On his sixth-ever run in a Top Fuel dragster,
20-time NHRA winner Whit Bazemore
earned his NHRA Top Fuel license. He is now licensed to compete in both nitro
categories, Top Fuel and Funny Car. Bazemore raced his Matco Tools Iron Eagle
dragster to a performance of 4.544 seconds at 326.24 mph on his first attempt
Sunday afternoon at Firebird International Raceway to meet the requirements
needed to earn his competition license for drag racing’s premier
category.

“It feels good to get the licensing out of the way,”
Bazemore said. “You never know what can happen with these cars. Now we can
concentrate on improving the performance of the car. It was good experience for
me to run those two 4.54s. I got some good seat time in the car on Sunday. Like
I keep saying, it’s so different than a Funny Car. It was important for me to
make those two good runs today.”

The "Final" 2007 Nostalgia Pro Comp Association Championship Drag
Racing Series Schedule as of 1/25/07:

Larry Dixon said he was so used to a blue car that he nearly walked right past
his new eye-popping-orange SkyTel Dragster that
made its debut at the National Time Trials at Firebird International Raceway.

It's no longer a secret that the business pagers company has stepped up
to sponsor the two-time Top Fuel champion, who saw longtime sponsor Miller Lite
drop from the sport last year. However, Don Prudhomme Racing hasn't made any
formal announcement heralding the deal that drew so much
speculation.

The anticipation is over. Whit Bazemore
has satisfied his curiosity. He knows what it feels like to drive a Top
Fuel dragster, and by the smile on his face alone it was clear the
newest driver in the David Powers Motorsports stable liked it -- and
the challenge before him to master it.  

"It's really quite a bit different than a Funny Car. I knew it would be, but I didn't really know how or why," he said.

"The first thing that really hit me was the speed. We only went to the
330-foot [mark] the first run. The sensation of speed was much, much
greater than it was in the Funny Car. And that's because of the
peripheral vision you have in a dragster that you don't have in a Funny
Car," Bazemore said. "In a Funny Car, you look way, way down the
windshield -- out, way downtrack. This car, because it's so much more
open,  you see things a lot closer to your peripheral vision. So the
sensation of speed is pretty tremendous, actually. So I'm excited about
that.  It's such a different animal.

"It's a new challenge, for sure."

An in-studio interview with Funny Car rookie-to-be Ashley
Force augmented by Team Castrol video images from last week's pre-season testing
at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway will compose one of the segments of
this week’s edition of “Hannity’s America.” Hosted by Sean Hannity, who
conducted the interview via satellite, the show airs on Fox News Network at 8
p.m., Eastern time, Sunday, Jan. 28.

Whit
Bazemore, who amassed 20
career NHRA Funny Car victories, took his first steps towards becoming just the
14th NHRA racer to collect victories in both nitro categories Friday
at Firebird International Raceway when he made two passes in his Matco Tools
Iron Eagle dragster during the National Time Trials. Bazemore and teammate “Hot”
Rod Fuller will continue preparing for the 2007 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series
season at the Phoenix track through January
31.

Baze returned to the cockpit of an 8,000 horsepower
nitromethane-powered car for the first time since racing to a runner-up finish
at the prestigious U.S. Nationals last September. On his first attempt of the
annual preseason testing bash, the veteran racer powered to the 330-foot mark
before lifting off the throttle. It was a planned shutoff. On Friday’s second
attempt, Bazemore’s Matco-backed rail lost traction early. Overall, the
Indianapolis
resident is thrilled to have his first Top Fuel laps under his
belt.

Here's a sneak peek of the new Shannon Jenkins-driven Awesome Motorsports GTO. Sponsorship will come from Torco Race Fuels 118NOS blend.

Pro Stock star Erica Enders will be a special guest of the United States Air
Force Thunderbirds during the elite flying group's 60th anniversary season in
2007. Enders is tentatively scheduled for a ride-along in a Thunderbirds F-16C
with one of the world's best pilots in the day's following the first Las Vegas
race in April.

When not traveling the world on behalf of the USAF, the
Thunderbirds Air Demonstration Squadron is stationed out of Nellis Air Force
Base in Las Vegas, which is adjacent to Las Vegas Motor Speedway in the desert
north of town.

"I'm so excited about this opportunity that I find it
really hard to explain," Enders said. "My dad was in the Air Force so it's the
branch of the military we know the best. Growing up, we never missed an Air
Show, especially when the Thunderbirds were performing. You never even dream
that one day you'll get to ride in one of their planes."