Dick McClung, 79, a former dirt track racer and a member of the board
of directors of the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum, presented by
the Automobile Club of Southern California, passed away on Wed., Dec.
19, after suffering a massive heart attack.

“We were blessed to have Dick McClung on our Board,” said Tony Thacker,
executive director of the Parks Museum.  “In addition to his
enthusiastic work for the Museum, Dick donated race helmets, Indy 500
badges and other artifacts, along with sizeable cash contributions. He
was a true inspiration and loved the Museum. He’ll be greatly missed.”

The Dick McClung Helmet Collection is widely regarded as the finest of
its kind.  Each helmet is accompanied by a photo of a top racing driver
wearing the actual helmet and a brief story about the driver.

In spite of the National Weather Service putting the area under a winter weather
warning 7 hours before the gates opened, nearly 140 participants turned out for
the 9th Annual Hangover Nationals at Dragway 42.

At times the wind
driven snow became so heavy that it was difficult to see past the finish line
but the racers did their best to keep the diverse assortment of vehicles under
control and the event was run with only one single "no harm, no foul" spinout
slowing the action.

Three hours of time trials led to eight rounds of
eliminations, with the past three Hangover Nationals champions going deep into
the program.

This week's classic drag racing clip from YouTube.com features the final of the 1980 Popular Hot Rodding Nationals at the then U.S. 131 Dragway in Martin, Michigan. Adding to the greatness of this clip featuring Ron Colson and Gary Burgin is a post-run interview with Dave McClelland.

In 2007, Craig Hankinson was a candidate for NHRA rookie driver of the year. This season, he'll be tuning a potential one.

Torco's
CompetitionPlus.com confirmed today that Hankinson will serve as crew
chief for former nitro racer turned Pro Stock driver Johnny Gray. Gray
will drive a Dodge Stratus utilizing Larry Morgan horsepower.

Hankinson confirmed that he will put his driving career on hold.

Tim Tindle, 2007 Promod Rookie of the Year, has named two-time IHRA Pro Mod World Champion
Mike Janis and son Mike Janis Jr. Crew Chief and Co-Crew Chief of the
Tindle Racing Promod Team.

"I can't begin to explain how excited I am of this upcoming
season," 
Tindle said. "I am proud of what we were able to accomplish in our first year
of Promod racing and I have had the opportunity to learn a lot. We have
made a lot of changes as we prepare for the upcoming season and we are
really excited about it. This year may be one of the fastest and most
competitive lineups that NHRA Pro Mods have seen. We welcome Mike and
Mike Janis Jr. to our operation and we are looking forward to getting
this season started."

Isn’t it funny how the simple things that seem so insignificant in our young lives can make such a huge impact as we age?

Take for instance a simple word - catalyst, I used to dislike the word, but now I thank God for it.

This dislike can be traced to the fifth grade when the difference
between an average and above average grade on a vocabulary test was the
word catalyst.

I thought it was a part on a car and answered accordingly.

Hollie and Donnie Faulkner just called to let the Torco's
CompetitionPlus.com readers know that on August 26, 2008, the couple
are expecting a child. The Faulkners are the proprietors of the Rolling
O Store on the NHRA Midway. Last spring, the Faulkners lost their
unborn son Eric Blake Faulkner.

The battle started out with sixteen of the finest story-tellers, but
today the number of remaining combatants in the inaugural Torco’s
CompetitionPlus.com War Stories Showdown has been narrowed to four.

Gary Scelzi, Scotty Cannon, Bob Glidden and Roy Hill will participate
in the semi-finals of this outrageous event starting on Thursday.

Scelzi has been the top vote getter in the first two rounds with his
tales of thrashing rental cars and then in losing a battle with a waste
hose from his motorhome. Those stories resulted in convincing wins over
Pro Stock racer Larry Morgan and then IHRA President Aaron Polburn.

In the mid-1990s, Terry Walters, a former IHRA mountain motor Pro Stock
racer, found out just how difficult it was to navigate the
concrete/asphalt transition at Darlington Dragway in South Carolina. He
was uninjured in this accident once aired on ESPN2.