IHRA could have multiple distances in 2009 …

The 2009 IHRA schedule hasn’t been released, yet it’s bound to create talk in the months to come.

IHRA President Aaron Polburn told CompetitionPlus.com that he’s
exploring all options for next year including the implementation of
1,000-foot drag racing.

“You’ll see 1,000-foot racing soon, but not this year,” said Polburn.
“It’s looking like we may have a variety of ways to go drag racing in
2009.”

Polburn told CompetitionPlus.com the IHRA has studied extensively the pros and cons of 1,000-foot drag racing.

NHRA has announced that Bank of America has redesigned its NHRA-themed Visa card to feature bold new graphics for its race fan cardholders.

The new design, with its black background and yellow and orange flame
design, is reminiscent of the high-horsepower engines of Top Fuel
dragsters and Funny Cars that race in the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing
Series.

The search for the vintage lightweight 1963 Ford Galaxie 427 formerly
driven by drag racing legend Phil Bonner to his 1963 national title is
over.

The Vancouver Police Department reported on Monday, August 18, that the
vehicle which was stolen on Saturday had been recovered, along with its
trailer.

The largest gathering of show trucks from the popular CMT television
series Trick My Truck will be on display and featured during the August
22-24 IHRA Sooner Nationals at the Tulsa Raceway Park. Cast members
Kelvin Locklear, Ryan "Ryno" Templeton, Rob Richardson, Matt Moore,
Steve Harrah and Allen Harrah will be in attendance and participate in
special autograph sessions.

"We're just a bunch of motor-heads," Rob Richardson said. "If it's
loud, fast and cool we want to be a part of it. That's why we love
coming to IHRA events."

The Trick My Truck Reunion is a celebration of the four successful
seasons the show has been broadcast. It also marks the last chance for
show and race fans to enter the Trick My Crew sweepstakes before ending
on September 8, 2008. The sweepstakes have been a season long promotion
offering fans a chance to become a member of Terry McMillen's Amalie
Oil Top Fuel team for the IHRA World Finals in Rockingham.

The JEGS ProMod Challenge will end the 2008 season in spectacular
fashion at Treasure Island Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Hours after
crowning a champion at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the best
Pro Mod racers in the country will get together for a celebratory
gathering at Christian Audigier The Nightclub within the world-renowned
TI hotel.

The party begins at 7:45 p.m. and will give way to Industry Night for
the SEMA Show at 10 p.m., which is open to all comers. The hotel also
is offering special room rates for JEGS ProMod Challenge competitors
and teams. Interested parties should call Carla Chapin at 702-894-7712
or e-mail her at cchapin@treasureisland.com .

"This has been a great season already and we wanted to have a final
gathering to send everybody into the off-season on a high note," said
series organizer Scott Woodruff. "TI has been the hotel of choice for
Team JEGS for some time now and they always take great care of their
guests.

Effective immediately, Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Craig Treble will
ride for Don Schumacher Racing through the balance of the 2008 NHRA
POWERade Drag Racing Series atop the Albrecht's Fast Track Suzuki as
teammate to Schumacher Electric Suzuki rider Chip Ellis.

Treble, who left the Team Tigue Suzuki operation following Sunday's
24th Annual NHRA Nationals in Reading, Pa., after scoring two runner-up
finishes this season, will compete for a spot in the top 10 for the
Countdown to 1 championship playoffs at the U.S. Nationals in
Indianapolis on Labor Day weekend under the DSR banner. Entering the
U.S. Nationals, he is eighth in the PSM standings and the defending PSM
event champion.

Racing a Pro Stock Motorcycle since 1998, Treble has tallied 11
national-event wins in 25 final rounds, with his highest points finish
a runner-up in 2002. The 42-year-old Indiana native living in New
Orleans has also enjoyed a longtime association with Matco Tools, a
major associate sponsor on all seven DSR teams.

According to NHRA.com, team owner Harry Lartigue was caught off
guard by rider Craig Treble's announcement of departure from his Tigue Racing
operation in order to ride for Don Schumacher Racing. He won't try to find a replacement and instead park his
operation for the time being. The time could be permanent as he cited a
close relationship with Treble.

Lartigue, who has tuned numerous
riders to national event victories including Treble, Tony Mullen and
Michael Phillips, currently has
no plans to find a replacement.

Lend America, recently ranked 12th largest direct-to-consumer FHA lender in the nation, announced today that the company
will
claim the title-rights sponsorship position on current IHRA nitro Funny
Car points-leader Terry Haddock's 2006 Dodge Stratus and join the
37-year-old Haddock in his quest for his first IHRA championship.
 
In just his third year of IHRA Funny Car competition, Haddock has taken
the break-away points lead on the strength of consistent qualifying
performances and an event win in Grand Bend, Ontario Canada, and with
just three events remaining on the IHRA schedule he stands 42 points
ahead of Paul Lee, not including an additional 41 points he will earn
for having attended every event this season.
 

Clay Millican never expected to race until the NHRA U.S. Nationals in
Indianapolis, so racing at the NHRA Toyo Tires in Reading, Pa., proved
to be a pleasant surprise.

If that’s a pleasant experience, how does one describe a semi-finalist
finish in a race where they only expected to take a few practice
swings?

“We had no pretenses about going rounds here because coming to this race was such a last-minute thing,” said Millican.

Millican, new owners Mark and Lauren Pickens, crew chief Lance Larsen
and the crew were very happy and surprised with their semifinal finish.

Millican was one of the multitudes of drivers put out of racing when
sponsor Torco Race Fuels abruptly pulled the plug on its racing
endeavors.

First he lost a sponsor.

Then he had his new and innovative bike rejected after initially claiming approval by the tech department.

Just last week he claimed a victory in the midst of the worst kidney stone attack he’s faced in his life.