If there was any speculation that Ford’s new guy might not be a drag
racing gear-head, that notion was dispelled during the recent Ford
Motorsports teleconference.

Brian Wolfe, the newly promoter Ford Racing Technology director, touted
John Force as directing all four of his Mustang Funny Cars into the
Countdown to the Championship’s playoff phase.

For Wolfe, the timing is perfect as he enters his new role with his
prominent teams positioned prominently in both NHRA drag racing and
NASCAR’s championship battles.

Timeline for reimbursement provides major sticking point

Maybe the fight isn’t totally over.

Lowe’s Motor Speedway owner Bruton Smith accused Concord, N.C., and
Cabarrus County officials early this week of not dealing in good faith
by alleging that someone is trying to negate his $80 million incentives
deal that inspired him to remain in his current locations.

Smith claims the money is owed within two to three years. The county contends 40-years provides more realistic terms.

As a result, Smith’s lawyers are exploring the reportedly reality of fraud charges.

Historically, the National Hot Rod Association has only approved
powertrains for competition as they come from the factories in Detroit,
but all that changed with the recent approval of the 2008 ROUSH®
supercharged 4.6L V-8 in the Stage 3™ and P-51A™ Mustangs. It is
believed that this is the first time the NHRA has approved an
aftermarket powertrain for competition.

The ROUSH Mustangs will be allowed in the NHRA Stock and Super Stock
categories as determined by the horsepower and shipping weight of the
two vehicles. Coupe or convertible chassis will be allowed with a
horsepower of 430 for the Stage 3 and 510 for the P-51A. The shipping
weight of the ROUSH coupes is 3316 pounds, while a convertible weighs
in at 3443 pounds.

On Tuesday morning, the Kalamazoo Gazette reported Chemical Bank had
filed a lawsuit against Evan Knoll’s Torco Race Fuels and that a court
appointed receiver was in the process of liquidating its assets.

A day before the damning article, Reuter’s news agency reported that
Chemical Financial Corp (CHFC.O) incurred a Q3 charge on loan fraud.
Shareholders will incur a charge of 30 cents per share in the third
quarter, as Reuters said, due to a fraudulent commercial loan related
to a single borrower.

Respected Time Magazine journalist Mark Halperin provided pool coverage
of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s visit to the Ellis
Soda Shoppe & Grill in Abington, Virginia today.  His report
appeared on the publication’s “The Page” online outlet.  What made
Obama’s visit noteworthy for CompetitionPlus.com was his unplanned
meeting with drag racing legend Don “Big Daddy” Garlits who, along with
his wife, Pat, was simply visiting the area and did not know of Obama’s
being there in advance.
 

Organizers of the JEGS ProMod Challenge have announced a rare
opportunity for three Pro Modified racers to compete at the upcoming
23rd annual O’Reilly Super Start Batteries NHRA Fall Nationals, Sept.
18-21 at the Texas Motorplex near Dallas. Interested drivers should
e-mail their intentions to JegsProMod@earthlink.net as soon as possible
to be considered for the coveted spots.

"We're looking for three racers to join us," series organizer Troy
Coughlin said. "We've had a few of our regulars pull out for various
reasons so we've got a few open slots. We'd love to see some fresh
faces come out and race with us at one of the best drag strips in the
country."

Former distributor with former employees purchases company name from Torco International …

The Torco Race Fuels name will return to drag racing under different
management according to a statement issued on Tuesday evening.

Phoenix Race Fuels, a former Evan Knoll Torco Race Fuels distributor
based in Chandler, Az., has purchased rights to use the name through a
multi-year agreement with Torco International.

Their focus will be the automotive, motorcycle, snowmobile, ATV, and watercraft markets.

IHRA employees were officially notified on Tuesday afternoon that Feld
Entertainment, Inc. had acquired the motorsports division of Live
Nation, Inc. (NYSE: LYN). The sanctioning body and those associated
with the purchase were forbidden from discussing the issue under SEC
laws.

As a result of the purchase, Live Nation Motor Sports will be renamed Feld Entertainment Motor Sports.

Feld Entertainment Motor Sports will continue operations in Aurora,
Illinois, and will maintain its current management, tour schedules,
promotional partnerships and performance structure. As the newest
addition to Feld Entertainment, Feld Entertainment Motor Sports will
continue to produce Monster Jam Series, Monster Energy AMA Supercross,
FIM Championship and other high-energy motor sports events, including
the AMA Arenacross Series; Freestyle Motocross; and International Hot
Rod Association (IHRA) sanctioned events, including Knoll Gas Nitro
Jam, Thunder Jam and Street Warriorz.

This video clip comes from faithful reader Steve Brock who had an old 8
mm video converted of a spring day in Spartanburg, SC., 1974 when the
Coca-Cola Calvalcade of Funny Cars visited town. This classic piece of
drag racing memories features the Cassidy Brothers Grand-am Funny Car
and a score of Pinto, Vega and Mach 1 bodied entries. Other
southeastern sportsman legends include Gene Fulton's white wagon, Jerry
Jennings' Camaro and the former Pearson & Strange/Quain Stott
two-door 1955 Chevy Nomad wagon.

After Funny Car driver Tim Wilkerson put his Chevy in the winner's
circle at the St. Louis race in May earlier this year, it was
the first
time in 13 race seasons the 47-year-old owner/driver had ever sat at
the top of the Funny Car points standings.  Wilkerson still occupies
that same top spot as the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series enters its
Countdown to 1 playoffs with the first of six races, the inaugural NHRA
Carolinas Nationals at the new state-of-the-art zMax Dragway @ Concord
(N.C.).  The driver of the Levi, Ray & Shoup Chevy Impala SS
finished the 18-race regular season with a class-leading four wins
(tied with fellow Chevy driver Tony Pedregon), a class-leading four No.
1 qualifiers, and a 137-point advantage over second-place Pedregon.

"It's just a group effort on the whole Levi Ray & Shoup team,"
Wilkerson said.  "The car is running terrific and the guys are just
doing a great job.  We've formed a technical alliance with Don
Prudhomme Racing this year, so it gives me some opportunity to have
access to some equipment that I never had access to before.  In fact,
last year Don Schumacher allowed me to use some of his stuff from time
to time, and that really helped me towards the end of the year.  I
think there was just a great group of people involved with my old car,
and we're very excited to be in the position we're in, and hopefully we
can continue with our ride.

"I really think it's a carry over from last year.  At the Finals at
Pomona we were the fastest car down the track more than once and just
got beat in the semis by a little bit.  At Reading (Pa.) we ran good,
at Richmond (Va.) we ran good, and at Dallas we were No. 1 qualifier
and ran good.  So I just figured what I did wrong at those races and
how I could better prepare myself for each round."