Max Naylor’s plan for the 2008 season was a lot different than what
he’s experienced thus far. He’s on the right track now since failing to
qualify in

Max Naylor is having a tough season, but he remains optimistic. (Roger Richards)

four of the first eight races and yet to make his way past the opening round.
That’s a free fall considering he earned two pole positions in 2007.

“The things started coming around after Vegas,” Naylor said. “We’ve got
to go back because we were chasing phantoms for the first few races of
the season. We have to get everything set
back to where it was. I think we’ll be good from this point on.”

The largest phantom Naylor chased started in the paint booth when, in
the process of repainting the car to accommodate his new Vegas Fuel
Energy Drink sponsorship, overspray corroded many of the electrical
connections on his Dodge Stratus.

Sunday's final results from the Motor City Nationals presented by GM
Performance Division & Heritage Newspapers at Milan Dragway.  The
race is the third of 11 in the 2008 Knoll-Gas Nitro Jam Drag Racing
Series:

Top Fuel -- Bruce Litton, 4.678 seconds, 287.66 mph def. Scott Palmer, broke.

The Sixth Time is the Charm for Paul Lee

Tops Dan Wilkerson in the final round to claim first career IHRA national event championship

Paul Lee finally secured his first nitro Funny Car national event victory.

Five
times Paul Lee had advanced to an IHRA Knoll Gas Nitro Jam final round.
Five times he had come away empty-handed. All that changed at Milan
Dragway when Lee defeated Dan Wilkerson to claim the Ironman at the
IHRA Motor City Nationals.

“This feels great, I’m very happy and excited but at the same time this
is a relief,” Lee said after his 4.956/305.49 pass toppled Wilkerson.
“You want to win so badly and you keep going to final rounds. I would
go rounds and go rounds, but that final one kept eluding me for some
reason. You need luck to win one of these things, and today we just had
the luck.”

Point standings (top 10) for IHRA professional categories following
the Motor City Nationals presented by GM Performance Division &
Heritage Newspapers at Milan Dragway, the third of 11 events in the 
2008 Knoll-Gas Nitro Jam Drag Racing Series -

Top Fuel
1.  Spencer Massey, 354; 2.  Bruce Litton, 337; 3.  Mike Strasburg,
276; 4.  Scott Palmer, 268; 5.  Bobby Lagana Jr., 232; 6.  Kevin Jones,
184; 7.  Terry McMillen, 165; 8.  Chris Karamesines, 157; 9.  T.J.
Zizzo, 87; 10.  Michael Gunderson, 50.

Final round-by-round results from the Motor City Nationals
presented by GM Performance Division & Heritage Newspapers at Milan
Dragway, the third of 11 events in the  2008 Knoll-Gas Nitro Jam Drag
Racing Series:

TOP FUEL:

ROUND ONE -- Mike Strasburg, 8.046, 108.93 def. Kevin Jones, foul;
Scott Palmer, 5.174, 253.75 def. Bobby Lagana Jr., 6.212, 170.51; Bruce
Litton, 4.667, 310.98 def. T.J. Zizzo, 5.079, 210.08; Spencer Massey,
6.385, 192.33 def. Chris Karamesines, 6.769, 125.17; 

SEMIFINALS -- Litton, 4.676, 312.71 def. Massey, 4.765, 297.42; Palmer, 4.782, 286.86 def. Strasburg, 8.304, 102.02;

FINAL -- Litton, 4.678, 287.66 def. Palmer, broke.

Marie
Ferriolo poses with friend Scott Siesing, team member for Frank Manzo,
proudly displaying her NHRA Member sticker on her cap she wore during
her graduation ceremony from Seton Hall University, School of Graduate
Medical Education, where she received a Master of Science in
Speech-Language Pathology.  Marie, daughter of Barry and Bonnie
Ferriolo, owners of the Central Metals Division One Top Alcohol Funny
Car, also recently earned her Super Comp license.

Tim Wilkerson knew the kid could handle driving an 8,000-horse nitro Funny Car, but he just had to see it

Somewhere in the photo you will see a smiling Tim Wilkerson. (Roger Richards Photos)

for himself. The kid was Wilkerson’s 21-year old son Dan, who was
making his professional drag racing debut in the same nitro Funny Car
which leads the NHRA championship standings.

Dan drove to a provisional IHRA world record on his maiden nitro voyage with a 4.831 elapsed time at 316.01 miles per hour.

“I knew he was capable of showing me up,” Wilkerson said. “We didn’t
get after it as much as we could have. He got out of the groove a
little bit but he can see really well out of the car.”

First-round pairings for professional eliminations Sunday for the
Motor City Nationals presented by GM Performance Division &
Heritage Newspapers at Milan Dragway, the third of 11 events in the
2008 Knoll-Gas Nitro Jam Drag Racing Series.  Pairings based on results
in qualifying, which ended Saturday.

Top Fuel -- 1. Scott Palmer, 4.597 seconds, 317.49 mph 
vs. 5. Bobby Lagana Jr., 4.716, 290.13; 2. Bruce Litton, 4.620, 322.27 
vs. 6. T.J. Zizzo, 4.740, 272.06; 3. Mike Strasburg, 4.647, 327.43  vs.
7. Kevin Jones, 4.833, 282.36; 4. Spencer Massey, 4.715, 307.51  vs. 8.
Chris Karamesines, 5.052, 289.14.

Dan Wilkerson #1 Nitro Funny Car Qualifier at Motor City Nationals

Scott Palmer (Top Fuel), Kenny Lang (Pro Modified), Dale Brand
(Alcohol Funny Car) and Jeff Dobbins (Pro Stock) set the pace at Milan
Dragway

Young Dan Wilkerson leads the Funny Cars into eliminations.

Dan Wilkerson (Springfield, Ill.) has made quite a splash in his Nitro
Funny Car debut. The son of current NHRA Nitro Funny Car points leader
Tim Wilkerson set a provisional IHRA world record during Friday’s
qualifying session with a 4.831 pass at 316.01 mph.  Despite failing to
back up the record, Wilkerson held on to the #1 qualifying spot heading
into Sunday’s elimination rounds.

Wilkerson had no idea he had the provisional record in his pocket when
he made his Saturday qualifying hits. His Levi, Ray & Shoup ’07
Impala, the same car his father drives in NHRA competition, went into
tire shake at about the 100-foot mark in his Saturday qualifying pass.

Thousands of race fans paraded through the John Force Racing East shop
today during the 2nd annual Brownsburg Motorsports Network Open House.
For over four hours people steadily walked through the doors and got to
see first hand the tools of the trade that have garnered John Force
fourteen POWERade Funny Car World Championships and his team 176 NHRA
national event wins.

The tour led fans through the machine shop where they were able to see
the numerous MAG Fadal machines that craft so many of Team Force’s
components. They also saw the paint shop where eye-catching designs are
applied to the four JFR Ford Mustangs. Three of Force’s 8,000 hp Ford
Mustangs were on display arranged in a true race day configuration
complete with open transports. Finally, the tour culminated for many
fans with an emotional exit through The Eric Medlen Tribute Room.