CompetitionPlus.com Director of Photography Roger Richards had the right shot in Stock eliminator qualifying
when John Irving had more than a fair share of problems chopping down
the tree ... literally!

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Veteran Team Owner Says No Truth to Suggestions Murf McKinney Joining Staff …

Despite being just a few days away from the opening of the 2009 NHRA
season, 14-time World Champion John Force has taken the time to dispel
rumors veteran chassis builder Murf McKinney is being hired as his
in-house chassis builder.

“Murf has a great operation and he builds for all the teams,” Force
said when asked about the rumors. “Would I love to have a guy of his
talents? You bet. He’s got his own program and staying where he’s at.”

Rookie to Make Top Fuel Debut in Pomona ...

It
wasn't long ago that Shawn Langdon hoped for a good report card from
his teachers at Sky Country Elementary in nearby Mira Loma, Calif.,
which would earn him a ticket to the NHRA Winternationals. Now the Top
Fuel rookie is hoping his professional debut at the same event simply
makes the grade.

"My goal this weekend is to not slow the team down," Langdon said. "I really just hope I don't do anything stupid."

Shakedown at E'town, a major independent doorslammer event hosted by
Old Bridge Township Raceway Park, has formed a six-second Drag Radial
club with the creation of the Shakedown at E'town 6-Second Drag Radial
Club. This club will feature the first six drivers to run 6 seconds in
a Drag Radial car. Each of the six drivers will receive a custom
embroidered jacket, a commemorative plaque along with six complimentary
Drag Radial tech cards to the next six Shakedown at E'town events.

Rockingham Dragway owner Steve Earwood announced this week that Kenny
Nowling, president and CEO of the American Drag Racing League, has
certified the Feb. 19-21 Rock Batteries Spring Blast as the official
spring training event for participants in the National Guard ADRL Tour.

The National Guard ADRL, which produces a 10-race national series that
includes Rockingham’s wildly-popular Dragstock event in the fall,
crowns season champions in five professional divisions including Pro
Extreme Motorcycle, Extreme 10.5, Pro Nitrous and Pro Extreme, the
quickest and fastest full bodied class in all of drag racing.

New for 2009 in the ADRL is Extreme Pro Stock which debuted as an exhibition category at the 2007 Rockingham event.

Despite an off-season name change recognizing her December marriage to Daniel Hood, there's no doubt that the woman in the high-powered green-and-white Castrol GTX® Ford Mustang competing this week at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona is all Force.
 
Ashley Force Hood, the daughter of 14-time NHRA Funny Car Champion John
Force, shares her father's broad smile, his love of movies and his
aggressive driving style, qualities that have helped make her a star
and an aspiring champion in the NHRA Full Throttle drag racing series.
 

This Season Presents An Obvious Challenge for New Crew and Tuner …

Prior to this year, Tony Schumacher’s previous five off-seasons have
been easy; there were no major changes in personal. This year has been
different for the reigning Top Fuel driver.

Schumacher has gone through an adjustment period during the two major
off-season test sessions working with new crew chief Mike Green and
finished one-two on the charts.

Throughout it all, Schumacher, the five-time champion with 56 national
event wins to his credit, has heard all the talk of how his “new” team
is making the adjustment for 2009.

“You can’t imagine how many times it’s happened,” said the six-time
world champion. “People want to know how I feel about my new challenge,
my new crew chief and my new team. Frankly, I’m ready for the 2009
season to begin so we can move forward.”

Championship Contender from 2008 Enters 2009 as Underdog …

Cory McClenathan entered the 2008 season with a bite as lethal as his
bark was menacing. In one fell swoop of personnel changes, the 34-time
NHRA Top Fuel winner enters the 2009 season as an underdog standing in
the shadow of teammate Tony Schumacher, who now utilizes the services
of McClenathan’s 2008 crew chief, Mike Green.

McClenathan is now paired with seasoned Funny Car tuners Todd Okuhara
and Phil Shuler  as he prepares for the season-operning NHRA
Winternationals.

For McClenathan, the season is shaping up to be a dog-eat-dog affair.

The challenge is nothing new for McClenathan who has resurrected his
career from overwhelming adversity time after time, reaching the
pinnacle of success on multiple occasions.

John Force will have a little extra Edge this week when he begins his
quest for an unprecedented 15th NHRA Funny Car Championship.
 
During the season-opening 49th annual Kragen O'Reilly Winternationals
at Auto Club Raceway at pomona, Force will drive a distinctive
gold-and-black Ford Mustang that touts his long-time sponsor's newest
synthetic lubricant, Castrol Edge™.

Two names synonymous with horsepower will join forces in 2009, as top
performance air and oil filter producer K&N Engineering today
announced they would be sponsoring six-time Pro Stock Champion Warren
Johnson during the upcoming NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing season, with
the K&N Filters Pontiac GXP making its competitive debut at this
weekend’s Kragen O’Reilly Winternationals in Pomona, CA.  Today’s
announcement further enhances an NHRA presence for the California-based
company that includes sponsorship of the K&N Horsepower Challenge,
a special event for Pro Stock drivers held each year at the Summit
Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio. 
 
“Warren Johnson is one of the most accomplished and respected figures
in the sport of drag racing, and we are excited to welcome him to the
K&N family,” said Steve Williams, vice president of Product
Engineering and Research and Development at K&N Engineering. “We
have had a technical relationship with Warren Johnson Racing for many
years and have developed some cutting edge products for air intake
systems, including new hood scoop technology.  K&N decided to take
our relationship to the next level primarily because of WJ’s tireless
competitive spirit and unparalleled mechanical expertise. We look
forward to working with him throughout the season.”