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Not the sounds you would expect coming from deep within the pit area at
a NHRA drag racing event. Yet, that is exactly what Ashley Force Hood
was doing prior to making the fourth fastest run Friday morning at
Gainesville Dragway in Gainesville, Fla Friday morning.
 
Force spent a few minutes micro-blogging on @FordRacing on Twitter.
Fans or even the casual observer, who might not otherwise have access
to Force were able to ask questions ranging from her racing to her cat,
Simba and her recent opportunity to return to her alma mater (Cal
Fullerton) to meet and introduce Reba McIntyre.

Matt Hagan may be a rookie racer by NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing
standards but his actions on and off the track, leading into and during
the NHRA ACDelco Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla., suggests
otherwise.

Hagan learned in the days leading into the third stop on the
twenty-four race NHRA tour that he was replacing major sponsorship on
his Don Schumacher Racing Dodge Charger Funny Car.

Instead of letting the scenario of losing major backing serve as a
major distraction, the Christiansburg, Va. native, instead hunkered
down and promoted his family’s Shelor Motor Mile (Shelor.com)
dealership now adorning the side of the 8,000-horse flopper, all the
while letting the racing community know the space on his car was for
rent.

That kind of action is certainly not the trademark of a rookie.

Even the new President of the United States doesn’t command the level of performance drag racing fans expect from Alan Johnson and the Al Anabi operation.
 
On an unusually warm March weekend in Florida, Larry Dixon delivered
his high-horsepower state of the union address as he drove the Alan
Johnson Racing Al Anabi Top Fuel dragster to its first-ever national
event win by stopping Cory McClenathan in the final round of the NHRA
Gatornationals.
 
He didn't just win, he dominated nearly every aspect of the race
weekend, qualifying No. 1 and establishing low elapsed time oh his way
to the first victory for Alan Johnson and Al Anabi.

Bob Tasca, III was Bob Tasca the FIRST on this Sunday.

Tasca scored his first national event win at a track that holds a
special place in his heart. It was in Gainesville where Tasca came to
the attention of Ford based on his performance at Gainesville Raceway.

“To come here, at a race track that is really close to my heart,”
started Tasca, “you know that right lane has been really awfully good
to me, I might even kiss it before I leave. I set the world record in
alcohol funny car in that lane and I won my first race in that lane. It
was a pretty special day for me.”

There comes a point and time when a racer must abandon
innovation for the proven. Funny Car racer Tim Wilkerson had reached
that point when it came to chasing a set-up for his new 2009 three-rail
chassis, before Gainesville.

Three good qualifying laps, two good elimination rounds, and a
competitive race car all added up to a positive step forward, and
Wilkerson now looks ahead with a slightly improved outlook.

The following story is proof of the volatility
of Full Throttle Energy Drink and the high intensity of 14-time NHRA
Funny Car champion John Force.

Force was so over-amped that top-end announcer Alan Reinhart instructed
the top-end crew not to provide any more Full Throttle for the champion.

His first round interview left those in the media center scratching
their heads when he told five stories in 30 seconds. That opening
interview paled in comparison to his second interview of the day.

Jeg Coughlin Jr.’s Chevrolet Cobalt shook the tires, and then turned
sideways during final eliminations at the NHRA Gatornationals forcing him to abort his quarter-final match against Allen
Johnson.

"We got what we needed at the tree and it could have been a close one
at the other end but we didn't get it done today," Coughlin said. "We
win as a team and we go down together. I know there are a lot of
champions in this group so we'll get together and fix what we need to
fix and get after it again in Houston.

He didn’t win the event. The luck just ran out.

Cory McClenathan made a withdrawal from the luck bank, landing in his
54th career final round and the first at the NHRA Gatornationals
despite experiencing two spectacular fireballs in the FRAM Top Fuel
dragster in his quarterfinal and semifinal runs. He ended his day as
runner-up to Larry Dixon.

"We have nothing to complain about today," said McClenathan. "As a
racer you see a lot of times where somebody else had the luck. Well,
today, we did well against our teammate and won the round and hurt some
parts. That semifinal run was pure luck. We hurt it early and Bobby
Lagana had a shot of beating us. We almost beat ourselves there, but
the FRAM guys reeled in, did what they could for the final round.

Despite his early exit in the opening round of Funny Car eliminations
at the NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway, Ron Capps continues
to lead the Full Throttle Drag Racing Series class point standings
driving the NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge Charger. He is now 38 markers ahead
of Bob Tasca III, winner of the third event on the 24-race tour.

Mike Castellana proved that there is parity in Pro Mod for the nitrous
cars with his win in the Get Screened America Pro Mod Challenge presented by ProCare Rx at the ACDelco NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla.
 
Castellana qualified No. 8 with a 6.042/232.19 and worked his way past
reigning IHRA champ Kenny Lang in the first round, low qualifier Roger
Burgess in round two, and the turbo-powered  '68 Camaro of Brad
Personett in the semi-finals to face off against Al-Anabi teammate and
fellow-member of the nitrous brotherhood Burton Auxier for the finals.
 
Auxier had delivered consistent 6.0-performances en route to his finals
berth, dispatching Danny Rowe, Rickey Smith and Rick Stivers to make
the finals, but struggled in the end. Castellana cut a near-perfect
.008 light to take the lead and never looked back, 6.040/228.77 to
6.174/229.12.
 
"I'm really happy for the entire Al-Anabi team and how well everyone
performed today," Castellana said. "To have a semi-final where we've
got two nitrous cars, a turbo and one blower car really shows how far
we've come in the past several years.