NHRA POWERade Series world champions Tony Schumacher and John Force
were named to the American Auto Racing Writers and Broadcasters
Association (AARWBA) Auto Racing All-America First Team.

Top Fuel runner-up Doug Kalitta and Pro Stock world champion Jason Line were named to the Second Team.

Two selections were made by the members of the motorsports press
association from each of seven categories – Drag Racing, Open Wheel,
Stock Car, Road Racing, Short Track, Touring Series and At-Large – to
complete the first team. The highest remaining vote-getters were
eligible for the AARWBA second team and honorable mention team.

Top Alcohol Funny Car national champion Frank Manzo, who had 10 event
wins – six national and four divisional – en route to his 10th Lucas
Oil national championship, was an At-Large selection on the Second Team.

Bryan Seward found it very difficult to fight back the tears on Sunday
as he won his first career Pro Modified event during the recently
completed Snow Bird Outlaw Nationals in Bradenton, Florida.

The longtime sportsman racer, who is in his fourth year of running Pro
Modified, finally raised his first trophy high into the air. The tears
began to flow freely.

“It was a sight for a 42-year old to be crying like a baby, but I just could not hold them back,” said Seward.

The dew point during final round caused the track to be very difficult
to negotiate and Seward covered “about half a mile to get the quarter
mile win.” Posting a 6.27 in his supercharged Mustang, Seward bested
the 6.36 of the nitrous assisted Camaro of Dan Bandish in the final
round and secured his first career win.

Mikres named co-crew chief of Scott Kalitta-driven Toyota Solara Nitro Funny Car

Veteran Nitro crew chief and former NHRA Top Fuel and Funny Car driver
Glenn Mikres has been named as co-crew chief for the Kalitta
Motorsports-owned Kalitta Air Toyota Solara Funny Car driven by Scott
Kalitta. Mikres will assist crew chief and team owner Conrad “Connie”
Kalitta with tuning the 7,000-horsepower, nitro-fueled race car in the
2007 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series. Mikres and Connie Kalitta are
reuniting as co-crew chief and crew chief in 2007. They each served
those roles in 1988 on a Scott Kalitta-driven Funny Car as well.

“Communication with Conrad will be the key to having a successful
program,” Mikres said. “I’ve worked with Conrad in the past, and we
work well together. He knows how to make a lot of horsepower. Hopefully
he and I can work together on how to get that horsepower applied to the
track properly. I have high expectations of what we can accomplish with
our Kalitta Air Funny Car in 2007 and beyond.”

Rod Saboury sent us over the first pics of his new turbocharged Corvette. The Pro Street legend will have his car on display during the PRI show in Orlando, Florida.

Erie Educational Services Joins Team As New Major Associate Sponsor

Veteran Funny Car driver Jeff Arend has joined Worsham Racing and the Checker, Schuck's, Kragen Funny Car team for 2007, and will be the driver of the team's blue car, replacing Phil Burkart Jr., who piloted the blue CSK machine for more than three seasons. Arend began racing Funny Cars professionally in 1995, and has one career victory on his record (Maple Grove, 1996.) He has spent much of his career driving for legendary tuner and car owner Paul Smith, but did join Team CSK for one race in 2006, when he drove the team's special edition Murray's car in St. Louis.

In conjunction with Arend's appointment as the driver of Del and Chuck Worsham's blue Checker, Schuck's, Kragen car, the team also announced the addition of Erie Educational Services as a major associate sponsor. Arend was instrumental in bringing the industry leader in the area of student loan consolidation into the sport in 2006, and has nurtured the program for more than a year. The company will now be a part of the Team CSK program, and will embrace the opportunity to make Worsham Racing a key part of its marketing strategy.

Del Worsham announced the moves from the team's Orange, Calif. headquarters, and emphasized the critical need to push his program to new heights after a disappointing 2006 campaign, which saw him miss the POWERade Top 10 for the first time since 1997.

Luca
Mantovano, a sophomore at the University of Wisconsin, is the 2006 national
winner of the Castrol® SYNTEC® Outperformers™ scholarship.

Mantovano was recognized by drag
racing icon John Force during the annual Auto Club of Southern California
Finals the final event in the 2006 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series.

The Castrol
SYNTEC Outperformers initiative, which grew out of research that showed a
disturbing downward trend in the number of individuals opting for careers in
the automotive field, recognizes and encourages young men and women who have
demonstrated an interest and aptitude for auto mechanics.

The Moose is on the loose
and it has escaped via the popular Canadian drag racing website –
DragRaceCanada.com.

Their latest project, newly
formed sister website; www.nitromoose.ca
offers a unique selection of t-shirts, caps and decals which targets the
dedicated “Northern” drag racing fan base.

Creasy Family Motorsports announced today that Torco Race Fuels will renew as
primary sponsor for driver Dale Creasy, Jr. on the Torco Race Fuels Nitro Funny
Car. Creasy will defend his 2006 IHRA Torco Pro Nitro Funny Car Championship
flying the Torco colors from his 2007 Chevy Monte Carlo. Team owner Dale Creasy,
Jr., along with crew chiefs, Steve Creasy and Allen Meyer spoke about the deal
shortly after the announcement. 

"I'm really
excited to continue our relationship with Evan Knoll and Torco Racing Fuels,"
Creasy said. "Evan is certainly one of the icons in this sport and it's an honor
to race under the Torco banner. We're coming off of our best season ever and
everyone will be aiming at us, so we'll be ready."

Nobody throws a Christmas party like John Force.

The NHRA POWERade Series veteran, who recently scored his 14th Funny
Car title, welcomed several thousand visitors to his race shop in Yorba
Linda, Calif. Sunday for his annual Holiday Car Show.

If you are seeking church services during the PRI show, several motorsports ministries including Racers for Christ and the IHRA's Godspeed Ministries, will present a service on Saturday, December 16, 7:30 - 8:30 AM in room S-230H. This service is open to all exhibitors and attendees.