Chris Rivas always felt he'd have the opportunity to avenge his
five-point championship loss to Eddie Krawiec in 2008 in the NHRA Pro
Stock Motorcycle division.

Barring an eleventh hour miracle, Rivas will be on the sidelines for
the 2009 season, the unfortunate victim of a sluggish economy and to a
lesser degree, a recent rule change that he and others feel shackle the
Buell (S&S Engine) combination with a marginal chance of winning
races, or a championship.

Team owners George Smith and George Bryce have elected to sit out the 2009 s eason with the G-Squared/S&S Buell team.

“We knew at the end of the 2008 season that it was going to be tough to
squeeze out a team because of the upcoming economic situation,” Rivas
said.

An overwhelming majority of CompetitionPlus.com readers have a message for the NHRA, “Award the points; recognize the records.”

The question was posed to the readership on Monday, and by Wednesday,
67.1% had voted in favor of recognizing the driver/team achievements
considering 1,000-foot racing will be enforced throughout the 2009
season.

Spencer Massey (Top Fuel) and Del Worsham (Funny Car), along with fellow NHRA Full Throttle racers Allen Johnson (Pro Stock) and Andrew Hines (Pro Stock Motorcycle) are the CompetitionPlus.com picks to win their respective championships in 2009.

To say both Massey and Worsham were surprised would be an understatement.

Massey, who was given advance notice on Tuesday evening, was already in
Pomona preparing for his national event debut as driver for Don “Snake”
Prudhomme.

Rocky Mountain Raceways has announced that they will become the next International Hot Rod Association (IHRA) member track.

The raceway moves into this relationship with IHRA after a long-standing relationship with NHRA (National Hot Rod Association).

“While the NHRA was disappointed with the move they wished us continued
success in our efforts to strengthen the RMR brand,” said Doug
Binstock, General Manager at Rocky Mountain Raceways.

Rocky Mountain Raceways sees this as the next step in the progression
and growth of auto racing. It also sees this as the next step to
bringing larger racing events to Utah with top name drivers from across
the country.

Tom Hammonds Enterprises, LLC has hired legendary European Pro Stock
racer Tomi Laine as crew chief for the 2009 NHRA Full Throttle Series
season.

"I have known Tomi Laine for some time now and have always wanted him
to be a part of our team. Unfortunately, the time was not right because
he was with another team, and he became available after the 2008
season.  We are fortunate to have him onboard," said an elated Tom
Hammonds, president of Tom Hammonds Enterprises, LLC and driver of the
No.20 Race for Achievement Chevy Cobalt.

Laine, originally from Finland, started his career racing speed boats
the age of 16 and moved to racing street cars on drag strips.  In 1988,
he moved he began Competition Eliminator, before graduating to Pro
Stock in 1991, where he won two Pro Stock European Championships and
one runner-up title.

It has been thirty years this year that York US 30 Dragway ceased
operation at the York Airport, Thomasville, PA but the tradition runs
deep for the 8th Annual Musclecar Madness at the York Reunion that
takes place on July 10-11, 2009 at the
York Expo Center, York Fairgrounds.

The founder and publisher of Super Stock and Drag Illustrated magazine
and co-owner of York US 30 Dragway, Monk Reynolds, will make his first
appearance at the annual reunion.

The York drag strip was one of the most prominent drag racing facilities in the United States and was the host of the largest
one day drag race in the history of the sport, the Super Stock
Nationals in 1965.  The race to this day is known as the “Woodstock of
Drag Racing”. No drag race ever presented can lay claim to the title.

Mountain View Racing team owner Nick Mitsos announced today that
veteran driver Dave Beckley will be behind the wheel of the team’s
Dodge Stratus Pro Stock entry on an interim basis beginning with this
weekend’s Kragen O’Reilly NHRA Winternationals at Auto Club Pomona
Raceway. Beckley, 45, of Wildomar, Calif., will handle the driving
while the team’s
regular driver, Vinnie Deceglie, takes a brief hiatus in order to tend to an illness in the family.

“First off, I want to stress that this is a temporary move and that
Vinnie will be back behind the wheel of our Mountain View Dodge as soon
as possible,” said Mitsos. “Vinnie is like a son to me and right now
our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family. In the meantime,
Dave is an experienced driver who is more than capable of driving our
Mountain View Dodge. We have worked with Dave in the past so we know
exactly what to expect. We are very comfortable working with each
other.”

The year was 1950. Harry Truman was President of the United States. "All about Eve" won the Academy Award for Best Picture. A
civil conflict between North and South Korea escalated into what became
known as the Korean War. The New York Yankees won its second
consecutive World Series against the Phillies (sorry, Bob Frey). And
Jim Dunn embarked on a six-decade journey by competing in his first
drag race.

Flash forward to 2009 and Dunn, one of the original pioneers of NHRA
Drag Racing, will be celebrating his 60th year in the sport. The
legendary team owner/driver/tuner began his career as a competitor in
1950 when the popularity of the sport was starting to move from the
streets and take hold on local strips throughout Southern California.
Over the years, Dunn has accumulated numerous wins and performance
records including a victory at the 1972 Supernationals in Ontario,
Calif., the 1981 World Finals in Irvine, Calif., and he was runner-up
at the 1981 U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis. He is also the only driver
to win the prestigious March Meet at Bakersfield in both Top Fuel and
Funny Car.

Jim Head is concerned the NHRA's new testing policy could force him to drive the entire 2009 season.

As a driver/owner on the tour, Head has made it known he was willing to
step aside as the driver should an up and coming youngster with the
right sponsorship package come knocking on his door. However, the
NHRA's new testing policy – a limit of four days of testing for the
entire season – is a serious roadblock to putting a new driver behind
the seat of his Funny Car.

With just about any action on the drag strip considered testing, Head
is wondering just how could anyone get the experience needed to adjust
to a driver change, short of during actual competition.

If you race IHRA, each day counts towards those four allowed tests. If
you race a match race, the same applies. If you make one run, and it
rains out the day, it is still one of the four allowed tests.

Charges of Drug Trafficking Filed Against Stevens

Former ANDRA Champion Brett Stevens abruptly retired from drag racing
on December 10, leaving many wondering what prompted his decision. 
Sources Down Under report that Stevens began offering all of his racing
hardware for sale in the Internet.