On a day when five of eight Memphis Motor Park records fell by the wayside,
three year professional Funny Car driver Robert Hight denied rookie driver and
teammate Ashley Force her first low qualifier award running a track-record 4.762
seconds at 320.36 mph at the 20th annual O'Reilly Mid-South NHRA Nationals
presented by Pennzoil.

Almost as shocking was Pro Stock Motorcycle leader
Chip Ellis' jaw-dropping 6.892, the second quickest pass in class history. Max
Naylor earned more respect in the Pro Stock class with his second pole in as
many races, while Top Fuel points leader Tony Schumacher got a wake-up call from
several of his rivals, who all posted big numbers in Saturday's cooler
temperatures.

Twenty years ago Bill Kuhlman ran the first quarter-mile 200 mile per
hour lap. Today another Pro Modified driver did the same thing in half
the distance.

Jason Scruggs ran 200.86 during the first qualifying session at the ADRL Dragstock event in  Rockingham, NC.

For Scruggs, the assault on the 200-mph promised land was sometimes a hit and miss adventure. 

“We’re like most all of
these racers out here in that we can struggle at times,” Scruggs said. “Here
lately we’ve struggled onto making the car mile per hour a little better. We’ve
been doing a lot better since we got some of the tire shake out of it."

It was eight years ago today
that an aspiring group of drag racing journalists, photographers and web
designers launched the first ever issue of Torco’s CompetitionPlus.com.

Torco's CompetitionPlus.com began on September 15, 1999 at 8:30 PM, EST. 

Maybe the words of our first editorial were prophetic considering today's state of drag racing media.

"We are on the verge of the 21st Century and if you're not already
there, you're on the losing end of a holeshot. This is the future thus
signaling the beginning of the end for the standard print media
magazine. Those of us in the media should have read the writing on the
wall with the demise of such magazines as Petersen's Drag Racing and
the once unbreakable Super Stock & Drag Illustrated. There are some
out there but the industry is no-where as strong as it used to be."

Welcome to the Internet ezine age. 

Thanks for sticking with
us through those growing years and we’re not done yet.

Torco's CompetitionPlus.com has obtained a copy of the memo issued
today to all nitro racers regarding the 2008 rules in terms of nitro
percentage allowed in competition. 

ASHLEY FORCE SITTING NO. 1 AFTER FIRST 2 ROUNDS OF QUALIFYING AT MEMPHIS MOTORSPORTS PARK

At a track known for it’s domination by John Force, it’s was his daughter, rookie sensation Ashley
Force, who was is in prime position to add
a No.1 qualifier to her fathers stellar seven No.1 qualifiers, five win career
at Memphis Motorsports Park at the 20th annual O'Reilly Mid-South
NHRA Nationals with a steady 4.810 at 316.38 mph.

Force shares her 4.810 second at 316.38 mph
provisional low qualifier podium with points leaders Tony Schumacher (Top Fuel)
and Dave Connolly (Pro Stock) as well as red-hot Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Chip
Ellis.

The U.S. Army today
announced the decision to step away from its Don Schumacher Racing Pro
Stock Motorcycle sponsorship agreement after the 2007 NHRA POWERade
Drag Racing Series season.

"Given the great pride the program brings our soldiers and everyone
associated with the U.S. Army Pro Stock Motorcycles, this was not an easy
decision to make," said Col. David Lee, Director of Strategic Communications.
"We do, however, remain committed to NHRA and its fans who continue to support
our program and soldiers and look forward to continuing our sponsorship of the
DSR Top Fuel team."

The 2007 NHRA U.S. Nationals was quite an event this year for Mickey Thompson.
In preparation for the event, Mickey Thompson put together a special “Bounty
Reward” Program through which they awarded each racer winning on Mickey Thompson
tires with a special prize of $2,500.

The driver of the Lucas Oil Dodge qualified for the first-ever
Countdown, and also made the Indy show in the seventh position – quite
a feat considering the conditions and the caliber of the competition. 
The Ohio engine builder’s Hemis are in high demand, although his own
was the only to qualify for today’s eliminations.
 
With so much pressure on the Countdown competitors, Morgan may be the
exception when he says about that supposed pressure, “No, I’m not
feeling any at all.  We came here and we’re going to do the best we can
do.  I’ve been doing this for a long time and if you put pressure on
yourself you’re going to make a mistake.  I just hope we don’t make any
mistakes.
 
“We’re here to win every race, and we surely would like to do something
in the championship.  I think it’s great at this point. I just wish
they had 10 cars in it.  I think it would be more fair to have 10 cars
in it.  I know that they kinda got the concept fro NASCAR, and they
started with 10 and now they’re at 12, I believe.

So, maybe since NHRA are followers, maybe they can follow that plan.

The Ace is back! Actually, Ed "The Ace" McCulloch, the legendary drag
racer, never left. McCulloch, who is the Grand Marshal of the
Automobile Club of Southern California Hot Rod Reunion, presented by
Holley (Oct. 12-14, Bakersfield), is still heavily involved in drag
racing, serving as crew chief for the Ron Capps-driven Don
Schumacher-owned Brut Funny Car.

McCulloch who moved to Oregon from central California at a young age
earned his "Ace" nickname early in his career when he outran the
self-proclaimed "King of the Northwest," Jerry Ruth. In the 1960s he
drove a series of dragsters, the most notable of which was the
full-bodied, Fuller-chassied Albrich-McCulloch-Floyd Northwind. The Car
led "The Ace" to the number one spot on the Drag News "Mr. Eliminator"
list from Pete Robinson in 1965.

Funny Cars were becoming popular in the late '60s and McCulloch
relished the constant match racing that was available to them. He won
the first time he raced at the U.S. Nationals in 1971. In the early
'70s, Ed's Revellution Duster won five of seven finals. In 1980 he won
his third Indy in the Super Shops Funny Car. Joining Larry Minor's team
in 1983 he appeared in at least one national event final round every
year until his retirement from behind the wheel in 1993.

Special thanks to longtime Torco's CompetitionPlus.com friend Karen
Raffa for a link to one of the best classic car presentations we've
seen.

The presentation is a little lengthy but chances are you'll be hooked from the first graphic.

THE CARS WE DROVE