With new crew chief Rob Flynn making the tune-up calls on the Kenny Bernstein-owned Budweiser/Lucas Oil dragster for the 2009
season, the team is motivated and fighting for a seventh family
championship, the first for second-generation driver Brandon.

Team owner Kenny Bernstein dominated Funny Car competition in the
1980s, racking up four consecutive NHRA championships (1985-1988)
during a decade in which his team’s technological advances changed the
face of competition.  He scored two more championships in Top Fuel
(1996, 2001), becoming the first driver in NHRA history to win
championships in both nitro categories.  But above his championships,
Kenny calls his greatest and most memorable achievement becoming the
first in history to surpass the 300 mile-per-hour barrier (1992).

NHRA Funny Car champion to be part of 3-day festival of speed, Mar. 6-8

Cruz Pedregon has come full circle. The  two-time NHRA world champion Funny Car driver earned his NHRA racing license at
historic Auto Club Famoso Raceway in Bakersfield, Calif. The same place
his father Frank raced in the 1960s and his brother Tony – also a
two-time NHRA Funny Car champ – got his racing license. Now Pedregon is
returning to Auto Club Famoso Raceway as Grand Marshal of the 51st
March Meet, the track’s most famous and prestigious race, Mar. 6-8.

ROCKY announced today that it has signed on as associate sponsor of the
NHRA Top Fuel dragster driven by 30-time NHRA national event winner
Doug Kalitta, as well as footwear sponsorship of the entire Kalitta
Motorsports team.

Additionally, ROCKY will serve as primary sponsor of the Doug
Kalitta-driven Top Fuel dragster at the Norwalk, Ohio race held June
25th to 28th at Summit Motorsports Park.  This sponsorship will mean a
new paint scheme for the race car, which prominently features the ROCKY
logo, as well as earning it the name “ROCKY Boots Top Fuel Dragster”
for the entire event and activities around it.

Mickey Thompson Performance Tires & Wheels has partnered with the
NFCA as the title sponsor of the 2009 Mickey Thompson Nitro Funny Car
Championship Series. The legendary Mickey Thompson brand will now
support the remarkable racers of this series trackside, and will work
with past and present NFCA drivers to assist the racers by providing
support, tires, and technical assistance.
 
“For those of us that have been part of drag racing for more than 30
years, this is an exciting time,” said Carl Robinson, Motorsports
Manager, Mickey Thompson Performance Tires & Wheels. “This is where
we started when Mickey Thompson and his drivers were racing. They were
racing along side of some of these legendary names in drag racing, and
it’s great to see the Floppers from the past brought back to life with
that same look, that same sound, that same great racing experience as
the old days.”

Mickey Thompson is proud to announce their 2009 sponsorship of the Pacific Street Car Association events and racers. 2009 marks the 10th anniversary of Mickey Thompson’s involvement with this sanctioning body, the sixth consecutive year as a Wild Street Class racing sponsor, and the fifth consecutive year as a sponsor of the Street Car Super Nationals.
 

Rain continued to fall in Southern California Friday, forcing NHRA
officials to cancel the second round of professional qualifying at the
Kragen O'Reilly NHRA Winternationals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona.
Rain started in the early morning hours and continued to be heavy at
times throughout the afternoon. No racing was completed before
officials pulled the plug for the day around 1:15 p.m.

The status of NHRA Pro Modified has recently experienced as many ups
and downs as a rollercoaster. Now, the exhibition category might have
taken its final ride.

A letter distributed from Brakesafe President Rich Battaglini’s email
address said that due to “an unforeseen down-turn” in the automotive
industry that his company would be unable to sponsor the series in
2009. Battaglini, according to a source, had signed a letter of intent
with the NHRA to sponsor the ten-race series.

Service Scheduled for Tonight at 6 PM, PST in Pomona …

Donnie Faulkner knew that Thursday, February 5, 2009 would, for him, present one of the toughest challenges of the season.

For the operator of the Rolling O merchandise trailer on the NHRA
Manufacturer’s Midway, this weekend’s NHRA Kragen O’Reilly
Winternationals marks the first time in nine years that he will open
the store without his wife Hollie Faulkner working alongside.

Hollie died of a sudden illness on December 21, 2008, leaving Faulkner and their then four-month old daughter Emma behind.

Faulkner said Thursday’s experience was tough emotionally not just for himself, but those close to her as well.

When every second of NHRA Drag Racing is packed with heart-pounding
moments, how do you single out those moments that rank as the best of
the best? You launch "The Quest for the Full Throttle Moment," an
innovative new bonus award program developed by Full Throttle and NHRA
that will recognize the season’s most unforgettable moments.

Teams in all four NHRA professional categories will be eligible for the
new bonus award, which will recognize a single greatest moment in each
pro class from all 24 events during the 2009 NHRA Full Throttle Drag
Racing Series season. At the season-ending awards ceremony, one
greatest moment from each category will be declared the best of the
season.

The Quest for the Full Throttle Moment replaces the Full Throttle Pit
Crew Challenge bonus program, which was launched by Full Throttle in
2005.

Aerodine Composites Goup of Indianapolis, IN and Kennametal of Latrobe, PA have joined the growing number of sponsors supporting the Supercharged Thunder Nostalgia Touring Group.