Just when you thought the prospect of facing Frank Manzo couldn’t be any more daunting, it did.

Manzo was granted a release from his Lucas Oil contract at the end of
the 2009 season in order to drive an Al-Anabi Racing Top Alcohol Funny
Car and to race for Sheikh Khalid Bin Hamad Al Thani, a member of the
ruling family of Qatar, this according to a press release posted on
NHRA.com.

Don Garlits had a good time racing at the 55th Annual NHRA U.S. Nationals in Clermont, Ind. And, even though drag racing’s elder statesman was eliminated early in Stock class eliminations, he had the time of his life.

A man known for his exploits behind the wheel of a nitro-guzzling Top Fuel dragster, Garlits drove one of the new Hemi Dodge Drag Pak Challengers within the A/Stock Automatic division.  His 10.432 elapsed time, -.868 under the class index, was 144th in the 128-car field.

The Pedregon Brothers are still awaiting a response from NHRA President
Tom Compton on their proposal to settle the controversy of the tenth and final berth in the Funny Car portion of the Countdown-to-One playoffs.

They propose the spot should be reopened by the NHRA to allow Cruz
Pedregon, the defending series champion, to settle the controversy with
a one-race playoff tiebreaker race with Robert Hight during the first
session of qualifying at next weekend’s NHRA Carolinas Nationals in
Concord, N.C.

“Obviously there’s a lot of controversy surrounding this issue,” Cruz
said. “Let’s face it. We were no longer in control of our destiny. We
got beat I can accept that. The only thing I am disputing is the race
that determined the top ten position. That’s where the spotlight needs
to be, nothing more and nothing less. Everybody knew what was going to
happen on that race before it happened.

One can’t blame Marcus Smith for trying to capitalize on the near
fisticuffs incident between John Force and Tony Pedregon during the NHRA U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis on Monday afternoon.

Smith is the President of Speedway Motorsports Inc., owner of zMax
Dragway in Concord, N.C., and site of next week’s NHRA Carolinas
Nationals. Monday evening he sent out a press release offering $20,000
for a grudge race between Force and Pedregon in a winner-take-all
setting.

Force and Pedregon engaged in a shouting match in the shutdown area of
O’Reilly Raceway Park over a controversial semi-final match between
Force and John Force Racing teammate Robert Hight. Hight clinched a
berth in the NHRA’s Countdown-to-One playoffs with the victory
eliminating Pedregon older brother and defending series champion Cruz
Pedregon.

Like many top-flight Top Fuel dragster drivers, Hillary Will was left
without a ride for 2009 as a result of the economic downturn.

Roger Richards

The 29-year-old Will is at the U.S. Nationals this weekend, keeping her name in drag racing.

“I’m enjoying racing,” Will said. “I love to be out here. I’m a fan.
I’m a teammate and I’m here supporting all my teammates and racers and
having a good time.”

Will finished fourth last year in the points, winning the Topeka (Kan.) race, driving for Ken Black.

Every lap down the track behind the wheel of her '63 Corvette Pro Mod
gives R2B2 Racing driver Melanie Troxel more confidence. She
qualified
No. 7 in the Get Screened America Pro Mod Challenge presented by
ProCare Rx at the NHRA U.S. Nationals and was eliminated first round.
Her teammate, Roger Burgess, went on to win the event, his second win
of the season and the third for the team.
 
Troxel ran a 6.015-second pass to take No. 7, and was paired against
the series points leader Burton Auxier who qualified No. 11 with a
6.056. At the starting line, Auxier nailed a .012 reaction-time to
Troxel's .090, and she was never able to pass him to take the win.
 

Over 4,000 fans attended the fourth annual Don Schumacher Racing Open House on Friday, Sept. 4, all of whom helped raise over $19,000
for Riley Children’s Foundation and Riley Hospital for Children. The
event was held in advance of the 55th annual U.S. Nationals at Raceway
Park at Indianapolis, the 18th of 24 events of the 2009 NHRA Full
Throttle Drag Racing Series.

Live auctions, raffles, and voluntary donations held at the 100,000-sq.
ft. facility in Brownsburg, Ind., which houses all six DSR NHRA teams,
pushed the four-year total north of $80,000.

When the Napa Auto Parts Cavalcade of Funny Cars runs at Maple Grove
Raceway this weekend as part of the Geezers at The Grove Reunion, it
will be more than just an exhibition race between some of the biggest
names in the sport’s history.
 
With more than a dozen cars speeding down Maple Grove’s quartermile
strip, the competition will be especially intense. That’s because
putting these cars together isn’t just a hobby it’s a passion.
 
Just ask Nick Boninfante Jr., who helps tune the U.S. Male Mustang
Funny Car for his father “Nitro Nick” Boninfante. The family business
has been in his blood since he was a little kid in the Philadelphia
suburbs
 
“When I got home from school, the first thing was homework,” said
Boninfante, who is also co-crew chief for Jeff Arend’s Funny Car in the
NHRA Full Throttle Series. “I’d get it done as quick as I could and I’d
head down to garage. I couldn’t wait to get down there and work on the
racecar. My dad taught me everything. It was one of those things.

The NEOPMA invitational race at IHRA’s “North America Nationals” will
be one to watch as the NEOPMA members look to try and lay down
impressive numbers at one of the premier drag racing venues in the
Northeast, New England Dragway. Pro Mod fans will be treated to two Pro
Mod series for the price of one, with what promises to be exciting Pro
Mod action.

The NEOPMA will divert from their normal format of two Pro Mod classes,
Nitrous/Aspirated and Blower/Turbo Class, and run one Pro Mod Class
that is inclusive of all engine combination. It will be our standard
format of quarter mile racing, which will be exciting for the fans.

It takes time for any sporting event to develop historic and
sentimental importance for competitors and fans, but the National Guard

Packed grandstands and tight racing are now the hallmarks of all
National Guard ADRL events, but it all started with Flowmaster
Dragstock, the O’Fallon, Missouri-based series’ oldest and most
prestigious race, scheduled this year for Sep. 11-12, at North
Carolina’s Rockingham Dragway (shown).

American Drag Racing League’s (ADRL’s) annual Flowmaster
Dragstock is well on its way to achieving legendary status. This year’s
Flowmaster Dragstock VI takes over Rockingham (NC) Dragway Sep. 11-12,
and with record-setting car counts and spectator attendance expected,
it promises to expand the event’s reputation and prestige.

As the literal jumping off point for the National Guard ADRL in 2004,
Dragstock has played a pivotal role in shaping the series and already
has become the one race every racer wants to see his or her name
written beside in the win column.