Texas Motorplex has engaged Glenn Menard owner of GEM Consulting, an event and facility management firm, to provide
management services to the metro Texas Motorplex that is home to the
O’Reilly Auto Parts Super Start Battery Fall Nationals September 18-21,
2008.

Menard will provide on-site management services as interim General
Manager, prepare for this year’s NHRA event, and provide recruitment
services to identify a permanent General Manager.

With an extensive background in event and facility management for
events ranging from top-tier, live entertainment to professional,
collegiate and amateur sporting events, Menard has directed operations
for more than 100 concerts, Super Bowl XXXVI and NFL regular season
games, three NCAA Final Fours, BCS Championship, NBA basketball,
Olympic tennis in Atlanta and World Cup soccer in Dallas.

Dave Connolly lhopes a strong performance will punch him into the Pro Stock top ten.

Maybe the final stop on NHRA’s Western Swing will be where Dave
Connolly finally punches his way into the POWERade Series top 10.
 
The goal was established in April when he returned to Pro Stock
competition with new Cagnazzi Racing Chevy Cobalt sponsors Charter
Communications and LifeLock.
 
His chore was to do in just 13 races what his rivals did in 18:  score
enough points to be among the Countdown to 1 championship chasers over
the concluding six events.  And he’s almost there.
 
As Connolly prepares for the FRAM Autolite Nationals at Infineon
Raceway, Friday through Sunday, he knows making the top 10 is one
thing.  Then he must stay there until points are reset for those
Countdown finalists prior to the inaugural event at Charlotte, Sept.
11-14.

ACDelco crew member Brian Strait, who is assisting Kurt Johnson during
the three-race Western Swing, actually gave up a seat at the World
Series of Poker to go drag racing.  Strait, who owns the Las Vegas Ski
& Snowboard Resort, had won an online event to earn his way to the
Rio Hotel & Casino, but opted to give up his seat when Johnson
called following the unexpected departure of a crewmember following the
race in Norwalk, Ohio.

Robert Patrick was only six years old when the first mountain-motor Pro
Stock race was contested in March of 1977. One of his greatest regrets
is he never got to compete in that inaugural event.

Thirty years later, the defending IHRA Pro Stock world champion from
Fredericksburg, VA, will get another shot at the history books to win
an inaugural mountain-motor Pro Stock event when Patrick and a
multitude of other drivers usher in the ADRL’s Extreme Pro Stock era
July 25-26, at Maryland International Raceway (MIR) in Budd’s Creek, MD.

As part of the inaugural ADRL 1-800-GO-GUARD U.S. Drags, Patrick will
compete in the first leg of the Sonny’s Extreme Pro Stock Challenge
presented by Purvis Ford, a special, two-event series to conclude at
Rockingham, NC, in September.

An unsubstantiated rumor has permeated the drag racing community
suggesting team owner Roger Burgess will park his Funny Car driven by
Melanie Troxel. A call to Gotham City Racing’s operations manager Julie
Mosher squashed this rumor.

According to Mosher, the team will compete throughout this season and
all of 2009. In addition, Mosher confirmed, the team is working towards
bringing out the second team for a full tour in 2009.

“We have full funding at this moment for Melanie to run the rest of
this season and the entire season next year,” Mosher said. “The
intention is to grow this team and have both cars full operation for
the entire schedule next season. Right now our focus is on finding
funding to bring our second team out for more races this season. Right
now on our schedule our second car is only supposed to be out for two
more races, but if all goes well we could have the second car out for
four more races. There is no truth to any of these rumors.”

There aren’t many synonyms for the word “dominant” that haven’t already
been used to describe Tony Schumacher. Perhaps none exist.

Schumacher,
the 38-year-old son of team owner and drag racing pioneer Don
Schumacher, took only three years to prove himself as a professional
driver after his Top Fuel debut in Indianapolis, the oldest and most
storied stop on the NHRA POWERade Series tour, in 1996.

Maybe it was symbolic that the now five-time world champion – he’s won
the last four titles and is working on a fifth consecutive, sixth
overall – started his career in Indy and advanced to the final round in
his first ever start.

After a frustrating San Antonio parts failure, McMillen exacts revenge on rookie Spencer Massey

Terry McMillen had two cars in the finals this weekend. The one he
drove, the Top Fueler, reached the winner's circle. He's won two events
in two seasons.

Terry McMillen isn’t a Top Fuel driver who cries over spilled milk.
That’s why, when a throttle cable prevented him from running for the
Top Fuel crown at the 2008 IHRA season-opener, he didn’t fret.

McMillen just bode his time knowing another opportunity to race the up-and-coming rookie Spencer Massey would present itself.

Sunday afternoon in Grand Bend, Ont., McMillen had the opportunity for
a little bit of payback during the IHRA Mopar Canadian Nationals.

When Pro Stock points leader Greg Anderson becomes your crew chief on
Sunday, that’s usually an indication of how tough your day is going to
be.

Anderson was eliminated in the first round during the NHRA Schuck’s Auto Parts Nationals in Seattle, WA.

Jason Line used the key personnel addition to his advantage. Starting
from the No. 3 qualifying position, Line marched through a tough Pro
Stock field to capture his second national-event victory of the season
- his first ever at Pacific Raceways during the NHRA Schuck’s
Nationals.

"It feels great to win, especially here in Seattle," Line said. "I've
been out here, I don't know how many times, and never had any success
whatsoever even when I raced in Stock eliminator. It feels really good
to win here and it felt really good to drive well today. We didn't have
the greatest car in qualifying - we had some issues. We tested some
parts along the way, which is kind of cool, although you don't want to
be testing at national events. But it all worked out and the guys did a
great job, especially getting down that left lane, which was a little
bit tricky.”

Roger Richards Photos

Pro Modified racer Ed Hoover will be the first to admit you don’t
know when he’s going to win a race, but when he does – it’s spectacular.

Ed Hoover won his 14th national event title and second at Grand Bend.

Hoover the seasoned veteran driver for Paul Trussell broke through
for his 14th career national event victory during the IHRA Mopar
Canadian Nationals in Grand Bend, Ont.

His victory coming at the expense of Tommy D’Aprile.

“This was an incredible weekend and a tribute to Al Billes and my
crew,” Hoover said. “These guys work so hard on this car, night after
night and day after day. Everyone gives up their free time to come with
me to the races. Most of my crew are volunteers and this makes it great
for all of us.”