Don Schumacher has been in this sport long
enough to know that what is said isn’t always interpreted as intended. Case in
point, when Schumacher said he hopes Force doesn’t hurt Neff; he explained that
he his comments were intended as a means of concern for a longtime employee and
friend.

“I care about Mike Neff,’ Schumacher said. “He has
been an employee, a friend and a member of a family. I have a genuine and
caring feeling for Mike Neff.

“If people take that as being someway reflected on
the Force operation, and their terrible tragedy that took the life of Eric
Medlen, then I apologize for anyone that could put those together. There’s no
correlation into that at all.

“I care about Mike Neff and as much as anything Mike
has been promised an opportunity there. Don’t hurt him by that opportunity not
happening. There are lots of things out there but you can’t put anything
together with these comments.

The pathway to Funny Car has become colorful
lately. If you thought going from crew chief to driver was an interesting
route, try sunglass salesman to flopper pilot.

Donnie Faulkner,
proprietor of the Rolling O Store on the Manufacturer’s Midway, says he’s ready
for the challenge. He said he has inspiration and confidence on his side.

Reportedly, Faulkner has
progressed into the latter stages with at least one major team who is
interested in offering a 12-race gig. He’s declined to identify the team at
this time.

“I didn’t really know I
wanted to drive a Funny Car until my son died,” Faulkner said. “Then I figured
if I was ever going to do I had better do it now that the opportunity presented
itself. The availability of sponsorship and a ride is what is driving me.

“I know there will be a
lot of naysayers and a lot of people will tell you a novice can’t do it. But
look at Mike Neff. He’s going into one of the best rides out there. He never
drove a car.

RELENTLESS RAIN AT MAPLE GROVE PUSHES ELIMINATIONS TO MONDAY

The
23rd annual Toyo Tires NHRA Nationals have been postponed until Monday
after a light but steady rain halted the action midway through the
first round of Funny Car eliminations and continued to fall for many
hours thereafter. Action will resume at the exact same spot in the
proceedings Monday morning at 10 a.m.

FIVE DRIVERS CLINCH AS FULLER, WORSHAM, ANDERSON AND SAMPEY HANG ON AS TOP QUALIFIERS

Whit Bazemore, Bob Vandergriff, Kurt Johnson, Chip Ellis, and Karen
Stoffer finished qualifying for the 23rd annual Toyo Tires NHRA
Nationals Saturday by securing positions in the Countdown to the
Championship, the new playoff-style format to decide the 2007 POWERade
Drag Racing Series champions.

The next phase of the Countdown -- the Countdown to Four -- begins Aug.
29 at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals. The final seven open slots will be
filled during Sunday's elimination racing at Maple Grove Raceway.

Top Fuel points leader "Hot Rod" Fuller, Funny Car Countdown hopeful
Del Worsham, three-time Pro Stock champion Greg Anderson, and Pro Stock
Motorcycle maven Angelle Sampey remained in control of their respective
categories in Day 2. Sampey impressed the most in Saturday's cooler
conditions, running a 6.901 on her Suzuki, which is tied for the second
quickest elapsed time in history.

Top Fuel leader Fuller will try to break the curse of the No. 1
qualifier -- none have won this year -- for the fourth time this year.
Fuller's Friday night pass of 4.521 at 327.19 mph in the Ransome
Caterpillar dragster was mostly unchallenged Saturday.

In a commemorative program hosted by GM Racing and the National Hot Rod
Association on Saturday, a group of 19 retired veterans from the Army Special
Forces Association, Randall Shughart Chapter 64, based in nearby Carlisle, Pa.,
took center stage at the 23rd annual Toyo Tires NHRA Nationals at
Maple Grove Raceway.

Throughout the year, SFA Randall
Shughart Chapter 64 members visit U.S. combat-wounded troops at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany bringing words of hope and
good cheer, as well as souvenir gift bags with items donated by NHRA teams and
sponsors. They also conduct fund-raising events to purchase telephone cards,
clothing items and duffle bags for use by wounded/injured personnel at
Landstuhl, traveling to LRMC via SpaceA on U.S. Air
Force aircraft to distribute the items. 
Earlier this year monies were raised by SFA Chapter 64 at the NHRA event
in Englishtown, N.J., by auctioning off a racing helmet
autographed by more than 40 NHRA drivers. 
   

For the past two years, members from
SFA Chapter 64 have served as the advance team and on-site organizers for
"Operation Support Our Wounded," a postseason visit with American troops in
Germany by NHRA goodwill ambassadors
Warren Johnson, Jim Yates, Melanie Troxel, Tommy Johnson Jr. and Cory
McClenathan. The drivers are currently scheduled to return the weekend following
this season’s Auto Club of Southern California NHRA Finals in Pomona, Calif., but on Saturday, GM Racing and the
NHRA wanted to give a little something back to this special group of Green
Berets and say, "Thank you, for a job well done."

WORSHAM, FULLER, ANDERSON AND SAMPEY TOP FIELDS AFTER FIRST DAY OF QUALIFYING IN READING

Funny
Car veteran Del Worsham began his last-gasp fight for the eighth and
final spot in the Countdown to the Championship by leading Friday's
action at the 23rd annual Toyo Tires NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove
Raceway.

Worsham's 4.800-second pass at 323.97 mph placed him alongside fellow
low qualifiers "Hot Rod" Fuller (4.521 in Top Fuel), Greg Anderson
(6.685, Pro Stock), and Angelle Sampey (6.987, Pro Stock Motorcycle) at
the midway point of professional qualifying.

Fighting for his playoff life, Worsham pulled out all the stops in his
Checker Schuck's Kragen Chevrolet Impala SS Friday, blasting to the
provisional pole with a 4.800 at 323.97 mph. Should Worsham stay No. 1
and win the race, and No. 8 points earner Jim Head -- who is qualified
seventh here -- retain his position and lose in the first round,
Worsham would make the Countdown to the Championship field by one point.

"I'm not going to say it's too little, too late, but I think we're down
to needing a miracle at this point," Worsham said. "We've had miracles
happen before with this team so we won't quit."

Brandon Bernstein didn’t
run today because of kidney stones. At approximately 10:30 a.m., he was
transported to the hospital complaining of severe pain.

Bernstein was admitted to
the Emergency Room and diagnostic tests confirmed a small kidney stone. The
attending urologist suggested the stone would pass with fluids and rest.

“We’re taking a ‘wait and
see’ approach,” said Kenny Bernstein. “If the stone is expelled today or
tonight, there’s a chance that Brandon
might be able to drive tomorrow. At this particular time, we have opted not to
do any type of surgical procedure which would mean he would have to undergo
general anesthesia, which would stay in his system rendering him unable to
drive this weekend.

Look for an official announcement to come forth later today, but
Torco's CompetitionPlus.com has confirmed that Mike Neff left Don
Schumacher Racing late Thursday to become a member of John Force
Racing. This completes a scenario that began in Seattle with Neff's
announcement to the Mopar/Oakley team that he was leaving to become the
fourth driver for JFR.

This weekend’s Pro-Am event in San Antonio, Texas, has been postponed due to the
imminent severe weather conditions expected from Tropical Storm Erin, which came
ashore near Corpus Christi Thursday morning. 

The event has been rescheduled for next weekend, August
24-26.

The Renegades
double-event Summit Racing Equipment Pro-Am Tour presented by Mr. Gasket race
was scheduled for this Saturday and Sunday, August 18 and 19.

Thursday, August 9, 2007 could go down as a landmark day in Australian drag racing history.

That is the day that three months after news broke of businessman Shane
Gore's proposal to lift the marketing and promotion of professional
drag racing in Australia he finally met with ANDRA (Australian National
Drag Racing Association) officials.

Just a week prior, Gore was offered an olive branch by ANDRA CEO Tony
Thornton and invited to present his vision for the future to the
National Control Council during its Annual General Meeting.