Drag racing superstar Jeg Coughlin Jr. proved he can turn left last
Saturday night during the special "NHRA Stars in Short Track Cars"
charity event at The Bulling at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Driving a
1,200cc Thunder Roadster for the first time, Coughlin finished fourth
in an all-star field of drag racers, some of whom had prior short-track
experience.

"I was pretty happy with the effort," said Coughlin, a four-time NHRA
champion with 52 national event wins. "I went into this deal with zero
experience and an open mind. We wanted to have some fun and entertain
the fans that came over from the drag strip and I think we accomplished
that. We had a ball and I'd love to do it again.

"We had some time to test on Friday night. Roger Hocking and Ron
McIntire, who graciously let me drive one of their team cars, told me I
just needed to trust the car and push it to the limit. I went as fast
as I felt I could go and his guys were all pretty pleased. They told me
I was running a good line. I would like to thank Brian Claas for his
expertise and assistance because it was very very helpful!."

Tony Pedregon, Whit Bazemore and Marty Nothstein will all compete in popular race

Two-time NHRA POWERade Series world champion Tony Pedregon will give
turning a try as he joins some of the biggest names in sports and
entertainment at the annual Pro/Celebrity race at the Grand Prix of
Long Beach on Saturday, April 19 at 11:40 a.m.

Pedregon will be competing against the likes of Drew Lachey and Wilmer
Valderrama among the celebrities and Craftsman Truck Series champion –
and defending Pro/Celebrity champion – Mike Skinner among the Pros.
Also competing in the Pro category will be fellow drag racers Whit
Bazemore and Marty Nothstein.

IHRA Pro Stock World Champion Robert Patrick enters Rockingham Dragway
for this weekend’s IHRA Spring Nationals in a different mindset from
the last visit. Patrick entered last season’s IHRA World Finals
trailing a championship battle he’d led most of the year and squandered
during an off weekend at the previous event. The anger was channeled
into motivation and as a result, the Purvis Ford/Easy Care-sponsored
driver left with his first career world championship.
 
Patrick enters this weekend with every reason to be angry but unlike
last season, he shoulders no blame this time, nor does he point a
finger, as parts attrition rolled the quickest naturally aspirated Pro
Stocker through the beams drawing a red-light start at the IHRA Texas
Nationals in San Antonio, Texas. He entered eliminations as the No. 1
qualifier.
 
“Just a simple malfunction in the car,” Patrick admitted. “You are
always going to have those things from time to time in drag racing. If
you cannot learn to adjust to those things, this sport will stop being
fun. They are going to happen and if you cannot accept that, then
you’re in the right sport.”

Having been given an extra week to prepare courtesy of a
weather-related delay, Team JEGS drivers John and Mike Coughlin are
anxious to kick off the 2008 North Central Division season during this
weekend’s Lucas Oil Series event at O’Reilly Raceway Park at
Indianapolis. The Coughlin brothers, who each won a Division 3
championship last season, will once again be competing in three
classes; John in Top Dragster and Super Stock and Mike in Top
Sportsman. 
 
“I had a chance to race in Orlando [Fla.] a few weeks ago just to shake
off some of the rust so I’m feeling pretty comfortable right now,” said
John. “I have a new Undercover Chassis dragster that I’m racing in Top
Dragster and it has already shown a lot of promise. I’ve also got my
Chevy Cobalt in Super Stock and it’s already proven itself as a great
race car. I just need to do my part as a driver and we’ll be
successful.”
 
Mike Coughlin recently made his 2008 season debut at the recent JEGS
Cajun SPORTSnationals in Belle Rose, La., and although he lost early in
eliminations, he was very encouraged by the results.

A tradition in the Pro Modified Racing Association will once again be held this year.

Ven Eman's Aruba Tourism-sponsored Pro Stock team held an open house on Wednesday, April 16, 2008, for the hundreds of race fans seeking a tour of what promises to be the first of many race teams expected to migrate to Union County in South Carolina. Local officials have rolled out the red carpet in an effort to make the Union County Industrial Park the southern equivalent of Brownburg, Indiana.

Whit Bazemore loves his fans, but with all due respect to them, he’s
content spending the time with his family and watching the drags from
his home in Eugene, Oregon. This is why Bazemore points out there’s no
truth to a rumor circulating which suggests he will be a teammate in
the near future to Tim Wilkerson.”
 
“No truth to that one,” Bazemore said.

“I called Tim to congratulate him on winning the race, but that one
certainly didn’t come up,” he added. “We talked all about kids growing
up and how time flies, but driving – that one didn’t come up.”

Terry McMillen knew his chances of winning were a long-shot as he eased his Top Fuel dragster into the staging beams during

Terry McMillen is looking for his second career Top Fuel win in Rockingham this weekend. (Roger Richards Photos)

the final round of the IHRA Texas Nationals in San Antonio. His Amalie
Oil-sponsored dragster had broken a bolt holding the throttle cable
following the burnout and pending a mistake by his rookie opponent
Spencer Massey, he was nothing more than a duck in the water as he lit
the stage beam.

“I started praying somehow or another that it would fix itself,”
McMillen, a sophomore Top Fuel racer said. “I nailed the throttle and
nothing happened.”

See Tim Wilkerson's smile in the accompanying photo? It's still there three days after scoring his seventh career NHRA

Tim Wilkerson’s victory represented the third victory for Chevrolet this season in five national events.

POWERade Funny Car Series win during the recently completed NHRA Summitracing.com Nationals in Las Vegas. 

In fact, much of this year he's been smiling, especially after
qualifying. Thus far in 2008, in four of the first five races of the
season, Wilkerson has qualifiued no lower than third with two pole
positions to his credit. Sunday's triumph places him second in the
points standings, just five behind Ashley Force.

The Pro Modified team of Joe Caruso and Mike Cusimano are looking to
make a better showing in Pro Modified Racing Association racing in 2008
than the previous year.
 
“Our
big goal this coming year is to be consistent,” said Joe Caruso, who is
a team owner and crew chief of the 1994 Corvette Pro Modified. “We’re
working on a few things right now to get some more power and lighten up
the car.”