Bruce Litton Heads Friday Top Fuel Qualifying in Grand Bend

Andy Kelley (Nitro Funny Car), Mike Janis (Pro Modified), Rob
Atchison (Alcohol Funny Car) and Rob Mansfield (Pro Stock) also claim
provisional #1 qualifying spots at Mopar Canadian Nationals

Defending
World Champion Bruce Litton (Indianapolis, Ind.) moved to the top of
the provisional Torco Pro Nitro Top Fuel behind the wheel of his Lucas
Oil Canada Hadman Dragster qualifying sheet with his 4.743 pass at
302.75 mph. Litton was in the last pair of cars that went down the
track in Friday’s Top Fuel qualifying session and was just looking to
get his feet under him at Grand Bend Motorplex. He ended up on the top
of the list heading into Saturday’s pair of qualifying sessions at the
Mopar Canadian Nationals.

Wicked Quick will sponsor defending NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series
Funny Car Champion Tony Pedregon, who’s racing in Schucks Auto Supply
NHRA Nationals July 18-20 in Seattle, Washington.   The event will be
shown on ESPN2.

Tony is a two-time champion: 2003 and 2007. "Tony Pedregon epitomizes
the brand, “ said Wicked Quick CEO and founder Tarran Pitschka. “We're
proud to expose our brand nationally with this championship team.” Tony
is a great supporter of the brand wearing it each week on his helmet
and firesuit.

The next stop on the 2008 Pro Modified Racing Tour presented by Torco
Racing Fuels Ontario will be at Dunn Tire Raceway Park Saturday, July
26.
 
This event, the fourth in the six-race series, is the Fourth Annual
PMRA Challenge presented by G-Force Race Cars, Grainy's Automotive and
Niagara Auto, and co-sponsor Jack Grainy said he is pleased to be a
part of the race.
 
“This is worth every penny for us,” said Grainy, whose father, also
named Jack, drives the Grainy Brothers 1967 Camaro Pro Modified. “I’m
proud to be a part of the team.
 
“I’m also pleased to be able to help present this race, especially to
our hometown race fans,” added Grainy. “We know that new track owner
Ralph Galluzzi will present a great show, and we’re happy to work with
him and be a part of it.”

Another stellar group of Honorees have been chosen for the 17th annual
California Hot Rod Reunion, presented by the Automobile Club of
Southern California. The 3-day festival of speed and rods takes place
at Auto Club Famoso Raceway near Bakersfield, Oct. 10-12.

The Honorees are Grand Marshal Junior Thompson, Steve Davis, John
Edmunds, Georgia Seipel, Walt Rhoades and Butch Maas. The Justice
Brothers' Reunion Spotlight will shine on Gas Ronda.

"This year's Honorees are a highly eclectic group of deserving
individuals who have dedicated their lives to hot rodding and drag
racing," said Greg Sharp, curator of the nonprofit Wally Parks NHRA
motorsports Museum, which produces the Reunion. "I'm glad we can honor
folks like this who have meant so much to the sport."

Drag racing is a numbers game. Speeds, elapsed times, and horsepower are just a
few areas where great numbers are key to victory.

Through the use of an online fundraising contest for the design that will
appear on Bob Tasca III’s Shelby Mustang Funny Car during the NHRA U.S.
Nationals in Indianapolis, Ford Customer Service Division (FCSD) and the
Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), have brought forth a new set of
great numbers and statistics into the world of drag racing.

Following five weeks of collecting designs from JDRF kids, close to 500
donations for 301 car designs, has resulted in more than $30,000 in donations
for type 1 diabetes research.

Every
Friday, Torco's CompetitionPlus.com brings you our Feedback letters.
Read what our readers have to say about our feature articles and you
can even offer your opinions.

FEEDBACK FRIDAY - JULY 18

Contrary to a report that has appeared on another web site, former NHRA director
of Top Fuel, Funny Car and Pro Stock racing Ray Alley has not been rehired by
the sanctioning organization. Rather, he has been put on retainer by the
Professional Racers Owners Organization (PRO) for the balance of the year to
serve as an administrative assistant to president Kenny Bernstein. While Alley’s
name continues to be bandied about as a possible successor to Bernstein, whose
term expires at the end of the year, other names remain in the mix, including
Chad Head and driver Whit Bazemore.

After Ron Capps spied his NAPA AUTO PARTS racing partner Michael
Waltrip wearing a Ron Capps t-shirt under his driving suit during a
NASCAR event, Capps felt obliged to reciprocate. And he did so, in
style.

The driver of the NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car in the
NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series gathered up a collection of Michael
Waltrip t-shirts and wore his favorite while winning the first round of
eliminations at last Sunday's Mopar Mile-High Nationals at Bandimere
Speedway outside of Denver.

"I saw the picture of Michael wearing the Ron Capps t-shirt under his
suit," said Capps, who with Waltrip shot a series of some very humorous
NAPA AUTO PARTS commercials this season. "So we decided that we were
going to sneak around and pick up a couple of Michael Waltrip t-shirts.
The best part of it was winning first round in Denver while I was
wearing the shirt underneath my driver's suit.

Carl Spiering gave the Pro Modified division a glimpse of the future as he became the second driver in as many years to win

Carl Spiering became the second torque converter-equipped Pro Modified racer to win an IHRA event. (Bruce Biegler)

an IHRA Pro Modified event with a torque converter-equipped Pro
Modified. This weekend during the IHRA Mopar Canadian Nationals, he’s
hoping to become the first two-time winner with the innovative unit.

Spiering defeated Thomas Patterson in the final round of the IHRA Rocky Mountain Nationals in Edmonton, Alb.

This was only the second event for Spiering and the new Bruno's
Automotive BRT Converter Drive, coupled to a Lenco transmission with a
torque converter supplied by Coan Engineering. Spiering was pleased
with the combination, which shows great promise with varying track
conditions.

Jeff
Dobbins said the IHRA knew in advance what was happening with the Pro
Stockers in Edmonton and yet did nothing to let the race fans know.
(Roger Richards)

The words on his computer screen essentially reached out and slapped his face.

That’s how current IHRA Pro Stock point leader Jeff Dobbins reacted to
comments made by the sanctioning body President Aaron Polburn in an
interview with the Fayetteville Observer Times and later republished in
CompetitionPlus.com. Polburn’s comments were in reference to the
boycott of Pro Stock drivers from competing in the IHRA Rocky Mountain
Nationals in Edmonton, Alb.

“This was really not a boycott,” Dobbins said. “It wasn’t about that.
There was no pact. It was never anything like that. I saw where one
Funny Car racer couldn’t make it to the event, they didn’t break his
balls. There are some racers who can’t make every event in other
classes, but you don’t see the IHRA racing to cancel their class. I
don’t understand why they took this so personal when they knew it was
coming.”