The look on Robert Patrick’s face after losing a semi-final match to Pete Berner told the story. Nevermind the fact the

Robert Patrick has experienced a challenging title-defense season in 2008. (Roger Richards)

defending IHRA Pro Stock world champion had just turned
in his best performance of the year. The hole in his engine block spoke
volumes for the kind of season this has been for the veteran driver
from Fredericksburg, VA,
 
“We were ahead and then it just went bad,” Patrick admitted. “That’s
the kind of season we’ve had. But, I should have switched out engines
before we went up there, but there just wasn’t enough time for that. We
took a gamble and it bit us.”

NHRA Funny Car driver Robert Hight made the most out of his opportunity to get
the big league experience to

Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers

a Los Angeles Dodgers game.
Hight threw out the ceremonial first pitch to Automobile Club of Southern
California representative Jeff Prokop and soaked up the on-field atmosphere
prior to the first official pitch.

The Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum has announced the
appointment of Monique Valadez, as Manager, Education and Public
Relations.

Valadez joins the organization from the City of Pomona, where she
worked as the Public Information Officer for five years.  As the city’s
only Public Information Officer, she performed a wide range of
communications, marketing, event management and public relations
activities.

“Monique’s professional experiences position her as the ideal candidate
for the Education and Public Relations Manager position," said Tony
Thacker, executive director for the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports
Museum.  “She has strong ties to the community and key relationships
with the local schools, media outlets and community leaders.  We feel
that her expertise makes her a terrific fit for the Parks Museum.”

The
votes are in, and after five weeks of online voting for the JDRF-themed
design that will appear on Bob Tasca III’s Shelby Mustang Funny Car
during the NHRA U.S Nationals, a total of $84,542 was raised for
research for type 1 diabetes.

Over 300 designs were submitted for the online contest, and the top six
donation-earning designs have been submitted to the Ford judging table
for final selection. The winning design will be unveiled on Tasca’s
race car in downtown Indianapolis on August 28.

“The goal of this design contest was to help raise awareness for JDRF,
and with over $84,000 in donations from people from all across the
country, I think we accomplished that goal,” said Al Giombetti, Ford
Customer Service Division executive director. “We’re very excited to
have one of the top six designs on our car during the U.S. Nationals in
Indy, and look forward to continuing our partnership with JDRF.”

Top Fuel world champion Tony Schumacher was listed No. 1 in this week’s National
Speed Sport News Driver Power Rankings,

Tony Schumacher needs only three national event victories to tie Joe Amato's career victory mark. (Bob Pellegrini)

just ahead of NASCAR driver Kyle Busch.
Schumacher has eight wins in 15 races this season and clinched a spot in the
Countdown to 1 at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in Norwalk, seven
races before the cutoff point.

Schumacher is just three races away from notching yet another item in drag racing history.

After
completing a sweep of the NHRA’s “Western Swing” two weeks ago,
Schumacher is now just three wins short of tying Joe Amato’s Top Fuel
career victory mark, which stands at 52.

“Man, it’s hard to comprehend that we’re approaching that kind of a
record,” said the five-time world champion. “To be in the position that
we’re in right now really proves that the U.S. Army team is clearly one
of the best teams that’s ever been assembled in the history of the
sport.”

The realization she won’t be among the 10 Funny Car drivers competing
for the 2008 POWERade Series championship didn’t find Melanie Troxel
gnashing her teeth in disgust or stomping around in a sullen mood.

Nope, that’s not her style.  She approaches it as an opportunity to continue to improve instead of an opportunity lost.

“It’s interesting,” said Troxel.  “People almost feel like it’s a
wasted season if you don’t make the top 10.  But, in reality, if you
don’t finish in the top three or four, then I’m not sure it matters if
you finish fifth or 15th.

“I would rather go out and win a couple of races this year than be able
to make the top 10 but finish 10th and not win any races.  It’s more
important to me to have race wins. Nobody’s going to remember who
finished fifth or 10th come five years from now.  But if you were able
to go out and win several races and be a dominant team in the last part
of the season, that’s something I think our Gotham City Racing team
would definitely be proud of.”

Greg Weld, founder of Kansas City, Mo.-based Weld Wheels, died of a heart attack this morning. He was 64.

Weld
was known as both a driver and a racing entrepreneur. As a driver, he
was a successful competitor in the USAC Series. In 1963, he won
sprint-car racing’s big race, the Knoxville Nationals in Knoxville, Iowa. Weld was the 1967 USAC sprint-car champion. He also drove in the Indianapolis 500 in 1970, where he started 28th and finished 32nd. He was voted into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in Knoxville.

One of the more interested spectators during the recently completed
IHRA Torco Northern Nationals in Martin, Mich., was two-time IHRA Funny
Car champion

Dale Creasy Jr. enjoyed his first weekend back at the races since his Edmonton accident. (Roger Richards)

Dale Creasy, Jr., who was injured in a driveline explosion in July during the IHRA Rocky Mountain Nationals in Edmonton, Alb.

Creasy suffered serious injuries to his legs when a driveline failure
exposed his legs to rotating metal parts which left him with broken
bones and lacerations. He’s since underwent a pair of surgical
procedures to repair the damage.

The upbeat Creasy has a long recovery procedure ahead, but his determination to return to driving has never been stronger.

Tommy Franklin realizes that luck can play a major role in drag racing.
Good fortunes can mean the difference between a win or a loss.

However, to Franklin, luck could have easily meant the difference between life and death.

Franklin competes in the American Drag Racing League’s Pro Nitrous
division and during the recently completed event in Budds Creek, Md.,
the Fredericksburg, Va.-based driver suffered one of the more
devastating crashes in the history of the racing series.

He was uninjured  in the crash and by his assessment, lucky.

Roger Richards Photo

Terry Haddock spent much of his Friday evening and the wee hours of
Saturday during the recently completed IHRA Torco Nothern Nationals pinpointing a cause for his massive engine explosion on the
starting line. He had the answer his was looking for by the time he
made Saturday’s first run.