,
consistent performance of Edwards' Penhall/Young Life Pontiac at the
21st annual O'Reilly Mid-South Nationals has breathed new life into the
native Oklahoman's championship hopes. The victory at Memphis gave
Edwards his sixth multi-win season, and with a top-10 finish already in
the bank, the 1981 NHRA Modified champion is now working toward his
fifth career top-five finish.

The Aero Jet Nitro Funny Car Finals will be held October 25th 2008 at Firebird International Raceway in Chandler Arizona. This event
will feature over 16 Blown Nitro Funny Cars from the Nitro Funny Car
Association competing in a Chicago Style format for a record purse of
$42,000.00, and a 16 car field of Blown Alcohol Funny Cars from the
California Independent Funny Car Association. There will also be a
field of A Fuel Front Engine Dragsters and Jet Cars to round out this
historic show.

Big Daddy Don Garlits will appear at the traditional event ...

Henderson, North Carolina will once again open its streets for classic hot rods, muscle cars, nostalgia drag machines, and restored
antiques, during the weekend of October 17 - 19, 2008. The seventh
annual East Coast Drag Times Hall of Fame gathering is hosted by the
Vance Country Tourism Board and under the guidance of Director/Promoter
Nancy Wilson.

The event has grown in size and stature to become one of the east
coast’s premier attractions for the performance enthusiast. It’s a
three day gathering that will draw an estimated 1,700 entries, some for
Show & Shine and others from drag racing’s golden years.

East Coast Drag Times Hall of Fame gathering turns the main avenue and
surrounding side streets of downtown Henderson into a giant pedestrian
mall as one vehicle after another stands proud for all to see.

The NHRA Vegas-Style Fan Fest will take place Oct. 30 from 6–8 p.m. on the 3rd Street section of the Fremont Street Experience, home to the famous Vegas Light displays of the Four Queens Hotel, FitzGerald Casino, and the Freemont Hotel Casino.

COMPETITIONPLUS.COM BRINGING RUN-BY-RUN COVERAGE TO AL ANABI SHAKEDOWN AT E’TOWN PRESENTED BY SPEEDTECH

Leading
Internet drag racing e-zine CompetitionPlus.com plans to cover the 6th
annual Al Anabi Shakedown at E-town presented by Speedtech nitrous in a
run-by-run basis.

This data will appear daily following each qualifying session on
CompetitionPlus.com, as well as Pro Modified enthusiast website
ProModifieds.us and will chronicle each and every run that travels down
the Old Bridge Township Raceway Park racing surface.

On Thursday, Oct. 30, at the Beverly Hilton hotel, Ashley Force will
receive the 2008 Female Athlete of the Year Award from the Jim Murray
Memorial Foundation (JMMF) at its 10th anniversary Tribute to Living
Legends of Sports and Media awards dinner.

Force, the 25-year-old daughter of drag racing icon John Force, showed
enough promise at the wheel of her Castrol GTX Ford Mustang to win the
Automobile Club of Southern California Road to the Future Award as the
2007 rookie of the year in the NHRA POWERade Pro series.

Jack Beckman, driver of the Valvoline/Mail Terminal Services Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car in the 2008 NHRA POWERade Drag
Racing Series, will be honored for the second straight year by the city
of Cumberland, Md., this Saturday, Oct. 4, in advance of the upcoming
NHRA Virginia Nationals in Richmond, Va., Oct. 10-12.

Beckman, No. 2 in the Countdown to 1 playoffs point standings with
three races remaining in the season, will be in the city's Town Centre
from 4 to 8 p.m. Cumberland Mayor Lee Fiedler is expected to proclaim
Saturday as "Fast Jack" Beckman Recognition Day and appoint Beckman an
honorary citizen of the Queen City.

Local car enthusiasts who have competition or specialty vehicles have
been invited to bring their cars and assemble downtown on Saturday.

Advanced induction system design and tuning presented in a two day course by Darin Morgan, noted cylinder head specialist.

Find
out what really makes an engine produce power! Two days of advanced
induction system design and development techniques. In depth 
discussion of induction systems physics and variables governing system
tuning.

With “bipartisanship” one of the key watchwords for this political season, that same spirit of cooperation is being sought for

Every inch of the modern “door car” chassis and its related components
will be examined for improvements through a new, multi-discipline
Driver Safety Initiative headed up by Pro Stock crew chief Chris Bell.

the
recently formed Driver Safety Initiative, following the death of drag
racer Steve Engel after crashing his 1963 Corvette while competing in
an NHRA Pro Modified event at Clermont, Indiana.

Chris Bell, crew chief for Dean Goforth’s IHRA Pro Stock entry, has
been tabbed by DSI co-founder and professional chassis builder Tim
McAmis to head up the new program. Bell has been deeply involved in
professional drag racing for nearly 20 years with several major NHRA
and IHRA Pro Stock teams. As such he’s worked with several top-level
chassis men, including McAmis, Jerry Haas and Rick Jones.