B.R.A.K.E.S., the 501(c)(3) charity dedicated to promoting safe teen
driving, will hold it’s Teen Pro-Active Driving School at two different
South Carolina locations in July and August.  On July 25 the
organization will use the BMW Performance Center near Spartanburg, and
on August 8 it will utilize the National Guard Armory in Columbia.

“We’ve already had numerous successful schools here in Charlotte, but
going down to Spartanburg and Columbia will help us reach even more
teens,” said B.R.A.K.E.S. Founder, Doug Herbert.  “I really want to
thank everyone at the BMW Performance Center and the National Guard
Armory, especially General Schuler.  I’m also very appreciative for the
effort put forth by South Carolina Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer.  He is a
friend to our organization and he worked to secure these sites for us,
and we’re very thankful.”

“I have a lot of respect for Doug, and I saw how one wrong move
affected his life forever and ended two young, promising lives,” said
Bauer, who will attend the school on July 25 to speak with
participating teens and show his support for the cause.  “Despite the
consequence of a terrible decision having a devastating impact upon
Doug and his family, he is determined to turn personal tragedy into
saving grace for other parents and children, and I will gladly do all I
can to support him.”

After qualifying for his first NHRA Pro Stock race in more than a year,
Dave Northrop is going for two-in-a-row Friday when Thunder Valley
Nationals qualifying begins at Bristol Dragway.

The experience is something he’d like to see develop into a habit worth keeping.

“I’m really looking forward to racing at Bristol,” said Northrop, a
part-time racer from Perkasie, Pa.  “We should be in much better shape
this weekend because Eddie (Guarnaccia, crew chief on Kenny Koretsky’s
Nitro Fish/ ISC Racers Tape/ISC Salesmaster Corp. Dodge) had an
opportunity to test the car the day after our last race at St. Louis
(May 4).  “He said he learned quite a bit about the car and David
Nickens’ motors that should help us.”

This time around, the team hopes to have all four qualifying attempts to develop a solid tune-up for the Bristol track.

At first glance, Top Fuel driver Bobby Lagana Jr. may look like your average drag racing enthusiast.

A passionate wheelman who walks, talks, eats and breaths drag racing,
Lagana seems to fit the mold of just about every young driver who feels
he can wheel a race car better than anyone in the world.

But try walking up to Lagana at the racetrack, or even on the street,
and it doesn’t take long to realize that this isn’t your average,
run-of-the-mill race car driver.

No, Lagana was molded from a different breed of racer, a breed that doesn’t just race to live – they live to race.

R2B2 Racing crew chief, Al Billes, has guided the powerful duo of Roger
Burgess and Raymond Commisso to a spectacular start of the season, and
this weekend, Billes returns to the scene of his second Pro Mod
Challenge win, back in May of 2004, hoping his success as a driver will
equate to fortune as a tuner. The team is set to compete in the Get
Screened America Pro Mod Challenge presented by ProCare Rx at the NHRA
Thunder Valley Nationals.
 
With Billes calling the shots, Roger Burgess, the most recent Get
Screened America Pro Mod Challenge winner, has qualified no lower than
second in the three races this season. He has improved on his
personal-best marks nearly every race, setting his bar at 5.900 seconds
and 246.44 m.p.h. Burgess is currently third in championship points,
less than two round-wins out of first.

With the first event in the books, the Joe's Transmission TNT Hot Rod Super Series heads to Cayuga Dragway at Toronto Motorsports
Park (TMP) this weekend May 16-17 for the Victoria Day Weekend
Challenge.  The second and third stops on the 2009 schedule, this
double-header weekend presented by Rosehill Auction House, marks the
first time the TNT Super Series will contest two complete points events
during a long weekend show.

Joe Passero of Rosehill Auction House has been a participant
in the TNT Super Series since it began back in late 2006. "We're
pleased to be a returning sponsor and to continue our support of the
TNT series," said Joe.  "This is a neat deal they put on and we always
have a good time at the events."  Joe runs a 2008 Dodge Stratus and
will likely do double duty this weekend in both TNT Hot Rod and the
Quick 32 Sportsman Series.

This weekend, May 15-17, Doug Kalitta, driver of the No. 50 Kalitta
Motorsports Top Fuel dragster, returns to the home of three of his
31 career Top Fuel victories in the NHRA’s quickest and fastest racing
class when he and his Kalitta Motorsports team “go the grand” at the
annual running of the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway
in Bristol, Tenn.

Kalitta’s three title trophies from Bristol (2006, 2005, 2001) make him
the winningest NHRA Top Fuel drag racer on the scenic 1,000-ft. course
in East Tennessee.

“It’s been a few years so I think we’re due for another (win),”
Kalitta, a 44-year old resident of Ann Arbor, Mich., said. “Seriously,
Bristol is one of our favorite places to race. The track and the
facility are top-notch and the scenery is amazing. A win this weekend
would be a big boost for our team. Hopefully it’s our turn and we can
pick up our fourth Bristol trophy.”

Jeff Arend, driver of the DHL Toyota Solara Funny Car, has a very
special remembrance riding along with him and his 300-mph race car at
the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway in Bristol, Tenn.

CompetitionPlus.com has learned that Allen Johnson will use the front end of a spare John Nobile Dodge Stratus Pro Stocker for this weekend's NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals in Bristol, Tenn. Johnson's Mopar is currently at R.J. Race Cars in Galesburg, Ill., undergoing repairs sustained during a recent test session in Radford, Va. The veteran Pro Stock driver was uninjured when the parachutes failed to deploy and he hit a berm at the finish line tearing the front end from the car. 

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When George Bryce lost his rider at the last moment, it seemed natural
that he would reach out to his comfort zone to find a
replacement.

Bryce, the motorcycle drag racing icon and former world championship
team owner, finds comfort in his association with Angelle Sampey.

The former world championship combo will be reunited next weekend at
the ADRL Memphis Drags in Memphis, Tenn., as Bryce will field a
nitrous-injected Pro Extreme Buell with Sampey rocketing down the
eighth-mile.

Matt Smith was originally scheduled to ride but previous commitments in
Qatar and with his currently employer Don Schumacher Racing forced him
to withdraw. He notified Bryce last Thursday of his change in plans.

“I sat around for a while and I just figured I would call Angelle,” Bryce said.

Bobby Lagana Sr. and Bobby Lagana Jr. are as proud as a father and son can be. The source of their pride is Dominick Lagana.

This weekend in Bristol, Dominick will continue the family tradition of
racing nitro at the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals in Bristol, Tenn.

Dominick, known by friends and family as Dom, has worked towards this
goal since he was barely old enough to hold a wrench. Last year the
youngest of the Lagana men earned an NHRA Top Fuel license with a
quarter-mile 4.74 elapsed time at 285 miles per hour.

Dom has been a driving force behind his brother Bobby Jr. at two events
this season. Together they have recorded a semi-final and quarter-final
finish.