Tommy Mauro of Mauro Motorsports has joined forces with Ocean of Love to collect
toys for children with cancer at the upcoming NSCA New Jersey Drags on May
19-20. The team will be racing in honor of these kids and request that all
racers and attendees help support them by bringing a new unwrapped toy to the
event. All toys will be collected at the Mauro Motorsports trailer and then
distributed to the children through Ocean of Love.

This week's NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series teleconference featured two of the
season's hottest drivers, Brandon Bernstein, driver of the Budweiser/Lucas Oil
dragster in Top Fuel, and Robert Hight, driver of the Auto Club Ford Mustang
Funny Car. Both drivers are currently second in the NHRA POWERade Countdown to
the Championship in their respective categories. Only 10 races remain until the
Countdown to Four begins at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals and championship
contenders are established as the top eight racers in each Pro category and
championship points are reset.

Race guys are car guys and three-time NHRA champion Jeg Coughlin Jr. is no exception. The winner of 47 national events, who is currently third in the POWERade rankings, recently took delivery of a car he has been searching for in his spare time -- a 1960 Cadillac Series 62 four-window sedan. The car is one of only 9984 made.

You just have to admire Jim Cunningham’s spirit. The man loves Fords and puts his money where his mouth is.

Cunningham’s Shelby Cobra has provided the only measure of pride for
Ford Pro Stock fans this season. Jerry Haas is driving Cunningham’s
award-winning ride. The car was voted Best Engineered during the St.
Louis event.

KME, Inc., a provider of conveyor and material handling equipment to
the manufacturing and automation industry, is pleased to announce a
partnership with Mike Edwards Motorsports for the O'Reilly NHRA Thunder
Valley Nationals in Bristol, Tenn., the weekend of May 18-20.

Car to feature famous Eighties Band

Stephen Pearcy and the rock band
RATT enjoyed their 1980s drag racing exposure so much that they are back for
more – literally. Two decades later, their name will be emblazoned on the Clay
Millican-driven, Evan Knoll dragster for the balance of the 2007 NHRA POWERade
tour promoting their upcoming June tour with another popular Eighties icon band
Poison.

It’s nine o’clock Friday morning and
the usual suspects have started assembling in the vast airplane hangar at
Kalitta Charters. This group of Kalitta Motorsports fly boys of course includes
the two most well known flying Kalittas, drag racing patriarch Connie and his
nephew and quarter-mile ace Doug, who will soon take their respective helms as
pilots of this aerial adventure. Also on the passenger list are two Team Kalitta
crew guys who have crisscrossed the country many times taking off and landing at
one NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series event after another with Doug and Connie.

Scott Finnis has been flying with
the Kalittas for the longest amount of time. Finnis’ association with one of the
most respected names in drag racing history began when he signed on in 1993 to
help as a crewman for Doug when the younger Kalitta was still driving open-wheel
Sprint racers in USAC. Finnis worked with the Sprint car team until 1998 when
Doug got the call from his uncle to go straight line racing in the family
business. According to Finnis, he helped back then with “everything but putting
together motors”. Doug, with the guidance of his father Doug Sr., crew chief and
engine builder Jerry Danowski and Finnis, captured the 1994 USAC Sprint Car
World Championship as well as runner-up points finishes the two following
years.

Melanie Troxel looks like she may have learned from 2006, a season that
began with her setting the world on fire only to settle back into
fourth place by season’s end.

Heading into last weekend’s O’Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals, the
seventh of 17 races in the first stage of the new Countdown playoff
format, Troxel was, instead of setting the pace, stalking the pace.

Consecutive DNQs cannot break Morgan Lucas’ confidence.

“Last weekend was just a growing pain for us,” Lucas said. “We run a
different combination than Rahn [Tobler] is used to running. We are
just taking some time for him to get used to it and get acclimated with
how it works.

“Lance and Rahn are working well together. They are having fun. I think
when everything begins working as it should – it will be a perfect fit.
I just think that over time we will get the data we need. That’s all we
need.