Continuing its re-branding efforts and to prepare for the AHRA 2010 Reunion Tour, the American Hot Rod Association announced today a partnership agreement with Sterling Productions to produce licensed apparel and souvenirs to be available both online as well as at Reunion Tour events across the U.S. and Canada.

“We’re very pleased to have Sterling Productions alongside us as a marketing partner as we bring our AHRA brand of drag racing to the fans in 2010 and beyond,” said Troy Moe, CEO of AHRA. “They have a long list of satisfied customers in the motorsports world as well as major retailers and top brands, and we are counting on their experience to help us navigate the waters.”

Craig Treble returns to Don Schumacher Racing to ride the Valvoline Motorcycle Oils Suzuki in this weekend's NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series' Pro Stock Motorcycle season-opener at the 41st annual NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla.

Treble last rode a DSR motorcycle in a limited season in 2008, winning once in one final round and reaching the semifinals two times. Career-wise, he has won 14 national events in 29 final rounds, including two victories in three final rounds in 2009, running his own team.

Longtime DSR Pro Stock Motorcycle crew chief Steve Tartaglia will tune the Valvoline Motorcycle Oils Suzuki.

For this weekend’s Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals, NHRA and Safety-Kleen Systems, Inc. have announced an agreement to provide containers and disposal of properly segregated non-hazardous waste materials free-of-charge to the race teams attending the event. Safety-Kleen also has been named the preferred provider for environmental services, fluid waste disposal and parts cleaner service at Gainesville Raceway.

Firebird International Raceway operator Charlie Allen said he has lost five pounds this month and might lose another $250,000, as well, to repave his dragstrip.
 
Pro Stock drivers Gordie Rivera and Vinnie Deceglie each have lost race cars that cost six figures apiece.
 
P.J. Harvey lost control of what happened with the traction compound he manufactures and distributes.
 

Pro Stock driver Greg Anderson shared his strong opinion of the Firebird International Raceway surface conditions at the recent NHRA Arizona Nationals with the ESPN television audience. However, the presentation of his tirade, which wasn't unjustified, appeared to imply that the Pro Stock drivers revolted and made demands to the NHRA to finish their eliminations at the upcoming Gatornationals.
 
It didn't quite happen that way.
 
Graham Light, NHRA senior vice-president of racing operations, and Dan Olson, director of Top Fuel and Funny Car racing, worked during qualifying to identify the problems that cause two Pro Stock cars to end up on their lids and give the rest of the field serious concerns. Said Anderson that Friday night, "They want to fix it as well, but they’re not sure what it is, either."

To understand some of the factors in the Phoenix VHT / Pro Stock accidents equation, it's necessary to know how the NHRA applies traction compound, what guidelines it uses.
 
Graham Light, the NHRA's senior vice-president of racing operations, said prepping the track for a national event is a bit of a combination of NHRA racing-surface experts and their local-track counterparts.
 
"We request that the track scrape all the old rubber off the track from the starting line to approximately 500 foot. And our people will show up, normally the weekend before. Sometimes we have to touch up the scraping job. Other times we don't. Bottom line, you try and get as much of the old rubber off as possible," he said.

On Saturday and Sunday during the 2010 March Meet at famed Auto Club Raceway at Famoso 14-time Funny Car champion John Force enjoyed meeting old friends and watching Funny Cars from his early days roar down the track. As the event’s Grand Marshal Force was on hand signing autographs for sponsor Auto Club of Southern California and enjoying a trip down memory lane.

“There were cars out there that spanked me years ago. Cars like the Blue Max. I used to drive for Steve Plueger (who was tuning the LA Hooker at the March Meet). What is really cool is that (Force’s son-in-law and 2009 Funny Car champion) Robert (Hight) said that I have to get back up here. I came here for 10-15 years in my early days of racing. I won here in 1984 and crashed here a number of times. I love this place and I love the fans,” said Force from the Famoso tower.  “I love coming back here. It is a real drag race. I was amazed by the crowds that are up here. (NHRA Vice-President) Steve Gibbs told me they are big and I was just amazed at all the people in the pits and all that is going on. God bless them. They never forgot where we came from. I am as old as all these guys nobody knows it though. There are guys that I didn’t recognize because I was on fire so much in the old days.”

Running the quickest lap ever in doorslammer drag racing history certainly makes Canadian racer Raymond Commissoo the man to beat this season in GSA NHRA Pro Modified competition. This year marks the first time in nearly a decade the Pro Modified division will race minus the "exhibition" label.

Commisso topped his Monday afternoon 5.809 elapsed time with a 5.78, 252.57 pass in testing at South Georgia Motorsports Park in Valdosta, Ga.

Since joining R2B2 Racing full-time, Commisso has gone from a freewheeling and mostly underfunded independent to a well-supported professional driver and his performances on the racetrack have taken a noticeable upturn. He currently holds the national elapsed time record of 5.881 seconds and has recorded the quickest run in history at 5.817 seconds. People are starting to take notice.

Veteran Top Fuel driver Cory McClenathan, who has accomplished much during his highly-decorated NHRA racing career, still needs to check off two pesky items that stand out near the top of his drag racing bucket list.

Item one – A win at the tradition-rich Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals, one of NHRA’s major events

Item two – An NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series Top Fuel world championship title

If early season performance indicates anything, the Anaheim, Calif. native may be well on his way to crossing both off the list in 2010.

The Inaugural AHRA Nitro Showdown at Desert Thunder Raceway in Midland, Texas has been expanded to two complete days of drag racing action, now scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, May 15-16 because of extreme interest from sportsmen competitors.

Saturday’s racing will include the Nitro Showdown highlighted by 8,000 horsepower nitro methane-burning Top Fuel dragsters along with a duel of Jet Cars featuring “Rolling Thunder” vs. “Her-a-cane.” Sportsmen racing will continue through Sunday for the more than the combined 250 competitors in the Pro, Super Pro, Motorcycle, Street and Jr. Dragster classes.