The familiar sound of slot machines
and high dollar card tables was replaced by the sounds of banging hammers and
nail guns as Paul Athey and Mohegan Sun Racing welcomed a new sponsor to their
operation. Sterling Homes is proud to announce their backing of the Mohegan Sun
Team for the remainder of the 2006 season and the 2007 campaign as well.

“This is a great partnership,” team owner Paul Athey said. “Russ
is a great guy with a passion for what we are trying to achieve on the track.

Top Fuel racer Doug Herbert
confirmed that he's filed criminal charges against his former crewchief Wayne
Dupuy.

"When he left he was under the impression that all the parts that
he’d worked on were his, and all the records were his," Herbert said.

Last weekend’s IHRA World Nationals
(hard to believe, with all that’s been going, on that  it was just a week ago)
featured a scheduled Funny Car finale between Gary Densham and Scott Kalitta,
but the race never came off.  When Sunday’s final rounds were rained out the
competitors returned to settle things Monday morning, but Densham and Kalitta
failed to appear, forcing the association to simply list things as
uncontested.

Schumacher, Anderson and Smith also will lead their categories

into eliminations at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals

John Force raced to the $100,000
Skoal Showdown victory Sunday at O'Reilly Raceway Park. It was Force's sixth
career win in the special bonus race for the top eight Funny Car qualifiers from
the last 12 months.

When your name is Jon Asher, you get
your own notebook at the NHRA U.S. Nationals.

ASHER'S
NOTEBOOK

(9-2-2006) - Pro Stock Motorcycle champion
Andrew Hines claimed the largest payout in class history by winning the $25,000
top prize in the Ringers Gloves Pro Bike Battle Saturday at O'Reilly Raceway
Park at Indianapolis.

 Continuing our unofficial canvas
of the drivers regarding the new points system for 2007, we again asked the same
question as was put forth yesterday:  What’s your opinion of the points system
change for next year?

Torco’s Competitionplus.com has
heard from reliable sources, and has 
confirmed with those involved, that a
total of four race teams were 
in the mix for the sponsorship from Monsters,
a product of Hansens 
that is distributed exclusively on a national basis by
none other 
than Anheuser-Busch.  Included n the chase were Don Schumacher
Racing 
(either as a replacement sponsor for the departing Matco Tools or
for 

Torco's CompetitionPlus.com has
learned from reliable sources that Don Schumacher Racing has parted ways with
Matco Tools as a major sponsor for 2007. The company will likely remain with DSR
as an associate sponsor but that is not final.

Don Schumacher confirmed that he was unable to reach an agreement
that would keep the Whit Bazemore Funny Car running. With that said, the writing
may be on the way for Bazemore's employment at DSR.

Expect the official announcement to come some time today.

He’s well-known throughout the
motorsports community.  He holds the unique distinction of being the only race
team owner to have collected wins in each of Americas’ three major motorsports
series – NHRA drag racing, NASCAR and IndyCar racing.