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.

Hot Rod Reunion Expected to Bring Another $4 million to Bakersfield

Times are tough and money is super tight, but rodding and racing fans are still traveling to events, which is good news
for
Bakersfield and Kern County. The 17th annual California National Hot
Rod Reunion, presented by Automobile Club of Southern California, is
coming to town, Oct. 10-12, at Auto Club Famoso (just outside
Bakersfield), and with it, another $4 million is expected to be infused
into the community.

Infineon Raceway beat out 13 teams from across the western United
States, Sept. 26-28, to win the NHRA Summit Racing Series Pacific
Division title at Top Gun Raceway in Fallon, Nev. This marks Infineon
Raceway’s second Summit Racing Series championship in three years.
 
Led by team manager Georgia Seipel, the Infineon Raceway team earned 69
points and was followed by Sacramento Raceway (57) and Auto Club
Dragway @ Auto Club Speedway (49). Classes in contention were Super
Pro, Pro, Sportsman and Motorcycle.

Pair of IHRA Pro Modified front-runners plan to attend marquee event

Two
of the IHRA’s leading supercharged Pro Modified racers plan to enter
the outlaw confines of the Al Anabi Shakedown at E’town presented by
Speedtech Nitrous.

The traditional rulebook is out the window but that has no effect on
Mike Janis and Tommy D’Aprile. Neither driver plans to change their
approach. When they cover the Old Bridge Township Raceway Park
quarter-mile this weekend, they will be running the same combination
that will be in their cars two weeks from now when the IHRA season
concludes in Rockingham, N.C.

This classic video footage comes from the 1973 P.R.O. event in Tulsa
when John Wiebe and Jeb Allen became entangled in a nasty crash during
eliminations. Allen suffered substantial burns on both hands and Wiebe
suffered a broken leg and ankle. A tire issue apparently led to Wiebe's
car darting into Allen's lane where they made the initial contact.

FIVE-SECOND BARRIER COULD LIKELY FALL AT AL ANABI SHAKEDOWN AT ETOWN PRESENTED BY SPEEDTECH NITROUS

Hometown racer Mike Castellana leads charge for historic run …

Mike Castellana has been paying particularly close attention to the weatherman for the past few days. The source of his interest is to see if the weather will be conducive to making his race car run quicker and faster than usual this weekend.

If the opportunity presents itself, you can rest assured Castellana will take advantage of it.

Johnny Gray, team owner and driver of the S.K.I. Racing Dodge Stratus
has announced that he and Allen Johnson of Johnson & Johnson Racing
have formed a two car team alliance for the 2009 and 2010 NHRA Full
Throttle Drag Racing seasons.  This new coalition will create the
ability for the two teams to work together as one, while racing under
separate banners.  Gray will continue to run the S.K.I. Racing Dodge
Stratus and Johnson will carry on with the Mopar/J&J Racing Dodge
Stratus.

“This is exciting for us,” expressed Gray.  “Aligning with Allen is a
tremendous opportunity.  Allen and his dad, Roy, have the talent and
experience that will bring my team to the top.  They are a first-class
operation and I am proud to be associated with them.  In today’s
environment, as tough as the Pro Stock field has become, I feel the
opportunity for Allen and I to team up will help both teams by sharing
information and becoming more competitive.  We’re looking to try and
cash in on some of the same opportunities the two-car teams, like
Summit and Cagnazzi already experience.”