Despite not being able to root on his hometown Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl XLIII, 18-time NHRA winner Antron Brown, driver
of the Mike Ashley Racing Matco Tools dragster, will be intently
watching the big game on the evening of February 1. The former college
track star predicts the Pittsburgh Steelers to win their sixth Lombardi
Trophy on Sunday.
 
"It's a hard choice in this game," Brown said. "I'm upset at the Cards
because they took out my Eagles two weeks back. The Steelers are kind
of close to home and they have an awesome defense. I'm picking the
Steelers to win by 10 points. I just hope it's a good game. With Kurt
Warner and (Larry) Fitzgerald, the Cards can score some points."

Northeast Outlaw Pro Modified Association President John Mazzorana feels the 2009 season will be a breakout year.

“With the development and launch of our new website, the addition of
new racing venues like Maple Grove Raceway, Virginia Motorsports Park,
and our other outstanding venues like MIR, Atco, Capitol and Cecil, the
addition of five new members so far this January joining our 50 plus
members, (20 Blower/Turbo’s and 30 Nitrous/Naturally aspirated) the
need for a local cost effective solution for the many Pro Mod Racers in
the Northeast, I feel we will draw many more fans, racers and sponsors
for our Pro Mod League," explained Mazzorana. "We have also partnered
with Hope House Ministries Charities, which provides hope, care and
compassion to nearly 2,000 individuals in need each month”. Further
details of their involvement will follow in the coming weeks. Please
visit them at www.hhm.org."

The Pacific Street Car Association has signed MagnaFuel Racing Fuel Systems to become an Official Class & Contingency Sponsor for the 2009 PSCA Racing Series.

"The PSCA and the Street Car Super Nationals is a perfect fit for our Racing Fuel Systems" said Robbie Ward of MagnaFuel. "Heads Up Racing is in our DNA and with so many west coast racers setting records and winning championships using our products, it's time to support the people who support us"

New Series Sponsor Full Throttle will be prominently featured

The NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series will officially kick off one
of the most anticipated seasons in many years on Monday, Feb. 2 with a
“Parade of Vehicles” that will pass through downtown Los Angeles.

The parade will depart from Gate 17 at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona at
11:30 a.m. with Los Angeles County Sheriff’s providing the escort and
2005 Rookie of the Year and two-time series runner-up Robert Hight,
driver of the Auto Club Ford Mustang, serving as the Grand Marshal.

NHRA and Ticketmaster have teamed up to eliminate the convenience
fees for the special $20 NHRA Fan Relief tickets currently available
for next weekend's Kragen O'Reilly NHRA Winternationals at Auto Club
Raceway at Pomona.

Two-time NHRA World Champion and world renowned drag racing school owner/instructor, Frank Hawley along with Kevin Deane
and Oakville Lane Productions, Inc have teamed up to bring to the world
one of the hottest new reality TV shows – “Girls in Drag”.

“Kevin and I have been discussing this project for about a year now.
Kevin’s background speaks for itself with the various shows he works on
including “PINKS”, “PINKS All Out” and “Pass Time”. He has great
creative capabilities and we work really well together. We’re looking
forward to getting a network to take this show so we can produce, what
we think will be, one of the more entertaining reality shows on
television today,” explained Hawley.

The famed Winged Express fuel altered of Al "Mousie" Marcellus and driver Mike Boyd, one of the most recognizable cars in the
sport's history, will make exhibition runs Saturday and Sunday at the
Kragen O'Reilly NHRA Winternationals in Pomona in conjunction with a
series of exhibition runs by cars from NHRA's Hot Rod Heritage Racing
Series.

The Winged Express, originally driven to great fame by the late "Wild
Willie" Borsch, recently was voted the top exhibition car in an online
poll of NHRA.com visitors and was ranked second overall among all cars
from drag racing history.

NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster driver Brandon Lewis and the Lewis Family Racing team will carry major sponsorship from TigerFlow Systems
during the 2009 season. After winning its first NHRA national event in
Brainerd with TigerFlow as a major associate in 2008, the team is
excited about the expanded sponsorship role in 2009. The team also
signed 2008 Division 4 championship tuner/chassis builder Joe Monden as
crew chief for 2009 and will debut a Monden chassis to pursue the
national and Division 4 championships.

Said Lewis, “In a time where many race teams are losing sponsorships,
we feel very lucky to have a great sponsor supporting us in these tough
times like TigerFlow. We really have to thank Monroe Guest and Marvin
Yoder for their faith in our team."

Brandon Bernstein might not have been a headliner going into the NAPA Auto Parts National Time Trials in Phoenix, Az., but in one defining run, the second-generation nitro racer ensured he left as one.

The Budweiser/Lucas Oil-sponsored driver blasted out the quickest speed
in 1,000-foot drag racing history with a 323.50. His elapsed time was a
quick 3.814 seconds.

Bernstein understands that run, five miles per hour quicker than anyone
has produced, has been the target of message board criticism, but
vouches for its credibility. He said the car pulled hard out of the
gate and never stopped pulling through the speed traps.

“It was quite the surprise,” Bernstein admitted. “I knew it was a fast
run, just how fast I didn’t know. It was just intense throughout the
run. It was just a great run. It gives us some momentum to go into
Pomona and run some good speed.”

Matthew Brammer, president of Phoenix-based Active Marketing, spends
much of his day fielding questions and putting out fires related to the
status of NHRA Pro Modified in 2009.

Brammer has been a force behind the scenes in bringing forth required
sponsorship of the special exhibition series scheduled to appear at ten
NHRA events in 2009.

Brammer contends the deal is done, making the announcement of BrakeSafe sponsorship nothing more than just a formality.

"It's a reality, but I can't make an official statement,” Brammer
admitted. “We should have the official announcement from NHRA out any
day now after the final pieces are put in place. I can't really make
that announcement because of the contract that was signed, but suffice
it to say, it's will be another great year in Pro Mod Racing at NHRA
events, and everything is moving ahead full throttle."