ADRL
Pro Extreme champion Jason Scruggs can add multi-tasking to his
extensive list of talents following an impressive Friday night
performance at the ADRL Ford Drive One Summer Drags V in Martin, Mi.

Not only did the Saltillo, Miss.-based doorslammer heavy-hitter
complete unfinished business from the rain-delayed Memphis Drags but he
also landed the number one spot, provisionally, in this weekend’s event.

The perfectionist in Scruggs prevented him from celebrating the obvious
double-victory, instead it forced him to focus on what he needs to do
to improve on Friday’s performance.

Doug Horne, rookie standout driving the Junior Pippin Drag Star Buell, fired a shot across the bow of the competition during Pro Stock Motorcycle qualifying at the NRHA Route 66 Nationals in Joliet, Ill.

Horne, out of Aberdeen, Md., blasted to the top of the field with a
blazing 6.936, 191.84 mph run in the very first qualifying session
which proved untouchable in the second session.

“It was really good to come right off of the trailer and lay down that
kind of a number,” Horne said. “We’ve done some testing during the four
weeks we’ve had off and it seems the testing has paid off. The tune-up
was great and we changed a bit in the clutch combination. Having that
kind of run gives us all the confidence in the world.”

Noted ESPN analyst Chris Berman used to refer to former NFL great
Cris Carter as one who, “All he does is catch touchdowns.” While it’s likely
that Berman will never commentate on an ADRL Extreme 10.5 race, one
could only imagine what he’d say about Billy Glidden.

Glidden, who has legitimately only lost one race in ADRL competition in
two seasons, may not catch touchdowns on the football field but his
actions in drag racing could easily fill a highlight reel.

Friday night at U.S. 131 Dragway in Martin, Mich., the
second-generation Glidden, son of ten-time Pro Stock titlist Bob
Glidden, showed why he will go down in drag racing as so much more than just a legend.

Mike Edwards sounds like a broken record with
the way he talks about qualifying No. 1 on Friday and expecting his run
not to hold through Saturday’s final sessions.

What the soft-spoken Pro Stock racer from Coweta, Ok., doesn’t share is
the fact that he’s usually the one who beats his Friday run. His 6.587
elapsed time at 209.88 miles per hour during the first two qualifying
runs at the NHRA Route 66 Nationals in Chicago, if it holds, will
represent his sixth No. 1 of the season in the first eleven races of
the season.

“I think it’s premature for me to be up here tonight because the
conditions for tomorrow look like Pro Stock is going to run really fast
tomorrow,” Edwards said during Friday evening’s press conference. “We
made a really good run tonight and hats off to my guys for making it
happen. I was shocked that it ran that fast, I really was.”

Johnny Gray has been the subject of rumors concerning his plans after 
2009. Scuttlebutt suggests the former nitro racer turned Pro Stock competitor is headed to a Ford for 2010.

The interesting thing about the potential scenario is that Gray said he knows nothing about it.

“I haven’t really given it a lot of thought,” Gray admitted. “We’re
struggling right now and I’m not real happy with my program right now.
I can’t honestly say that I haven't given any thought to changes in my
program at this time.”

Since coming into the Pro Stock division in 2007, Gray has driven
Mopars, first with leased engines from Larry Morgan and in 2009 with
factory-backed Allen Johnson. Morgan has since announced he will go to
Ford in 2010. Johnson is expected to remain with Mopar through this
year despite the manufacturer’s decision to file for bankruptcy.

Antron Brown raced to the qualifying lead in Top Fuel Friday at the United Association Route 66 NHRA Nationals.

Tony Pedregon, Mike Edwards and Doug Horne also were qualifying leaders
in their respective categories at the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing
Series event.

Brown posted a performance of 3.826 seconds at 317.94 mph in his Matco
Tools/DirecTV dragster to take the top spot at Route 66 Raceway near
Chicago, while local favorite Tony Schumacher, winner of three of the
last five events, was second in his U.S. Army dragster with a 3.848 at
311.34.

Reigning National Guard American Drag Racing League (ADRL) world
champions Jason Scruggs in Pro Extreme and Billy Glidden in Flowmaster
Extreme 10.5 scored final-round wins for the rain-postponed Quarter-Max
Memphis Drags, run Friday night during the Ford Drive One Summer Drags
V at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park in Martin, Michigan. Joining them in
victory lane were Brian Gahm in Extreme Pro Stock and Ashley Owens with
his career-first Pro Extreme Motorcycle title.

The Pro Nitrous semi-finals and final round were held over to Saturday,
as series officials and fellow racers agreed to wait for one of the
semi-finalists, who had a family event to attend on Friday evening.

JEGS Automotive, Inc., has extended its agreement with the NHRA as
title sponsor of the NHRA JEGS Allstars event, it was announced today.
The extension will keep the JEGS name on the race-within-a-race bonus
program for the best of the best NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series
competitors through 2013 and will also include the addition of the Top
Sportsman and Top Dragster classes beginning in 2010.

“We’re very excited to extend our relationship with JEGS Automotive
through the year 2013,” said Gary Darcy, senior vice president, sales
and marketing, NHRA.  “JEGS has always had a strong commitment to NHRA
and sportsman racing.  Thanks to John, Troy, Mike & Jeg Jr , the
prestige of the JEGS Allstars event has increased year-in and year-out
and continues to be one of the most anticipated events during the
season where individual and team bragging rights are at stake.”

The JEGS Allstars event pits the top points earners from NHRA’s seven
geographic divisions against each other in the culmination of a
year-long points battle.  Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series competitors in
Top Alcohol Dragster (TAD), Top Alcohol Funny Car (TAFC), Comp
Eliminator, Super Stock, Stock Eliminator, Super Comp, Super Gas and
Super Street, along with competitors in Top Sportsman and Top Dragster,
vie for team and individual honors and a share of the $119,000 purse.

Doug Reiseter was uninjured when his car lost both rear wheels and
tires during a practice run on Friday afternoon during the ADRL Summer
Drags in Martin, MI. 

“There’s not a ding on me,”
Reisterer said. “I didn’t really hit anything hard fortunately. I feel
pretty good considering it all.”

The car, according to Reisterer, is not in bad shape but is apparently done for the weekend.

“The chassis is probably in good shape and it will need some work in the back. It’s hurt and is most likely fixable.”

Robert Patrick loves to win.

Sporting sponsorship from his father's Purvis Ford Lincoln Mercury
dealership located in Fredericksburg (Va), the son of Eli Patrick,
Robert hopes to put his Shelby Cobra Mustang in victory lane at U.S.
131 Dragway in victory lane for another even more important reason.

The winner of the inaugural ADRL Extreme Pro Stock event and a past
IHRA world champion, Patrick is gunning to take home the trophy in the
very first Ford Drive One Summer Drags. The ADRL has run at U.S. 131 in
the past four years; however this is the first year Ford has sponsored
the event.