Andrew Hines was the only provisional low qualifier at the O’Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals in St. Louis.

Rains which fell following the Pro Stock Motorcycle session forced NHRA
officials to cancel the remainder of Friday qualifications.

Hines was surprised that any qualifying took place on a day hampered by repeated rain delays.

“All of our guys back in the pits have iPhones and they were pulling up
the radar shots … they were saying it was going to get rained out,”
Hines said. “Looking at the radar I didn’t think we would (be able to
qualify).”

Andrew
Hines moved to the top spot in Pro Stock Motorcycle before rain washed
out the first two rounds of qualifying at the 15th annual O’Reilly NHRA
Midwest Nationals at Gateway International Raceway.

Persistent rain showers forced NHRA officials to postpone the first
rounds of professional qualifying for Top Fuel, Funny Car and Pro Stock
at the seventh of 24 events on the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing
Series.

Hines was able to power his Screamin’ Eagle Vance & Hines
Harley-Davidson to a 6.920-second run at 189.73 mph before rain storms
moved into the area. Pro Stock Motorcycle was the only professional
category to complete a round of qualifying.

For one of the brightest innovators in the nitro ranks, touting a
sponsorship inspiring an innovative way to gain an accredited college
degree seems to be a good fit.

Jim Head will carry backing from Western Governors University for the
balance of 2009 and possibly beyond. Head debuted the new look Toyota
Solara Funny Car today during qualifying for the O’Reilly NHRA Midwest
Nationals in St. Louis.

“I am really excited about bringing aboard Western Governors
University,” Head said. “We plan to work alongside them to generate
leads for enrollment using NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing as the
platform.”

Team IHRA's Shirley Blankenship passes away sometime on Tuesday evening after a battle with cancer.

She had been battling cancer for some time, but refused to let it
change who she was," IHRA VP Skooter Peaco said. "A fixture in IHRA forever, Shirley and her husband
Hank were always ready to go to the next race and do their part to help
make our events successful.

"She was the den mother of the tech
trailer and was known by thousands of our racers around the country. 
She will be missed and remembered."

Thanks to Tommy Gray and Scott Cannon, the Northeast Outlaw Pro Mod Association (NEOPMA) has updated their logo. Prior to April 18th, the logo read "230 MPH, 6 SEC. ET'S." That's now obsolete. The new logo now says "240+ MPH, 5 SEC.

ORSCA held their first ever Automatic Pro Modified race Orangeburg Drag
Strip and when you look at the record book you’ll see Dennis Jordan’s
name as the winner. Right off the trailer Dennis looked like he was
going to be the one to beat. On Friday Don Brown tuned the Executioner
‘53 Corvette up to post a 4.06 in a shake down run but the best was yet
to come.

During the first round of qualifying Dennis laid down a thundering 4.05
in the heat, the track temperature was steaming 137 degrees. Dennis was
starting to put on a show again the best was yet to come. Don Brown
elected to set the 2nd round of qualifying out and when they did they
saw a few people pick up their e.t.’s. Troy Jordan driving Terry and
Terri Green’s Green Eyed Monster got down in the 4..0 range with a
4.08. He wasn’t the only one though, Herman Shepard laid down a 4.09 to
prove he was going to be a contender. Several of the Pro Mods were
running in the mid four teens and were improving.

After a season with a new car, Al Hinds said he’ll be ready to show the
team’s full potential for the 2009 Pro Modified Racing Association Tour.
 
“We haven’t made a lot of changes, he said recently. “But we’ve got
more power courtesy of Carl Spiering and Terry Vince at ERD (Engine
Research & Development).”
 
The Corvette’s fuel system is built by ERD, and supplies the fuel to
the Alan Johnson 526-cubic inch TFX engine. A PSI supercharger sits on
top of the engine, and a Lenco three-speed transmission is coupled to
it.

NHRA officials announced today that Sioux City Truck & Trailer, a
leading distributor of high-quality heavy duty trucks and trailers, has
extended its agreement as the Official Heavy Duty Truck Dealership of
NHRA and the NHRA Safety Safari.

The official marketing partnership increases Sioux City Truck &
Trailer’s participation in NHRA Championship Drag Racing. The company
also is an associate sponsor of the nitro-powered Funny Cars driven by
Cruz and Tony Pedregon.

“We look forward to generating even more awareness and recognition for
Sioux City Truck & Trailer through this unique marketing
partnership with the NHRA,” said Kevin Christensen, general manager of
Sioux City Truck & Trailer. “We have been involved with NHRA for
several years and we are certain that increasing our involvement with
this official marketing program is going to provide us with a bigger
platform to reach our target demographic. We believe it will have a
direct impact on our sales and marketing efforts everywhere we do
business.”

Robert Hight is tired of being frustrated. He is turning over a new
leaf heading into the 13th annual O’Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals at
Gateway International Raceway.

The 2005 rookie of the year and perennial championship contender has
been off his game in 2009 opening the season with his longest winless
drought of his career. Entering the seventh race of the season Hight
hasn’t even reached a final which has the former trap shooting champion
at a loss. He isn’t giving up or even coming close to that attitude

“I am not going to be discouraged about our situation anymore. I feel
like I have been in a bad mood for a couple of races and I have to just
get over it. I have one of the best teams in the NHRA. I have the best
owner, John Force and the best teammates with Ashley (Force Hood) and
(Mike) Neff. I know we will get this Auto Club Ford Mustang figured out
and I am hoping that happens at Gateway this weekend,” said Hight.

A ticket package that saves fans $90 per ticket -- a savings of 50% --
for two major motorsports events was announced by Summit Motorsports
Park, an NHRA track in Norwalk, Ohio, and Michigan International
Speedway, a NASCAR track located in Brooklyn, Mich.

Racing fans can purchase a discounted Fan Value Pack ticket package
that includes reserved seats, pit passes and free parking to two major
races: the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals June 25-28 in Ohio
and the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Michigan 400 held Sunday, Aug. 16 in
Michigan for $90, a savings of 50%.

The two tracks created the combined ticket package to offer fans a
better value, savings and convenience. The tracks are located 120 miles
apart and have overlapping fan bases.

NHRA stars such as John Force, Tony Schumacher, Greg Anderson and
defending Funny Car champion Tony Pedregon will race down the drag
strip up to 300 mph when the Christmas tree lights turn green at Summit
Motorsports Park in June. In August, NASCAR stars Jeff Gordon, Jimmie
Johnson, Carl Edwards and Dale Earnhardt Jr., will keep fans on the
edge of their seats from green to checkered flag as they race around
the two-mile oval.