The California Independent Funny Car Association announced two major
changes effective beginning at the 39th Annual Governors Cup
Championships held at Sacramento Raceway September 19-20, 2008.These
changes will go into effect at this event and will continue through the
remainder of the 2008 Season and carry in to the 2009 season. The first
change will be to a 7.20 index. The second will be a change in the
performance correction factor to determine how a breakout run is used
in qualifying.

“Simply put, it’s time” said CIFCA president Jamie Leppenan.” Our
customers are the fans and track promoters. Over the past couple of
years track promoters have been asking us to start thinking about
running quicker. By instituting the change in the later part of the
2008 season it will give our teams plenty of time to gear up for the
change as well as give track promoters a preview of what we can offer
in 2009. The hope is to generate more races for the group.”

For the 10th straight year, four-time NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series champion
Gary Scelzi will compete in a Celebrity Modified Race at Sedalia's State Fair
Speedway on Wednesday, June 11, as part of the evening's World of Outlaws Sprint
Car series event.

For the tenth time, Funny Car veteran Gary Scelzi will race in the dirt of Sedalia. (Jon Asher Photo)

The proceeds from this 11th annual Celebrity Modified
Race and the official WOO Sprint Car race on the half-mile oval will benefit the
Michael Ross Memorial Foundation.

Ten celebrity drivers, including
Scelzi, who drives the Mopar/Oakley Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car for Don
Schumacher Racing in NHRA, will fight it out in IMCA Modifieds. Scelzi will also
compete in the annual golf tournament on Tuesday, June 10, with the
participating drivers and guests, and will act as Master of Ceremonies for the
charity auction that evening.

After ten races of NHRA Top Fuel competition under the Tuttle Motorsports / Vis
Viva banner, former Lucas Oil champion Alan Bradshaw and team owner Dexter
Tuttle have decided to part ways, citing "chemistry" issues with Bradshaw and
car chief, Tony Shortall.  
 
"I really felt like we had huge potential
with Dexter's race program and past successes, but unfortunately it just didn't
work out for either one of us," Bradshaw said.  
 
"Dexter and Tony had a
different view point with regard to safety equipment than I did. I want to be
perfectly clear on this point: I am not saying the car was unsafe in any way.
They met all of the minimum requirements as required by NHRA.

 
"Personally, I felt the current rules represented the minimum safety
standard, and I will always lean toward making the driver's cockpit as safe as
possible within reason - just as many other teams are currently doing for their
drivers. Since it is Dexter's operation, I have to respect his decisions but in
the end I have to do what I believe is right for me," Bradshaw
said.

E-town national
event will end his 2008 season as a driver …

Mike Ashley admitted 100% of focus
is the reason he’s decided to refocus his racing efforts in 2008. The
popular Funny Car/Pro Modified driver from New York’s Long Island will
abandon his driving aspirations in all classes to devote his time
exclusively to his growing Lend-America business.

Ashley retired from nitro racing at the beginning of the 2008 season
yet remained in competition with his part-time Pro Modified team. He
announced a trial run in Funny Car three races ago with an expiration
following Norwalk.

He made his decision not to return last week prior to the NHRA’s Chicago event.

Popular e-zine will return to independent status…

CompetitionPlus.com, drag racing’s leading Internet drag racing
magazine since 1999, has released Torco Race Fuels from their contract as the title rights sponsor. This move ends one of the most dynamic
marketing partnerships in today’s drag racing marketplace.

CompetitionPlus.com founder and publisher Bobby Bennett said this
decision is a tough one but one that will be mutually beneficial for
both parties in the long run.

“This is a tough and heart-wrenching decision,” Bennett said. “My first
and foremost concern is the health and well-being for a person I have
long considered a friend, Evan Knoll. We have gotten to where we are
today in drag racing’s Internet media because of Evan’s unselfish
support along with the hard work of our team members over the years.

AWESOME Motorsports recently announced an alliance with Al Anabi
Racing, one of the leading drag racing teams in the nation of Qatar, an
Arab emirate in Southwest Asia to form AWESOME Al Anabi. The alliance
is aimed at accelerating the performance of the nitrous-assisted
AWESOME Al Anabi Pro Mod racing team of Mike Castellana and Shannon
“Iceman” Jenkins in competition in the U.S. and abroad.

This new partnership – the product of a relationship that started in
the fall of 2007 through the purchase of two of the quickest and
fastest nitrous Pro Modified cars in history by Al Anabi Racing,
Castellana and Jenkins’ Haas-built 2007 Ford Mustang and 2007 Pontiac
GTO – has grown from a mere business transaction to an intricate racing
collaboration after both of the veteran racers were employed to drive
and tune the rapidly expanding stable of Al Anabi race cars.

Stykemain Pontiac-Buick-GMC in Defiance, Ohio, will hold an NHRA Motorsports
Extravaganza on Thursday, June 26. The event, which will be held in conjunction
with this year's Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio, will
feature a driver autograph session and an up-close opportunity to meet Pontiac's
contingent of NHRA Pro Stock racers and GMC Top Fuel driver Cory McClenathan.
The Motorsports Extravaganza and open house will also help celebrate Stykemain
Pontiac-Buick-GMC's new location at 25124 Elliott Road.

"The Motorsports
Extravaganza promises to be a lot of fun for everybody," said Joe Stykemain of
Stykemain Pontiac-Buick-GMC. "It's a pleasure to be able to host some of the
best racecar drivers in the world and another wonderful opportunity to welcome
everyone to our new location on Elliott Road."

Hoosier Thunder Motorsports released a brief statement today regarding team
owner Terry McMillen's relationship with Torco Race Fuels. After a five year
relationship, as of June 9, 2008 McMillen and Torco will no longer maintain a
relationship.

The owners of Houston Raceway Park have been hard at work for the last two
months completely resurfacing and expanding the professional pit area in an
effort to update and improve the racing facility. Up next, the track surface
itself will be smoothed to perfection using the latest state-of-the-art
equipment available.

"We listened to the racers and we listened to
O'Reilly Auto Parts and we are taking the necessary steps to make Houston
Raceway Park the absolute best it can be," track general manager Seth Angel
said. "As soon as the O'Reilly NHRA Spring Nationals had cleared out of here our
crews went to work on the pits and the result is fantastic.

ESPN has announced it will provide a special 20-minute repeat airing of
final eliminations from Sunday’s weather-plagued Torco Racing Fuels
Route 66 NHRA Nationals at Route 66 Raceway near Chicago.

The special rebroadcast will air Wednesday evening, June 11 at 6:40
p.m. (ET) on ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD. The 20-minute program, which will
follow ESPN2’s NASCAR Now, will provide highlights of final
eliminations in all four professional categories.