Brandon Bernstein will have one thought and one thought only hanging in
the back of his mind this weekend at the Lucas Slick Mist NHRA
Nationals at Firebird Raceway in Phoenix, Az.

The thought – 323 miles per hour; the mark Berstein set during the National Time Trials in January at Firebird Raceway.

Bernstein, told CompetitionPlus.com with a degree of certainty, the run felt fast.

First year Bernstein tuner Rob Flynn was skeptical of the run at first,
but the more he looked at the computer read outs and the overall
performance, the run checked out.

The run “checked out”, using youthful slang, when it’s noted Bernstein
ran five miles per hour faster than anyone had run before in the
history of recognized 1,000-foot drag racing.

South Georgia Motorsports Park will open it's gates to all racers, regardless of class, March 9 thru 12 for open testing.
 
Various professional teams have frequented the immaculate South Georgia facility for testing since it's conception in 2002, and will continue to do so throughout the offseason and into the regular season of competition.  South Georgia Motorsports Park will also open its doors to any NHRA professional or sportsman team in need of testing prior to the NHRA ACDelco GATORNATIONALS event at Gainesville Raceway (March 12-15).
 

The NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series season opener is in the books and
the winners have been crowned at Bradenton Motorsports Park.  Top
honors went to John Finke of Selkirk, N.Y., in Top Alcohol Dragster and
Mickey Ferro from Stamford, Conn., won once again in Top Alcohol Funny
Car.

Bill Evans, Miramar, Fla., worked his way from the forth spot all the
way to the Top Alcohol Dragster finals, falling just short of the
divisional win.  Finke posted a 5.378 second, 269.62 mph pass to defeat
Evans run of 5.440 seconds.

Top Alcohol Funny Car was mastered once again by Ferro, picking up back
to back divisional wins at Bradenton.  Coming out of the top qualifying
position, Ferro’s pass of 5.673 seconds, 255.39 mph gave him the win
light in the finals.  Mark Billington of Norcross, Ga., was a win light
away of the title, coming out of the third qualifying position.

None of the professional racers that experienced six days of rain
delays at the season-opening race in Pomona, Calif., had much fun, but
for rookie driver Shawn Langdon, the shortage of racing action was
almost unbearable.

"You dream your whole life about turning pro and driving a Top Fuel
dragster," said Langdon, the back-to-back Lucas Oil Series world champ
in Super Comp. "Then you finally get that chance and the lead up to
that first race is so emotional. I was really excited and pretty
nervous before the race. I couldn't sleep. You just want to do
everything right for your team. Then you finally get to the track and
all that anticipation is literally washed away by the rain. It was
tough for me to take."

The lack of racing in southern California -- Langdon made just two
passes in his Lucas Oil/Dixie Choppers dragster -- has the 26-year-old
revved up for NHRA's second stop in Phoenix. That and the fact he
tested at Firebird International Raceway just a few weeks ago and that
his main sponsor, Lucas Oil, took over title rights for the race a few
days back through its Lucas Oil Slick Mist brand.

Duane Shields of Boulder City, Nev., claimed the No.1 qualifying spot
in Top Alcohol Dragster with Saturday’s run at the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag
Racing Series event at Bradenton Motorsports Park.  Stamford, Conn.,
resident Mickey Ferro put together an impressive pass in Top Alcohol
Funny Car to take the top spot in the six car field.

Shields posted a 5.331 seconds, 266.03 mph run, which was enough to
keep him ahead of John Finke of Selkirk, N.Y.  Artie Allen of
Jacksonville, Fla., last year’s division champion, just missed the
field by qualifying in the No. 9 spot.

The event’s 2008 Top Alcohol Funny Car champion picked up where he left
off, as Ferro took the lead slot.  Alexis De Joria from Bronson, Fla.,
pieced together a 5.694 second pass to drop her into the second seed.

Edward
W. Kowalczyk, age 36, of New Egypt died Wednesday, February 11 at
Virtua Memorial Hospital in Mt. Holly. Born in Somerville, Ed was
raised in Whitehouse, NJ before living in Jackson and then moving to
New Egypt in 2004.

Ed was a graduate of the New York Military
Academy in Cornwall-on-Hudson, NY and served in the US Navy and was
Vice-President for Integrity Roofing Service in Rahway. Ed was an avid
drag racer at Atco and Englishtown Raceways in New Jersey and many
other racetracks throughout the country. He was a member of the
National Mustang Racing Association.

Twice in her career Laurie Cannister has won a world championship only
to have her eliminator discontinued prior to the title defense season.
The first time it happened, she picked another division to race in.
This time she picked another sanctioning body.

With that said, IHRA Alcohol Funny Car champion Laurie Cannister and
the Kalbones team will compete in the NHRA’s Top Alcohol Funny Car
division during 2009.

 “We are very excited to be able to race again,” said the 2008 IHRA
Professional Driver of the Year. “Of course, we wanted to get back out
and go for back-to-back IHRA Alcohol Funny Car Championships, but that
wasn’t to be. Thanks to team owners Kevin and Wendy Sims, they are once
again providing us with everything we need to be as competitive as
possible in 2009.  The only difference is it will be an NHRA schedule.”

David Allen of Sewickley, Pa., headlines this weekend's NHRA
Division 2 LODRS event in Bradenton, Fla., leading the pack in Comp
Eliminator qualifying. 

Allen grabbed the Comp Eliminator top seed with Pat Ross, Avon Lake,
Ohio, hot on his heels. Anthony Bertozzi of Ashland, Va., last year’s
event winner, sits back in the No.10 spot of the competitive field.
Local Bradenton favorite and Pro Stock powerhouse Dave Connolly hopes
to take his '34 Chevy to Sunday’s Comp Eliminator winner’s circle out
of the No. 7 spot.

Super Stock is lead by Nashville, Tenn.
resident Jack Huff with Brian Oakes, Williamstown, N.J., looking to
advance on his No. 2 position. Randy Wilkes of Zanesville, Ohio,
Bradenton’s 2008 Super Stock event winner, is trying his luck in the
Stock Eliminator class qualifying in the middle of the pack. Bud Rowe
from Bridgeton, N.C., wheeled his ’94 Camaro to the top qualifying
position.