Fans of the NHRA and the wildly popular social media site Twitter will
be able to mix, mingle, and "Tweet" during the 13th annual O'Reilly
NHRA Midwest Nationals, May 1-3, at Gateway International Raceway.

A number of NHRA Full Throttle Series teams/drivers are already active
on Twitter – including Kenny Bernstein Racing, John Force Racing,
Kalitta Motorsports, Mike Ashley Racing, Don Schumacher Racing, Tasca
Racing, Pro Stock driver Kurt Johnson and Pro Stock Motorcycle rider
Steve Johnson – posting "Tweets" with round-by-round results, driver
appearances, autograph opportunities, and general fan updates.

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal characterized John Force
as, and we quote, "the owner of John Force Racing and once a dominant champion who still drives a Funny Car at (age) 59."  Nice.
 
While technically accurate, that portrayal understandably struck a
nerve with the 14-time champion who, 20 months after the crash that
almost took his life, insists he still has a few more championships
left in him.
 
The upshot is that this week's 13th annual O'Reilly Auto Parts Midwest
Nationals at Gateway International Raceway has taken on a little more
urgency for Force, who hasn't won a Full Throttle tour event in almost
a year.
 
"I'm in better shape than I was before the crash,"  the 126-time tour
winner said of the September, 2007, accident that left him with
injuries that confined him to a Dallas hospital for almost a month.  "I
feel like I can still do this; I can still win.

Zizzo Racing will join the NHRA Drag Racing tour this weekend for the
O'Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals in Madison, Illinois, just outside of St. Louis. Driver T.J. Zizzo is looking forward to the race.
 
"It's time to take off these winter boots and put on my driving shoes,"
Zizzo said from the family-owned auto body shop. "Our whole team is
ready to get out of the shop and get on the race track. We haven't been
to St. Louis is a couple of seasons. For us this track is kind of in
the neighborhood. We're looking forward to getting out to the track and
seeing all of the O'Reilly associates as well."
 
The new season brings a fresh look to the PEAK/O'Reilly Dragster. Brand
& Motorsports Marketing Manager at Old World Industries, Brian
Bohlander, states "We're excited about the start of the season.  The
team has worked long hours this winter on the little details to find an
advantage since the Top Fuel field is now so competitive.  We are also
very happy with the new car design that also includes one of PEAK's
newest products, PEAK Performance Motor Oil.  Phil at Rage Wraps put
the final design elements and graphics together with some 'old school'
pinstriping on top of the car and it makes this hot rod look fast
standing still!"

Indianapolis is often referred to by its nickname, “Circle City”. 
Perhaps it is due to the historic circle drive in downtown, or the abundance
of oval race tracks in the area.  For Rislone Engine Treatment Top
Alcohol Dragster driver Bill Reichert, the only circle that mattered in
Indianapolis last weekend was the winner’s circle at O’Reilly Raceway
Park, which is precisely where he and his team found themselves at the
conclusion of Sunday’s eliminations.

Reichert took an important step towards defending his TAD championship
Sunday, pulling off a final-round win at the NHRA Division 3 event,
posting a 5.476 second run at 267.91mph.  To say that Reichert was
ecstatic about the win would be an understatement.  “It felt really
great to be back in victory lane,” said Reichert.  “We qualified really
well (2nd) so we definitely had our sights aimed high for the rest of
the weekend.  The track was great all weekend long, it was a bit warmer
than normal for Indy at this time of year, but all in all it worked out
very well for our Rislone Engine Treatment dragster!”

The Get Screened America Pro Mod Challenge presented by ProCare Rx once
again returns to Madison, Ill. and Gateway International Raceway,
a mere five minutes from downtown St. Louis and a stone's throw from
the mighty Mississippi river. The premiere Pro Modified series joins
the O'Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals this weekend and will feature 17 of
the nation's best drivers all competing for a coveted Get Screened
America Warrior and a $10,000 prize.
 
Contestants in the ninth Pro Mod Challenge event at Madison include:
Burton Auxier, Joe Baker, Roger Burgess, Mike Castellana, Raymond
Commisso, Chip King, Mike Knowles, Harold Laird, Kenny Lang, Taylor
Lastor, Jay Payne, Brad Personett, Danny Rowe, Rick Stivers, Tim
Tindle, Kirk Wilmes, and Andy McCoy.
 

The Stevens Family Racing Top Fuel Dragster will return to NHRA competition this weekend at the O’Reilly’s Midwest Nationals in Madison,
IL.  The team has named Kevin Jones, former driver for IHRA Top Fuel
team owner Doc Sipple, has been named as the driver. The team has been
out of action since the 2007 U.S. Nationals due to a lack of funding,
but team owner Dave Stevens and his marketing team have been hard at
work trying to put together a program that would enable them to get
back on the track.    

The team enters the event with a one race deal from Boiler-Tek, Inc., a long-time associate sponsor, as their primary sponsor. 

Doug Kalitta hopes to become all-time win leader this weekend at Gateway International Raceway.

Kalitta,
driver of the bright yellow, 8,000-horsepower, nitro-fueled, No. 50 Top
Fuel dragster, will try to become the first four-time Top Fuel class
winner at Gateway Int’l Raceway this weekend, May 1-3, during the
annual running of the O'Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals in Madison, Ill.,
just across the Mississippi River from St. Louis.

Kalitta collected the champion’s trophy in St. Louis in 2001, and then
in back-to-back seasons, ’03 and ’04. No driver has collected more than
three professional class wins at GIR since it opened in 1996.

The "Eats" section in the May 4th issue of AutoWeek magazine has an article entitled "Food Guy, Car Guy, Fun Guy" and features celebrity Chef Guy Fieri. Included in the section is a piece called "Road Food" penned by Team JEGS chef Nicky Morse.

Jeff Arend, driver of the bright yellow, 8,000-horsepower DHL Toyota
Solara Funny Car, and the DHL team are gearing up to salute the U.S.
military with special activities prior to and during this weekend’s,
May 1-3, annual running of the O'Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals at
Gateway Int’l Raceway in Madison, Ill., just across the Mississippi
River from St. Louis.

Today, Wednesday, April 29, Arend and the DHL pit crew will make a
special appearance at Scott Air Force Base, near Belleville, Ill., with
their nitro-fueled, 300-mph coupe, from 11:00 a.m. (CT) ‘til 1:30 p.m.
U.S. Air Force personnel, including special guests, Brig. Gen. S. Taco
Gilbert III and Major General William Johnson, USTRANSCOM, will
experience the Earth-rumbling power of the DHL Funny Car when its
engine roars to life at noon.

Aeromotive recently hired Steve Swanson as part of their team.

Swanson joins Aeromotive Fuel Systems as Sales Manager, heading up all
WD and Jobber Sales with management responsibility for the nationwide
network of Aeromotive’s independent sales staff. Steve brings unique
experience in several areas of the performance marketplace including
retail, wholesale distribution, sales and marketing management. Steve’s
tenure in the industry spans more than 36 years and includes service on
the SEMA Board of Directors and a member of several SEMA councils and
committees.