After several days of researching alternatives, the management at
Summit Motorsports Park, home of the upcoming Summit Racing Equipment
NHRA Nationals, will replace the asphalt from the eighth-mile to the
finish line to alleviate drainage problems that have occasionally
plagued the track the last year.

Officials first detected a problem during last weekend's Super Chevy
event at the facility as water was seeping up through the track
surface. The Bader family, which owns the track, consulted with NHRA
Senior Vice President-Racing Operations Graham Light and facilities
consultant Wayne McMurtry and numerous engineers to determine the best
course of action.

Core samples were taken and it was determined that the root of the
problem was the high level of sand in the top inch and a half of the
asphalt mixture, which was retaining water and not allowing it to seep
down into the earth.

To add to your Father's Day relaxation, we have compiled a few videos
for your viewing pleasure. We found these gems on YouTube.com which
feature the early years of drag racing. This two part documentary
focuses on the early years of drag racing with a large focus on Stock,
Super Stock and Pro Stock. Classic footage from Indy, Beeline and other
historic venues. As an added bonus, we've also included the 1971 NHRA
Winternationals in Pomona, Ca.

In the first rounds of qualifying at Bandimere Speedway’s Grease Monkey
Thunder on the Mountain event, a round of the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag
Racing Series, Top Alcohol Dragster driver Richard Putz of Earlville,
Iowa, and Top Alcohol Funny Car pilot Roger Bateman, Winnipeg, Man.,
took the No. 1 qualifying positions in their classes.

Putz laid down a 5.610-second, 253.66 mph pass to take the top spot. 
The No. 2 qualifier, Jim Whiteley from Grand Junction, Colo., was just
a couple of ticks behind with a 5.636-second, 257.28 mph run.  Reigning
division champion Ed Schmeeckle, Gothenburg, Neb., is in the No. 3 spot
and Denver’s own Eugene Tumbarello is fourth.

Bateman set the pace in Top Alcohol Funny Car with a 5.912-second,
244.43 mph lap.  Racing veteran Vern Moats of Des Moines, Iowa, is in
the No. 2 slot with a 5.967-second run at 244.56 mph.  Firestone
resident Paul Anderson is in the No. 4 spot and Conifer’s Robert
Kanenwisher is No. 6.

The first rounds of qualifying at The Olympics of Drag Racing, a round
of the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, at Pacific Raceways were
delayed by rain.  Racing finally got under way late in the day
prompting NHRA and track officials to cut qualifying runs to one per
class. In Top Alcohol Dragster, Shawn Cowie, Delta, B.C., grabbed the
No. 1 spot and Steve Gasparrelli, West Covina, Calif., set the pace in
Top Alcohol Funny Car.

Cowie outran the field with a 5.389-second, 268.12 pass that was just
enough to put him ahead of No. 2 qualifier Joey Severance.  Severance
ran 5.401 seconds at 264.70 mph.  Currently there are 10 Top Alcohol
Dragsters vying for a spot in the eight-car elimination field.

The NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series takes over Atco Raceway this
weekend for the third of seven events in Northeast division
competition. Friday’s qualifying and time trials are in the books with
the No.1 spots going to Top Alcohol Dragster pilot John Finke of
Selkirk NY, and Morganville NJ, resident Frank Manzo in Top Alcohol
Funny Car.

Finke, who picked up a national event win last weekend at Englishtown,
blistered a 5.317 second, 275.79 mph pass to take the pole.  He
currently sits atop the Northeast division leader board with one
out-of-division win at Bradenton to start off the year.
 

A Q&A with the Drivers in the 2009 K&N Horsepower Challenge

At next weekend’s Summit Racing Equipment Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio,
eight of the NHRA’s best Pro Stock racers will take part in the 25th
annual K&N Horsepower Challenge, a special event pairing the
drivers who accumulated the most qualifying points over the last year
in a three-round, high dollar shootout with the winner taking home
$50,000.  This year’s field is truly worthy of the event’s silver
anniversary status as it includes five former winners accounting for
half of the wins in the Challenge’s 24-year history as well as four
former Full Throttle Pro Stock champions.  Once qualifying was
completed at the last event in Englishtown, NJ, the elite eight took
time to answer some questions about Pro Stock’s all-star race:

If anything, Kevin Poynter has learned to keep all his options open in 2009.

The veteran drag racing tuner, who was the co-crew chief for Doug
Herbert's NHRA Top Fuel Dragster most of last year, is presently
exploring numerous avenues for future employment.

Currently, Poynter is helping former A/Fuel dragster standout Mike
Bowers make the transition to the Top Fuel Dragster dragster division
on the IHRA ciircuit.

"Mike and his father Jerry Bowers and my family have known each other
for years," said Poynter. "They've been putting this deal together to
move to Top Fuel for around four years and because I've known them for
so long and I've been involved in Top Fuel, they wanted me to come help
them out."

Results from the 2nd Annual Ohio Crankshaft No Box Nationals at Bunker Hill Dragway.
 

What a difference a year can make. After struggling through 2008, in what would easily be considered his toughest season in two decades,
Quain Stott is back in the groove that led him to much of the success
he has enjoyed during his career. After spending most of 2008 in a
research and development mode, Stott is back to his winning ways - as
both a driver and a tuner.

"I was just being hard-headed," Stott admits about the 2008 season.
"The stuff we had figured out on paper should have made the car faster.
It just wouldn't work in racing conditions."

With
six races completed and three remaining in the Get Screened America Pro
Mod Challenge presented by ProCare Rx to qualify for the $35,000 Matco
Tools Pro Mod Clash, the field is quickly defining itself.
 
Beginning at the NHRA Gatornationals in March, drivers have earned
points for the "race-within-a-race" which pits the top Pro Mods against
each other with the chance to race for a $25,000 top prize when the
Clash is contested Oct. 29 - Nov. 1 at the NHRA Las Vegas Nationals.
 
The NHRA SuperNationals at Englishtown, N.J. last weekend saw only a
slight change in the lineup with the qualified drivers jockeying for
position. Raymond Commisso's victory launched him from a tie in eighth
to a solid fourth, and Danny Rowe's runner-up performance moved him
from fifth to third.